Johnson Family Christmas Letter 2010

Greetings Family and Friends! We hope this note finds you happy and well.

The year 2010 has been a fun one with several changes for us. January brought a new calling for Walt in the Stake Young Men’s program. His assignments include working with the Spanish Ward to help them develop their scouting program. He has particularly loved his association with the people in that ward, practicing his Spanish, and watching their Scouting program flourish. In February Walt changed jobs and started full-time with ImSAR, a small company in Spanish Fork, Utah, that develops radar technology for civilian and military applications. He is really enjoying the work environment there. In the summer Walt got to go on several High Adventure Scouting trips, including backpacking in the High Uintahs and mountain biking. We also enjoyed a Johnson family reunion in the mountains near Prescott, Arizona, in October. Good times!

Among other things, this year Isaac (17 months) learned to roll over, eat solids, crawl, walk, tantrum, climb, and flush the toilet. Whew! He also took his first plane rides, including two trips to Seattle, one to New Jersey, and one to St. Louis. Mommy got really good at going through airport security one-handed. Isaac’s favorite things include Daddy, soft blankets, trucks and tractors, and books. He loves to sit and “read” books to himself while turning the pages. He eats and sleeps very well, which are huge blessings. We feel so blessed that Julie can be home full-time with him. In the summer we found out we’re expecting a second baby boy in early February, 2011. Yay for boys!! (That’s all the Johnsons know how to make). And yay for relatively easy pregnancies. Again, a huge blessing. This time her ankles are even identifiable still. They mysteriously disappeared last pregnancy.

In addition to being 10-11 year old Activity Day Leader, Julie was also called to be Valiant 11 Primary Teacher this year. Both are such FUN callings! She read a bunch of books this year for Book Club and for pleasure and made her first denim quilt. She also found a walking group and goes most weekday mornings for a few miles. With the Christmas program coming up in church she’s been giving the piano a good workout practicing to accompany the choir numbers.

We are thankful daily for our Savior, Jesus Christ. We know that He is “the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father but by [Him]” (John 14:6). We find peace and joy through living His gospel and pray that our thoughts and actions will celebrate His birth every day of the year.


With Love, Walt, Julie, Isaac, and baby boy #2 Johnson

Belly Shot - 33 weeks

Christmas

Isaac is really liking the Christmas decorations. I put up a string of lights in his room around his window, and every morning he asks me to plug it in. We got a live tree, which I was a little nervous about, but he hasn't tried to pull it over yet. Whew! Most of the ornaments are on the top half, out of his reach, but there are about 5 that I put on the bottom for him to play with. I also bought him a Little People Nativity. The first day he played with the packaging. The second day he threw all the figures down the stairs. The third day I arranged them all on the coffee table, and they've basically stayed there since. He plays with them a little each day, sometimes putting a police man on the top in place of the angel, or carting the camel (his favorite) off to some remote hiding spot in the kitchen or bedroom. But mostly they stay there and just get played with. It's so fun to have a toddler at Christmas!

Last week for our date night we went to see A Christmas Carol at the Hale Theater (really great community theater). My brother is performing in it this year in the men's chorus, which plays a significant role throughout. It was so fun to see him, the play was fabulous, and the audience was star-studded (Elder Holland and his family came :). What a wonderful way to start the month. Dickens gives us a lot of food for thought with that story. I'm so grateful for the mercy extended to us through our Savior, Jesus Christ, and hope that I can recognize and repent of my Bah Humbug attitudes and take advantage of each day to feel my Savior's love and extend it to others.

October

A Johnson Family Reunion was held near Prescott, Arizona, in mid-Octber. Walt's dad and four of Walt's five siblings and their families were able to make it. We rented a big cabin and all stayed together there for several days. FUN!!

October was Isaac's first trick-or-treating Halloween. We just took him to a few houses, but he sure got the hang of taking candy and putting it in his bag. Luckily he was satisfied with one sucker the entire night and forgot he had any other candy. Mom scored the chocolate, and the last people to our door got the rest. I was going for Peter Pan, but he looked more like Robin Hood. That works, too. :)



We celebrated Walt's October birthday by surprising him with a night at a cabin near Brighton Ski Resort. My sister and her husband and my brother and his wife came, too, so it was a party! We had so much fun, and I brought the sled along so Walt could take Isaac sledding. They both loved it!

