Going into the month of November, I had no idea where we were going to be for Owen's birthday. For awhile, it was looking like we were going to be back in California, and then as we got further into the month, that we would still be in Samgilpo, Korea, but leaving shortly thereafter to go back to the United States. Then, we got staffed to go straight to Vietnam, and we had to be all packed up and ready to leave Korea two days after Owen's birthday. Needless to say, it was a hectic time and I'm just happy we did SOMETHING for his birthday.
First off, though, we took a bunch of passport-style photos to try to get one acceptable enough for our visas to Vietnam. It was a process, and we took way too many pictures. The website for visas kept saying our photos were unacceptable, but not telling us why. Very frustrating, but we got some really cute documentation of Owen's funny faces, so enjoy:
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| Pre-hair cut bangs in his face... |
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| Cute, happy boy! |
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| Look over there! |
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| Maybe they will accept the photo if I stick my tongue out! |
Our first step in getting ready for Vietnam was to get haircuts. There were SO MANY THINGS that I was waiting to do until we got back to the United States... because they are easier to do in the United States. Things like stocking up on medicine, hair cuts, clothes/shoe shopping... they could wait a few weeks. Once we found out we were not going back, I had to do a lot to get ready before we left. Anyway, Owen had his first haircut. Mostly because Koreans kept asking if he was a girl, or just assuming he was a girl. I held him on my lap, and he actually stayed surprisingly still. I asked, using gestures and English, for his hair to be evened out, and the sides of his hair to be off of his ears. What that turned into was a classic bowl cut with very, very short back hair, and then longer hair on top. His hair looks very, very Korean, but his hair is not as thick as Korean's hair, so it looks kinda funny. The shop we went to was recommended by a friend, and the haircuts were not that expensive, but it was also just a local hair salon in Seosan, Korea, so yeah, nobody spoke English. Oh well, hair grows back!
On November 9th, Owen's birthday morning, Landon was SO EXCITED to give him his presents. Owen had barely woken up in these pictures, and we got out his party hat, which he did not like, and his presents. Landon gave him his presents, but Owen just sat there and didn't do anything with them. That's when Landon intervened and "helped" him unwrap everything. I think Landon was more excited for Owen's birthday than Owen! Since we were getting ready to pack everything up into suitcases, we kept gifts to a minimum, but we got Owen some very soft, plush animal hand puppets, and Landon picked out a bath toy boat for him.
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| Interested in the tiger puppets |
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| Birthday boy at breakfast! |
For Owen's birthday, I decided to take the boys to a kid's cafe. Owen loved the kid's cafe last time, so I figured if he could talk, he might choose this activity for his birthday. A kid's cafe is barely a cafe at all. It is an indoor playground with an admission fee for kids and adults- but usually the adult ticket comes with a free drink or snack. There are a few tables set up, but then the rest of it is for the kiddos. This particular one had a few trampolines, wooden cube box, grocery stores and kitchen set up, and tons of toys. It is the perfect place to take my boys, who have a small selection of toys because of our lifestyle. Owen's favorite activity, by far, was the wooden cube box. He loved filling and emptying containers, and even played with a few cute Korean babies. Yay for friends!
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| Loving the cubes, and attention from the other babies and moms |
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| Smiles for friends |
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| Cut off, but the face is just too good! |
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| Observing other kids doing the trampoline |
Back in Samgilpo, we had a small celebration with the friends that were still around. Much of the crew had already left at this point. I made a rice cooker cake jaguar cake (I gave back the oven a few weeks before). The middle face portion was his "smash" cake, and there were enough pieces around the side for everyone to have one. It was chocolate and vanilla marble cake, with vanilla frosting and chocolate spots. Basically, I wanted it to look jaguar-like in both the cake and the decorations. I think I succeeded.
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| Singing "Happy Birthday" |
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| Curious about the cake... |
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| Trying a small taste... |
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| Digging in with BOTH hands |
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| OK, now it's just fun to squish! |
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| With the birthday hat... |
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| All done! SUGAR RUSH! |
I hope Owen had a grand birthday! We sure love this goofy boy! Stay tuned for my traditional monthly update on his milestones and likes/dislikes from this past month in a separate post!
Our first step in getting ready for Vietnam was to get haircuts. There were SO MANY THINGS that I was waiting to do until we got back to the United States... because they are easier to do in the United States. Things like stocking up on medicine, hair cuts, clothes/shoe shopping... they could wait a few weeks. Once we found out we were not going back, I had to do a lot to get ready before we left. Anyway, Owen had his first haircut. Mostly because Koreans kept asking if he was a girl, or just assuming he was a girl. I held him on my lap, and he actually stayed surprisingly still. I asked, using gestures and English, for his hair to be evened out, and the sides of his hair to be off of his ears. What that turned into was a classic bowl cut with very, very short back hair, and then longer hair on top. His hair looks very, very Korean, but his hair is not as thick as Korean's hair, so it looks kinda funny. The shop we went to was recommended by a friend, and the haircuts were not that expensive, but it was also just a local hair salon in Seosan, Korea, so yeah, nobody spoke English. Oh well, hair grows back!
On November 9th, Owen's birthday morning, Landon was SO EXCITED to give him his presents. Owen had barely woken up in these pictures, and we got out his party hat, which he did not like, and his presents. Landon gave him his presents, but Owen just sat there and didn't do anything with them. That's when Landon intervened and "helped" him unwrap everything. I think Landon was more excited for Owen's birthday than Owen! Since we were getting ready to pack everything up into suitcases, we kept gifts to a minimum, but we got Owen some very soft, plush animal hand puppets, and Landon picked out a bath toy boat for him. 
For Owen's birthday, I decided to take the boys to a kid's cafe. Owen loved the kid's cafe last time, so I figured if he could talk, he might choose this activity for his birthday. A kid's cafe is barely a cafe at all. It is an indoor playground with an admission fee for kids and adults- but usually the adult ticket comes with a free drink or snack. There are a few tables set up, but then the rest of it is for the kiddos. This particular one had a few trampolines, wooden cube box, grocery stores and kitchen set up, and tons of toys. It is the perfect place to take my boys, who have a small selection of toys because of our lifestyle. Owen's favorite activity, by far, was the wooden cube box. He loved filling and emptying containers, and even played with a few cute Korean babies. Yay for friends!
Back in Samgilpo, we had a small celebration with the friends that were still around. Much of the crew had already left at this point. I made a rice cooker cake jaguar cake (I gave back the oven a few weeks before). The middle face portion was his "smash" cake, and there were enough pieces around the side for everyone to have one. It was chocolate and vanilla marble cake, with vanilla frosting and chocolate spots. Basically, I wanted it to look jaguar-like in both the cake and the decorations. I think I succeeded. 
Great Post! We will be with your family Thanksgiving day! We were really looking forward to seeing the Brown family and will miss being with you. Give a big hug and Kiss to Owen and Landon from us. Hard to believe it's already been one year, sweet Owen looks like a little boy now instead of a baby! LOVE G&G
ReplyDeleteWe're really sad to be missing Thanksgiving! We will let you know as soon as we know when we will be back in California. Miss you!
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