I'm a Korean!!!

They have these huge posters hanging up around the school and 9 times out of ten the Koreans that come here will have their picture taken next to one of these huge posters. When the girls go have their picture taken it is a huge deal, they will hug the picture, kiss the picture, freak out when they just see the picture. So, well, I wanted to be like all the Koreans! (Not). I just couldn't help myself after seeing 10 billion Koreans kiss this picture, I had to too! 

hehe! He is just so hot... 

errr... not! (Hey, I only have eyes for my hubby and he's too girly for my taste)

Ok, ok, I know, maybe I'm a little mean but what can I say, I wanted to be like the Koreans too...

Mountain Climbing

The other day Josh and I took this lovely little, but very steep, path part way up the mountain behind our school...

We got a very good view of the school from there but we had the stroller with us and it was getting really difficult to go any further so we turned around and went home.

Today on the other hand we decided to go back up again for a short walk and we brought a backpack carrier for Gabriel to sit in so it would be easier. We didn't bring anything with us because we had only planned on being gone for maybe a half hour... but it didn't turn out that way! First we decided to go off the path just a little bit up this hill because it was covered in chestnuts and we wanted to find some...

... and I found some cool mushrooms...

Once we got to the top of this little hill we found a path so we decided to see where it led to. We found out that there were a few graves up there...

At this point we were already this high...

On the other side of the graves we saw another little path, so we decided to see where it led to...

It was very beautiful walking around and nothing was really super steep so we kept going...

Well, we soon found out that the path started to get steeper and steeper... and we were running out of energy and breath! But, we kept seeing these crests and it looked like it was the top so we kept going up and then realizing that there was another crest and another and another, each one we were thinking was the top...it actually got disappointing after awhile because each time you were so excited to get to the top and then you were never really there!

 Josh carried Gabriel the whole way!

So in this picture I basically just turned to the side from our path and took a picture... you can see how steep it is!

We finally, sort of, made it to the top! As you can kind of see from the pictures, the forest is very thick here and even when we got to the top we couldn't really see anything so I didn't take any pictures (and we weren't exactly pretty looking from a hike that wasn't planned). And I say we 'sort of' got to the top because we were exhausted and got to one of the crests towards the top when we realized that it looked like there was yet another one. We really needed to get back because as I said before, we didn't bring anything, it was supposed to be a short walk after all so we never went up, what we think was, the final big crest. Oh well, I still say that I climbed the mountain:) The walk down though nearly killed us, literally. It was very steep and slippery and we lost our footing quite a few times! No tumbles though and no broken bones so we were pretty happy! We were just very tired and hot and thirsty when we finally got home about 2 hours after we left!

Package

Look at what we got in the mail!!!

Now... we just have to decide what to do with it... hmmm...

Gabriel

Gabriel used to be such a little peanut. When he was born he weighed just under 7 pounds and by the time we left the hospital 5 days later he weighed just over 6 pounds by a smidgen. He had gotten sick and wouldn't eat so he lost almost an entire pound. When Josh held him, Gabriel fit perfectly into the crook of Josh's arm. Literally, he would rest his head by Josh's elbow and his feet in Josh's hands. It definitely was not hard to carry him around. 

This was the day we left the hospital, Gabriel was 5 days old...

When we got home Gabriel needed to be woken up to be fed periodically so as to push the jaundice out of his body. I still remember the days of setting my alarm clock for 3AM in case Gabriel didn't wake up on his own to eat. 

Gabriel was also born via c-section and I remember many nights holding him while still in pain crying because I had wanted a natural birth so badly and I felt like I had failed him. I also remember trying to drive the first time after my surgery and almost falling asleep at the wheel because I was so tired from my medication, but Gabriel needed to go to the doctor which was an hour away so I did it and fought sleep the entire time. 

I remember when Gabriel got older he started to have periods when he was awake for a very long time. It almost drove me crazy because I thought he was the only newborn in history that wanted to stay up for hours and hours on end. His longest time without a nap was when he was 3 months old and stayed up from about 8AM until 1AM. He did it a lot and I thought it would never end.

Gabriel when he was about 4 months old...

Gabriel used to depend on me for everything. He still does in a way but definitely not as much. He depended on me as a source of nourishment, cuddles, a sleep buddy, a play buddy, a comfort pillow, really anything, that's what babies do.

Now Gabriel is older. He does not depend on me for absolutely everything anymore. I still provide his food but not in the same way, he rarely asks/wants cuddles. We definitely do not sleep together anymore... I don't think either of us would ever get any sleep if we tried. He wants to play sometimes but usually he prefers to play by himself and wanders from room to room seeking what thing he can destroy next. I'm still holding on to my last one though, I'm still his comfort pillow. Whenever he gets a bump or is crabby, he always asks for Mommy. I love it. I hate that he gets hurt and I would love it if he stopped getting bruises, but I love that he still needs me in that way. I know he needs me in all the other ways and many more that I didn't mention, but babies change so much, I just miss many parts of when he was an itty bity baby. 

Gabriel when he was about 6 months old...

Josh and I can no longer hold him in one arm, at least not him laying down. Heck, it's a miracle if he actually lays down in our arms, even if he is sleepy he will try his hardest to stay awake and to do so he forces us to let him sit in our arms, not lay. He grew a whole inch the other night. I kid you not. He woke up one morning and the second I saw him I said 'wow Gabriel, you look so different, I think your bigger' and then when I got him from his nap he was able to look over the top of his bed so much better. I went and measured him and from the time I measured him and the beginning of the month to now he grew an inch. 

