You are currently browsing the monthly archive for January 2012.
Well, folks, our tag line has changed. We used to say, we have three kids under the age of 2. Now, we move up a year. We have three kids 3 and under. We always thought the number 2 had more impact when telling people about our situation. However, a 2 year old does not describe Ava anymore. Wow…has she entered her 3s in more ways than one! So, it was time for this household to turn itself inside out and become Mickey, or should we say, Minnie’s Clubhouse!
This pass Sunday, we as parents, couldn’t believe that our little girl is now 3. Every parent says that…but, wow have we progressed in more ways than one. So, when you asked Ava what kind of party she wanted, she said, “We are having a Minnie party, because my daddy loves Minnie.” Not sure where she got that, but everyone thought it was a riot.
So, we sent out Minnie party invites to family, put up Minnie decorations all over the house (including wall decals no less.) Ava proudly picked out her decorations at the store. Mom really wanted the cute “ears” birthday cake done in pink polka dots, but Ava wanted all of the Clubhouse friends on the cake. (We compromised…the first of many discussions between a mother and daughter. Actually, we couldn’t find a cake with everyone on it.) Mom and dad even got the jumbo Minnie balloon. Of course, Ava has a detail oriented mother, so all the food was done in Minnie theme as well.
To our beautiful little spit fire, Ava…you make mommy and daddy so proud. You amaze us each day, and we ooze love for your adorable personality. You have a lot to teach your younger sisters. We love you! Here is to year 3! We hear it is a wild ride.
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Here is a post that got lost through it all during Christmas. Man…I wish these three little helpers really had the power to perform these skills!
During the Holidays…
Well, after being released from the hospital, we realized we have a lot to accomplish before Christmas! So, our three little helpers tried their best…(if only their cleaning skills were real!)
Ava has been a very patient and good big sister. And, she has’t gotten a lot of attention from mom and dad these days. So, we let her open one early little Christmas present. She was so excited! Brian thought I was absolutely crazy for purchasing this “present”. It was a little cleaning set (broom, dustpan, swiffer, mop, and supplies). As a mom, it is really annoying when she wants to help and whips our large cleaning supplies around the furniture! She is always wanting to get out the big broom!
Well, I can attest…the present was a hit. Now, I know what you are thinking…are you trying to turn your daughter into you? No…she just loves to clean. What can I say? She is after my own heart. I just wish her cleaning skills really did provide results. She cleaned all night long, and it has lasted several days. Again, let me say…I wish she actually did the cleaning! She even had to place all of her supplies by her bed at night.
The girls are mommy’s little helpers. But, sometimes, they create more messes than clean up!
After my own heart
The power that could be, if all three really cleaned!
...and to top it off, she made dinner!
Today was a special day. One that we will remember for a long time, even if Ava won’t. Today, Ava got a special outing with mommy and daddy. All week we had prompted her that she was going to get a BIG surprise! We gave her hints everyday. Here were her hints:
1. We are going some place else.
2. There will be a stage.
3. You will know some one on the stage.
4. There will be lots of colored lights.
5. Whoever is on stage is furry.
We talked about the surprise here and there during the week. She knew that the twins couldn’t go, as they were too small. One night when mommy and Ava were talking, Ava replied: “Mommy, I know Elmo, Cookie Monster, Big Bird, Ernie and Bert. Maybe they will be on stage.”
Okay, either Ava is psychic, on to us, or it’s just ironic. Yep…that’s right, she got to go to Elmo Live! with mommy and daddy today. Mommy was actually super excited. She went as a little girl with her daddy and sister, and still remembers how excited she felt that day. Mommy has been waiting to take Ava since she was born.
It was just a pure joy as a parent to watch Ava’s reactions finding out where she was going, watching the show, singing the songs, and dancing to the music. And, in typical Petersen girl fashion, she wanted the fun, expensive toy. So, her parents succombed to her wish. It was fun having a day with just her. We are thankful for Auntie Danielle who watched the teething, and ever so NOT sleeping twins!
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Well, it is a new year! Happy New Year! The Johnson household survived! That is what we are calling 2011! It was the year of survival. We didn’t know how we would handle 3 kids under the age of two. We are happy to report that we learned A LOT of lessons, perfected our patience levels, and received a lot of love and joy!
This year, we hope to “take back control”. Well, control might be a strong word to use. Our hope is to make 2012 a year where we get a better “handle on things”. And…this blog being one of them. We realized we slipped a number of times this year. (In December, we had 4 posts drafted, but they never made it to publishing…the holidays and kids took over!)
We also hope for a healthy year. The girls are happy and healthy little larks right now. It makes for a very happy mommy and daddy. We’ll see how long we can hold out, as we returned to daycare today.
As we continue to work on and refine our other resolutions, we figured we are only six days late on this post! We hope this post finds you healthy, happy and joyous! Please know that we treasure your support and friendship. Thanks for getting us through the year! You loves means so much.
Christmas Part 1
Why are there parts to Christmas? Well, the girls had MULTIPLE Christmases and a lot of spoiling by loved ones! This post will focus on the Johnson side (Petersen side coming), as it was the “Johnson” Christmas this year. That means, the Johnson side got us for the actual holiday. It rotates every year. It will be interesting to see how this changes, as more in-laws are entering the mix.
Dave, Wendi, Kelli and Little Dave (we really need to find him a good nickname!) arrived at our house on December 23rd. Full Christmas traditions got underway on the 24th! Ava frosted cookies with Grammie. And, boy did she love that! The boys got a day out (as the girls got a day out on the 26th). They went golfing (simulation-don’t be fooled, we do live in Nebraska). And, then they went out to lunch and a scotch bar, (nothing like cheering it up for the holdiay, huh?). What did the women do…19th century stuff…what women always get stuck doing…cooking and taking care of the kids! No fear, the boys got payback on the 26th! We did appetizers and soups for dinner. Then it was off to church we went. The girls did fabulous. They danced in the pews to music. When a picture of baby Jesus appeared on screen, our little Ava was the first to belt out…”That’s Baby Jesus!”
After church, the twins went to bed. No mommy or daddy wants cranky twins for Christmas. Ava got to open her some presents and prepare her snack for Santa. We were very excited about that. We also had to say good-bye to Smurky (see previous post). After the kids were all nestled in their beds, dreaming of sugar plums…the boys got the ultimate Christmas Eve experience. They had to put together the Santa gift…a walk-in kitchen! You ask why this wasn’t done beforehand…because it was so big, Ava would have totally seen it. And, you ask, why a big one? The pictures will explain why. How many guys does it take to screw in the bolts? Mommy will point out that Big Dave had to tell the boys to read the directions, as they were already doing some things wrong!
Here are some pictures of the weekend:
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