Happy Holidays From the Johnsons!

All, as we prepared to go into the final push for the holiday I count my blessings that have been bestowed on my family this year. The Universe and Creator reminds me that to everything there is a season. Over the last year we have lost Aunt Granny, Granddad, and Mr. Gill, a second Grandfather to Hank. As these special people have been called to do work elsewhere, there have been many births this year and more to come in the first part of 2008. Everything eventually comes full circle. God doesn't take one that he doesn't replace his angel with a another.

I am sad that Aunt Granny and Granddad did not live to meet Kenyon, but I am very grateful that Poppy (Dad, Ralph, Uncle Ralph depending on your relationship to him) stuck around to meet his Rose Petal. I still laugh about standing over his bed, he was asleep and unable to speak due to the respirator, when he awoke and nearly had a heart attack. He said I scared him with my 8 month pregnant belly. I had a green t-shirt on and he described it as an Easter Egg. I told him he had used up about 4 of his nine lives. Thank the Lord Heaven wasn't ready for him yet. When it is, I am sure it will be conditional on whether he can BBQ in Heaven.

Since we won't see many of you for the holiday, we wanted to spread a little cheer as only we can do. Here are a couple of Christmas carols modified to fit our family.







Finny the Long-Nosed Hound Dog
(Sung to the tune of Rudolph)

Finny the long nosed hound dog
Had a very runny nose
And if you ever saw it
You would even say it glows

All of the other hound dogs
Used to laugh and call him names
They never let poor Finny
Join in any hound dog games

Then one frosty Christmas Eve
Santa came to say
Finny with your nose so straight
Pull my sleigh so I won’t be late!

Then how the hound dogs loved him
As they barked and howled with glee
Finny the sleigh pulling greyhound
You’ll go down in history!


You know how sibling rivalry is, so here is one for Sylvie:

Sylvie’s Bells
(Sung to the tune of Silver Bells)

In the bedroom, in the living room
Dressed in Sylvie’s dog style
In the air there’s a feeling of mischief
Toilet paper
Candy wrappers
Making the old greyhound smile
And from the dog’s bed you’ll hear….

Sylvie’s bells, Sylvie’s bells
Christmas treats for the greyhound
Ring a ling, hear them ring
Tells us a bad dog’s on the way

Hear the candy crunch
See the dog’s bunch
They’re as guilty as sin
And above all this bustle you’ll hear


Sylvie’s bells, Sylvie’s bells
Christmas treats for the greyhound
Ring a ling, hear them ring
Tell us a bad dog’s on the way



Merry Christmas, Happy Kwanzaa, Feliz Navidad, Happy Hanukkah, Merry Solstice, and of course Happy New Year!






Love & Peace,
Hank, Susan, Sara, Kenyon, Finn & Sylvie

Birthdays, Boogers, and Bald Trees

Okay, it has been a crazy week or so. In my last post I said I thought we are in the clear as far as the RSV and Kenyon.....WRONG! Hank took her to the Dr. last Thursday and came home with a breathing machine (sorry, I don't think I can spell nebulizer) So we have been giving baby girl breathing treatments. It really is the saddest thing. I have to sing Old MacDonald to get her to focus and not pull the mask off. Poor baby has a bit of a chest rattle, but the amount of snot coming out of her nose has subsided.

Problem is, I got a major sinus infection/cold on Friday of last week, just in time for Hank to leave for Georgia. So, Kenyon and I spent the last weekend in our pjs, blowing our noses, and watching the Hallmark channel.

Hank had a great time in Georgia celebrating Sara's 10th birthday. She was very appreciative of Hank coming. Her party was at the skating rink in Griffin. He called me from the party. he was hanging out on the wall, I asked if he has his big comb in his back pocket. Ahhh, that brings back memories, Pink Floyd blaring, the sound of the wheels of your skates squeaking as you sped around the corners. These days they use in-line skates.

Hank managed to snap a few photos of Sara & her posse.

I finally finished shopping for the two families that we adopted at work. Between them they have 9 kids ranging from 2 months to 9 years. I did manage to get some of my own shopping completed while marking off the list for the kids.

We have had the Christmas tree up for two weeks, but it has been absent of ornaments. I did buy an ornament at work for Sara and it hung on the tree. We finally got it decorated this week.

Congratulations goes out to our neighbors, who became grandparents yesterday. Tom's daughter Mina and her partner Ben had a little girl by c-section. McKenzie Marie was 5lbs 13 oz. Mom and baby are doing well. We will go visit tomorrow if Mina is up to it. If you remember Tom and Lucy drove me to the hospital when I went into labor just 5.5 months ago. I told Mina she owed me for breaking them in. We had dinner with the four of them on Thursday night. Kenyon was able to ride in her stroller without the carrier. She thought she was such a big girl.
Kenyon will be introduced to cereal in the next week. Yesterday, she tried to grab my sandwich and cheetos off my plate at lunch yesterday. She and her Daddy came to visit me for lunch. She impressed everyone with how alert she was. She had a great time visiting, but fell asleep before Hank got her to the car.

