The Johnson Family

January 16, 2012

Pre-Christmas: Decorating, Presents, and Cookies!

This Christmas was so fun for us and Ella. Her first was last year, but she was still a little young. It was such a joy to see her so excited about everything. She helped us decorate the tree. She loves helping us do anything. She's always saying, "help me, help me," which is her way of saying let me help you. You'll notice her eyes closed in lots of the pictures. Her new thing is to close her eyes when she's smiling for a picture. Silly girl.

The finished product. Once again, eyes closed.

Since we were going to be in North Carolina for Christmas, my family (Mom, Dustin, Tonya, Samuel, Rachel, Gram, and Doc) came up for a weekend before Christmas to celebrate with us. It was so special as we've never been able to celebrate with both families before.

Ella with the tree full of presents (thanks to Grammy).

Ella and Rachel reading. So sweet.

The kids got to decorate some cookies. They went a little crazy with the sprinkles. I should have gotten a picture of their finished products.

Of course, Ella got spoiled rotten with presents. It was a little overwhelming for her to open them all. Thankfully, Samuel and Rachel were there to help her out.

Gram and Doc got her a new Elmo toy. She loves anything to do with her BFF Elmo, especially when it talks!

Grammy got her a vacuum so she can help out when I vacuum now. She loves the vacuum!

November 23, 2011

Ella Update and Video

Here are some updates on Ella:

She is 18 1/2 months old!
Some of her current favorite words are: No, Oh No!, Elmo, This, That, Bike, Ball, and lots of others.
She is constantly surprising us with her growing vocabulary. She's always pointing things out and telling us upcoming parts in books.
Her favorite book right now is Ni Ni Moon (can you guess which that is?). We read it before nap and bedtime everyday.
She loves animals and playing with her Little People animals. She can identify so many of them, often by the sound they make and sometimes by their names too.
She runs everywhere.
She loves walking backwards. There's a video below. I think she got it from a Sesame Street episode.
She still loves dancing. Pretty much anytime she is standing on something unique (a rug, a manhole cover, etc) she gets the groove and has to move. Her moves, by the way, are pretty much running in place. I'm really trying to teach her to shake her booty, but she refuses to learn.
She LOVES books. A girl after my own heart. She would probably sit and be read books ALL day if I would let her. I'm really working on getting her to "read" some by herself but that's not as fun for her.
She is suddenly, freakishly obsessed with Elmo. Matt is convinced the Elmo song must have subliminal messages. She watched him a few times and then suddenly one day he was all she talked about. Points to the TV about a million times a day and asks, "Elmo?" It's crazy.
When she toots, she looks around and says, "Frog? Frog?" I have no idea where she got that crazy idea:) It's pretty cute.
She loves wrestling and tickling...playing rough. Good thing Daddy and Uncle Dustin are around to do that.
She makes lots of funny faces. Just because.
She loves shoes and purses. My girl. Whenever she puts on a purse, she tells us goodbye.
She's at the point that she can get up on the couches by herself. As soon as she does, she looks around to see who can see what a big girl she is.
She is a sweet, funny, and very spunky girl. We wouldn't have her any other way.

November 22, 2011

Halloween

We took our little monkey trick or treating for the first time this Halloween. Let's just say she wasn't quite ready yet. Her cousin Samuel was Darth Vader and she was FREAKED out. It pretty much set the tone for the rest of the night. We went out early but there were still lots of scary people/houses. We had to keep redirecting her eyes. Once she figured out she was getting candy, she enjoyed it a little more.

November 02, 2011

Goodbyes and Hellos

We had lots of people to see and say goodbye to before we left Colorado. We hardly had time to pack! My college roomies and their families came over a few nights before we left. It was so, so sad to say goodbye to these gals. From left to right below: Beth (who has since had beautiful Evelyn) I met my freshman year I think in a class, Erika (who is still warming unnamed baby) I met in Campus Crusade soon after the start of our freshman year, and Josie (who has since had sweet little Smith) who I met in bible study my freshman year and who I take credit for introducing to her husband Zack, one of my other favorite people ever. We all lived together just about from our sophomore years until we graduated. These women were the sisters I never had and will always remain some of my dearest friends.

The whole gang: Us, Erika and Brandon, Beth, Stephen and Avery, and Jos, Zack, Zane and Emerson

We also reluctantly had our last Friday night small group up in Evergreen. We have "done life" with these fine people for the last 6 or 7 years. We've shared weddings, babies, highs, lows, and everywhere in between with these special friends. They have truly been our surrogate family during the last several years.

Matt and the fellas, Brendan, Ty, Jake, and Dawson

Stephanie, Brooke, Ashley, and baby Carter

Whitney (Carter's mom) and Nikki

The three amigos, Wyatt, Boden, and Ella.

These two boys have totally prepared Ella for all that is to come in life. They have certainly taught her how to hold her own. They have so much fun together.

Wyatt and Ella's last night together. Wyatt is so good at sharing his bath toys!

Aunt Brooke reading a bedtime story to Wyatt and Ella. I don't quite have the words to express how much I will miss this woman and her family. She has been the epitome of my nearest and dearest. She gets my sense of humor and is just as funny and sassy as I am. She is an amazing mom and has taught me so much. She understands my struggles and lets me whine and gives just the right dose of encouragement and truth. She and Brendan have loved us through our toughest times and rejoiced with us in our finest. While we are so, so bummed not to see them on a weekly basis, we are excited to share fun vacations with them as often as possible. And, once Wyatt and Ella get married, we'll surely see them all the time!

Ella and I stayed at my mom's for a few days while Matt was driving in and getting things settled in Bloomington. I woke up the first day to Ella in this crazy contraption: