Piper is now 9 weeks old! I truly cannot believe how fast it goes. I am trying to savor every minute of it. Of coarse it is hard at times when she is crying and fussing, but she is a good baby. She sleeps well right now, and is starting to smile! She giggles in her sleep, and I think it is the sweetest thing I have ever heard.

Eva is still getting use to everything, but she is doing much better. She loves Piper so much. I am excited for when Eva will be able to make Piper smile and laugh. She has been trying to, but of coarse Piper is still too little to do it on command! You can see Eva's caring and sweet heart when she is with Piper. I asked her what she wanted to be when she got older, and she said a doctor. Then she corrected it, "Oh, no, I just want to be Eva!"

My days are full of tending to Piper while Eva is at school. Then when Eva gets home we either go to a park or a kid's indoor play place. Then it is dinner and bed time. As much as I am trying to savor Piper being a baby, I also am looking forward to when she will be content to hang out and enjoy watching everything. I am not able to play with Eva as much due to holding Piper all of the time. When this shifts, I think everyone will be a bit happier.

I am getting Eva's 4th birthday party ready. She wants a Hello Kitty party at a kids play place called Big Jump. I am so excited to set it all up for her. I have ordered a custom cake and cupcakes of Hello Kitty and her favorite color purple. I think she is going to freak out! Right now she is into Barbies, so we got her the Barbie dream house for her birthday. We will be having her party a few weeks early because Nate will be out of town on the real day.
I love Etsy. All of the unique party supplies are going to make this party extra special. I want it to be, so that she knows that just because Piper is here doesn't mean that we care about her any less.

Hey,

I know it has been a while, but nothing much was going on. This pregnancy was harder than the first, and I felt like since I was sick during the first trimester, I never regained my energy. The second trimester was just as lousy but without nausea. The third trimester brought all sorts of irritants. I started itching all over, constantly, and couldn't sleep very much.

So, giving birth this time around was very different from the first also. Starting on the 21st of April, I was having some contractions and pain. The next day, it got so bad I ended up going to the hospital. They sent me home because the contractions stopped. The pain didn't, and by the 23rd I was in extreme pain. This progressed to a fever, vomiting, and flu like symptoms. I went back to the doctor, and because of the symptoms, and baby's heart rate rising, they decided to induce me. This didn't last long due to our heart rates both going over 200 and my fever not going down. I was given an epidural in hopes of calming both of us, and after this didn't work, a c-section was decided upon. The testing came back, and the final thought on what was wrong was an infection in the uterus.

 Little Vivien Piper was born early on April 24th! She was 7 lbs and 13 oz, and 19 inches long! A c-section is not what I wanted to happen, but obviously it had to be done for the safety of Piper. So, since then I have recovering and trying to get use to having both a new born and an almost 4 year old. Nate has made the transition easier by helping me recover, and playing with Eva. Eva is doing well, and is a truly great big sister. She is going through a tough time trying to understand that she is no longer the baby, and is trying to revert back every now and then. Even with that she is doing a good job. She wants to help as much as possible, and loves hanging out with Piper. I cannot wait to see them grow together, and become friends!

Hey!

I update my Etsy store, so please go check that out!

                                              https://www.etsy.com/shop/ArtByLarissa


So Christmas was nice. It was low key, but that is what we needed. It didn't snow, and truly I am looking forward to it. We want tot go to a few sledding places, but every time it does snow, it doesn't last very long.

We picked out a name for our little one. Her name will be: Vivien Piper. Nate picked out Eva's name, so this time it was my turn! This week we are setting up Piper's room, and a painting corner. I am very excited to paint again, and also to start nesting. I haven't really started to set up anything, and this will allow the idea of having a newborn around again to really sink in!

Hey,

It has been quite a while since I have written, sorry about that. On my last post, I stated that I was going to be running at the DMZ. I ended up not running the race. I found out I was pregnant right after I signed up for it. This was not going to deter me, but then morning sickness hit. For me morning sickness is 24 hour nausea, and for a month and a half- nothing got done!

