Christmas Recital

Maddie just had her first Christmas Recital, it was adorable. Check out a little snippet.

Wake up Video

Here's a brief video showing how Piper greets us in the morning.

Q: What do you want for Christmas? A: Everything

That pretty much sums up Maddie's view on Christmas. This is the first year she's really grasped what Christmas is (on the most basic level: Santa - Presents - Awesome) and she is SUPER excited. You might think that this can cause all sorts of problems because since she want's everything, she expects to get everything but actually it's quite the opposite. Before Christmas, when we went into a store and she asked:

"Can I have that?" we would usually have to say "Sorry, but not this time."

Now when she asks we can say "Ooohhh, that's cool, let's put it on your Christmas list."

See the difference? Now Santa is the bad guy, not us. I love Christmas.

But in all seriousness (kinda), Christmas is awesome. Maddie has been so fun. She's totally into the lights / music / movies...

Getting pumped for Christmas!

We got our tree the other night and had a campout in the living room around it. We put Maddie to bed at 8pm but of course she couldn't fall asleep since the Christmas lights were on, she's in her sleeping bag and the kitty keeps jumping on her. When we lay down at 10ish she's still up and fidgety so we give her the usual warnings about going to bed and taking away a stuffed animal and all that. She calms down a bit but still is rustling around and keeping us up. Finally, I reach out and hold her hand and boom, she's asleep two minutes later with a kung fu death grip on my finger. Cutest thing ever.

As for Piper, she's doing great. She's healthy and cute and awesome and sleeps well and doesn't explode her diaper often and is smily and giggly and happy and chubby and smelly and cuddly and all other good things. We had a check up awhile ago and she's in the 50% for most stats (75% for premies), which leads us to believe that there are no complications with her early arrival.

Piper is starting to interact much more which is cool. She smiles all the time and is starting to giggle which is adorable. She still sleeps through the night which has been such a blessing. Maddie gets along with her really well and Piper adores her big sister.

First Solid Food - Yummy!

Other than that, things are pretty sticking good at the Casa de Johnson. We've been enjoying the fall by doing the zoo trips, seeing family and the occasional date night. Maddie has her first Christmas Recital next week which I expect to be crazy stupid cute. I'll try to get the video up.

That's all for now. Peace. Out.

The haps at the Johnson house

So Piper is no 3.5 months olds and doing GREAT! Looking at her, you'd never know she was a premie. In fact, I think she is bigger than Maddie was at that age.

Things around the Johnson household have been pretty tame as of late. Maddie is embracing being a three-year-old much to the dismay of Dianne and I. Personally, I think the "Terrible Twos" is a crock because three has been hellish. Maddie is a great little girl but she will test you on EVERYTHING. She's like those dinosaurs in Jurassic Park that attack the fence but never in the same spot. That's her. A big, horrible, man-eating dinosaur. What's most annoying is that she doesn't seem to be trying to piss us off, just trying to learn which I know we shouldn't get mad at (but it's hard when she asks 20 questions every minute of every hour of every day).

Now during the 10% of the day when she's not pushing our buttons, Maddie is awesome. She started school recently and loves it. This year it's with her best friend Keller so she's loving that. It also allows Dianne and Melissa to hang out regularly which is a nice break for the mommies. She also finished swim class and will likely be doing Ballet or Soccer soon. In about a week she's going to stay with Mimi and Papa for a few days which will be a nice little break for Dianne and I (yeah! only a 3-month old! so easy).

As for Piper, not a whole lot to report besides the fact that she's doing really well. She's putting on the lbs like it's going out of style (she was only in the 0-3 month clothes for two weeks). She's also started to laugh and giggle a lot which is always fun. She's not much of a napper (only sleeps for about 30 minute stretches during the day) but saws logs all night from 9:30 to 6:30.

