A METALILC suit anyone??

Yes, the metallic suit is a big hit here in Korea. Men of all ages proudly sport this lovely garment! I've been dying for an opportunity to get a picture of one of these since I arrived here 7 months ago and last week it happened!!! I know I am way behind on my blog these days.... which hopefully I can get around to telling you all why in a few days (nothing too exciting, just been busy). But in the mean time I thought I'd throw out a quick and funny post for you to enjoy!

Fresh Right

So, a few nights ago my sleep was interrupted by an annoying beeping sound that came and went every minute or so. After much nudging of the dear husband to go investigate the cause of this bothersome noise.... I decided to take matters in to my own hands. It turns out our smoke detector battery was low. So, up I climbed and off it came... with no battery in the house I postponed fixing it until the next day.

Well, the next day came and went and I forgot about our little smoke detector. The next (next)morning I woke up and the A/C was not running. No biggie, I figured the in laws had turned it off in the middle of the night. I went to go unplug it and use that outlet to power my laptop (we don't have central head and air here, we use some weird A/C unit instead). When I reached the plug, it wouldn't come out. On further inspection I saw black smudges all over the outlet cover and realized the plug was melted in to the socket!!! MELTED plastic means there was a spark, one foot away from very flammable curtains in a room (um....house) with NO smoke detector! The Lord had his hand on us that night!

Well, fast forward several hours and the electricians arrive. They are young, both probably younger than me. He come armed with four things: a knife, a drill, a little cell phone sized box that they hook to the outlet to check for currency or something, and then an actual cell phone. They proceed to use the cell phone to take photographs of the outlet, then they use the knife (very safe, I know) to pry the melted plug out of the socket. Then they check/inspect the outlet. A few minutes later I try and explain to them that when the A/C blew up (for lack of a better word) another outlet in our house also went out. My explanation of that sounded something like this:

Point to A/C unit, roll hands in circle to describe that it was running (while blowing wind from my mouth), put hands together in a praying position and lean head on them and say "Sleeping" and then for emphasis i repeat it in Korea, "Chanda" (see it is one of 5 words i know and it came in handy!!!!). Then suddenly yell "BOOM" and make an explosion gesture with my hands and point to the other outlet that does not work! Yes, you have got to love the language barrier! If I had thought about it I could have typed up an explanation on google translator and given it to them that way, but this was just so much more fun!! It's like playing charades!! :)

They fix the second outlet that is not working and then head back to the A/C outlet. Then they need something. They say, "Excuse me, you have fresh right?" Um..... come again..... what in the world are they trying to say to me, fresh right? Fresh......... right? And then, I remember. Korean's can say the "l" sound, and they can also say the "r" sound, but for some reason they often use them interchangeably.... hence fresh right is really translated to be: Flash Light.

So, I find a flash light and they finish their job leaving me with instructions to call my realtor tomorrow morning and he will translate to me what the problem with the A/C is. But before they leave the point to me A/C unit and motion a large "X" with their arms and say "No!" and "DANGER!"

I think that means I shouldn't use the A/C unit.... :)

11 months and Hard at Work

I started this blog first and foremost as a way to journal events, milestones, and stories of our family. I never intended to make it public, but I am happy now that I did because it has also served as a wonderful way to keep up with family and friends (and even to make some new friends, too). As we approach Caden's first birthday (in just a few weeks) I am feeling rather nostalgic. There are so many cute and funny little things that he does that make me laugh and smile. I don't want to forget those things and so today's post is really just a way for me to record the cuteness that is my precious little boy. I hope it will also paint a better picture for you of his personality!

Since I've lived in Korea I've been writing about and telling my family back home just how busy Caden is. Of course everyone knows that babies ARE busy at this age, exploring their world. But my son is not your average baby. When I say he is busy, I mean he is REALLY busy! Upon arriving here in Korea my mother-in-law can finally see first hand just what I mean when I try and describe him. She has said on numerous occasions over the last few weeks, "I've never seen a baby like this before!" My in-laws have also come up with a perfect word to describe Caden's "play." They call it work because he goes about it as if he is working.... studying all the parts and pieces trying to figure it all out. When Caden starts investigating, they will say he is at work. When we take him away from something and he gets mad, they will say he wants to get back to work....

Most children will crawl up to a toy and play with it for a little while and get bored and move on. Don't get me wrong, Caden does his fair share of that type of play as well, but he is usually far more interested in the tiny things (like the screws that hold it together) than the actual toy itself. Some examples:

-John was holding Caden in his arms the other day. Caden noticed a teeny, tiny freckle on John's arm and spent the better part of 5 minutes trying to pick it off.

-Caden always (ALWAYS) inspects the toy from every angle, even if that means leaning over sideways to look at it. He cracks me up every time he does this. I often add commentary to his actions and say, "The world looks better sideways doesn't it Caden?" An example of this was on the Korean version of the "It's a Small World" ride at the local theme park. Caden was intrigued by some spinning umbrella's on one part of the ride and kept leaning over sideways to look at them.

-At the hotel the other day Caden became obsessed with the round knob to one of the kitchenette drawers. He played with that knob until he managed to unscrew it and it rolled away. Only then was he satisfied and crawled off to find something else to "work" on.

-As you all know Caden has an obsession with wheels. Specifically his stroller wheels are his favorite. He is so interested in them that while he is ridding in his stroller, he will often lean over and watch the wheels spin as we push him. Other times he will throw a fit until we let him get out to push the stroller around. The child has to be on the move all the time it seems (unless of course he is working).