        Then at the end of October we went to China. We first went to Xi'an. We saw the Terracotta Warriors and a few other interesting things. Xi'an was a interesting. They have less regulation in this city, so the driving was nuts. We have traveled a lot, and besides the south of France/ Italy boarder, and Bulgaria, this was pretty crazy!
        Then we went to Beijing. Beijing is nice and with better traffic regulations. I pictured China would be a lot like Korea, and have some pretty dirty areas. I am sure they are around, but China was pretty clean. We never saw trash on the ground. We visited the Great Wall. This was absolutely my favorite part of the trip. We also saw the Forbidden City and Tienanmen Square. The trip was interesting, but with a three year old, it was the most difficult experience of my life. The amount of patience and anger at one time was insane. I also became sick right before the trip. They call it the Korean Crud. It lasted three weeks, and it along with morning sickness made me lose 20 lbs.

         Korea has been a great place for us with a child. There are places called kid cafes. They usually have coffee and food, and a large play are for children. The one we take Eva to is a place with large trampolines, and then regular play area stuff. She will jump for about 30 minutes, then go play in the play kitchen the rest of the time. Korea is very child friendly. They understand the need to tire them out and supply coffee to the adults!

        We are finally settled in to our apartment. Most of our stuff has its spot. I found a Korean Housekeeper called an Ajima. It is only going to get harder for me to clean the bathrooms, so we decided to hire one. Personally, I am happy about it!!

        We found out that our little baby is most likely a little girl. I am excited about this!! I am 17 weeks right now!

       We have been trying to go to a new place every weekend, but between being sick and then tired, I just don't have much energy right now. I am hoping the second trimester kicks in soon! I will finish my Bachelor's degree in two days. This will open up some time for me...and not bore me to death while trying to produce the same crap for every class.

        Hopefully I have some new stories to tell. Christmas and snow should produce some entertaining writing material!

So....made it to Korea! Just a few weeks ago we arrived. My husband found us an apartment, and we moved in right away. We live in a town on the outskirts of Seoul called Pyeongtaek. We live within walking distance to the base, the nightlife, restaurants, and shopping. It is a small area, but it is nice. Dirty, but nice! A lot of people asked about the area and how Koreans were before I moved here. Honestly, there are smells and certain things that as Americans we just wouldn't do. But, there are things that we do that they find odd. It is just an adjustment. Korean's love kids, and are always friendly. Especially when I am with my daughter. As long as you are nice and try to communicate in their language, they are helpful and go out of their way for you.

On this note, we also have no idea where our car is or our house hold goods. Our car is most likely gone, just because of the thousands that seem to be missing from this company since they took over the shipping for the U.S. military a few months ago. Ridiculous.

Adjusting has not been difficult, but getting on with everyday things is hard without your stuff. I have to wear the same five things. I have to sit uncomfortably to do my homework. I just miss our bed, really! Air mattresses are great and all, but I don't ever want to sleep on one again! A lot of complaining, I know! But...this move (PCS) has been the worst we have ever dealt with. Everything, truly, has gone wrong. It has been stress after stress. I just hope it will all work out, and soon!! The one thing that has made it better is our great apartment. It really is very nice, and brand new. I love the bathrooms and kitchen, and the size of all of the rooms. Good job Nate!

I signed up for a 10k at the DMZ, so I need to get my butt back to the gym! I also signed up for a trip to the DMZ for a tour. The wives here have been amazing, and helpful. I have already started practicing for a CRUD tournament. CRUD is this random ass game with a pool table, two balls, ten players, running, and blocking. You honestly have to play to understand.

I have Eva signed up for a Korean pre-school, and she loves it. She is already bowing and saying a few Korean words. It is a good age to be in an odd situation. She doesn't really get that it isn't quite normal for a random blonde hair, blue eyed kid to crash a Korean school. She even rides the school bus van to and from school.

Well, hopefully I am on here more!

Finished!

Finished!