Sigh....

Alright, I'll do my best to make a long story short. This is the first time Brynn has been this sick and it has gotten a tiny bit overwhelming at times. Yesterday she threw up EVERYWHERE in her crib. How is it possible that a tummy that sweet and small could expel so much nastiness? No matter how hard we cleaned, her room still smelled like puke. WHERE WAS IT HIDING? Actually, this morning it was much better. Anyway, I was up with the poor girl pretty much most the night last night. All I wanted to do was sleep in, but regardless of the night she's had, Brynn is always an early riser. I got up with her this morning and gave her a bath. I was just sitting there reading when I heard, "Uh-ooohhhh...." I looked over and saw the nastiest (sorry in advance) diarrhea-mixed-with-floaties I have ever seen! What do I do? I got her out, wrapped a towel around her and stuck her in the exersaucer while I fished out the floaties and washed the tub (sorry again, but it's not my fault you kept reading...), and started filling it up again to re-wash Brynn. Well, of course by this time all of the hot water was gone (I guess because in the midst of all of this the dishwasher was running) so I am traveling back and forth between the kitchen and the microwave trying to heat water for Brynn's bath...sheesh.

Now I know this is absolutely nothing compared to what is yet to come for me as a mommy. So I guess my questions to all of you mothers out there are the following: How do you EVER take care of sick children when there are more than one of them? ESPECIALLY when you are sick, too? I honestly can't imagine it. And...do you ever get used to cleaning up vomit and poop? Oh, one more thing...Thank you mom! I love you!!!!

Pay it Forward

I got this from Margo's blog and I think it is such a good idea! I can't wait to get started, so here's how it works. "I will send a handmade gift, treat, etc. to the first three (3) people who leave a comment on my blog requesting to join this PIF exchange." The only thing you have to do in return is pay it forward by making the same promise on your blog.**So, you must have a blog to participate.**I love the Christmas season, because it is all about giving! I can't wait to see who I will be giving to. To join, just cut and paste this on your blog and comment away. So get posting!! 'Tis the season for giving...and blogging :)
So go ahead and leave a comment for an Em-azing gift! :)

ONE YEAR! WE MADE IT!!!

Brynn Josie Johnson

Brynn is my middle name, and Josie is named for Marty's mom. Her name was Georgia Alberta because she was born on George Albert Smith's birthday, so we decided to make that Brynn's middle name after we found out she was due on Joseph Smith's birthday. She is named after two amazing people, and I hope she will learn all she can from their lives and follow the examples they set for her.

Born: December 22, 2007 3:50 a.m.

After a wonderful two and half days of labor. Yep. But since she's been a pretty much perfect baby, I guess I can forgive her.

The BEST Christmas gift, EVER!

Blessing: March 17, 2007 by Daddy



1st Ponytail!

Happy Birthday, Brynnie-Pie!

Thank you SO much to our wonderful supportive family, and to all of those around us who have stepped in to be our "Mesa-family." We never would have made it without you! It has been the best year of our lives!!!!

P.S. WAY too much Brynn, I know. But...here are some videos anyway! I call I get to go overboard a little on my first baby's first b-day! Dibs! Yessssssssss!

Just a few days old!

Sweetest waker-upper EVER!

The Messiah

On Sunday I played violin in a local production of Handel's "Messiah." I haven't played much since college, so it felt SO good to be playing again! And the music is absolutely inspired and amazing. I can't believe he wrote the entire work in only 24 days (after which he collapsed and slept for 17 hours). But of course, with God, all things are possible. Handel wrote, "I did think I did see all Heaven before me, and the great God Himself." If any of you ever get a chance to attend a Messiah Sing-Along, I would definitely recommend it. It is a wonderful and uplifting experience.

Speaking of music, here is just a random little song for anyone who is interested. The other day Marty had a song in his head that he had sung in his high school chamber choir, so he looked around on Youtube so that I could hear it. This boy choir is INCREDIBLE! We listened to it three times in a row! Just thought you might enjoy it!

