The Adventures of the Johnson Clan: Where did the Cuteness go???

~FeBrUaRy~

There are a few reasons I enjoy this month

1. My birthday

2. It's a shorter month

3. It's the last full month of WINTER!!!

(And yes, Valentines was once a fun time, but it has been years since we've had time for that special day! Someday...)

I try to enjoy all the seasons for what they're worth and the things that only those seasons bring, but honestly Winter is just NOT a favorite one.

I mean, we were pretty excited for that one week in January when it was warm enough to leave the house in a light sweater.... it was in the upper 30's!

But ya know, while Utah is rolling around in its endless January days at 50 degrees (SO JEALOUS), we are just happy to break zero. And i'll be honest, February has warmed up... we're up to 7-10 degrees.........

I CAN'T WAIT FOR SPRING!!!!!!!!!!!

Travis:

His hours are back to sucky. He is really tired all the time.

The other night I had just finished tucking Aaron in and Travis came through the door, just in time to tell him good night. The boys miss him, and he misses his kids!

He still loves his truck.

Despite his longs hours, he found time to order me birthday presents (bar pans for cooking me yummy food), wrap them, decorate my chair at the table, get the boys together to sing to me, got me an ice cream cake (he remembered I don't really care for cake), and then stuff me with delicious food all weekend (Like authentic German Doners; SO GOOD)!!!

He also took me to a dinner night with all his soon to be colleagues from the local Clinic so they could get to know me... that's right, we've officially signed a contract for our first "It Get's Better" job after residency. That light at end of the tunnel is officially in sight!

Lacey:

I've started school, my last semester! It's challenging, time-consuming, scary, exciting, and at moments fun!

I got to go on two separate outings to see the same movie: once with the girls out here, and again with Susan (our beloved adopted Grandma next door).

I enjoyed having Glenn (our adopted Grandpa from next door) accompany me to watch Maddix play basketball.

I had a "Father Of The Bride" birthday in that I was feeling somewhat down all day because for my 29th birthday (the last one in my 20's) I was doing homework, cleaning, and getting puked on; I couldn't even find time to shower. And after a full day of "mommy-ing" I opened my presents and saw it was kitchenware. (which I Love, but was having an emotional night!)

(If you've seen father of the bride, you might remember the seen where she calls off her wedding and storms to her room completely beside herself because he gifted her a BLENDER... "gasp!" This blender, to her, represented his expectations he had of her to be this wonderful little house wife and and she just loses it. Thankfully, her father, played by Steve Martin, talks her off the edge and she reconciles with her ever-so-patient finance).

Unfortunately, I didn't have a Steve Martin figure to talk me off the ledge and I ended up placing my head on the table, feeling like these kitchen utensils were the nails on my aging coffin as I was entering the last year in my 20's. And I may have cried myself to sleep with Travis holding me and saying, "It's your birthday, you can cry if you want too."

It's funny now, but at the time my selfishness ruined the work and joy that Travis had been so amazing to create for me in his very few spare moments; and to that I am so sorry.

It was at that moment, and the next morning while reading in the Book of Nephi, I realized just how spoiled I've become! I have so much to be grateful for, and so many people who work to make me feel special and important. And yet I complain about all that I have, don't have, want, and don't want.

So as I wake up each time, one day closer to ending my 20's and beginning a new chapter (one in which I must be grown up enough to have a "marry poppins" bag... that's a story for another time), I want to take this lesson:

To be Grateful for everything.

To put others first.

To not complain.

To let others know how appreciated they are to me.

Maddix:

He has been loving riding in the front of Travis's truck like one of the adults.

Basketball is his favorite thing each week.

The other morning school had a 2hr late start, due to snow, so we went to the gym and had fun playing basketball. He and Aaron beat me 4:3 ;)

He is killing it on the piano.

He can now do pretty much any addition/subtraction problem placed in front of him, and a ton of multiplication problems.

He really likes to earn money lately and took Aaron out with him the other day to earn some money by shoveling our drive way.

Aaron:

I last wrote about how he has endless cuteness, and I will be heartbroken when he goes to school full day... it's amazing how much can change in two weeks!!!! See, Aaron got a really nasty flu last week and had to be quarantined to his room for 5 days. He had a fever that didn't want to go away, and he was just miserable. He didn't sleep much and watched the i-pad pretty much for 4 days straight. Ever since then he has turned into a little hell raising BEAST! Perhaps his cute supply is running low so he is trying to ration the remaining bits, but NEVER have I been so excited to hear the school bus honk each day! I practically run him to the bus and load him in just excited to have a break for a few hours!

I mean... What the Heck Happened?!

Ferocious Fours have taken over my sweet cuddly Aaron!!!

Still, as he grows and goes through phases I love seeing the new things he comes up with and learns.

He is currently trying hard to master tying his shoes.

He performed several shows for me one day; my favorite was his Indiana Jones rendition.

And he has officially learned how to do simple addition problems!!!

Adeline:

She is still the World's Best Baby.

She gives the Biggest Smiles, and is SOoo close to laughing.

She got a new play-mat that she kicks around and grabs the hanging jungle toys.

I feel like she's hit a new learning benchmark and is a lot more alert.

She sits pretty well, holds her head up pretty well, and does okay at tummy time.

The other day I was making fake crying faces at her, and she was mimicking them; we were all having a good time, until she forgot we were just pretending to cry and actually worked herself in to tears!

She is however picking up a bit of sass and beginning to express herself when she doesn't like something... which means she is actually crying these days.