Christmas

After playing with all the fun things Santa gave us, it was time for opening presents. Some how we ended up with more than I remember buying, hmmmm??


I didn't take too many pictures, because I was just having too much fun enjoying the moment! Jackson got an Alphie which I used to have when I was little. He has recently renamed him Robie and considers him his new friend.


Jackson gave Daddy a new racing game for the Playstation 3. I am not sure who is more excited.


After opening all the presents, we started the long process of putting toys together, finding batteries, and cleaning up. Three of Jackson's toys did not work!!! Are you kidding me?!?! We put together a Hotwheels race track only to find one piece missing, his walkie talkies sounded scratchy no matter what channel or distance we were at, and a button on a garbage truck would not work! However, Jackson handled it all really well! We went to Toys R Us the next day, and they gave me all my money back no questions asked! I was very surprised at how easy it all was, and it restored my faith in Toys R Us.

We finished the day with dinner with the Kuda family - prime rib, bake potato, green beans, salad, rolls, and dessert - YUMMY!!

Happy Birthday to baby Jesus, and I hope your Christmas was as incredible as ours!

Santa Claus Came to Town

Santa Claus definitely stopped by our house this year! Jackson had told Santa that he wanted a drum set, a space suit with a helmet, and a big bouncy ball. Well it turns out Santa delivered all that and more!



We either need a bigger living room or smaller toys. But isn't this face all worth it?


He was quickly needed in outer space, so on when the space helmet,


and then the space suit.


Once he finished up all his official NASA business, he wanted to try out his new shake and go race track.


I think Santa agreed with us that he needed some toys that will help him use up all this boy pent-up energy during the winter months, so he brought him a blow up punching bag and a hopper ball. He loves both, so hopefully it will work!


Santa also knew that Jackson loves to build forts out of all the pillows in our house, so he brought him a fort building kit. We have already constructed at least 20 different forts.



Daddy even joined him in a "boys only" tent - well most of daddy.


All in all it was a great Christmas morning. After playing, eating monkey bread, and playing some more, we still had more presents to open. Yes, we are all spoiled here at the Johnson house!

Christmas Eve

I can't believe Christmas has come and gone! I also can't believe that we did not get to go to home to Mississippi this year for the holidays. However, we had some great family time and a nice relaxing Christmas. Next year it will be wild with two little kiddos running around!

Mark took off work Friday, so he got to help make Santa's cookies. Can you tell which ones Mark and Jackson did? Let's just say Mark put his creative touch on the couple of cookies he iced, and Jackson just had fun mixing colors.


We then headed to the 3:00 family service at our church. Jackson got to participate as a "Preschool Ringer" and play the handbells on stage. I have no idea what song they played, but he did great. He would barely look at me because he was watching the teacher and looking for his color green. Emmy, you would have been so proud of him!


Next it was off to eat an early dinner at SweetWater Tavern - yummo! We then bundled up and headed downtown to see the National Christmas tree in all its blue and green glory.


It was sooooo cold but Jackson could not get enough of all the trains.


There were several new trains and bridges, and it made the little guy so happy!


We finally convinced him that it was time to go home and get ready for Santa. We picked out the cookies and poured the milk,


sprinkled the reindeer food in the front yard,


and then finally off to bed. I am not sure how he ever fell asleep he was so excited!

Stay tuned to see what Santa actually brought . . .

On Ice!

While Emmy and Poppy were visiting for Christmas, we decided to check out "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" Ice sculpture exhibit at the National Harbor. None of us knew what to expect, so it was definitely quite the experience. If you don't mind paying for overpriced tickets to walk through a 9 degree tent looking at ice sculptures, you should go! I think we all will skip next time.

However, while we were there we made the most of it! After putting on our nice blue parkas we were off!

Jackson has not seen the movie or read the book, so he had a lot of questions about why the "Grunch" was so unhappy.


I will admit that the sculptures were pretty amazing. It is hard to believe that they are made entirely out of ice!




