Welcome Baby Jonas

Born February 26, 2010
7 lbs 11 oz
20 inches long
Cute as a button

Birthdays, Valentines, Packages,...

A few of Damon's little friends here have turned two! Cohen had a big birthday party in a Thomas the Train theme. Brekk his mommy did such a wonderful job! It was so fun for all the little kids.

They had lots of toys our for the kids to play with. Da loved the trains, so this party was perfect for him!

Da's pal Lincoln.

We got some play dough for Christmas. I was a little worried I would find it everywhere, but it has not been bad so far. Of course the colors have been mixed up a bit, but who did not expect that to happen?

Lincoln also turned two! I am so glad that they are good friends and get along so well (most of the time :)

So the other day when I was coming home from work, Kyle called me and said we had some visitors over. I walked in to a room full of kids! Aren't they adorable? Our friends Charles and Valerie asked Kyle if we could watch Sidney that night, and Kyle decided if he was watching two kids there may as well be more. He offered to watch some of our other friends kids too so they could go out. What a sweetie! So,...Sidney, Damon, Paisley, and Lincoln had a fun filled night of Backyardigans, fort building, and gold fish.

Valentines...

We did fondue...yummy!

And we got some fun packages. Grandma and Grandpa Johnson, Char, and Ang sent us some fun goodies and gifts. Thanks a bunch! We love you all.

Chinese New Year started on Valentines day and lasts for a few days. Grandma Johnson sent us some fun Chinese Decorations...

...and gifts.

We decided we needed to have some Chinese food. We were using chop sticks, so of course Da needed to as well. I figured he would just make a big mess (which he did), but he actually got some food into his mouth!

The proof!

We also got a package from my sweet, adorable friend Aud. Thanks! We love you.

And here we are. 38 weeks,...counting down (Like I have been for 9 months!!!!!!!) We are getting closer, could be any day now. Lets just hope it is sooner than later eh?

Work is getting harder. I have been pretty good until the last week. I seriously feel like I have expanded astronomically within the last seven days! I had already had Damon by now, so maybe I am just getting frustrated. I know I should not count on it being the same, but of course I secretly did. And working on a floor where people are having bone surgery and joint replacements is probably not helping. Lifting/moving dead weight legs, and at times bodies from one place to another when you have a bowling ball stuck to the front of you is not that pleasant no matter how fun it sounds. And funny thing-the rooms on our floor are not that big. Most of the time you have to move the bed in order to get to the other side of the room, especially because the patients need the space with the walkers or crutches they are using. I have not had a problem getting around the bottom of the bed....until yesterday. I was walking past the bed when---ugh. I got stuck with my back to the wall and my belly against the foot of the bed. Since my patient did not seem to notice I just sucked it in and slid on by. Just a dose of reality I guess. Do not think you can slide in between any small space when 8 1/2 months pregnant.

Christmas, Cold, School...

We were one of the only families around here for Christmas. All of our student and ward friends went home to see family. It was kinda nice to spend Christmas together with our small little family, especially since Damon understands so much more about it now. We have been pounded with snow! The week of Kyle's finals was ridiculous because they canceled school for a few days making them have to take their tests right in a row. Besides dumping a few feet of snow, the wind makes it like a blizzard outside. Everything is icy. Christmas eve and Christmas it snowed and blew all day long. It was nice to not have to work those two days and just be snowed in together.

We have lots of big trees outside of our home that during the fall shed some of their branches. A few of them are acorn trees, and you can always see the little squirrels running around the ground and up the trees finding food. They let you get pretty close to them, which is kinda fun for Damon. Those of you who know me know that I really enjoy making things out of nothing (or junk as Kyle would probably say. But he always likes it in the end :) I thought our tree was kinda bare, so I picked up some of the broken branches from the trees and leftover acorns that had fallen to the ground. I made our tree a star and stuck the rest randomly around in the tree. I do not know if you can see very well, but I turned the acorns into acorn balls.

Gotta love the cheeser!

