Ten for October

10.  This past month we had a couple opportunities to head to the canal trail.  Both dogs love swimming in the river, and Calvin generally enjoys being outdoors.  The weather was perfect for it this month, too!

9.  I've loved that I have been able to break out some of my fall clothes.  I missed being able to comfortably wear jeans!  And, since I spent most of the cold weather time last year in maternity clothes, it really does feel like I've been given a whole new wardrobe.

8.  As usual, cooking makes the list here somewhere.  Devin did most of the cooking this month and made many tasty dinners.  We made use of the grill a few more times before it gets challenging for the winter.  We also ate some premium sandwiches a good bit.  I tried a new recipe for pumpkin cookies, and Devin made us milkshakes quite a few times.  Also, we received a gift card that let us enjoy a couple dinners at Bonefish and Outback!

7.  Despite all this delicious eating, I get to celebrate weighing less than I did when I found out I was pregnant.  It's been a pretty fun milestone to achieve, but considering the size of my baby, I'm not a surprised as I could have been.

6.  This past month we were able to make multiple trips to Athens.  It was fun to see friends and family.  Our story begins there, so it's always fun to visit.  We also appreciate the break from being in the city and getting back out to the country.

5.  We all loved that Devin was on an off rotation for most of the month.  It was fun to really soak in the family time and slow down for a few weeks.  All the time off that Devin has is definitely one of the very best parts of this year of school.

4.  As mentioned in my previous post, we definitely love Halloween.  It was exciting to celebrate Calvin's first one so well.  We also had a good number of trick or treaters this evening and have a respectable pile of leftover candy to enjoy ourselves.

3.  During one of our trips out of town, we had the chance to attend the Watkinsville Fall Festival.  I look forward to someday living in a small town where community events like this occur.  We arrived via hayride, browsed booths, bought a birthday gift from a local artist, found new Christmas ornaments for the boys, and ate a barbecue lunch and other fair snacks.  Calvin napped for part in the moby carrier and loved interacting with people for parts, too.

2.  Speaking of Calvin, he's growing up faster than ever it seems.  He's now rolling every direction, trying to scoot (but mostly only moving himself backwards or in circles...mostly), sitting up using his arms for minutes at a time, grabbing at the dogs or his feet or whatever else he can reach, and sleeping both naps and night in his crib and has gotten into a wonderful routine with his sleep all on his own.  He  continued to top the growth charts at his four month check up and wasn't even phased by his vaccines this time, either.  Also, he continues to be the world's happiest baby.  Even when he's tired, he will smile and laugh.  We love it!

1.  The next step towards residency is under way!  Devin had his first interview today here in Augusta.  It's the only one that will happen until his scheduled "off" time for interviews in December, but it was still very exciting to kick things off.  It's crazy how quick this whole process is moving right along!

Trunk or Treat

With how very few visitors we receive at our door on Halloween night, our church Trunk or Treat has become the mainstay of our celebrating.  Two years ago, Devin and I were Mario and Luigi.  It was the most fun we'd had for the holiday in years.  While we planned to top it last year, Devin was on call in the hospital for his surgery rotation, and I only went to get rid of the massive pile of candy we'd been accumulating that I was too nauseous to eat.  (Also, I was in charge of the accompanying dinner and couldn't skip it.)

This year, we wanted to make sure Calvin had the best first Halloween ever...and I'm pretty sure we succeeded!  I spent quite a bit of time peicing together a family of costumes for us, but Calvin's was by far the best.

 

Without the pacifier mustache, he was pretty much the happiest baby pirate you ever did see.

 

I think the resemblance is rather remarkable, though!

 

 

We rounded out the ensamble with Peter Pan and Wendy costumes.  You can't see it, but Devin is actually wearing modified tights!

 

 

We'll have to see how creative we can be in topping this next year!

Ten for September

10.  We have grass again!  Our summer grass just wasn't able to handle to dry, intense heat of early summer, so we've been grassless (and weed ridden) for the past three months.  It's finally cooled enough to plant fall grass, though, and it's thriving very well.  Devin has gotten pretty good at the planting and growing of baby grasses.

9.  Devin proved how much of a rock star he is by fixing both our toaster oven and washing machine in one day this month.  I broke the washing machine when a pillow snagged on the lid and tore open, and the toaster oven had been down for a couple months while we'd been shopping around for a replacement.  (I really liked ours, but it's not made anymore.)  Thankfully, with the power of the internet, a couple basic tools, and a lot of patience, they were both fixed as good as new!

8.  I started meal planning this month.  It was a fun challenge for me to plan out a week's meals, make a grocery list, and try to stick to a budget while shopping.  I managed to stick to the budget every time, but I never quite kept the dinners where I planned.  Nothing was wasted, though, and dinner time became much more enjoyable!  I'd missed cooking with Devin, but it was definitely fun to have dinners ready when he got home from working really long days.