Design Help

I haven't updated the background and colors on my blog in a while, and now I can't figure out how to change font colors. I used to go to "Layout", and I can no longer find that option. Any help?

Belly shot - 20 weeks

This shirt doesn't show off my belly very well (or maybe I just feel more pregnant than I look?), but several people have asked for a belly shot, so here you go! :)

Ultrasound results. Drumrull, please........

It's ANOTHER BOY!!!!!!

Which totally blew my theory that the weird hormonal differences this time around indicated a girl. But I'm SOOOOO excited! It'll be so fun to have two little boys close together. I hope they grow up to be great friends. Yay!!

Congrats to you few good guessers out there. :)

Adventures

The weather has been beautiful the past week or two, by which I mean cooler. Cooler temperatures means I'm much more excited to be out and about. I tend to wilt pretty fast in the heat. On Labor Day we enjoyed family activities including jogging, doing yardwork, going to an extended family barbeque, and driving to Cascade Springs to walk on the trails there. Isaac ate it up. Today he and I went to a park and fed ducks for his first time and threw leaves in the river to watch them get carried downstream. He squealed in delight, and I had one of those times of total contentment. Life is so good.

Last week we went to Story Time at the library, which was also a first. Isaac loved the songs, but preferred to push his stroller around when it came time for the story. Afterward he got to meet one of the puppets in person, and the puppet even let Isaac tug on everything attached to it's face. I also took him to the Thanksgiving Point Farm, where he preferred pushing his stroller around to doing almost anything else except for pushing OTHER people's strollers around. But I did get a really cute picture of him looking at the baby chicks. He loves anything with wheels and/or a motor. It's so fun watching him explore and learn.

Here are a few pictures from our adventures. It is awesome being a mom.

The Latest

Here, briefly, are the latest goings-on with us:

Dad and Julia are hosting a foreign exchange student from Brazil for the school year. Caio is from Brazil, so my dad gets to practice his Portuguese with him.

A couple days ago I figured out that if I pretend the washcloth is hungry and eating Isaac's face, he doesn't mind getting wiped off after meals.

We started eating 100% stone ground whole wheat bread this week and found that apparently we have to build up a digestive tolerance for it slowly. Good to know in case we ever need to live off food storage.

The weather is cooling off and I LOVE it!! Getting excited for Fall.

Walt and I had a hot date to a John Michael Montgomery concert Saturday night. John Michael put out lots of hit country songs when I was in high school. "I Swear", "I Can Love you Like That", "SOLD!", etc. Loved singing along and snuggling with Walt while Isaac slept at Grandpa and Grandma's house. Perfect evening!

My tummy is starting to show more, and if you'll take a minute to respond to our poll at the top right, you may win the satisfaction of being a good guesser if you correctly identify the gender of our baby. Ultrasound two weeks from today! Yay!

The Sickies

Wednesday night Isaac started getting fussy and didn't sleep well. Thursday he had a fever, the runs, couldn't keep any food down, and was really lethargic, so I called the doctor's office and asked what I should do. They gave me an appointment 20 minutes later, so I took him in and found out he also had ear infections in both ears. Poor kid. He slept a lot that day, and when he was awake he just wanted me to hold him and even sat on my lap and watched half of a movie with me. Highly unusual. Friday morning he was doing quite a bit better, but Walt was down for the count. He stayed home from work. I felt good, so I ran around trying to get a lot done in case I got sick later. In the evening I went to the store to get some sick people food and some movies from the library, then came home and put Isaac down for bed. Walt called someone in the ward to come give him a blessing, and right before they arrived, I started throwing up. So I got a blessing, too! Someone needed to be well enough Saturday to take care of Isaac. Saturday Walt and I took turns feeling good enough to take care of Isaac while the other one slept. Gradually we started feeling better, and I was up and running again in the evening. Walt finally kicked the last of his on Sunday, so we should be good to go now. Whew! It really was a blessing that it happened over the weekend so Walt didn't have to miss too much work and we could rest. I'm so grateful for my normally excellent health!

First words

A few weeks ago we were at my aunt's house and my 4 year old cousin heard Isaac jabbering away as if he knew what he was talking about. Something like "bub bub mmmm buguhduh bmmmm (you get the idea)".

My cousin (eagerly): "Julie, what did Isaac just say?!"
Me: "bub bub mmmm buguhduh bmmmm"
My cousin: "I know! But what does it MEAN?!"

