Big News!

I've been holding back on this but word is starting to get out so I might as well make sure everyone gets the right information.

We just bought a house.

Yes, that's right.  We are homeowners.

We aren't living in our house yet.  We still live with my darling Grandma who may live another 10 years, she is so awesome!

Why do we have a house, then?  I'm not 100% sure.  Tyler saw it, liked it, and couldn't stop thinking about it.  I saw it, liked it, but thought nothing of it.  Tyler kept bringing it up until we finally prayed and took it to the temple.  The peace I felt in making this decision has been...amazing.  I'm trying to decide if I've ever felt this calm and put together about a decision before.  We were meant to buy this house.

We can't have an empty house though.  And we won't be moving in until Grandma no longer needs us.  So we have offered the house to our sisters who are going to UVU.  The house is in Provo but right off the interstate so the commute to school will be quick and easy.  They both have cats and have had a hard time finding housing that is affordable and lets them keep their pets.  As long as they help take care of our house, we are letting them keep the cats.  (though if anything gets ruined by the cats, you'd better believe I won't be the one replacing it!!!)

It's crazy and exciting and scary and...just awesome.  The overwhelming feeling I have is still peace.  I have some doubts and fears and worries and things as well but...God isn't letting me forget that this is right.

And we love our new house.  Jamison wants to go visit it every day.  (I think he mostly just likes the trampoline in the ground out back).

Side note: If you are looking to buy or sell in the area, our realtor was seriously the best (and also my cousin, but still the best).  Angie Evans.  And our loan officer was amazing too.  Bliss Sawyer.

Life has been getting me down lately.  I'm working at being more positive, especially since most of the things upsetting me aren't even within my control.  So today is my day of gratitude.  I woke up this morning and started thinking about the good in my life.  This list is more for me than for anyone else, but if it reminds someone else that life isn't as bad as it feels, that there are some good things no matter what, that's great.  :)  

(Please note that this is no way an inclusive list.  I obviously have lots to be grateful for, today is just the list of things that made me feel better this morning.  Things that made my heart swell with gratitude.)

*I am grateful for my children.  They are so cute and so sweet, and though sometimes they drive me crazy...I wouldn't ever trade them.  I love watching them learn and grow.  I love watching them play together and show love for each other.  I just...love my boys!

*Pancake mix.  But not just any pancake mix.  This morning I wanted pancakes but I didn't want to make a huge mess in my already messy kitchen.  Luckily for me, my mother in law and her husband gave us strawberry pancake mix for Christmas two years ago and they have kept us in stock ever since.  So all I had to do was pull out the mix and add water.  Jamison and Gregory LOVED it.

*I am grateful for my grandma.  She is such a good example to me.  She's 94 and she's lived through a lot.  I love that she is still able to remain positive.  So many elderly people get cranky but she is the sweetest woman alive.  She will bend over backwards to make sure everyone else is happy.  I love that about her.  I strive to be like that, but I fall short.  Maybe in another 60+ years I will be half the woman she is.

*Yard work!  I know that sounds weird.  Growing up I hated weeding and planting and...anything that was around bugs, sweat, or dirt.  But since I've had my own yard to take care of I've discovered great joy in pulling weeds, pruning trees, picking tomatoes....at the end of the day I can see my hard work and feel satisfied.  It's the best feeling.

*I'm so so grateful for my parents who taught me how to work hard.  I hated it and thought they were so mean, but I'm learning now how much they obviously love me.  They made sure I knew how to cook and clean and do laundry and play the piano, follow through with obligations, treat others with respect....the list goes on.  I really am so grateful for parents who weren't just my friends (though they are that too) and were hard on me when they needed to be to make sure I became a well-adjusted adult.  

*I'm glad I have a double stroller.  I was so against getting one because they seemed so annoying and bulky...but now that I have one I use it almost every day!  The boys and I walk around the block or to the park or even to the store.  It's fantastic for us to get out of the house and for me to watch them both.  

