Johnson New'z'

Parker's First Laughs!

2009-08-29T12:20:00.000-07:00

This took place a few weeks ago, but finally getting it up on the blog (thanks Wade). :) It's so fun to see him changing, but there's a part of me wants him to stay small and sweet! Well, at least sweet... he's not all that small as it is. He also started rolling over last week... maybe in a month or two we'll post that video as well.

Important Day! Parker's blessing

2009-07-05T21:15:00.000-07:00

I absolutely MUST take the time to post today on Parker's special blessing day. I'm so grateful for the gospel, and for my hubby who is good and wonderful and able to bless our babies. I was working up the nerve to stand up for testimony meeting today, but by the time I passed off the sleeping baby to mom-in-law and got ready to stand up (with what I thought was 5 mins left), the bishopric stood and ended the meeting. So, I guess there's no reason that I can't do that here and now, for the world to see. :)

I am so blessed. My life is so blessed. I never could have imagined how much I would love our children. I try to count each day with them as the blessing it is, although I do admit that at times it is incredibly stressful, i.e., trying to get out of the house to a doc appointment for Parker with 20 mins extra time (yay!), getting him in car seat and buckled down, Lucy frustrated with getting her shoes on, Mommy frustrated with trying to get everything together while Lucy is complaining (bottles cleaned, formula made, bottles stored, medication packed, extra diapers, extra clothes, extra bibs, wipes are full), Lucy getting frustrated with everything now that Mommy is frustrated, Parker spitting up through his nose and all over his clothes--now not breathing and then screaming like the world is ending, Mommy yanking Parker out of his car seat and calming him down, which takes 20 mins and then we're all late to his doctor's appointment. On the other hand, how can I not be incredibly grateful for the blessing of having these two sweet, absolutely beautiful children in my home. Lucy has been so helpful and of course LOVES her little brother. She tickles his feet and sings him songs when he's crying. She wakes every morning and runs to see Parker (I'm no longer on the top of the list), giving him kisses and saying "goo goo, gaa gaa" to try and get a smile. Parker similarly loves his sister, and smiles at her most all mornings when she comes to say good morning. It's a beautiful thing to see, the instant love between these two.

I must thank our Father in Heaven for sending Parker to us when he did. I do not know that I could find the strength to get through losing a child. I'm not that strong. Losing our pregnancies to miscarriage is one thing, and very difficult, but to lose a baby? I cannot even grasp the pain that would bring. The day we learned of his VLCADD, and the next day when I learned that Parker did indeed have VLCADD and it wasn't a fluke test, I've never cried so hard. Wade couldn't see my eyes, I could barely even see, and I just couldn't stop. Even the potential 'thought' of losing him... I am in love with him, and Lucy, and I'm so grateful that we have a long life to spend together thanks to modern medicine and genetic testing. Thank you, Father, for these sweet spirits in our home.

I also want to thank my in-laws for joining us this weekend. We miss our families so much at times like this, and it was wonderful they were able to be here. Bob and Colleen are definitely coveted in-laws. They are sweet and wonderful to us, and spoil us every time they come (Wade and I got a 3-hour nap today!). We had a lot of fun with them yesterday for the 4th of July celebrations, and Wade got to go shooting with his dad and a couple of friends on Friday in the booneys. Everyone who meets them loves them, and I'm very grateful that they are part of our lives. I love you guys!

Last but not least, I want to thank my sweet and wonderful husband. He has been very patient with me. I admit that my emotions are on edge these last 2 months (and to be honest, even before that during pregnancy). My patience, which was once one of my best qualities, has somehow gotten incredibly lost and can't find it's way back to me--please let me know if you find it somewhere. Maybe if I left it at one of your houses a few (several) months ago? I think Wade will pay a generous finder's fee.

I know, Wade, that you've made a lot of sacrifices for my happiness over the last several months. Even just yesterday, the 4th of July, you let me take everyone to a parade in hot weather (with the 2 things you hate most being crowds and heat... seriously). You were being very selfless again to agree to take everyone to a large fireworks show and face more crowds and more heat, although I admit that we likely had more fun going to a friend's home and lighting off what should be illegal fireworks. Thank you for being the rock of our family. Thank you being my rock. I love you so much. You deserve the most incredible wife, and I hope I resemble that in little pieces sometimes.

Now, on to the pictures. :)

Parker started off really happy! He was ready for church and smiling like crazy. We tried to take advantage of it, but we didn't want to be late so had to rush out the door! Here's a quick photo of the "pre" blessing happiness.

Well, I guess the happiness didn't stick too long, but here he is with Daddy!

I though it would be fun to share a couple of Lucy's blessing pictures as well! Here she is with Daddy.

Parker with Mommy

Lucy with Mommy (yes, we didn't get any of her when she wasn't screaming)

After church, we wanted to get a few pictures. Of course, he was sound asleep and wasn't really all that excited about cooperating, understandably. But, here we are trying to show off his outfit. Cute little man!

Grandma, Grandpa, and Parker

Grandma, Grandpa, Parker, and Lucy!

Lucy getting a little of the picture-taking action

Three generations of Johnson boys. Aren't they handsome?

Mom, Dad, and Parker

All of us! Thanks Brooke for putting down your baby on the grass to take our family picture. :)

Parker chilling and resting after his long day.

All in all, it was a very special day. Thanks everyone who thought of us today and couldn't be here, even though I know you wanted to :), and thanks to our friends who made a special trip to our meeting with the kids (and then had to likely go back to their ward a couple of hours later!).

Pictures of Parker...and the rest of us, too.

2009-05-14T14:18:00.000-07:00

I received a great shower gift from a friend who has her own photography business. A FREE photo shoot! Thank you so much Jamie, the pictures are amazing! Check out some of the photos at the link below.

http://www.jamiehammondphotography.com/blog/?p=1150

A Trying Week.

