The best recipe for happiness? A big meal.

I can't even begin to tell you how much I'm loving feeding Tessa these days. It used to be so frustrating for me but now that she's eight months old we've started to give her whatever we're having for dinner. Last night she had stuffed peppers and baked potatoes. Much more appetizing than the pureed baby food, which she's not a fan of.

Tessa is so independent! She doesn't like being spoon fed and wants to do everything herself. The problem is, you can't eat pureed peaches with your hands and she can't quite get the spoon to her mouth without the food slipping off. Frustrated Tessa. Frustrated mom. She's loved the past few days because she can actually pick the food up with her hands. No spoon needed! No mom needed! 

In the pictures below she was eating manicotti for lunch. Let me just say, this girl knows how to enjoy her dinner. She has to be hosed down after every meal and I find left over food in the strangest places...ears, hair, diaper, between her toes, you name it, foods been there.

Last night she was so messy she had to have a pre-bath before her actual bath. You might say I'm overdoing it with the baths but you try and keep her from eating the floating food mixed with soap. Yuck. I'll take the double bath. 

In the next day or two she's going to try some BBQ chicken (blended so it's a little easier to chew) and she's going to LOVE it. My fearless adventurer is also a fearless eater. 

  

Happy 4th!

The best recipe for happiness? Father's Day.

I saw this video and just cried. Ron, Seth, Kash, Doug, but most especially Dad and Brady... when I watch this video I immediately think of you and the amazing fathers that you are. 

I love you! Happy Father's Day!

The best recipe for happiness? Memorial Day weekend.

Happy Memorial Day! This time last year Brady and I were on our way to Chile. I can't believe a year has already gone by since that miracle of a trip. This year we're just lounging around and enjoying the extra day we get to have Brady all to ourselves. On Saturday we went to Alki Beach for our family adventure (more on that little ditty later). Brady snapped the cutest shot of Tessa. I know I say that a lot and I know I have some really great shots of that little girl but this one takes the cake:

Let's get a closer look, shall we?

^Just look at that double chin and those plump little cheeks! Irresistible.^ 

What are you doing this Memorial Day?

The best recipe for happiness? Family Videos.

Hello there. I'm sorry for my long absence. We're doing sleep training over here which ends up taking all of this moms time and energy. But I'll blog more about that adventure later. I've honestly missed this little family journal I've created for myself. Writing is my lifeblood and I feel like an empty human shell without it. I guess I should probably update everyone on a couple of things. Brady is on his final rotation at UW, something we're both really relieved about, and he thinks he's finally found the lab he wants to spend the rest of his time in, also something we're relieved about. Tessa is truly the coolest person I know and I find myself wanting to be exactly like her. She's started reaching and it makes my heart soar every time those little arms reach out in my direction. As for me, I'm just doing what moms do best...trying to stay afloat :) We're happy and healthy and love spending as much time together as we all possibly can.

Now for the actual topic of this post.

While visiting Cedar City for Easter we had the chance to take Tessa to see her great grandparents.

We live so far away and weren't sure the next time we'd see them so we wanted to make a visit top priority. It was such a treasure to watch Tessa play with her great grandpa Herman. Herman is the last of our grandpas so we think he's pretty special. Tessa thought he was the best thing since sliced bread. We took a little video so Tessa could remember him always:

And just for fun here's Brady playing his new favorite game with Tessa...bulldozing.

I truly am so grateful for technology. Whenever I go home I always pull out our old family videos and reminisce. I want Tessa to watch her own videos and see how much she was adored and how much she belongs. Hopefully the family videos we're making for Tessa will make her family roots a little deeper and her family ties a little tighter.

The best recipe for happiness? A surprise or two.

Last week we decided to head down to Utah to surprise our families for Easter (the reason for my absence). We packed up our bags and traveled the 14 hour car ride all through the night. It wasn't too bad considering we have a 5 month old whose longest time in her car seat has only ever been a whopping 45 minutes. It was a week full of hugs and kisses, unbearable allergies (thank you Cedar City), hidden easter baskets, and family togetherness. Tessa ate up all the attention she got from cousins and aunts and uncles and grandmas... and complete strangers (that girl is a people magnet). I can't tell you how awesome it feels to be back in the "wet." I could just lap up this thick, moist air. Delicious. Here is a video of Tessa in her new bouncer to hold you off until my next post.