*I am grateful for Tyler.  There is so much to be said on the subject.  He's not a perfect man, but I'm not a perfect woman.  He's perfect for me, though, and that's what counts.  He is amazing.  He really is.  I could spend hours listing all the wonderful things about Tyler.  But I can't without neglecting my children (fairly certain Gregory will be up from his nap soon).  

*I'm incredibly grateful that my Father in Heaven loves me enough to watch out for me.  Always.  Right now I have the privilege to care for my Grandma and my children and not worry about needing to work outside the home.  What a blessing.  

This is such a short list.  I have so many other things to be grateful for.  I don't know why I let myself get down when I have so much happiness around me!

(sorry there are no pictures, I haven't figured out how to load them from my phone to my iPad now that I don't have an iPhone...)

When life feels like too much, I have to remember to look at the good.  I look at my sweet husband who will do anything for me.  I look at my darling kids and all the joys and challenges that come with raising them.  And I realize...it's not so bad.  I can do this.  And I have the cutest companions to enjoy this journey with.

Jamison is so creative and clever.  His imagination just blows my mind.  He can turn anything into...well, anything.  It's awesome.

 (this belt is his whistle)

 (this lawnmower also doubles as a motorcycle)

Gregory never really took to baby food but he loves eating table food with us.  His favorites are bananas, grapes, and corn.  And our house is no longer safe as Gregory has figured out how to get around.  His version of crawling is a little funky but it gets him where he wants to go.  I've learned it's a lot harder to baby-proof a house when you have a toddler but we are working on it!

Tyler is staying busy with work and school.  I'm so proud of his hard work.  We drove all the way to Tooele (hour and a half) on Saturday so he could take a test.  And then (of course) they had problems with the computer and he had to reschedule.  Luckily he can take it closer to home this time.  While we were out we took the boys to the zoo for the afternoon.  I'm not sure Gregory knew or cared what was going on but he was excited when I took him out of the stroller to go in the Reptile house.  And Jamison was so impressed with all the animals he could see in one place.  He would request one animal after another and we'd go find it.  Elephant, Rhinoceros, Gorilla...the only thing we couldn't show him was the Lion because they are creating a new environment for it right now.  The good news is that we got a season pass for Christmas so this definitely won't be our last trip!

This year has been so crazy!  I can't believe 2013 is coming to an end.  Looking back over the past 12 months, I feel like not only has a lot changed within our family, but a lot has changed within myself.  I have grown so much and I am so grateful for the opportunities I have been given throughout this year that helped me to grow.

From January to the beginning of May, our family continued living in Provo.  We loved our basement apartment and our ward and would have been okay with staying there for several years.  Unfortunately we had to move when the landlord decided to come from South Carolina and move into the home.  We spent some time looking at other apartments and then we were approached with the idea of moving into my grandmother's basement and being there to help her.  It was a hard decision for me because I knew how much it would change not only what I did with my time each day, but also possibly my relationship with my grandmother.  I would be more than just a grand-daughter visiting, I would be a caregiver.  And that's not always easy.  But we prayed long and hard and Heavenly Father told me over and over (just to make sure I got the point) that I should do this.  He also told me that this move was NOT for me, but for others.

Moving in with Grandma was an adjustment of course, but it has been so wonderful.  Jamison has loved adding visiting Grandma and helping her with things to our daily routine.  He is always asking to help with everything so I find ways for him to contribute to the care giving.  And Grandma has taught me so much.  We've both adjusted to working with each other and learning together how we can best make this work.  She has helped me to learn and grow in so many ways.  I'm so grateful for the opportunity I have been given to serve and learn from my grandmother.

In July, Tyler's job description changed and he was given new responsibilities at work.  He is still doing Tech Support but now he does the phone systems and wireless security throughout the district instead of just fixing problems at a few assigned schools. In the space of two weeks, he technically received two promotions.  He now has the job he had hoped to have if he continued working for the Provo School District for five or more years.  I am so happy for, and proud of, my husband!

