Lindsey at 6 months

I've been so busy, Lindsey is growing behind my back! I can't believe she will be 6 months in a couple of days! We had her baptized the day after Lauren's birthday- September 20th. She didn't mind the cold water on her head, and she did great! Mimi and Pa stood in for Lanette and Jacob Johnson as Godparents. Lanette made her an awesome photo book from the pictures I took at the baptism, and sent a cute cross for her room!



























Lindsey is now babbling a lot and has said "mama" and continues to say "dadadadadada"! She also does this combination squeal/gasp- like she is excited. She makes all kinds of noises- especially when she is tired. It's funny to hear her little voice! She uses different inflections and makes her voice loud and soft. I love it! She is also sitting up by herself now. Every now and then she'll take a dive forward, but she has pretty good control lately. Last week, she started getting up on her hands and knees, but hasn't figured out how to crawl yet. She can scoot all around and go backwards, but not forwards- yet. So I might be able to keep up with her for a few more weeks at least!

She has great control of her hands and is definitely a grabber! She'll go for anything that is close! She is very interested in looking at toys and anything else you are inclined to show her. When I feed her, she often puts her hands together in front of her face and will just study them for the longest time. Speaking of feeding, she is now getting baby food at lunch and dinner. She is not a fan of oatmeal...but will usually eat whatever else I offer her. Sometimes, when I am feeding her one thing, and then give her a bite of something different...she will pause and make a face and maybe grunt a little...like, "Ummm...not sure about that...that was different..." It's entertaining to watch! I usually hand her her own spoon to keep her busy, and she has gotten pretty good at holding it!

Another development, is that we have fallen into somewhat of a routine! She usually goes down at night around 8:30 or 9:00 pm and sleeps until 7:30 or 8 am! Then she'll eat, play for awhile, and then get fussy and ready for a nap about an hour and a half or two hours later. She wakes up again around lunchtime, and will be ready for another nap around 2 or 3pm. Her longest time to be awake is from about 4:30 until bedtime. She's still flexible...sometimes we'll be out and about if the other two have activities, and she pretty much goes with the flow. I guess she doesn't really have a choice!

The thing I love most right now is Lindsey's laugh! There's nothing that makes me happier than hearing that little giggle and seeing her big toothless grin! She loves to go "up in the air", or "fall down". She'll laugh when I pull her outfit off of her feet to change her diaper- (kind of dumping her out of it). She'll laugh if you tease her with a toy- giving it to her, and then pulling it away gently. She'll especially laugh at Jared and Lauren!!






Don't know where half a year went, but I hope the other half goes a little more slowly!!

Sweet Six: Earrings and Things

Don't know how it happened, but Lauren is now six years old!! She is such a girly girl, and has been wanting to get her ears pierced for a long time. I finally decided to let her make an informed decision about it. First, I showed her a picture of a friend's daughter getting her ears pierced. Then, we went to Claire's website and watched the video about how to take care of the ears after they are pierced. I told her that it might hurt a little, but then it would be over- and if she was willing to let me help her take care of them and really wanted them done, we could do it on her birthday when Mimi, Aunt Laura, and Aunt Leslie were here. So...after thinking about it for awhile, that's what she wanted to do!






Before-(purple dots where the earrings will go)

Saturday morning, she had soccer practice. Then, she took a bath and all of the girls went over to Claire's (except Lindsey who was napping). There was only one girl there, but we filled out the paperwork and Lauren picked out the earrings she wanted. We waited until the other girl got back from lunch- they each took an ear, and viola! Pierced ears! Lauren didn't make a sound! She hardly even flinched! She did fantastic!!


During

I was honestly a little surprised because she is usually very dramatic when it comes to any kind of injury or pain...no matter how small! (That's why I wanted to have two people pierce them at the same time.) But, she made us all very proud and was very excited about them! She must have wanted them pretty badly, because she is being very good about letting me clean them even though they are a little sore.



Pretty!








































Next, it was off to the birthday party at Got to Bead! This was one of the easiest and most fun parties we've ever had! The party room was super cute, and the girls each got to design their own bracelet with their name on it. It was so cute to watch them work. Some made a very symmetrical design, and others just grabbed a bunch of beads they thought were pretty. They had a fun time just talking and working. I thought all of the bracelets turned out great!



































Earrings from Mimi and a James Avery Charm from Mom and Dad (She gets one for every birthday. This year it's a schoolhouse since she just started Kindergarten .)

Happy Birthday, Lauren!!

Mimi and Pa came up this morning and we went to have lunch with Lauren at school to celebrate her birthday. Lauren was surprised to see them, and very excited! She requested a cookie cake for the class, so we left that for snack time, and she got to show Mimi and Pa around her classroom!

And then there was ONE

I now have a fourth grader, and a Kindergartner! I think I would be a big bawling mess if I didn't have sweet little Lindsey home to keep me company. (Even if she did go right to sleep as soon as we got home from dropping the kids at school)


We met the teachers Monday night and they all seem wonderful! Lindsey stayed with her first babysitter that night so Steve and I could concentrate on filling out forms, writing checks, and sorting supplies. Jared knows a couple of people in his class, and Lauren lucked out and ended up with three friends from pre-school in hers, as well as a few others she knows from the neighborhood or soccer!








