Keeping Up With the Powells

New York New York

2011-01-27T12:02:00.000-08:00

In my haste to post what we had been up to this holiday season, I almost forgot to share our most recent family trip with you! In mid-December, Marion surprised me with a day trip to New York City as an early Christmas present to go see the Rockettes. I was super excited since that has always been my favorite show. And for as many times as I have been to the Big Apple, I had yet to see it in all of its holiday wonder. So we dressed up the little man, threw the stroller in the car, and headed to the train station. Michael did exceptionally well on the way up and was busy looking out the window the majority of the time.

We got to Penn Station about an hour before the show, and still had about 15+ blocks to walk to get to Radio City. Oh, and did I mention that it was brutally cold?? So we got to power walking, Marion pushing the stroller down the crowded streets and me hauling my huge 8 month pregnant belly along. But hey, I had motivation. It was the Rockettes after all!

Michael actually did great sitting through the show. He referred to them as the 'ladies dancing'. He even spent some of the show standing in front of his chair dancing along. :) He's such a cutie.

After the show, we hit up Mars 2112 for lunch as a special treat for the little man. He was enthralled with all of the aliens walking around, and even got a special hug and balloon from one of the cute girl aliens. What a flirt.

And of course, you just CAN'T go all the way up to NYC at Christmas season and NOT see the infamous sights. So I bundled Michael up, made the boys brave the cold, and we went to see the tree in Rockefeller center and some of the Christmas displays along the streets.

The last stop we made was 'the' Macy's...I have never ever ever seen a store that big! 8 stories, so needless to say we didn't get too far. One thing we did make sure we visited was Santa's mailbox. We helped Michael write a letter to Santa, and he insisted on asking for a blue present and a pink racecar. Of course Marion was loving the pink racecar request. But Michael got to mail his letter, and talked about it for a week afterward!

We finally made it back to Penn Station and onto the train in one piece. Aside from the frigid weather, it was a great outing. Thanks Marion!!!

Holiday Whirlwind

2010-12-08T11:58:00.000-08:00

Since I am SOOOO far behind and so many exciting things have been happening, I will try and condense the holiday post as best as possible.

First of all, we hope everyone enjoyed their Thanksgiving holiday and stuffed yourselves to the brim with delicious food...I know we did! Grandma, Grandpa, Danielle, and Adam were able to come up for the holiday, so we had a houseful which is fine with us! I put Marion in charge of the prized bird and he pulled it off wonderfully. Dad even bought a roaster for the turkey so it wouldn't hog the oven the entire afternoon...smart move!

A few short weeks later, Grandma and Grandpa braved the 12 hour drive once more and trekked it back up to NJ for Christmas. This was the first Christmas that we had spent in our own house since Michael was born, and we decided to catch the Christmas Eve church service and do all the presents Christmas morning...which is highly unusual in our family. We ended up Skyping with Marion's parents Christmas Eve and doing presents, so it actually broke it out pretty well.

Needless to say, Michael was spoiled rotten and the presents just kept coming! For New Year's, Danielle, Adam, Laura, and Juan were all able to join us as well, so we had yet another gift opening session when they arrived. It was nice to see everyone, and Michael loved all the attention.

Picture overload:

Smile...It's the Holidays!!!

2010-11-29T07:50:00.001-08:00

Is anyone else having an extremely hard time accepting the fact that we are to Christmastime again??? Where has this year gone? I only wish I knew.

Ever since adding to our family and living away from family, I've appreciated the importance and significance of holiday cards. The first few years of marriage, I may have sent some out, but they were confined to the box of cards you find on the store shelves and you just sign your name inside and call it a day. That all changed with Michael. Now, it is of course nothing but photo cards!!! The only problem is there's too many pictures in a year to choose from! :)

Since we have such a large family on both sides and we don't live around any of them, we end up sending out a LOT of photo cards each year. That being said, of COURSE I appreciate a deal! In the past few years, I've found that Shutterfly has had a very cute selection of photo cards for reasonable prices, and I'm all about that! I'm not sure if in the past I've had a favorite photo card per se....they always seem to have such a wide selection I spend all my time trying to choose between them! I tend to like the ones that can hold multiple pictures on one side, such as this one.

Another thing I like giving to parents as gifts? Wall and desk calendars! Check out Shutterfly's vast selection here. Also, make sure to check out their holiday selection of Christmas photo cards...I expect to get one from you and your family!!! That's one of the many things I love about this time of year...we actually look forward to getting snail mail, being as it consists of more than bills and junk! :)

Happy Holidays everyone!

*Disclaimer: For creating a blogpost about Shutterfly's holiday products, I am being given 50 free photo cards. However, all opinions above are my own.

I'm A Big Boy Now: The Potty Training Chronicles

2010-11-17T11:53:00.001-08:00

Finally, after weekend upon weekend of exciting fun, we actually had a weekend on the calendar where nothing was scheduled. No guests, no activities, nothing. Which NEVER happens. So we decided to take advantage of the downtime to do something extremely fun: POTTY TRAINING.

Yes, of course I'm being sarcastic. I ordered an eBook on 3-day potty training awhile back, and have been dreading the day when I would actually have to put it to use. It looked like SO much work, and Michael can be about as stubborn as they get. But I decided to rip off the bandaid and go for it this weekend. The way I looked at it, there was only 2 options: a) Endure 3 days of possible pure torture, but then be DONE, or; b) drag out the process for six months fighting the battle of the wills waiting 'until he's ready'. Yeah...so that was a pretty easy choice considering when Michael is left to his own devices, he will take his sweet time to do anything...always has. So I kept telling myself "It's only 3 days!" and kept plowing through!

I do have to admit, this program is pretty intense. The first morning, I woke him up, introduced him to his big boy undies, and had him throw out all of his pull-ups. Every. Last. One. Gulp.

The first day was horrible. I was tired of hearing myself say, "Let me know when you need to go potty, ok?" seemingly to no avail. Every 5 minutes he would be peeing on the floor. I'd run him to the bathroom to sit him on the potty, and he would throw a fit. NO POTTY!!! So I'd just change him and let him go again with a gentle reminder for next time. By the time Marion got home that night (20 underwear changes and 2 loads of laundry later) I was done. It was at this point I seriously thought about hanging up the whole thing and going with Plan B. But it was only 3 days....come on! So we pushed through.

I was fully planning on putting him back in pull-ups overnight, even though it was 'against the program.' Not EVER does he wake up dry in the morning. But hey, if you're gonna do it, you may as well go all out right? So I bit the bullet and let him sleep in his undies that night. As expected, morning greeted me with pee-stained sheets, but it's all part of the learning process, right?

Day 2 was MUCH more manageable, for 2 reasons. My wonderful hubby was off and was extremely helpful in the whole process. He even let me have a breather and run to Target for a few minutes...a much needed break! The second reason was the kicker: we could see a light bulb start to go on with Michael. Sure, he still had accidents, but they were mini ones. Then he'd say, "Uh oh, pee pee. " We'd take him to the potty, and he'd actually sit there and finish!!! It was so exciting to see! And what blew my mind most??? That night, he stayed completely dry! Way to go! By the beginning of the third day, he was basically potty trained, telling us when he had to go and maybe leaking just a teeny bit. I can't believe it worked! It WORKED!!!!! I had heard the majority of people say, "He'll let you know when he's ready." or "It just takes a lot of time and patience." This may have not been the most fun I've ever had in a weekend, but heck yeah I'd do it again!!! I can't tell you how proud we are of our big boy! He's so proud when he goes too...it's too cute!

Here's Michael reading with Daddy in bed the second dry morning...he got new books as a present for keeping his bed dry!

So to whom do I credit this success? How did we do it? A GENIUS woman named Lora Jensen. She has an eBook available for purchase online. We followed this book to a T...and the results speak for themselves!!! I would HIGHLY recommend trying this to anyone who's at the potty training stage...boys don't have to be more difficult to train! Here is her website:

http://www.3daypottytraining.com/

Best of luck to anyone else out there potty training!!! You can do it!!!

Happy Halloween!

2010-11-07T12:23:00.000-08:00

We hope everyone enjoyed Halloween and collected lots of candy! We had an action-packed weekend with not much downtime, so I will recap for you (to include lots of pics of course!)

