sittin' on up!

peyton is almost 5 months old, and more fun than ever! she loves to smile and laugh (squeel, really...) and is starting to sit without help! she loves laying on her tummy playing with toys, and laying on her back chewing on toes! she has a favorite dvd already ("praise baby"--which has been a total life saver on a few occasions!) and loves when we sing songs to her and make faces her way. she watches us get ready every morning, and can't get enough of the june bug right now. it's so fun to see her take it all in! some days she likes books, some days she's over them, but we keep trying! she's starting to really like bathtime, as it's now just become another time to play, only this time, with water! needless to say, it's a somewhat messy event to get clean... here are a few pics of the growing (sitting) munchkin.

transitions

it's an understatement to say things have changed for josh and i over the past few months.

no doubt has having a baby introduced a whole other level of magnificent chaos, but as if that weren't enough, our own lives have endured some big changes as well. our little baby girl is four and a half months old. for the first three months, i got to spend every hour of every day with her, as the lovely state of california funded my time with her. thank you, maternity leave! the worst part about maternity leave? it ends. i truly believe that the transition of going back to working full time has been more challenging than becoming a first time mom. having a baby and not working was CAKE. having a baby and working--now THAT's been interesting.

my three months at home were probably easier than most stay-at-home mom's job, though. i knew i'd be going back to work, so i essentially "lived it up" by doing whatever i wanted, whenever i wanted. we still ate out (so i never cooked), we still had someone come clean our house (so i never had to), and we still shopped as if we had two incomes (which we did...), so i was never challenged to be creative with our money and life as a mom was so new that i never just got bored or tired of being with peyton. my biggest worry was probably going through the mail on a daily basis. but during this time, my daughter learned to love the mall and any restaurant that someone would ooo and ahh at her. that's my girl......

going back to work wasn't over the top tough--my morning's start a little earlier since we have to get the munchkin ready and take her to grandma's, and my evenings are now devoted to preparing for the next day, but being at the office is--dare i say it--fun. the challenge in the whole transition has been that overall feeling of not getting enough of my little peyton. i get 15-30 minutes with her in the morning, then another 2-3 hours at night, of which we find a nap somewhere in there. that, compared to my 24/7 best friend from months 0-3, has been a struggle. josh assures me that she knows who i am, and that i know her better than anyone in this world, and i'm glad he does, because there are days that i'm doubtful. so, my current focus is on finding creative ways to squeeze more time in with her. the occasional work-from-home afternoon or lunch-date with peyton and my mom seem to be helping, but this is one thing that's going to take some serious getting used to. so, i struggle, but i endure. i think this is where God wants our family to be right now. and i know my mom sure likes it!!

josh, on the other hand, has had his own transition to work through. of course, daddy-dom requires more from him than owning a dog did, and he's handled it with beauty and grace (not surprised one bit...) but he's changed jobs in the middle of all this. on june 30th he had his last day at his old job, and on july 1st he started his new one. can we say BLESSED?! in this economy, we really weren't sure if petyon would be experiencing a stay-at-home-daddy lifestyle or what... (not that josh would have minded getting all that time with the little one...) his new job is going really well. but a job change is just that--a CHANGE. and with change comes stretching, growing, and a little cramping. learning a new business and a new company is exciting, but keeps him on his toes. funny enough, though, we are right back where we started. his company is moving, and my company is managing their relocation. so, low and behold, just like we met the first time, josh and i are at one enterprise in aliso viejo flirting across the conference table as we meet with numerous execs and industry vendors. I'M LOVING EVERY MINUTE OF IT! you can ask josh how he feels... the same, I'M SURE OF IT... right, babe? it definitely is funny, though, to see how far we've come. this time we know our flirting will get us somewhere at the end of the day ;-) after all, he IS my favorite client! and i'll venture to say i'm his favorite project manager.

peyton has her own set of changes. going from hanging with mom all day to hanging with grandma all day has been a change, but she seems to love it! she's also been going to the church nursery on sundays, and will start to be with grandma lynette and grandpa don on monday nights, as she's all too distracting for bible study with her bubble blowing and noise making cuteness. josh and i are always running around town with her on the weekends, but on the weeknights, we do a pretty good job of staying home and keeping to somewhat of a routine. i like to think she has a good balance of activity, rest, excitement, and relaxation. i also like knowing she is comfortable with all sorts of people, although i'm starting to see hints of a momma's girl here and there (which i secretly relish in... but know will be tough to manage if it becomes a habit).

so, for now, we keep chugging along. we are enjoying the heck out of our family time, and work hard while we are away from each other. and we stay nimble, because it seems like "transition" is our middle name these days. josh, gigi, and peyton transition johnson.

from the heart,

gigi

4 Months Old!

Four months old! Can you believe how fast time flies??? It seems like just yesterday our little girl was swaddled like a burrito and sleeping a majority of the day. Now she's up smiling, playing, rolling over and standing (with mom and dad's assistance of course.)!! Pretty soon she'll be mobile and June will have to be on the lookout for hair pulling and tail tugging.