:)


Isaac has been jabbering a lot and saying "mama" and "dada" for a while now, but a few days ago he sprang a new one on us - "cah cuh" (cracker). We were so excited. We tried hiding the crackers for a few minutes, then pulling them out just to hear him exclaim "cah cuh!" Love it. He has started imitating us a lot and makes a cute little whisper roar when we ask him what a lion says. I love this age.

We have a walker

Not this kind:



This kind:




The proud man himself. Chest puffed out, head held high, smile from ear to ear. Pretty cute. :) I tried to get a picture of Isaac standing on his own, but he is so attached to the vacuum these days that I finally just accepted the fact that the vacuum would be part of the picture. He will push it around the living room and kitchen for 30 minutes at a time, perfectly content. We've sure had fun watching his progress with walking and exploring more and more things. He also learned to clap this week, so he can cheer on all his new adventures. Go Isaac!

Dwellings for the Displaced

An 11 year old girl in my neighborhood has started a project to collect tents and tarps for the displaced. She has been particularly inspired by a TIME magazine article about the need for tents in Haiti for the displaced people there. If you have a new or used tent or tarp in good condition that you can donate, let me know! Or drop it off at one of the drop-off locations in Provo/Salt Lake area through July. Here is a link to the blog post showing the drop-off locations:

http://dwellingsforthedisplaced.blogspot.com/2010/07/time-for-tents-tarps.html

Thank you!

A new way to share the gospel

Okay, I'm so excited because I just found out about the church's new website for helping us share the gospel! You can create an account with your membership number and birthdate and then fill in information about yourself, upload a picture, and answer frequently asked questions about the church. Then people who want to find out more can read your answers. I just took an hour and did it, and I am so feeling the spirit of missionary work! The church is true!!! If you want to see what I'm talking about here is a link to a news article about it, and links through the article to go to the website:

http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=11581839

Big Brother

That's what Isaac will be on or around February 2nd, 2011! Need I explain my absence from blogging any longer (fatigue, morning sickness, general lack of productiveness)? When I can muster up the energy, I'm very excited!! :) Pictures of Isaac's 1st birthday to come!

Spaghetti

Roommate Reunion

This past week I flew to New Jersey for a roommate reunion! It was awesome!! It went by so fast, and now it kind of feels like a dream. Could have something to do with the fact that we tried to be college girls again and stayed up crazy late every night talking, so our eyes were kind of glazed over during the days. Guess we're not as young as we were back then(how can it be?!). My two old BYU roommates, Crystal and Jeni, live on the east coast, so we all crashed Crystal's place in New Jersey for 5 days. We had no plans, just talking and hanging out. One day we went to an amazing rummage sale (Crystal is a girl after my own heart when it comes to deals) and then rode the train into New York and went to Times Square and Central Park. The weather was so pleasant, and Jeni was a trooper to traipse all over New York on swollen pregnant feet. I didn't hear her complain once, and her feet were as swollen as mine when I was pregnant! Crystal's kids are adorable, and she is such a good mom. I was trying to take mental notes the whole time to use later with Isaac. She was a wonderful hostess, and it was so comfortable to be there. These girls are lifetime friends, and I look forward to many more reunions in the future! Love you girls!

Free Photo Shoot and Pictures - Belle Petite Photo

My sister-in-law does photography in Provo and is giving away a free photo shoot w/rights to the pictures included. She does everything - family, individual, baby, mission, senior pics, etc. And if you win you can use it for yourself or give the session away as a gift. The drawing is this Friday, so if you'd like to enter, go here to learn how:

http://bellepetitephoto.blogspot.com/

We have a scooter

Not this kind:




This kind:



Isaac has finally figured out how to scoot himself across a floor to get where he wants to go. Until the past couple days he has mostly pivoted and rolled to get places, which is not very efficient, but now he can officially scoot on his belly. Today he rolled a ball away from himself, then scooted across the floor to get it. Again and again. Freedom!

And this morning I found the living room plant from our end table looking out of place in the middle of the floor, and Isaac had the telltale leaf still smoking in his hand. Things are just starting to get interesting around here.

