Calvin at 14 months...

...available for a limited time only!  Every time I hear those Disney commercials, I am just so thankful that I get to soak up each day with this amazing, happy boy!

We have an amazing park.  In addition to playgrounds, wandering trails, and a train, there is a fantastic splash pad where we love to play!  It's so much fun for both of us!

We also have a budding little musician.  We play music most of the day, and he gladly dances along.  He LOVES to play the keyboard and finds other ways of making noise frequently, too.

Calvin is also in love with his stuffed animals.

I'm super excited he's learned to give real hugs and kisses.

He's also a master of funny faces.  It can be super tricky to discipline him with this skill, though!

And, who doesn't love some awesome little boy bed head?

Life with Calvin is just too much fun.  He's still loves so many books.  Some of his favorite toys are his dinosaurs.  I'm so excited that he is now trying to talk all the time, and he has a few recognizable words!  Life just doesn't get much better than this!

Too Quick

Before I've barely even blinked my eyes, we are coming up on a month in North Carolina.  Where does time go?

Calvin is loving (almost) every minute of his life these days.  He lives to be outside and really enjoys our new backyard.  He is walking (and trying to run!), using a few words, and pointing to everything.  He tries to sing along to his favorite song (La la Lemon).  He'd rather be collecting leaves than playing with just about any toy he owns.  He mostly eats whatever we do but loves cheese, strawberries, watermelon, and cheerios.  Calvin loves the dogs but is especially partial to Blue (he tries to say his name!).  I love watching Calvin's curiosity grow day.

Devin is really enjoying being a resident.  We had two weeks of orientation before diving into cardiology.  There is a great group of interns, and that has made a big difference.  He is figuring out a pretty good work/life balance at this point but is definitely enjoying the weekends off this month.  Thanks to all the rain, we've needed our grass cut weekly, so those weekends have been useful for Devin.  They've also allowed us to explore the area, as well.  And, we did get to take a quick trip to Georgia this past weekend.

As for me, I'm finding that mothering a toddler keeps me much busier than mothering a baby did.  We go to the library and the park frequently.  Grocery shopping has become something I mostly do without Devin (we did it together 95% of the time until now).  We meet up for play dates and have started having visitors (with 4 more lined up before the month is over!).  There have been residency events I've been able to accompany Devin on--both with and without Calvin.  Additionally, we have found renters for our house in Augusta, so I've been back and forth with our realtor on that.

In short, we are keeping busy but loving our lives very much.  We count ourselves very lucky to have ended up living in Kannapolis, NC.  We're one month in out of many, many more to come!

Another Fourth

We have spent a very good day celebrating our first Independence Day here in North Carolina.  

Happy Fourth of July from the Stephens Family!

Early Birthday Celebration(s)

Because we are moving the week of Calvin's first birthday (this week!!), we've had the chance to celebrate early.  One party was with friends, the other was with family.  The day of Calvin's birthday, we'll celebrate with just us in our brand new home.  I wanted to share a few pictures before it was too far in the past.

The party with our friends was more of a "one last get together" than a true birthday party.  But, we had cake and presents, so it counts.  Calvin only tasted a bite of cake, but LOVED tearing the paper off presents.  He got his first hard plastic dinosaur toy, and he fell in love with it.  He also got an few books, a puzzle, and new bedding.

For the family party, I decided to make a dinosaur cake.  That first dinosaur toy triggered a fascination with them, so it was only fitting.  I was pretty proud of it!

From family, Calvin got a few toys, several books, and a couple CDs of music.  His very favorite was his xylophone.  He was so, so very excited about it!

This time, we let him have a piece of cake.  He was a little unsure at first, but after a few tastes he let out a loud "mmm!"

He ate a few bites of cake and then proceeded to make a fun mess.

We've still got a few days until his actual birthday, but I've been thinking about it a lot these past couple weeks.  It's a little crazy to realize it's nearly here.  But, we couldn't be happier in any way with this wonderful little boy of ours!

I'm a Mother

For Mother's Day, I wanted to feel like a mom.  Last year, I was madly in love with a tiny person inside me, but I wasn't quite a mom yet.  Mostly, I was just big and hot and hungry.  Devin made sure to pamper me last year, but the day really was just about me.

Something amazing happened last summer.  A tiny baby Calvin was placed in my arms and suddenly nothing was about me anymore.  I wanted nothing more than to take care of his every need.  I felt like a completely new person.  And, in many ways, I was new.

Since then, many little things about me changed.  My dreams, my instincts, my goals, and my thoughts have all had at least some shifts.  Some changes have been more challenging than others.  But, even on the hard days, I have loved motherhood so, so much.  