This is important!!!

There are so many creeps out there these days! Ok, so if any of you still have our old 801 area code cell phone numbers, DO NOT call them! ESPECIALLY Marty's! If you call Marty's, there is a creepy guy who will answer and tell you that he is Marty and text with you back and forth for a while and then send you naughty pictures of himself! I am so embarrassed to have to be putting this on my blog, but I have already had multiple people tell me about encounters they have had with this person and I just don't want it to happen to anyone else. If you need my new 480 phone number, just e-mail me or let me know when you see me. Thanks!

Brynn loves cubs!

I am a den mother for the bear cub scouts in our ward and I love them all! Brynn does, too. I am always surprised by how much attention they pay to her. I thought that they would be almost oblivious to a baby girl, but they are always taking turns playing with her and holding her, and none of their turns are "long enough!" And Brynn is every bit as happy to be playing with them. For some reason, she especially loves Jace. She snuggles right up to him every time! Anyway, here is Brynn right in the middle of one of their games at a pack meeting. She was the cheerleader!

Gingerbread Houses!

Aren't they lovely houses? From left to right: Salt Lake Temple with Christmas lights, The Stripey House, The Lunch Box, Emma's Masterpiece, and the Outhouse with a Cobblestone Path. That's right.

Brynn's contribution was to sneak into the box of graham crackers. I'm sure Brynn sneaking food won't always be cute, but at the moment I was SO proud! :) "Look what she did all by herself! I didn't even help her, Marty! Look, look! Are you looking?"

My apologies for the REALLY dark video, but Emma's proud explanation of her creation was kind of too cute to not post.

The Johnson Family Holiday Fiasco

It all started with the Thanksgiving weekend....

*By the way, this is a very lengthy blog...that is my disclaimer to anyone who is not in my family and has already lost interest. Or anyone IN my family that has already lost interest... :)

We were so excited to have so much family coming to visit our beloved Mesa for Thanksgiving. It was going to be crowded, but I prefer the term cozy. Four people flew here on a Saturday, and we were expecting two more by the next Wednesday. But on Monday, we found out that we were all going to be making the trek back to Utah for a funeral. Neil and Greg were able to change their plane tickets, and the seven of us here in Mesa rented a van and drove 12 looooong hours to Saratoga Springs, UT. With three babies in the back. Really, we only had all three of them screaming for about an hour, and I guess 1 hour out of 12 isn't so bad. But between the crying babies and trying to coordinate a Thanksgiving dinner in a matter of hours (we arrived in UT at about 2:30 am the day before Thanksgiving) our nerves were a little shot. However, we managed to actually really enjoy most of the car ride. Marty chatted the entire way with his big brother Kelly, and I got to have some fun girl talk with my Sister-in-law Christy. I am so blessed with wonderful in-laws!

We managed to cram a lot into the couple of days the Johnson's were here.

Freestone Park

The three kids had so much fun together! They were so sweet and never even beat up on each other! For some time Carter would play outside and bring rocks inside to give to Brynn, who could not have been happier to receive such a wonderful gift! So we put her outside in the exersaucer to enjoy them. Stupidly, we figured they would be fine out there if we just left the door open and listened for them and check on them every few minutes, forgetting how much two 17 month olds can do in a few minutes. When we came back out to check on them, Brynn's exersaucer was absolutely completely covered in rocks! There were rocks in the top, bottom, in her pants, diaper, and in her mouth! And once again, they just couldn't be happier!


They made beautiful music together!

Of course every visitor who comes wants to go to In and Out so I happily obliged and we brought it to Marty on his lunch break. We also went to Organ Stop Pizza, which I know is so nerdy, but I LOVE it!

The answer is yes, the pool was freezing cold! But we had FUN!!!
