August 10th we welcomed a new baby boy to our family.  Gregory Steven Dennis.  He is growing in leaps and bounds already and we love him so much.  Jamison has had his ups and downs with having a baby brother but he is a kind and loving big brother for the most part.  It's fun to watch a relationship develop between the two boys.

Tyler started school in November.  He found the perfect program for him through an online college called Western Governor's University.  It's affordable and he can go his pace, which is so perfect!  He's learning a lot already and talking about pursuing a Master's Degree after he finishes his Bachelors.

This is such a brief summary of the events in our lives this year.  I have learned so much about family, love, service, attitude, parenting, perseverance, and faith this year.  I look forward to what next year will bring.

When you haven't posted in over two months....where do you even begin?  I really don't even know what to say, which is why I haven't blogged in so long.  I stay super busy taking care of my children, my grandma, my husband....and at the end of the day, I just want to relax.  So blogging, (along with pretty much everything else I should be doing) rarely gets done.  When I try to tell people what's going on in my life, I can't even think of anything specific to say.  I just...stay busy all day every day doing....stuff.  You know?

Well I can say this.  My children are growing so fast!  Jamison is potty trained now and I feel like he aged 5 years once he figured out how to use the bathroom.  And I was telling Tyler just tonight that I almost can't remember what Jamison was like before he could talk in full sentences.  He is ALWAYS talking.  And his imagination cracks me up. All week long he's been handing me imaginary presents to unwrap.  And they always require scissors to open.  We also get stuck in the mud a lot at our house, and have to use a rope to get out. 

And Gregory?  Good grief, it feels like the child never stops eating!  He's currently wearing 6-9 month clothes.  He just turned 4 months old this week.  Next week he goes to the doctor and I will find out just how big he is!  I love his little personality.  He's chatting and smiling and so much fun!  He loves sitting in his exersaucer and watching me vacuum which is so funny because Jamison has always been scared of the vacuum.  And today, for the first time, he rolled over!!!

The two boys are getting along pretty well.  Jamison went through a phase where he'd hit Gregory every opportunity he had and Gregory would cry any time Jamison came near him.  Luckily they are mostly over that.  Jamison has started telling me that he thinks Gregory is cute.  And tonight when Jamison tried playing with Gregory...he actually got a laugh out of his little brother!  I'm so excited for the day when they can REALLY play together.  I hope they will be best friends.

I'll try to do better about blogging but I'm not making any promises.  Until next time...enjoy some pictures of my darling children.  :)

Yesterday Tyler said to me, "You're looking pregnant."

At 33 weeks?  Imagine that.  ;)

My life feels never-ending crazy right now, which is why I haven't blogged all month.  We moved, I've been adjusting to my new role as care-giver to my grandmother, I had family in from New Zealand, and then my parents just left for a visit to New Zealand, we already have a calling in our ward...there is just always something going on.

It's okay though, we are doing well.  Jamison has adjusted amazingly well to moving, even though it meant leaving behind his best friend.  He loves visiting "da" several times a day while I help her with meals, insulin, etc. and he loves the space he has inside and outside of the house.

We enjoyed our visit with my cousin before she entered the MTC and the additional days we had with my poppa before he flew back to New Zealand (with Mom and Dad in tow). 

And we are getting into our new calling as primary teachers to the 5 year olds in our ward.  It's such a fun age because they interpret things so differently than I do.  They are willing to listen, want to learn, but always have so much to say!  It can be fun and frustrating at the same time.  The extra practice in patience will be good for when I have two children.  :)

JAMISON UPDATE:

My baby boy isn't much of a baby anymore.  He is growing up so fast!  Right now he's on the verge of toilet training.  I didn't want to believe it, but my mom and mother-in-law have both told me to stop putting it off and get the kid trained.  He lets me know every time his diaper is soiled.  So I guess we'll be starting that process soon. 

His imagination is really starting to develop and he comes up with the funniest things!  He turns everything into a slide still, which is so funny to watch.  He also is obsessed with baths and is always talking about bathing bugs, cats...anything really.  We went to a dairy farm while my poppa was here and Jamison saw a newborn (like literally less than an hour old) calf and was really worried about the fact that it was "a mess" and started looking for water to give it a bath.  On that same note...he wants to wash his hands like twenty times a day. 

