Fond Memories

We have since made the big trek across the pacific and are in Washington now. We look back to our recent travels in Korea with fondness. Visiting Grandma Has and Halil was wonderful. In addition to growing some more hair (it still seems a bit darker than I thought it would be, perhaps a light brown), Reina found her tongue in Korea and really started to work on crawling. She also proved that not only is a trooper, that she is warming up to "strangers."

The plane trip went as good as we could have hoped. After 17 hours of flying, Reina, Chris, and I slept on and off for the next 24 hours! We then drove up to Bellevue, where I am now attending a workshop for AP bio training.

Reina has met Grandad and Romeni (again) and had no problem transitioning to them as well as meeting Grandpa Eastman for the first time. We will be spending the fourth weekend with the Eastman's, and I assure you I will get some more pictures!

No more fear?

Has Reina finally overcome her fear of strangers? We were anxious about this summer with all of the new places to see and people to meet. However, our travels here to Korea have proved that Reina is perhaps growing up! She not only cuddled right up to Mom and Halil, but she let several Chinese men hold her at a restaurant we ate at yesterday. They even insisted on having their pictures taken with our cutie, so there's hard evidence!

A bath by Eva

Here is the video of Eva licking Reina.

So much to show and tell

We made it to Seoul. The flight was uneventful, although I did discover that Reina doesn't like eating out! She gets upset when she's hungry, but only eats enough to tide her over, as she doesn't want to miss anything. I think this was more frustrating for me than anything. The plane ride was just under 2 hours from Naha to Seoul and Reina didn't make a sound.

When we got to my mom's place Reina was feeling a bit out of sorts. She let my Mom hold her for about 15 minutes before protesting, which was excellent. Then when she got tired for bedtime she wouldn't go to bed. Chris and I knew that Reina was attached to us. What we didn't realize was that she was attached to our apartment! She cried when I tried to lie her down in "her bed" until I held her and took her out with the rest of us in the living room. When we tried again, I had to stay and wait till her eyes closed - I think she kept make sure I was there. After this first night (which she slept through aside from her usual once feeding) she has been happy as can be. She has actually been napping better here than home in Oki. This next day she is also TOTALLY ok with Mom or Halil holding her at home OR out of the home, so this is a great improvement. She was OK with Liz and Mike, so perhaps Reina just "knows" who family is!

We've been doing a little touring of Seoul. There is A LOT of good shopping and today we went up to see a birds eye view at the Seoul tower and to a traditional Korean village.

I will post the majority of the pictures in the 5 month slideshow, and just put a few of my favorites here. I will also be working on a video of my Mom's dog licking Reina. Eva (the dog) is a big German Shepard who seems to think Reina is her responsibility to bathe. She also alerts us when Reina wakes up from naps (no need for a monitor!).

A wedding and a giggle

We went to a wedding last night. It was for our good Japanese friends, who we've known for several years now (hmm...maybe 8 years?). They had a traditional okinawan wedding, and it is definitely something to write home about! We, well I should say I, was very worried, as the wedding reception didn't start until 6:45pm. As you know, Reina likes to be getting ready for bed and because everyone has left for the states already we had no choice but to bring Reina. She cried on the way there until Chris jumped in the back seat with her. It was actually really sweet. Reina just needed his prescence to calm herself and fall asleep. The we had to get her up to go into the wedding. When we walked in, there were several tables in a large room holding about 300 people. There was a very loud woman narrating everything in both Japanese and English. Kaori and Kazuki walked in with traditional kimonos on. I included a pic. There were several performances, like Eisa dancers (traditional Okinawan dance) and music played by reletives of the bride and grooms family. It was really great. I think our favorite part, however, was when Kazuki appeared on stage from a lift (like a rockstar). Then Kaori came out (and now they have changed into more western style wedding clothes) and she was singing an American song (karaoke style) to Kazuki, that he eventually joined in on. It was awesome, and something CHris and I had never seen before. So, where was Reina during all of this - she was wide awake taking it all in. And she didn't let go of Chris shirt until we brought her back to the car to go home. She then, promptly started screaming...yes, screaming, until we finally got her out of her clothes, into her pjs, and fed her. Ugh. We didn't stay for the whole wedding; we figured we had maxed out Reina and we didn't want to push it, but the good news is if she could handle that, she can handle about anything, assuming we don't pass her off of course!