Dianne and I are doing well, Nana babysat the girls the other night so Dianne and I bought some wine, cheese, fruit... and parked the car at a local harbor and just chilled. It was so quite we didn't know what to do with ourselves. We need to make a point of doing that more often because it's really easy to neglect your relationship when you have kids to worry about.

That's more or less it. I posted more photos so go check them out.

Life Lesson: Don't go camping with a newborn

It's hard. Really hard. Like working on a weekend hard. A few weekends ago Dianne and I took the girls to Prineville Reservoir  down in Oregon for the annual Rufener Family camping trip. This is a trip we go on every year for a week and any given day usually consist of:

• Wake up.
• Go out in the boat.
• Breakfast.
• Chill.
• Drink.
• Lunch.
• Go out in the boat.
• Chill.
• Drink.
• Dinner.
• Chill.
• Drink.

But with a newborn (and a three-year-old), it's more like:

• Wake up in the middle of the night because a). newborn needs food or b). three-year-old kicks you in the face while sleeping.
• Wake up earlier than you would have liked.
• One parent goes out in boat while other parent stays in camp (boating parent feels immense guilt).
• Breakfast, try to get three-year-old not to eat dirt.
• Keep newborn happy and cool / entertain three-year-old.
• Lunch, still try to keep three-year-old from eating dirt.
• Keep newborn cool / try to get three-year-old to nap, one parent has to stay nearby, other can go out in the boat (more guilt).
• Hand off newborn to family member, relax for 30 minutes.
• Keep newborn cool / get now awake three-year-old, entertain them.
• Dinner, dirt issue.
• Drag three-year-old to bed, which takes about an hour.
• Fall asleep exhausted.

As you can see, drinking and chilling is non-existent. So is enjoying any quality time with your spouse. No don't get me wrong, seeing our family was absolutely great, and they were ALL very supportive and helpful, but even with their help it is still a different trip from the days of chilling, drinking and boating.

That's not to say it was all bad, actually quite the opposite:

• Maddie was a doll the entire time. She played with the other kids like a champ. She had a great time going out in the boat. She loved eating dirt. She acted exactly how a three-year-old having a fantastic time should act. 
• Piper was super chill. She slept a lot. She didn't cry that much. She only woke up once a night. She was happy when members of the family held her. Perfect little newborn.
• Seeing family was awesome. We don't get to see this side of the family but once a year and it is always a pleasure. The grandparents/parents are fun to hang out with and really helpful with the girls. The kids are all super fun and great to Maddie.
• My family even stopped by (JJ, Melissa, Mom and Amanda) and I was able to take them on a boat tour of the reservoir. I totally felt like my Dad when he used to take the family out in the boat when we were kids.

I guess my main compliant is that when camping with a newborn and a three-year-old, you always have to be ON. You never get a chance to really relax or hang out with your honey. Also, with a trip like this which we have done many years in a row, you have an expectation of what the trip will be so when it varies from that expectation it can be hard to deal with.

Will Dianne and I never camp with our kids? Of course not. Camping is a great tradition and an important part of being a kid. I think with a few modifications it can still be a fantastic experience:

• Keep it short. A week is just too long with little kids.
• Don't travel far from home. When camping is over, a short car ride is nice.
• Don't go anywhere too hot.
• Go with other parents that have kids the same age.
• Plan on staying in camp (don't bring a boat).
• Don't expect too much. Be happy just spending time together.

Though camping this year was tough, watching how much fun Maddie had (and the other older kids who were there) makes me really excited for future camping trips when the girls are old enough to entertain themselves and Dianne and I can sit back, read a book and drink a beer.

A hazy shade of parenthood

So we've officially entered that "hazy" phase of parenthood where you are so sleep deprived that everything is kinda soft around the edges. You feel like you could take a nap at anytime, anywhere.

You see a bench in the park and think "sure I could sleep on that."

You see a corner in a room and think "sure I could prop myself in the corner and sleep there."

