Here are a few odds and ends I've been meaning to post.
First, here's a video I took at Deokpo Beach. I was up early on a morning walk with Sophie and was feeling quite sorry for myself because she had slept poorly the night before. And then I came across this interesting dance and got a little lift. It's exciting to live in a foreign country, even after three years. You never know what you'll come across!
Second, here are some photos of amusing gift sets for the Chuseok holiday. Chuseok is "Korean Thanksgiving," and it's a time for families to gather for a big meal and perhaps also honor their ancestors through a special ceremony or by cleaning their graves. It's also a time for gift-giving, and the grocery stores have been packed with special gift sets. Here are a few of my favorites:
Sophie surveys the Chuseok goods.
Would you prefer the dried fish gift pack OR...
...the dried seaweed gift pack?
Rice puff candies. Note Sophie's grabby hand in the corner.
Black garlic gift set - You can see the black cloves on the top of the box, under the 1+1 label.
We enjoyed our Chuseok by visiting Mundong Falls, a waterfall in the middle of Geoje, with our friends Sam, Mika, and Eloise.
Mommy and Sophie on the bridge
Keegan and the girls. Eloise is exactly one year older than Sophie, and they are crazy about each other.
Keegan wanted to do some "different" things this weekend, so we had a few new family adventures. On Saturday morning, we took Sophie to the soccer stadium to run and play. She enjoyed kicking a ball around and spinning and running with Mommy and Daddy. In this video, you can hear her squeaking with delight every time she kicks the ball.
Saturday evening we had a nice time barbecuing with our neighbors.
This morning we took a cable car to the top of a mountain near Tongyeong. I hadn't been there since before Sophie was born, and Keegan had never been, so it was a fun new experience. There were gorgeous views from the mountaintop.
Next weekend is a four-day weekend because of the Chuseok holiday (Korean Thanksgiving), so we'll have even more time to try some new things!
I would like to share my favorite part of the day today:
I was cleaning up breakfast dishes in the kitchen, and Sophie was amusing herself by looking at her books on the couch in the living room. I was listening to music and not paying much attention, feeling very happy that Sophie was entertaining herself so well with something that did not involve emptying cabinets or begging for a snack. Then I started hearing a hissing sound coming from the living room. I looked over at Sophie, but she was absorbed with her book. I figured I was hearing things, but no, then I heard the sound again. It must be Sophie! What was she trying to say?
I walked over to see what she was up to and discovered her flipping avidly through Pat the Bunny. One part of the book has a "mini-book" pasted in, and the last page says "Shhhh-hh, Bunny is sleeping." Sophie was looking at that page and saying "sssss, sssssss, sssssss!" How does she figure these things out? I was proud and amused by my daughter, the reader.
As an added bonus, she also raised her hands and spread them wide when I asked her "How big is Bunny?" So-o-o-o big! Just like my Sophie.
Now that Sophie is walking and climbing and very active, we are constantly looking for things to do outside the apartment. This can be a challenge since the weather is H-O-T these days and just going out to the playground is pretty unpleasant. Fortunately, our playgroup friends are kind enough to invite us over for a change of scenery, and they also share their suggestions for things to do. Here are some ways that we've found to beat the heat:
We live approximately 200 meters from the beach. But before you get envious, please note that this is Deokpo Beach I'm talking about. On days when it's nice, to paraphrase a favorite nursery rhyme, it is very very nice, but on days when it's bad it is horrid! There is often a lot of trash on the beach and in the water, and sometimes the water is smelly (we think it's from fertilizer runoff). So we try to get to the beach here when it's pleasant and to go to Gujora Beach when we have a little more time. We also tried out Heungnam Beach, a bit further north of us on the island with bigger waves and looked cleaner and a bit less crowded. Here are some photos and a video of Sophie enjoying the beach.
Walking in the waves at Deokpo Beach, on August 3, Keegan's birthday.
Trying to sit in a bucket at Heungnam Beach, August 5. This was her idea. I'm only holding the bucket up.
The sea spa has a really nice outdoor pool on the roof, complete with water slides and an indoor baby pool that is warm as bathwater. Although many Korean kids are outfitted in life jackets and inflatable tubes in the baby pool, it is still fun to swim there if you can go when it's not too crowded. Sophie loves riding the water bobsled on Mommy or Daddy's lap - I wish I had a video of her ear-to-ear grin coming down the slide. I can't get enough of it! After swimming in the pool for a while, you can visit the spa restaurant for ramen or spicy soup and rice.
Chilling at the sea spa, July 20.
3. Play in the fountain near the ferry terminal.
One of the consequences of the new bridge from Geoje to Busan is that the passenger ferry no longer runs from Okpo, so now the ferry terminal is just a relic. But there is a small park next to the terminal with a playground and a fountain that runs in the summer. Kids can run around in the jets and get soaked - perfect for sweltering summer days!
Playing in the fountain with lots of friends on August 4. She was actually having a good time, even though she looks miserable. Also, no babies were harmed during the filming of this video, despite the spill you see at the end.
4. Put a wading pool out near the playground.
This is only semi-successful with Sophie, since she likes to climb in and out of the pool and try to run into the hot parking lot in her bare feet. But it's nice to have a way to cool off right outside the apartment. There are inflatable pools for sale everywhere these days, and we're lucky to live somewhere where it's easy enough to fill one up.
Sophie swimming with Anna-Lynn on June 12. We miss Anna-Lynn and her family, who are in Florida for a long vacation.
Look for the rainy day list sometime soon - we have been busy, busy, busy!