2009-05-10T19:19:00.000-07:00

As most of you know, it’s been a difficult week for us. The week started out wonderfully as we welcomed home our newborn son, Parker. He was born on Friday, May 1st and weighed in at a healthy 10lbs 2oz and measured 22 ¼”. After a one-night stay in the hospital, everything checked out perfectly for mom and baby, and we were able to come home. We spent the first few days home, getting back into the groove of life with a newborn. Luckily, Parker is a wonderfully content and mellow baby, and has made things easy for us.

On Thursday morning the phone rang; we were ALL still sleeping so it went to voicemail. Within a few minutes we checked the voicemail to find a message from our pediatrician’s office. The message was left by the on-call doctor, since our doc wasn’t in the office that day. The message said that one of the results form Parker’s PKU(heel prick) test had come back abnormal, and that we needed to bring him in as soon as possible. We immediately called the office and tried to speak with the doctor, who was now in with another patient and would have to call us back. Our heads were spinning as we tried to imagine what could be wrong. We went online and did a search to see what the PKU test screened for. It turns out that PKU is somewhat of a misnomer as the test now checks for a variety of diseases and disorders; it is actually called a “newborn screening test”. The list of exactly what is tested for varies from state to state, but everything we saw looked terrifying. The majority were either fatal or resulted in severe mental retardation and/or physical debilitation. Needless to say, we were very worried about Parker after this brief, but frightening web search. It was around 9:00am when we first heard from the doctor’s office, and they wouldn’t be able see us until 11:50! We asked if there was any way they could tell us what was wrong over the phone, but were told only that one of his tests was “abnormal”, and that the doctor was looking into it.

When we finally got in to see the doctor we were told that Parker had tested positive for something called Very-Long-Chain Acyl-CoA Dehydrogenase Deficiency (VLCADD). The doctor proceeded to tell us that she’d never heard of this before and didn’t have very much information for us, aside from a single piece of paper with a short description of VLCADD. It said that VLCADD is a type of fatty acid oxidation disorder, and that people with VLCADD have problems breaking down certain types of fat into energy for the body. It also stated that if untreated, VLCADD is fatal in infants.

Next, the doctor explained that a biochemical geneticist from Seattle Children’s Hospital had contacted her, and instructed here to check Parker’s heart and liver, and make sure he was alert and not lethargic. If everything checked out ok, we were to head immediately to see him at Seattle Children’s; if she found any problems, we were to go directly to the closest emergency room! Luckily, Parker checked out fine, and we headed straight to Seattle Children’s.

We ended up spending the entire day at the hospital. After checking in and being met by a triage nurse who checked Parkers weight and vitals, we met with the geneticist, who assured us that if we took the proper steps, and if all of the tests that they were going to run looked good, Parker would not only survive, but be able to live a pretty normal life. I won’t go into all of the details of what VLCADD is, I’ll save that for the experts (see links at the end of the post), but basically people with VLCADD are unable to break down certain fats into energy. At first this didn’t seem like such a big deal, until the doctor explained a few things. For this part we’ll need to take a trip back to high-school biology. Our bodies get energy from the food we eat. Energy from fat keeps us going whenever our bodies run low on glucose, their main source of energy. Our bodies rely on fat when we don’t eat for a stretch of time – like when we miss a meal or when we sleep. People with VLCADD cannot skip meals, and must eat a diet extremely low in fat. In people with VLCADD, these long-chain fats can build up in the system where they become acidic and lead to organ failure, often having a hardening affect on the heart muscle and causing it to fail. Also, those with VLCADD must receive special IV fluids if/when they are unable to eat due to illness in order to avoid hypoglycemia and/or metabolic shock which can lead to a coma.

After meeting with the geneticist we were sent off to get Parker’s tests started and asked to come back to discuss things further and meet with a dietician after the tests were complete. Parker was given an ECHO/ultrasound to check his heart, blood was taken for further DNA testing and to confirm the diagnosis of VLCADD, and a chest x-ray was taken. None of this was enjoyable for Parker, or us for that matter, but he was a trooper and calmed right down after each of the procedures. It was difficult to watch them poke and prod at him, especially the blood-draw, but we were very, very impressed with everything at Seattle Children’s Hospital. The facilities were incredible and everyone we worked with was great. After the tests were complete we returned to see the geneticist and dietician. The geneticist went over a few more of the basics of VLCADD and provided us with some informational resources as well as contact information for him and his partners in the event we had questions or concerns; he also provided us with a letter that we will need to carry with us at all times that informs emergency room doctors of Parker’s condition and the special treatment that he requires, as well as the importance of immediate care. He also gave us a prescription for carnitine. Next, the dietician informed us that Parker would have to go on a special formula and could no longer be breastfed as breast milk is high in long-chain fats, although she did prescribe a recipe for the formula that would allow for a small amount of breast milk to be added so that Parker could get some of its benefits (antibodies, DHA, ARA, etc). The formula is not available over the counter, has to be prescribed by a doctor, and will be delivered via FedEx each month.

Looking back on the past week there are a lot of things we’re grateful for:

We are grateful that Parker was born safely without complication and that he’s such a sweet and mellow baby.
We are very grateful that this was caught so early. They added the test for VLCADD to the newborn screening in Washington in July of last year, and Parker is the first confirmed case since screening began.
We’re thankful that we live so close to one of the best children’s hospitals in the country and that they have the expertise to deal with this disorder.
We are very grateful that Grandma Colleen (Wade’s mom) could be here with us this week. She was able to entertain Lucy while we were gone. She spent so much time cooking, cleaning and doing laundry…We really REALLY appreciate it. THANKS!
We’ve received a lot of support from family and friends. Not having our families close is difficult in times like these, but our friends and the members of our ward have done a wonderful job helping out.

