The best recipe for happiness? Baby on board.

So I promised occasional posts during our cruise not realizing that I'd have NO service the entire trip. It was nice to get away from my phone/computer for a week but it did mean no posts. So sorry. I'm currently in the process of collecting pictures from family so I will have more to show. Brady and I decided we'd rather soak it all in than take pictures, which was awesome in the moment but not so awesome when you're trying to remember it all and show your family everything you did. While I'm working on the posts from the cruise, here are some pictures of my adorable baby. The first few days were really difficult for Tessa but she gradually got used to the new faces and new noises around her. She's such a little trooper.

The best recipe for happiness? Alaskan cruise!

Bon Voyage! Today we're embarking on an amazing adventure to Alaska with Brady's family. We couldn't be more excited! See you in 8 days. We'll have occasional updates during the week so be sure to stop by again!

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!

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.