Time Flies When You're Having Fun

As the title of this blog says, time sure flies when you're having fun! I cannot believe it's been over two months since our last update. Phew! Where to begin? Well, for starters, we are still enjoying our time here in Cape Girardeau...even more so now that spring has arrived and we can go outside to play. Just in time too, Calvin and I were beginning to go a little stir crazy. Jake has been very busy with rotations which sadly keeps him away from home more than we'd like. In January he did his Pediatrics rotation and February was the infamous surgery rotation. What a month! After a couple of days with Dr. Horrible himself (no, not Doogie Howser's likeable character) he finally got put with a good doctor. The downside being he had to drive an hour one way to get to work. With two hours of driving each day, Jake took the chance to listen to the Ender's Game books 1 and 2. We are now actually looking forward to our drive out to Utah in May so that he can continue the saga. That may be the only bright spot in a 25+ hour drive with a 14 month old. I cringe at the thought of tears that will be shed from one very bored and cramped little boy. And no, I don't mean Jake...although he might shed a few tears himself after listening to Calvin's complaints for so long. If anyone has good ideas how to entertain a 14 month old for long periods of time, please share!! :)

As for Calvin and I here at home, life is just one adventure after another! Every cupboard holds new treasures to be looted...and eaten if possible!

We make toys out of all sorts of new and exciting objects...remotes, pool cues, toilet paper, and salad dressing out of the fridge. Pretty much anything except for his actual toys. :) Calvin has a strange preference for the Swiffer duster. If ever I open the doors to our laundry room, where it is kept with all the other cleaning supplies, he makes a mad dash to grab it before I can close him out again. That or the broom, can't get enough of either! I guess he thinks if Mommy thinks they're fun enough to play with, there must be something there to enjoy.

One of Calvin's favorite things is to have one of us read to him. He's not actually in it so much for the story, but loves to help turn the pages.

Calvin always loves having a bath, even if it's in the sink! This was an accident! I had just finished feeding him and was cleaning him off. I filled up the sink to let him kick his feet in a little, he scooted further and further forward until he just slipped in, diaper and all! He had a blast and made a huge mess! But doesn't he make one cute Cupie baby!

All tuckered out from a long day and hardly any naps, he dozed off...in the bathtub! We felt so heartless waking him up, even if it was to put him in bed.

This last week has been beautiful spring weather! We've taken the chance to be outdoors. We've walked to the park and even went hiking out on a new trail behind the conservation center.

Oh, warm weather, how we have missed you!

This last Sunday, we were over at a friend's house for dinner and Calvin discovered the joy of slides! We've tried to put him on them before and he was never happy about it. Now he loves them! I even took him to the park and would set him at the top of the slide and with a huge grin he'd push off and go flying into my arms.

Our little helper boy! He did this last night while I was making dinner and Jake was studying. At one point, he even climbed into the cupboard and his little bum was barely sticking out! All the while just jabbering away to himself. Too cute!

Here are a few videos from our adventures this past couple months. The first one is an earlier one of him walking (at about 10 months old). The second is of him playing in the sink. And the last two are some fun ones we took this last week. He is growing up too fast! In only two short weeks, he'll turn one! Wow, what a year it has been!

Week of Firsts

Calvin looking good after his new haircut.

When you have a baby, it seems that everything is always a first. This week, we have been having our share of them! Calvin got his first haircut on January 2, just in time to look good for the new year. He no longer resembles an orphan child without a mother or father. :) The other first for him this week is a brand new little white thing poking through his bottom gums. You guessed it, his first tooth!! I took him in on Monday for his 9 month checkup. As I was telling the pediatrician about all of his developments, I mentioned to her that he hadn't cut any teeth yet. But then while she was doing his check up she was feeling around in his mouth and walah! "Mom, there's a tooth here," she said. I couldn't believe it! Sure enough, there it was and a second one already starting to poke through as well. Calvin's been keeping them a secret! Which is good, I'd rather that than to have his howling cries alert me to what it going on. Hopefully the rest of them are this easy! We are yet to get a picture of his new little tooth, the little boy is stubborn about showing it to us. :)

As for Jake and I, we've had a few firsts of our own. Jake just started his pediatrics rotation yesterday. So far, it hasn't been the best experience, the doctor he is working with is not too sure what to do with a student. She is brand new to this area and is trying to get used to everything herself. He spends alot of time trying to keep out of the way. Last night, they had to admit a 2 month old baby into the hospital for RSV. The poor mother and grandma were there looking terrified as nurses and doctors scurried around hooking the baby up to tubes. So Jake, being the compassionate soul he is, took it upon himself to calm their fears. He explained to them that the baby was actually doing pretty good and everything would be fine. They seemed much more at ease after he talked with them. So, at least he found some way to be of use to somebody. But you better believe that as soon as Jake got home, he was stripping down to shower and wash his clothes. There is no way we want Calvin going through that!