7.  Football has been a lot of fun this month.  Both WVU and UGA are having pretty awesome seasons this year.  Calvin was able to wear the little UGA onesie we've had stashed since finding out I was pregnant for the first couple games but has since outgrown it.  So, we are back in the market for gear for both teams now.

6.  The documentary kick has continued from last month.  Recently, I watched a six episode series on the Iditarod and have become obsessed.  I've always been impressed with it and felt a connection that mostly came from having a husky.  We've added "volunteer at the Iditarod" to our bucket list now.

5.  Devin's residency applications have gone out!  It seems pretty crazy that we're at this point in the process now.  I don't think it's quick sunk in how close we are to being done with medical school.  But, we really are very close, and it's crrraaaazzzzyyy!!

4.  I'm back in my small jeans again!  On a whim, I tried them on a few days ago to see how far I had left to go to fit back in them, and they fit!  I really wasn't expecting that, so it was pretty exciting to just leave them on for the day.  I've been back to a normal weight for over a month, so it's nice to get back to a normal size, too.

3.  This past week Devin got his scores back on the written part of Step Two (his boards), and he ROCKED them.  Seriously, he did pretty darn amazing.  It was a very exciting morning in the Stephens household followed by celebratory lunches two days in a row.  He worked so hard on those tests in August, so it was really nice to see it all pay off.

2.  Calvin has hit some pretty awesome milestones this month. My favorite: he's been full out laughing all month long. If he realizes anyone around him is laughing, he throws his head back and joins in. He does the same thing while watching himself in the mirror. In addition to this, he's rolling over, rotating in a circle on his belly, grabbing toys to chew on them, and working on getting his first teeth in. It's been a very busy month for him!

1.  The very best part of this month was the last week which kicked off Devin's four week vacation!  Technically, he has a couple ER shifts to work and several things to do on the residency application front, but mostly we are just getting a lot of family downtime.  After the craziness of 13 hour days and 80 hour weeks for most of the month, it's been a very nice change.  It was a scheduling error that made this vacation month happen so early in the year, but we are definitely loving it!

A Married Little Sister

My sister was going to get married, but she was eaten by a bear.

 

 

Just kidding.

 

 

She actually just found someone who shares her great sense of humor.

 

 

They are pretty much perfect together.

 

 

Despite a few tears, all of the sisters really are happy for her. 

 

Congratulations Kassie & Jared!!

 

If things were different...

...I would have started back at work today.  Even though I know it's not happening, it's struck a chord with me thinking about it this week.  I imagine my first day back would have been a few phone calls, some paperwork, sorting through messages and mail, talking with a family or two, making a referral or two, and thinking about Calvin during and between each and every one of those tasks.  I probably would have cried at least once.

Thankfully, things are not different.  I'm making faces at my amazing child while I type this.  Already this morning, we had snuggle time after Devin had to leave early for work.  We did tummy time.  I sang silly songs with Calvin.  I nursed my baby in the rocking chair.  We played with the dogs.  I took out butter to soften for making banana bread.  I changed a diaper or two.  I stole a couple dozen kisses.  We traded a few dozen smiles.

Later today, I'll change more diapers.  I'll feed Calvin again and again and again.  We'll do more tummy time and read a couple books.  I'll love on my dogs, and I'll probably have to remind them to be careful at least once.  I'll try to clean, and I'll try to have dinner ready when Devin gets home.  I will kiss Calvin too many times to count and snuggle him to sleep at nap time.  I'll take pictures of him so that I don't forget what he was like today as I've done nearly every day since birth.

Today I am grateful.  While I can imagine what life would be like if it were different, it isn't what I want.  Right now, I have nearly exactly what I want.  Life is pretty close to perfect.  And, as I tell Devin nearly every day, I love our life.  I think we're standing in just about the greenest grass I ever did see.

Ten for August

10. This month, Calvin went on his first plane flight(s)!  This was also my first flights with a baby, I suppose.  While it's definitely easier flying alone, my awesome little man made it much, much easier than it could of been.  And, with a messy diaper on only 2 of the 8 flights, we were also doing pretty darn good!

9.  This month, I got to dress Calvin in his first sunglasses and swim suit.  I'd actually started comparison shopping quality sunglasses for babies before he was even born and eyeing many different swim suits back then, too.  So, it was fun to finally get to introduce him to the gear that screams "summer" before fall officially set in.

8.  We watched a lot of the Olympics this month.  I may not be able to play any sports to save my life, but I sure do love becoming an "armchair expert" while the Olympics are in session.  I became pretty absorbed in beach volleyball and swimming more than anything else.  And, it was pretty fun to text with my sister about them, too!