Parker thought this was all a bit too depressing so he wanted me to post this little video so that we could end this post on a high note.

More info about VLCADD:
http://www.newbornscreening.info/Parents/fattyaciddisorders/VLCADD.html

http://www.fodsupport.org

http://www.fodsupport.org/brett.htm

He's Here!

2009-05-03T09:42:00.000-07:00

Parker Robert Johnson
May 1st, 2009 - 1:36pm
10lbs 2oz, 22 1/4"!!!!!!

See a few pics here! http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2011370&id=1198627727&l=78bff9f5a6

We're Still Alive!

2009-03-29T16:28:00.001-07:00

It's been a while, so I just wanted to put together a quick post to let everyone know that we're still alive. With all that's been going on (family visits, work, PREGNANCY!) it's hard to find time to keep in touch. Here are some of the highlights since the last post...

Lucy turned 3! It doesn't seem like that long ago that she was born, but at the same time it feels like she's always been here! She had a great time at her princess/knight party and she loved her castle cake. We had a great time with Grandma Colleen visiting as well!

Grandma and Grandpa Harper came to visit!

3rd Year Pictures (Thanks for the photo shoot Grandpa!)

Wade's Blog

2009-01-11T20:53:00.000-08:00

Hi everone, this is Wade. I recently decided to start a blog of my own, but I guess there's no point in having it if I don't tell anyone that it exists. So, here's the link. Don't expect too much. At the moment there's not a lot there, but if you'd like to see what the non-pink-and-frilly side of the Johnson family is up to, check it out.

I wonder if Traci will be mad when she finds out I hacked into her blog?

Addition to the Johnson Family

2008-12-28T20:22:00.000-08:00

I can't postpone this any longer! This won't be a long post, but we are very excited to share that we are having a baby boy around May 1, 2009. Lucy, although she was expecting a sister, is also very excited! She's going to be a super big sister, and the little guy is lucky. I'll post more soon, but wanted to get the word out!

Gymnastics!

2008-11-19T12:02:00.000-08:00

We had started gymnastics a few months ago with a couple of Lucy's great friends, Olivia and Gwen. It was so much fun to see these girls run, jump, and roll. Coach "T" is incredible, and we're looking forward to attending her class again soon.

Starting off by running in circles... sometimes sideways, backwards, etc.

Doing a few "bear" walks

Jumping through hoops (with Olivia cheerleading)

Incredible, right? I had no idea a 2-yo could do this.

Showing off her airplane arms as she walks the mini-beam

All the girls getting ready to JUMP with Coach T giving instruction

Lucy's turn to jump! Off she goes to the foam pit.

We'd usually end up in the pit, and then it was...

STAMP TIME! Coach T gave the girls stamps on both hands and feet! Can't wait to go back.

Camping trip

2008-11-12T19:53:00.000-08:00

In August we were invited to join some of our friends on a camping trip to Kitsap Memorial State Park. We took a ferry to get there and had a wonderful time with the group who went. Our friend Madie had her 3-year Birthday while there, and we even got to go on a super awesome pirate treasure hunt. The treasure was buried on the sand by the sound, and it had nearly drown by the time we got to it! We had such fun. Thanks Davis family for the invite!

Ferry walk on way to camping--can you see Lucy's hair?

Daddy and Lucy posing on the ferry.

Lunch time! Lucy and Olivia

It's hard to see, but we're a tower of Johnsons.

Enjoying camp fire laughter.

Lucy making friends with Rick (I didn't realize she liked you so early on!--Lucy also snuggled up with Rick to watch Thomas a few weeks ago)

Our good friend Madie checking out Lucy's flashlight headband

No, they're not going to kiss. They were just sharing the princess bed.

Frisbee anyone? This is how we play, right?

A game of something or other Wade and a few other friends played.

Olivia sad to go home... I think we all felt this way! We had so much fun!!

New helper in the kitchen

2008-11-01T17:28:00.001-07:00

I'm going to slowly try and get caught back up on blogging! It's obviously been a while. I'll be going through old pictures from the last time I blogged and see what I can remember. :)

When we were in Utah in August, we found this cute little apron for Lucy at Ophir Days. She's definitely gotten amazing use out of it. Every time I mention anything about breakfast, lunch, or dinner, she runs to get her apron on to help me out. We've had fun making pies (sometimes a little frustrating when trying to roll out the pastry and little fingers keep poking my pie crust), as well as making simple things like oatmeal (instant oatmeal in the microwave). Whatever the occassion, she will always run to get her "pretty dress" and chair, and get right up to help me. She is an indredible sugar taster, as you can see from the photos below. It's her favorite part, and I guess I'd want to help more often if I got to taste the sugar, too.

Because, because, because I'm the mom!

2008-08-15T14:13:00.001-07:00

My mom shared this cute video with me today. It had me cracking up, and I thought it would be fun to share. It's super fast. Good luck keeping up!

Trip to Utah

2008-08-10T20:33:00.000-07:00

We just got back from our trip to Utah and had a wonderful time! Wade did a great job taking pictures, and he even put together a great slide show. It's good to be back home. The slide show is pretty long... so take your potty breaks now!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Johnson Bridge Adventure...

2008-07-26T14:08:00.001-07:00

A couple of weekends ago on our Adventure Sunday we decided to go see a neat bridge up in Arlington called the Jordan Brige. Well... we thought it would be neat, but it was pretty much just a bridge. We did make it down to the river and dip our toes in it, though, and it was COLD! Our runner up for the day was a large park in Monroe with walking trails and a place for our picnic, so we looked at the bridge, dipped our toes, and off to Monroe we went.

Down by the river

The "bridge"

As with any other body of water, we must throw rocks into the river.

