Mother's Day/Birthday . . . I LOVE MAY!

So I have debated whether or not to write this blog. It's my mother's day/birthday wish list. Now, it doesn't mean that I expect to get ANY of these things, but I just wanted to document some of the things I was eyeing as of late. In case you didn't know, having a baby is expensive- so this is really more of a wish list.

SALTWATER SANDALS

I realize these are pretty trendy. But I think they are so cute!! And I haven't had a pair of good sandals in a really long time. And red? CUTE! or yellow or whatever color. I don't really care. 

KATE MIDDLETON STYLE NECKLACE

Now I am not one for charm bracelets or necklaces or anything. there is an ongoing joke in our household about pandora bracelets (I think they are awful). But this necklace is something else. Maybe because it's Kate Middleton, but I love it. I want one with Sebastian's name and Nathaniel's initial. I could do without the little boy charm. But even that could be cute. I am a total mommy.

SPA TREATMENTS

-Facial

-Massage

-Pedicure 

-Manicure

Need I explain this one?

HAZED AND CONFUSED

Need I explain THIS one?

I think that is about it. Pretty short list actually, but just sone things that have caught my eye. Like I said. I don't expect any of this, but if someone got them for me I wouldn't complain. 

Easter!!

First off, I went to the dentist today and my gums look great and I have NO CAVITIES!! I was worried since I skipped my dentist appointment during my pregnancy due to the bloody gums and everything made me gag. So that was good.

This was Sebastian's first Easter and boy was it fun. On Saturday, Nathaniel and I took the little man down to Trolley Square to meet the Easter Bunny. Sebastian insisted on wearing his tuxedo- he wanted to make a good impression after all.

It worked!! Nathaniel and Sebastian both received fancy baskets from the Bunny. I didn't get one, but next year the Easter Bunny is totally getting me one (I decided).

Sebastian lasted all three hours of church, for the first time. He wore his tux for Easter Sunday as well. He is quite handsome and fancy. He slept through Relief Society and Sacrament meeting and we spent Sunday school in the nursing lounge. But all in all it went well. I loved sitting in sacrament meeting with my sweet little family on the day we celebrate the most glorious of events. I am grateful for my savior and his sacrifice so that I could have my little family and live with them again some day. 

90th Percentile . . .

Guess who weighs 13 lbs 10 oz?

This guy!!

Blessing Day!

Sebastian was blessed on Sunday. In the LDS church infants are blessed not long after they are born. It is a chance to give the baby a name and a blessing. My dad was able to perform the blessing and it was beautiful. Nathaniel carried Sebastian up to the front of the chapel and our dear friends assisted my father in the blessing.

My dad blessed Sebastian to be strong physically and emotionally. He blessed him to love, respect and receive support from his parents. He blessed him to make wise choices in his life. He blessed him to serve a mission and marry a wonderful women in the temple. He blessed him to be kind.

I know that there was so much more to the blessing and my dad is going to give me his notes from his preparation, I just can't remember it all. I was filled with so many emotions and cried the whole time. I felt such peace and love as those I love and who love Sebastian, held him in their arms and used their priesthood to bless him with such wonderful things. My little family was surrounded by all the friends and family that we love. I felt so loved and supported and appreciate all those that were in attendance.

Sebastian was an angel baby. He was asleep up until the blessing, I took him out of his carrier and he was peaceful and quiet the whole blessing. I was a little worried due to the fact that Sebastian can scream with the best of them, but he was wonderful. My friend Erin let us borrow the blessing outfit she used for her son. Sebastian is a little chubbier and by the time the blessing was over the outfit was  cutting into his legs, but he looked super cute.

The day of was a bit chaotic so I didn't get many pictures. So the pictures are from a mini photo shoot we had this morning AND my mom brought this adorable cake.

Milestones!!

I said that I would post a video of him rolling over. He is getting better and better. He gets so mad when I put him on his tummy though. Hilarious.

I also jumped the gun on Saturday thinking that it was Sebastian's 2 month birthday, but it was his eight week birthday. TOMORROW is his two month birthday. Here is a list of what he is up to lately. 

Sebastian was blessed yesterday and I will write all about it soon!!

Things I can't live without as a new mom

I obviously stole the above picture from my husbands instagram. I tried to crop it, but it just wouldn't let me! My husband is a much better picture taker than me. Isn't my little man adorable?? (So is his daddy, so it makes sense)

I wanted to write a blog about the things that have been life savers in this first couple months of motherhood. Figuring it all out is HARD. Stuff like, how to leave the house and how to get them to sleep and how to get your own sleep. I am still trying to figure it out, but there are a few things that have really helped and I want to share them with all of you.

