Zoo Trip

Exactly one year ago from today we took Johanna to the zoo for her first time! Think I'm crazy for remembering that? Don't worry...it's only because today my zoo membership expired. If you renewed your membership early you saved five bucks, and Jeff and I were able to make our trip this weekend after all which meant I saved five bucks just in the nick of time. Woohoo! Then we wasted the five bucks on a ten dollar hotdog.... anyway...

Since we've seen zoo pictures several times I won't go into much detail but I figured everyone would want to see some pictures of me since I'm  usually the one behind the camera. Giraffes are Johanna's favorite animal so this is a picture of her desperately trying to get out of my arms to get a closer look.

I should have had a video recorder, she was so excited she was dancing around.

Daddy's Girl :)

The polar bear was really active that day. He was right up against the window attacking some type of leaf or stick, not really sure but made for great entertainment!

Johanna loves riding the horse at the grocery store. So when she hopped on this carousel animal naturally she thought it was another horse and was petting its head saying, awww horsey! Haha....Jeff didn't have the heart to tell her it was actually an ugly tapir. That and I would bet that Jeff doesn't know what a tapir is anyway.

Look, here I am with all three.

JJ's first time at the zoo was spent in dreamland of course :)

This morning Johanna woke up in a goofy mood. It was her first night in her bitty baby jammies which she is so proud of but sadly they are way too big (size 3) so I'll probably need to hold off for a little while to avoid her falling on her butt like she did earlier today.

18 Months

Yesterday little peanut hit her 18 month mark and today her brother hit his 1 month.  I haven't been keeping up with monthly updates but 18 months seems like a milestone so I'll do my best to remember what she's been up to these last few months.

-This girl is a talker! She baffles me with how many words and expressions she's picked up on and knows. I won't go into much detail with this since the list has grown so much, but some of my favorite saying of hers are: "I dunno" "What is this?" "What was that?" "Go Away" "All Aboard!" "Bless you" "It's okay, JJ" "Hi baby!"

-Loves to shop and loves everything girly. While going through her clothes she will pull things out saying (I kid you not...) beautiful! pretty! cute!

-Has to accessories whether it be necklace, braclet or bow (bows include hairties, ribbons, clips or headbands.)

-Wears size 5 shoes, size 18 month and 2T clothes, and size 5 diapers

-Loves her princesses, favorite movie is still Rapunzel, favorite doll is her '"Punsal" doll.

-Favorite tv shows are elmo from Sesame Street and Mickey Mouse

-Favorite foods are blueberries and hotdogs

-Can march, run, stomp, and hops and jumps but doesn't get very far from the ground

-Counts 1..2..3..6!

-Loves her Aunt Kara and will drop anything she's doing if I say we are going to see her "Tura"

-Has started her temper tantrum phase, need I say more?

-We've started time outs, I will count to three and if she hasn't stopped her bad behavior she sits in the corner. It seems to be working so far, for the most part...

We had a very interesting 18 month checkup to say the least. I had my Moms and Tots meeting until noon. It was on the same side of town so I figured we'd just pick up a lunch and enjoy it outside while waiting till 1. I had told Jeff about the appointment back when I'd scheduled it so I didn't think to confirm the time. For some reason all drive-throughs in town are crazy zoos at lunch time so by the time I'd picked something up, found a park to eat at and helped Johanna with her lunch it was time to head over to the office. I figured no big deal with feeding JJ, I'd just feed him when we got there. Well we waited for Jeff to get there and he didn't show and Johanna was being clingy and wouldn't let me put her down so I missed out on feeding him in the waiting room. When they called Johanna back for her appointment I thought surely he'd be there soon. So we headed back and as soon as Johanna was sitting on the patient's chair she freaked out! I'm talking major breakdown, couldn't breath, face red total meltdown. I know they always say kids don't have much of a memory at this age but I'm calling bs on that because boy does this girl remember her Children's Hospital expeiences and no sir will she ever like going to the Doctor. So in the process of trying to have her weighed and measured Jeff calls saying he's on his way and that he'd just left. Umm... what!? Yup, he'd gotten the time wrong. Of course JJ chooses this time to wake up crying wanting to be fed. While they are trying to get Johanna's weight she absolutely refuses and crawls off the scale grabbing toward me, I'm holding her to comfort her and don't think to whip her diaper on immediately and what do you know she pees all over my jeans soaking them to the bone. I give Johanna a pen to draw on the paper that lines the patient bed which amused her for a minute, but then while the Dr is trying to check her ears, eyes etc she is kicking and swatting at him which in turn is marking her and him with pen. JJ is still crying and I can't possibly feed him because all the while this is happening Johanna is clinging to me at all times. Finally after over an hour of this mess Johanna gets her one shot and we're racing toward the door. While we exited through the waiting room there were a few very sympathetic elderly couples that tried to comfort Johanna (scared her more) but they did open the door for me which helped greatly. Phew! what an experience. Needless to say, Johanna won't be back till 2 and won't be needing any more shots till 4 so hopefully she develops a healthier opinion of her poor Doctor.  And guess what, I made it through without even crying! I think that deserves some kind of awesome Mommy award. Ha! just kidding.