Well, we all are on the road to recovery and are looking forward to our trip to Gtown on Wednesday. Stay tuned for our special Christmas Wishes blog. It should be posted tomorrow.

A Day Late and Several Hours Short of Sleep

The previous post was begun yesterday, but finished tonight. So our big trip to Wally-world was this morning (Sunday). Erin & Mom found this very funny that we were in WalMart at the butt-crack of dawn....literally. Do you know what kind of people go to WalMart at 3 am? Rough looking people. We fit in because we both had scary hair and I thought were were just going for a drive so I didn't even put on a bra. Good thing I had on a coat, or I would have fit in too well with the other patrons. I might have had to take up a 2 pack a day habit.

Here is a picture of happier times, we will get back there some day......probably tomorrow, but tonight it seems very far away.

Teething Stinks!

Kenyon is having a rough weekend. She is teething and her head is on fire. Poor thing we are having to put a cool washcloth on her head. It seems to help. No sign of teeth, but they sure are hurting her. I was afraid that she had RSV, which is going around the daycare, but so far we are in the clear.

She seems to be doing better today, but not sure if we will get her to daycare tomorrow. She isn't as hot headed, but still not feeling her normal vibrant self. Last night she woke up around midnight and finally at 2 am we put her in the car. She promptly fell asleep so we stopped at WalMart to get our grocery shopping out of the way. That place looked like a bomb went off. You couldn't even get down the aisles in the toy section. It did give us a chance to check out the toys without running over kids lying in the floor crying.

Of course she woke up the second we got home (3:30 am) she slept in Hank's arms on the couch and then I took over about 6ish and she slept on my chest for the next couple of hours. Needless to say we are all a bit groggy around here.

Today it was cold and wet, but that did not stop the dogs from driving us crazy wanting to go outside. Hank finally gave in and bundled them up for a trip to the dog park. Fin was in heaven. He is from that cold weather back East. Sylvie on the other hand was pissed. She had to wear the big orange parka, while Fin go to wear the stylish, aerodynamic jacket. Hank said she wandered into the middle of the dog park and sat her butt down and didn't move. He even had to go out to get her to leash up to head home. Her tail was so far between her legs it looked like it had been cut off. You can tell from these pictures that she has the hang dog look about her. She reminds me of the little brother on A Christmas Story, the one with the big snowsuit on that he could not move, so he fell over.

Well, I got nothin' else. Too tired to even do the work that I should have done this weekend. Gonna head to bed before I am robbed of sleep for a second night in a row.

Christmas is coming....let's hope only the goose is getting fat.

As promised I am giving a list of things the girls may want or need for Christmas.

Sara

Hoodie - XL or Womens M/L
Icoaster - is it made for magnetix
Webkins

Marine Tycoon (computer game)

Dragonology or Mythology books (check with Erin)

Hair Straightener (like a curling iron) - She used one at Kaley's house and she looked great!

Kenyon

Anything she can chew or gnaw on.
Socks - 6-12 months

Short /long-sleeved onsies - 6-9 months solid colors

Jacket (not a coat) - 6-9 months, not pink

Bibs that have a plastic backing on it

Plastic bibs

Sleepers, footed - 6-9 months

Soft blocks

Stacker s(rings, cups, etc)

Fisher Price Laugh & Learn Piggy Bank

Fisher Price Nativity (Touch & Feel if you can find it)

OR any other Fisher Price Little People set

Chatter phone

Hair-raising experience

Well, our girl is learning to love being in the bathtub. Her hair is finally getting long enough in the front to actually stick up. She sits in her little chair in the tub and kicks her legs and splashes. I can't wait until she can sit up and we can really get down to the business of taking a bath. She loves to have water poured over her with our bath time pitcher. I just have to watch her or she will pee on the towel before I get her in the tub. Hee!

Aunt Erin has been after me to take a picture of her feet. I guess she is wants to be able to visualize what the look like. I know she would give anything to bite her little toes. Kenyon is ticklish on the bottom of her feet so whenever I try to clean between her toes she will curl them under so you can't get to them. Hank told her she had so much toe jam she could make a PBNJ sandwich. Yuck!

She has been getting adjusted to her highchair. She loves it when I pile her babies on it so she can grab them and beat them on the tray. Poor LulaBelle, Aloha Monkey, Frog Prince, and don't forget Chicken. Frog Prince had to be emancipated from the exersaucer because he kept pissing Kenyon off. He was dangling from a plastic rod. She couldn't quite get the right angle for optimum gnawing. They get along much better since he has been freed. Problem is the dogs like him much better as well.