Enjoying dessert at Monroe Park

Enjoying snuggles at Monroe Park

And enjoying slides at Monroe Park

"Sweet Slide!"

She's happy as can be

"Watch how fast I can run!"

Lucy is definitely a "stop and smell the roses" kind of girl....

That hair just won't cooperate. "Stay!"

More flowers to play with

Adventures of the Johnson Family

2008-07-16T16:30:00.000-07:00

We have a new tradition that we've been doing every Sunday for the last couple of months where we go out and find a new "adventure." We pack up a dinner/lunch and take off. It's been SO great to get out of the house on hot sunny days, and since Lucy's naps are few and far between, it makes everyone happy. :) Here are some photos to document one of our recent trips to Kayak Point.

Our Happy 4th!

2008-07-05T21:54:00.000-07:00

We had such fun for the 4th! I love celebrations of any kind, but especially if hubbies get a paid day off. For 4 days before the holiday Lucy had gotten a strange fever (no real reason for it). She woke up on the 4th without it, so I was so happy we could celebrate without having to be sick! We started the day at the ward picnic, and unfortunately by the time we got home she was back up to 102 (better than the few days before but obviously not good). So, she had her quiet time (of all days I really wanted her to take a nap so she could magically get better and stay up late with us, which of course she did not take). We were lucky, though, and within a few hours she was seemingly happy and healthy--no more fever for the rest of the day! We had some friends over for a BBQ (thanks Shelley/Cory/Ryan and Lynn/Jason/Sarah/Matthew). A fun time was had by all. We stayed up late, even Lucy, and watched a lot of our fireworks, which we got the day before from a nearby Indian reservation that sells insane fireworks for cheap. Most of you have probably seen the slide show below, but I wanted to add to it. Thanks everyone for a fabulous Fourth!

Thank you engine 77!

2008-07-02T14:37:00.000-07:00

Date/Time
June 13, 2008, 6:15 p.m.

Setting
Wade has gone camping for the evening. It's just mom and Lucy. Time for dinner.

Plot
Mom: Lucy, do you want some dinner? How about spaghetti?
Lucy: Yum! I love spaghetti!!

Mom goes to the stove and gets a pot started for boiling. Click, click. The sound of the gas stove igniting.

Mom: Hmmm... that will take a while. Let's go watch "So You Think You Can Dance" while the water boils.

Mom and Lucy enjoy So You Think You Can Dance (mostly mom). Lucy shows off a few moves of her own.

Mom: Sniff, sniff. What's that smell? Oh well... maybe someone is BBQ'ing. Oh, my favorite dancer is on next.

A few minutes pass by.

Mom: Sniff, sniff. What?? That smells like..... hmm. Is that gas? Lucy, do you smell something?
Lucy: La, la, la

Mom quickly jumps up from the couch, suddenly realizing that burner didn't ignite! The house is filled with gas. She runs to the stove to turn the gas off, but then realizes that she would have to pass the "ignite" switch in order to turn the stove off!

Mom: What do I do??? Why did dad go camping?? What do I do?? Why did dad go camping?!??

Mom turns the stove as low as it can go and opens all windows and doors, then runs to get Lucy and the phone. She takes all outside, knocking Lucy's knees on the back door and she squeezes through as quickly as possible.

Lucy: Ouch! MOMMMMYY!!!

Lucy is sad. Mom is freaking out. Mom turns on the phone and calls 9-1-1.

Mom: Um, my house smells like gas. I left the stove on (I'm an idoit) and didn't realize it didn't ignite. What do I do?
9-1-1: Okay, mam. Calm down, and then GET OUT OF THE HOUSE! Don't turn anything off. Don't turn off the phone. Don't turn off the lights. Don't turn off So You Think You Can Dance.

Mom freaks out a little bit more. Really?

9-1-1: We're sending out some help.

Mom runs through the house and takes Lucy to a neighbor's house. Then she waits... and waits. It seems like an eternity (actually only 1-1/2 minutes), and then the sirons start blaring. It sounds like the entire fire department is on its way! Mom calls her mom, and her mom laughs at her.

Two firetrucks pull up, and mom looks around to see how many neighbors are peeking out their windows. Only 4 so far. Ten or so firemen get out of their trucks, and 2 men go into the house with nifty equipment and then come back out. One fireman went through the entire house (yes, even mom's bedroom where laundry that was spread and piled all over her bed, waiting for a "better time" to fold it). "I should have folded it! Why didn't I fold it?", she thought. He opened all the windows upstairs, and mom even saw him step on her couch, but that's okay.

After 15 to 20 minutes, they give the "okay" to re-enter the house. Fireman #1 talks to mom about safety (I guess it's a given she needed the lesson). He told her they were happy to come out, though, and that she did the right thing (phew!). He even showed her that if you "quickly" pass the ignite button on your stove, it will not try to ignite, so it's safe to turn off when gas is filling the air. Well, that's a lesson she won't have to learn twice.

So, all in all, Lucy got to meet a fireman in person and mom got to meet 3 new neighbors. As soon as the firemen left, they ran upstairs to take a picture.

Have you ever had a fire truck come to your house? Or even a police officer? Or an ambulance?

How old were you when you met your first fireman?

Did you know that your stove doesn't try to ignite if you quickly pass over it? Did you just go to your stove right now to make sure??

Picnic on the sound

2008-07-02T13:43:00.000-07:00

We went to find a beach on the sound one LONG day last month, obviously still cold outside. It was actually really cold... so we ate super fast so we could go home. It was a nice way to get out of the house, though!

Daddy and Lucy walking to the water

Cheese

Picking up rocks to throw in the ocean

Think she can make it from here?

Hmm.... nope.

Time to eat... HURRY!

