Pictures from the last few months...

Video taken tonight of the kids...

Thanksgiving in Grand Forks, in Uncle Erik's basement.

Sledding with cousin Jessi

Fun car trip

Alex ADORES his cousin

Mom and Alex went on a date to the Science Muesuem

Christmas

Disney on Ice with good friend Abby

Holidazzle

Christmas at the Johnsons

Playtime

Leaving on the Amtrak with Emo

Christmas in Kentucky.... in February!!

We went on daily hikes

Snow Angels

Alex really liked holding this book to his bosom at night

Hiking after all the snow melted

Back in Minnesota, at Emo's Birthday Party with Olivia

At the Mall of America

More Sledding!

First Day of Swim Class!

Catch up Time!

It’s shocking to me that I haven’t written since October! There has been a lot of chaos in the Johnson home… a new baby, Georgia Emo, travel….


I can’t say that I plan to catch you up on all of the events over the past few months, but here are some of the highlights:

Alex and Anna are best friends. He is grumpy in the morning until I put Anna on his bed to snuggle. She immediately laughs and smacks at him, which makes him smile and yawn… happy to be awake. They really enjoy spending time together, unless Alex wants time alone with his railroad tracks! Anna loves to smash up his tracks, so he had his track on our dining room table for a while. The things we do for our kids! LOL.

The holidays seemed to breeze right by! We traveled to Grand Forks, ND to spend Thanksgiving with Erik and the gang. Then we spent Christmas in the Johnson home in Chisago and enjoyed our family time. One of these days we will spend a major holiday at home!

Alex was a giraffee for Halloween 2012!


Family picture for the Holiday Season


Georgia Emo was in town from January 14th – February 25th, 2013. She kept the kids home from daycare much of the time, so Alex got to spend lots of time with his Auntie Emo. They even got to bunk together! She slept on his bed, and he slept on a twin air mattress in his room. It was perfect! He loved having a companion and was always asking, “Where is Emo? Did Emo go back home?” on nights that she was out with friends at his bedtime. I would reassure him and tell him Emo would be there when he woke up.

Oh the activities when Georgia was here! They went shopping, to the Mall of America, to various play lands, libraries, bounce houses, etc. They even went on the Amtrak! That’s right! Alex has now traveled by train! He didn’t really understand what that meant until we explained that he was going to be able to potty on the train! He really digs going to the bathroom in various public restrooms! Georgia and Alex traveled by train to see Grandma Penny and Grandpa Walter on January 31st. Then Anna and I met them there a few days later by plane. It was a great trip! Alex proved to be a big help in the kitchen and he loved going on daily hikes in the mountains. Grandpa Walter let him borrow his personal DVD player, and he thought that was pretty cool too. Guess grandparents need to spoil their grandkids huh?

Alex and Auntie Emo on the Amtrak.  Of course, Peter Pan had to go!!


There was a sad day for me when I flew back home and left Alex in Kentucky. He said to me at the airport, “Mom, I don’t want to have any more adventures with Emo. I want to come back home with you and Anna.” I swear my heart broke and it was all I could do to not break down and cry! But I convinced Alex that he would have fun with Emo and he was going to see kids who had lots of toys. He seemed to be content with that, so after we boarded the plane Georgia and Alex continued traveling to Tennessee to spend time with the Yoder family. Alex and William are both 3 years old and really hit it off. Instant friends! As expected, he had a blast there! He didn’t even stop playing with the other kids long enough to say hi to us when we called to check in. My head understood, but my heart didn’t!!

Alex and his new friend William.


Finally it was time for all of us to be in Minnesota again so they traveled back by train. The adventure was over! We did several more fun activities before she left for South Korea, and she prepared Alex days in advance. He still gets sad missing her, but the advantage of his age is that he remembers she’s fun and doesn’t linger on the sad parts.

Alex is enrolled in swim class at Foss Swim School in Maple Grove, he started last week. It is a 12 week program, 30 minute class each Saturday. Alex had his first swim class this past Saturday and LOVED it. He is in a class with two other little boys and he referred to them as his “new friends.” He liked his teacher and was the first student to put his head under the water. So sweet! When Alex got home with his dad, I said, “Alex, how was your swim class? Did you like it?” He got so excited and said, “Yeah My Did!!”

Some pictures of a sledding day!

 

Alex and Anna at bathtime this past week!

My can do it by MySelf!

The past few weeks Alex is "getting bigger!"  He is developing his skills buttoning shirts, working puzzles, manipulating mom, and lots of other fun tricks!  He has learned what makes me laugh, and is starting to do it all the time - not that I am complaining.  He loves to shout "My can do it by MySelf!!"  Needless to say I am leaving us more time in the morning to get ready.  He is gaining his independence and I don't want to hinder that.

