Halloween 2012

I still cannot believe that Halloween has come and gone.  Crazy?!?!?

I was pretty bummed that we would not be in St Louis for Halloween this year.  Last year Eden had so much  fun.  We had only taken her trick or treating to a few of our friends whom Eden knows and loves.  So seeing as how we would not be able to do it again this year and not even have time to get to know people made me really sad.  I sure missed seeing our dear friends and even one particular special friend texted and said how much they would miss not seeing Eden this year.  Oh how I miss them!

But we were still determined to have a good time no matter where we were.  

We arrived in Denver just in time for the ward Trunk-or-Treat.  We were stoked because one thing we look forward to each year is decorating Colby's car. In fact, last year we won first prize and received the Golden Pumpkin Trophy.  Wahoo!  It is always a big hit with the kids and each year it gets a little bit better.  

This year was no different.  Being new to the ward we had to set a good impression and make a statement.  

We swiped some of Colby's mom's (Susan) decorations. Halloween is her favorite holiday and she goes all out!  I love it!  You should see her house! 

We didn't get up all the decorations we wanted too but it still turned out good.  

We were a little disappointed because no one really decorated their cars. :(  In our ward in St louis everyone  seemed to do it but not here.  But I think we have a set a standard - we shall see what they all do next year.

There was a dinner as well as a costume parade and I was able to snatch a picture of all the primary kids in their costumes!  Do you see the cute lion in front?

Eden got excited because she saw Rapunzel!  Of course we had to take a picture and it was good because we made some new friends!  Thanks Luke and Alyssa for being good sports!

Halloween day we carved pumpkins.  Eden loved playing in the "goop!"

Eden picked out the carving templates.  Can you tell?  Her two favorite characters. 

We got the kiddos all ready to go trick-or-treating.

Check out Axel!  He glows in the dark! 

As I mentioned, Susan loves Halloween.  So needless to say she has quite the stash of costumes.  One night Eden had a fashion show and tried them all on and picked her favorite one.  

Some of you may remember Axel's costume.  It was Eden's very first costume.  It was incredibly too big but da da insisted.  It was a hit everyone thought he had the sweetest costume!  And...it fits his name so...why not!

Eden absolutely loved trick-or-treating!!! As soon as we would turn  from the house she would say, "trick-or-treat again?"  Ha ha!!!  And everyone loved her.  We kept on hearing "She has the cutest costume by far."  And then they would give her extra candy!  Oh well, it isn't like she is going to eat it!

But she was having a ball going from house to house.  We live in a gated community and it really made a difference.  No crazy teenagers and it was all good clean fun.

She was quite proud of all her loot!  Her little bag is in storage so Aunt Kelsey let her borrow hers.  Thanks Kels!  It was well used!

Trying to pull out her claws.

 I love my fearsome lion!  Watch out for when she roars!!! 

Almost everyday she talks about Trick-or-Treating and all of grandmas cool decorations.  

It was a good Halloween and can't wait till next year!

3 Months

My little Axel is 3 months!  Are you kidding me?!?!?

He is an excellent sleeper!

Eden loves to remind us that she is "big sister."

He is such a smiley boy!  

 Easy to please!

His hair is getting long and spiky!

A big eater!

Has become quite the talker!

I love my Axel boy!!!

2 Months

Our little man is growing so fast!!!

He is smiling all the time it seems.  And the other day he laughed!!! Maybe it was just me. ha ha

Here he is with his first sibling inflicted wound.  He was laying on my bed and I walked around the corner and set something on the desk when I heard him cry out in pain.  I spun around and saw Eden standing next to him and said, "What happened?" She replied, "Hit the head."  I looked at his face and saw the damages. 

Eden had scratched his face and seemed to be proud of it.

That same day he was perched on the couch and I heard Uncle Brady say, "Oh Eden!  Be careful!"  I turned to look and saw Eden had wanted to hold him and had pulled him from sitting position and was about to pull him off the couch.  Whoa!  Child!

She is much better now but she just loves to hold her brother.

Stats:

Size 1 diaper

Started Sleeping through the night at about 3 1/2 weeks!  (Love Him!)

Eats about 5-6oz each feeding

Loves the swing

Has the deepest blue eyes

Loves to clench his fists and then are full of lint

Loves his car seat

Finally has a full head of hair

Has one boink on his left ear just like his sister (Only true Johnson's have boinks)

Still has a little cradle cap

We just love this little boy!!! 

It is so hard for Colby to be away from him.  

He just wants to reach through the web cam and munch on him.  

