catching up

We have had an awesome summer so far. Here are some of our favorite moments - and some normal ones too.

The three Johnson girls in their 4th of Jully get up -

check out the matching hair pretties - benefit of having a baby with hair :)

and Brian's new summer interest (some might say obsession) is triathlons.

He decided, kind of on a whim, to try one in June the week of and did great.

He has done two so far with another one coming up in September. He

is amazing, is enjoying his training and the kids love to cheer him on.

Here are the older three Johnson Kiddos waiting for him to

finish his run and cross the finish run.

Brian approaching the finish line.

Kedzie snuggled in her blankie

one of her 1st smiles caught on camera!

I took the kiddos to a Concerts on the Square - Kedzie

slept most of the time and M, Aa, A & I played

lots of rounds of UNO. We even had a strangers compliment

how well behaved the kids are!!!!

On our yearly trip up north has gotten even more fun now

that Uncle Dave and Auntie Lex have a boat. Here

is Aria and cousin Charlie waiting for a wild ride

in the tube.

Kedzie is 1 month old!

I will spare you the whole "I can't believe my baby is a month already" schpeel, but just know it is there.

As of the 17th, Kedzie is one month old and it has FLOWN by. She has slipped right into our family, feels like she totally belongs and has just always been here. She is, luckily being the 4th, a "go with the flow" baby. She is sleeping pretty good, loves to snuggle, is starting to focus on faces, and is facinated with the kids. She has already been on plenty of outings in her short little life and has been a trooper the whole time.

Like most babies, she lost weight in the beginning, but is now back to her birth weight and doing well. She checks out perfectly from the Doctor adn is the sweetest thing ever.

Here are some photos of our first month together.

A sweet sleeping baby girl

Her 1st bath at home.

She is a big fan of the warm water.

Her 1st official outing to Mulu's baseball game.

(he is on the Yankees team, hence the hat - we haven't

totally given up on the Brewers yet)

all swaddled up for beddy bye

snuggle time with big sister Aaliyah

Kedzie at 1 month old

All four adorable Johnson Kiddos

Welcome Kedzie Danielle

On Tuesday, May 17th our Johnson Family officially became a half dozen, when a beautiful baby girl was born.

Kedzie Danielle Johnson
born May 17th 8:48 am
9 pounds, 12 ounces
20.5 inches long

Checking into the hospital around 6pm Monday night.

Thumbs up from Mama

an excited Daddy and Mama eager to meet

their baby girl

skip ahead 14 hours . . . .

welcome Kedzie Danielle

check out all that black hair!

her 1st group of visitors

a.k.a. the ladies at the door

happy parents and beautiful baby

our 1st photo as a family of 6!

my hero and my baby

proud big brother Mulu and Kedzie


Aaliyah and Kedzie

Aria and Kedzie

The Johnson Kiddos

in her car seat ready to leave the hospital

but before we head home, one quick stop . . .

cue the lion king music!

you can also see the photos the hospital took at:

http://www.our365.com/NewbornPortraits/BabyDetail.aspx?birthid=b7fd06f9-6909-48b7-80ac-295f381d3ab5

Mulu is 9!

In April, Mulu had his 9th birthday. He continues to be a kind, sweet and loving young boy who amazes us every day. He is doing amazing in the 3rd grade at his new school, getting rave reviews from all his teachers. He is very active - loving most things sports (hip hop dance, baseball, soccer and him and his dad started doing 5k runs this past year together).


Turning 9 this year was big for him - realizing that this is his last year that his age will only have one number. He was excited for months planning his birthday activities - changing his plans almost everyday (wanting to make it perfect). He ended up deciding that on his actual birthday he wanted his "special dinner" to be at his favorite Ethiopian restaurant. So we met his grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins to eat fabulous food, returning to our place for gifts and cake.

Then rather than have a big group of friends over for a party, he chose to have two friends over and have a whole day doing "boy stuff". It was supposed to include mountain biking, but snow and 30 degree weather in the middle of April put a damper on that, so instead they went roller blading, to taco bell, to see "Diary of a Wimpy Kid 2" and then back here for laser tag and cake. The day included lots of sugar, giggling and fun - exactly like he had hoped.

Here are some photos of the two events:

Mulu excited for everyone to come to the restaurant

The whole group

Me, the Johnson kiddos and Cousin Charlie

Mulu & Aaliyah - just too cute not to include

the nice watiress brought him a piece of cake to the table

(you can see Aaliyah and Cousin Charlie "blowing in spirit" behind him)

His requested baseball cake

Him and his buddies after the movie

and yes, another cake (he scored nicely on cakes this year)

Happy Birthday Aaliyah

The beginning of March brought Aaliyah's birthday. She turned 6. SIX!?!?!?!? yes, six. I can't even believe it.

So, a little about Aaliyah and her 6 year old self. She is almost 3/4 through her Kindergarten year and, not surprisingly, is doing wonderful. She is a reading fool - shocking me almost every night with the books that come home for her to read. She is a sweet friend, a great sister and a confident little girl.

She still has those "trying to figure out the world" eyes that we could see in the very first picture we saw of her (at 6 weeks old). She is always observing, watching and contemplating & picks up on most of what is happening around her. She loves hip hop dance class, is taking a cooking class (still loving to cook the food way more than eat it), enjoys swimming and playing outside.

This year for her birthday instead of having a big extended family & family friend party she got to choose a friend's party. We had is at her dance studio and the kids had a marvelous time! Then we had her grandparents, aunts & uncles over for a small celebration here at the house (she got to choose the menu - mac & cheese & jello . . . . sorry guys)

Birthday girl opening her gifts on her birthday

(before a birthday trip to urgent care -

smiling even when really sick)

cupcakes for her hip hop party

the kiddos learning their dance routine

and the pose after performing for the parents

at the end of the party

more gifts . . .

and her birthday cake

(sorry for the accidental belly shot - that is just

how we roll these days)

Revealing Party

As many of you know, our family is expecting Johnson Kiddo #4 in mid May. We are all thrilled and eagerly finishing home projects and getting ready for the baby to come.

When I was pregnant with Aria, I did NOT want to find out what we were having, and Brian did . . . but I won. So, this time I said he got to choose if we found out the gender or not. He chose to find out, so we planned a "revealing party" to announce our news with our kids and family.

We had a nice supper, making everyone wonder and wait . . hee hee . . . and then I asked everyone to pick a side. Boy or Girl.

Here is the group that thought the baby was a boy

and here is team Girl

To announce our news I had baked a cake and used food coloring to make the cake part either pink or blue. I then, very carefully to not leave any clues, frosted it with white frosting and put multi colored sprinkles on it. My plan was to have our three kids dig in with their hands, break it open, and reveal boy or girl. Aaliyah didn't want to do the messy part, but Mulu and Aria were game.

Cake in the middle, ready to be pounced on -

Mulu trying to see if he can find any hints

digging in, and . . . .

PINK

IT"S A GIRL!!!!

I did make pink cupcakes with pink frosting for the rest to enjoy

(no one really wanted to partake in the revealing cake

once Mulu was done with it)

and a belly shot

this was actually on Super Bowl Sunday,

just had to share