There was an ice slide that Jackson went down twice. His only complaint - that it didn't go fast enough for him.


At the end of the exhibit, there was an incredible Nativity scene. It is always refreshing when fun Christmas activities include the real reason we celebrate Christmas.

Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow

We had our first day of snow this winter! It might not last for a white Christmas, but it sure is pretty for now. Jackson just couldn't wait to get out there and play. So we finally bundled up and hit the snow.


After two record snow storms last year, our neighbor, Mr. Paul bought Daddy and Jackson their very own snow shovels. Jackson could not wait to break his out.


Jackson is such a shoveling pro, that I think we will put him in charge of shoveling us out during the next big storm!

No snow day is complete without making a snow angel. He had been practicing inside to make the perfect angel!


I wonder how many snow angels we will get to make this winter? Hopefully not too many . . .

Gingerbread Choo Choo

Every year while we are in Mississippi, Dee Dee and Jackson decorate a gingerbread train together. It quickly became a Christmas tradition. Since we won't be traveling home this year, Dee Dee sent the train to Jackson. He had been asking about it since Thanksgiving. It's funny what little minds remember.

We finally got around to putting it together to decorate. The engine kept falling over, but we kept working until we had a successful free standing choo choo!

Jackson made sure we had all of our decorations in order.


Then it was time for decorating and making sure that the decorations were tasty.


Eventually all of Jackson's hard work paid off! What do you think?


Next year Dee Dee, we will back to doing this at your house . . . with an extra pair of hands to help!

Doggy Playdate

Just in case you are wondering what a doggy playdate looks like. First you line up all the doggies and all the other animals that are invited.


Then you read them a story. And please don't forget to show them the pictures.


Then all the animals take a nap in your bed with the sound machine on and the lights off.

Christmas Party

Mark's company threw a Christmas party at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel. We skipped out last year. However, since this bambino will be here before we know it, we were up for a fancy night out on the town. We had our choice of a private car or a nights stay at the hotel and we opted for the private car (I just hate not having grandparents closer). There was food, dancing, and even casino games. It was a great night out despite the fact that I had to endure pregnancy pantyhose!

Countdown til Christmas

Jackson is so excited about Christmas this year, he can hardly stand it!! So I decided we might need some structured activities to make it through the month of December. In addition to counting down the days with our Advent Calendar (my mom actually made me this one when I was a little girl),


we have an activity card for each day. We pull a card to find out what kind of activity we will being doing that day.


So far we have made footprint/handprint reindeer,

played Christmas dominoes,


made chocolate covered pretzels for Jackson's teachers, played a Santa dice game, and made a wish list for Santa.


Jackson wrote his very own list on the orange paper, and together we made a tree with all of the Johnson's Christmas wishes (some of us got more wish ornaments than others).

We even got daddy in on the action when we made piper cleaner Christmas trees.


Here are the finished products. You can't even tell who did which one!


Only 13 more days to go!

31 Weeks

Pregnancy Highlights

How Far Along: 31 weeks

Size of Baby: Baby boy is the size of a squash (about 16 inches and 3 pounds)

Total Weight Gain: hmmm . . . who cares?

Maternity Clothes: Yes! I have been called a blueberry (when I wore a blue dress) and Mrs. Claus (when I wore a red dress) by my sweet boys.

Gender: Boy :)

Movement: At times it feels like baby boy is doing flips in my belly. He loves to roll around when I am stretched out on the couch.

Sleep: Rolling over takes at least 5 minutes and is a huge effort, and of course I have to get up at least once for a bathroom break.

What I Miss: Sleeping on my stomach.

Cravings: Nothing really - I will pretty much eat anything!

Symptoms: A growing belly, uncomfortable back pain, and a nice little waddle walk

Best Moment this Week: We are slowly but surely getting the nursery together. It is really sinking in that this little bambino will be here before we know it. Jackson even put some of his outgrown toys in the baby's room for him to play with.