This Easter was the first major holiday that James has missed since Kaden was born. He was TDY for two weeks in southern Korea. We were a little sad he couldn't be here to celebrate with us. But the ladies in the squadron and I had plenty to do to keep us busy and help us enjoy the holiday nonetheless.
On Saturday, we went to the squadron kid's Easter party at the park. They had a nice breakfast buffet, held an Easter egg hunt and did some other crafts and games. Kaden was, of course, too small to participate. But we had fun watching all of his little friends collect their eggs and chatting with the ladies. I look forward to next year's party when we can help him hunt for some colored treasures!
I think the highlight of my morning was definitely watching him and little Riley interact. Jenny and I were chatting and happened to park their strollers next to each other before leaving the park. I was glad I had my camera in hand so I could capture this special moment: They held hands!
Look at those sweet faces!
On Easter Sunday, Kaden and I got all dressed up. I put a few little gifts from Grandma Zuercher in a basket for him. He actually had fun pulling everything out and playing with it. We initially weren't planning on giving him an Easter basket but now I'm glad we did. Cute pictures!
Didn't take him long to figure out it rattled.
Eating breakfast in his Easter bib!
That morning, several squadron friends and I got together for a big Easter brunch at the O Club. There was a man in a very old, shabby Easter bunny costume taking pictures with people's kids. We chose not to partake though because every time he'd come close to our corner of the room all the babies and toddlers started crying. Hahaha. It was actually really funny. Poor things. I don't blame them. That guy was creepy!
After brunch we decided to try and get another picture of Kaden and Riley. She looked so cute in her Easter dress and ponytail! At first they were very sweet again. But then Kaden tried to steal Riley's cracker and she smacked him. Good for her - sticking up for herself. But I think that may have been the end of their brief romance. We need Jack to come back and reclaim his girlfriend. ;^)
Reaching for her cracker
That evening we went to church and worshiped with our friends. Kaden was very good, so I didn't have to get up and leave the sanctuary to walk around with him at all. I was thankful for that! Our friends were cracking up as he babbled away during the worship songs. Our little musician likes to sing! Love hearing him make a joyful noise. I hope you all had a wonderful Easter! We missed daddy, but all in all, I'd say it was a good weekend.
Our eight month old boy is starting to fill out! He weighs over 19 pounds and is now wearing 9 month clothes. You can tell by looking at his face that he's putting on some weight (which is a good thing)! He's also got some adorable leg rolls going on. Now that it's warming up, I've had an excuse to let them show. Love it! He's also starting to get a lot more hair. It doesn't really show up well in photos because it's blonde. But in a few months I think he'll have a good head of hair.
Look at those leg rolls!
He's also continuing to get more mobile. I have to be careful about watching him because he gets into mischief every time I turn my back. The photos below illustrate this point. Hahaha.
Window blinds make great toys, mom!
He still can't crawl yet, but he can push up on all fours (sometimes all the way up on his feet in a high plank position). He still prefers to barrel roll from place to place. But we're working on forward motion. He will scoot forward to grab a toy I put just outside of his reach.
He is much better about sitting up unsupported. He's still working on getting down gracefully. (He still flops over backwards sometimes). And his new favorite activity is clapping!
We are still encouraging his musical talent. He enjoys playing the piano with us and often directs our hand movements as we play with him. I also give him plastic kitchen tools and let him bang on them like drums. I suspect I'll regret that in a while... But right now, it's cute.
One new thing we've started this month is cloth diapering him during the day. Diapers are SO EXPENSIVE here on base. It's like $10 for a pack of 30, which lasts about 4 days. Cloth diapers have come a long way in the last few years and so it's actually pretty easy and cost effective, even for someone who hates messes like myself. We waited this long to start them because the brand we chose are rather bulky and would not have fit under smaller clothes. But now that he's grown into them, I think we're saving some green (the environment and dollars!)
We've started some new foods this month. I've been trying to introduce some new vegetables, without much success. He HATES green beans. But he will eat mashed potatoes if I mix them with peas, and he doesn't seem to notice that some of the organic fruit and veggie mixes I buy contain spinach. He also loves mashed bananas and pureed blueberries! Not a fan of mangoes, but at least we know he's not allergic so I can give him some pre-packaged fruit mixes containing them.
He's getting close to the age where he can start feeding himself, so I've been giving him large rice wafers to chew on. They're designed to dissolve easily in a baby's mouth so they can "chew" them without teeth. The idea behind starting with these types of crackers is that, when he gets to the bottom and it breaks apart, he has to try and learn how to get the small left-overs into his mouth. When he can do that consistently, he'll be ready to pick up small pieces of steamed fruits and veggies and feed himself.