Jamison is definitely asserting his independence. He chooses what he wears every day and there are large tantrums if I try to encourage him to wear something he doesn't want to wear.  So I'm learning to let it slide...I know he's not the only two-year old wearing shorts and Halloween socks or mis-matched outfits.  And it makes him happy to choose for himself. 

We're not getting full-blown sentences yet but he's stringing words together and I'm always impressed with his vocabulary.  Most things are even going by the right name now, minus pumpkins which are still cooks.  Everything else at least KIND OF resembles the real word.  By far my favorite word to hear, though, is his name.  I love when Jamison says his own name.  He'll say it to claim things (and luckily he doesn't believe everything is his...mostly he just claims things that already belong to him like his milk or his toys), or when he sees my phone or computer because he knows they contain pictures and videos of him.  He is obsessed with watching videos of himself. 

The last few weeks have been all about trucks for Jamison.  They were doing some work on the water pipes in front of our house so there were always lots of "youd twucks" out front for Jamison to watch.  Then last week he got to go for a short ride in the truck that his grams and gramps drive.  He loved it!  He's so obsessed with trucks that it's hard to get him to dress in any shirt other than the few he has with vehicles on them (case and point: look at all the pictures in this post...he's wearing a car/truck/train in all but one of them and they were almost all taken on different days!)

GREGORY UPDATE:

I feel huge and I look it.  Say what you want, I've put on more weight this pregnancy and not just in my belly.  I have to keep reminding myself that it's okay and I can't diet yet but once the baby comes I'll be able to drop the weight. 

Everything is right on track though.  I've got a healthy baby boy and I'm so grateful. I should even be able to do a VBAC because at this point he's in the right position and there have been no complications to prevent it.  YAY!  I think I felt a contraction the other day and I know it sounds weird but I was so excited.  I never experienced a single contraction with Jamison so this is all new and now I don't feel so left out when people talk about child-birth.  I always hated that feeling...I had a child but I didn't really HAVE a child the way the other moms did.  I couldn't talk about labor or contractions or epidurals...Anyway...I'm weird but I'm excited to experience what childbirth is all about.  Bring it on!

Guess what friends?!  Life is super, duper crazy right now.  I have so much to share, it's hard to know where to begin.  Let's start pretty much where my last post left off: with my ultrasound (and a new picture of my pregnant belly).

When I went to get the ultrasound done, I forgot to grab the address for the office before we left the house.  Normally I go to their Orem office but they do ultrasounds in their Provo office instead.  So we just googled the address on my phone (the joy of modern technology!) and got there with two minutes to spare.  Not that it mattered because the office was running way behind.  We had to wait over an hour but it was fine because my sister was watching Jamison and all was good.  When we got back to actually get the ultrasound, the tech asked me if I have the doctor's orders.  I didn't remember being given anything to bring so she tells me to make sure they fax her the order.  I thought it was kind of weird because I was just going to the doctor's Provo office instead of the Orem one I normally visit...why on earth didn't they have the order?!  Well, I went home and got busy and forgot about it until it was too late to call.  And then the next day when I remembered to call, no one answered.  I forgot about it again until yesterday (Wednesday).  And the receptionist at the office was VERY confused  when I called and told her what I needed.  She told me I'd never even shown up for my ultrasound and they had my order.  I'm like...yes...I did....According to her records, though, I had been a no-show.  Anyway, skipping past the details of my conversation with her...I went to the wrong doctor's office.  Apparently there is a Valley OBGYN and a Utah Valley OBGYN.  I went to the Utah Valley OBGYN instead of the Valley OBGYN.  Their offices are a few blocks apart.  Ooops!  The weird thing?  1-When I didn't show up for my ultrasound, why didn't they call to find out where I was?  I mean, who really misses their gender ultrasound?!  And even if they didn't have time to call me then, why haven't I heard from them since about rescheduling?  2-When I showed up to the wrong office, why didn't they say, "Who the heck are you?  We don't have you on the schedule and we don't have any of your information on file.  Go home.  We are already overbooked" (because they were)?  The blame is not all mine, that's all I'm saying.  So now I am in the process of trying to get a hold of the ultrasound tech who did the ultrasound so that I can get the results faxed to the right doctor.  Only she's out of town this week.  And the only other person who can access the information is also unavailable.  Also, I have yet to mention this little mishap to my insurance company...hopefully they don't kill me for this.  I have no idea if the people I went to are covered by my insurance.  Is that not the most ridiculous story ever?!

