Fiendette Beach Bash Naming

This past weekend we had another Fiendette naming. My three creative friends who were being named decided to lift our Monsoon season blues with a beach party theme! It didn't matter that it was grey and rainy outside. Inside it was warm and bright with all kinds of fun and sunny decorations and treats to make us smile. =^)

 

 

The Three Namees - Jenny, Katie and Christy

I love the creative beach-themed accessories everyone wore

Is that a baby or a beach ball under my dress? (Note my party suit no longer zips.)

My good friends Carrie and Jordan will be named with me this fall!

In addition to fun decorations and food, each naming party involves some entertainment featuring the ladies getting named. This time they played several entertaining rounds of "Minute to Win It." Based on a TV game show, Minute to Win It basically involves giving the girls one minute to accomplish a silly task. If they won, they got a point, which enabled them to either circle one of their favorite names or cross out one they didn't like after all stories had been shared and name suggestions had been submitted. Examples of these games included placing a cookie on their forehead and having to move it down their face and catch it in their mouth without using their hands. Another particularly amusing one involved strapping a pedometer to one lady's head and giving her a minute to rack up 60 "steps" (which involved a lot of head-banging and jumping around). It was extra funny because one girl lent her a silly head band with some inflatable dolphin attached with springs that swung back and forth each time she moved. Very entertaining!

After the entertainment, it was time to put the ladies in the hot seat and learn a bit more about them. Their friends shared funny stories of their exploits in Korea and we came up with many possible names for them. Then they went out in the hall while the rest of the girls deliberated. When we were called back in, the new namee would be christened by the Mayorette with her new Fiendette callsign.

Namings are kind of a strange AF pilot tradition, but we enjoy it as a way to throw creative theme parties and get to know people better. Now my friends and I need to start brainstorming and pick a theme for our naming in late September/early October!

Full Term!

Today is a huge answered prayer! After wondering for years whether or not I'd be able to have a baby naturally or carry it to full term due to my spinal surgery, we have arrived at that blessed pregnancy milestone! While Baby Wentzel is not due to arrive till early August, at 37 weeks, he is now considered full term and has the green light to arrive whenever the time is right.

At my 36 week check-up last week, the doctor said everything is continuing to look great. He is head down (though he still likes to pivot around and move in all kinds of crazy ways), the placenta is not blocking his exit, and he still has plenty of amniotic fluid to keep him healthy and cushioned for a few more weeks. I showed my back x-rays to the anesthesiologists to ensure they're prepared to care for me in the event I need an emergency C-section. They confirmed everything I've already known about how my spinal fusion would limit my pain management options during labor. But as James and I are determined to deliver this baby naturally with no medication (if possible), their "bad news" didn't bother me. Finally, I filled out the pre-registration paperwork now that I'm far enough along to be admitted on base. (If you go into labor prior to 36 weeks, they send you to an off-base hospital because they don't have a neonatal intensive care unit on base.)

Getting all of that out of the way was a huge load off of our shoulders. Now we're just praying that he'll stay put until next week when I move up to the Dragon Hill Lodge. Since the military hospital is an hour away (in good traffic), they have expecting mothers from Osan and the southern bases stay at the hotel on the army base starting at 38 weeks so they don't have to travel very far after they go into labor. This waiting period is called "stork nesting".

In some ways, it's inconvenient to not be at home with your husband during this critical period. But considering they put you up in the super nice military resort in downtown Seoul for free, I can't complain too much. The rooms are comfortable, there are several restaurants in or near to the hotel, and when it's too hot to walk around outside the hotel has a nice pool, spa, and indoor gym where I can go to gently try and coax this little dude out. James will join me on weekends, and be ready to hop on a bus when he gets the call saying that it's time!

It's crazy to think that we could become parents at any time! They say that first pregnancies tend to go beyond their projected due date, so I'm prepared to wait another 4 or 5 weeks... But things in that region are definitely starting to change and move so we'll see. I feel like he's sitting lower and, as time goes on, I'm starting to experience some of the early pre-labor symptoms like braxton hicks (practice contractions) and pain and discomfort in my lower abdomen and back due to the building pressure. Nothing intolerable, but I'm definitely starting to get more uncomfortable and time goes on. Regardless, we can't wait to meet him and start this next chapter of our lives as a family of three!