Last night I read Lauren The Kissing Hand and put on her little James Avery sign language "I love you" with the heart necklace (it matches the one in the book!) This morning, Lauren woke up to her alarm (Jared forgot to set his-oops), and came out dressed and ready to go! We fixed them a nice breakfast of scrambled eggs and toast, took pictures, and were on our way. Jared went right to his classroom, and then Steve, Lindsey, and I walked Lauren to her room. She was coloring away and smiling as we left.



This is the only time I will ever have two in the same school. I know it will be a special year! I can't wait to hear all about their day!!

Take me (or Jared) out to the ballgame!

One of Steve's birthday presents this year (from his favorite wife) was two tickets to see the Rangers vs. Red Sox on August 15th. I asked Jared, my resident sports guru, to help decide which game and he chose the Red Sox and was very excited about it! Being the nice wife and mother that I am, I offered to let Jared go with Steve while Lauren, Lindsey, and I hung out at Laura's. I even bought the boys Rangers shirts , and Jared a hat, for the game. Luckily, it was a good game and the Rangers won! They also had about 8 stolen bases- which the boys thought either tied or beat the record! Jared was telling me all about the pitcher before the game and all of the famous players he was going to see. He even knew that the Rangers would be wearing red since it was a Saturday night game. He cracks me up with all of his "sports knowledge"! We enjoyed visiting with Laura, Micah, and Cole, too! So...a good time was had!

Lindsey had her 4 month check-up and shots, and is doing great! She's in the 82nd-83rd percentile for both height and weight. I gave her some rice cereal for the first time on August 21st, and she's already a pro! She has also been sleeping through the night (9pm-6am), which I am thoroughly enjoying! She'll often go back down after the 6am feeding and sleep until 9 or 10! I've given her formula a few times (but just 2 oz. at a time). She's pretty flexible when it comes to taking a bottle now and then. Thank goodness! She is getting much better at her hand/eye coordination and is putting everything in her mouth. She is fascinated by everything and smiles and laughs a lot! We usually entertain her by just handing her different toys to touch and check out. She still tries to sit up and see what's going on, or she'll roll her way across the floor to get to whatever is out! She has also found her toes! Amazing how much they change in such a short amount of time!!

Hot Wheels!

The Johnson family has been "rolling" through the last few weeks of summer. Hard to believe school starts in two weeks! Jared and Lauren spent a week in Katy with Mimi and Pa (doing lots of fun things like seeing a play, putt-putt golf, movies, swimming, etc..) and we "rolled" on down to Conroe to pick them up on July 27th. We met at Lanette's grandpa's lakehouse, and the kids got to fish and swim. They had fun, but Lauren was a little disturbed by the fish! Haha!


We took the kids roller skating on August 2nd. We figured it would be a fun indoor family activity. The kids were excited, but a little nervous. Jared had tried once before, and didn't think it was his thing. Well, they did great! They were getting the hang of it after awhile, and Lindsey was even able to get in on the action in her stroller. It put her right to sleep (despite the blaring tunes). A good time was had by all!














In other exciting news...Lauren has finally mastered bike riding without training wheels! She made it all the way around the neighborhood tonight without any help from mom or dad! Once Lindsey can sit up a little better, we can try a family bike ride! Yeah!!

14 week update

Well, July is almost over, and it's been hot, hot, hot! Lauren did dance camp and loved it! She is now signed up for ballet/tap/jazz in the fall. Steve had a nice birthday. We celebrated at Cheddar's and had some chocolate cake. Then, they had a birthday lunch for him at work. We've tried to stay indoors as much as possible lately- Jumping Party, Chuck E. Cheese, etc... Mimi and Pa came for a visit this past weekend, and Leslie joined us for lunch and a swim on Sunday. (Steve and I even got to go see Harry Potter and the Half-blood Prince Saturday night!) Jared and Lauren went home with Mimi and Pa and are having a great time in Katy this week. We'll head down this weekend and pick them up. It's been so quiet around here. I hardly know what to do with just one baby!

Lindsey is doing better in the car these days. She is a pretty happy baby most of the time (*knock on wood*). She wakes up, eats, plays, and then sleeps. When she gets tired, I just put her in her swing and she gets the "sleepy stares", and then she's out! At night, I can just lay her in her bed and she pretty much goes right to sleep. She may fuss for a few minutes, but then she'll find her thumb and drift off to sleep. She doesn't seem to like a bunch of rocking or patting or anything! We put her in the bumbo seat (which is new since Lauren), and she seems to like that. She is always trying to sit up and see what's going on. She is ticklish under her arms and chin, and she likes "Pat-a-Cake", "Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes", and "If You're Happy and You Know It". She will "talk" up a storm in the evenings, too. We usually take her on a walk and she just coos at us the whole time. Love that little girl!!!








































































(Lauren funny to report: When Leslie was here, we were playing "categories" in the pool, and the category was "colors". Green, Red, Blue...Lauren pauses, looks around, and says, "Fence Color"! Leslie and I were cracking up!)