Here is Thanksgiving dinner at Kelly and Christy's! It was SOOO yummy - and don't the babies look so sweet in their matching overalls? It was so great to have all the Johnson's together again. Kris Anne and her baby Joseph came from Missouri and Greg stayed at Kelly and Christy's as well. We had lots of fun playing Dance Dance Revolution with the master - Greg.

We spent a day with my family as well. I was SO excited to see my brother Corey there! He was visiting from Albuquerque with his girlfriend and we had a really fun game night. I wrestled with myself for quite a while trying to decide if I wanted to blog the video of him pretending to be a mermaid while playing Cranium, but I finally came to the conclusion that if I posted that, he would probably stick me in a sleeping bag and put the end under the couch thereby reinforcing my claustrophobia, just as a big brother should!

The fiasco continued as we put up our Christmas stuff because I am a dork and decided that I just wanted to get a little tree because I didn't want to spend the entire month of December trying to keep Brynn away from it and we wouldn't even be here on Christmas to enjoy it. So we braved the crazy holiday shoppers and got a three-footer. Then as we started decorating it I got totally depressed and homesick and decided that I needed a BIG tree like The Good Ole' Days, so we put the small tree away, got our big one out of storage and REDECORATED. I'm not picky. Or indecisive. Or a total PAIN for my sweet wonderful husband who supported me that whole long Saturday without a single complaint. I love you, Marty!

Now for the random things I probably should post by themselves...but I'm not going to.




I gave Brynn a ponytail one day and could not BELIEVE how old it made her look!

Brynn loved the last rain storm even more than I did. My arms were getting tired holding her up to the window to watch the rain, so I created a little set up for her to look through the window herself. She was there a really long time! Maybe I have a nature lover on my hands. Unless of course she was more interested in the buildings than the rain....


So that is my lengthy blog. Congrats, Mom and Dad, and maybe one or two others - you made it!

In Memory of Bertha Johnson, 1908-2007

This turned out to be a bit of a sad holiday for us. Marty's Grandma Johnson passed away on Monday night. We are all very relieved for her, as she has been really suffering for the last month, but we all wanted to see her live to be 100. The last couple of years that I have known her, she has absolutely amazed me. She was SO witty. She had the body of a 99 year old, but the mind of a brilliant woman in her prime (even if she did tend to repeat things!). She taught in Relief Society until she was 88 and was always having long and deep gospel discussions with us about the block of scripture that she had read that day. She is such an example of enduring to the end. She NEVER missed a BYU game, and was one of the few people that I've met who could out-shine Marty as a Cougar fan. In fact, her funeral was held on Saturday (right in the middle of the BYU-UT) game and I think I heard about 15 different people say that she was probably missing her own funeral to go to the game instead. My first experience with her was her thoughtful commentary of a jazz game and hearing, "LeBron James looks like a demon!" Yes, she was very sassy. I am grateful to have known her, and grateful that Brynn was able to meet her. She will be greatly missed.

Marty loves this picture because he loves to see Brynn's soft, newborn hands placed on top of Grandma Johnson's wrinkled...and more experienced hands. They are two sets of Heavenly hands and two very spiritual beings.

She served as an LDS missionary in the North Central States Mission, and she served in the United States Coast Guard during World War II, earning the commission of lieutenant, as well as commendations for her diligence. I think she was one of the very first women in the Coast Guard.

She graduated from Spanish Fork High School as Valedictorian and from Brigham Young University with honors. In 1928, she started her 30 year career as a Nebo School District teacher at Goshen Elementary. Decades later she was honored as one of Springville's most outstanding teachers. She was also honored as one of Nebo School District's top three teachers one year.

But as I sat in the funeral and looked over her amazing posterity, I realized that that is the most important thing she has done on this earth. The most important and eternal title she ever held was that of a mother.

"I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith:
Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness...."