A few weeks prior, my sister, Adam, Laura, and Juan came down to visit and to accompany us on our annual pumpkin picking. Marion found this place where you took a train out to the pumpkin patch and back, which sounded pretty neat. There was also a 10-acre corn maze to explore, which Marion was pretty excited about. Although the train ride ended up being shorter than expected and the pumpkin patch small, Michael talked about riding the train for the entire following week. That's what counts!

Here Adam's being the navigator in the corn maze. He takes his job very seriously. (Laura and I may or may not have cheated...just a little.)

And of course, let's not forget my dear sister's birthday is this month, so we celebrated over the weekend of course! A very happy birthday Danielle...happy 26th!!!

For Halloween weekend itself, we of course decided to make it as action-packed as possible. The first stop Friday was to Michael's classroom for their Halloween parade. Michael is the Spiderman in the front row...I knew that mask was going to be problematic as soon as we purchased it.

Then that night, it was back into costume for our Halloween party. Laura and Juan were able to make it down for another weekend, and we loved having them!

The kiddos at the party

Saturday night, there was a big Halloween parade that we had gone to the year before we planned to hit up again. We ran into a few snags getting there, including not being able to get dinner and walking forever in the wrong direction, but the parade itself was worthwhile. I can't believe how LONG it was though! An hr. and a half later with red cheeks and noses, we headed back to the car.

And of course, Sunday. Halloween. Michael was able to participate a lot more in trick or treating this year, and it was really cute to watch. We ended up going around with one of Marion's friends from work...they had a much nicer neighborhood to trick or treat in than we do! Michael quickly got the hang of knocking on the door and shouting, "TRICK OR TREEEEEEAT!" as loud as humanly possible. Once he had gotten his candy, he'd say, "Happy Halloween!" and skip off to the next house. TOO cute. He was such a trooper too...he held up for quite awhile...long enough to fill his bag pretty well!

This following weekend has been a quiet weekend in, and it has been a welcome break. The next whirlwind of activity is about ready to start, so keep checking back!

A Week With Nama and Dapa

2010-10-17T13:29:00.000-07:00

Mom and Dad had a week off at the beginning of October, and they decided to spend the week up in New Jersey with us. I'm pretty sure it was because my mom was going into Michael withdrawal, but it's to be expected. :) It was nice to have them there, and Dad hadn't gotten to see Michael since the summer...about time for more quality time with Gramps!

My parents are such good sports. They drive 12 hours each way to visit with us, and what do I do? Put them to work of course. I had a whole slew of projects for my dad to help with...from fixing a broken toilet seat to installing shelves. And Mom was busy working on creating a new footstool for the mini-man. The help was MUCH appreciated...that to-do list was getting waaaay too long!

But don't worry, I didn't make them work the whole time they were here. There was still plenty of time left to hang out with Michael. We squeezed in a few cool outings while they were here:

We took a hayride at a local farm and went apple and pumpkin picking.

Mom and Dad took Michael to an indoor playplace while I had to work one day.

Michael played the part of Grandpa's Little Helper.

Grandpa taught Michael how to build an airplane.

Grandma and Michael even left you with a photo tutorial for how to make homemade sugar cookies. Just follow the simple steps below:

1. Measure dry ingredients.

2. Mix

3. Add wet ingredients.

4. Mix again.

5. Roll out chilled dough.

6. Cut out cool shapes using cookie cutters.

7. Have Mommy bake them in the oven. While cookies bake, do a happy dance on the chair. (No pants required)

8. Don't forget to give yourself a Hitler mustache with the flour. Why not liven up the party a little bit?

9. Time to decorate!

10. Most important step of all: Don't forget to sample your work!!

The Big Project

2010-10-09T11:23:00.001-07:00

Well....a lot has been going on since my hiatus from the blogging world. First and foremost, the news you've all been waiting for....

It's another BOY!!!!

That's right ladies and gents! We went for the ultrasound Labor Day weekend (that's how behind I am!) and found out the exciting news. I will now be extremely outnumbered by males in my household, but I absolutely LOVE having a boy already...they are so much fun! It will be exhausting I'm sure, but we are looking forward to welcoming our new addition.

So, having heard this news, the next hurdle was going to be where to put the new addition to the family. We have 3 bedrooms, but I could not fathom living without one functional guest room for how often it is used. We decided, due to the change in decor on the new toddler bed we had introduced Michael to a month prior, we would just flip flop rooms. His current room was already decorated, and the landlord didn't want it touched, but it was not working with his new "Cars" bedding. Marion, however, was opposed to decorating a room in a house that wasn't ours, so I decided to take on the task myself when he went away on business for two weeks. Hey, he said he didn't want any part of it...not that I couldn't decorate...you must be specific with me people. :)

A few pictures of my big helper assembling his new bed:

And of course you have to give it a test run....that was hard work!

One of the first mornings in the new bed...I love this picture. :)

When I finally decided on how to decorate the room, I enlisted the MUCH appreciated help of Danielle and Adam that weekend. Danielle primarily helped me with the room while Adam graciously did babysitting duty. I couldn't have done it without them!!! Michael had so much fun spending quality time with his uncle...I heard about the fair Adam took him to for the entire week following!

Of course, due to my indecisiveness, the room wasn't completely finished by the time they left, but all the major work was done. After a few more online purchases and forcing myself to just make a decision already, the room was done!!! I couldn't have been happier with the results!!

Expecting...Again!

2010-08-12T12:54:00.000-07:00

That's right ladies and gentlemen, we are expecting again! Baby #2 is officially on its way!

I found out the Thursday morning before Memorial Day, a mere 24 hours before I flew out for my dear brother Kendrick's wedding. Therefore, there wasn't a heck of a lot of time to process the new info before I left. Marion was staying at home over the weekend with Michael, so it was going to be my duty alone to tell the fam.

I wanted to keep it quiet over the weekend, since after all, this was not my party. I did manage to tell Adam and Danielle on the way down and my parents at the hotel when we got there, and they all did an AMAZING job of not spilling the beans. This news is very hard for my mother to sit on, but she did so well. You're awesome mom. :)

Little by little, I have told close family and friends the news, and today we are announcing it to the world! I am sixteen weeks today, and am finally starting to get some energy back. F.I.N.A.L.L.Y.

They say every pregnancy is different, regardless of if the sex of the baby is the same or not. And no people, I do not know the sex of the baby yet. Yes, I am going to find out. And yes, I will let you know when I know. So....has this pregnancy been the same so far? Yes and no. I have been extreeeeeeeemely tired and have had to nap with Michael almost every afternoon just to function, but I experience this with the first one as well. I've had more frequent waves of nausea, but again never threw up. I am SO thankful for this!

But the worst part of being pregnant? My body thinking that it has to go through puberty all over again. It has no idea what to do with all these hormones and chemicals, and it is making me break out like mad! That can be done at any point, thank you very much. Went through that once (well, twice) already.

All in all, I have been blessed thus far to have easy, unremarkable pregnancies. I am just now at the end of my 'normal' clothes and the belly is just starting to make itself known. I've only gained 3 pounds so far, but this fat stage makes it seem like so much more! Guess all the weight is just shifting around to make room. And the world begins to revolve around the baby already....

I have about 3 or 4 more weeks until we have our anatomy scan, and then the real planning and prep will begin! We are excited to find out what the new addition will be to our family, and I think we would be happy with either. Just pray for a healthy baby! We will keep you posted as we find out anything new!

First official ultrasound taken at 11.5 weeks

You can see the arms and legs really well in this one!

Weekend With the Girls

2010-08-06T12:25:00.000-07:00

About a week after we got back from our extended summer vacation, Mom and Danielle came back up to my house and we prepared to hit the Big Apple for a girls weekend with the fam! We were meeting my two aunts and their daughters up there who we don't get to see very often, so we were excited to get to spend time with them as well.