Confessions

This year we planted our garden in March. I could have sworn it was much later than we'd planted in previous years, but then every time I'd ask people about their gardens, they'd say "Oh, it's much too early to plant a garden." Oops. I thought we were doing fine since it there hadn't been a frost at night in weeks, but silly me, just because it is MAY doesn't mean winter is over. It snowed several times this week, and I've been a little concerned about the 1 inch sprouts of lettuce, onions, and carrots that are already coming in strong in our garden. We've covered them with blankets at night, and while they're a little smashed down, they look like they might make it yet. If the frost, snow and hail didn't kill them, and the blankets didn't smash them too badly, we'll have the earliest crop of veggies in the neighborhood! :)

I'm happy to say that almost all the blinds and windowsills in my house have been cleaned in the past week! I would be even happier to say that I cleaned them myself, but actually I hired one of the Young Women to do it.

Love you, Grandpaw

August 25, 1925 - April 8, 2010

$1.50

That's how much I paid for all of this.

:) Gotta love couponing.

Visiting Grandpaw

We had a wonderful visit with my grandparents in Seattle. Each day we had a short visit with Grandpaw, and it was so fun to have him meet and hold Isaac (although Isaac wasn't particularly fond of the picture taking).

Moving On

Sunday was the last day Isaac nursed. Sniff, sniff. Mixed feelings about that. We're moving on to a more mature baby phase (he's still a baby, right?). And I fasted for the first time since I got pregnant, so about 18 months. Wow! Can't believe it's been that long. I was a little nervous about it, but it actually felt SO good to be able to fast again.

This week we fly to Seattle to visit my Graden (paternal) Grandparents. In January my mom's parents encouraged the extended family to make 2010 and the coming decade a time to really focus on family relationships. I thought about that and realized I hadn't visited my Graden grandparents in about 18 months, so we began planning a trip. As we planned I felt strongly that we should go sooner rather than later. Easter/Conference weekend seemed like the perfect time because it was an excuse to just sit and watch General Conference and talk with my grandparents and not feel like we needed to go sight-seeing or anything. Several weeks later, my Grandpaw found out that he had Mesothelioma, an aggressive form of cancer cause by exposure to asbestos decades earlier. It was in the late stages of development, and his health very rapidly started deteriorating. He is confined to bed now, resting at home, done with the attempts at chemo. He's moving on. I can't wait to see him one more time and have him meet Isaac before he goes. I feel an enormous sense of gratitude for the promptings of the Spirit that made this last visit so timely, and for the life of faith and integrity that my grandpaw must be so at peace with. I hope he'll tell my mom hi for me.

Family Night Activity: Isaac's First Bubble Bath!

Irish in my Blood

I am proud to be 1/32 Irish! Hee hee. My great-great-grandmother is a Cavanaugh. This year I finally decided to do something American-Irish traditional and made Corned Beef and Cabbage in the crock pot, with a key lime pie for dessert (limes are green, right?). Walt dished himself up, and suddenly his plate started talking! I had to take a picture of his corned beef Irishman. The first picture shows just how tired my hard-working husband was tonight (before he went BACK to work after dinner), and the second one was taken after I told him to smile bigger. He humored me, but I somehow like the realness of the first one better. Thanks for working hard to support us, Honey!

Challenge Follow-Up

So I tried the modified challenge this week of not using electronics before 1:00 pm. In my version of the challenge I could talk on the phone (but not text) and I could watch my aerobics video to work out (did that twice). No radio, computer, television.

There were a couple of close calls: On Thursday morning I needed to get out and run some errands, and I had a book that I'd sold on Amazon that needed to be mailed. But I had forgotten to print the invoice off the internet, so I had to wait until Friday. On Friday I almost caved at 12:20 because I wanted to look up a recipe online really bad! But I made myself leave the computer room (aka Kitchen) and wait. Whew! One day Walt called before 1:00 needing me to look up a couple phone numbers for him. I hesitated, wondering if this was a legitimate exception and then remembered about a long-forgotten resource collecting dust in a drawer. Some of you may have used one before: a phone book! And what do you know, it had the numbers I needed.

It surprised me how often my first reaction when I finished a chore or put Isaac down for a nap was to head to the computer to check my email or look something up.

I was more productive in the mornings, more focused on Isaac, and I took a couple naps and read more for an overall better feeling me. Ahhhh. I loved it. Of course, in the afternoon and evening I could use those electronics as much as I wanted. But I found that I wanted them a little less.

