The R.M.

Well, he's not preparing for a mission, or on a mission, Elder Garner is actually a RETURNED MISSIONARY!!!!

Agghhhh! We are so excited to have this guy home! Two years seemed like such a long time, but it has really gone by fast.

At Spenser's last testimony meeting, he said it was just really emotional and everyone was crying. He was the second to last to get up, and he thought that it shouldn't be so sad. So as he got up in Portugese he said to everyone that he knew that he would have to give his all, but he didn't realize that included his hair! Everyone cracked up and he helped to lighten the mood. So is he different? Well, I would have to say that yes, he does have a little less hair, he speaks with an accent after two solid years of only speaking Portugese (minus the four times he called during the two years), and he is a LOT more spiritual....but mostly...he's still my little brother! He's the same Spenny as always.We love you, and are so proud to say that you Returned With Honor.

9 Months Old

Wow...Can you believe it? I am 9 months old. So much has happened in these last few months.
Each day Mom and Dad are more amazed at how much my personality has come out. I am SO much fun, they say. I am really good at playing games these days. If Mom or Dad say, "I'm gonna get you..." I take off as fast as I can. I squeal and laugh as I try to get away from them. It is a pretty fun game. I also think its funny when they scare me half to death. First it makes me jump, but then I laugh or smile really big. My mobility gets better and better everyday too. I crawl super fast and Mom SWEARS that if she walks into another room it doesn't take me much longer than 30 seconds to find her. I have also been pulling myself up to standing on just about everything....walls, tables, chairs, cupboards, and drawers. I really enjoy walking all around the furniture, especially the coffee table. I sometimes circle around it 6 or 7 times before I get bored and get down. I can't walk on my own, but as long as there is something to hold onto, I do pretty good.

I did escape out of my exersaucer not so long ago, and my Mom had to raise it up so I wouldn't do it again....well, I DID do it again, so she had to raise it to the highest setting there is. I have tried to harm myself in everyway possible. One day I followed Daddy into the bathroom, and while he was showering I got into a drawer and found a razor that I began to put in my mouth. Lucky for me, Mommy saw me and got it just before it hurt me. That same week I came over to Mom and had this plastic sheath....she had no idea where it came from until she found a knife on the floor! She was just glad that I thought the plastic was more fun than the knife. Mom knew that my luck wouldn't last forever, and about a week ago I was pulling myself up to stand on the alluminum screen door and burned my hands! Our house faces east, so the sun had made it SUPER hot, and Mom didn't know it. It took her almost an hour to figure out what was wrong. It was my first real owie, and it sure hurt! Mom cried nearly as much as me.

I still really like books. I love looking at them and I love having them read to me! Of course, my attention span isn't very long, so the reading doesn't last that long, but I do love them. I have a little plastic blue car that I really like right now too. I push it like its driving. Mom thinks that I'm "such a little boy." She wonders how I know what to do with a car....silly mom...EVERY boy knows what cars do.

I still try to say mom sometimes, but my newest thing is trying to baa like a sheep. It always makes Mom and Dad laugh when I do this. I also try really hard to say 'b' words like bye-bye, bum-bum, or ba-ba. I mostly just make the 'b' noise over and over again in a sort of whispered voice.

Everywhere I go I like to just relax. I cross my feet at the ankles just about all the time. I do it in the shopping cart, when I'm drinking a bottle, and even when I'm just sitting on the floor playing with my toys.

I still just have two teeth, and they really didn't bother me too much when they came in, but Mom and Dad are pretty sure that my two top teeth are going to break through any day now. These ones hurt lots more than the last ones. I'm still "taking it like a man," as some people would say, but I'm not my usual cheerful self that's for sure.

As far as my Mom, Dad, and the doctor is concerned, they say that I'm developing and growing right on target. Each day Mom and Dad think, "Where has the last nine months gone?" But they have enjoyed it all. In just 3 months I will celebrate my very first birthday!