Mmmm..... open wide

Left just in time for a ferry shot

Lucy's first sleepover

2008-07-01T18:37:00.001-07:00

We had a super time watching one of Lucy's friends, Olivia, for a couple of days. The first night was interesting... they wanted to sleep in the same room, but then they didn't, and when they were not together one would talk from one room and another would start crying from the other room because they wanted to be together again, and vice versa. Anyway, once we finally wore them down, we all had a restful night, and the remainder of the "sleepover party" was a blast. See for yourself!

Time for change...

2008-07-01T18:21:00.001-07:00

After, what, 6 months of the same blogger template, I've decided it's time for a facelift! These templates are so cute! Horray for smart people who create these things...

Happy Birthday Wade!

2008-06-10T08:13:00.001-07:00

This was such a special day that I figured it deserves it's own post. :) Wade turned 30 on Saturday, May 31st! It was a big year. We've both been working hard and it's been difficult to find time to relax together. I had a great idea a few months ago about what to do for his birthday, and it worked wonderfully!

On Thursday, Wade took off to work without realizing the day I had planned. After he left, Wade's mom, Colleen, arrived from Utah. She, Lucy, and I drove to Wade's work after picking up balloons, sandwiches, cake, ice cream, and a last-minute camera (which almost made us late!). I had arranged this with the management staff at his job, and they were all in on our little surprise. They arranged to have an "audit meeting" in the cafeteria conference room. Lucy, Colleen, and I had to be escorted to the room due to security. However, once we arrived at 12:29 (the meeting was supposed to start at 12:30), the security officer was giving the manager a hard time and wouldn't let us in!! After all of this planning, I thought we were going to have to turn around and go home. They were able to "stall" the meeting until further notice, and it only took us a few minutes before we talked the security into letting us through. So we were able to set up minutes before Wade's group came to the conference room, and Wade was definitely surprised! He was a good sport, but he threatened to get even. (I have pictures of the day, but I forgot my digital camera and had to rush to a KMart and get a disposable on the way to his work. I'll try to get the pictures digital and post when I have them.) The original plan had been to take Wade from work after the lunch meeting, but unfortunately he had too much work. I had cleared it through his work to take Thursday afternoon through Monday off, but it looked like Friday to Monday was going to have to do.

After Wade got home from work around 4:30, we left Colleen and Lucy and drove up to Birch Bay (by the Canadian border). It was a beautiful drive! Evergreen trees and mist mixed with sun everywhere. For the entire weekend we relaxed, went to movies, went out to eat, and even got to see some sea creatures at the bay (geoducks, crabs, and sand dollars) when the tide was low. For those who aren't familiar with geoducks (thanks to Anna Marie for filling me in), they are everywhere at birch bay. When you find one burried in the sand (which apparently they live to be 150 years old and never move from their spot), you poke the top and it squirts water as it quickly sinks down several feet into the sand. It's crazy! Wade and I spent at least an hour doing this, and it was surprisingly addicting.

Birch Bay at low tide (the water comes up to where we were standing during high tide)

One of many crabs we saw

Sinking Geoduck

This is how you spot them.

I have a little clam shell to help so I didn't have to actually touch them... ewww

We saw hundreds of these sand dollars

I have no idea what this is, but it was cool. So strange to have this smooth surface in the middle of the bay

See that spec? It's a bald eagle...

So of course we had to get closer

Wade got pretty close! Such beautiful birds.

So, all in all it was a wonderful trip. We were relaxed and ready to start the busy life again when we returned on Monday morning, although I must say I missed Lucy nearly every second! It's amazing how quickly you miss the constant chatter. Thanks to Bob and Colleen for coming up once again! I know Lucy had fun, and she misses you both. It was really wonderful to be able to get away for a few days and know she was in good hands. Happy birthday again, Wade!

Lucy was excited when we got home (she showed us her dance moves w/her pretend music.. it's a long'ish video)

We're still alive!

2008-06-10T07:14:00.000-07:00

It's been a long while since I've updated, so here we go. Lots has happened in the last couple of months.

First (and mostly the reason it's taken so long to update my blog), I decided to start my own business! I must say I don't plan to do anything huge with it, but I am enjoying it. Things are finally getting into a groove again and settling down. My awesome brother helped design a logo? Very nice, huh?

In April, my mom came to visit! We had lots of fun with her, and it's always super nice to have company. We'd love to have anyone else who would like to some Seattle sites. ;) Lucy absolutely loves her grandmas and grandpas!

Lucy and grandma at the airport

Holding hands...

Lucy's getting something yummy. I'm betting it was Pez... mmmmm.

It also snowed in the middle of April. We don't get much snow up here, but we take advantage of it when it comes around! Lucy and Wade built a snowman. I can't remember where I had to go that day, but I definitely wanted to stick around and play!

I'm ready. Let's go play!

Once there was a snowman... do you like his propeller hat?

Are you a snowman or a snowwoman?

Good arm, Lucy!

Lucy had her first experience with finger painting! For all of those who know Lucy, she absolutely hates to get her fingers dirty. I've been TRYING to encourage her to get them messy every once in a while and show her how fun it can be... So, the "binkie fairy" brought her some finger paints in exchange for one of her binkies and I thought it would be a perfect time to help her. Well, 99% of this painting was done by me. Lucy did, however, manage to dip the tip of 1 finger in very lightly a couple of times on her own and smear a small amount of paint. I helped her get her entire hand in the paint and make a few hand prints, which lasted only seconds before she announced she was "ALL DONE" and "wash my fingers... wash them!" I did hang her pretty picture for her to see every day and continue asking if she had fun. She seems to remember she did have fun, but she refuses to try again. Maybe someday...

She does look excited to get started and loves the "mommy shirt."

Almost ready... here we go!

End result

Wade went to FL at the end of April for business and his mom came out to visit and keep us company, which I was so thankful for! It was absolutely wonderful to have her here, but unfortunately Wade had the camera and we didn't get any pictures to document our visit. Thanks for coming, Colleen! You're always welcome!