Damon is modeling one of the three hats I made this year for my boys. It was my first try at hats and I was pretty happy with myself. I am excited to take a picture with Kyle, Damon, and the baby in their matching hats.

We have been so blessed this year. We received so many sweet letters and packages from family and friends we did not know what to do with ourselves! Damon was so excited everyday to get the mail, and everything that came he supposed was a 'present from Grandma'.

We did try to go out one day and make a snowman, but it was a lost cause. The snow here is terrible! You Utah people should be grateful. We have gotten so much snow but it is either pure powder, or little ice chunks. You can't pack it, play with it, or make anything from it. Such a disappointment. But we did go out and play soccer to ease our sadness...

Our Christmas Eve dinner!

Now, I am super proud of these. I can't take credit for my mom's wonderful recipe but I did a fun twist on it. My mom makes the most delicious apple pie. I did make one for Thanksgiving, but it did not turn out exactly as I had planned and there was so much left over. I decided to change it a bit and make some smaller (or as Damon would say baby) pies. This way there would not be as much and we would not waste any. It worked like a charm! This muffin tin sized pies tasted just like my mommy's but wrapped in a smaller package.

When we moved here we did leave a few of our things packed away. When we were putting up Christmas decorations I was sad to find that we had left our nativity. I felt like we could not go without one. I wanted Damon to learn and remember what we really are celebrating. I decided I had to just make one. I know this is a pretty low level nativity, but I wanted to make one that Damon could actually play with. (And one that I would not be disappointed with if he destroyed. That is how I have to look at most of my things now.) So anyhow a little cardboard, a few leftover sticks, and some old scrap fabric later,...you have yourself a Damon approved nativity!

Damon LOVED the baby Jesus. He would always ask to hold him and rock him. He even gave him sweet little kisses. Sometimes he would get a little mixed up and call him baby brother, but we thought that was pretty cute anyways.

We are so grateful again to all of you who made our Christmas so special. We are grateful for the presents, cards, and thoughtfulness. But even more we are so thankful for loving families and friends who even though we are far away let us know they love us and are thinking of us. No amount of gifts can replace that. We love you all and are so blessed to have you in our lives.

We are so happy that we finally were able to get a piano! I love hearing Kyle play, trying to play a bit myself, and having Damon introduced to more instruments. He loves to play music, dance, and sing. It has been such a wonderful addition to our home. It is amazing how music can invite the Spirit.

We have started the second semester of Law school. It is amazing how fast the first one seemed to fly, but in the moment seems like it could last forever. Kyle is working so hard and doing an amazing job. I am so grateful to be married to such a wonderful man. He is so talented and hardworking. I would never want to imagine what life would be like without him. I am so grateful for the four years that we have been together and shared joys and sorrows at each others side. He truly is my best friend. I love him and my little boys more than life.

Thanksgiving and BYU

We had such a wonderful Thanksgiving, we are so grateful for such good friends! Since none of us were able to go see family this year we decided to have thanksgiving together. We divided up the assignments and made a huge feast. I did the turkey, gravy, and apple pie. Thanks to my wonderful mother and her fantastic recipes, I believe they all turned out just as I had imagined. We were so proud of ourselves, we had to take a picture with our beautiful spread.

Me, Suzanne, and Lara. I am so grateful for these two.

Here is the whole bunch. Our family, Griffin & Lara, and Nate, Suzanne & Lincoln. We ended up having so much food left that we divided everything up between us and still had mounds of leftovers. Yum...
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The BYU vs. Utah game

Da and Lincoln, all decked out in blue.

We took this picture after Damon went to sleep,...and after BYU won! The BYU games don't show on the TV stations here, but we found a way to get them. We have gotten together every Saturday to watch the games together. It has been so much fun. We are kinda sad it is pretty much over for the year.

Our sweet, sleepy little boy. Our church meetings start at 1:00 which cuts right into Da's nap time. He does pretty well, but every Sunday at dinner time it becomes too much for him. I think I could get this same picture every week. As soon as a little bit of food hits his tummy he is out like a light. We are so grateful for our sweet Damon, and can't wait for his little brother to join our family.

More Pics of Baby Boy