No Way!!!!

My husband came home on Saturday from being at one of his auctions in Salt Lake all day. I was taking a nap only to wake up to him standing in our room holding a new Digital SLR camera that he had bought me. He just said "look what I got!" as to which my reply was "NO WAY!" So, I was awake faster than I think I have ever been and was really excited to play with it. Now i'm just anxiously awaiting the memory card to come in the mail so I can REALLY play with it. Now all I have to do is take a class to figure out how to properly use it! :-) He's the best! I never imagined in a million years I would ever get one. We just aren't the type of people to spend SO much money on things like that, no matter how bad we want it. BUT.. since he got a really good deal on it, i'll take it! FOR SURE! Sorry if this sounds like bragging, but, i've wanted one for a really long time and i'm just too excited about it not to share my excitment with others! :-)

A new meaning to 'Early to Rise'

Most of our friends and family know that we have recently (within the last month or so) moved Hailey into a toddler bed. Our reasoning is to have the transition made and comfortable before the baby comes. She is such a big girl.. and that's what we keep telling her in preparation for #2. A little 'mommy brag moment'... her doctor calls her his 'Super Star' patient because she is doing and saying things at 18 months that she isn't expected to until she's 2 1/2 or 3 years old. It makes us proud. She's pretty advanced which is so nice in some ways, and not so nice in others. Let me explain: the nice part is, communication is GREAT! She loves to talk and she loves to point things out all the time. The not so nice part: she's growing up too fast and it makes us sad sometimes.

However, back to the main reason for this blog. SINCE being in her toddler bed, we have noticed that she wakes up much earlier than she use to. She use to wake up around 8am after being put to bed at 8pm. It was nice for me being pregnant and all. Not so much the case anymore. Now, she comes strolling into our room about 5:30 or 6 every morning asking for breakfast. Yes, she says the word 'breakfast' which is too early of a word for me. Now, if I could go to bed early, this wouldn't be much of a problem. BUT since I have a husband who is so busy he's gone most days and nights till late, I don't get to see him at all till late at night usually. This has become a serious problem. Not to mention i'm supposedly REALLY low on iron.

So, any suggestions on how to change this sleep deprived pregnant mommy who can't seem to pull it together? Oh the trials! :-)

Belly Shots!

I really regretted not getting this done when I was pregnant with Hailey. So, I decided I didn't want that regret with this next bundle of joy. So, here they are... some really fun belly shots! :-) The funny thing is, I took them myself. Yes, Nate thought it was pretty funny that I would sit in front of a camera that was propped up by pillows and a shoebox and pose. He actually did laugh at me.. but the finished result, we both thought was pretty cool.

Greatest Job on Earth!

A couple posts back, I wrote about pregnancy. Now I wanted to express something even more dear to my heart and that is being a mother. I can't even express in words the joy and happiness my job brings to me. Can you even call it a job? Ok, yes, yes you can! Sometimes it feels that way. But for the most part, I thank God every day for the blessing of having this great gift to be a mother. As I struggle to find ways to be a BETTER mother, I know Hailey loves me just the same, no matter what I do. Now, I realize that love and appreciation will only last so long.. till puberty hits, probably, or even sooner, I have to stop and embrace every hug and every snuggle she gives. Recently, Hailey was really sick. More sick than I have ever seen her and I have to admit, I was scared. To pick up a toddler off a bed that she spent about 95% of her day for a week straight, only to have her go limp every time, not even able to hold up her head or arms, it was terrifying and I felt so bad for her. My heart ached. This event in her life, and mine, made me appreciate God and my own mother even more. The pain and agony He went through for us and the pain and agony our mothers endure for us, is unexplainable. Every little word and every little quirky look she gives me just makes me smile. I love my little girl so much and I can't even imagine my life without her. I'm so glad she's feeling better and I have to say, I have the GREATEST JOB ON EARTH!

Sitting in Silence...

I can't believe it worked! Well, so far! Tonight was Hailey's first night in her 'big girl bed'. Nate is gone at the Jazz game and I thought I would go ahead and just try it and see if she actually would go to sleep easily in her new bed. So, as I sit here in silence listening through the monitor to see how she's doing, I can't believe that I hear NOTHING! Not one peep! For the first few minutes, she just listened to her crib toy... yes, I attached it to her bed so it would be a little easier of a transition, but since it stopped playing, she is out! I can't believe it! Hopefully she sleeps soundly tonight without any problems so mommy can sleep as well! Wish us all luck over here in the Johnson home!

Belly Shots!

I have realized that with my second pregnancy, I haven't taken many pictures of my belly. That is, as many as I did when I was pregnant with Hailey. I'm pretty sure that I have pictures from each week that I was pregnant with Hailey. So, pretty much, the second baby girl is getting the shaft! Poor girl! I guess that's what happens when you get so tied up with being mommy that you forget about yourself and what's going on with you and your body. Oh, the joys of motherhood. No greater blessing. So, I thought I would post a little update on 'prego life'. I've been feeling pretty good, other than hitting the 'Third Trimester Wall' in which I have no energy to even stand, however, have this insane desire to nest and get things done. Not necessarily a good combination.

Here are a few things that I HATE and LOVE about being pregnant...