7.  This month we've had a return to eating out.  Granted, it's generally at an off peak time or a low key place, but Calvin has shown he's actually quite good and the restaurant scene.  While we'll probably never eat out as frequently as we've enjoyed in the past, it was pretty nice to get in a couple good celebration meals this month.

6.  I attended a zumba class with Calvin a couple weeks ago.  It's held at a local LDS meetinghouse once a week and is completely free.  It's something I hope to do a lot more now that we've gotten through the busy past couple weeks.

5.  This month Devin and I became pretty engrossed in documentaries.  It's now something we check regularly for updates in our Netflix.  It's been a fun way to use our brains in a new way.  Of course, we tend to be drawn towards medical and social issues more than anything else, but our horizons have definitely been broadened.

4.  Calvin and I visited Yellowstone!  This was actually Calvin's first National Park.  I guess we follow the "go big or go home" philosophy.  I had never been either, so it was pretty fun to explore.  Surprisingly, Old Faithful was (while not uninteresting) one of my least favorite parts.  We found some fascinating and beautiful places a little more removed from the biggest tourist spots.  And, we had my sister (a Yellowstone employee!) to act as a wonderful guide!

3.  The biggest reason behind all of this travel was to see my sister Kassie marry the love of her life.  This was the first time I've been in Idaho in a looooong time.  It was completely worth it.  I had a lot of fun spending the last day and night of her single life with her.  And, I loved seeing her so happy and in love on her special day!

2.  In conjunction with the trip up to Idaho, I had a chance to spend some extra time in Arizona with my parents after the wedding and before coming home.  We visited another national park, found a neat little place to eat, and did some Christmas shopping.  I also loved making cookies with my brother, seeing my sister and nephews, and watching my two brothers left at home with Calvin.

1.  One of the very best parts of this month was Devin taking his boards!  While he had to put in a lot of work to get ready for them, we at least had time with him during his study breaks.  And, after both sections were completed we got to celebrate!  Those were the last major tests of his medical school career, too!  I'm feeling pretty darn proud of him these days.  He's so close to being a doctor now...it's pretty crazy!

Two Months

So, I'm a few days behind (and actually wasn't even sure if I was going to do this post), but I suppose we'll go with the old "better late than never" adage.  Calvin is now over two months old...wow!!

The day after Calvin hit his one month milestone, he had his baby blessing at church.  This was pretty neat for Devin as it was his birthday, too!

It's pretty fun to look back at these pictures and see how much he has grown and changed over the month.  He's now completely in size 3-6 month clothes and size two diapers.  At the start of the month, he was wearing mostly 0-3 month clothes and size one diapers.  I've been a little nostalgic packing up the tiny baby items he's outgrown, but thankfully he's been showered with adorable clothes in his current size.  And, he's all grown out of the gender neutral clothes from his early days!

This past month we've been able to enjoy having Devin home a lot more, too. Granted, he is getting ready for his boards, but it's been nice for him to get to spend his study breaks with us.  He's solidifying his position as the fun parent as those gaps turn into playtime.  Also, he does some pretty awesome voices for all the washcloth puppets at bath time.

It's been pretty fun to watch the physical milestones over the past month.  Calvin has been sitting in his Bumbo seat for a couple weeks now quite well.  He pushes up on his arms during tummy time and loves to stand up as much as possible.  He gets so excited to be upright, too.  Also, he'll turn his head to try and find us or follow us out of the room.  He's also started chewing on his fists to self soothe and gets pretty excited if he manages to get his thumb.

And oh my goodness, Calvin is making so many more sounds!  He's constantly coos and "talks" to us.  Mostly, it's a lot of "ah-goo" and "ooo" and a little bit of "guk" going on.  He also seems to by trying really hard to laugh and making the most noise when he's excited.

Speaking of which, Calvin is probably one of the happiest babies ever.  He's spends soo much time smiling and just lights up to see a familiar face.  I love the times that I peek over the edge of his bassinet to see if he's awake and get greeted with smiles, coos, and excited kicks.  He's seriously a delicious ball of sunshine.

Calvin had his two month appointment at two months exactly.  He weighed in at the top of the growth chart for breastfed babies.  He's also near the top as far as length goes.  He received 6 vaccines total, but thanks to combo shots and one oral inoculation, he only received 3 shots.  He only cried a little with them, too.  However, he had some pretty gross diapers the next day and ran a low grade fever as well.

Two months old is a lot more fun than I ever expected it to be.  Mostly, I think I just didn't know what to expect.  I love that I get to spend so much time with my little man, and can't imagine life any other way.  If two months has surprised me this much, how awesome is each of the next months going to be?  I'm so excited to find out!