Moving on to Easter!  YAY!  (Have I ever mentioned before that Easter is my favorite holiday?  Not only because I LOVE Easter candy better than any other candy but because of the beautiful reason for celebrating Easter). We didn't have the Easter bunny visit Jamison until I got off work (I had to work the lunch shift) and he woke up from his nap.  When I got home from work he was still sleep so I just put his Easter basket where he could see it when he woke up.  Watching his excitement at getting some eggs with candy and a book was so darling.  He kept saying, "wow!" and was super giddy.  It was so sweet. 

We had dinner at my parents' house and then my mom did an Easter Egg Hunt for Jamison.  He is such a funny kid.  His current favorite candies are Candy Corns (heaven only knows why!!!) and Life Savers.  So Mom bought him a bunch of the Easter colored ones. When he realized that was in the Easter Eggs (along with some cars and money) he got super excited.  He was dancing around and he told us "I got candy corns that I like!"  We have it on video and it's the cutest thing!  (If you are friends with me on Facebook, my brother posted the video and tagged me in it.  Go watch it, you won't regret it.  I promise.)  I would say it was a pretty successful Easter for my little man.  And me too.  I enjoyed Sacrament meeting (which was the only part of church I could attend because of work) and the sweet Spirit that reminded me that I have an older brother who loves me enough that he will do whatever it takes to help me be happy in this life and in eternity.  It gives me warm fuzzies.  :)

Now for more news!  Keeping with our tradition....we will be moving again this summer.  We knew our landlord was planning on moving here this summer, but what we didn't know was what he planned to do about us renting the basement.  At one point he'd said he'd keep us around.  But he hasn't kept us in the loop and so Tyler finally asked him and...yeah, we have to move out.  Sigh.  I'm so tired of moving.  We'd hoped to stay here for a while. So we have started looking around at our options.  We found an AMAZING deal in Orem.  It's a basement apartment, 1350 sq ft., and under $750 a month with utilities included!  We went and toured it the other day.  Tyler was hoping we could hand them a deposit and take it then and there and be done with the apartment search but....the people had a lot of interest (imagine that, with that much space and such a low price!) so they were doing tours all week and said they would let us know when they decided who they were going to rent to.  It felt like a job interview.  We filled out an application, gave references, and were told they would let us know.   We've since found out that we won't be getting that apartment, so the search continues with another tour tonight and probably even more in the future.  We are just praying that we will find the right place...and find it soon.  Moving + pregnant = not so awesome.  Plus, I probably haven't mentioned this before, we don't know if Tyler will get to keep his job.   Because of Obama-care, the school district wants to cut back their employees hours so that they don't have to give them benefits.  Tyler's boss is really pushing to get to keep Tyler at full time but we are still waiting to see what will be decided.  And they don't technically have to give us an answer until July.  So it's just a waiting game for now. It all feels a little reminiscent of when I was pregnant with Jamison and Tyler lost his job.  I'm hoping we don't have a repeat with every baby!!!

So that's us.  We keep life exciting.  :)  I shall now end with more cute pictures of my darling son and handsome husband.  They play so well together!

I'm a total blogging slacker!  This pregnancy has been so different from my last that I feel like I'm going through pregnancy for the first time.  And even though I am 18 weeks in, I'm not getting that 2nd wind I got when I was pregnant with Jamison.  I'm still sick and tired and don't want to do ANYTHING!  So I do the basics and things like blogs and (sometimes laundry...which should probably count as a basic...) get pushed to the side.