The Big Move - Part 2

With the passing of Grandma Marjorie it moved our move up a week.  So we had to be completely packed in 3 days!!!  Luckily I had already started packing.  But the real luck was all the amazing friends that came over to help pack, brought meals, and watched my kiddos!  You all are life savers and I could not have gotten it all done without you.

This is the Bishops wife.  She is one amazing woman and I had the blessed opportunity to co-direct the musical we did with all the youth.  Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dream Coat.  

I still need to do a post on that experience.  Oh my goodness!!! It was incredible and the youth from our ward did a fabulous job!!!  I will miss them all so much!  I love you guys!  

This is one of Eden's favorite friends and babysitter!  She came over to say goodbye to Eden and she even packed up a couple boxes while she was here!  Love her and her family!

As Colby began to break down the kitchen table Eden wasn't far behind.  Eden loves to help the boys.  She will follow right along the moment Colby pulls out the tools.  She loves to take the wrench and walk around the house "fixing" things.

A huge thank you to all the guys that came out and helped load the truck.  They got it done so fast!!!  We were short on space but luckily we still have our trailer for all the rest of the stuff.

And of course we loaded the beast up on a trailer.  There was no way we would attempt driving that thing across country again for several reasons but mostly...GAS Guzzler!

We didn't finished getting the truck or Bronco loaded till about 1am.  Crazy I know, but what makes it worse is Colby was aiming to hit the road at 4 or 5am.  So we turned off the lights about 1am and settled plopped down on our air mattress and slept for a few hours before we were up and at it again.

We loaded up a few more things in the truck and Colby locked it up and hit the road.

Through all of this the kids have really done pretty good.  Eden, of course, is having the hardest time as I expected.  I really felt that over the past few days I had abandoned them.  There was so much to be done and I so many great friends who would let me drop them off watch them for a few hours so I could get some things done.  Another thank you to all who watched my kiddos!  They had fun!  

But.... I was feeling really guilty.  So Eden and I took a little break from everything and went out to have a little fun.  She loves coloring the sidewalks, well, more like she likes to tell me to color the sidewalks while she watches. 

My sister Ryanne had driven up on monday to help us out.  So Colby left Thursday morning and Ryanne and I stayed for a couple days.  We wanted to hit up the zoo one last time and see the new Sea Lion exhibit, which was way cool, and we had a few loose ends to tie up.  

Have I mentioned how amazing my ward is?!?!?  I just absolutely love our ward.  I can easily and honestly say it is the best ward I have been in thus far.  I will miss them all so much.  Truly it was a huge factor in deciding when the kids and I would leave.  I was just not ready to say goodbye and I'm still not.  Just last night I received a phone call from a sister that I absolutely idolize and it made my day.  They made us meals and had us over for dinner our last night there and then a handful of them came over to help deep clean our apartment.  True friends.

Around noon, Ryanne and I had packed the car and loaded up the kids.  As I stood in the doorway and looked back on my home for the last three years exactly to the day, I couldn't hold back the tears.  So many memories were made within these walls.  Good and bad, but they are still all memories.  I looked at the exact spot where Eden started crawling and where she took her first steps.  I looked at the spot on the wall where she spit up and it went everywhere.  I remember standing in the kitchen so many hundreds of times when Colby would come home and sweep me up in his arms and kiss me hello.  Every square inch has a memory that will never be forgotten.   

 (Our last picture in our empty home.)

But there is good news to all of you in St louis!!! Colby will still be there for 6 more weeks.  So if anyone would like an extra dinner guest I am sure he wouldn't mind and I would be so grateful!!!

The Big Move - Part 1

We have begun the process of making our way to Denver.  Colby doesn't graduate till December but the kids and I are already moved out.  

Our lease on our apartment ended on August 31.  At that time we were to pay month-to-month rent.  Seeing as how that would increase our bill by nearly $300 each month we decided to look at other options.  We have a lot of expenses coming up and we need every penny.  So the thought of the kids and I living with my parents for 6-7 weeks to save a few thousand $$$$ dollars was very tempting.  We threw around a ton of ideas and changed the date of the moved so many times.  

We even had a friend of ours, who is a contract lawyer, look over our lease contract to see if there was a way to get out of it.  Because as of right now we are stuck with paying all that extra money for the month of September because we did not act fast enough.  We proposed a few ideas and compromises to the leasing office but to no avail.  We did manage to talk them down a bit on the month-to-month rate but still it is a lot of money.  So right now we are still pursuing all efforts to find someone to buy our contract for September.  And the good news is something will be coming to check out our place this weekend!  Wahoo! Keeping fingers crossed.