Gabriel is rather small for his age though. According to all the percentiles he is in the 50th for his height and at or below 25th for his weight and head circumference. I don't mind though, it's just numbers and I know he is healthy. 

Gabriel is a little monkey. He loves to climb on anything. He figured out how to push his toy elephant up to things and use it as his stepping stone. Doing this he has climbed on the kitchen chairs, coffee table and tries to get on top of the TV stand but he's a bit too small. I never doubt what he can do though, I'm sure soon I will be rescuing him from that as well. He is very determined sometimes. 

Gabriel's determination can get him into a lot of trouble though. He gets more bumps and bruises then the average baby. He is determined to run, but he is just not very good at it yet so he always falls and is many times going too fast to catch himself so he gets a bump. I will hold his hand if we're outside where the ground isn't soft but he will be determined to do it on his own and lets go and many times falls and gets a bump. Even though he has fallen many times trying to use his elephant to climb on things, he still does it even though the elephant has wheels and rolls away sometimes. It's not like I'm a bad mom either... or at least I hope not. I watch him all day long and the second I go to the bathroom or look the other way he will climb on something. I think he just loves the thrill of it. I'm being completely honest! He truly loves the thrill. He will climb on the couch and then fall, on purpose and giggle and do it over and

 over again. Now it's not so much as falling, it's more of throwing himself has far and as hard as he can across the couch and then giggling and doing it again. He is 100% true boy... seek and destroy and danger=fun. 

Gabriel is a very picky eater. Oh. My. Gosh. He is very picky. If he doesn't like the tiniest bit of something in a bite, he will spit it out. If the bite is too big, he will spit it out. If he just doesn't feel like eating that particular thing that day, he spits it out. If he wants a drink, he will spit out the bite. If he is full, he will spit out the bite. If it's the wrong texture, you guessed it, he will spit it out. We have had many 'arguments' over this... he doesn't change or learn. I've gotten good at reading his mind though, I try to anticipate what he wants next, but sometimes he will still surprise me and/or drive me crazy:) 

Gabriel is a pretty good sleeper now. Most of the time. If we go out for the day it is hard to get him to sleep in the carrier or stroller. At home though we can almost always get him to sleep. Almost always takes a nap and is in bed by 8PM. Though, when he is tired, he is very tired. At night he will sometimes walk from one end of the apartment to the other and cry. Doesn't want to be held, doesn't want to play, just holds his hands up and waves them as he walks back and forth and cries. He will look at us and I'll say 'Gabriel, come here and Mama will hold you' and he looks for a second and then turns around and cries as he walks away. It's almost kind of humorous and it only lasts for a few minutes before he is done and then he will maybe want to be held or will play, read books or watch Thomas the Train before he goes to bed. 

Gabriel can be a royal stinker when he doesn't want to do something. If Josh lets him out of the high chair before I get to cleaning him, it can turn into a wrestling match on the living room floor because he doesn't want his face wiped or I will have to chase him around the house with wipes. I'm not saying my kid is a brat by any means, he actually listens really well... he just has a stubborn streak to him (I think he gets it from Josh *wink). Talking about listening... Gabriel is very good at it for his age. Sometimes he will touch something he's not supposed to and I usually only have to tell him 'no' once or say 'Gabriel Joshua, NO, you come here' and he will immediately stop and waddle over... most of the time... he is a baby after all:) In part of his stinker-ness, he will not look at a camera is we want him too. Everything else besides the camera is more interesting and if we get a picture with him looking at a camera and smiling,

 well it's almost a miracle. 

Gabriel also loves everything that is not a toy. His favorite toy is the box in the living room. If we get something in the mail, he will play with the packaging for hours. Even just a clean diaper is more fun then a stuffed animal, or the wipe package... oh my the wipe package. If the wipes are within his reach, he will get them and immediately open them up and pull out as many as he can before I rush over and stop him. He will also get a hold of the TV remote, which he knows he is not supposed to have and push all the buttons. Last night he was on his knees on the couch when I realized he had it and all I had to do was say 'Gabriel' and he immediately hugged the controller and bent over so his head was touching the couch and his butt in the air in his attempts to hide it from Mama and then pushed all the buttons... stinker! 

I love being a mom to Gabriel, I can't imagine life without him. He is such a blessing to us and together we discover new things every day. Now my baby Boo isn't really a baby anymore, even though I still call him one, he is a toddler and as you can tell from the pictures, he is changing so much in such a short period of time. 

Gabriel a few days after we moved to Korea (almost 6 months ago)...

Gabriel now...

Autumn

Today Josh and I took a walk about with Gabriel in his stroller around the school and down the road. Autumn is slowly creeping it's way into Korea and so far I am loving it. I love the color of the trees and the cooler days and nights. I love that gardens are ready to be picked and the sound of leaves crunching under my feet. To me, Fall is the best time of the year. 

Around English Village the trees are changing color much faster then anywhere else. I think it's because at English Village all of the trees have been recently replanted around the school, everywhere else in Korea they are still green. That is, except my favorite tree. This tree is in the middle of a rice field on the edge of the road on the way into town. It is the only tree that has started to change color besides the ones at the school. 

You can probably see what I mean about it being on of the few changing trees here. In the background, on the mountain side, you can see only green trees. 

I love Fall, but I am sad that it only lasts for a short period of time. Then the leaves will fall completely and the cold winds will blow and though I love snow, I am sad that Fall has to end so quickly. 

I also have some other pictures from our walk, I hope you enjoy!