Our latest visitor

My sister, Amber, came to visit us for a few days. She is a graduate student at the University of Utah. It was her fall break, so she came on down to Knoxville. I had such great plans about where we would go and what we would do. The only problem was that my car was still in the shop after more than a week. Luckily my friend Lindsey was willing to take me to pick Amber up from the airport--she would have had a long three and a half days otherwise.
We had a lot of time to sit and talk since we were stranded. It was fun to have someone to watch James with me. I love to see the funny things that he does, but I always wish that someone was there to laugh with me. James loved to smile at his aunt. He even spit up on her, but she didn't think that was very cool... Here is a picture of them playing in front of the bathroom mirror (James loves to smile at the cute baby):


A kind sister in my ward offered to take us to the Smoky Mountains National Park. So, we had a nice drive and a picnic. We really enjoyed the beauty of nature and the chance to get out of the apartment for a while. James was a pretty tired guy, so he slept in his car seat most of the way.





On Monday, Amber and I decided to walk to the Cracker Barrel that is just down the street. For some unknown reason, there are almost no sidewalks in Tennessee, so the stroller was not an option. James got to ride in his harness, where he once again fell asleep. However, he sat on my lap throughout the meal and was sure that he needed to eat Mom's food. So, I guess it will be time to introduce solids soon.

This morning, Lindsey was kind enough to take Amber back to the airport (or maybe it was actually mean because now James and I are alone again). The visit was great, but now it's back to life as normal. I just hope I have a car sometime soon.
James insists on rolling to his stomach every time I put him down. He is working really hard to learn to crawl, but he sometimes gets really frustrated when his best efforts are unsuccessful. He is usually a happy guy though.

Commence countdown to a visit from Mom and Emily...

James is growing too fast!

Well, we've been in Tennessee for almost two months now. It's crazy how time flies. We are enjoying our new home. It is humid, and the bugs are really big compared to Utah. But it is also beautiful and green, and the people we've met are amazing. We are really blessed to be members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints -- not only because the gospel is true, but also because the members watch out for each other. We've felt so welcomed by the members here. I don't know what we would have done without their kindness and help. James and I have several friends that we can go play with while Dad is gone. Transportation has been provided while our car has been in the repair shop. Babies clothes have been freely given to us. I could go on and on. I feel so grateful for all of the loving help we've received and feel bad that we will never be able to repay half of it.
James will soon be five months old! I love my little boy more than I can say. I could never ask for a better job than to stay home with my little buddy. He definitely keeps me busy. He's growing by leaps and bounds! He likes to roll over and play in his exersaucer, but his favorite activity is trying to get his binky back into his mouth. It's his favorite toy, but it's a little tricky to get turned the right way...
We're excited to have Aunt Amber come visit us for a few days this weekend. Tennessee and our new friends are great, but we miss our family! Skype provides a great way for us to stay in touch, but it's hard for Grandma to give hugs long-distance.
Here are some pictures of our precious little boy (he is actually quite big for his age...):