Our little Peyton had her four month check-up today and got the A-OK from the doctors. She's 15 lbs., 24 inches tall, and all sorts of CUTE. It seems that almost everyday we notice something about her that is just like mom or dad. It is unbelievable how awesome it is to see something fairly unique about yourself show up as a trait in your child. Gigi has taken many pictures of Peyton and I sleeping next to each other in the EXACT same position. I am constantly reminded that Peyton and Gigi are linked because they both can spread their toes apart and I cannot.

This little miracle we call our daughter has taken over our lives (rightly so) and we cannot stop doting over her every spit, squeal, burp, fart, laugh, and cry. We are getting her ready as I type this to take her to her first Angels baseball game. It's not the Lakers, but I figure if she can handle baseball, she can handle the good sports easily!

Off we go!!!!

stand by to stand by.

it saddens me that i haven't had enough time to post entries lately :-( life is just like that, right now. fortunately, though, life is BEYOND FULFILLING these days, so i really can't complain.


my goal is to write about a few topics i've had on my mind lately... so, here's the list, and we'll see if/when i can get around to these.

1) transitions for the johnson fam - josh's job, my job, peyton's day job of entertaining family...
2) the effects of baby on marriage - yes...we are indeed learning what "it's not just the two of us anymore" means. ALL GOOD STUFF, but learning TONS.
3) picture of the munchkin - been meaning to post a few of p's photos from our photographer friends dani and kristy, even though some are from months ago :-(
4) a day in the life - because our schedule these days is just plain ridiculous.
5) lessons from our church small group - valued and precious monday nights

6) on life as a dad - (i'm not writing this one... trying to convince josh to pull his weight on this little gem of ours...!)

i love and appreciate that we have readers/followers, and as much as i want you to read my upcoming entries, i must state that my true objective is to write stuff i can someday print and look back on. in other words, if you don't care to tune in for a while, no skin off my back :-)

look for peyton's 4 month photo next thursday! she's all cheeks, as usual :8) and until our next blog, follow our short-n-sweets on twitter! click here to follow josh, and click here to follow me!

see you soon!

our happy girl - three months old

while you were out celebrating the 4th of july, we were out celebrating peyton's three month birthday! funny enough, this celebration looks a lot like a 4th of july celebration--a day at the pool with friends and neighbors, some grub on the BBQ, and a few chilled beverages, but we were really celebrating little p! :-) thanks, harrelson fam, for joining in the fun ;-)

peyton reese--you are the most amazing little baby girl a mom and dad could ever ask for. this month, you mastered "tummy time", became an expert babbler, found your hands and permanently attached them to the inside of your mouth, and figured out that if you smile at someone, they can't help but smile and laugh back!! you took your first trip to seattle for uncle kyle and aunt susanna's wedding, and were such a trooper on the plane and at all the activities we threw at you during the weekend. you are sleeping through the night (hitting an 8 and a half hour record last night!) and you are in love with sophie the giraffe, your taggie blankie, and anything that plays music or has lights! but mostly, you continue to be a total pleasure, and the most wonderful addition to our lives. thanks for being you!! we love you, sweet p!

father's day 2011

father's day this year began with peyton and i giving daddy our cards. what a sweet morning it was. (if you look closely you can see her surprise "i love daddy" outfit. the bigger surprise was the subsequent blowout that was the cause for an outfit change...DURING CHURCH. yeah.)



then we went to church where we enjoyed pastor jp's talk about what it means to be a godly father. after church we headed over to josh's parents' house where we celebrated....

...DADDY!!

...GRANDPA JORGE!

...GRANDPA DON!