When Calvin reaches for me, or says mama, or buries his face in my shoulder, my life feels complete.  When I pick him up from sleep, and he melts into me, I feel content.  I loved to hold him and rock him and smell his hair while he sleeps.  But he's also becoming so much fun!  He does hand motions to songs.  He dances and giggles and will gladly find anyone's nose if you ask him.  He points out his belly button and points his little finger trying to be bossy.  He grabs favorite books and toys when you ask him where they are and says "mmm!" with every bite of food.

For Mother's Day, I wanted to enjoy being a mother.  I didn't feel like I needed a break from it, but I wanted a day where I didn't care if Calvin fought his nap or teething wasn't going well or there were other things I needed to do.  So, we read extra books.  We sang extra songs.  We played extra long. We let him stay up a little late, too.  Calvin was an absolute joy the whole day long, and I soaked up every minute of it.  Then, I rocked him extra long.  I sure do love being this little boy's mother.

Happy (day after) Mother's Day!

Dr. Stephens

Just over five years ago, I met Devin.  During our first conversation, he told me he was "trying to get into med school."  I put the quotation marks around the phrase because I'd known so many people who were "trying to get into med school" before.  They were usually pre-biology majors who changed their minds within a couple semesters.  

Within a short time, I learned that Devin was legitimately trying.  He took his MCAT less than two weeks after that conversation.  He was submitting applications and secondaries and setting up interviews all while finishing his last semester of undergrad--with a major in astrophysics.  

Of course, he also made lots of time for me.  It was a pretty amazing time.  He proposed two days before graduation.  It was perfect and wonderful.  At that point, medical school suddenly became a part of my future, too.  We spent another few months interviewing together (I toured apartments and scoped the town) alongside planning our wedding.  Looking back at that time, it feels like we were just babies.  We were so, so young and naive, but I wouldn't change it.

Once we arrived in Augusta, there were many good times.  But, there were tests and test weeks and tests that didn't so great and tests that went better and then more tests and giant board tests, too.  For two years our lives revolved around a test schedule.  Then came rotations and call and overnight call and weekend shifts and of course, even more tests...and more boards.

Outside of all that, though, we were growing up and growing together and also growing our family.  We got another dog, had a baby, and bought a house.  A new car came along and new jobs and new hobbies.  Devin turned cooking into an outlet, and then we turned it into an art together.  We made time to laugh and dance and sing.  There were hiking trips and camping trips and trips out of town.  Now, we are about to take a more permanent trip out of town.

Just last week, we celebrated our fourth anniversary.  Yesterday, we celebrated Devin becoming a Doctor.  While it's not always been easy, this has been a wonderful, perfect four years.  Happy (belated) Anniversary, Dr. Stephens.  Love.

Snippits

Life is crazy, crazy busy and wonderful these days!  But, that doesn't leave much time for blogging.  I've really, really wanted to be better about it.  However, this neglect may continue until we're settled into our new home in Concord.

Speaking of Concord, we are currently in the middle of trying to find a place to rent (we may sign a lease this week?).  And, we'll likely be headed out in about a month.  I am super excited about our new home.  I couldn't ask for a more family friendly place to live.  There will be plenty for Calvin and I to do to keep ourselves busy while Devin is working as well as lots of fun things for us to explore as a family when he actually has time off.  We should have about two weeks to check out our new town altogether before Devin starts work, too!

Since we are leaving, we've also got our home on the market.  It's a little rough knowing that this home with so many wonderful memories will no longer be ours.  But, I like to imagine that the new owners (whenever they come along) will love it just as much and make lots of happy memories of their own here.  We put a lot of work in on it to hopefully sell a little quicker, too.  It wasn't the most fun spring break ever, but it really does make the house shine.

Calvin continues to be amazing.  My breath catches every time I think about the fact that he is nearly a year old, but he is just sooo much fun.  He dances to any and all music (including hymns at church!).  He mimics any noise he hears including a dog's howl or a cough.  He finds his belly button if you ask him to, and he points out our noses, mouths, and eyes.  Calvin is pretty much down to one nap a day.  I love that he is such a happy, smiling, laughing baby.

In other news, Devin graduates medical school NEXT WEEK!!  We also celebrate our fourth anniversary in  four days, too!  And, we have a million gazillion little things to do to get ready for this move and transition into the next phase of life, but it really is happening and that boggles my mind a little every day.  Even with everything going on, though, life could not be more perfect.  Once I clear my mind of to do lists at the end of the day, I'm left with gratitude for this happy little crazy life of mine.