In mid-May, we went to the zoo with a few friends and it was wonderful! Such a beautiful day (please come back, sun!). Lucy and I were able to feed the giraffe and I even touched a giraffe nose! It was great. We unfortunately didn't get any pictures of our friends Leah and Kade who joined us that day. Thanks for a day of fun! (If you didn't see the slide show in time, you just have to push the "x" in the corner below to have it start over.)

Happy Easter!

2008-03-27T11:08:00.001-07:00

Happy Easter everyone

2008-03-27T09:02:00.000-07:00

It looks like I'm turning out to be a twice-monthly type of blogger. There's nothing wrong with that, right? We had such a great Easter! I can see holidays getting more fun with the joy of a toddler around. Lucy is making me laugh every day, like the other day she and Wade were at the gym. Afterward, they walked on a path behind the gym to get out some extra wiggles. After a few minutes, they saw a woman jogging on the trail coming toward them. Wade asked Lucy to watch where she's going and move out of they way so she could pass. Instead, Lucy ran full speed in direct path of the running woman. When the woman got closer, Lucy stopped and pointed at her as she ran past yelling back to Wade, who was now left in the dust, "That man is FAST!"

Oh, and now that I'm thinking of funny things, we got to watch the Bee Movie on Easter. We were at the part where the bees won the lawsuit and were taking away the bear as the figure for honey bottles when Lucy took off into the kitchen. A few minutes later, we could here her saying, "Oh, honey bear, I loovvee you. Don't worry honey bear. I can make honey for my own self." She had gotten our honey bear out of the pantry and, as she often does, talked to the inanimate object as though it was one of her closest friends. She's so sweet and I love listening to her conversations between spoon and fork, potato and milk, or Molly and Sally (her dolls).

I hope everyone else had a Happy Easter! We sure missed the family, but we're so happy we have some great friends here who help us feel at home.

Lonely days are here again...

2008-03-07T15:44:00.000-08:00

Okay, they're not really THAT lonely, but we've had a rough week! Even if we wanted to go out and have fun, which we did, we didn't leave the house because we really wanted to contain Lucy's nasty bug. Lucy came down with croup last Friday night and it was INSANE! It reminded me a bit of having a newborn, being that we woke up every 20 to 30 mins at night, sometimes up to 2 hours, but this time we had coughing to go with the crying. It sounded so painful. After she woke up Sunday morning with a freakishly scary sound coming from her body when she breathed, we called her doctor's office on-call nurse and found that it was croup with stridor (the stridor is the scary breathing sound, and the croupy cough is something I've never heard before in my life... very different). She explained what to expect and how best to control those stridor fits. I put a mattress on Lucy's floor and slept in her room for the next few nights. The nights were horrible, and the days weren't much better. She couldn't sleep no matter what time of day or night, and her eyes were SOOOOO droopy. She could barely keep them open. So, I know some of you have had this in the past with your kids. Did it freak you out as much as me? I finally took her in to the doctor on Tues (I say finally because it felt like we hadn't slept in weeks) and she was then diagnosed with bronchitis. We started her antibiotics right away and, after one more restless night, we're finally on the right track! She's a thousand times better now. I love modern medicine!

Lucy's birthday videos

2008-02-29T13:29:00.000-08:00

Here are a couple of our videos from her birthday--cake time! Don't mock the singing; I know, we're good.

All of the sugar and lack of sleep are getting to her... everything is suddenly so funny!

Big girl, big girl...

2008-02-28T18:10:00.001-08:00

Lucy moved up to a "big girl" bed last week to celebrate her big girl status as a 2-year-old (and because her doctor told us we could NOT wait any longer with her being so tall... mostly because of her doctor, I'll admit). So... we bit the bullet and bought a nice little toddler bed on Craig's list. I was mentally preparing myself for the loss of sleep that was likely to come from this new adventure, but it's actually turned out really well! She only woke up twice, and she may even be going to bed easier now than before. She's excited to be a "big girl" and runs to her room at bed time and nap time. In addition to this, she's graduated to a big girl chair at the table (no more high chair, finally)! Yay for Lucy! And THANKS for being so good (so far).

Happy Birthday Lucy!

2008-02-28T17:52:00.000-08:00

Better late than never, I always say. :) It was Lucy's birthday on the 16th, almost 2 weeks ago. She's 2! She LOVED it this year. Her grandma Colleen and grandpa Bob were able to help us celebrate, which was wonderful! We were so happy to have them here, for more reasons than one. I'm working on uploading a video from her birthday, but these pics will have to do for now.

We went out to lunch and Lucy got her very own ice cream sundae! Yippee! I think her eyes were as big as the cup when she saw it.

Lucy's birthday cake... I WAS going to do a really cute Clifford theme, but ended up going into super time-saver mode and buying at Albertson's. I'll be better next year.

She loved the tiara and "magic" wand, though.

And she wanted to make sure everyone got a chance to be pretty, even daddy... What was her favorite part, you might ask?

Playing in her super sweet tent (thanks gma and gpa) all weekend! I think we all actually had a pretty good time playing in her tent.

January in CT (finally!)

2008-02-13T17:19:00.000-08:00

I'm finally getting some of our CT photos up. I can't believe I'm such a slacker. Anyway, we had a lot of fun, as you can see from the photos. :) Thanks mom and dad for letting us crash at your place for a while, and we're SO glad your leg is finally on the mend, mom. :) Love you!

We Thank Thee Oh God for a Prophet

2008-01-28T11:37:00.000-08:00

On a more somber note, as most of you know the prophet of the LDS church, Gordon B. Hinckley, passed away last night at 97 years old. Although we knew the time would be coming soon, we will certainly miss his sweetness, his wisdom, and his sense of humor. He is again with his beloved wife, Majorie. How fortunate we were to have him lead our church for nearly 13 years! We will remember him and his teachings.