...and UNCLE MARK!

it was a great day, as is any day spent with family! HAPPY FIRST FATHER'S DAY TO MY JOSH!!

i'm going to be a HCTTFOHTBMOLWMNLWPIOWNSMFBGDAOHWH

for two and a half months, i've had the most wonderful pleasure of caring for my baby girl. i've had the opportunity to experience life as a SAHM. for those of you that don't follow mommy blogs and websites, that stands for Stay At Home Mommy. this new language is taking time to learn, but i'll get there, i'm sure.

i go back to work in two weeks. i go from being a SAHM to being a Head-Case Trying To Figure Out How To Balance My Old Life With My New Life While Pretending I'm Okay With Not Seeing My Favorite Baby Girl During All Of Her Waking Hours. or, as a blogger may put it, a HCTTFOHTBMOLWMNLWPIOWNSMFBGDAOHWH.

no, i'm not struggling with this one bit. why do you ask?

i will say, however, i am VERY fortunate to be going back to a job that i love, a boss that appreciates me, coworkers that make the day a joy, projects that intrigue and challenge me, and clients that...well, let's just say "keep things interesting".... many moms are not so fortunate when faced with the dreadful moment of returning to the work place. with all that great stuff, though, my only question is "why can't peyton come with me?!" she'd be great! i'd put her to work--answering phones, some light filing... maybe making a schedule or a budget for me when i'm in a bind. i think people would appreciate her presence in my meetings. i mean, the coo-ing and the "talking" is getting SO CUTE. i could watch her grow up and teach her plenty of things. she could nap under my desk. heck, i do--why should i not share the space?! i could make sure she goes outside a few times a day, let her scoot around the halls of the office... but mostly, i'd be able to be her main influence, and she'd have no doubt who her mommy is.

because that's what scares me most. what if little P forgets me? if i leave when she wakes up, and get home when she goes to sleep, all i become is the occasional nighttime feeder, and that awful lady that's always changing her clothes when she's half asleep in the morning or mostly asleep at night. everyday for the past 11 weeks i've gotten to stare into this little girls eyes whenever i want and whisper to her how much mommy loves her, and how great mommy thinks she is. and she stares back with a look that says, "yay!" and a little cracked smile. gosh, i love her.

but, i have to go back to work. we knew that before we began the journey that resulted in a wonderful little miracle we call peyton. so, i will. however, there are terms:

- nana and i will both be installing webcams so i can talk to my baby from work every now and then.

- nana has promised that she and peyt will visit me at work for lunch occasionally.

- i am reserving the right to wake my sleeping child at the most unfair times so i can remind her who loves her

- peyton and josh are my first priority, no matter what, so work just better darn fit into that.

- i'm will not work on the weekends. sorry, clients--weekends are for my family.

- i WILL be taking vacations this year. YAY!

- i am reserving the right to add to my terms list whenever i please.

okay, i'm off to publish these so someone else besides me believes they are valid...

i'll be blogging more about the "great going-back-to-work dilemma". more to follow at 11.

thursday night dinners

my mom loves all three of her kids, but any chance she gets to see her big-hearted son, she'll take. so much so, that for the last couple of years, she's offered to cook for rolland every thursday night just so he'll come over to flash those pearly whites her way, stuff his belly, rattle off some facts about his latest dj gig, deny that the last girl she saw him hanging out with was his girlfriend, share his itinerary for his next spontaneous trip across the country, and then leave with that sweet "thanks for dinner, mom--mmmmuahhh--love you--bye" salute a few hours later. she digs it.

well, recently, my older sister, kat, and i decided that thursday night dinner should not be exclusive to rolly. it's just not fair--mom's cooking is THAT good and should be shared. after crashing the party over and over, we now refer to this ritual as "thursday night dinners".

mom was out of town last week visiting her family in puerto rico, so, i decided i would host. rolly was out of town, too, so the taskdidn't seem overly daunting as it wasn't going to be a full house. i'm not great cook, but josh fired up the grill and we served a fairly satisfying meal. we topped it off with root-beer floats, OF COURSE, because what is a meal after 6pm without a root beer float to follow? (hint: something along the lines of "not a meal".)

it's been decided by the council (family) that we will now rotate family dinner nights around the different houses. because how else will we get my brother to swing by?!

kat played with peyton...

i drank some wine...

josh barbecued outside...

dad did a little jiggy... (???)

peyton eventually fell asleep...

and for some reason, everyone thought it was worthy of staring...

here's to more thursday night dinners!

a summer weekend

josh, peyton, june, and i spent saturday afternoon roaming the peninsula at balboa. i just treasure the time the four of us get to spend together.

on sunday, we went swimming at my sister's pool, and again, got to enjoy the amazing weather! we are really loving all these summer activities.

look who won't stop growing! - two months

little peyton is two months old! obviously, growing is her strong suit right now... (shhhh, don't tell her i chose the pic of her with the muffin top... it's just those rolls are TO DIE FOR!) my favorite, though, has the be the toes. she maneuvers those things like her momma does... extra hands that come in "handy" more often than you'd think :-) i'll be teaching her exactly how to master the use of her toes before too long.

peyton's having no trouble smiling these days!! she's quite the cheeser! she loves when you look at her and talk to her--we have conversations all the time. she really likes sitting up these days. if she's awake, she wants to be a part of it all and see what's going on. yikes, i wonder if she'll have the fear of missing out that i do!