Definitely a success. I'm trying to decide where to go from here. Keep on keeping on? Modify a little more? Chalk it up to a nice experience and go back to my old ways? I think it would be good for me to keep doing it, but a little part of me is resisting. You know how that goes?

Isaac's latest tricks

Here are the latest tricks from my favorite little guy:

Sounds - making some consonant sounds (m, n, b mostly) and long strings of vowels

Walking - okay, not really walking, but Walt got him a baby walker, and Isaac loves to walk around the kitchen and living room in it. I place some toys in his reach here and there, and he thinks it's so cool to explore and find his toys in places he couldn't reach before! And eat the plants.

Squirming - when getting his diaper changed! He's very active on the changing table.

Peek-a-boo - he likes to sit on the bathroom floor and watch me blow-dry my hair. Then he'll reach for the shower curtain, pull it in front of himself, and play peek-a-boo with me. Soooo cute. He does this with his blanket now, too, pulling it over his face.

Challenge

We're on the up and up after being sick for the past week.

My sister-in-law's bishop challenged their whole ward to "fast" from electronics for a week. That includes t.v., computer, video games, texting, ipods, radio, etc. The intent is to focus more on family unity. Her family is taking him up on it, and I'm so impressed. Has anyone else done a similar thing before? I hardly ever watch t.v., never play video games, and seldom text, but I do spend time on the computer every day, and I listen to the radio in the car (Hi Dr. Laura!), and there are times when I think it is too much. So I am going to try a modified version of the challenge. I'm going electronics-free every morning this week. None of the aforementioned electronics until after 1:00pm. I'll let you know how it goes.

Today was the first Sunday I kept Isaac home from church because of sickness. He had a fever on Friday and has had a runny nose and cough for several days. He seems to be on the mend, but the coughing doesn't sound good, and I didn't want other parents to be concerned about their children getting sick. All in all it could have been worse, and I'm grateful that the first 8 months of his life were in good health.

My sister Heather got her mission call to Toronto, Canada, a couple weeks ago, so Friday she went to the temple for the first time. We met here there, and it was so neat to be in the temple with most of my family. That doesn't happen very often since there are so many of us with busy schedules to coordinate.

Dad and Julia started moving into their new home yesterday, so all of us Graden kids came to help. Two of my siblings and their families spent the night at our place Friday, which was a PARTY! Saturday we got up, ate breakfast, and got to work! By the evening we were ready with a moving truck to go from their condo to their new home to unload. When we got there, a group of men came over from next door to help. They were having a party and could see that help was needed, so the entire family came over - grandpa, sons, granddaughters. So nice! Then just minutes after they left, another group of men came over that the church had organized to help, complete with sweet bread someone brought from his wife. It looks like they'll have great neighbors.

Does anyone else have mixed feelings about the Olympics being over? I loved watching the events, but we are practically zombies from lack of sleep.

Sunday

Yesterday was a really good day, but also a challenging day (those two often go hand in hand, don't you think?). We took Isaac to three different sacrament meetings. Walt spoke in another ward on assignment, so we went to our meetings for the first two hours and then to the ward where he was speaking. We got all the way through the sacrament before realizing we were in the wrong ward. Luckily the right ward started 30 minutes after this one, so we had enough time to run to the car, drive up the street to the right building, and walk in during the announcements. Isaac was so tired and hungry by that time that I had to take him out to feed him, but the two chairs in the mothers room were taken, and the mothers were chatting so loudly that I couldn't hear Walt's talk, even though it was turned way up. I couldn't hear his talk in the foyer, either, because so many people were talking and so many kids running around screaming from the ward that had just gotten out. Sigh. I'm sure I don't realize how loud I'm being at church sometimes, but that gave me a new desire to be reverent in every part of the building, even the mother's room. On the other hand, the ward was so friendly that 4 people came up to me after church to ask who I was and introduce themselves. Wow.

In the afternoon we got an email from an upset tenant. Some tenants are much easier and pleasant to work with than others. Can I just say?

In the evening we got to attend an Eagle Court of Honor, which Walt had the privilege of conducting. I had to leave part way through to go to a Young Womanhood Recognition night for a really good neighborhood friend, Hannah Fordham. Isaac was really struggling to be content in that meeting, too, and I had to pull every trick out of the bag to keep from having to take him out. The other people were very patient with us. They kept looking back at us and smiling that smile of sympathy that I'm coming to know so well. :) I probably should have taken him out, but I was determined to be able to stay all the way through some meeting that day and be able to see Hannah get her award!!