Last week was filled with milestones for the family. Everley turned 8 and I hear had a rip roaring party. Sadly, Aunt Granny passed away. She was a great lady. I agree with Jeannette when she said it marked the end of an era. I miss her and I know Hank & Sara do as well. Although we weren't able to make it to Griffin for the funeral, Jeannette represented us well. She was able to spend Monday morning with Sara's class discussing quilting. She even brought a family quilt to show & tell.

Speaking of dogs, they are on restriction. They have chewed up both of the remotes. When I say chewed up I mean it. The Tivo remote was split open with the guts scattered over the living room floor. Sara would have loved seeing that. She was taking her calculator apart on the bus the other day just so she could see what it looked like inside. That is her father's doing, they have been doing too many electronic experiments together.

Here are a few more gratuitous pictures of Special K.....

That is all for this entry. Christmas lists coming next....

What a Difference Four Months Makes

So I thought I would throw you all a bone and give you two posts in one day. I took a picture of Kenyon with Gam & Pop this week. When I was saving it to my laptop I saw another picture of her at just a few weeks with the gparents. She has grown so much. It is hard to believe that she was ever that small. Here skinny little bird legs are a thing of the past. She has discovered her hands, looking at them and then cramming them into her mouth until she chokes. She has figured out there are things going on below her waist. She tries to "help" change her diaper. She grabs her feet, although she hasn't tried to get those in her mouth. Oh, to be that flexible.

Absence Makes the Heart Grow Fonder.....

I know, I know, I have been absent for a while. Trust me Sister Erin has not let me forget it. She calls daily begging for pictures of HER baby. So here they are...... We had a great visit for Thanksgiving week with Mom & Dad and Sara. Of course we stuffed ourselves with turkey and ham. I didn't realize how much I had missed Dad's smoked turkey. He had ruined me, I tell you. I told him he will have to give someone his secret before he kicks the bucket. After that some discussion ensued about who would be the likely candidate to inherit the Master's secrets.

On to why you are here....pictures of Miss K. She got a new hat for the winter and is absolutely adorable. She is getting to be the big girl. Wanting to wake up in the middle of the night and have a party. We try to contain her wild party girl ways, but the girl has gotta sing. She will lay in her bed singing to herself so she won't fall asleep if that doesn't work she whines. eventually Mom & Dad win out, but now without some tears being shed, and I don't mean Kenyon!

Kenyon joined us at the table for Thanksgiving. She was sitting in her new highchair like a big girl. No solids yet, but she is practicing.

As you can see from the first picture, Sara is getting very grown up. She will be 10 on the 15th. Double digits, it is hard to believe considering she was 4.5 when Hank & I first started dating. She is hoping for a skating party in Georgia. Hank will fly out there on the 14th to spend her big day with her. She will return on the 26th for Christmas and will be with us until January 6. I have been trying to get her to pin down what she wants for the holidays and her birthday. I will post wish lists for the girls in a separate post. Sizes as well.

Fallin' Towards Turkey Day

Fall is in the air, finally. Kenyon and I took a nice long walk around the hood today. On the way out of our front door I had to stop and take a moment to look at Lucy & Tom's red maple tree. It was alive with color. I love it when the leaves change. One day they are full and green, then you come home from work and the leaves are yellow and slowly drifting towards the ground. I told Hank I could sit under the tree all day and just watch the leaves. He then told me to go ahead and broke out into a sorry rendition of Sheryl Crow's "If it Makes You Happy". I had to laugh.

Kenyon has been hard at work in daycare and looking fabulous all the while. Next week is the fundraiser for Make a Wish Foundation part of it they will have special art work for sale that the kids made. I can't wait to see Miss K's. She has already painted pumpkins and leaves as well as a paper plate turkey with two different colored eyes.

Miss Peep has started working on her Christmas Wish List. I'll get that posted soon. I have asked Sara to get her list together as well. I nixed the pet rat. I told her that would be for her Georgia list.

Sara will be here a week from today. Hard to believe the year is almost gone. We are planning to stay around here for Thanksgiving, but will probably head to g-town somewhere around Christmas/New Years. Sara will be here from Dec 26 until Jan 6. I will be off the entire time. I am looking forward to it.

Little girl is getting quite squirmy. She wiggles all over the changing table, only tolerates the bouncey on occasion, ad goes to town in her saucer. I figure she will just stand up and walk one day because she is tired of laying around.

A Rose by any other name....

Kenyon continues with her fall look by adding a crocheted ribbon hat adorned with a sassy rose. This paired with her Gymboree puppy dog jumper and her pink suede shoes, she is ready for an exciting day filled with tummy time, napping and a bottle or two, or three or four...... Being a fashion plate at daycare can be a bit dangerous. This week some little baby decided she wanted Kenyon's shoes and tried to pull them off of her on the way to the changing table. If it isn't her shoes they are all trying to steal each others pacifiers. It is tough social structure all ready. I guess she is getting prepared for school.
Hank is off hunting this weekend so it is just me and Miss Peep. Today we played, napped, and went for a walk in the hood. Already trying to protect herself from the paparazzi, Miss K is forced to wear shades to avoid her public.