Adam, the trooper he is, was on Michael duty for a full day by himself on Friday while we took off and Marion was at work. Everyone survived, and we are very appreciative to have such a good sport added to our family. :)

Well, the boys got to have a boys' weekend, while we got to have our girls' weekend. But this post isn't about the boys. ;) We took the train up early Friday morning and met the other girls at the hotel. As soon as we were all ready, we ventured out to see the sights. Now, I don't know why I have this luck with that city, but every time I go, it rains. Every time. So of course, we have planned to walk across the Brooklyn Bridge this day, so we get off the subway in Brooklyn, and guess what? Yep, it's raining. No, scratch that. It's pouring. We decide to trek to the famous pizza place first, hoping to miss some of the rain. After waiting an hr. to get in, we all enjoyed some scrumptious pizza, then hit the bridge.

In hindsight, it was probably a good thing that we ended up walking the bridge that day anyway, since the next day it was in the mid-90s. Good thing we spent the majority of that day indoors at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Later Saturday night, we went to the obligatory Broadway musical. You cannot go to New York and not go to a Broadway show. This is just not allowed. My aunt got us great tickets for "Wicked", and the show was pretty good! Of course, you can't end your night without a piece of New York cheesecake either. :)

Other things we were able to squeeze in in our short two days was a boat cruise, finding the Treat Truck featured on the Food Network, and taking a tour of Grand Central Station. We also got another nice surprise. My other aunt and her two kids just happened to be vacationing in the area at the same time, so we were able to meet up with them a few times which was nice. Ended up being quite the family reunion!

Summer Vacation 2010

2010-07-27T13:13:00.000-07:00

Every time I begin a new blog post, I feel the need to apologize. For my ridiculously long absence. EVERY time. So again, my apologies for the extended hiatus.

We have had an extremely busy summer thus far. I finished work mid-June, and a few days later, the little man and I were off to Kentucky. Marion met us down there a few days later after making the grueling drive with the dog. Marion was lucky enough to get several weeks of leave at once, so we took full advantage. We began the vacation with Marion and I going to the wedding of our Best Man in Indianapolis. Marion got to see his old buddies from undergrad, and we ended up staying with my friend from college, so it was nice to be able to catch up with old friends. Mom and Dad were nice enough to watch Michael for the weekend so we could make the trip sans child (although that didn't take much arm-twisting!).

After we got back to Kentucky, we relaxed a little and took some time to hang out with family. My old roomate Laura and her husband even got to come down to visit for a few days, and we had fun winning money at Churchill Downs! We were able to spend the 4th with both sets of parents and Adam and Danielle, which was nice. Of course Marion and his dad supplied us with a nice array of bootleg fireworks to watch in the backyard. :)

After the 4th, we decided to pay our dear friends in Dayton a visit on the way back. We stayed with friends from Marion's program, and I got to meet up with my old Mom's group! After a day or two there, it was off to Adam and Danielle's in Pittsburgh.

In Pittsburgh, we met up with my parents once again and Adam's dad, and the guys went out for a weekend hiking trip in the wilderness. While they were out there huffing and puffing and eating nasty food, mom and I took the more comfortable route and stayed at Danielle's apartment with the little man, with short outings to the zoo and mall.

After all of our many stops and almost a month of being in beds and homes other than our own, we finally made it back to our humble NJ abode. We had a great time seeing family, but I do have to say it is good to be home!

TWO!

2010-05-15T12:47:00.001-07:00

It is still hard to believe, but the little man just had his second birthday. TWO years old already...where in the world did the time go? It doesn't seem so long ago that I was in the hospital giving birth, but at the same time it seems like ages ago that he was that tiny, helpless newborn...hard to imagine him that small now as he's running around the house like a madman!

For his birthday party, we were lucky that Danielle, Adam, Laura, and Juan could all make it. We also invited a couple of Michael's buddies and some people from Marion's work. It actually turned out really well for how much procrastination was done. :) With the help of my trusty sidekicks Danielle and Laura, we worked diligently until 2am to get the monster of a cake done. It turned out really well (we were doing a "Things That Go" theme) for all the work that went into it! Much thanks to the sidekicks for their help with decorating!

My partners in crime....

The finished product...

For the party, it was going to be waaay too crowded in our townhouse for that many little kiddos and their parents, so I decided at the last minute to rent a moonbounce. Why? Because I'm the coolest mom ever...of course. It was a huge hit and the kids had a blast. Who am I kidding? We all had a blast!

We are always camera happy at this house, so I put the rest of the bday pics below. Thanks to everyone who helped us celebrate! Now I just have to figure out where to put this massive amount of toys....

Calling All Moms With Picky Eaters!

2010-04-29T13:23:00.000-07:00

Calling All Moms!!!!

Check out this new blog that I stumbled upon. It's devoted to making REAL, easy meals that are....get this, kid tested and approved! No more rotating between mac n cheese and chicken nuggets every night! (Although Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution has me rethinking which nuggets I buy...anyone watch that? Disturbing!) Anywho, back on topic here. Check it out. I haven't tried any of the recipes, but couldn't wait to share the site! If anyone tries anything on here that's a huge success, let me know!

www.tastebudding.com/recipes

North Dakota

2010-04-26T18:50:00.000-07:00

For spring break this year, Michael and I flew out to visit my extended family in North Dakota for the week. Usually, I don't have a problem traveling with Michael on my own, but this was a very rare occasion when that was NOT the case. I got to the airport and realized that I had forgotten Michael's stroller AND any proof of age for him. Of course, the guy at the ticket counter was a total jerk and gave me tons of crap for it, which made us the absolute last people on the flight (after I walked Michael thru the airport sans stroller). After the first leg, we had a little under an hour layover to get through yet another terminal and grab some lunch. After finding the closest vendor selling chicken nuggets (aka McDonalds), I proceeded to spill my coke all over Michael's head as I was trying to hold onto both the squirming child and all the food. Nice. So we go to the gate to eat since there was no other seating, and Michael goes to climb up on the chair to eat his nuggets. AND off he falls. Right on his head. Well, there went our window for lunch after his 10 min. of hysterical crying that ensued. After being paged by name to board flight number 2, Michael decides to GO #2 on the plane...try changing that in an airplane bathroom!! And of course, to top it off, there was no napping to be had.

However, I am happy to report that once this drama was through, the rest of the trip went MUCH better. We even got to catch up with my Aunt Linda and cousin Becky quickly, as they were on their way out. Most of our time was spent on Aunt Lori and Uncle Bob's farm, or at the nursing home visiting Grandma and Grandpa. Michael was a trooper at the nursing home and played really well considering he was cooped up in a little room for hours. He loved exploring the farm, though, and much thanks to Bobby and Sheldon for the tour! OH...he said his first sentence on the trip! My aunt and uncle have lots of outdoor cats on their farm, and they like to frequent the front yard. Michael was always looking at them out the window, and one day he said, "Hi Lor Lor meow!" aka Hi Lori's cats. :) So cute! He's been talking about Lor Lor meows ever since....

Here's a bunch of pictures from the trip. Enjoy!

Happy Easter!

2010-04-22T11:46:00.000-07:00

*Warning: Photo Overload*

Again, I must apologize. I am seriously behind on this blogging thing. We have had TONS going on the past few weeks, so I'll separate them out into different posts so they're not so overwhelming. Stay tuned for the next one coming soon!

For Easter this year, Marion was flying out to job training and I was flying out with Michael to meet my mom and some extended family in North Dakota for spring break. Being that we were going to be gone, we pushed the festivities up to the Saturday before. We wanted to try and get Michael involved in some of the traditional stuff this year, which of course includes egg dying. This was actually cute to watch, you just had to make sure to give him a step to do at all times or boredom would set in!

Step 1: Color the egg with crayon.

Step 2: Drop the egg in the dye.

Step 3: Wait.

He didn't like this step too much.

Want a demo? Michael will show you how it's done:

Of course, Michael had to get an Easter basket too that he had to hunt for. (No, mom and dad, we didn't hide it in the stove...we will work up to that. :) ) He got lots of cool things like new dvds for the trip, a toy car, bubbles, and some sidewalk chalk. Of course he made a beeline for the car and needed significant coaxing to check out the rest of his loot.

After checking out his basket, we decided to make waffles for brunch. Michael made them for us. He's such a good helper.

After brunch, one of the local churches was having an easter egg hunt we decided to take Michael to. It was PACKED! They had eggs everywhere...it was insane. I do have to say they did a pretty good job of crowd control though by having hunts grouped by ages. So luckily, Michael only did the hunt with other 1 and 2 year olds, and NOT the 10 year olds. :) Michael got his fair share of eggs...he got a full basked and then we had to remove him so the other kids could get a chance! Share with our friends.....we say this a lot..... :)

Hope everyone had a great Easter!

