Kaden's 4 Month Update!

How time flies. Our little man is now 4 months old! Over all, he is doing pretty well. He now weighs just over 13 pounds. The doctor was a little concerned that his growth has slowed down and so she recommended that we start him on solids soon. I know Kaden will not object to more food since it seems he is always hungry! Even though he is thinner than he could be at this point, he's still developed some adorable little rolls on his legs. Really, I think his small stature is a blessing in disguise because I'm not sure how my back would hold up if he kept growing at a rapid pace.

This month he was still sleeping well while swaddled in his car seat. However, the doctor also recommended we start transitioning him into sleeping in his crib so I have a feeling I'll be kissing my peaceful nights good bye here in a few days. =^/ He's also got a little head flattening going on. It's not bad enough to wear a shaping helmet like some babies have to, but we need to find ways to keep him off of his back for longer stretches during the day. Since tummy time is really just roll-over time, we'll need to work harder on strengthening his core muscles so he can sit up more. So many projects!

He's had a lot of positive development this month, too. His hand-eye coordination is definitely improving. He can easily reach for and grasp onto things he's interested in. Unfortunately, that usually involves tugging on my hair and trying to grab my glasses off my face or my phone out of my hand. He's also starting to explore his body. He's discovered his ears and his feet. A new favorite past time is sucking on his toes. I have no idea where he gets his flexibility - it's definitely not from his father or myself. But it is pretty funny to watch!

Kaden continues to be very expressive. I know where he got THAT trait from. ;^) Lately he's started making this face at me over and over again:

 

 

He is such a goof ball, and definitely keeps me laughing. Thankfully, we were finally able to return the favor! James was able to get Kaden to laugh for the first time while we were on vacation last month. I missed it the first time, but the second time I caught it on video. It's a little dark, but you can hear those adorable little high pitched giggles:

Recently we got the famous baby triad together and had fun comparing how much they've all grown and changed in the last four months. Jack has definitely overtaken Kaden in size and weight, but at least our son is still bigger than Riley. Not only did they play nicely together that day, they even all hooked arms when I was taking the photo of them side by side! United in friendship from day one. <3 p="">

 We look forward to celebrating Kaden's first Christmas. I couldn't think of a better theme for his 4 month photo shoot! Enjoy these festive snapshots of our handsome boy!

Orphanage Visit

Every year, our squadron throws a Christmas party for a local orphanage. Orphanages in Korea are a little different than those in the States. Some kids do not have any parents and are truly on their own. But many others are simply placed in this State-sponsored home because their parents cant afford to take care of them. The parents still visit periodically, but they are not responsible for raising or caring for their offspring. It's very sad.

Each Christmas, families in our squadron buy gifts for one or two children. They give us a short list of things they need or want, and we throw in a couple extra toys for fun. Most requests are small - a ball to play with or a hat to keep them warm. James and I were assigned a 9 year old boy who wanted socks and some cookies. We enjoyed spoiling him a bit by adding some toy cars and dinosaurs to his gift bag.

Then, a couple weeks before Christmas, we all caravan out there to deliver the gifts and play with the kids. To show their appreciation, they put on a little performance. The younger kids did a choreographed dance to what sounded like a Korean version of Rudolf the Red Nosed Reindeer. So cute! Then the older students played the drums. It was VERY impressive!

(Above is a video I took of part of the drumming.)

We couldn't get enough of those cute little kids! Our children enjoyed the presentation too.

 

After the kids were finished performing, our squadron commander went up front and presented the orphanage with the money they needed to buy a new washing machine. Apparently theirs is broken and they couldn't afford to fix it. After his announcement, one of the Korean teenagers yelled out "I love you!" hahaha. Then, the commander pretended to get a phone call from the flightline saying that St. Nick was inbound. The young kids, Korean and American, were excited to greet our own squadron Santa who came to present these precious youngsters with their gifts.

 One by one, the children's names were called. They came up on stage and received their gift and took a picture with Santa. Pretty soon, our American kids were all up on stage, helping hand out presents and jumping in photos. Apparently some parents of real small kids had to do some damage control as their youngsters were asking when it would be their turn to receive a present. Oh, the dilemmas of parenthood!

 Over all, it was a very special day. It was a little chaotic up front as the children were opening their gifts so it was difficult for us to spot the one who had our gift and figure out whether or not they liked it. But in general, there was much excitement. Nothing beats putting a smile on a small child's face at Christmas time.

 After the gifts were opened we all went downstairs and shared a meal that the orphanage staff had cooked. We left them with a table full of holiday baked goods to enjoy over the next couple of weeks. We may not think a small gift and some cookies are much to get excited about. But for children who have been abandoned, a morning of attention and something special given specifically to them can mean the world. I'm so thankful that, for Kaden's first Christmas, we were able to start a tradition of giving back to those in need. After all, the best part of the season is giving, not receiving. =^)

Start of the Christmas Season - Spouse Christmas Coffee!

I kicked off the holiday season with a wonderful sit-down meal at our commander's spouse's house. In place of our normal monthly "coffee," Kristen and our DO's wife Brandi moved all of the furniture out of the apartment, set tables with candles and holiday decorations, and cooked a traditional family dinner for the ladies in our squadron.  Their husbands helped serve us a three course meal and kept our glasses charged all night. They certainly made us all feel special!

