I long overdue update

What's going on with Josh:

In January his legs finally grew long enough to reach his trike peddles. He spends every possible minute riding that bike around! It is definitely his favorite item! I am secretly happy that he doesn't show much interest in his four wheeler. I was a bit worried when we got it that he would just sit and push the button instead of getting good exercise on his bike. My worries are officially dismissed!

• When he does something he is not supposed to (throw food, hit, scream) he will smile and say, "ah, just teasin'. " It cracks me up and makes it hard to stay upset for long.
• Says, "oh darn it" when things don't go his way.
  
• He has almost mastered the alphabet, and walks around the house singing his version of it.
  
• He can identify the letters A and B. He will point them out in books and on signs. He also knows their sounds.
• He has started remembering parts of books and will finish sentences in some of his favorites. He has also started "reading" the books to me based on the pictures, which I love love love!
• Has has started saying prayers without help. He always says, "Heavenly Father thank you day, for food..." the rest varies.
• He has developed an obsession with the lawn mower. We were out weeding the other day and he wanted me to start it. It was out of gas so I told him that we couldn't because the gas was all gone. The next thing I knew he had located an almost empty gas can from the garage and was unscrewing the gas cap to pour it in the lawn mower!
• He has starting asking, "why?"
  
• We are officially potty training this week. He has met it with zero resistance and has showed interest for a few months. He probably would have been out of diapers a lot sooner, but I wasn't ready to commit. We will see how it goes, I'm not too worried.
  
• He loves babies. Whenever he meets one he will pat their little cheeks and say, "so cute!".
• The other night I was telling him about Easter. I told him that the Easter Bunny was coming and would bring some candy and toys. He look quite confused and asked me if the "rabbit" was going to buy candy. I told him yes, to which he chuckled and said, "that's silly!"

What's going on with my Dad:

I unintentionally put my emotions on hold for a while, because I couldn't handle the roller coaster of good news, bad news. I stopped talking about it, I didn't write about it. I eventually began to sleep again. It knots my throat to even consider some of the possible outcomes. My Dad and I have always had a good relationship. We think the same, he gets me, he doesn't judge. In the beginning I kept thinking about how we spent last summer kayaking, bike riding, and even roller blading together, (yes, my dad owns roller blades). Suddenly, he was frail and hurting. As he put it he, "had become an old man overnight". My dad was not supposed to be an old man for a very long time.
A lot of my fear has subsided. They are still learning the ropes of battling cancer, but it seems this is a "good" cancer to get (if that is possible). He has completed two rounds of chemotherapy, and has responded well to the treatment. He will undergo two more rounds and have a stem cell transplant in Utah this July. He has experienced some negative effects from the treatments, but it is not as taxing as some forms of chemo. He is still able to go to work and has not lost his hair. I don't think the reality of things will sink in until I have seen him. I can hardly wait for June...

What's is going on with us:

• I am officially a student again! I am taking online courses through BYU. Most of you have heard me whine at one time or another about how I want to finish my degree. It has weighed on my mind since I left. I haven't been daunted by the work of school, rather the financial side of things. I have a very hard time spending money, and school is expensive. I finally decided that now is the time. In some ways I am glad that things have worked out this way. I always thought I would take a least one class as an adult because I liked school and it would keep my mind active. In reality, I highly doubt that would have happened without the pressure of wanting a degree. It is enriching my life. I am excited!
• We have been busy figuring out the photography business. Justin finally convinced me it would be worthwhile to buy some indoor equipment. He is loving figuring out the technical side of lighting, and I am happy about the versatility shooting indoors offers (though I still much prefer on location shoots). We booked our first wedding last month and have started a blog. You can check it out here.

Also, I know most people announce when they are making their blogs private, but I am taking mine off private. Go ahead and add us to your automatically notifying sidebar if you like!