More Christmas pictures...

Here are a few more family pictures from Christmas. We are blessed with such wonderful families!

Jack loves candy canes!

An intense game of Pegs and Jokers!

8 months old!

Jack is 8 months old!! This has been a very busy month for Jack....he is always on the go! He is crawling like a champ and loves walking behind his walker. The basket of dog toys is still a favorite....along with cords, strings, the remote, fireplace, house decorations....basically anything he is not supposed to have! He is still a great baby though. He rarely fusses and he always has a smile on his face. We are lucky parents!

It's getting harder to make him sit still for these pictures!

Christmas with the McCulla's

This past weekend, the Johnson family headed to Pella to celebrate Christmas with Grandma and Grandpa McCulla. The kids were lucky enough to get a visit from Santa (a.k.a Dustin). Kaiya and Avree thought Santa was pretty cool from a distance...but they were careful not to get too close. Jack was pretty indifferent.

"Who in the heck is this guy and what is he wearing?"

"Can I have your present too?"

"Seriously, what are you wearing?"

"Don't cry Avree, he brings presents!"
"Santa and I are buddies."

"Not sure what this thing is either."

Nice, Avree!

Grandma and Grandpa with the kiddos

On Sunday, we headed to Grinnell to visit Great-Grandma and Great-Grandpa McCulla. We had a smaller than expected crowd due to bad weather, but we still managed to have a great time.

Great-Grandma and Great-Grandpa with Jack

Love the hats!

Still on the go...

A few weeks ago, I was sitting at the kitchen table while Jack was playing in the family room. All of the sudden, I looked up and saw him walking across the room behind the walker! He is pulling himself up to everything these days, so I think he just pulled himself up to the walker and when it started moving, he followed! Now he is a walking machine!

The video below was too good not to share. Ever since Jack learned how to stand up in his crib, nap time has been a little interesting. As soon as I lay him down to sleep, he starts crying and pulls himself up, which makes it harder for him to fall asleep. This particular afternoon, he was really fighting it. He kept falling asleep while he was up on his knees. His eyes would close, and just when his head started to fall, he would jerk himself awake and then the tears continued. I let this go on for about five minutes before I laid him back down....and then he fell right asleep!

Elf Yourself!

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Joe and Jenn's wedding

This past weekend, the Johnson family and friends attended "cousin" Joe's wedding. Jack was dressed up in his finest for the evening. He borrowed the little tuxedo that my nephew Joseph wore to our wedding. We thought he looked adorable! Everyone had a great time at the wedding. It was a long day for Jack, but he handled it great. He ended up falling asleep on Katie's shoulder while she was out on the dance floor!

Jack has been having a hard time taking a bottle lately. However, we have discovered that if he is distracted by something else, he will take a bottle with ease. Brad did an excellent job distracting Jack by telling him stories and singing songs. Do you see how big his eyes are as he is watching Brad?! I am not sure who was more entertained during Brad's little skit, Jack or the rest of us!

Jack says "No nap for me!"

This past Friday, I put Jack down for his usual afternoon nap. As soon as I laid him down in his crib, the tears began. (It is fairly common for him to cry for a few minutes after I lay him down to sleep....but the crying usually subsides within 1-2 minutes). That afternoon, the crying did not stop. After listening to him cry for almost 30 minutes, I decided to check on him. When I opened the door, I found Jack standing up in his crib for the first time. As soon as he made eye contact with me, his tears turned into laughter. I wanted to be mad at him for not falling asleep like he was supposed to, but there is no way I could be upset when looking at his smiling (and mischievous) face! So I grabbed the camera instead. He ended up playing all afternoon and much to our surprise, he made it through the rest of the day without being crabby or fussy.

He's on the move (Part 2) and Jack's affinity for dog toys

Jack has been working hard to improve his crawl. He is still a little shaky at times, but he is getting much better!

Birdie and Bogey are both wonderful dogs. But I have to admit, we were a little concerned about them being able to leave the baby toys alone. We thought for sure we would be pulling Jack's toys out of their mouths on a daily basis. However, much to our surprise, they have completely ignored his toys. That is why Jay and I find it humorous that Jack is completely obsessed with Birdie and Bogey's toys. Jack will bypass all of his own toys to go straight for the dog bone (see above video), dog toys, and the dog basket (see video below). As a mother, I am a little embarrassed to admit that I pull the dog bone out of Jack's mouth about 4-5 times every day.

He loves pulling himself up to the dog basket!

"Hi Mom!"

He tries so hard to reach in and pull out one of the dog's toys. This goes on all day long. He is a determined little boy!

Happy Thanksgiving

We celebrated Thanksgiving this year at Grandma and Grandpa Johnson's. Here are a few pictures from Jack's first Thanksgiving.

Teething again

The Johnson Family

Great-Grandma Johnson with the kids

Great-Grandma with Jack and Tyler (they were the easy ones to photograph)

Four generations

Florida!

Jack and I took a trip to Fort Myers Beach last week to visit Grandma and Grandpa McCulla. Aunt Brittany and Avree also joined us. Jack did a great job traveling. I received many compliments from other passengers on how good he was. No one could believe a baby could stay that quiet on a plane!

We had perfect weather the entire week....80 degrees and sunny! Our plans each day revolved around Jack and Avree's napping schedule. I think this was a big change from Grandma and Grandpa's routine....they are used to being on the go all day long! We spent most of our days swimming at the pool, visiting the beach, and shopping. Jack's favorite was the swimming pool. He really loves being in the water....I think this makes Daddy proud!

We had a great week of quality family time. The only thing missing was Jay....who had to stay home to work. Jack and I missed him a lot and we were very excited to get back home to see him!!

First plane ride

I don't like this goofy hat Mom!

He's a happy boy in the pool!

First time at the beach

And he's off! There is no way the sand was going to stop him!

The whole gang!

Jack trying to eat the sand. Yes, everything goes in his mouth!

Avree, the cheetos monster!

He was a very tired boy after a long day of swimming!