You see a street performer laying on a bed of nails and think "sure I could push that man off his bed of nails, lay down on it and fall asleep, heck, people could even stack cinder blocks on me and I probably won't even wake up." Did I just come up with an additional source of income?

Moving on. Summer is here (kinda), one day it is 80 and the kids are enjoying the sprinkler, then next day it's like a monsoon. I guess the weather could be worse (I'm think East Coast) but I'm still tired of this on-again off-again thing.

Maddie is doing well, we took her to her first parade (Whaling Days in Silverdale) and she had a blast. Ate tons of candy and did not want to leave.

Piper is also doing well. She is getting bigger and bigger and has actually started to cry a bit. Still not much but I'm glad she cries a little because it was almost creepy how quiet she was (did I really just complain about how quiet my newborn is? Shame on me).

Funny thing is, Maddie cries more than Piper. Weird.

Both girls have come down with a little bit of a cold the last few days. For Piper that means she's a little fussier and makes more noises at night (aka freaks us out at night). For Maddie that means it brings her from a 10 to a 7 which is just fine by us.

We're taking Piper on her first camping trip in about a week out at Prineville Reservoir just north of Bend, Oregon with Dianne's family. It's always a good time but I am a bit nervous taking a newborn out there. Luckily, we'll have tons of family to help out.

I'm trying to think of something else interesting to say but I'm pretty much tapped out. I am wearing cool socks which is something.

Anyways, best to all and I'll check back in later.

Life at home

So Maddie turned three yesterday and Piper turned one month. We have had birthday parties for Maddie three out of the last four days and she is LOVING it. Her party last night was a big step for us, namely taking her to Chuck E Cheese. I'll be honest, I wasn't looking forward to this at all due to my memories of CEC being crazy loud and smelling of urine. But what do you know, it was sweet! Cheep, fun, not too busy, no urine smell. What more can you ask for? The best part was that Wchunkle Dave was up from Cali and came with us to CEC and swim class after.

As for Piper, she is doing great! She had her one month check up and is doing well on all levels. She was up to 6lbs 10oz and so far and has no ill effects from the premature birth. Having her home has actually been a lot easier than we imagined it would be. One thing that helps is she NEVER cries! Well, not never, when the doctor gives her a shot she can wail like Axle Rose, but other than that not a peep.



She loves to be held but doesn't need to be which is really nice. I think this is good for Maddie because she doesn't always have to deal with a crying baby and Mom and Dad are free to still play with her.

Also, since she was in the hospital nursery for a week surrounded by crying babies, you don't need to be quite around her. She rarely wakes up at a loud noise and is really hard to startle (I once sneezed around Maddie and she started crying hysterically).

We're trying to get some sleep but that is always tough with a newborn. On a good night, we get to bed around 10pm, wake up at 2am and get back to bed at 3am, then wake again around 6am. Unfortunately the good nights are usually only ever two or three days but such is life.

Other than that, we're taking it pretty easy. Family and friends are stopping by every so often which is really fun. Soon Piper will be strong enough where we can actually travel with her and maybe bring her over to Seattle or down to Oregon. We're looking forward to introducing her to you all.

Peanut Butter Jelly Time!

It’s been awhile and I know what you were thinking: The Mini-Johnson Blog is dead. Well you were wrong my friend. The MJB was just taking a vacation but due to the recent arrival of Piper Belle Johnson, we’ve decided to blow off the dust, gas up the engine and fire this puppy up!

Now I don’t know how many people actually read this, and frankly I don’t care. Towards the end of the last MJB run I realized that this blog wasn’t so much about informing the masses as it was about recording a time in my life that passes all too quickly and often in the haze of exhaustion. So please excuse my rambling and tangents as they may seem odd and unnecessary to you, but to me they are memories that I document now so to be able to relive them later.

Now on to the update!

First I’ll start with Maddie since she was the star of this story, and it seems only fair to introduce new characters as gently as possible. Maddie is almost three now, and all-in-all is a pleasure to be around.

