in today's newspaper (updated)

David and I were nominated for "Something Good in Memphis" for our work with the Forrest Spence Fund. Click on the link to see the picture in today's (1/30) Memphis newspaper.

http://www.commercialappeal.com/photos/2010/jan/29/151570/

Here is the article that goes with the picture. It was just posted today (2/1).

http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2010/jan/29/couples-experience-spurred-fund-for-ill-families/

learning to jump

Austin is fascinated about jumping. He tries to do it all day long. We hear him in his crib jumping when he gets up from sleeping. I tried to get a few videos of him doing it.

watching the seals

2 Videos of Austin watching the seals at the zoo the other day.

monster under the bed

David got a new video camera for Christmas and we just got the correct uploading program on our computer. We took a funny video of my oldest brother (Uncle Toph) playing monster under the bed with Austin on Christmas morning.

my friend Whit

Whit and his mommy met us at the zoo the other day. The boys rode around in our red wagon and looked at all the animals. They also traded sippy cups, water bottles, and snack traps the whole time. We are so blessed to have friends so close in age.

eating noodles

Austin loves pasta so I try to vary up a little how he eats it. Sometimes he eats it with cheese melted on top. He looked so cute eating the other day that I took some pictures.

Zoo trip

David and I took Austin to the zoo on Wednesday. We thought the weather was a little warmer but we still froze. We had a great time though. We felt like we had the zoo to ourselves and Austin LOVED seeing the animals. We went right before it closed so all the animals were about to be fed so they were very active and playful.

David and Austin watching the bears play.

The bears at Teton Trek roaming and playing.

The bears were poking their noses through a crevice through the rocks and Austin and David were on the other side getting an up close look at them.

Peeking at the bears through the crevice.

Watching the polar bear (he was very hungry).

Looking at the Panda bear eat.

More of the panda bear

Playing on the light in the Panda exhibit.

Memphis is so blessed to have such a wonderful zoo right in their backyard. We love having a season pass and look forward to going a bunch this spring.

Memphis big snow

Memphis had its first snow storm this year (barely any but Memphis practically shut down because of it). Austin was intriqued by it and kept wanting to touch it. It wasn't enough to really play in but hopefully another big one will come to town this winter.

my little climber

Austin's new favorite thing is to climb onto EVERYTHING! He uses whatever he can to get a boost up, including Sadie. We have even caught Sadie sitting up a little to give him an extra boost. We aren't sure how much longer we are going to keep the gates up because he can climb over halfway up them. The only reason he can't climb out of his crib is because he sleeps in a sleep sac so he can't hike his leg up high enough to get over (trust me, he's tried). Here are some pictures of him climbing up in the rocker in our den and being so proud of himself.

Disregard the fact that his pants are wide open and you can see his diaper. He is hard to pin down and finish dressing =)

with Granddad Wayne

We were so happy to see Granddad Wayne over the holidays. Austin loves

his great granddad.

4 Generations of Spence men

Big Bunco

I hosted Bunco at my house on Tuesday night and we had a great time. I love getting together with these girls every month. I always look forward to it and enjoy talking, eating, catching up, and playing Bunco. Each host has to have something for the Big Bunco winner to wear when they get a Big Bunco. I used Austin's hat from last winter and thought it looked pretty cute on my friends.

Laura won Big Bunco 3 times so she was the big winner of the night!!!

sick little guy

Austin is finally making a turn for the better but he has been sick, sick, sick for over a week. He started with a cold last Monday (9 days ago) and it went into his chest. I took him to the doctor and he was diagnosed with a respiratory infection and double ear infections. They put him on steroids and 2 antiobiotics. He was so sad...he felt terrible and there was nothing we could do to make him feel better. He has finally made a turn for the better. In the last 24 hours I feel like I have my happy little guy back. Oh how I missed him.

We did a lot of driving around the town while he was sick because it would keep him happy for a little while.