Barbara's Baby Shower

2010-04-17T17:22:00.000-07:00

My good friend Barbara is expecting her first baby soon, so me and a few friends from grad school decided to plan her shower. So we trekked it down to DC for the weekend and got to catch up with all my old friends from school. One friend from our class, Allison, flew up from Texas just for the event....I hadn't seen her in 4 years! Love you Allison!!!! I also got to see another old friend, Kristine, who moved to the eastern shore. I got to see her beautiful baby girl for the first time...adorable!!!!

After much planning and prepping, we were able to pull off a super cute Bedtime Stories baby shower for Barbara and her husband John. It was great seeing everyone and getting to catch up. We were just thankful we could support Barbara and John in their pregnancy and help them celebrate, they're very deserving!! We love you guys!

It ended up being a great weekend, and a special thanks to Laura, Marci and Heather for helping make it happen. You guys are awesome!!

Hittin' The Slopes

2010-02-26T11:19:00.000-08:00

Our roomate from grad school, Laura, and her husband, Juan, decided they wanted to try out their hand at skiing. Laura had been once with us in grad school, but Juan had never been before. So they came up for the weekend, and we all went up to Bear Creek Ski Resort together. Marion and I hadn't been skiing in over a year either, so we were ready to hit the slopes!

After dropping Michael off at the daycare (no, he was not skiing with us!), we were off! Laura and Juan decided to start out with some lessons. We dropped them off on the bunny hill while we explored the other runs, but not before we got a few pics of the pros in the making!

After about 5 hours on the slopes, we all decided to call it a day. And it was a success...no bloodshed! Michael did well in daycare being that he had no nap all afternoon, so as soon as he hit his carseat on the way home he was out like a light. :)

Of course, skiing was not the only thing that we did all weekend. Michael made sure to get some quality snuggle time in with Auntie Laura! I think he's even winning Juan over!

Weekend Road Trip

2010-02-14T18:02:00.000-08:00

Adam and Danielle have been sooo good about visiting us since we moved to NJ...well, let's be honest...they've been good about visiting Michael since we got here. :) They have endured the 6 hr. drive each way at least one weekend a month, and we are extremely grateful for the company!

So, needless to say, it was our turn to make the trip. This weekend, we were planning on meeting up with Mom and Dad in Pittsburgh as well, and they were going to bring our long lost dog back to us. She has been wearing out her welcome at their house since Thanksgiving!

It turned out to be a nice, relaxed weekend. We spent most of the weekend just hanging around the apartment catching up. One fun thing we did while we were there was take Michael to the local Children's Museum. He loved exploring all the different rooms and features. They even had an entire floor devoted to water play, complete with crocs and raincoats! Michael liked splashing in the water and fishing, but I think Marion and Adam were having more fun building boats to race across the mini pool. It's hard to tell who's the bigger kid in a place like this....

Over the weekend, Danielle captured some of the many faces of Michael. He is one entertaining boy, that's for sure!

Sledding

2010-02-12T18:35:00.000-08:00

So after the weekend snowstorm, Mother Nature decided that she was not yet done wreaking havoc on the northeast. So, yet again, we get piled on with inches upon inches of snow just days later. After all the shoveling was done...again....we decided to try and take Michael sledding on a small hill. Of course, after a half hour of getting him and everyone else dressed and the car packed, he wanted nothing to do with going down that hill. Go figure. But I got a few pics anyway!

So Marion ended up pulling him around the park on his sled, which he liked much better! Marion definitely burned calories for the day!

What a Weekend!

2010-02-10T10:20:00.000-08:00

Alright...this weekend has had enough drama to hold us over for months! The great news about last weekend....Marion was coming home Friday!!!! The bad news about last weekend....a snow storm was predicted to hit that night. So here's how it went down:

Marion had a flight home from Louisiana Friday with a connection in Memphis. He got to Memphis before they cancelled all remaining flights into Philly, DC, Baltimore, and Reagan. So, poor Marion was stuck in Memphis trying desperately to get a flight home somehow. We went back and forth on the phone for hours trying to get something set up so he wouldn't have to sleep in Memphis for the night. After much pain and suffering, Marion got a flight to NYC and got in about 10:30 at night. From there, he had to lug his hugemongous bags via a cab to the train station, then the train station to his car. I called in a few favors on my end and got a friend to watch Michael while another friend and I drove his car to the train station. Thank goodness for wonderful people!

Marion ended up having to drive through the blizzard an hour to get home from the train station, and he got in about 2 in the morning. We are just thankful he made it safely. Good thing he made the extra effort when he did, because the snow just got worse the next day! After we took care of the necessary shoveling, we spent some time outdoors with the little man. Poor guy didn't last too long though before he turned into an ice pop!

The next day, we had a special dinner planned to celebrate Valentine's Day early, and at least we were able to make it out for that. But the fun was short-lived when Michael woke up screaming for a good hour the next morning. Come to find out....yet another ear infection. Poor little guy. So he has not been a happy camper lately. But he is glad that his Daddy is home....they're definitely getting their playtime in!

Word Explosion!!!!

2010-01-24T11:58:00.000-08:00

Michael is always surprising me with how smart he is. I am always amazed by how much he knows and understands. He has always been very good about following directions and labeling things.

Along with being very smart, he is also very stubborn. He has not really shown any interest in talking up to this point, aside from a few words here and there. And do I think it's because he can't? No. Just not interested.

But within the past week or so, he has been saying new word after new word! So exciting! Some he says on his own, and others he'll say if he can repeat after me. But he's finally taking an interest in talking...which makes me so happy! So I've decided to do a synopsis of his vocabulary, both for your benefit and mine. :)

There are some words he has been saying for awhile. These include: ball, mommy, daddy, mamaw, papaw, no, baby, duck, up ('da'), what's that, choo choo, beep beep, book, moo, baa, quack quack, roar, nana (banana), uh-oh. He also signs: please, more, milk, thank you, all done.

Starting around Christmas time, he has just been on a roll picking up new words! He now says moon, bye bye, cheese, juice, elbow, nose, rock, whoa, yay, boo-boo, more, ho ho ho, and elmo on his own. Words he's repeated after me include: potty, passy, pasta, button, turtle, monkey, kick, please, knee, and girl. I'm sure I'm forgetting some in here, but I had to write them all down somewhere before I forgot them...they're coming on so fast!

Way to go Michael!!! Keep 'em coming!!!

Christmas with the Powells

2009-12-25T11:37:00.000-08:00

After we were done opening our stockings and eating breakfast at Grandma and Grandpa's, it was off to Mamaw and Papaw's to spend Christmas Day. As soon as we got there, it was time to bust open the presents!!! There were another set of stockings waiting for everyone there as well. Aunt Sara is helping Michael explore his.

Then Michael began the present passing once again. Way to go buddy! (Although, this time, he wanted to give most of the presents to Papaw regardless.)

We were able to rip Michael away from his new toys for a few seconds...long enough to make him eat some food and take a much needed nap. While he was down for the count, Marion's Uncle Mark came over and we indulged yet again in another delicious meal. Needless to say, the remainder of the evening was well spent exploring new toys!

Mamaw and Michael playing with the barn Santa gave him

Oooh look, I found a new toy! Daddy's sawhorses!

Spending some QT with Aunt Sara

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL, AND TO ALL A GOOD NIGHT!

Santa Came!

2009-12-25T09:01:00.000-08:00

It's Christmas morning and someone paid Michael (and others!) a visit! Everyone came downstairs, still in their jammies, to to discover all sorts of goodies in their stockings. Since Michael was very insistent on playing with his new shopping cart right off the bat, we loaded it up with stockings, and he delivered them. Santa's helper, once again!

Michael got to open even more presents, which included some new Baby Einstein videos!

Then came the big Santa present under the tree. Michael got a Fisher Price farm set from Santa.

I guess the kiddos need a break after all that present opening...

Ho Ho Ho!

