Merry Christmas

Lots have happened in the last couple months which I have failed to blog about. I feel disconnected from the social world lately. Nursing school combined with two boys and never ending piles of laundry consume Eric and I. But, when we both finished our finals and passed, it felt so awesome to know we are one step closer to being done. So, anyway since Halloween (when I last blogged), my brother left on his mission to Spokane Washington, we went to see the Temple lights up in Mesa with my family, Aiden played a shepherd in his preschool nativity play, the boys visited Santa and of course lots of pictures were taken. The boys are growing up so fast especially Mr. Austin. He is rolling over, trying to sit up from a laying down position, drooling non-stop, and laughing out loud. He has the biggest temper for such a small little boy and he absolutley loves his big brother to death. Here are some pictures to show what we have been up to...

Austin Tyler - Four and half months old

Family Picture - Nov 2010

Elder Hawkins and Little Austin

Denny wanted this picture, and he is going to take the same picture when he comes home for an updated look.

November 17, 2010

With a big brother who LOVES batman, this shirt was a must buy when we saw it in Target

My Sweet boys



Temple Lights



Nativity Play at Preschool

The cutest shepherd I have ever seen

Austin and Santa

Aiden has seen this same Santa three other Christmas seasons. It is funny to see how Santa has changed. :)

I am so grateful for this time of year and am thankful to be a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and for the knowledge I have of Jesus Christ and his atonement for us. Let us all keep in our hearts the true meaning of Christmas.

Merry Christmas to All!

Austin the Bat

I didn't plan on having two bats this year although it worked out really cute that way. I was at Target a couple weeks ago and saw that they had two baby costumes for little boys. My two choices were a monkey or this cute little bat. The monkey didn't have a cute tail and really didn't look like a monkey (could have been a bear) so I went with the bat knowing that Aiden would be batman and they could match. The picture was hard to capture because in order to look like a a bat Austin had to have his arms out. There was no way I could have done it alone, so I'm thankful for my patient hubby who time after time held Austin's arms up and let them go when I gave the cue. I wish he was smiling because he does so often now, but that would have been pushing my luck. Isn't he soooo cute?!

My Super Hero

Halloween is right around the corner and Aiden is so excited to finally wear his batman costume for the world to see. We have had it hanging in his closet for weeks keeping it safe and clean and the countown to Halloween has officially began.

Aiden has great super powers, he is so strong that he can pick up Austin and Austin's swing and all the cars in the parking lot. His next goal is to pick up the house. He is the cutest batman I have ever seen. I just love his imagination and cute personality.

My Whole World

I love these two boys more than anything else in this whole world. I never comprehended the true meaning of unconditional love until these sweet little boys entered my life!

8 Weeks Old

The time sure flies. Austin is growing up so big and sooo fast. He is starting to get his own little personality. He is really starting to look intently at things. He follows our voice with his eyes and truly tries to focus on what is going on. He loves to eat. He is an avid breastfeeder! He gets so mad when grandma has to give him a bottle when mommy is at school. He loves to be in his swing and watched his first baby Einstein DVD yesterday. I would say he liked it very much because by the end he was fast asleep. Aiden loves his little brother just as much as when we brought him home from the hospital. He can't wait until he grows up and can play batman with him.

My friend Amanda bought this new blanket and because it is so amazing we thought we would try it out! I love it.

One Month

Newborn Heaven

He is Here!! Austin is the perfect baby. He eats great, sleeps great and doesn't give my any trouble while taking his picutres. His brother on the other hand was so hard to photograph at this age. I'm loving all this. More pictures to come!

27 Weeks and Kickin'

We are getting so excited for this new baby to enter our lives. Baby Austin is so loved already. Aiden is really excited to feed his baby and change diapers and sleep with his baby. That is all he can talk about. August just isn't coming soon enough!!

Thanks to my sister for taking these pictures for us. With the use of a nice camera, some quick direction and a little guidance from her big sis, Brittany is a natural :)

So Sweet

My little man is 3 years old, where has the time gone?

Aiden is 3

Aiden had been waiting for this day for weeks! He has carried around his batman invitation since we sent them out. Every night when he said prayer he would say 'thanks for my birthday.' So cute, so today was so exciting for him. He had so much fun jumping in the castle with his friends and opening his really cool batman presents. Thanks to everyone who made it special for him. He loved it!

17 Weeks

I am not loving being pregnant so much this time around. I have been feeling so much more tired than I did with my first pregnancy, and also have been experiencing morning sickness that lasts into the night. It is getting better though. My appetite is back and I am eating regularly again. My goal this pregnancy is to gain as little weight as possible and not to get swollen. I can only control these to a certain point and then, well it is just up to my body I guess. We find out the sex in two weeks! We are super excited and can't wait for the weeks to pass, especially little Aiden. He is so excited to be a BIG Brother.

Surgery

I am so late posting this but wanted to share it anyway because it was quite the experience. The second week in January my little (big) brother had braing surgery to remove a tumor that was inside the lining of his brain. It was such a scary time for our family and especially for Denny. He was so brave despite all the fear that was built up. He arrived to the hospital in Phoenix a day before the surgery to be admitted for some pre-surgery testing. One of the first tests done was an angiogram which is where they stick this straw type IV line through your groin all the up to the brain to check the blood flow of an artery. After this initial surgery Denny was a little out of it but keeping a positive attitude. The incision mark was painful and he was having discomfort because he was not allowed to move for SIX hours. He had to lay flat on his back and it was really bothering him. I fed him some lunch and chocolate cake which seemed to make him happy for the time being. Later that evening he got a room and we visited with him there. We all went down to the cafeteria for some dinner while Denny got his final MRI before surgery which was going to be at 7am the following morning.

Saying goodbye that night was really hard, one of the hardest things I have done in my life I think. It was tough to watch him cry as he held us tight as he said his goodbyes and it was also hard to watch my parents as they watched their child so upset.

The next morning we came to the hospital and waited in the waiting room for hours. Around two or three o'clock the doctor came in to let us know surgery was done and Denny was doing well. That was such a relief. Later that night we found out there were some complications and Denny would be going back into surgery the following morning. That surgery went well too, and the complications turned out to be a blessing in disguise because the doctor found more tumor hidden up in the vein.

He recovered really well and four weeks passed as he went back up to Phoenix to see his doctor for a check up and to also follow up with an oncologist. Although the tumor was not cancerous it was the worst type tumor to get other than cancer so the doctors were treating it like cancer. The oncologist told Denny that there was a 99% chance the tumor would come back but if he did radiation it would knock the chances down to a 15% chance. My parents prayed about it and felt it was the right thing to do, so Denny has started his pre-doctor appts for radiation. He will need to go Monday thru Friday for six weeks up in Phoenix. So my mom will be making the drive daily so that Denny can still complete highschool. He officially starts tomorrow and we are anxious to get it going and done with. Denny is really keeping a positive attitude and we just love him so much, I am really proud of him. Although this may delay his mission slightly he is still excited and willing as ever to serve and we can't wait until summer time when we hope he can put in his papers.

I know that the Lord blesses us each daily and as we overcome whatever trials we have in our life we are stronger and it is always a good learning experience. I am so grateful for the gospel in my life and the peace I felt as Denny was going through all this. Although it is scary it is nice to be able to exercise faith and rely on the Lord.

This is the healing process just two weeks later.

Family Time