-And, it amazes me that Caden understands that round things spin and move. He has had a "thing" for round objects since he was around 6 months old. He always spots the round shape/object and goes right for it, no matter where we are. I've never in my life realized how popular the circle/sphere was until I had Caden! If it's round, he WILL find it and he will work it to see what it does. Round objects come in all different sizes, colors, and even the exact shapes are often different.... and no matter what, even with all those variables Caden will STILL always find the round object.

-Oh, and did I mention he doesn't forget anything. If he is "working" on something (like the kitchenette drawer I mentioned earlier) and you take him away and show him something else... he may appease you and stay away from it for a few minutes, but it won't be long until he is back there hard at work again.

-One of the cutest things that Caden does is his "two-finger touch." He uses he pointed and middle finger together to touch everything. He has done this since he was a newborn. I have pictures of him holding his paci in his mouth when he was just days old with those two fingers.

Caden is very mechanically minded. He loves to figure out how things work. He loves to inspect the tiny details. I wonder if this trait will follow him throughout his life, or if it is just another phase. He is at such a fun age right now! I love watching him explore and learn. It seems that every day here lately he is doing something new. It's all so bittersweet. I love to watch him learn and grow, but with each new milestone and discovery he is getting older. It's going by too quickly. I wanted to take the time to write about these things before he is on to something else.... I don't want to forget how much I love him right now and how adorable he is when he is hard at work.

Sweet and Silly Extras

Here are a few pictures and videos from the last week. Sometimes it's the random little photos that make my heart smile! :) The videos are at the bottom (Caden walking, Caden playing with a puppy, and then a video clip from Songtan and the fruit trucks that park and announce their produce). Enjoy!!

Sunglasses

Here are some funny pictures of the "out-laws" (as opposed to in laws) sporting some interesting sunglasses. And yes, my mother-in-law DID purchase a pair of the green ones. :)

Daegu Trip

On Tuesday John left for Daegu, and a few hours later the rest of us loaded up the Pilot and headed down, too. Caden was a trooper in the car, and so were Grammy and Popples because they had to walk on eggshells to keep Caden sleeping! :) We went down for the Battalion Change of Command. It was fun to see John marching around out there with his soldiers. Makes me proud to be an army wife.

Here are some pictures from our trip:

We've arrived! Soaking wet. When the car came to a stop, the backseat babysitter (Pops) announced that Caden was just a little wet from his sippy cup leaking a bit. As I got out of the car I said that was normal and not to worry about it.... until I saw what Pops had interpreted to be "Just a LITTLE" wet!! :) We used the hotel hair dryer (good idea Grammy) to dry his pants.

And then we headed out for a little stroll to check out the Army Post we were staying at. Of course, Caden had to push the stroller some, and when he rode in it he had to investigate the wheels. Such a silly little guy. He rode like this for 5+ minutes.... just watching them spin!

That night we stayed in the base hotel. They weren't 5 star accommodations, but it was clean and it served it's purpose. Here are some pics of how we got creative having to share a hotel room with a baby!

John hung a spare sheet up from the ceiling so Caden couldn't see us after we put him to bed (in his playpen). What a great idea! We found a dead tv channel for white noise as well. Caden slept like a baby! :)

And then Grammy came by to feed him his breakfast the next day. Don't you love how creative these Nichols folks can be?!? It's an office chair, or high chair, depending on your needs!

And then we went to the Change of Command ceremony. Here are the proud parents checking out their son...

And then Grammy kept Caden company for a while.

And then it was time to head to the reception. Of course, Caden wanted to push his stroller and the crowd of onlookers thought it was as funny as we do each time he does it!

But, it was taking too long to get there, so Daddy had to take him away. He, obviously, was not very happy about that...

Before we left we grabbed some lunch together and made a quick stop at the store for some post cards. Here is Popples hard at work with his grandson...

And before heading home it was family picture time! Here are a few:

More New Tricks

Caden seems to be learning something new every day! It's amazing! His latest tricks include learning to give kisses (Grammy taught him that one) and dancing! Below are some videos of him giving sweet kisses to Grammy, and then to the "baby in the mirror." And also some cute video of him discovering artificial turf for the first time and then dancing for us!

New Videos

Here are three new videos I couldn't wait to share! The first captures a sound Caden makes very OFTEN and it cracks us up almost every time. I decided it was finally time to capture it on camera!



This next video is Caden showing off in one of those 'Car Buggies" you can get at the supermarket. He loved spinning that wheel and bouncing up and down in excitement!




And one last cute one of Caden walking while holding hands with his grandparents. As you all know, I've mentioned how he crawls with one knee on the ground and the other foot pushing him along. I think that is going to translate in to some feet issues! He walks with his foot turned out like he does when he crawls! You'll see it in the video... :)

New Stuff

Since the arrival of Grammy and Popples Caden has acquired a lot of new stuff and is even doing some new things!

New Shoes: His first pair of Adidas from Grammy

New Toys

A cute little smile

cuddling (again, can you believe it?!?!) with Daddy

Standing alone

Walking with Grammy and Popples

And last.... a video of him waving ByeBye!! (or Hi! in this case)

They're HERE!

The Nichols arrived on Friday morning! Here are some pictures from their arrival:

Welcome to Korea Grammy

Welcome Popples

And then, Caden stretched his legs a bit with his favorite "toy"

And then it was time for lunch. This is the first time I've had McDonalds since living in Korea

After lunch we began the trek back to our house. Grammy patted Caden to sleep and he wouldn't let go of her bracelet.

And then back at the house, Popples decided to try and catch a cat nap, but Caden wasn't going to let him.

Not long after that it was bath time!

And our tired little man even snuggled with his Grammy before bedtime.