2009-12-24T11:09:00.000-08:00

Christmas Eve is finally here!!! Where has the time gone?? Since this year we are doing split Christmases between my parents and Marion's, we decided to have our 'big' Christmas dinner and present opening at my parents on Christmas Eve. Adam and Danielle made it down this year as well, and it was nice having everyone there for the holiday!

We partook in a delicious ham dinner, compliments of Mom, with all the traditional trimmings. Everyone's favorite dishes, and of course way too much food. And guess who was in the kitchen, dressed and ready to 'help'?

After the food was eaten and the dishes were washed, it was time to get down to business...present opening!!! We figured that this year we should pass on the present-passing torch to Michael, and he did such a good job! He was so cute delivering the presents to everyone in his little Santa outfit.

Leave it to Adam and Danielle to get Michael the biggest present. They ended up getting him is own little chair, which was super cute, that they delivered in a box that I could've fit 3 Michaels in! Michael had a ball opening that present...and playing in all of the packing paper after the gift was unloaded.

Needless to say, everyone made out VERY well this year. Michael has more toys than he knows what to do with, and he is slowly taking over my parents' house as well as our own! And we still have another Christmas to go...

Michael's First Haircut

2009-12-21T13:55:00.000-08:00

Michael and I were lucky enough to be able to go back to Kentucky for Christmas and see Grandma, Grandpa, Mamaw, and Papaw. And to top it all off....Marion got to come home too! We were all there by the 20th, so we had a few days to get settled in before the festivities began.

We started off the vacation by taking care of business...Michael's first haircut!! Yes, ladies and gentlemen, he is one day shy of 20 months, and this is his first haircut. Poor guy comes by it honestly though....I've been told I was bald til I was 2. Mom had to tape bows to my head so people would know I was a girl.

Well, enough reminiscing....back to the haircut. We went to my hairstylist that I've gone to for years, and he did well, relatively speaking. We made sure to come prepared with snacks and Baby Einstein, and ALL got utilized to get the job done. The mini mullet is finally gone! Don't worry, I saved the curls.....

Pre-haircut picture: proof the mini mullet really did exist.

During the haircut. He wasn't too happy about this strange lady touching his head all the time.

Unfortunately, I failed to upload the finished product picture correctly on my computer, so that will have to wait. I know...the suspense! :)

My Little Boy Is Growing Up

2009-12-11T19:39:00.000-08:00

I don't like messes. Yes, my house is not always in perfect order, but if it stays that way for too long, it drives me nuts. So of course, I don't particularly care for unnecessary, completely preventable messes.

Michael has been in a 'throwing' phase for, well, a long time now. Of course, this includes flinging all sorts of food off of his tray at mealtime onto the floor or my shirt, wherever it may land. To alleviate this problem, I had taken away all forms of utensils for awhile and was simply giving him anything that wasn't finger food myself.

However, after seeing my neighbor's daughter earlier this week do such a good job feeding herself applesauce, I accepted the fact it was time to endure the mess and let Michael practice honing his self-feeding skills as far as utensils are concerned. So I prepared myself, fully prepared to mop up the entire floor later that night as I set a cup of applesauce on his tray with a spoon in it.

To my great surprise....he started eating like a pro! No flipping the spoon upside down, no completely missing his mouth, no huge spoonfuls landing on the floor. I must say, I was speechless. I was so proud of him, and I could tell he was pretty happy with this new skill himself. Marion - I caught it on video tonight so you can see him in action!

Sidenote: I took Michael to see Santa at the mall today, hoping to get the annual picture. However, he wanted nothing to do with the hairy guy in the red suit. Yeah...no picture for that one....

Yes, I'm horrible.

2009-12-10T11:11:00.001-08:00

Yes. I am aware it has almost been 2 months since I have posted to the blog, and I am fully aware of how ridiculous that is. My apologies....life's been kicking some serious butt lately. It's way too much stuff to put in one post, so make sure you back up a few (or several) posts to get it all!

Give Thanks....

2009-11-28T11:57:00.000-08:00

For Thanksgiving we got a wonderful surprise....Marion would be joining us!!! He found out that he had time off for the holiday, so he flew back up to spend it with us. My parents also drove up for the holiday, so it was a nice, cozy Thanksgiving had by all.

The best part was Marion and Michael got to spend a lot of time together. Both of them enjoyed that!

Dad was nice enough to fix my table while they were here along with 5 million other to-dos I had been accumulating and not getting accomplished. Michael decided that he was going to be Grandpa's helper while attempting the table. Dad had every wrench Marion owned in his hand, whether he needed it or not. That's where Michael insisted they were supposed to be.

Bye Bye Daddy!

2009-11-14T11:51:00.000-08:00

Well, today was the dreaded day. Marion was all packed up and ready to go...off to training in Louisiana for three long months. We drove him up to the airport to see him off, and of course we were running late as always. Security was nice enough to give me a pass so we could go all the way to the gate with him though. We said our quick goodbyes, and he was off.

We will miss you!

PIctures for Sandy

2009-11-10T11:40:00.000-08:00

So last October, when we went out for our North Dakota visit, my Aunt Sandy gave me a liederhosen that she had bought for her son when she was in Germany. She said I just had to try it on Michael and take pictures because it was just the cutest thing. Well, forgetful me completely forgot about it buried in the closet until she reminded me again this year. Luckily...it still fit! He wasn't in a wonderful picture-taking mood, but I got some just for you! Thanks for the loan!

As we were changing him back out of the outfit, he discovered Marion's boots and decided they were just the right size to go on his feet. I think they fit, don't you? He's so darn cute.

Happy Halloween!

2009-10-31T11:12:00.000-07:00

Since Marion was leaving in a few weeks, we managed to sneak in a trip back home before he left. Luckily, it just happened to fall over Halloween, so Michael could show off his awesome costume!!!

The first thing we did was go to the pumpkin patch with Mamaw...which was tons of fun! We always love going to pick our own pumpkins! Of course Marion insisted on having to find the biggest one there for his own....

I don't think we got enough....do you?

That night, we got to carve the pumpkins with Kenneisha, Adam, and Danielle to decorate for the plethora of trick-or-treaters the next day. Not to shabby if I may say so....

Then it was time for trick-or-treating!!!!!! Last year Michael helped Grandma pass out candy, so this was going to be his first year actually fully participating in the festivites. We started with a Trunk-or-Treat at a local church, and then made it back in time to trick-or-treat with the early shift. He actually did a pretty good job and made it around the loop (although in a stroller half the time). Don't forget to trick-or-treat at Grandma's....she's got the good stuff!

Once the crowd died down, my mom decided to enlist the help of her dear son-in-law Adam to get the crowd to pick up again. So, the good sport he is, he goes out to pass out the candy in full costume. What do you think he is?

To me, this costume seems pretty self-explanatory. He's a wizard, people. But did anyone think that? No. Are you Moses? Are you Jesus? Are you SANTA??? Yes, kids. Santa is known to wear blue in the off-season. And a headband.

Ya gotta love our Adam.

Boo At The Zoo

2009-10-24T14:32:00.000-07:00

The Philadelphia Zoo was having a special Halloween event that included trick or treating around the zoo and going on scavenger hunts....costumes encouraged. We'd been wanting to go to the zoo for awhile and were looking to get some more use out of Michael's costume, so it turned out to be the perfect combo! Michael LOVED seeing all the animals, and even got to pet some goats in the petting zoo! Luckily the rain held off and it turned out to be a really fun morning!

Oooh peacock!!! Can I chase it Daddy? Pleeeease?

Let me jump in! I wanna play!

Good goat.....

Snake!!!! Kendra would LOVE that!

Unfortunately, his face began to break out into nasty hives, so we had to wipe of the whiskers and take off the costume early. But he still enjoyed going around the rest of the zoo looking at the animals in his pj's!!!

Running out of Time

2009-10-23T14:10:00.000-07:00

We knew since we had been stationed here that there was a chance of Marion getting deployed, but if it were to happen, it wouldn't be until after the holidays. Well, this week, he came home with the bad news: he will be leaving for training for 3 months in 4 weeks. So yes, that means not only will he be absent for Christmas and his birthday, he will also miss his favorite feast of the year: Thanksgiving.