The Trees are Messy!

2008-01-28T11:26:00.000-08:00

We woke up this morning to SNOW! When Lucy woke up, Wade pointed outside our bedroom window and told her to look at the snow. She informed us that the trees are messy! We love the beautiful snow, though, although of course driving in it is no fun. Wade stayed home most of the morning, and we got to play outside. Lucy made a great little snowman and her first snow angel. I started taking pictures but the battery died on our camera before I got many outside! She was happy to enjoy the back yard again, though!

2008-01-18T15:34:00.000-08:00

Tag, I'm it!

I’m finally getting around to answering my questions… I was tagged by Laura. :) Don't forget to check out the bottom of my post to see if I tagged you!

~10 years ago~

I was 17 years old and getting ready to graduate high school! I was able to go to Paris and London with my mom, dad, and brother Tim. We were able to see so many sites! I’m still amazed I ever had that much energy, although I do remember sleeping an entire day away the second we go to our hotel room (even though we “planned” to stay up as long as possible). I went to prom that year. I wish I could remember more…
~5 years ago~

I’d been married for 2-1/2 years! We lived in Ogden, Utah, and owed a money pit, literally. I could go on and on about that, but most of you know our nightmare stories. I feel like our marriage is golden since we were able to survive that together! I was just starting my new job as a medical transcriptionist (still in the same field)! Wade was in school at Weber State. We went to an all-inclusive resort in Mexico for our 2-year anniversary… oh, all the sand, sun, ocean, virgin strawberry daiquiris we could handle. When can I do that again?

~1 year ago~

We were beginning to consider buying a house in Washington. Lucy turned 1 year old, and we had a little party for her with a cake shaped like the Baby Einstein caterpillar (I was so proud of myself)! Lucy didn’t eat the cake, and she mostly just got mad when her fingers got all dirty. She still doesn’t like to have oowy gooey hands. We spent Christmas with our families in Utah.

~Yesterday~

Lucy and I met Kedra and Olivia at the mall to play. Lucy also went to the gym w/her daddy while I worked in the afternoon. Needless to say, she didn’t fight us much when it was time for bed! I did laundry, just like every other day.

~5 favorite snacks~

1—Maybe seems really strange, but I LOVE the soy beans you can buy frozen from Costco. Lucy and I eat those probably every day. They’re so easy to prepare and so yummy!
2—Obviously chocolate is among any woman’s favorite snack, or maybe it’s considered more of a “treat.” Either way, I’m no different.
3—Oranges are definitely a common snack around here, too. I love them! We just bout a HUGE box from Costco the other day, actually. I will be interested to see if we can eat them all before they go bad. Maybe I’ll go get one now.
4—I’m with my mom on the Yoplait Whips (yogurt). They melt in your mouth!
5—I could probably eat Good & Plenty every day and have no problem with it. Well, my body wouldn’t love it, but my mouth would!

~5 things to do with a million dollars~

1—Pay off our house.
2—Go back to Mexico!
3—Quit working so hard and smell the roses.
4—Create college funds for kids (hopefully a million will cover it by then)!
5—Hire someone to do my laundry.

~5 places to run away to~

1—A warm bath takes care of just about any problem.
2—Bed!
3—Somewhere warm. Mexico? I’m so cold right now!
4—To see Grandma and Grandpa with Lucy. They always make us happy!
5—Anywhere with Wade for any amount of time (well, any time less than a week… don’t think I could survive much longer away from Lucy).

~5 TV shows~

1—30 Rock
2—The Office
3—Medium
4—Psych
5—AVF (something we can watch as a family)

~5 things I hate doing~

1—Laundry, obviously
2—Junk mail (email and snail mail)!
3—I’m with my mom and SIL on this one. Spiders! Anything with spiders. I don’t like to look at them, I don’t like to think of them, I don’t like movies about them, I don’t like killing them. You get the idea.
4—Airplane rides by myself with a 2-year-old “lap” child to CT. I’ve definitely had better days, but it’s totally worth it! Fortunately, Lucy will no longer be a “lap” child after February.
5—Speaking in public!!!

~5 joys~

1—My sweet daughter!
2—Incredible husband! He’s full of surprises.
3—Getting to see my parents and in-laws with their grandchild.
4—Hmm… something not family related. I love that we can go anywhere and feel at home through our church.
5—Surprises! Like the one Wade did for me while we were gone in CT (see below)

~5 interesting things about me~
Wow, this will be a hard one.
1—I’ve never had the chickenpox, and couldn’t seem to get them even though I tried! (I even had a sleepover with my best friend when she had the chickenpox.) That’s not so original now that there’s a vaccine, but it used to be interesting.
2—I got pulled over when I was 16 for letting my little brother (15) drive the car on a very quiet road. Well, I guess technically he got pulled over, and then while the cop was walking up to the door I remember him taking off his seatbelt and trying to get me to switch spots with him. I of course knew better. I should have known better than to put the 15-year-old behind the wheel of a car. He’s a great driver now.
3—I used to be scared of toilets (even up until a few years ago). It wasn’t that I was scared using them, it’s that I was scared flushing them. The sound made my heart stop until it was over. I had an especially hard time with the loud supersonic toilets that flush at the speed of sound. Also, I still don’t like using the toilets that flush automatically… I need control over when that thing is going to flush.
4—I cried when my oldest brother left on his mission and I had to speak in church. And I cried a LOT. Everyone thought I was sad because he was leaving, which of course I was sad that he was leaving, but mostly it was because I was the last one to speak for the meeting and all I could think about was how freaked out I was. As mentioned before, I hate speaking in public! I now can manage not crying in front of everyone while waiting for my turn to talk, but it’s definitely not fun.
5—This is taking so long! What else… what else… I guess it might be interesting (in a gross kind of way) that I chew on my cheeks when I’m nervous. Some people bite their fingernails, I bite my cheeks. It’s an impossible habit to break, but I’ve been trying for years. Hopefully most of you have stopped reading by now. :)

Phew! That’s over with. That was kind of hard. I hope you all learned something new about me! Now I’m going to tag Kristen W, Kedra, Lisa D, Shelley, and Emily. Have fun with it! I’m ready to read about your interesting quirks!