That’s not to say she doesn’t have her moments:

• Screaming “No!” when she doesn’t get her way
• Getting out of bed 1,2,3,4,5 times to use the bathroom but never actually going
• Asking “why?” 300 times a day

but the negatives are far overshadowed by the positives:

• Walking into our bedroom asking to snuggle
• Saying the cutest things like “glue will fix anything Daddy”
• Singing “Twinkle Twinkle” to her little sister
• And hundreds of other things...

Maddie is a great little girl (but perhaps I am just biased): She can play on her own and with others. She not only say “please,” “thank you” and “I’m sorry” but understands the reason behind saying them. She is intelligent and able to make connections you don’t expect from a almost 3 year old. But most important, she has a kind heart.

Maddie is the type of child that makes me proud of myself.

And then there were two.

Now on to the catalyst for the revival of the MJB, Piper Belle Johnson (or our little PBJ). If you haven’t heard, PBJ was born five weeks early on Father’s Day, June 19th 2011. She was 18” long and 5lbs 8oz.

Here is a quick timeline of the “Marathon Birth” as I experienced it:

Thursday, June 16th: Dianne goes into the hospital but is told that it’s just a false alarm and returns home.

Friday, 11am: I receive a call at work from Dianne that her water just broke and her friend Katie is driving her to the hospital. I freak out and race to the ferry to miss the bout by two minutes. I head back to work and gather all of the stuff I forgot, and catch the next ferry.

12:30: I Catch the ferry. Call family and friends. Stop freaking out.

2:30: Get to the hospital and see Dianne. She is doing well, pain is at a 2 (from 1 to 10, 10 meaning the baby is coming ASAP).

3:30: We wait. We eat. We call family.

4:30: We wait. We eat. We call family.

5:30: We wait. We eat. We call family.

6:30: We wait. We eat. We call family.

On and on and on...

Skip ahead 40 hours. And some point Kay and Minna (Dianne’s Mom and Sister-in-law) come up from Oregon and help out. Minna is a doll and watches Maddie (who was with our friends the Karosichs and then the Matthews who were both awesome during this whole shin-dig), and Kay and I tag-team help Dianne with all she needs. My Mom and Sister also come down and help us out with odd’s and end’s plus helping clean the house.

Sunday, 7am: Dianne is doing great, no meds and her pain is at about a 7.

8:06am: Dianne say her pain just reached a 9, so we call the doctor and I step out to use the restroom thinking we have about 1 hour left (based on when Maddie was born).

8:08am: I get a text message saying “Come Back Quick.” So I come back quick.

8:09am: I get to the room and it is pandemonium. Nurses are running around, the doc is telling Dianne to not push yet, they’re not ready. I wiggle my way to Dianne, Kay and I hold her hands and she gives one push and Blamo! The baby is here, not 45 seconds after I came in the room.

Piper Belle was born but we weren’t out of the woods yet. After Dianne got to snuggle with her for about a minute, PBJ was rushed to the nursery because it is common for premies to not be have there lungs fully developed. For awhile we thought that she was going to be flown to Tacoma or Harborview which was freaking me out, but she is a little trooper and was doing just fine.

Over the next week, Piper stayed in the nursery and we stayed in the hospital checking in on her every three hours or so. Initially, she was kept on oxygen, being heated and fed through an IV. Slowy over the week, the cut back the oxygen till they turned it off completely. Dianne started breast feeding and eventually the IV was shut-off. And finally she was moved out of the incubator. On Saturday the 25th, we took her home.

That time for Dianne and I is a blur, time seemed to stand still and we were constantly tired/scared/happy/everything else. We had some amazing support from our friends, family and employers. Not to mention the fantastic staff at Harrison Silverdale.

Our little family unit is now at home and doing great. I’ll have another post soon on life at home with two kids. Hint: more poop.