After the news was processed (it took awhile), we decided not to dwell on it and get the most out of the few weeks that were left. So off we went to the Camden Aquarium! It is fun to watch Michael point at all the different fish and sea creatures, and hold a conversation about them in his own little language. Unfortunately, the light in an aquarium is never great, so the good pictures here are limited. It was a good day for the aquarium, too...what nasty weather!!!

Farewell North Dakota! (And winter...)

2009-10-10T12:11:00.000-07:00

Surprise, Surprise, I'm behind again! Well, to summarize quickly, the rest of the trip went very well. Aside from my Grandpa being admitted to the hospital for a few days and the blasted cold weather, everything went smoothly. He was able to come home right in time for the big dinner we prepared on Friday night to take to the nursing home. It was great...Gary and his whole family were even able to make it down! Just like old times (only in a nursing home instead). Here's a picture of the whole gang at the table:

One neat thing about the trip was Michael's Halloween costume. When we were at my aunt Sandy's house, she remembered that she had held onto her son's old costume that Grandma made him when he was little. Wouldn't you know, it was a perfect fit!! So the costume was extra special this year because of its sentimentality. Here it is:

Grandma Schatz, you're supposed to fill it up with candy!!!

Since that many of us are not usually able to get together at one time, we made sure to take lots of pictures. A few family photos are below:

The second generation: Gary, Mom, Sandy, and Lori with Grandma and Grandpa

The Lyman Clan

Gary's Gang: Renae, Matt, Chris, Tanya, Gary, and Raeleen

The ones who keep everyone else sane: Bob and Lori :)

We love you all!!!!

Country Boy At Heart

2009-10-07T12:55:00.000-07:00

One day when we were visiting, making trips to the nursing home, hospital, and who knows where else, our aunt Lori was kind enough to make us a delicious dinner at her house. Luckily, we got there with a little bit of daylight left, which allowed Michael to explore the farm a little bit. Bobby has all sorts of big farm equipment, and Michael LOVED checking them all out. He would run from one to the other, pointing in excitement to each one. Luckily, we got some good pictures of the experience.

While we were out, we ventured over to there HUGE wheat pile they had recently harvested. Michael played at the bottom, but didn't get too far. Hopefully we didn't make too much of a mess of their pile!

The boys give you a good idea of the massive size of the pile.

But, as always, we had to call it quits early. Even with gloves and hats, it was just toooooooo cold. Who's surprised?

First Snow of the Season

2009-10-06T11:24:00.000-07:00

Yes. You heard right. It is not a typo. It is October 6th, and we are experiencing the first snow of the season! But let's also keep in mind, we were experiencing this in the frigid tundra known as North Dakota....

That said, it was still amazing to see...this is early even for up here! And the snowflakes were HUGE-MUNGOUS!!! I've never seen any snowflakes that big - they were like golf balls! See how the snowflake itself is actually casting a shadow on my cheek in this picture?? Crazy...

Luckily, our thoughtful Aunt Lori had come over to the house and turned on the heat before we got there....thank goodness!!!! I'll still be sleeping under about 5 of Grandma's quilts tonight.

We had fun with the snow for the few hours it lasted. We got Michael bundled up and took some neat pictures of him running around in it...didn't seem to phase him in the least! Of course, we had to get a grandparent picture with the infamous house in the background too.

Uncle Bobby was on babysitting duty while we unloaded the car when we got there. This is my favorite picture of the evening:

I'm Baaaack!!!!

2009-10-06T08:00:00.000-07:00

Today we went to the nursing home to say hi to Grandma and Grandpa. They were both so happy to see Michael again...he grows so fast at this age! Grandma was so happy to see him. Once she got to visit on her own with him for a few minutes, we brought in Grandpa. This man, who seldomly smiles, took one look at Michael and lit up like the Fourth of July! It was so fun to watch. He's not a man of many words, but he spent all afternoon just watching Michael play, all while having the faintest glisten of a smile. Luckily, we caught these moments that are few and far between on camera!

Papa's Pumpkin Patch

2009-10-04T19:43:00.000-07:00

Once we got into North Dakota, we decided to take an extra day in Bismarck before we made the drive down to my grandparent's house. Thanks to my aunt Sandy, we found a pumpkin patch in the area and thought it would be a fun way to spend the day.

The pumpkin patch turned out to be a great idea! There was tons to do there, including mazes, hayrides, a pumpkin launch, and more we didn't even get to. Of course, this pumpkin patch was a MUCH colder trip than our last one! Little guy lasted long enough to see most of the farm activities though.

CRAZY thing happened at the pumpkin patch too....as we were sitting on the hay bales waiting for the pumpkin launch, I realized that the girl sitting next to us looked very familiar. Lo and behold...it was my friend from 5th grade that I hadn't seen or talked to since then!!!! It was nice getting to catch up with her as well...what a small world!!

Another Plane Ride

2009-10-03T19:12:00.000-07:00

The time has finally come....we are off to see Great Grandma and Grandpa in North Dakota!!! They haven't gotten to see Michael since last year at this time, so we are excited to be able to make the trip this year. This time, the guys are even coming! For all of the plane trips Michael's already been on, this will be the first time that Marion's flown with him.

I have to admit....I was pretty nervous about the plane ride. He was so small last time we flew, he just fit in my lap and would fall asleep there. But now, he's this ball of energy that has no off switch, hates to cuddle, and will not fall asleep on laps.

BUT...thank goodness we hit a stroke of luck. He did pretty well just hanging out on the first leg of the flight, and by the time we caught our connection, he was so tired his eyelids were drooping before we even hit the runway. We got lucky enough to have a pretty empty second leg as well, so he got a whole row of seats to himself to snooze the trip away! So cute...

Sweet, sweet, slumber

Waiting for Grandma and Grandpa to land at the airport and its whopping 4 gates. That's their plane!!

The Pumpkin Patch

2009-09-25T18:51:00.000-07:00

Adam and Danielle came down again! Yay! And of course, Danielle had her fancy schmancy camera in hand...shooting away. We went pumpkin picking a little early in the season, and that pumkin patch was CRAZY! It was like a jungle out there!!! Poor Michael almost got lost in it all. Thanks to my sis, she captured some good pics. I don't have them all to upload, but I've included the good ones that I have.

Apple Pickin'

2009-09-22T10:27:00.001-07:00

Finally....a sunny weekend! We decided to take advantage of the nice weather and visit a local farm to participate in some apple picking. This one was much more commercialized than the one we went to for blueberries, and had a whole market and everything. They had made apple cider doughnuts, so of course we had to try them out. Delicious!!!

After our morning snack, we boarded the hayride and took off for the apple orchard. We got to sit right behind the tractor, and Michael was mesmerized. Michael tried helping us pick the apples off the trees once we got into the orchard, but he got frustrated easily since they were harder to pick than the blueberries. So he helped by putting them in the bag instead...always a helper!

On our way out, we got to go through a corn maze and scope out the pumpkin patch (a future trip to watch for!)

Adventures in Pottyland

2009-09-10T11:00:00.000-07:00

So a few weeks ago, I bought Michael a potty to have...whenever I had the motivation to begin. I left it in the box during his nap, and when he got up, he would hardly drink his milk because he was so busy pointing at the box. He helped me open it and put it together, and then had all sorts of fun checking it out.

So, after that, I wasn't exactly motivated to put him on the potty everytime I thought he needed to go. Sure I put him on it every now and then, but it was more to just get him used to sitting on it.

My goal was to really start after Labor Day. So today, I put him on the potty after breakfast. He sat pretty well, as long as he was entertained with a book. As I was in the middle of reading, I hear the music coming from the potty. "What the.......?" OH! He actually PEED in the POTTY!!!! I was so excited it left me speechless for a few seconds. However, Michael couldn't have cared less, and after my enthusiastic praising, he just gave me a look that said, "Seriously woman, can we finish the book now?"

THEN, if that wasn't enough excitement for one day, he went back on after lunch, and lo and behold, here comes the music from the potty again! My big boy.....I'm so proud of you!!!!!

Doing Some Catching Up...

2009-09-09T11:43:00.000-07:00

Yeah....so I haven't been great lately at keeping this thing up. I'm going to try and update it now, but I'll break it down into separate posts so it's not one huge novel. Make sure to scroll back a few to see all the new stuff!

