Cori took her very first step yesterday. I think she surprised herself as much, if not more, than she surprised us. It was totally unexpected. I'm guessing it will probably be awhile until she tries it again, but it's neat to know she's thinking about it. She was super grumpy yesterday, and just being very dramatic. One of those suction toys fell off the window it was suctioned to, and she literally threw herself on the floor crying and sobbing. Drama queen, much? I couldn't figure out why because I didn't think she'd be teething again anytime soon. Wrong! When she wouldn't sleep last night and just kept crying out as if she was in pain, I felt around her mouth and found that she's starting to cut her molars. Poor baby. :( Hopefully this one isn't too rough on her. Luckily, we have Tylenol to help her get through this finally. They're still out of it in the store here because of the recall a few months ago, but her pediatrician gave us a prescription for it at her 9 month appointment.

Jesse and I have been talking about her birthday lately. As far as presents go, I think we're going to get her lots of Little People toys, maybe a few musical DVDs, and a ton of books. I don't like her watching much television, but I know she enjoys it once in a blue moon and right now, all we have is a Little People DVD (which she loves!). She LOVES to "read" in the car, so we want to make sure we have tons and tons of books for her. I also really want to get her a sand and water play table, but it will be late September by then and I'm not sure how the fall/winter weather is in LA, so we'll have to make a decision on that later. We haven't really decided on where we want the actual party to be, but I know we're keeping it small. It will just be our immediate family, and that's it. Cori already won't know or remember anyone, and we're not going to overwhelm her with a million strangers. I'm excited for her birthday though. :)

Jesse and I have gotten almost all of our appointments made for our big move back to America. We have something like 64 days until we fly home, and we are so excited. It's really going to be weird to live in America. It won't be as huge of an adjustment for me since I recently spent quite a bit of time in America on vacation, but Jesse's been here with minimal vacation time since April 2008. Two and a half years in a foreign country back to the states is going to be a big transition to make.

I'm still dealing with figuring out something with school and a career. I hate feeling so stuck not knowing what path to take. For now, my plan is to go for my nursing degree, but I'm not 100% gung-ho about that, so I'm still evaluating and trying to figure out what might be a better fit for me. I'm trying to totally nix the military plan because I have a feeling it would be something I couldn't quite adjust to fully, and I definitely don't want that strain on my relationship with Cori. I can't bear to think of leaving her overnight, much less an extended period of time. So I guess it's just a big process of trying to figure everything out and make sure it all makes sense.

It's Been Too Long

So I won't even bother trying to recap the last 3 months. Everyone who has ever read my blog knows that I'm horrible with keeping it updated.

Jesse's in the field right now. He was supposed to be gone for 8 days (we're ending day 3 right now), but he let me know earlier that they will likely be coming home a day early. I am very, very excited to hear that news. Cori and I are doing well though. We've found something to do everyday, and we've had fun. I swear I grow to love that little girl more every moment. I know I get frustrated with her sometimes when she's been super clingy or fussy, but I just remind myself that she's only this age one time, and I'm able to balance my mind and the frustrations go away.

I feel closer to Cori since Jesse's been gone than I have been lately, and my good friend, Allyssa, explained that it is probably because it was only Cori and me for 3 entire months. We had our schedule, our routine, and that all went away when we came back to Korea. Not that I'm sorry about that because ohhhh no, I am certainly not. I LOVE having Jesse's help with Cori because it helps keep my stress levels low and my tolerance levels up. But the fact of the matter is that it WAS just Cori and me for so long, and it's kind of nice to go back to that for just a few days. If I had a choice, I would certainly rather Jesse be home, but since I don't, I'm embracing my alone time with Cori Aletta.

