Almost done bathroom remodel

All we did in our spare time (besides playing with the baby) this week was work on our bathroom remodels. We’re fairly close to done with the downstairs bathroom. It looks really good so far and makes us excited to finish the others.

Brooklin is still healthy and happy. She often sleeps 6 hours during the night – I don’t know how we lucked out there.



AJ got in trouble (AGAIN!) at school and had a half day suspension as a result. For punishment, he had to give the Wii to his cousins, who had theirs stolen recently. He might get it back if he doesn’t get in trouble any more this year. In his defense, the reasons he keeps getting in trouble is because other students are doing things that he perceives as wrong, and he is trying to remedy the situation. This week, AJ saw another little boy take a lunchbox on the playground that wasn’t his. The other kid was trying to bring it to a teacher, but AJ thought he was trying to steal it, so he took it away and pushed the kid down. When a teacher tried to intervene, AJ got really upset and hit the teacher too. Not good.

Anyway, here’s a couple pictures of the remodel.

Home improvement

My mom and dad drove up from Utah to help me the week after Brooklin was born. It made my recovery so much easier!! Simple things like getting AJ on the bus and entertaining AJ and Natalie would have been absolutely miserable for me to try to do by myself while I was still in pain from my surgery and trying to feed a newborn every 2-3 hours. It was nice to spend some time with my parents, even though I know they were bored after day 1. My poor dad had to resort to trimming my cherry tree and other labors to stay busy.



By Saturday the 7th (which was my original due date), I was feeling enough better that Joe and I decided to start tackling some of our home improvement projects. Joe and my dad bought paint and tools, and we painted our dining room. It looks so good!! We also switched out the light fixture for a chandelier Joe found on sale. We still need window treatments, chair rail and crown molding to finish the room… and a new dining set and a new area rug and shelves or something to store tablecloths and such in...




Grandma and Grandpa Johnson finally got to come see the baby this week. They’ve had pneumonia and other various illnesses, so they graciously stayed away to prevent the baby getting sick. It must have about killed them to do so, but I know Brooklin appreciates it! They brought dinner one night and spent the evening with us.

This last week we’ve started working on our downstairs bathroom. So far, we’ve pulled up the vinyl flooring and subfloor, layed down hardibacker, replaced the toilet supply line (not because we broke it; it was just really cheap), pulled off the tile backsplash and mirror, mudded over the backsplash and various holes in the wall. Next, we’re going to paint, replace the vanity light fixture, and lay down tile. It’s really fun to have a project like this, but expensive! The hardest part is not having all the tools we need. We really have to work hard to keep our budget in check.



The baby had her 2-week checkup on Friday. She is already up to 7 pounds, 12 ounces and 19.5 inches long! I am still in awe at the difference of having a full-term baby. It astounds me that I don’t have to wake her up to eat or worry about jaundice and all the little things that I had to worry about with AJ and Natalie. Brooklin’s such a good baby. She’s already starting to sleep 6 hours at night. Unfortunately, she likes to stay up until midnight before she goes to bed. But I guess that’s better than waking up for the day at 4 am. It would be nice if she’d sleep in her crib, or even her bassinet, but she’s pretty sure that she needs to cuddle all night to be happy.




Andrea and Scott came over Sunday for a visit. They were nice enough to bring us a replacement entertainment center since ours had a big crack in it when we bought it on our last trip to Spokane. We boxed the old one and sent it back with them yesterday. We didn’t do much besides play with Brooklin and rip holes in my bathroom walls removing tile other than that, but we enjoy spending time with family. We even convinced Scott to hold the baby. He swears that he doesn’t want one of his own, but I think we’ve managed a crack in his resolve. They had to leave yesterday afternoon, so Andrea could study for a test.

Meet Brooklin Annalise Johnson

Brooklin was born January 30, 2009, at 6:14 pm. She was 7 pounds, 1.6 ounces and 18 3/4 inches long. She's perfectly healthy! After a difficult pregnancy, we are counting our blessings for such a beautiful baby. We can't believe how different and better it is having a full term baby after two premies. Little miracles like the fact that she wakes up on her own when she's hungry are not lost on us!

My parents are here from Monticello, Utah, to help me as I'm recovering from the cesarean section. We're so grateful that they're here. I don't know how I would have survived without them to get AJ on the bus every day, clean my house, and make sure my house continues to function properly.

Christmas 2008

AJ and Natalie’s letters to Santa were pretty darn cute. All Natalie asked for was cupcakes, which we had Christmas Eve for Zachary’s birthday. AJ apologized for getting on the naughty list (he got sent to the principal’s office 3 times this semester!!!) and promised to be good as long as he didn’t get “black rocks” for Christmas.

That night we read the kids our three traditional Christmas stories (How the Grinch Stole Christmas, ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas, and the real Bible story of Jesus’ birth) and put them to bed. Joe, who’d worked all day prior to our party, quickly fell asleep on the couch as soon as the kids were settled. I woke him up around 10, and we wrapped a few remaining gifts until 1 o’clock. Santa had to stay up late to get to our house after we went to bed, but we heard there were others in the area up way later than us.

Joe and I generally don’t buy ourselves big items except as gifts, so Santa was able to be pretty generous with us. Joe got a new LCD flat screen, and I got a piano. AJ was most excited about new Star Wars games for the Wii. Natalie got a whole bunch of nail polishes and chapsticks and purses and a motorized puppy she’s been asking for forever and clothes, among other things. But the only thing she cared about was that Santa didn’t bring her cupcakes for Christmas. Santa was confused. Unbeknownst to the big guy, what she wanted was similar to an EasyBake oven specifically for cupcakes. You can’t win them all, I guess.

After a greatly needed nap for me, we headed over to Grandma Johnson’s house for a fantastic steak dinner with the family. I had to leave early to go to work of all the awful things. We were really busy that night too. I was grateful that I didn’t get scheduled for Christmas Eve though. That would have been much worse.

Natalie's Ballet Recital

Natalie participated in her first ballet recital on the 13th. They were so adorable! She really enjoyed seeing the older girls dance as well. We have lots to look forward to. You can't make out faces very well on the video because of the lighting, but I'll post it anyway if my computer will let me.

AJ's winter...ish concert

AJ’s kindergarten winter concert was the 9th of this month. Joe and I were somewhat disappointed. We crowded ourselves into a tiny gym along with what felt like thousands of other parents only to hear AJ sing two songs that were neither festive nor Christmasy. One of the songs (although I use that word loosely) had to do with a snowflake, but that was as close as we came. I realize that schools have to be religiously neutral, but what’s wrong with a little “Sleighride” or “Walking in a Winter Wonderland”? Frankly, I would have been overjoyed to hear a Hanukkah or Kwanzaa song from my son. I don’t think avoidance entirely promotes tolerance any more than focusing on the majority’s beliefs. Jumping off the soap box…

I have a video of his concert that I'm going to try to upload, but I don't know if it will work or not. My computer is being dumb.

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