this little girl is such a joy. i can't remember life before peyton--she's our world! yes, we are still having the occasional date night, and continue to work on our marriage everyday... sheesh, people...! she's just our most fun toy right now :-)

love you, sweet p! (p.s. hope your first cold goes away fast... it's brutal watching you struggle to breathe through your nose :-/)

memorial day 2011

as in what seems to be tradition now, josh and i hosted a casual memorial day bbq at our community pool. this is becoming one of my favorite holidays--good friends, yummy treats, and great sun!

little p chillin' with grandpa

jimmy and larae hanging out poolside

auntie jess taking peyton for a dip

family time in the water!

angelo and vanessa being sweet together ;-)

yup! we sure did bust out a round or 5 of penny can!

little "hailey boo" having a ball!

uncle josh...being "fun" uncle josh to little man joel.

girl time! :-)

thanks to everyone who made it out for the afternoon. as usual, hoping to make summer barbecues a more typical activity! as always, the more the merrier! :-) join us next time!

my playtime...

have you HEARD the opinions people have about breastfeeding? four words. OH. MY. GOSH. PEOPLE.

since i've become a parent, i've begun to have exposure to the world's thoughts on "everything parenting". a big topic of discussion is breastfeeding. i won't go into the details, you can google it for yourself and get an abundance of differing opinions. me, personally? i thank the Lord every day that i'm physically able to breastfeed my daughter. it's not easy, and it's not for everyone, but peyton seems to like it, i love the benefits of it, and daddy loves the money it saves us!! so for now, baby gets teet :-)

now for the contraversial part. yes, i nurse in public places. i try to consider others--for example, i do my best to not nurse over someone's dinner at a restaurant (although, family has had the unfortunate chance to experience this), or hold off a while if there is a more well-suited place to do it, like a "family's room" or "mother's room", but i'm not afraid. it's not because i can't pump. it's not because i don't have bottles of milk at home.

it's because when i'm done, i can turn my hooter-hider around and play superhero for a few minutes while someone else burps my child.

on parenting

last week, on one of our morning walks, i made the decision to go ahead and push it a little harder, as my 6-week-post-partum date was approaching. (for those of you unfamiliar with what that date signifies--it's the goal date for which "all normal activities may resume". that's right--ALL NORMAL ACTIVITIES! get your mind out of the gutter--i'm just excited to work out again!!) therefore, that morning walk eventually turned into a morning jog. yay!!

it was quite the sight, really. peyton was in the jogger, june was on her "short leash" (yes, kind of like the short bus, but without all the window licking), and i was "jogging" as if i'd never run a step in my life. we started with a super slow pace, because i didn't want to overdo anything, ya know, in case i accidentally broke a sweat or something strange like that... and within a tenth of a mile june shot me a look that seemed to say, 'i thought we were done with this nonsense of running at an uncomfortably slow pace when you got yourself knocked up, mom!' i tried to ignore it and keep going, but another tenth of a mile later she flat out STOPS. she does this lately, thinking she's the one who decides where and when our walks are over, and i like to think i can pep talk her out of it. but this time, i couldn't. nothing i said got her to move.

"june, you LOVE being outside. what's going on?"

"june, don't'ya wanna get rid of all this pent up energy you have?"

"june, see this tummy? mommy NEEDS to run. seriously."

"june, there's a bunny farm at the end of the trail."

nothing was working. so, i did what any good dog owner would do. i thought real hard, identified her biggest insecurity, and capitalized on it. she hates to be left alone, so i dropped the leash and ran away from her, leaving her and her attitude behind.

she followed me.

i won! but the bigger victory was that i picked up yet another valuable lesson in parenting. because dog ownership is how i acquire all my parenting skills.

one month old today!

*peyton reese*

you are the most wonderful and amazing gift your dad and i have ever been blessed with! thank you for bringing so much JOY and LOVE to our lives. we a.d.o.r.e you, you know, and we relish in every moment we get to $pend with you (or...$pend bragging about you...)! every glance, movement, sound, facial expression, and touch of yours is priceless and will becherished by the two of us. (oh, and we know june cherishes them, too...!)

happy ONE MONTH birthday to you, our beautiful baby girl!!

all our love and more,

mommy and daddy

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

*cutest backside ever*

*sleepy, but not sleeping. shocking...*

*mommy loves this cuddler*

*junie keeps an eye on you*

*what are you looking for, peyt?*

*no, really, what's in there?!?!?*

*you and daddy love "after work" time!*

*mmmm, kisses for the baby girl!*