Surprise!

2008-01-16T08:45:00.001-08:00

PLAY ROOM BEFORE:

Lucy and I went to visit my parents in CT last week as they were not able to make it to our home during Christmas (my mom broke her leg/had surgery just days before they were due to fly out)! We had a LOT of fun visiting them and helping my mom adjust to her new method of moving about, or lack thereof. Lucy sure loves all of her grandparents! We'll post pictures from our trip soon. While we were away, Wade took on the task of re-doing our play room! I had no idea he was up to this, but he managed to paint, redo the baseboards, and put in a cabinet system all within the week I was gone (in addition to his normal work schedule)! Here are pictures from the project - it looks great!! He's due for some major R&R.

AFTER:

Happy New Year!

2008-01-04T15:39:00.001-08:00

Happy New Year! We had a wonderful New Years Eve w/my in-laws and celebrated at 10 p.m. (for Lucy). I was surprised how much she liked the poppers! She didn't want to do many herself, but she never wanted the celebration to end. Most of the rest of us made it until midnight with only an occassional snooze here and there. When did it get so hard to stay up past 10???

Snoqualmie Falls

2008-01-04T14:48:00.000-08:00

Bob and Colleen (grandma and grandpa) called us last minute to come share New Years with us! We were SO happy to have them come visit us. On New Years Eve we decided to take advantage of the sunny day and head out to Snoqualmie Falls. It was beautiful, of course, and we got some great pics w/gma and gpa. :) Thanks for coming to share the New Year with us grandma and grandpa!!! We love you!

Imagination, Let's Pretend

2007-12-29T11:35:00.000-08:00

Yesterday we went to the Imagination Children's Museum. Lucy (and Mommy and Daddy) had a TON of fun. Besides the insane crowd, it was really neat. Lucy got to be a pilot, a chef, a farmer, and a vet all in one day... plus she got to be REALLY short and REALLY tall in some of those funky mirrors. She thought it was great, and so did I!

No Potty's Business

2007-12-26T16:42:00.000-08:00

Well, we bought Lucy her first toilet seat today! :) She's been going dry throughout the night for over a week now and had been using our big-person potty very well before bed and after she wakes up. I think she (and I) was tired of holding onto my legs while using the bathroom, so I knew it was time to get one of her very own. She sat on it this afternoon and didn't want to get off! I'm going to have to look into some books on how to do this potty training thing. Any suggestions are welcome... please?? :) I will say, though, that the sooner I can stop changing poopy diapers the better for all, although I'm sure that time will come just as baby #2 (no announcements) comes along.

Gettin Ready for Christmas

2007-12-24T22:09:00.000-08:00

It's 10:15 on Christmas Eve. Lucy is very excited for Santa Claus to come tonight. I'm not sure how long it will take her to go to sleep... she's still talking in her crib. She's been talking about Santa for the last couple of weeks and it's finally here! (Maybe I'm more excited than she is!) She knows Santa will be bringing presents and leaving them under the tree. We're going to miss our grandmas and grandpas (and aunts and uncles and cousins) this Christmas; we'll be thinking about all of you! Washington is really beautiful and we're very happy to be hear, but nothing is quite like spending the holidays with your family. So Merry Christmas to everyone! I'm off to wrap some presents!

December 2007 slideshow

2007-12-24T16:58:00.000-08:00

From Santa with Love by Michelle Davis

2007-12-21T15:53:00.000-08:00

A long time ago in a land far away,

A child was born on a cold winter’s day

He wasn’t the baby you’re thinking about

But another small lad, he stood short and stout

He grew up to be quite a caring old man

He loved little children, everyone in the land

He found the “Good Book” and studied its pages

It was the story of Jesus passed down through the ages

His heart overflowed as he read, could it be?

A love so divine that he died just for me?

A twinkle appeared in his eye on that day

He found a road straight to Heaven and Christ was the way

As Christmas came closer, his heart filled with joy

He’d show God’s people he loved them – every girl, every boy

He made lots of goodies and stocked up his shelves

Yes, Santa was busy and so were his elves

He was filled with such love, that he wanted to share

So he handed out gifts to kids everywhere

Praise be to God, let the Angels sing

For this jolly old man spreads love for the King

As he steps into the chimney, he looks high above

And whispers, "Happy Birthday Dear Jesus, from Santa with Love"

(Thanks Emily for posting this on your blog and letting us share it!)

Little prayers and little laughs

2007-12-20T15:02:00.000-08:00

There is something special about little voices. Laugther will always be one of my favorite sounds, but a child praying is a new highlight for me. Lucy has been saying her prayers with our help quite a bit lately and I will never get tired of hearing her sweet little voice during prayer time. Some of the things she helps us remember to pray for include Olivia (her best little friend), grandma and grandpa, and snow, even though we've only had snow once this year! I LOVE being a mother!

To Blog or Not to Blog

2007-12-20T11:53:00.000-08:00

Well, I think it's finally my time to start a blog! I figure if my mom can do it, so can I. It's going to be interesting to see if I can keep it updated, but I'm already having a lot of fun with it! I'll write a bunch more later, but I wanted to get a slide show up and running from our Christmas photos this year!

Merry Christmas!

2007-12-20T11:52:00.001-08:00