4th of July Fun in Seoul

The guys had a four day weekend for the 4th of July, and we did not want to waste that time off! However, since I'm very pregnant, we didn't feel comfortable traveling too far from the hospital. Instead of joining a majority of the squadron on their southern excursion to Busan, we decided to spend a couple of days in Seoul enjoying some delicious food and introducing our friends Caleb and Jordan to the big city! Jon and Claire happened to be up there around the same time for a doctor's appointment and because they were flying out of the international airport there for a few week vacation in the States. So we had them take us on a culinary tour of the best restaurants in Itaewon (the international district outside of Yongsan army base).

I had my 36 week doctor's appointment on Wednesday, July 3rd, and decided to just stay up there afterward. James, Jon and Claire joined me later that evening once the guys got out of work. The four (really, the six) Wentzels enjoyed a fantastic meal at a Bulgarian restaurant behind our hotel called Zelen. James and I have never had Bulgarian food before and didn't really know what to order. No problem! Jon and Claire helped us pick six things off the menu that we all shared family-style. Basically there was a lot of meat and cheese and other delicious veggies smothered in spicy sauces. Delicious! My favorite part was the dessert. Claire and I had a large part in demolishing a giant fruit and ice cream sundae at the end of the meal. ;^)

The next morning, while we waited for Caleb and Jordan to arrive, we went out for brunch at The Flying Pan. We'd heard that this was a must if we were spending the night in Itaewon. Of course, we did not need convincing. After living in Asia for over three years, any restaurant that serves a decent western style breakfast is fine by us. And this place is more than decent. Holy cow. Decadent pancakes and french toast smothered in fruit and powdered sugar, or a variety of egg and meat dishes that are reminiscent of Europe. We actually ended up going back the following morning because it was so good!

My french toast with fried bananas. To-Die-For.

After breakfast, the "other" Wentzels took off to run some errands and explore some art exhibits while we joined the Cienskis on a brief tour of some popular tourist destinations around Seoul. We know we'll all be back up here multiple times in the future so we didn't feel too much pressure to do and see everything. It would not be good for the two pregnant ladies to over do it in this heat and humidity! But we got a good taste of the traditional local culture at the Korean Folk Village. Here we saw some of the beautiful and colorful architecture, and caught a glimpse of how the Koreans lived back in the day. Korea has been conquered and occupied by Japan and China so many times throughout their history that they don't have much in the way of unique cultural heritage. But we could see a few differences between Korea, China and Japan. The bones of their buildings look a lot like what you see in the other two countries, but the bright colors are very different from the more muted palate we were accustomed to in Japan. Also, their houses were much more furnished than the traditional Japanese houses we toured. Very interesting!

 examples of traditional Korean dress

Cienski family enjoying exploring Korea!

Americans are a little taller than the typical Korean... lol

Traditional Korean living or dining room

 After the Korean folk village, we drove by Seoul Tower and then wandered around in a popular shopping and fashion district called Dongdaemun. There is a famous textile market there with hundreds of shops full of fabrics, buttons and trims we wanted to look at before lunch. Unfortunately, we had a difficult time finding the market. What was supposed to be a quick stop on our tour turned into a lengthy and unfruitful search in the heat. Finally, Jordan and I had to throw in the towel, and find a place to sit down and eat pronto. We ended up at a little Mexican restaurant that wasn't too bad, all things considered. Fatigue and rain forced us to cut our explorations short and we headed back to the hotel to take a nap.

That night we had hoped to either catch the fireworks display on the Army base, or to go to a Korean baseball game. But we are entering the monsoon season here in Korea and the buckets of water falling from the sky put a damper on our patriotic plans. Instead, Jon and Claire lead us on a delicious progressive dinner through Itaewon. We started with drinks and appetizers at a really cool European style microbrewery/pub called Reilly's Taphouse.