For myself, this past Sunday was my first Sunday in my new calling in the Primary presidency. I haven't had to do too much yet, mainly help keep the kids in check. We only ended up having one hour of primary, because the Bishop dismissed church an hour early so the Relief Society room could get air conditioning. (In January?!) So, I'm getting my feet wet a little at a time for now.

Here's a short video of Daddy giving Calvin his first haircut.

Family Time is the Best Time

We had such a great time visiting family in Utah. Here are some more fun pictures from our time together. Love you all! Christmas morning

Getting all bundled up to see the lights on Temple Square.

Aunt Kimmy and Calvin (what a perfect picture!)

Eric, Miles, Ethan and Aimee. Cute family!!

Mommy and Daddy to be!

Krys, John and Oakley (must be about bedtime)

Calvin petting the puppy.

Calvin (modeling Owen's new Bumbo chair) with Kim, Oakley and Krystal.

Kim and Kandace with Ethan, Miles and Calvin. (Ethan's showing Calvin that a rocking horse is nothing to be afraid of.)

Calvin giving Oakley kisses. xoxo

Four Steffen girls all together again!

Grandma Powell and Calvin having way too much fun at bathtime! :)

Daddy and Calvin warming up by the fire after sledding.

Uncle Vince and Calvin playing.

Vince, Megan and Calvin hanging out together

All together! Families are the best!

Calvin's First Christmas

Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas too!

Powell Family Christmas

We just returned from a beautiful snowy Christmas holiday in Utah. It was so fun to visit family and celebrate Calvin's 1st Christmas together! The day before Christmas Eve, Mom Powell took Megan and I up to Salt Lake to have a girl's outing. We watched the Nutcracker Ballet, which was stunning! Afterwards, the boys met up with us for dinner and a little outing to see the lights on Temple Square. Even though it was cold, the snow falling and all the lights glowing made it a beautiful evening!

On Christmas Eve day, Grandma and Grandpa got to enjoy some little one-on-one time with Calvin so Jake and I could go on a movie date with Vince, Megan and Mitchel. We watched Avatar in 3-D. It was such a great movie, definitely a must-see! Later that evening, we gathered together for the Annual Powell Family Christmas Eve dinner. (No oyster stew unfortunately :)And after eating till we could eat no more, we played a challenging game of Christmas jeopardy. The Jordan Powell family won!! Woo-hoo! (Way to go, Dad, pulling out that '1965' answer!) Then before we tucked Calvin into his bed to wait for Santa to come, we had him open his first Christmas present...Christmas Eve jammies. Just the start of our new little family tradition! But Calvin wasn't the only one to open pajamas on Christmas Eve, Mom Powell got some for the whole family!

Hooray for Christmas Eve pajamas! (Calvin is taking the picture. Heehee, just kidding! He was in bed.)

Christmas morning was a little more special for us this year, it being Calvin's 1st. I think we were more excited on his behalf than he was! We ended up accidentally waking him up while talking outside his bedroom door trying to decide if we should wake him up. Problem solved. :) So we took him upstairs to see what Santa had left in his stocking. And what a surprise he had waiting for him! A rocking horse! This horse even made noises and moved his head and tail. It might have been a little too realistic for Calvin, who was very hesitant to ride it much less go near it! He had the same reaction to T-Bone when we first arrived, but by the time we left, it was difficult to keep Calvin away from him! T-Bone ended up trying to avoid Calvin instead. :)
After opening gifts and a waffle breakfast courtesy of Vincent and Megan, we all bundled up and headed outside to go sledding. Another first for Calvin, life is just more fun with a baby around!

Sledding on Christmas Day

Daddy teaching Calvin how to drive

Cowboy Calvin atop his trusty steed

Calvin checking out what Santa left for him in his stocking

Christmas Eve


Chilly winter evening on Temple Square


Santa Calvin


"Go, Grandpa, go!"

All in all, we had a great time being together with family. We would eat lots of yummy food, do some P90X and then eat some more! :) Jake continues to hold his title as "Emperor of Catan" after beating the rest of us soundly...not once, but twice...at Settlers of Catan. But we were able to get back at him playing 'Ticket to Ride' and 'Yahtzee'. Vacations are the best, especially when you're with family!