NYC

2009-08-26T11:44:00.000-07:00

We finally got our NYC trip off the ground to celebrate our 5 year anniversary...woohoo! Ok, so it may be a month late in the making, but who cares??? We got to go! Danielle and Adam were nice enough to come down for the weekend to watch the little man for us.

It was a short trip, but we squeezed in as much as we could! We visited the World Trade Center, Statue of Liberty, Times Square, Little Italy, and even squeezed in an off-Broadway show! I'm feeling a repeat trip....

Going to the Statue of Liberty

Once a kid, always a kid....

FAO Schwartz

Yeah, we didn't catch the best weather the first day...

Michael with his present Marion picked out! We missed the little turkey!

Weekend in Baltimore

2009-08-15T11:59:00.000-07:00

My good friend from grad school, Marci, was having a baby shower back in Maryland, so we thought it would be a good excuse for a weekend trip back to the old stompin' ground. We got to see lots of old friends from school, and it was so nice catching up with everyone! Michael got to see his Auntie Laura too! As always, Michael was the hit of the party...I think he thought the shindig was for him. He did such a good job and was so well behaved. Congrats to Marci and Tim!!!!

When we were there, my friend Amy from work was nice enough to let us stay at their house. She has a 9 month old boy, who I hadn't been able to meet. He was sooo cute...with big blue eyes and lots of hair! A big thanks to Amy and Brian for their hospitality!!

Garden State Discovery Museum

2009-08-01T10:38:00.000-07:00

When we had our super nice neighbors over for dinner the other night, they told us about a few fun, kid-friendly things to check out in the area. One was the Discovery Museum in Cherry Hill that was supposedly really hands-on. Since it was way too hot to do anything outdoors, we decided to try out the recommendation.

Who knew there were so many kid-friendly things to do in our area? A short 30 minutes, and we were there! As soon as we went in, Michael was off, exploring all the different themed rooms. That was fine with us...burn off that energy little man!! It was actually pretty nice, and even included a separate playroom made for tots. We went fishing, cooked some burgers on the grill, played with bubbles, climbed a castle...you name it! We even ended up getting a membership so we could go back, complete with guest passes for those of you who will be visiting. :)

Paws Farm Nature Center

2009-07-26T10:25:00.000-07:00

Our New Jersey explorations continued today as we decided to take Michael to a local Nature Center, which was a mixture of an indoor/outdoor play area and petting zoo. I had heard good things about it, so I was anxious to try it out.

Overall, I would rate it as just 'ok'. They had the typical cows and pigs and horses, along with some other rarer things like a wallaby and a peacock. They also had a lot of pretend play areas, where the kids could dress up, go shopping, etc. Although Michael could do most of the stuff, he probably would've had more fun if he were a little older. At least it was a way to get out of the house and do something without driving forever!

On an unrelated note....we went out to dinner later, and Michael actually scribbled with a crayon for the first time instead of just using it to beat on things!

Blueberry Picking

2009-07-25T10:35:00.000-07:00

Today we decided to explore the vast farmland of NJ and visit a pick your own farm. We found one that had some good ratings and was just minutes from the house, so we decided to check it out and get some nice fresh blueberries.

Once we got there, our first impression was, "Really? This is it?" It looked a little junky...thought we were in the wrong place. However, I have to follow this by saying that we are used to picking fruit outside of DC where everything is highly commercialized. Marion went to check it out and came back with the 80 year old guy who ran the place. Turns out he was super nice...and funny too! So we made our way out to the blueberry bushes and got to picking.

MAN did we pick a hot day! Poor little guy downed his water so fast. But he was a trooper! He even did a great job helping pick the blueberries and put them in the bucket. When he started pulling them all back out of the bucket and throwing them on the ground, that was our cue to leave.

So we left the farm with a good time had by all and some cute pictures (all centered around Michael of course). Now what to do with all these blueberries......

On a different topic....we've started letting Michael hold/play with his spoons and forks more often during mealtime in an effort to get him to self-feed. He's actually doing a relatively good job with it! Today, he even scooped up some food out of his bowl and put it in his mouth all by himself! He's growing up so fast...

A Disappointing Break From the Madness

2009-07-19T12:42:00.000-07:00

The house is coming along, slowly but surely. It is a work in progress, but we are eventually moving out more and more boxes. At least you can see the floor. I think all of us needed a little break from the madness though, so we decided to take the day off from organizing and take a much needed trip to check out a local beach. We decided to check out Point Pleasant, since there were some good reviews about it from neighbors.

All in all, I have to say the experience was a little disappointing. First of all, traffic was absolutely HORRIBLE and there was no parking...guess we should've expected that for a sunny summer weekend. In addition to that, you have to PAY to get on any NJ beach, and it's not cheap. What the heck!!!!! We weren't even going to swim, but we wanted the experience, so we sucked it up and got our walk on. This was Michael's first trip to the beach, and he was NOT a fan. He wanted nothing to do with the sand, and I think the sound of the waves scared him. AND the water stank like fish or seaweed or something. Needless to say, our beach walking was short lived.

He was NOT feeling the sand.

We headed up to the boardwalk instead and checked that out. They had a little amusement park area attached, so Marion and I took Michael on the little train so he could get something out of the experience anyway. A long day....think we'll be trying a different beach next time.

Train ride around the Amusement Park

Goodbye Dayton...Hello New Jersey!

2009-07-17T12:33:00.000-07:00

The day has come...moving day!!! All the furniture is gone, Marion is already at our new house, and now I'm off to meet him in New Jersey with the dog, Michael, and my mom in tow. Luckily, Adam and Danielle served as a good midpoint, so we decided to crash there for the night. They were going out of town, but we even got an early enough start to hang out with them before they left. We took Michael to the pool at their complex, which he usually loves, but for some reason today he just wasn't feeling it. Then after they left, he wasted no time spitting up on their throw pillow and pulling all the books off their bookshelf. He wastes no time breaking in new places. After awhile, we decided he needed to expend some energy, so we took him to the play place in the nearby mall. I was impressed...it was huge! He would've been content to stay in there for hours. And I think mom had even more fun than he did!

So day one of the trip went quite smoothly, and Michael did a great job in the car, so I had high hopes for day two. Boy was I wrong. He slept for about 45 min total and screamed for the other 4 hours. NOT FUN! But we finally made it (after taking the long way, I'm sure, AND after paying an arm and a leg in tolls), to our new house filled with boxes. At least the boxes and paper entertained the litle kids and big kids alike. Take a look....who is the kid in these pics??

Fun in KY

2009-07-06T12:18:00.000-07:00

On the way home from TN, we decided to spend a few extra days in Kentucky before we had to return to real life and packing. Michael got to spend more time with all of his grandparents and his Aunt Sara which was nice, and the Walkers got to see him again. We also got to celebrate Mom, Dad, and Kendra's birthdays while we were there (cake compliments of yours truly. :) ).

HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY!

2009-07-04T11:36:00.000-07:00

Yes, I know this is late, but I'm trying to make up for it! We actually had a very nice 4th of July this year, so I thought it deserved a post, even if it was almost a month late.

After stopping in KY for a few days, we made our way down to TN to spend the 4th of July with Marion's family. Marion's grandma lives down there and has never seen Michael, so we thought it was important to go before we moved. I think she was glad we came. :)

Marion's uncle David made TONS of delicious food over the weekend, and Michael was the center of attention and a big hit as always. He even got to enjoy 4th of July festivities for the first time. We took him to the town parade in the morning which he liked, except for the extremely loud semi horn that blared right in his face. Then later, Marion set off fireworks at the house, and Michael didn't even flinch at the noise! He liked the fountain ones with all the colors. But what he liked best was throwing the Snap N Pops on the driveway. Way to teach him young Dad!

Thanks to the Sprouse family for all the hospitality. Here's a slideshow of some of the good times.

A Weekend With A Good Friend

2009-06-21T06:35:00.000-07:00

My good friend from college, Maria, decided to come visit this weekend before we moved. She has a daughter, Elizabeth, who is 2 weeks younger than Michael, so it is always fun watching them play 'together'. Although they weren't here long, we made the most of our time and packed our Saturday full of fun activities. We got up at a semi-decent hour and hit the Boonshoft Museum of Discovery in the morning. I can't believe that I've lived here a year and this is the first time I am going here! Although it wasn't the biggest museum in the world, it had tons of hands-on things the kids could participate in. They even got to play at the animal hospital and pretend to be vets! (Well, we dressed them up while they played with stuffed animals.) :) In the afternoon, we hit the community pool and had a blast. Here's just a few pics of our fun day. Thanks for visiting Maria and Elizabeth!!! We'll miss you guys!