But I had some time while Jamison napped and realized it was high time I did some updating.

The weather has been glorious most of the past two weeks.  We are soaking it in.  Jamison and I are outside daily.  Yesterday while I was at work, Jamison and Tyler were in the backyard my entire shift at work!  It's great, we have been missing the time outside and starting to run out of indoor activities.  In fact, recently Jamison had taken to turning on the t.v. several times a day.  Yikes!  Thank goodness spring is just around the corner.

While the baby in my belly might be growing bigger every week, the rest of me is getting smaller.  My doctor lectured me about needing to gain weight at my last appointment.  And I've been disappointed to discover the most people STILL don't realize I'm pregnant.  Tell me honestly, do I really just look fat? 

Tyler has found the perfect way to get his college education without giving up the job that he falls more in love with every day.  (except today when he didn't want to stay at work because there was just so much to do...)  It's an online program, which means he can still work full-time and just do his work at night when he gets home.  And the best part is that it will cost about the same as tuition at UVU.  It will take more personal discipline but I have great faith in my husband and I will be his number one cheerleader and supporter the whole time.  I am so incredibly proud of everything he does!

Jamison is still the chatter box he has always been.  He is also a parrot now.  He repeats almost EVERYTHING he hears, so watch out!  Not only that, he repeats actions too.  We have to keep a close eye on his behavior these days because he's picking up all sorts of habits I'm not thrilled about.  He's such a doll though.  He is always enthusiastic about helping me do things around the house and I love hearing him say, "a help?" as he reaches his hands out to pick up the laundry basket, throw away some trash, or put his toys where they belong.  Maybe I'm a little biased but..I have the best baby!

(and so handsome too!)

I just had to share....

(Tyler is secretly hoping for twins...well, actually it's not much of a secret...)

Sometimes I go along in life with this picture in my mind of how thing are going to be.  I start planning exactly what I want from life, how and when I'm going to get it, and how great and perfect it will be.  And that's when God steps in and reminds me that I have no idea what I'm talking about.  I've just had a day like that.

In my world, Tyler was going to start school next summer and do homework like a mad-man and graduate in two years.  Then we'd be DONE being a college student family.  I was looking forward to this.  Reality stepped in yesterday (in the form of my husband) and reminded me that since Tyler is a husband and a father and has to work to provide money for our family while he's in school....it will probably take 4 years.  My picture?  Shattered.  And replaced with a new one. 

In my world, we would also not have to move again until Tyler was done with school.  It was blissful to think that I wouldn't have to pack and clean and search for homes and unpack for a few years.  Now we have been informed by our landlord that he may or may not want us to move out next summer.  It's still up in the air.  Apparently Tyler and I are cursed with a weird curse that forces us to move every single summer.  Blah.

So now I'm back in the real world.  Tyler is working two jobs this month, helping to finish the basement of a friend's house.  He loves the work though he's told me more than once that he hates not seeing me or Jamison.  Usually he's at the school district before Jamison wakes up and he goes straight from work to help in the basement and doesn't get home until long after Jamison goes to bed.  He had Sunday off, though, and got plenty of time to interact with our cranky teething baby.  Now he's probably glad to escape.  Juuuuust kidding.  We both love our son, even when he's cranky.  I mean, look how cute he is:

 (modeling his Nana's sunglasses at the zoo)

But back to Tyler's work schedule....this might actually continue for longer than a month because Tyler is looking at getting a more permanent second job until he goes back to school (which, I forgot to mention, is now taking place next fall instead of next summer...got to save up more money!).

It's okay, though.  I mean, my version of life has been messed with but that's nothing new.  How often do we make a plan that ends up needing to be changed?  And when I let God help me make the plan (something I've obviously been forgetting to do) then it will all turn out for the best....and the best that God can plan is bound to be way better than anything I could come up with. 