Powell Happenings

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

This has been an exciting week for our little family! Calvin took his first steps without holding onto mommy or daddy's hands. On Thursday, December 10, after Jake got home from work, we were sitting on our bedroom floor facing each other and letting Calvin practice walking back and forth. I was trying to show Jake how Calvin can stand on his own and Jake thought if he can do that, maybe he can walk too. And after a little practice, he did! He took three steps at the most and then would collapse into waiting arms. We are so proud of our little guy! And he is too! He couldn't stop smiling the whole time.

Last weekend was our Ward Christmas Social that I was in charge of. We did a ham dinner with a Talent Show following. Everything went fantastic! We had plenty of food (we're actually still eating ham and potatoes here at home!) and quite a few people signed up to share their talents! Jake and I performed a flute/guitar duet and played "Good King Wencelas" and "We Three Kings". Jake also did a guitar duet with our friend, Adam, and they played "The First Noel". And to kick off the talent show, Jake and three other guys from the ward performed an interpretive dance. It was classic!! (I've tried to post the video, but it's not working. Sad!)

On that note, a change happened this week. I was released from my calling as Activities Chair, that only lasted 3 months, and was a called to be the 2nd counselor in the Primary. I'm pretty nervous about what that entails, but I'm excited to work with the new President. Thankfully, the 1st counselor is a returning member of the last presidency, so she'll know what's going on. One good thing is that I won't have to attend Ward Council now, which is especially nice since we're moving to the 9:00 a.m. schedule with the New Year.

Jake had an interesting/scary experience this week in the clinic. He had a crazy patient he saw who has bipolar schizoaffective disorder. She was having a severe manic episode due to over-medication and couldn't fathom that her mental problems were a more immediate issue than the back aches she had originally come in for. She ran out screaming "Make him stop, mama! Make him stop!" An interesting phrase coming from a forty something year old! After an hour long interview with the patient and her screaming the entire time, the nurses finally took pity on Jake and came to his rescue telling him he had a phone call, which in fact he didn't. Just another day in the family practice clinic....

Other happenings this week, hmmm. We've started getting together with friends for FHE to play Nerts and have pizza. So fun! We have also taken the chance to drive around and enjoy Christmas lights. In Cape County Park north of town, there is a collection of light displays where anyone in town can set up their own display. So nearly every church, business and everyone else has one. It takes about 15 minutes to drive through and see them all. We did that last Sunday before watching the Christmas Devotional. All in all, it's been a fun week! We are really enjoying the Christmas time of year. We hope you are all too!

Calvin goes Mobile

Calvin has really started becoming mobile this week! He army crawls all over the place, and I'm quickly realizing that this is going to require even more of our attention. It is actually quite humorous, because if he is really upset that I set him down somewhere, he cries and crawls all the way over to me. I was doing dishes the other morning and had set him down on the kitchen floor to play, which he wasn't very happy about! So he got on his tummy and proceeded to express his anger and frustration all the way over to my feet where he attempted to pull himself up on my legs! I thought he would enjoy his new found freedom to explore and go where he likes, but intead he uses it to get back to me. "I'm free, I'm free...I'm alone." Along with his ability to crawl, he is also getting more coordinated and confident in his walking abilities. He can now slowly walk along the couch while holding on to it and also is getting brave enough to try and stand only holding on with one hand! He will also move back and forth between chairs and tables while trying to balance himself. He loves it all! If you let him stand or walk he is the happiest baby I've ever seen! It is fun to see him grow and develop these new abilities, but it's hard too. I'm realizing that he is quickly leaving babyhood and becoming a toddler. I'm really nervous to think of what that entails. But so far, we've enjoyed every stage more and more, so I imagine it continues to hold joy beyond what I can imagine! Here are a couple videos of Calvin's new abilities.

Thanksgiving with the Powells

We had a very fun Thanksgiving together with Mom, Dad and Mitchel here! Not only did we have a delicious and naturally fat-free Thanksgiving meal...I wish...but we also created many fun memories! Early morning walks, late night Yahtzee, pool games, puzzles, Wii tournaments and a fun time at the driving range! And of course, many cute moments of Calvin's first Thanksgiving. Here are some fun photos from our weekend!

Calvin wants to grow up to be train conductor...maybe on the Polar Express!

Grandpa and Calvin playing at the park.

Calvin's new favorite place to be, atop Grandpa's shoulders!

"Push me higher, Grandpa!!"

Calvin's first olive!

Even Calvin joined in eating the good food...a little mashed potatoes, turkey, yams and cranberry salad. Can you guess which was his favorite? One clue: it was red!