 

Alex had a blast at the Barnyard Boogie on Friday 10/05.  He was running after a boy named Harry.  Harry was older, probably 6, and was much faster than Alex.  Whenever Alex fell behind, Harry would stop and wait for him.  Then take off again!  It was fun to see.  I don't know how Alex strikes up such easy friendships, but I hope he never loses that trait.  Those two paled around all night.  I was chasing them as well to make sure they didn't get into trouble and the would run out of the gym to drink from the water fountain, huff and puff, and get right back to it.  Wanting a break myself, I said, "Boys - why don't you go dance?"  Alex replied, "Yeah!" and immediately started dancing.

 

Harry looked at me very seriously and said, "I don't dance." 

 

It was hilarious.

 

 

Here is a video of us doing the Hookie Pookie before he ditched the dance floor for Harry.

 

 

 This past Sunday waiting for Grandma Sue and Grandpa Larry to arrive.  Alex was a tad grumpy that we didn't go on a longer walk!

 

Happy boy again!

 

Poor Elmo.  What did Alex do to you?

Oh My Alley Bear!

 

Alex is changing every day. He is definitely in his terrible 3’s… lots of struggles with bed time and not listening. Eating is becoming a chore. There is no “always” with Alex. Sometimes he is just a peach and listens like a good little boy, and others he gets defiant. One good thing about this is his growing independence. Sometimes he will let me put his shoes on, and sometimes he yells, “No MY can do it!” And sure enough, he can. He is asserting himself. He wants to button his own pajamas, zip his coat, put toothpaste on his brush. Some of this is just a learning curve for Brent and I. we are so accustomed to doing all of these small tasks for him. We are quicker. But ultimately, our little boy is growing up and wants to do these things himself.

 

He is also singing more. Do you know that song “Call me Maybe” by Carly Rae Jepsen? He loves it and wanders around singing the chorus randomly. Another favorite is the Itsy Bitsy Spider. He does so well and projects his voice so well. As a singer myself, I really love that he enjoys singing and encourage him often. I have found recently when he gets in a mood, I can start singing and he either joins in and the mood is gone – or he yells, “No Mommie, not YOU!” Then I stop singing… and he starts. Priceless.

 

Here is a short video of Alex dancing along to the Hot Dog Dance...

 

 

 

I asked Alex the other day if he wanted to go to the Barnyard Boogie in a few days. I explained they were going to have dancing, singing, and a petting zoo. He got really excited and said, “Yeah Mom! I want to see the pandas!” Brent and I burst into laughter. Brent tried to explain that pandas are not a barnyard animal and would not be in a community gymnasium… but he insisted.

 

Bedtime has been interesting the past few months. He repeatedly gets out of bed, sometimes immediately after we leave the room. We always brush teeth, put on pajamas, read stories, snuggle for “2 minutes,” and then leave the room. The routine does not alter, Brent and I do the same steps. I have started to tell him that he will get a spanking if he gets out of bed unless he has to potty. This only worked for about a week! My smart boy is now saying that he has to poop. He grins and sits on the toilet seat, starts chatting, and then the phantom poop arrives. Nothing. You never want to tell a kid to not leave the bed, just in case they really do have to go potty, but good grief! What a challenge.

 

We are also noticing that Alex is getting so hard on himself. He is a budding perfectionist. If he doesn’t complete a task to his high standards, he gets frustrated. Our daycare provider said he just bursts into tears during school work if he’s tired. We have both noticed this trait so we are approaching it the same way by explaining, “Alex, you are just a little guy. You have to learn how to do this…” That is seeming to work because he is slowly but surely cutting himself some slack.

 

He is now cracking us up by randomly blurting out "Poop!"  He says it so sweetly we just burst into laughter every time.

 

Another injury for Alex occurred on September 19^th. The kids were jumping off the jungle gym at daycare and Alex landed wrong and couldn’t walk for a week and limped a week after that. Brent took him to the doctor and an Xray didn’t determine if it were broken or sprained since toddlers have little calcium in their feet and they didn’t have a clear look. Brent was smart and told Alex to crawl around so he was only immobile for a day. He is only in real pain for the first few days, and boy did he get spoiled! He seems to be doing better now, but we are still trying to get him to take it easy.

 

Last thing – Alex can finally peddle his bike! Brent followed behind Alex on the sidewalk with Anna in a stroller yesterday evening. Alex did great but then said to Brent suddenly that he was tired. Brent ended up attaching the bike to the stroller so Alex could just walk home! I would’ve loved to see that. Good thing he decided to leave the dog at home!

 

 

 

Noerenberg Memorial County Park

 

 

Hot summer day in the back yard!

 

We keep telling him he's too big, but he keeps trying!

New Hope Fire Station open house

 

Apple Jack's Apple Orchard

 

Snuggle time, very important business

 

Lake Calhoun

Grandpa Larry's birthday party

Alex bought his grandpa a Woody doll that inserts into a pumpkin for Halloween... no pumpkins around so a potato had to do!

 

 

Pictures taken today of the kids