Rock n' play: The first month was really hard for sleep. I think that is pretty normal. Sebastian wouldn't sleep unless he was on my chest. This was exhausting and a bit stressful. He also had his day and night confused. He WOULD NOT sleep in his bassinet. He could sleep for three hours on my chest, but five minutes after I put him in his bassinet he was crying for me. I didn't know what to do. I swaddled and rocked and rolled blankets up next to him to make him feel secure, but nothing worked. One night at 3 am I was so frustrated that I googled solutions and I kept reading about a rock and play bassinet by fisher price. I went on Amazon and purchased it right then and there. BEST. PURCHASE. EVER. 

Exercise Ball: Sebastian also needs to be constantly moving. CONSTANTLY. We are going to be in trouble once he starts crawling and walking. He likes to bounce. That can be exhausting to do all the time, so a friend suggested an exercise ball. She lent me hers and it has been one of my favorite things. Bouncing helps him calm down when he is upset and helps him fall asleep especially when he is overly tired. Also, I am pretty sure it works my core, right?

Boppy Pillow:  This is probably a given. But being a nursing mom, this pillow has been great. You can nurse hands free if you want and if you are cradling your baby your arms have a place to rest. Also, now that he is a little older, I can prop Sebastian in the pillow and he loves to sit and look around. So cute. 

Lansinoh EVERYTHING: Lanolin, breast pads and milk freezer bags. I love all their products. 

 Ergo Baby: I have tried the moby wrap, but I didn't love it. Too much material and too hard to the baby in. Maybe I need to practice more, but it isn't my favorite. We got the Ergo baby and I love it. I can actually do some house work with him in it. We are going to Moab the first week in May and we want to hike a little, I think this carrier will work great. I will let you know.

So far, these have been the best items we have purchased. Honorable mention: Our glider and our 4 moms mamaroo.

 

He doesn't love the mamaroo all the time, but he will sleep in it fairly often. When breast feeding the glider is a must. I love it.

Yesterday, Sebastian rolled over!! We were doing tummy time and he rolled onto his back and then he did it again. I ran and got Nathaniel and he did it a third time!! He is only 7 weeks, so this is early! We tried it today, but he was just not having it. I will try to get a video of it. 

It's a boy!! Again!! A human one this time . . .

I am sitting on an exercise ball as I type this. Why? You might ask. No, it is not to exercise (although I need it) it's to keep my little man from screaming. He needs to be CONSTANTLY moving. Heaven help us once he goes mobile.

Who is this little man of mine? It's Sebastian James Johnson. He was born on February 15 at 3 pm. He was a whopping 7 lbs and 11 oz (thank goodness, Nathaniel was 9 lbs 6oz!!) and was 21 inches long. The labor was induced at 41 weeks because he just wasn't coming. After 24 hours and a wonderful epidural, he came after three pushes.

15 minute old

It has been 6 weeks and I am in love with this person. He has been kinda cranky as of late and I have probably been heard saying "What do you WANT, Sebastian???" But being a mother is magical.

1 Week old

He smiled at me a few days ago, but he is pretty stubborn and refuses to do it on command. When he did it the first time, I immediately began to cry and that scared him and he stopped. Hopefully he doesn't connect smiling with making mommy sad.

I know that my last post was Chicago. Well, as it turns out, I probably got pregnant that weekend (TMI?). We went on a baby moon to Puerto Rico in September that was wonderful. My pregnancy was pretty great actually. Towards the end was rough. I was huge, and got a crazy bad cold with a cough, which led to me breaking a rib. 9 months pregnant and a broken rib is NOT fun. I ended up going on maternity leave at 39 weeks thinking he would be showing up any day and I needed the rest. Well, needless to say, Sebastian wasn't planning on leaving the womb without help and they wouldn't induce me until 41 weeks. I have 3 weeks of maternity leave left.  I have made the decision of going back to work part-time. My mom will be watching sebastian when I do work, but I will spend most of my time with him. That was a really hard decision, but I feel the best one for me.

I guess that is as good of a summary as I have the energy to give. I am going to try and blog a little more frequently, but babies sure keep you busy. Who knew?

35 and still alive . . .

Well, the title of this blog leaves much to be desired- but it rhymes and it's true. So that's good. Last month I turned 35. THIRTY-FIVE. Can you believe it? I can't. Well I can, but I still feel 16. Unfortunately I am starting to look my age- gray hair, eye wrinkles, glasses (for the first time ever). But I love my thirties. I really do. It's WAY better than my 20s.

Have I mentioned that my other half is the best husband in America? He may be the best husband in the world, but that is a lot of pressure and I wouldn't want to do that to him. He took me on a surprise birthday trip to Chicago. I had no idea we were going there, until the night before. He had been planning it for months.

Events of the weekend:

*Jackson Park- this was the location of the worlds fair. I had read Devil in the White City (highly recommend) which made looking at the park that much more interesting. It was beautiful on it's own, but knowing some of the history was helpful. Also, my husband is super smart and told me lots of little anecdotes about the area. We saw the Museum of Science and Industry building (got there too late to go in) which was originally the Palace of fine arts from the World's fair and we saw the Japanese garden which was beautiful. Now, getting to the park was slightly terrifying. We took the L from downtown and had to walk through Washington Park. I knew something was up when a lady on the L said "now where are you two kids going?" in a slightly concerned tone. Lets just say when walking through Washington Park I am glad I didn't realize I was wearing red pants- I am sure no one would have mistaken us for Bloods, but you never know. It was a fun adventure none the less.