Reina has a laugh, but apparently Chris and I just aren't that funny. We've heard it about 5 times and it had been a while until yesterday. She got quite excited when I played peek-a-boo with her. See the video.
Well, now for our next adventure. We fly out tomorrow for a week in Seoul.

PS - notice how Reina and I are matching!

A jumpy baby

Ok, she is a little jumpy, but I mean she jumps! When we first put her in the "jumpy chair" she really just spun around. Now she has figured out how to jump. Here she is in action, burning off those thunder thighs!

Quality time together

Reina has really started being interactive these last couple of weeks. She is SUPER grabby too, which means while I'm feeding her, I have to fend off her constant swipes at my face! She is very close to sitting up on her own, which is great b/c we can now put her down and she can entertain herself....she's ALMOST there!

Today we went out for dinner and she sat in her first high chair. She really liked being up with us! She was given a bowl, spoon, and fork, which she quickly put in her mouth (well, only the spoon, as the other two were a bit "dangerous" for her age!).

Chris and I both have our "quality" moments with Reina. Mine are feeding her and "wearing" her and Chris likes to, well, I guess hold her and change her (ha!). Reina has decided her first solid food will consist of, oh well, EVERYTHING! Her latest is putting magazines in her mouth. Our first experience taught us that babies cannot be left alone with magazines. After giving her her own page to "look" at, I realized that not only did she put it in her mouth, but she gummed off some pieces to chew on! Yikes! Lesson learned.

Continued

AND I got a new wrap that is supposed to be better for carrying "heavier" children and it is also much thinner and cooler. As a result, Reina has been QUITE tolerable of all of our experimentation. I think the video says it all. Sorry for the shaking, as I was having quite a tough time controlling my own laughter! This was Chris' very first wrap (he thought he could do it no problem!). Reina "got Chris" at the end - she spit up! As you can tell, I was a little more successful! Course who knows if I can do it again!

Make sure you read "trying new things" below and our new 5 month slide show.

Trying new things

So, as a parent, we're constanlty experimenting with new toys and theorys in order to have Reina "behave" the best and "fit" into our lifestyles. We've recently added some new teething toys (ie our new giraffe) that Reina LOVES to put in her mouth. She also is getting great with body control. The other day, while lying on Chris' lap, she was all about trying to see the TV (as always) and she decided upside down, was better than nothing at all!

We're also trying to decide which stroller to bring to the states (does she fit?).

To add

And this is where Reina sits while we eat dinner, and this is Reina sleeping in her crib if we get her down for a nap in the afternoon.

Reina's Routine

So, we wake her up at 6:15 on work mornings (and we find her just like this...awww!).
While Chris and I are in the final stages of our routine, Reina waits in her Bumbo. Then I drop her off at daycare. About 8 hours later I rush to daycare to pick up the little one. Yesterday she saw me from afar and got excited to see me. It was really cute. Then we come home, eat, and play before our last nap of the day around 4ish. Then we alternate with a walk or a bath. Reina demands to go to bed no later than 7pm, so I read to her (well, I try, we usually get about 5 minutes in) and then nurse her. She immidiately falls asleep (its wonderful, and I am knocking on wood as I type!). This morning she slept in till 8! Wow, wish I could say the same. I was kicking myself all morning for getting up at 630...guess we're programmed afterall. Our whole routine will go out the window when we fly out though! But, we can't wait.

In other news, Reina went to her first professional soccer game. She is even caught intently watching here! And a stranger held her for a minute or so with NO tears. She actually made it back into my arms and not once cried. There were some unpleasant looks on her face, but its a start. I'm thinking the trick this time was her being in the wrap at the "new" location for some time before trying someone new. Baby steps, right?

We also celebrated Reina's five month birthday on the 5th. She's getting so big!