I'm trying to get back into blogging.  I think part of the reason I stopped was because I used to blog about my experiences and my feelings.  Then I got a blog about my baby and that's where most of the family adventures went.  So that left this blog to be about feelings.  And when it comes to feelings...there is only so much you want to expose to even your closest of friends.  Am I right?  So now I've got to find a balance of feelings and experiences that won't feel like a repeat of my public blog.


When Tyler and I moved to Utah we decided it was time to stop spending so much time being anti-social.  Everywhere we moved I've had great intentions.  I had big plans for making lots of friends and not being shy and awkward around people.  It's hard though.  It's who I am.  I'm an awkward person.  And I always worry so much about my awkwardness.  I second guess everything I do, worried about what people will think.  I'm working on it though.  We decided to invite some couples over for a game night.  Most the couples were related to us in some way or another, and then I decided to invite a couple from the ward who I had gotten to know a little bit.  After inviting them I started panicking...what would they think about the fact that they were the only people not related to us?  Was it weird that I invited them?  Was it weird that I invited my relatives?  What if they didn't like hanging out with us?  What if people hated each other?  What if they hated me?  What if, what if, what if?!  Good news.  It turned out fine.  And we organized another game night the next month.  And then we had a mini football party for the BYU-Utah game last week (granted it was all family there too but...at least I'm inviting people over!)  Tyler and I are both rather proud of our jump into society. 

Oh, and I'm training for a triathlon.  Tyler has been dreaming of doing one for a while now, but he didn't want to train alone.  He couldn't find anyone he wanted to train with though and when he asked me, I responded with a big, fat "no!".  I hate running.  I hate swimming.  I hate biking.  Why on earth would I want to do a triathlon?  That's like 3 forms of torture for me!  So Tyler started training on his own.  And then life happened and he ended up in Germany and...well, that kind of put a damper on his training.  He started up again when we moved here but didn't feel the same motivation.  It's hard doing it alone.  So I gave in.  I told him I will train, but I'm not going to compete.  He thinks I'm silly for putting in all the work without getting to that final goal but...I'm doing this to support him, not to fulfill some life-long dream of mine!  Maybe in a few months I'll change my mind.  We'll see.

Finally...I thought about making this blog public.  I had people comment on how they can no longer find it because their invitation has expired or because they don't want to make their own blog profile.  It makes it inconvenient, but that's why I started the public baby blog...it gives you a mini idea of our lives.   That's just it, though.  It's mini.  It's like brushing the surface.  It's usually the same things I'd tell a complete stranger in the supermarket line (if that stranger happened to ask, that is.  I don't just randomly start showing off pictures of my child and telling stories while we wait to be rung up).  There isn't a lot of depth to it.  But the depth I share here (which isn't even as deep as I could go, or as some people go) I don't necessarily want just anyone reading.  And I certainly don't want random people stumbling across it.  There are some scary people in my past that I sometimes worry about having resurface.  I don't think they will but I still find that I am paranoid about being too public and accessible.  So what should I do?  Do I make this public, share my feelings, and risk being found by people I don't want finding me?  Do I make it public but take out the details that make it MY blog?  Or do I keep it private and recognize that only half a dozen people will get the half-real me instead of the super-public me?

This post is long and has no pictures and is probably super boring.  Kudos to you if you've read to this point.  So as a reward...it's picture time.

My baby is adorable. 

And is now walking. 

We are very proud.  He is probably more proud than the rest of us, though. 

Jamison loves that he can get wherever he wants just like we can.  He spends his days walking in circles around the house. 

I couldn't be happier for him...except when he begins asserting that independence at inconvenient times.  Like at the library yesterday when I wouldn't let him wander down all the aisles pulling out books.  When I grabbed his hand and tried to lead him to where I was looking at books, Jamison's scream was so loud and high pitched that we left the library without getting any books.  And the hardest part of Jamison being mobile?  The extra possibility for injury.  Today he tripped over my feet and face planted it into a side table.

Ouch, right?  Oh but babies are surprisingly strong.  He cried for a while and made me super nervous but now he's mostly fine.  Swollen and bruised but acting completely normal.  Aren't babies amazing?