Hates:
-feeling fat
-always hungry, but nothing sounds good
-agreeing on baby names
-the fact that my back hurts constantly
-lack of sleep
-not being able to paint my toenails
-SHAVING... what's that???
-constant flow of bodily fluids...ugh...
-the constant need to shed tears at random times
-hoping your husband remembers who you were BEFORE you got pregnant
-constant worry about the unborn and if everything is ok
-memory loss
-being in permanent slow motion

Loves:
-the thought of bringing a child into the world
-realizing how amazing women are to be given this blessing
-the anticipation of adding to my family
-movement of baby girl
-ultrasounds
-teaching my toddler about the 20lb ball hanging out in front of you
-my husband feeling movement from baby girl
-being able to eat amazingly large amounts of food!
-chocolate
-Fruit
-bed time!
-baby shopping

I owe a special thanks to my husband for sticking in there with me through all this. What a trooper. Not to meantion the fact that he got me a prenatal massage for my birthday! Yep, he's the best! Definitely something to look forward to... I will need it after our garage sale this upcoming weekend! I didn't realize how much goes into garage sale-ing! Wish us luck! :-)

WHAT THE????

So i'm a little upset. Has anyone been grocery shopping lately? Let me tell you my story. I'm a little obsessed with knowing how much money i'm going to spend at the grocery store before I spend it. So, a while back, I made lists. I made lists from old receipts of what everything costs that I usually buy at Walmart or Costco. So, going through my list the other night..I knew that I would spend roughly 50.00-60.00 at Walmart and probably close to that at Costco. Off we went to the store yesterday morning. As I was adding things in my head, I could NOT believe how expensive stuff had gotten. Instead of spending what I had planned with my carefully drawn out list, I ended up spending almost twice that! TWICE THAT! Are you KIDDING ME??? Then we took our little treck over to Costco, and SAME THING! I ended up having to put much wanted veggies BACK because I was way over my spending limit for the day! UGH! Anyone else super frustrated about this insane increase in grocery prices??

Pancakes Anyone??

A friend of mine inspired me to be more creative with pancakes! So, this morning, I made Hailey some special pancakes and she thought it was pretty neat. My favorite, was her name, but she was more interested in the Mickey Mouse pancake. She pretty much devoured them and thought it was pretty cool to have 'Hailey Sized' pancakes! I wonder what we'll come up with next! :-)

Lil' Cook

I remember seeing pictures and hearing stories about how young we were (my brothers and I) when my mom started having us help in the kitchen. I appreciate the things we learned because now I have become someone who loves to cook and bake. I love coming up with new creations and recipes to try. Well, Now it's my turn to take what i've learned and pass it on to my own Lil' Cook. Hailey's absolute favorite thing to do is to 'help'. That includes helping me put my make-up on most days, however, the most fun she has is to help me cook in the kitchen. So, today, I decided that no matter how big the mess was, I was going to let her make muffins... almost by herself. I was so proud. Aside from pouring things into the measuring cup and cracking the egg, she did it all. She would take the measuring cups once they were full and pour them into the bowl along with everything else. Then she took her spoonful of batter and would drop it into each muffin tin. What a big girl she is. Then, when all was said and done, she even cleaned up by putting the brown sugar back in the cupboard and all the dirty dishes into the sink. Then we anxiously watched as the muffins cooked in the oven. After cooling, she and I enjoyed a blissful taste of blueberry muffins. Such a big girl.

ABC's of Me!

A- Attached or Single – Attached 4 years and counting!
B- Best Friend - Nate, we've been through a lot together good and bad!
C- Cake or Pie – Hmmm...I like both. Chocolate cake with sweetened condensed milk and caramel poored over it, or chocolate banana pie! yum!
D- Day of Choice - Any day where the sun is shining and I can take Hailey for a walk and have a BBQ!
E- Essential Item – definitely chapstick and my phone.
F- Favorite Color – My favorite color changes often, but I would have to say at the moment, yellow.
G- Gummi Worms or Bears – definitely bears. If they happen to be covered in chocolate, even better.
H- Hometown – um...not really sure what to say here. But currently most of my family live in Vegas.
I- Indulgences – shopping for Hailey and the occasional chocolate molten from Chili's
J- January or July – July much more fun in the sun!
K- Kids – Hailey Rain and baby girl fetus!
L- Life is incomplete without – Family and chocolate chip cookies!
M- Marriage Date – March 13, 2004
N- Number of siblings- 4 brothers
O- Oranges or Apples – Apples if they are sliced. I hate biting into them.
P- Phobias or fears - Fear of being in a fight and something tragic happening before things are resolved..fear of losing someone in my immediate family.
Q- Quote – "Big gulps.... well, see ya later!"
R- Reason to Smile – Just the thought of Nate makes me smile & Haileys funny faces!
S- Season - Spring/Summer-its a toss up
T- Tags – Jessie & Carmen
U- Unknown fact about me – I sing and dance to the radio in my car.. mostly to make Hailey laugh!
W- Worst Habit – PICKING! Nate hate's that I pick at my face.
X- X-ray or Ultrasound- definitely ultrasound.. there's nothing like the feeling you get seeing a little unborn baby on camera!
Y- Your favorite food – Mexican and Italian... and my mom's homemade food. I miss it!
Z- Zodiac - Aries