 In addition to food and fellowship, we had a fun combat gift exchange with Christmas ornaments. Essentially, we all drew numbers from a hat to determine the order in which we picked an ornament. When it was your turn, you could either pick a wrapped package to unwrap, or you could steal someone else's ornament. If your ornament got stolen, you can either pick a new one or steal someone else's. Each ornament could only be stolen 3 times and then it was "dead" and you could keep it. Of course, everyone provided beautiful trinkets to choose from so it was difficult to decide if you should steal or risk drawing something from the pile. Many people had taken time to make squadron themed decorations. Those got stolen A LOT. I brought an ornament made out of a starfish I bought while we were in California. That was also a popular choice! The one I ended up with was very representative of Korea and ended up being a Christmas gift for my mother-in-law who collects ornaments!

starting to open ornaments!

Laughing after stealing a gift! So fun.

 I enjoyed our trip home to the States, but it was wonderful coming home and celebrating the season with my Air Force family!

Our lovely hostesses! They are the best.

Kaden's First Trip to America - Part 2

Our trip to America involved one week with my family in Kentucky and one week with a large part of James' family in California. Unfortunately, we weren't able to take off enough time to see his dad's family in Portland, OR or Kaden's third set of great grandparents in Maine. Someday, we will find a way to get up there! Till then, I hope you all know we're thinking of you!

Our first few days in California were spent in James' hometown of Santa Barbara, visiting with his parents and grandparents. They could not get enough of Kaden! I enjoyed watching their faces as they laughed and cooed over our little man. Very special memories!

4 Generations!

Mid-week, we took a short roadtrip up the coast to visit James' older brother Jon and his wife Claire who are currently living in Monterey studying Portuguese at the military language school there. It was a beautiful drive, but I'll admit that Nancy and I were a little distracted by this view:

Stopped for lunch at a cute cafe in Morro Bay

We arrived in Monterey just as the sun was setting. As always, Jon and Claire have an amazing and unique house, right in downtown. It's a three story home with an open loft style living space on the top floor, complete with a wall of plate glass overlooking the bay. Not too shabby! Claire prepared a delicious home cooked meal for us, complete with a classy holiday place setting. It was great catching up with them and seeing all of the stuff she has collected as they prepare to welcome their baby girl next month. We are sad we won't be there to meet her when she's born, but hopefully we can make a trip to Portugal next year to visit all three of them!

 Kaden loves his aunt and uncle!

Grandma and Grandpa Phinney had to steal him back for some playtime! ;^)

The next morning we drove around Monterey Harbor and Cannery Row taking in the gorgeous sights of this coastal city. Not a bad place to be stationed! Jon and Claire are very lucky.

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The color of the water there was amazing!!! I couldn't take enough pictures of the waves.

 We took a break in the middle of our touring to eat lunch with Jon and Claire. I can't tell you enough how much I love California cuisine! Healthy, fresh and flavorful. I got a spicy black bean burger with cheese and a basil aioli. Delicious! We topped the meal off with some fresh beignets (New Orleans style doughnuts.) If only we could eat like that all the time!

Sad to say good bye to Kaden after so short a time!

Can't wait to meet this little lady!

 Before returning to Santa Barbara, we took the famous 17 mile drive along the coast. This is an exclusive road that hugs the ocean and is lined with world class golf courses and GIANT homes. The views were outstanding! Too bad the weather wasn't any better. It was very cold and windy on the beach there!

That's a lot of seals!

One of the average sized houses along the 17 mile drive!

The famous lone cypress

My favorite travel companion

Even though the weather was not ideal, we had to take Kaden down and show him the ocean. I think he likes the beach! Next time we're in California, we'll actually let him dip a toe in. Till then, pictures will suffice.

The great thing about being back in the States is reuniting with all of our military friends who live there. Our close Misawa friends, Chris and Kendall Nations, are currently stationed at Edwards AFB in California so we met up with Kendall and their son Keagan for lunch in Ventura. It was fun introducing our boys. Hopefully they will grow up to be good friends.

 That afternoon we said a final farewell to James' grandparents because the following morning we were driving to San Diego to visit his brother Sam and his family.

I think Nancy could sense our time was drawing short. He held Kaden's hand all the way down to SD!

 We only had a couple days in San Diego, but made a point to meet up with one of our best friends named Ren Cowan. She was in our wedding and helped throw a baby shower for me in CO when we were there last March. She was so excited to meet our handsome boy!

Most of our time with the Phinneys was spent playing with our nieces. They are getting so big and love to rough house! Madison started kindergarten this year and was, therefore, much more outgoing and friendly toward us. Usually she just starts to warm up and talk to us right as we're leaving their house. So James enjoyed playing with the girls and even read them a bedtime story! Little Abigail is so girly and LOOOVED looking at the baby! What a sweetheart.

 I think the nature of traveling with a baby is that a lot of your time is spent just hanging out and keeping them entertained. Our time in San Diego was pretty low key, but we enjoyed some good laughs and ate at a few of our favorite fast food restaurants including Chipotle and In-N-Out Burger! Yum.

Kaden loves his daddy!

 Before we knew it, our time with family was over. We knew James' mom would be very sad to say farewell so we let her give Kaden a bath and read him a bedtime stories from his Bible before we said good bye. I'm sure that was the first of many books she will read him in the future!

 It was very hard to say good bye to family since we're not sure when we will see them again. Hopefully we'll be able to plan another trip home sometime in the next year. Till then, you can find all kinds of photos and stories from our life here in Korea on this blog!