So much has happened since I last blogged. We spent Christmas in Washington (which I have pictures of but they are on the camera that I can't find the uploading device for). All of Jeff's siblings and their spouses were there, so it was so great to be able to spend time with everyone. Austin and I spent some time in NC and had a birthday party for him there. We have been so fortunate to be able to see family as often as we have (even though sometimes it was so they could come take care of us - thank you!). The rest of our time has been spent watching Austin grow and wondering how it is happening so fast.

Everytime I get everything looking nice for my blog post, I preview my blog post and all the pictures are mixed up. So here are the captions for the pictures - not necessarily in order! First haircut - although I only cut off the old man hairs growing over his ears. I just couldn't part with the curls in the back yet. Spaghetti night was awesome. It made me think we should have done a spaghetti cake for his birthday. This little boy loves balloons. Everytime he sees them he gets really excited, points at them, and tries so hard to say balloon. He LOVES watching Elmo on the computer, not so much on the TV. Most of his day is spent walking and running around the living room playing with balls and his golf club. All of daddy's training is paying off already! Life is crazy, but we are doing great. My shoulder is getting better everyday, Austin is healthy and happy, and Jeff graduates in two months!!

"Everything Happens for a Reason"

That has to be the most accurate cliche ever. Over the summer I slipped down some stairs and injured my arm. I have been in some pain ever since. I tried Physical Therapy for a month, but it just wasn't getting better. When I woke up in the middle of the night a few weeks ago with terrible pain, I decided I better go back to the doctor. They decided to do an MRI, where they discovered a tumor inside my shoulder bone. After 7 very emotional days and a biopsy, I found out the tumor is benign (whew!). It is very aggressive and has nearly destroyed the top of my humerus. I am having it removed on Wednesday, which I hope will be the beginning of the end of the pain. I am so thankful for that fall over the summer and that it led me to get an MRI. I'm thankful for the many sighs of relief since finding out it's not cancer. I'm thankful for amazingly knowledgeable doctors who were so willing to get me the help I needed so quickly. I'm thankful for my loving family (immediate and extended) and friends who have offered many prayers and words of support. I'm thankful for my health. I am so blessed.

Toddler Section?!

My sweet little boy is 9 months old, so I feel like I should still be shopping in the baby section. Oh no, I have to shop in the Toddler Section! Tonight I bought him a sweater that was 24 month size. Yikes! (He is usually in 12-18 month size. That sweater was unusally small). Even though he's a big boy, he's still my sweet, 9 month old BABY. He loves to wave hello and bye, even if no one is coming or leaving. He has been crawling since he was 6 1/2 months, but doesn't have much interest in walking. He loves pulling up on things and climbing on things - but the whole walking thing doesn't seem too cool to him yet. He loves playing chase with his dad. His two favorite things are climbing on things and reading books. He will crawl over to his books and pick up the one he wants to read. I miss him so much when I'm at work, but I'm so grateful I get to come home to him in the afternoons.

This is how he laughs when he thinks something is REALLY funny.

8 Months

I can't believe my baby is 8 months old. He is so much fun right now. I say this at every stage, but this is really my favorite stage so far. He is so funny. He keeps amazing me at what he knows and how quickly he learns things. My new favorite thing he does is playing peek-a-boo behind the curtains. It is hilarious and so sweet. He is crawling all over the place and pulling up on everything. He even couch-walked this weekend! Love love love him!

July

I know it's September now, but I have to write a little something about July. July was an exciting month, full of milestones for Austin. Within 3 weeks, he . . .

Learned to sit himself up





















He learned how to crawl!







And pull himself up.

Life Lesson

For the past few months I have been following the blog and facebook of a friend of mine from college. Her baby, who is a day younger than Austin, needed a liver transplant. I read everyday to get the update on how Ruby was doing. I was always amazed at Ani's faith. She never gave up. She would talk about how blessed she was when she got to take Ruby home from the hospital for a few days or even just hold her without her being hooked up to all the hospital monitors. When I woke up on Friday and read that Ruby had passed away, my heart just ached for her family. I cannot imagine the pain they must feel. But on her latest blog, Ani said how grateful she is for the knowledge of Eternal families. Her perspective and attitude throughout this unimaginable trial has be so inspiring for me. The past few days I have been hugging Austin a little tighter, holding him longer, and telling him I love him over and over again. I am so grateful for him. I hope I can always remember to show him how much I love him, even when life gets crazy.

Fun in the Sun (With SPF 50)

Jeff and I are lucky enough to be living in NC this summer. Jeff got an internship in Raleigh (thanks Aunt Debbie!), so we got the chance to get out of Provo for the summer. We are loving it so far. A change is always nice, and who doesn't want to live near the beach during the summer? I spent my first week here with my family at the Outer Banks. Jeff had to work most of the time, but was able to come out over the weekend. We had fun playing at the beach, eating, and trying to turn Austin into a beach bum.

First time at the beach! He'll be a beach bum soon enough

Hanging out by the Sound

Waterfront Dining

Since we got back from OBX, I have been spending my time going back and forth between Raleigh and Beulaville. I love being so close to family, and I'm pretty sure my parents are enjoying having us around - especially Austin! He has grown and changed so much since we have been here - even his hair is growing faster. He is starting to crawl - mostly an army crawl for now, but I can tell it won't be long before he takes off. I can already see I will be one busy mama once he's on the move. Hopefully I will have a video of his army crawl to share soon.