2 Timothy 4: 7-8

Thanks for Thanksgiving

This is a book I've been reading to Brynn a LOT lately! It's called "Thanks for Thanksgiving" by Julie Markes. And since our camera isn't working, I hope you don't mind all the old pictures! It was fun to go back through all of them.

Thanks for Thanksgiving, for turkey and pie.
Thank you for fall and gold leaves floating by.

Thank you for school. I love to feel smart!

Thank you for music, and dancing, and art!

Thank you for play dates, for swings and for slides.

Thank you for hopscotch and piggyback rides.

Thanks for umberellas, for rain boots and puddles.
Thank you for Mommy and warm, cozy cuddles.
Thank you for daddy and rides on a sled. (ha ha)

Thank you for kisses and tucks into bed.

Thanks for the moon and the stars up above,

But MOST of all thanks for the family I love!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

All Brynn wants for Christmas is her two front teeth

Wow, it has been SUCH a long time since I posted anything! Our camera is throwing a tantrum and we are having a hard time importing pictures, so this will probably not be my most exciting post ever. But then I did leave a post about a vegetable up for 2 weeks, right?

This has been a rough week for Brynn. She has been teething and about a week ago the poor girl cried all night long and there was nothing we could do to calm her down. We tried oragel, infant Tylenol, teething toys. We finally just put some ice in a baggie and let her chew on it. The outside of her mouth and her nose were bright red, but anytime we took it away she would SCREAM! It was heartbreaking to see how miserable she was, but she has now officially cut her teeth and she is feeling much more like herself. Which means LOTS of cute games, giggles, smiles, kisses, hugs, melting mommy's heart and wrapping daddy around her little finger!
As for Marty and me, we have been busy trying to get our little 2 bedroom town home ready to accommodate SIX guests (yes, that's in addition to our three!) over the Thanksgiving holiday. We are SOOOOO excited to welcome Marty's brother and sister in law and their adorable twin boys as well as another brother and Brynn's Grandpa Neil! I can't wait to see you all!
As soon as we figure out what's wrong with our camera, I will be sure to post some pictures - we have some REALLY fun new ones!

I have a date with my squash partner

I actually do have some idea about how nerdy this is, and yes, I will probably regret posting this later...but I'm doing it anyway! Ok, so I am borderline obsessed with squash. It is one of my absolute favorite foods and one of the reasons I was excited for fall this year. Unfortunately, there are not many (including Marty) who share my...passion for this food. So you can imagine how excited, no - ECSTATIC I was when I discovered how much Brynn loves squash. I can put just about type of food, even sweet foods, on her high chair and she will eat the squash before anything else. So, everyday for the last couple of weeks Brynn and I have been eating squash for lunch and it has been SO fun! As Brynn has been growing and learning how to play games she has really become my little buddy keeping me company during the day. So now I just have a couple of questions. 1. Does anyone out there have any good squash recipes? I have a really good acorn squash recipe, but pretty much all other squashes I just bake. 2. Why is it so hard to find banana squash around here? And 3. Did I lose any friends with this post? :)

Welcome, Oldhams!

About a month ago my parents and my brother Corey came to visit us. It was SO fun and so good to see them! I feel bad that I didn't post it earlier, but I realized I didn't take any pictures with my camera because my parents camera is so much nicer. Well, on Saturday my mom sent the cutest Halloween care package with a few pictures from the trip inside, so better late than never, I guess!


We visited the Arizona Museum of Natural History. The only thing Brynn loved more than the dinosaurs was Grandpa!

There is nothing in the world that is sweeter than a big, wet kiss from Brynn!

Yes, it was September, but Brynn tried on her Halloween costume for the fam since they wouldn't see her until Christmas. That is my brother Corey in the background. Handsome, I know, but sorry ladies - he's taken!

And true to character, my mom TRIED not to send any pictures of her, but I did find one with her ARM in it, so...I win!

I was trying to think of a reason to post this one, but to be honest I added it just because I thought it was CUTE!

Thank you so much for coming to visit, guys! I love you!