It only took one time watching mom bounce across the room for this little girl to realize what she needed to do to make her bouncer work. She catches on quick. We've both been bouncing all day :) 

The best recipe for happiness? A little Christmas spirit in March (Part II).

^Every man in Seattle seems to have a beard. I think it looks pretty darn good on my hubby.^

^Brady built this huge train track around the tree. It wound through presents and under the couch and even went up a ramp. Pretty awesome.^

^I made Brady take pictures of my favorite ornaments. I was so in love with that glass ballerina. Someday, maybe Tessa will be my little ballerina. One can only hope.^

^Since we never seemed to get the chance to take newborn pictures we had a special photo shoot with Tessa. Isn't she just precious!^

I can't tell you how much I love this picture of two grown men playing with an old train set. Here's why I love it. One of my "must haves" on my list for my future husband was that he had to be invested in his children. I thought Brady could be that way but I wasn't sure. Then I met Ron (Brady's dad). A couple evenings with Ron and I knew Brady was the right man. Ron is as invested in his children as someone could possibly be. He never missed a game, a choir concert, or a dance recital. Wherever his kids are in the house, you'll find Ron. He knows how to play and he genuinely loves being around his family. Brady is 25 years old and Ron will still take him out back to play catch. I knew that Brady would love my children and nurture them always because he grew up experiencing that. I love this picture so much because it shows perfectly the kind of dad Ron is and the kind of dad Brady will be.  

The best recipe for happiness? A little Christmas spirit in March.

I never really had the chance to document our adventures during Christmas on the blog. Or maybe I had the chance but I just didn't take it. Pretty sure it's the latter. As sad as it is that it's March and I'm just starting to post about Christmas, it's better late than never, right? Honestly, Tessa and I have been singing "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer" since December anyway so it's pretty much like the holidays never ended. The main reason I'm doing this though is because I realized Grandma and Grandpa Johnson never got to see Tessa's first Christmas. No bueno! Isn't technology wonderful? I love that not only am I able to capture those moments but I'm also able to share them with people states away. Here are a couple of videos from Christmas morning:

^Tessa's Christmas pajamas were for a six-month-old so that's why her legs look unnaturally long :)^ 

^I don't know why I had her swaddled. One of my many "first time mom" hiccups.^

Thanks for the fun day Houston family and I'm glad, in a way, you get to experience it with us Johnson family! Happy it's-march-but-we're-still-having-Christmas-on-this-blog-Holidays!

The best recipe for happiness? A valentine from your baby girl.

When Brady came home from work last Thursday this is what he found waiting for him on the front door:

Happy Valentines Day Daddy!

Love Tessa!

P.S. Mommy had to help me hold the crans (crayons) 

cuz I poked myself in the eye with one 

and tried to eat the other! 

Family Trees

I've been thinking a lot about families lately. It's really cool how they just grow and grow. Sometimes I think family trees should be called family weeds instead because they grow so fast but that doesn't sound as nice, does it? 

It's amazing how you can go from two people like this:

To a group like this:

Which eventually turns to this: 

And it's just going to keep getting bigger! Isn't that awesome? Family is such a wonderful thing. I just love this particular family to pieces and they sure love us "newer" members just as much. 

Especially this little one :)

This and that (Thanksgiving 2012 cont.).

Its been a LONG time since my family has had family photos. Luckily Brady was willing to take some shots for us. Here are some highlights from our photo shoot

^^^Sisters: Kate, Marie, Jenny and Jodie^^^

 ^^^In my 9th grade art class I chose a picture of my sisters and I flexing to paint. It's currently hanging in my parent's kitchen. For some reason my parents love it and wanted us to reenact it :) ^^^

 ^^^The women: Abi, Marie, Kate, Jenny, Jodie, Mary Ann and Kendra. Kendra and I dwarf everyone. ^^^

 ^^^The famous grandkids with grandparents shot. Always harder to take than we think it's going to be. Mary's smile is sure cute, though.^^^ 

 ^^^Brothers: Seth, Andrew and Barry.^^^

^^^The Men: Brady, Seth, Andrew, Don, Barry, Doug and Kash. Apparently I picked the worst one but I'm too lazy to upload a better one. Sorry men.^^^

Click here for the first Thanksgiving this and that post. 

