The Life and Times of What is Happening in the Johnson Household
Sometimes the Johnson household isn’t too exciting. But, Ava always finds ways to create fun, laughter, and joy.
Mom, have you seen this message!
Ava likes digging through mom's purse!
Staring Contest with Slim Shady
**Special Note: No, Crystal has not caved in and the Johnsons did not get a pet. It’s her parent’s outdoors cat.
A new hair do after taking a nap (yes, we took a nap!)
What, you don't think this is a good look for me? Man, I thought I was on to something...
Wow…where did the last nine months go? It’s hard to believe in 3 very short months, our daughter is going to be 1 year old. She has definitely filled our home with joy and a love that we didn’t know existed.
Recently, we had Ava’s 9 month pictures taken. However, due to copyright laws, we can’t post them…so Poppi Petersen got out his camera for us. Man, do we love when Poppy takes pictures! They haven’t been photoshopped yet, but there are some that are real keepers. There were too many to put in a posting, so please visit the Ava at 9 Months page on the right.
Here’s an update:
Well, not much has happened this week. Ava has been mostly in recovery mode from our wild last week adventure. She feels so much better…and momma and dada are very happy the steroids have left her body. While she is such a sweet girl and the happiest baby on the planet…steroids made her a crazy lady! We did not have a good Halloween. We were very grumpy! Here are some of her recovery activities…
Crazy lady heading back to daycare...
Much better, going to celebrate Halloween
Halloween Day...not a happy camper!
Mowing with Daddy!
Tried a sample of pudding...
...and liking it!
We are not on table foods yet, but mommy let her try some pudding… and my did we like that! And, don’t mind the bow. Momma was trying to have some fun…the girl needs to grow some hair!
Cute as a bug!
Our little snuggle bug!
Our exploring ladybug!
Perched Pretty
Well, the Johnsons went through a scary week. And, we are not talking about Halloween festivites. On Monday evening, Ava had developed some hives. As thorough parents, we were racking our heads trying to think of how she got these hives. Was it from a weed outside (she took Halloween costume pictures outside)? No, she was covered head to toe. Was it a food? No, she ate all of the same things she had been eating. Was is an outfit that didn’t get washed? Possibly.
That night was not pretty for momma. Ava was so restless, she wouldn’t stay still. The only way she would sleep was if mom was holding her on her chest. Great. Mom and Ava slept sitting up on the couch from 3am to 6am. We are back to our newborn days! The next morning, she seemed to be doing pretty well. The rash was there, but not spreading. It was just blotchy, and Ava was in good spirits. So, we sent her to daycare with specific instructions. It wasn’t even an hour later and daycare called. We had produced a slight fever, and the rash was rapidly developing. So, off momma went to get Ava and head to the doctor.
The doctor said it was a classic case of the hives. Though we couldn’t pinpoint it at that time, we think she is allergic to Penicillin, which is found in Amoxicillin (she was on it for a nasty cold she couldn’t get rid of.) So, we got placed on a new cold medication and some Benadryl. Off we went home to try and recover. (And, for all you mommies out there…I know the pharmacist already freaked out on me for giving my child Benadryl. Children under the age of 2 aren’t suppose to have it. But, she was on a special dosage.)
Here is what we looked like with hives, but wait, the story continues…
Mommy, something is on me that itches...
This isn't a good look, is it?
So, that night, as in typical fashion, we had a hard time staying asleep. This time, we were up at 3am. We had a fever, and mom freaked out. It was like the hives took over Ava’s entire body. We were definitely worse. However, we got back to sleep. Mom thought at one point about heading to the ER. Mom immediately in the morning started calling friends for advice (they have been through this before)…does this get worse before it gets better was the big question. Benadryl wasn’t doing a thing!! The fever wasn’t breaking, she was incrediblity hot to the touch, and the list goes on and on. So, we called the doctor again. Ava was in rare form, and mommy felt terrible!