In the mean time, Colby is bacheloring it up in our apartment with paper goods to eat on and with as well as a desk, folding table and lawn chairs as furniture.  Don't worry he does have a bed and amidst all the packing I was able to cook and stock the freezer with meals for him that he can throw right in the oven.  

Man he is spoiled!!!

Originally the kids and I were not going to leave St louis until Sept 5.  However, on Sunday, the 26th, we received word that Colby's grandmother had passed only a few minutes before.  

She was 93, and a mother of 7 sons!!!  

This beautiful picture of her is from our wedding.

Before she passed she was able to meet Eden and she also completed a baby blanket for her and just a few weeks ago we received one for Axel too!! Thank you Grandma! They are beautiful and and so special and we will tell our kids about the amazing woman who made them!

to be continued...

Readmitted

I will apologize now for all the details but this is especially for our records.

When Axel was born he weighed 8lbs 6oz.  When we checked out of the hospital he was down to 7lbs 8oz.  As we all know it is typical and expected for them to lose weight during the first day or two.  Also, as is routine, my dad went with me to take Axel in the next day to see the pediatrician because Colby had classes.  He was diagnosed with jaundice and dehydration.  The ped wanted to admit him at least overnight and possibly longer.  I called Colby from the peds office but was overcome with tears that I couldn't even talk to him.  I know Axel was fine but my hormones were so messed up and I had been worrying about him not eating very well and it just took me over.  I had to give the phone to my dad to explain to Colby what was wrong.  We then walked right over to the Pediatrics ward and checked in.  

Colby arrived shortly thereafter with all my things to stay the night (what a guy!).  At this point my emotions were in so many places.  I felt like a ball in a pinball machine.  I was crying to see my little boy in a hospital bed.  Then I was crying because over the past 3 days I felt like I had neglected Eden.  I just wanted to hold her and tell her I loved her.  However, she was sick so we couldn't even let her come to the hospital to see her baby brother.  I know, I know, I was having a baby and I shouldn't feel like I neglected my daughter.  But I still did.  

As they were getting Axel all checked in and calling for the on duty pediatrician in the hospital, we closed the door and my dad and Colby gave him a blessing.  Colby gave him a beautiful blessing and it really helped to settle my nerves and dry my eyes.  Then they performed a few blood tests and I just didn't want to watch that so Colby went with him.  When they complete all the tests they put him on the Bili bed.  We had to leave him on it the entire time except for feedings.

my ET baby

Colby stayed a good portion of the evening while my parents were with Eden.  But I really wanted him to spend some time with her so I sent him home.  The night nurse came on duty at that time and I could not have asked for a better nurse.  She was just what I needed.  She would come in and take care of Axel for each feeding through the entire night so I could get some rest.  She also watched him so I could take a shower! (Loved her!!)

His care consisted of feeding him every 2 hours from a bottle because he was not feeding well from me.  So they had me pumping nearly every 3 hours.  They had to weigh every diaper and check his temp nearly every 30 minutes as well as his vitals.

By morning there was improvement in his eating and all we wanted to do was get him home.  But we had to wait for more blood tests and for all the results to come back.  We got the go ahead and we made it home that afternoon.

Sunday morning Colby had to take him back into the hospital because they wanted to do more tests just to make sure everything was still progressing.  Results... Bilirubin was up.  Then we were told to bring him back into the peds office on tuesday for another weight check to make sure he was still eating enough.   Well he was only up a couple of ounces and they were still a little concerned.  So we increased his food and were supposed to come back in another week.

A week later and he had gained a few more ounces but not exactly where they wanted him, but they were feeling better about his weight because at least he was gaining.

Our last appointment was on August 1st.  Here are his stats:
Length: 21 3/4 in (50%)
Weight: 9.14lbs (10%)
Head Cir: 15 1/4 in (15%)

The doctor was pleased with where he was at and it doesn't look like we will be going to the doctor anytime soon.  Thank goodness!!!  Now we are just dealing with some baby acne and cradle cap.  Also, I am not producing milk like I did with Eden which is a concern because we don't care for formula.  So we are trying to build up the supply but it just isn't happening.  Dah!!!

But... I love my boy and he is doing well!

Photo Shoot

I kick myself everyday because I never did any newborn pics of Eden.  So I was determined to get some of Axel.  Thanks to my amazing friend Rebecca, check out her blog, she is truly amazing!!!

Here are just a few of my favs of my lil Fourth of July baby!