Korea, The South

Here is a selection of images from a recent trip to South Korea. I've always wanted to go here to experience the food and it did not disappoint. Calliegh loved the beef, the fried potatoes, jap chae and more. She is my daughter =).

Click on Calleigh's Flickr album for more pics of Korea (right side bar).

Hmm...The Unmanly Man
Normally, when you see kids in Asia, they are taken care of by the female or helper. With my family, I am usually the one with my baby strapped on me and I look out of place. But does it bother me that maybe I am not seen as the Macho Man? Not really. In fact, there were several ladies in Korea that seemed to like that I was the one taking care of Calleigh. When going down the 200 meter tunnel, going downhill, to view what is to be the exact border of North and South Korea, known as the demilitarized zone (DMZ), a couple of women made eye contact with me. They gave me the universal thumbs up gesture and I assumed that meant, good. I realized, I don't give a flying f**k what people think when it comes to my daughter. I do what I want and don't every worry about looking like a fool. The things one will do for their children is powerful.

New Words

Here is video of Calleigh's new favorite word, "Bubble". She says a lot more babble these days but when asked to repeat words, she is doing well with repeating.

There are a bunch of other words that she can repeat when asked.  Here are some that we have been teaching her:

Wow
WooHoo
Bubble
Boo
Ma Ma (We ask her to say Mommy)
Da Da (We ask her to say Daddy)
Ya Ya (Her Nanny's Nickname)
Peep Peep for Bird
Yeh Yeh (Grandpa in Chinese)
Mah Mah (Grandma in Chinese)
May Yee (Cousin Maci's name in Chinese, she can't get the "c" sound yet)
Josha (Cousin Joshua)
O (Auntie Cathy)



Hmmm....Early Education
In Hong Kong, parents are crazy about getting  and early education start for a child. Culturally, it's about giving their child the best options in the future and bragging rights when a child can play the piano at 6 years of age or getting into a school that is highly competitive. I have researched a school that teaches right brain thinking and it's not cheap. Theory states that young children, 5 and under, have a great capacity to learn quickly and read without having to understand phonetics. But does this really matter? Does this really help? What's many don't know is that comprehension does not happen until after 5. So basically, a child can talk but not really understand what they are saying or how to structure sentences.

For me, I decided that Calleigh will learn just fine, but in her own time. I'd rather her gain some street smarts and experience life from her current perspective. Adults need to remember, the stimulation level for a child is off the charts. Everyday they are experiencing and absorbing something new. Lately Calleigh has been having play time with other kids in our building and it's really encouraged her to speak and do things differently. There is a saying, you are who you choose to surround yourself with in your life. So true.

Touchy Feely in Korea

In a recent visit to Korea, people really seemed to be keen on touching and gawking at Calleigh. It was a bit strange because I have not experienced this except with family and friends. Here is a clip at a train station near the South and North Korean border Demilitarized Zone and a tourist is posing for a photo. She notices Calleigh and just grabs her and gets a photo with her. Keep in mind, I am only a few feet away and no permission granted from me. Cute but scary.



Hmm...Kidnapping
People in Asia have always talked about child abductions and using cute children as begging magnets on the street or selling them off. It's a horrible feeling. But when I saw how fast that woman grabbed Calleigh    it made me think how easy it is to lose a child if you are not paying close attention. When watching the video, notice how Calleigh does not scream out for me or say anything at all to alert me.  It's a scary thought. Maybe I've watched too many movies but as a parent, I couldn't bare the thought and would not know what I would do, especially in a foreign country. I could only imagine them saying....oh well....your fault.

Walk the Walk

Flip flops are nice for Calleigh because I believe her feet is not stuffy. Similar to her Dad because when Dad takes off his socks after some walking, they are soaked! Tonight Calleigh wanted to go out but it was near bedtime, but insisted on wearing her flip flops. So she just decided to walk back and forth until she got too tired.

Hmmm....Shoes
Buying the first pair of shoes for your child is supposed to be a serious matter as it does influence the way the arch develops. Not sure if that's totally true, but we did spend $40US for a good pair of SrideRite's for her and Calleigh loves them. A few times I had her wear her shoes without socks, which to me is not a big deal for her. But after noticing how wet her socks get after walking around Hong Kong, I decided to put those socks back on!

In Da Club

Hong Kong is a vibrant city with the night life where the night starts no earlier than 11am and running until daybreak. Too late for Calleigh so I decided to take the club scene home and created a House Party effect with my camera.


Hmm....Parent Time
So talking about the Club/Bar Scene, it's not usual for parents to continue this lifestyle back in the U.S. But in Hong Kong, with the availability of hired help, there are many parents going out to social events every night of the week. Whether it be networking socials, clubs, restaurants, etc., in Hong Kong, a lot of business meetings happen during social outings. In fact, I experienced someone's parents show up at the same club as their sons! I can't imagine bumping into my Calleigh at the same club/bar when I'm in my 60's! If it can be arranged, parents definitely need that time to interact with adults outside of work and take a break from Disney Channel and toys.

Peek at the Boo'er

Calleigh started doing the Peek a Boo game a few months back. It's funny to see how a simple game can be entertaining. Although it is really cute, it's really hard to keep acting surprised each time.

Lately, she's been wanting to watch her Barney videos and boy, I've got all these songs stuck in my head. I think I'll go out and buy a different Barney video or maybe try Blues Clues. She's not too big on Sesame Street or TeleTubbies.

Hmm...Games
Repetition is common with toddlers. Wanting to do something over and over again. If you want to avoid this, try exposing different games or actions that might distract them to do something else. Eventually, you'll get them to do something new and mix things up. 

Look Who's Walking Now

Almost 15 months of anticipation for that first step, Calleigh gets the courage to stand up and walk. I can't say I've been disappointed but I have been waiting for a long time and it felt as if Calleigh just didn't care. She's become very mobile with crawling and I thought having her hang around kids that could walk would encourage her. As I stated in a previous blog, Calleigh does what Calleigh wants.

Last night, Calleigh used my chest as leverage to stand up and I slowly slid away and told her to walk. She did. I yelled to her Mom "Look Look!". I cannot express how excited I felt inside to see this day come.

It's been some time since I wrote on this blog, but here are some things that occurred with Calleigh in the last 3 months.

• Drinks from a straw cup. She never got the hang of sippie cups.
• Talks more using vowels/syllables, Speech is coming more defined
• Dances a lot, especially to Barney videos, and claps hands a lot
• Had her first Kid's meal ordered at a Tonkatsu restaurant
• Eats pita bread, oatmeal, Cheerios, sushi, ramen, bolognese, Kalbi, lots of different foods and loves cheese
• Loves her shoes and tried to put them on herself
• Officially off formula, although we are still finishing her last can. Instead drinks Pediasure
• Grew taller and has outgrown lots of her 12mth clothes
• Weight is still 3%, but head and height I think in the 20% range
• Learned to finger slide to access iPad or iPhone
• Holds the phone to her ear, tries to put ear buds in ear
• Had her first diaper rash which got out of control and turned to a yeast infection
• Likes to watch Dad play AngryBirds
• Gives big wet kisses on the lips while grabbing cheeks
• Wants to do everything that we do, i.e. eat with adult forks, sit with us on the couch watching T.V., play with a phone, computer or iPad

I'm sure there is a lot more to mention but I guess that's what blogging is for...to capture these moments as they happen.


Hmmm....Changes
When you want your kid to change, they don't change. When they do change it's unexpected. Being a new parent and understanding how I developed as a child, I now see a different perspective. Kids will change when they are good and ready. How they change may not be what you expected. The key is that they grow up because who wants to spoon feed a 21 year old child!