A very overdue update!!

The true role of motherhood is played out at 2:30 in the morning when you go to a crying child's crib to find poop all over the mattress, as well as in every crevice of the crying child. This has been my life for the last three weeks! Now, this does not happen every night, but there was a nice strand of evenings where I found myself starting bath water at  3:00 in the morning as the flu bug ran through our house. This has played a huge role in my lack of updating our blog. Add in the holiday vacation, going back to a brand new high school, setting up a brand new classroom with four very large bulletin boards, and putting Cooper in full time daycare at the facility on post. It has been a very crazy but exciting last three weeks in our house :)

So, I'll start back where we left off. I never updated everyone on Christmas at the Naseman's! To begin our Christmas vacation, we headed to the big city - Seoul! It was such a great weekend! It really helped us keep busy and keep our minds off of missing our families during the holiday season. We had a tight itinerary, but we were able to fit in a trip to Seoul Tower, Building 63 for a visit to the aquarium, a walk down Itaewon, dinner out at Vato's, and a night of drinks with some of my teacher friends. Here were pictures I managed to snag while we were out :)

Seoul Tower - A cable car brought us up to the top of the tower to give us a great view of downtown Seoul. So pretty! We didn't venture all the way to the top of the tower, but will hopefully make a return trip to do so!

 

Overlooking downtown Seoul

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our stroll through Itaewon. Lots of little alleys with shopping and restaurants everywhere!

Our trip to the aquarium. Cooper loved the fish!

Our night out to eat. Three of my teacher friends were spending time in Seoul as well, so we met up for dinner at a place called Vatos. It was the best food I have had in Korea since we have been here! It is Mexican/Korean fusion and so, so good! We had a great night hanging out outside of the classroom!

 The best margarita ever!

 

We got home from Seoul on Christmas Eve. Just in time to get ready for church and lay out our cookies and milk for Santa to come. Cooper didn't quiet understand the concept of Santa Claus yet, so I can only imagine the years to come, but this year was so much fun!!! Playing Santa has to be one of the best parts of being a parent. Santa definitely knew how to find the Naseman house even while we are in South Korea. We couldn't thank our family and friends enough for all the gifts that were sent such a far way to make our Christmas special. Being so far away definitely has its challenges. There are days that are tougher than others. Holidays are typically filled with some tears of sadness as we wish we could be home, but this year I can proudly say for the first time in the last 3 years, I did not shed a tear on Christmas day :) We were able to FaceTime with our families, begin our own family traditions and soak up all the joy of our families as we opened gifts. Here's a little insight into our Christmas celebration.

 

Video from Christmas morning!

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10100718498625186&l=2545866809762267019

 

Cooper has finally gotten brave enough to go down the slide on his own! With a little help from mom and dad, of course :)

 

After Christmas, the flu bug officially hit our house :( I spent the majority of 3 days hiding away in our bedroom trying not to let anyone else get it. We spent New Year's Eve at home while I tried to recuperate. My attempts of not letting anyone else catch it failed and Cooper entered the flu stage on New Year's Day. He has spent the better part of 2 1/2 weeks trying to get rid of the nasty virus and I've spent countless hours washing and rewashing every sheet, towel, washcloth, and piece of clothing Cooper owns! The bug has not slowed him down one bit! He has been such a crazy man and we are loving every minute of it! It is amazing to see how much not only in one day, but over the course of a week! Here are some of his latest antics :)

 He got away from me during a diaper change on his motorcycle! He is so quick these days!!!

 

He is also quiet the dare devil! He enjoys going up until mom and dad catch him and then quickly gets back down.

Don't even think about it Mr.!!!

Oh yeah? I have a thing or two to say about that! haha.

 

During the last week, there have been two major things happen. One- I set up a brand new classroom in our new building! It is so awesome :) I absolutely love the new building and my classroom is beautiful! It has been so great to see the kids' faces as they enter the building and see all the great things available to them!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Second - Cooper, unfortunately, was called for a spot available at the daycare on post. We weren't sure when the next spot would open up, so we had to take him from Miss Lovi's care and put him into the daycare. It was a very, very sad couple of days for mommy. Miss Lovi was the greatest caregiver I could have ever asked for upon our arrival to Korea. She loved Cooper as much as if he was her own son. Cooper misses her so much and has made it known to the new daycare ladies that they have very large shoes to fill! He hasn't quiet gotten use to the whole idea of daycare. He is very use to a lot of one-on-one attention and gets very upset when Mommy has to leave him in the morning. He even falls to his knees overcome with emotion when I pick him up as he is so excited I am there. Although this makes me feel wonderful, I sure wish he would realize I would never leave him and not return. His first day at daycare he earned his stay with a black eye and big, bloody, fat lip. haha. He was getting to know his surroundings and trying to climb on anything and everything. The bookshelf won this time, but I'm sure there will be a rematch.

 

Now that we are back into the swing of things, I hope to get back into my weekly update! Until then, enjoy :)