*The Bean- we went and saw the infamous bean and the fountain from Married with Children, which is ENORMOUS by the way.

*Sears (Willis) Tower- where we witnessed a proposal and stood in a big plastic box that stuck out of the side of the building a hundred plus floors up. The hardest part for me was the elevator ride. They cram you in with about 25 other people and shoot you 100 floors in the air. Good thing they show you a video on the way up, comparing each floor level with something of similar height ("You are as tall as a giraffe, you are as tall as the St. Louis arch, Eiffel Tower, etc. ), without that I may have required a paper bag to breathe into. The distraction was helpful. Oh, and did you know that every building in Chicago has a revolving door? I am not exaggerating. I HATE revolving doors, they terrify me (quick someone psychoanalyze that).

*River Walk- we were staying very close to the river and walked along side it many times during our short stay.

*Ate lots of food (the first two days)- We had deep dish pizza and a Chicago hot dog and a super fancy dinner for my birthday. But then, on the last day we were there, I woke up with food poisoning and so I did not eat a thing for 24 hours. I don't recommend getting food poisoning on the last day of a trip where you have to check out of your hotel at noon and not get on a plane until 7, all the while wandering the streets feeling like you are going to barf and/or poop your pants. It was totally miserable.

*The Art Institute-  Unfortunately we went to the art institute on the last day. The food poisoning day. The museum was amazing and I could not fully enjoy it because I felt like death warmed over. Poor Nathaniel. It is all he really wanted to do and I kinda ruined it. There were amazing things in there. My favorite was the American Windows by Chagall. They were beautiful (it didn't hurt that there was a bathroom right next door and a bench right in front of then so that I could sit and not move in fear I would throw up all over the floor). Nathaniel had his Cameron Moment, so all was not lost.

*The Book of Mormon- On my actual birthday, Nathaniel took me to a fancy restaurant and surprised me with tickets to the Book of Mormon later that night. I loved it. The music and even the message. Don't get me wrong, it was terribly irreverent. But I still thought the church came out on top. Nathaniel and I both agreed that it seemed that the play was more harsh on Africa than it was on the Mormons. One of the leads was played by a guy on the movie Pitch Perfect. There was even an add by the church in the playbill. THIS story is pretty cool too.

*Water Tower Place- this is a mall that I went to as a child when we lived in Wisconsin and would go to Chicago to Christmas shop. It is one of my favorite memories. Oh, and there is a giant Lego store. I thought Nathaniel was going to die of happiness. Who knew he loved Lego's so much??


So, to sum it up, my birthday was amazing. So fun. I love Nathaniel, I love my birthday and I love my 30's. Life is pretty good, even with food poisoning.

This. Is. Happening.

I am feeling nostalgic. I spent about an hour looking at old blog posts and remembering the "good ol' days" and I am so glad that I had it documented to look back on. I miss my girls. I miss the fun I used to have, but I also love my life now. So why am I not documenting it? Well, for one, I don't have a computer. So, I am currently using my husbands work computer to type this. Secondly, I am BUSY. Stupid busy and tired. STUPID tired. But that is no excuse. So, I will blog. Even if no one reads this dang thing, I will blog.

The day after Christmas I went to Florida. I went to see one of my very best friends from high school get married and I stayed with one of my very best friends. Ginger's wedding was amazing. She was a vision in white, she married Byron- who may be one of the nicest people there is (my in laws LOVED him when they met him at our wedding, I almost think they would have been ok if I married him that weekend). The wedding was behind the Van Wezel in Sarasota, right on the water and it was beautiful. And the reception was a blast. Did I mention we danced? And people got way drunk? And I drank 7 shirley temples? And I wore spanks? (So peeing was a nightmare!!!) And Alissa may or may not have peed on herself? (sorry liss)

It was fantastic.

Nathaniel and I are going back to florida the first week in February. He didn't go with me to the wedding since we were making a trip out a month later. I can't wait for him to see where I grew up. When I was flying in for the wedding, I kept expecting that it was going to feel like going home. It didn't. Which kinda made me sad. I guess Utah is the closest to home of anywhere. I have been here over 12 years, that's nuts.

So, in conclusion. I will blog. We'll see if I actually do, but I really want to.

The end.

PS. I can't figure out this new blogger picture caption thingy. So once again the pictures are on the bottom. Oh well. 

Byron and Ginger, the first dance

Me and Ging

Alissa and Me (This contributed to the pee incident)

My Table and my Shirley Temple.

Pedi cab to the wedding

Batmanniversary

One year ago today our little man joined our family. We are officially crazy dog people.