Kenyon will turn 4 months on the 8th. it is very hard to believe that she is already doing as much as she is. She is rolling all over the place. She can bring herself to a half sitting position, and sits up on your lap with minimal assistance. Sara will be here in less than two weeks. I am looking forward to seeing the two o f them playing on the floor.

I captured this photo of her at daycare, trying to sit up. It is a bit grainy, but you get the idea.

Too Sassy for my Diapee......

Well, Fall has finally arrived up here and Kenyon has been styling in her new wardrobe. She is so cute, I just want to eat her sometimes. Her cheeks are ripe for kissing. Our neighbor, Lucy, has been keeping our girl furnished in new outfits. Both times she has arrived at our door with outfit in hand uttering the words, "I couldn't resist". Kenyon's Halloween ensemble is sponsored by Lucy.

Happy Halloween!

We had plans to make it to the pumpkin patch, but Kenyon fell asleep before we could get there. So, we will try to get some costume pictures on Halloween.

Friday we went to her almost 4 month check up. She got 4 shots which she did not like a bit. She is still hovering at 15 pounds and is in the 95% for her age group as she is for her length. She is in the 72% for her head.

This week Fin joined Poppy in the near death experience club. He went in for a routine teeth cleaning and had a severe reaction to the anesthesia. It was touch and go for a while, but he pulled through with all of his faculties in tact. Sylvie doesn't understand why she can't go to the dog P A R K (we have to spell it so they don't get excited). Fin won't be able to go for another week.

As you can see, I have made some changes to the blog. Since I started this I have become addicted to blogging and reading others' blogs. I have added some of my favorite. I have to blame my friend, Jess for my new found addiction. Her blog is We Like It. On there she has many blogs and websites listed that I have fallen in love with. I hope you enjoy them as much as I have.

Stay tuned more to come.

Smiles to melt your heart.. :)

As you can see our girl has no shortage of smiles. She has begun to giggle and blow bubbles in the last week. She loves to lay on the floor and roll around. She is working towards reaching for her toys.

My favorite milestone this week happened in the nursery, I was feeding her right before bed and she reached up and touched my face. If that doesn't melt your heart I don't know what will.

We put in an appearance at her daycare carnival this week. She wasn't very impressed as it was her bed time. We used it as an excuse to try out her chickie costume. She did pretty well except she was starving so instead of collecting eggs with our little chick we wound up milking her, so to speak. As I was dressing her I begin to sing the song about the little chickie that wouldn't lay an egg so I poured hot water up and down her leg, the chickie hollered and prayed and layed a hard boiled egg. Well, Hank had never heard the song. he thought it was weird.

We are still hoping to make it to the pumpkin patch this weekend. The plan was to make it this last weekend, but there always seems to be so much to do. We did go out on a family walk on Saturday. The dogs kept looking for any driveway that they could turn in so they could quit walking. I put Kenyon's little pink sunglasses on her and off we went in the stroller. She managed to get in a good nap and look stylish while doing so.

She has really caught on to her exersaucer. She was going to town this morning jumping up and down smacking the pieces. See the princess and her royal court (the saucer has a royal theme). She still has to have a blanket helping her stay propped up, but she loves playing with the toys. Notice the princess had on her royal bib while her royal court stood at attention.

Ahh crap, I mean Audad

Well, we have a new member of the family, one audad sheep. it is hanging in Sara's room finally. It resided under the dining table for several weeks. Our neighbor, Tom, helped Hank get it on the wall. Needless to say there was much backslapping going on afterwards. See the trophy pictures.
Kenyon is finally over her virus. She is growing like a weed. Hank took her to the Dr. this week because of her low grade fever. He said it was normal and not to worry. I told Hank that her fever was because she was so smart her brain was working overtime. I can't help it our baby is a genius. She had a big week at school. She got to ride in the buggy outside and got to sit in the exersaucer. Today I packed away her playmat as she rolls around too much and has lost interest. So, she has graduated to her exersaucer. I'll get some pictures posted of her in it soon.

Miss K is rolling around like she has been doing it forever. She definitely has places to go and things to do. Here is a series of pictures:

Kenyon's school pictures came back and were awful. There was one pose with her shoulders up around her neck and a big frown on her face. My picture that I posted previously was way better. We decided to keep our $50.

Hank managed to get a picture of Kenyon and me earlier this week. She was wearing an adorable dress I picked up at a consignment sale.

Finally, I selected her Halloween costume.....our girl will be a baby chicken. Her school has a fall festival next week. I will post pictures, don't worry. There will always be more pictures.