When we got home it was an hour past Isaac's bedtime, so the poor kid was fussy, and the kitchen was a mess from a couple different cooking projects, and when Walt got home right after I'd bathed Isaac and put him down, his shoulder was the one I cried on. He's got great shoulders for crying on. Although mostly I like his shoulders for hugging because we're just the same height, so my chin rests perfectly on his shoulders! Ahhhh. :) I felt so much better after a little cry, and Walt was so sweet and took over the dishes so I could get my pajamas on and type in my journal, and lo and behold, as I wrote I realized I'd learned soooo much that day and over the weekend that had strengthened my faith, even though at first glance it seemed like my weekend had just been stress. It was so neat! I just needed those few minutes to reflect and remember and see past the stress. Life is good.

Oh Happy Day!

Isaac has had clogged tear ducts for all 7 1/2 months of his life, causing him to have really goopy eyes every day. He often wakes up with one eye glued shut, resulting in his nickname "One Eyed Johnson". But it seems they have spontaneously cleared, and today marks the fifth day in a row that he is eye boogie free!

Parenting

Live and learn. That is often my motto of late. Since Isaac can pick up Cheerios and feed himself we've learned that having some Cheerios for the last 15-20 minutes of sacrament meeting usually means we can stay for the whole service without having to take him out. The way it typically works is that Walt holds Isaac, and I hold the container of Cheerios in my lap and put a few at a time in Walt's hand so Isaac can pick them up.

Well, yesterday Isaac realized that the magically appearing Cheerios actually come from a container on my lap, and before I could react he'd lunged and knocked the entire container of Cheerios out of my hand. Cheerios EVERYWHERE in the chapel. On the pew, in my lap, all over the floor in front of, behind, and to the sides of us. A sea of Cheerios. Right in the middle of a very touching testimony. I felt so ashamed to have disrupted a really spiritual moment with something so mortal and unimportant as Cheerios, even though I know I couldn't have anticipated it. The part that is funny now but wasn't funny at the time was that I was sitting next to a 16 year old boy, and as I picked up Cheerios from around his feet and leaned over his legs to get the ones on the other side, he never once acknowledged me or the Cheerios. I think it embarrassed him, which today is really funny to me. Ah well, I'm sure it won't be the last time I embarrass a teenage boy (give me a few years, Isaac). :)

100th Post

I just looked at my blog dashboard and realized that this is my 100th post. Technology is a beautiful thing. Fifteen years ago I would not have imagined that sharing in the lives of friends and family this way would have been possible, and not just possible but EASY! I feel so much better connected with people because of the internet. What a blessing!

So I am in need of either a Warm and Toasty Drink or Hearty Breakfast That Sticks to Your Bones recipe for my next recipe swapper meeting. I'm totally drawing a blank on both these categories. Most mornings I whip up a bowl of cold cereal for breakfast, with an occasional mug of instant oatmeal thrown in just to mix things up. And I've never really been into drinks that much. It's water or milk at our house. Sometimes juice from concentrate. Any ideas? Please? What are your favorite breakfast foods?

Blowouts and Bed Diving

We've set a record: 5 blowouts in 30 hours. I'm really not sure how he's managed that, but apparently I need to keep more extra changes of clothes in the diaper bag. :)

So yesterday Isaac experienced a Rite of Passage (as a kind friend on Facebook called it). He fell off the bed. He'd been up there for about fifteen minutes with me while I folded and packed clothes for a weekend trip to my grandparents, and I just hadn't noticed that he'd slowly inched his way to the edge of the bed. All of a sudden he pushed off hard with his legs, and THUD! Down he went. It took me a second to realize what had happened - I looked around thinking "what was that noise?" before suddenly noticing that Isaac was missing! He hadn't started crying yet because he was still working up momentum for the big whail. Poor kid.

New Job......Again

What?! Deja vu? Am I reading an old post? No it isn't just you, and yes we really did accept a new job.....again. Well, I guess you could say it's a new, old, new job. (I know, this IS getting a little ridiculous.) Walt's original employer, Procerus, made him a really good offer to come back to them after he accepted a new job at imSAR. So Walt went back to Procerus. Turns out that there was misunderstanding (to put it diplomatically) about what that offer included (lesson learned: put all offers in writing and SIGNED), and they couldn't come to a consensus on it. The other job was still happy to have Walt come back to them, and Walt starts full time with imSAR (again) on February 1st. (Final Answer.) I know that didn't need parentheses, but I'd used so many already, why stop?