Johanna's 18 month stats: 25lbs 32 inches tall 18.5in head circumference

JJ is 1 month and hasn't changed much :) He is much more alert, loves to hold his head up as best as he can on his own and loves to wiggle! He is starting to be more vocal and likes to stick his little tongue out.

He eats about every 2 hours during the day and 3 hours at night and loves his bouncy chair and the cradle hold in his moby wrap. He loves to hold someones hand while he's napping and prefers sleeping without any pants or socks on. He also loves his sister and loves watching her move and run around.

He is in size 1 diapers and 3 month clothing. This little outfit is from my Aunt Kathy and it is so cute!

On Saturday we were planning to go to the zoo but on our way Jeff was called out to a rig to fix some issues they were having so we all headed up to Greeley, Colorado. While he worked we waited in the car watching movies and read some books.

After he had finished JJ got to get out of the car and take a picture with his Daddy next to the rig. What a big boy!

Puj Tub

Ever wonder how after you discover something modern and fun you think to yourself, man how did I ever get by without this? Johnathan got a Puj baby bath tub and I was eager to try it out to see if it fell into this description and lived up to it's high online rankings.

Pro: It's made from a soft non-slip BPA free foam that you can setup with one hand while holding on to your baby.  

 Pro: It hangs easily in the shower or anywhere else you can attach a hook. This is a great feature for us living in a small home that is short on storage space.

Pro: Pops quickly into place in your kitchen or bathroom sink. This means no bending over! I still need to bend over to bathe Johanna however I can condense bath times. While I'm washing JJ Johanna can play in the tub next to us.

Pro: It's comfy for baby while supporting them from head to toe.  

Con: It fit into our sink no problem but the faucet was in the way. I prefer to rinse soapy water off with clean water so I had to run the faucet to ensure adequate water temperature. Luckily there are overflow holes so I was able to leave the faucet on a low setting without filling the tub up too high. (The box clearly states for safety reasons not to leave the water on but I figured since I'm there supervising it wasn't a concern.) I'm going to try our next bath in our kitchen sink to see if two sink bowls and a movable faucet eliminate this problem.

JJ after his first bath in his new tub!

Conclusion: It has its perks with saving space and easy in setup. However, it wasn't easy to get clean water from our faucet without risking JJ getting hot or cold water splashed on him. Although it doesn't fit into the 'how did I live without this?' category, I do think it is fun and different and give it 4 out of 5 stars!

84 and Sunny

Hugs and Kisses

I made it through my first week as a mommy of two on my own! Jeff has been a great help and even went to the grocery store the last two Sunday nights grocery list in hand to stock up our house. Monday we braved the mall for some toddler Summer clothes shopping. Luckily Grandma was able to come along to help because we found out pretty quickly that pushing a double stroller is near impossible while trying to maneuver around sale racks. Tuesday my friends brought the kiddos to my house along with lunch for a playdate. In the afternoon Johanna was able to go to her Aunt Kara's while Jeff and I went to the hospital to welcome our friends newest addition, baby Easton. Thursday I had the kids ready for our first MOPS meeting then Friday we were able to make it to my Moms and Tots meeting as well! (Usually we don't have both in the same week, but it happened to work out that way this month.) Johanna had a great time at church, with the weather being so nice her class got to go to the playground she's been envying all Winter. Now we are back to Monday and my friend Brittany brought her daughter over along with lunch and a casserole for dinner, we feel so loved!

Now I can have a big sigh of relief- its been a whole week and we've managed to stay busy and survive. In all honesty, besides the moments when both children decide to scream their little heads off at the same time as if it were the end of the world it has been a joy and I may even go as far to say (knock on wood...) easy! Johanna loves loves loves her baby brother and is constantly wanting to hold and love on him. Here is some picture proof.

First time holding baby brother at home.

"Nose"

Both sporting their Daddy gear.

JJ's first time on his tummy time mat!

Johanna sharing her toys with baby brother.

This was the Nathan/Tyler night- Johanna is wearing 'buszz' jammies that she borrowed from her cousin Nathan, and JJ is wearing Nathan's little brother shirt that he's been borrowing from his cousin.

 Big hugs :)

 Watching some 'toons together.

 Kisses!