Then we walked down a block and enjoyed a seemingly never-ending series of Spanish style tapas. Tapas are essentially appetizers or finger foods that get shared with everyone at your table. Once again, we ordered a large number or diverse dishes off the menu and passed the plates as we discussed past travels and future dreams over the pounding of the rain outside. I particularly enjoyed the spicy albondigas (or meatballs). The heartburn that followed was totally worth it. haha.

After that, the pregos led the charge across the street for a pick-me-up at Baskin Robbins before hitting the sack. We may have been in a foreign country and missed out on fireworks, but I'd say it was a great celebration of friendship, family, and our American freedoms (namely the "right"(?) to stuff our faces on holidays!)

The following morning we enjoyed one final fantastic meal at The Flying Pan before heading home. It was a short vacation, but provided the perfect diversion as our baby countdowns continue. The rest of the weekend was spent resting and continuing to get our homes ready for the little dude's arrival!

Co-Ed Baby Shower for Wentzels & Cienski's

This past weekend, Jon and Claire hosted a lovely co-ed baby shower for us and our good friends the Cienski's! When Claire offered to put something together, I couldn't say yes fast enough. She and Jon are excellent party planners so I knew it would be a special event! Check out the adorable invitations they sent out below. I love how they focused on celebrating the guys, not just the ladies!

("FNG" means new guy)

Claire very creatively combined the themes from our two nurseries into one fun event! Baby Wentzel's nursery theme is international travel (which also happens to be a passion both couples share). So she set out a huge map that tracks both family's travels and invited guests to write on it and circle their favorite places.

Yay for having baby boys in Korea!

As a party favor, we decided to print post cards with travel photos from Italy (where the Cienski's were stationed), Japan and Korea. People loved them!

Instead of signing a guest book, our friends were encouraged to slip notes of wisdom into these two class bottles. I thought the message in a bottle was a cute idea!

Also, to go along with that theme, they provided a huge spread of catered dishes from our favorite Thai restaurant out the gate! SO delicious!

Jon contributed a cooler full of "Baby Boy Blonde" beer that he brewed himself. This is a new hobby that he and our brother-in-law Sam have taken up. I have it on good authority that it was delicious!

Baby Cienski's nursery theme is storybooks. So for the entertainment, Claire stuck nametags on everyone's back with the name of a well-known storybook or literature character written on each. While we were socializing and eating, we were supposed to ask others yes or no questions to help us guess what character was on our back. We used to play this game all the time in youth group and it usually took no more than 10 minutes. But many of these were pretty challenging and so it kept us occupied and entertained throughout the entire shower. James was The Grinch. I was Super Fudge - which was really hard because I'd never read this children's series before. Thankfully, they let me fudge the rules and guess the name purely because it was a type of food. haha

For the most part, we just hung out and talked with friends. Unfortunately, it was extremely hot and muggy outside and we pregnant ladies couldn't tolerate being out in it for too long. So we decided not to open gifts at the shower, and instead gave a big blanket thank-you and opened them later at home. Over all, it was a wonderful shower! We are so thankful for Jon & Claire and how they keep taking such great care of us here in Korea. We are very blessed to be a part of a squadron that is already so eager to shower us with love!

Special thanks to James' parents and grandparents who surprised us by sending our baby gifts to Jon and Claire so we could be surprised at our shower! You all are so sneaky! We are now feeling much more prepared for the eminent arrival of our little bundle of joy.

Lots of Photo Shoots!

Although I'm no longer volunteering at the chapel, I have still been keeping busy with photo shoots here in Korea. There is always a high demand for portraits when you're stationed overseas away from family! Below are some of my favorite snapshots in the beautiful locations we've found so far.

While I love taking photos and want to continue building my photography business, I think the maternity shoot above will be my last shoot till after the baby is born and I'm fully recovered. It's just too hard for me to bend and move the way I want to to get that perfect shot! Plus, the Korean heat is a little overwhelming, even for only a brief outdoor shoot. Looking forward to picking back up where I left off this fall when it's cooler!