Isaac and I have started swimming lessons (okay, more like learn to be comfortable in water lessons). Walt met us there to document the event. I thought it was awesome that two other dads were there taking pictures, too. Last week we worked on submersion, and Isaac did great. This week I can't go to one of the lessons, so Walt is taking Isaac instead. Walt is so excited about it, which I think is adorable. He's such a good dad.


Our little turtle:


Warming up with Daddy:

Pictures and Video

Isaac's latest trick: sitting up





Isaac's foot in mouth trick I blogged about a month or so ago:




Kade making Isaac laugh:

Thanks

Got it! Thanks Nicole and Laura!

Blog Help

I'd like to change my blog so that the "links to family and friend blogs" shows when everyone's blog was last updated. Anyone know how to do that? Thanks!

Happy New Year 2010

My awesome sister-in-law changed our Merry Christmas card to say Happy New Year since we didn't get it out until now. :) Thanks Sarah! If you've been reading our blog for long, you have most of the updates on us for 2009, but here's the year in a nutshell:

April, 2009: Spring Break trip to Phoenix to visit four of Walt's siblings and families and my aunt's family.
May, 2009: I quit work as a School Psychologist to be a full time stay-home mom.
June, 2009: Walt and I celebrated our 3rd wedding anniversary and welcomed our son, Isaac, to the world. We also welcomed his "twin cousin" Samuel on the same day! How cool is that?
July, 2009: Visits from Grandpa Johnson, Aunt Charlotte, and Aunt Anna, a greater Johnson family reunion, and Walt's High Adventure trip with the scouts to Death Hollow.
August, 2009: Isaac's baby blessing. At some point this month my ankles reappeared and I actually fit into tennis shoes again. It would be another month or so before my church shoes fit. :) Also this month I did not go back to work. I loved my job as a School Psychologist, but this motherhood business takes the cake!
September, 2009: Third annual Graden Family Retreat and the birth of a niece, Aliyah.
October, 2009: Mountain biking trip to Moab with Walt's brother, Stan, a few of his friends, and Walt's co-worker and wife.
November, 2009: Thanksgiving with family in Phoenix!
December, 2009: Christmas at my sister's house in Tooele with the whole family.

It's been a really wonderful year. Our lives have changed dramatically with Isaac's birth, and boy is it better than ever! I've been realizing again how much relationships mean to me. We need each other. We need people to cheer us on, give us support, teach us, learn from us, help us develop love and patience, and generally refine us. Thanks to all of you for the role you play in our lives. You mean so much to us. Above all, thanks be to God our Father, from whom all our blessing flow and who is our constant guidance and support.

Happy New Year!

Love, Julie, Walt, and Isaac

Newest Trick

Isaac's newest trick is sitting up by himself! He LOVES it. He's been in a much better mood now that he can sit up and roll over. It was driving him crazy to have so little mobility and so much curiosity!

My newest trick is coupon shopping. Okay, so I'm not very good at it yet. I've spent hours poring over blogs and websites trying to figure this game out, and slowly the pieces are coming together for me. So far I've gotten a subscription to the Sunday paper ($.75 a week)and a binder to keep coupons in. Today I shopped at Walgreens and got 2 packs of 3-blade womens razors ($10 normal price), 2 5-ounce bottles of Aveeno baby cream lotion ($11 normal price), and 2 tubes of Neosporin ($11 normal price) all for $9. I'm so proud. Those are all things I have around my house and use on a regular basis anyway, so it's nice to have them in my year's supply now. Yay!

I'm a Fan

I'm a fan of New Years Resolutions. The start of the new year feels so fresh and optimistic to me, and I love to take advantage of that feeling to do myself some good. One of my goals this year is to get my 5-A-Day (5 fruit or vegetable servings) Monday through Friday. What about Saturday and Sunday, you ask? Well, maybe that will be next year's goal. For now Monday through Friday seems realistic to me seeing as how we're starting from ground zero here. Not that I don't eat any fruits and vegetables, but I average more like 3-4 servings a day, rarely 5. If anyone has any good recipes for vegetable dishes (mostly side dishes), I'd love to have them.