The only real important news that I have to share since the last time I blogged is that Jesse and I know where our family is headed next. In September, we will be taking our little threesome to Fort Polk, Louisiana. Commence groaning and grumbling. Just kidding. All we've heard from pretty much everyone has been horror stories of what a crappy post it is, and how nobody can really like it there. Screw those tales - Jesse and I can't wait. The downside is that Jesse currently is on orders to deploy in January of 2011, which we aren't thrilled about, but in a way, we really are. Re-enlistment is always in the back of our minds and we both very much know that a career in the Army is never going to go anywhere without a tour downrange under your belt. We both wanted it to happen sooner rather than later, and honestly - we're very pleased with the time line. There are a few snags, like when we'll try for our second child, but that's to be expected with the Army, and we both have confidence that everything will work out just like it's supposed to.

Running on Empty

It's really starting to settle in that I'll be leaving Korea in a less than a week. Jesse is having a hard time dealing with it, which makes it hard for me to show my excitement. I really AM excited though, but I feel like by getting excited, I'm somehow showing him that I want to get away from him. He's worried that our families or friends are going to think the reason I'm coming home for some time with Cori is because we're having problems. I don't personally think anyone will think that, but really you never know, I guess. Luckily, he will be home just three weeks after we arrive. He will then stay for about two weeks, and then fly back alone. Unfortunately, he'll then have five whole weeks without us, and I just feel terrible about that. The only reason I'm not flying home until mid-April is because he was supposed to take leave from early-mid April and we were going to fly home together. Then, he changed his leave dates around, but we'd already booked my return flight. I feel really bad about that, but I don't think I could change my dates around without lots of fees.

I've had next to no motivation lately. I haven't been motivated to make big dinners, or even clean. I have no problem doing everything to take care of Cori including diaper changes, feedings, baths, whatever. I just feel like ever since Cori was born, all of my motivation for those house wifely duties has gone out the window. I'm hoping that once I go back to America and re-energize, those motivations will come back to Korea with me.

I really don't have much else to say tonight. I've been sleepy lately, and not feeling the best. I hope it passes soon.

Lonely Thinker

Jesse was called away to a traffic accident earlier, and he's been gone for the better part of the evening. He ended up feeling woozy while away at work, and I can only hope he gets feeling better soon. He has a 24 hour CQ shift tomorrow. CQ means, I think, 'Charge of Quarters'. It's a simple shift, but long and boring. He just sits up at the MP Company with a Katusa (Korean soldier) for 24 hours, takes any necessary phone calls that might come into the company, and basically just watches over things when no one else is there. Hopefully, the shift will fly by for him and it won't be too bad. I just hope he gets home soon since it is past midnight now and he'll have to leave for his CQ shift in about 8.5 hours.

I haven't really thought about being away from Jesse while Cori and I are on vacation, but it hit me tonight when I was wishing he were home. I would never for a moment compare my 'missing him' to someone who husband is deployed or stationed far away, or even away at some kind of training, but I do miss him when he's gone to work. I almost feel like I won't have any right to miss him while I'm in America because we'll be separated by choice. I am just really not looking forward to being apart for 2+ months. I'll deal, he'll deal, and I'm sure by the time the time is up, I'll have realized just how fast it flew by, but still… I'm really going to miss him. I'm not looking forward to sleeping alone, no goodnight gusses, or huggies and shoogies. All of the cute things we do for each other every day. Thank goodness for internet, webcams, and Skype!

Cori normally falls asleep around 9:30 or 10pm, but tonight she didn't fall asleep until about 20 minutes ago, right around midnight. She's passed out beside me, and sleeping like a beautiful, little angel. I don't know if I'll ever be able to transition her to sleeping on her own full time, not that we're thinking about doing that any time soon anyway. There is really nothing that beats waking up next to a smiley, 'ah-goo'-ing, bright, little, beautiful face. It's really hard to be mad/sad/upset when you're staring at a face so happy and innocent.

Anyway, since Cori's fast asleep and Jesse's still at work, I'm going to go play my DS and wait for my husbean to make his way home. Thanks for keeping up, readers.