House Hunting

2009-06-11T11:19:00.000-07:00

I can't believe that it is that time again already! Time for us to go house hunting to find a place in New Jersey. We figured we would be a lot more productive without the little man, so as hard as it was, we said our farewells and he spent a week with Grandma and Mamaw.

When we came to Ohio to look for houses, we felt so completely lost and didn't know where to begin looking. This time, we did a lot more research before we got out there, set up some showings ourselves and lined up a realtor to work with us as well. So of course, we figured...piece of cake! We'll be done in 2 days and then we can take a little vacation. :)

WHAT A PAIN IN THE BUTT! Even with all of our researching, finding houses was just as hard. They were either too expensive, out in the boonies, or wouldn't take pets. Dang dog. We never did find the perfect house, and feeling that those options were exhausted, we turned to searching townhomes on the last day. Lo and behold, there we found our new abode! And funny thing...the owners are getting restationed In Ohio! Small world. So here is where we will be spending the next 2 years:

On a more fun note, we got to stop and see Adam and Danielle's pad on the way home...finally! Danielle made us a delicious meal while we were there, and then took us to a local restaurant for lunch the next day where they put the fries AND slaw ON the sandwich. I know...it's a crazy world we live in! We got some fun pics of that, as follows...

Mmmm

Taking lessons from the pro...show us how it's done Danielle!

Doubting No More....

2009-05-31T11:56:00.000-07:00

So I have been arguing for weeks with Marion over whether or not Michael is talking yet. I always figured that when Michael said his first word it would be completely obvious. Not so much. He babbles constantly...who is to say he's not embedding something meaningful in there? He has been going around saying 'mamama' and 'dadada' for months, but it's not only when he is referring to us so it seems. Then, a couple weeks ago, I noticed that he would bring me a book off his shelf, and would always say 'but'. Now to me, that counts. But of course, Marion didn't hear this, and still doesn't believe me.

Today, all my doubts have been put to rest. I asked Michael to get his ball, and he looked around for it. When he found it, he picked it up and threw it to me. I picked it up and said, 'ball'. He looked at me, thought for a second, and VERY deliberately said 'ba'. Every time he threw me the ball, I would say it, and he would repeat. Now THAT is a word!

But guess who was at work? Poor old Daddy. Guess I still haven't won the battle.

Congrats Marion!

2009-05-28T11:13:00.000-07:00

So as much as he complained and as many hours as he worked, Marion has finally finished his intern year. He got to walk across the stage once again as a graduate once again. Although he still has a couple weeks of work left, the end is now officially in sight! You made it!

First Baseball Game!

2009-05-27T11:43:00.000-07:00

I haven't been to a real baseball game since I was a little kid, and Marion couldn't ever remember going to one, so we thought it would be fun to go to one and support the local minor league team - the Dayton Dragons. We met up with a few friends and their kids and grabbed a spot on the lawn. It was a gorgeous night and a great excuse to get out. Michael actually did really well at the game (I'm sure a lot of it had to do with the fact he could move around and play instead of being confined to a seat). The other 2 babies with us even got up on the big screen! Maybe next time for you, Michael....

Congrats Sarah!

2009-05-25T11:31:00.000-07:00

We got a nice surprise before we left the ol' KY this morning. Sarah, my good friend from high school, was driving through Etown on her way to a family bbq and offered to stop and visit for a little bit. What was even better about the visit was that she had just had her 3rd baby 2 weeks before...and we got to see him! Congratulations Sarah....you are AWESOME!!!! Here's a few pics of the clan:

Dad and Frank enjoying a book

Ben with Frank and Karis

Mom with the new addition, Daniel Evan. He's so tiny, but so cute!

Memorial Day Cookout

2009-05-24T11:10:00.000-07:00

Today we celebrated Memorial Day early by going to Barb and Barry's new house for a cookout. Luckily, the rain held off and it turned into a beautiful day. We got to see the Powell's awesome new house, eat good food, and take it easy in the sun. Barb even got Michael a pool so he could go swimming! He had fun in there!

Yet ANOTHER Birthday Present!

2009-05-23T20:18:00.000-07:00

Ok, so I guess Michael's birthday never ends. That boy is so spoiled. First thing when we got to Kentucky, he got a custom-made board book from Mom and Dad with everyone's picture in it. He loves it! But if that wasn't it, it just kept coming....

Dad came in that night while we were discussing our plans of how we were supposed to go hiking the next day if Michael didn't have his carrier. Well, ask and you shall receive! He whips out a brand new baby backpack carrier! FAR superior to our $4 yard sale find (although it has served us well). This thing is like the Cadillac of backpacks, so of course we had to try it out this morning. Here are some shots out on the trail:

A Weekend In KY

2009-05-22T20:09:00.000-07:00

This weekend we went to Kentucky to visit Grandma, Grandpa, Mamaw and Papaw. Michael's already been busy helping Grandma cook, checking out Mamaw's new house, and playing outside. Here's a few candid shots from day 1:

Ok, so maybe he didn't help her cook. Maybe he just helped lick the bowl. :)

So Many Changes...

2009-05-19T10:38:00.000-07:00

For those of you who don't know, there is tons going on over here in the great state of Ohio right now. We have gotten word that, since Marion has resigned from his surgical internship after determining it just wasn't the life for him, we are being restationed once again this summer. We will be moving to McGuire AFB in New Jersey this July and will be there for 2 years. Marion will basically be working as a Family Practice doc for that time, and then will reapply to a different residency.

Initially, we were very shocked at the news...New Jersey??? Really??? This time, we didn't get any say in the matter either, they just kinda told us where we were going to go. But after the news sank in, I think it will actually be ok. We will be less than an hr. from the beach, 30 min. from Philadelphia, 1.5 hrs from NYC, and 3 hrs from our old stomping ground in DC. If we get bored out there, it will be our own fault. AND Marion will have the weekends off up there...YAY!!!

Change #2: Selling our house in DC

We are still sitting on the townhouse in DC that we were unable to sell before we moved. We have since put it back on the market, and have an offer on it!! However, we are fighting with the Homeowner's Assistance Program, who is assisting us in getting rid of this house, on timelines, so keep your fingers crossed for us!!

Newport Aquarium

2009-05-18T09:57:00.000-07:00

As always, moving makes you try and squeeze in everything that you had not gotten around to doing yet in the area before you leave. I had always wanted to go to the Newport Aquarium since I heard so many good things about it, so I convinced Marion to take the little man and I down there on Sunday.

We discovered that the aquarium is acutally part of a bigger area in Newport called Newport on the Levee that has lots of neat shops and restaurants. So we decided to stop and grab lunch at Johnny Rocket's before we headed to the aquarium. (Best chocolate peanut butter shakes EVER by the way!) The waitress gave Michael a cook's hat to wear while we were there, and he at least kept it on long enough so we could get pictures!

After all our stomachs were full, we headed to the main attraction. It was fun watching Michael just stare at the fish in the first few rooms with those huge eyes. I don't think he knew what to think of them! Once he got tired of looking at the fish, back to his stroller he went and actually behaved very well while Marion and I enjoyed the rest of the exhibits.

After we were done at the aquarium, we walked around the levee for a little bit enjoying the little bit of sunshine that day. There were street performers playing some instruments in the square, and Michael even went and joined them for a few minutes!!

Gotta love family days....we don't get many.

Yes, We have joined the world of blogging.

2009-05-17T19:30:00.000-07:00

Yes, it is true. We have succumbed to temptation and joined the ever-growing world of bloggers.

Actually, I am going to switch over to posting on this site, since it is free. For those of you who have missed Michael's first year, be sure to catch up by visiting our current site: www.totsites.com/tot/powelljr
The subscription is getting ready to expire and I'm too cheap to renew it when I can use this one. :)

So change your bookmarks on your computers (I know you check on us everyday!)...and be sure to check in regularly at our new site...there's TONS going on right now!