One challenge has been getting him used to new stimuli and textures. He seems to be very sensitive about his hearing and touch. Now that he's so big, we decided it was time to start bathing him by setting his baby tub in the big tub and filling it with water instead of setting him in the infant sling it came with. Our first time setting him down in water was a huge disaster. He absolutely freaked out. I realized maybe that was too much of a change at once, so the next day I filled up a baking pan with about 1 inch of water and tried standing him up in it so he only got his toes wet. Still had a melt down. So the next day I sat him on the ground in front of the pan with the idea that we'd only get one hand wet. He immediately started panicking and would not face the pan. He twisted away and whimpered while clawing at my shirt like a cat around water. UN-believable.
So I had to intentionally work with him every day, getting him reacquainted with water. First he sat a ways back and just watched me play with some bath toys in the water pan. Eventually he was willing to come closer and try to grab the toys. When he did and got wet, he'd cry. But slowly the cries faded to whines. Then one day he accidentally set his foot in while trying to turn away - but kept it there without complaint. So I draped both feet in and slowly poured water over his toes. I showed him how fun it can be to splash around and move the rubber ducks around on top of the water. Eventually he gave in and started playing. Within about a week, I was able to set him in the bath tub and fill it up around him until he was submerged up to his belly button without him crying. What a feat! Now he loves bath time (as long as we start him out in a dry tub). The next step will be setting him down in water!
Now we love to splash!
He also apparently hates sitting in grass. Something new we'll need to work on. Till then, here are some cute Easter-themed pictures commemorating his 8 month birthday!
Springtime has arrived in Korea! First, all of the cherry trees on base were in bloom. Now all of the azaleas, lilacs, and other flowering shrubs have made our daily strolls around base much more colorful.
Now that the weather is warming up, we've been able to get out of the house a lot more. We've enjoyed meeting friends at one of the playgrounds on base for play dates and picnics between naps.
We've also had an opportunity to walk to the local markets and buy some delicious, locally grown produce. The strawberries in Asia are SO delicious. I bought one of these baskets for less than $5, and then had to figure out what to do with a pound of berries. We had smoothies and strawberry oatmeal and some yummy desserts that week!
Already, it's in the 70's every afternoon. Springtime here is beautiful but brief. Before we know it, we're going to be complaining about the heat and humidity. So we're trying to soak in these perfect days while they last!
A few weeks back was our squadron's annual formal dining in - otherwise known as The Fiend Ball. James and I have been looking forward to this for a long time. We were also both involved in putting together the decor. This year's theme was "A Celebration of Fiend History and Heritage". I helped the ladies planning the party gather lots of pictures of Fiends past and present to be printed in black and white and scattered around on tables and hung from helium filled black balloons all around the room. James helped design a telegram-inspired invitation and the programs. They turned out great! I'm so proud of his graphic art abilities. =^)
All dressed up for a big night out!
Our good friend Tim "CHECK" Six and his wife Nicki were in charge of planning the event. They did a great job! (I must also point out that my talented friend designed and made her own dress!)
One of my favorite parts of the whole night was seeing all of the different dresses. Jenny C.'s may have taken the cake though. I'm not sure how many others would be willing to have our squadron emblem bedazzled on the back of a ball gown!
Love these ladies!
The night involved a fancy sit down meal, a few video presentations, an inspiring speech by our wing commander, and lots of amusing tomfoolery by our Master of Ceremonies - none other than our good friend, Caleb Cienski. I don't think they could have chosen a better person to keep us all entertained. I was also glad that they gave him a job so he didn't feel quite so out of place without a date. (Jordan won't be returning from the States till after Red Flag in JULY!)
Our table
Tim and Caleb interviewing our Mayor, Brian Morrissey, about his knowledge of Fiend history. He failed. haha
After the formal portion of the evening was over, the jackets came off and the guys proudly flaunted their party shirts (uniform mess dress shirts with fancy custom sleeves and backs that are hidden under their jackets until the party really gets started.) Most of our time was spent snapping photos with beloved friends who will be PCSing soon, and rocking out as the squadron cover band serenaded us with hits from the past.
Harrumph to the Fiendettes!
RTB Academy class of '06
I will miss these ladies when all 3 of them move to Hill AFB, Utah this summer
Men showing off their mustaches. So silly...
Me with our Squadron Commander's wife Kristen
We have so enjoyed their leadership and will be sad to say farewell to them next month.
At the end of the night, our friend Nate Hofmann serenaded his beautiful wife Jenny for her birthday
The band
We really enjoyed having a night out and getting dressed up. Sometimes it's nice to feel like more than just a mommy. In fact, while hanging on the arm of my handsome date, I felt like a million bucks.
On Easter Sunday, Kaden and I got all dressed up. I put a few little gifts from Grandma Zuercher in a basket for him. He actually had fun pulling everything out and playing with it. We initially weren't planning on giving him an Easter basket but now I'm glad we did. Cute pictures!