Off to the doctor we went (for the 4th time in 2 weeks)! The doctor had no idea the hives were going to take this kind of direction. Of course, Ava has some really long medical term that can’t be described, as we can’t even pronounce it or repeat all the 26 letters mixed up to compose the word. Basically, she had a severe drug reaction…classic symptoms. So, it is Penicillin that she is allergic to. Case closed. However, the symptoms can get more severe, so we are suppose to keep an eye on her. That isn’t too hard to do these days. But, geez…we didn’t want it to get worse than what it was…
Here is what it escalated to, but these pictures DO NOT do it justice!
Mom, I am not happy!
Have you ever seen Ava not in good spirits?
Ava was put on some steroids. We gave her an Aveeno bath to help with relief. Her fever finally broke. We actually got some sleep last night. The steroids defnitely make her act a little crazy though. Ava is the happiest baby on the planet. It was hard to see her in this shape. These last few days definitely tested us all. We are on the uphill swing now…the roids are doing Ava well.
Background story: Ava has been on Amoxicillin once before, and we had no problems. However, the allergy can appear at anytime in life, but usually shows its signs on the 7th day of taking it. True to form, on the 7th day, Ava got all the classic symptoms. Brian and I were not aware of any family allergies. Later we discovered, Grammie Johnson has this allergy, as well as Great Grandma Vosika. There you have it!
Well, it has been a doozy of a couple of days. Ava has had a massive allergic reaction to Penicillin. (More to come on that later). So, mommy and daddy have had their hands full with a little sick one. It’s been a test of strength!
Prior to getting sick, we took Ava to a pumpkin patch. While we know Ava won’t remember it, mommy definitely wanted some fall pictures. There were too many to pick from to post…so we made a page. Please click on the left: Ava at the Pumpkin Patch. Enjoy!
Brian and Crystal headed back this past weekend to where it all started, Augustana College. It was the college’s homecoming. One of the big celebrations was the new, beautiful football stadium that was built on campus. It was the first time in 50 years, where all of the homecoming festivities returned to campus. And, in typical Sioux Falls fashion, the weather was cold. Now, it has been much colder, but our bones weren’t use to the first drop in the temperatures this season.
We all know who Ava looks like….not her mother! However, Ava is completely her mother’s daughter….she hates the cold! We did our best to buddle her up, and only stayed for a small portion of the game. While we are the Augustana Vikings, in “our day” there was such a thing as Augie Doggie. Ava wore her doggie hat. (She HATES things on her head, so it is amazing it stayed on the whole time. She refused to wear her doggie mittens.)
Social butterfly...already making friends!
Viking People!
Snuggling with mommy!
Braving the cold...but still taking it all in!
Well, as you can tell from the blog…we have been pretty busy! Crystal headed out to Seattle for a business trip, Brian has been in quarter end for his job (and got a new position in Kiewit), Crystal started a little side adventure called Posterity Place, Ava has been growing, flirting with boys at Kindermusik, and came down with a cold. The list could go on and on, but I won’t bore you with our day to day routines. Needless to say, we need to get back to blogging. This weekend, we are headed up to Sioux Falls, SD for Viking Days at Augustana. Ava will get to see her Grammie and Grandpi Johnson. We’ll be sure to get some photos of our little Viking for you. In the meantime, this oldie but goodie will have to do. She is about a month older now. She is changing by the minute…
Ava and her Poodle Polly
We just had to share this picture of Ava! We have been going for walks at night, and we have been bundling Ava up, as fall is in the air. For the first part of the walk, she is always looking around, being her nosey little self. She likes to take it all in. But, as the night grows dark a lot quicker, Ava knows it is almost bedtime. She snuggled down in the stroller for a nice little snooze. We just thought it was too cute not to post. Hapy napping!
Snoozing away...
So cozy...
After dinner one night, Ava wanted to perform some tricks. She loves it when daddy plays with her!
Here I go!
Wahoo! This is great!
I can do a tiger in the air...almost!
Smooth Landing...
Ava hasn’t started crawling yet, much less wants to. She doesn’t enjoy being on her tummy. However, she absolutely loves standing and trying to walk. We think we might have an early walker on our hands.
I love this...crawling is for the birds!