This and that (Thanksgiving 2012).

There are a lot of years between my siblings and I. Barry (the second youngest) and I are seven years apart so for awhile it felt like I was an only child. We used to get together pretty often during the holidays and then for some reason we just stopped. I remember during high school just wishing we'd all stay together in a big house for a couple of days playing games, eating food, opening presents and...well...just being together. This year, after nagging my parents constantly, my dream finally came true. We all crammed together in a big house in Utah, ate lots of food and just sat around soaking each other in. I was beyond excited! And guess what! We get to do the same thing in 2014 and every other year after that. Here are some of the highlights from our every-other-year Thanksgiving/Christmas get together :) 

^^^My nephews Jack and Parker or should I say Peter Parker 1 and Peter Parker 2?^^^

^^^Making gingerbread houses with the kids.^^^ 

^^^Mary and Auntie Kendra.^^^

^^^Get a load of that sweet face!^^^

^^^Everyone gathered together for gift giving and decorating the christmas tree. Can I just say my sister Marie is gorgeous? Glad we got a close up :) ^^^

^^^Aubrey and Ashely opening gifts from grandma and grandpa.^^^

^^^Sweet Lizzy.^^^

^^^Hooray for gift giving!^^^

^^^Mom and dad got me all of the Jane Austen movies...NBD :) ^^^

^^^Mary and "baby Sessa." The whole trip she was asking, "Can I hold him? Can I hold him" Pretty dang cute!^^^ 

More "This and that" posts to come. It was a really great Thanksgiving/Christmas. Wouldn't you agree Spider Man? 

An afternoon with daddy.

On the 20th Brady, Tessa and I had my parents house to ourselves. Remember in this post how I talked about how much I loved watching Melissa and Brady together? Well I think I found something I love watching even more. I got to spend the whole afternoon snapping shots of Tessa and Brady napping and playing with daddy's guitar. My life is so blessed.

^^^Daddy had a little photo shoot with Tessa (more of those pictures to come)^^^

^^^Mommy trying to get pictures like daddy got in this post^^^

And now for my all time favorite pics:

Tessa loves to dance and sing along when dad plays his guitar. 

From the Houstons.

In a one horse open sleigh.

Yesterday we went to temple square with my family for a carriage ride and hot chocolate. My gosh it was fun! Seattle only had a handful of houses with christmas lights and we left all our christmas decorations here in Utah so it hasn't really felt like Christmas until now. It was so nice to be able to go to temple square and just be surrounded by the lights and festivities. My mom and my sister bought extra hot chocolate to give to some of the freezing performers and homeless people outside. It made me realize that the feeling of christmas doesn't necessarily come from the lights and laughter and festivities around us. It comes from remembering Christ, and at the very least remembering what he taught. Thank you mom and Jodie for making it feel more like Christ-mas instead of just christmas. May we all take time this season to reach for the hands that hang low and lift up the hearts that seem heavy. Just like the Savior did.

Here are just a few of the pictures we took:

^^^Mary and her black eye. Mary-zero Swinging gate-one^^^

 ^^^Macy's had an awesome window display! Those ornaments are made completely of candy. It literally gave me cavities there was so much candy.^^^

 ^^^It looks like I'm just carrying an empty snow suit but I promise Tessa was somewhere in there. It was a little too big, I guess :)^^^

 ^^^He may seem like just a regular boy but under that blue coat is his spiderman outfit. Yes, Peter Parker took a break from saving the city to ride in a carriage around temple square.^^^

 ^^^Brady and I call this boy "Big Ben." Seriously, by the time this kiddo is one he'll be the same size as Jack.^^^

^^^Jack's lyrics to "Jingle Bells":

jingle bells,

smatman smells,

rothers raised an egg.

batmobile lost a wheel and the joker got away.

(delayed) hey!^^^

^^^See, I told you there was a baby in there!^^^ 

I'm so grateful for my little family and for this holiday season.