I love you husband of mine!

Five years and one baby later...

It's hard to believe it's been five years since that sunny day in Lincoln when we said I Do to forever with each other. Makes me want to watch our wedding video that we've never touched since then. We might just have to do that. Tonight we're going to go out just the two of us while some wonderful, and gracious, friends offered to watch Noah. We're hoping to actually take a trip to celebrate our anniversary a little later in the summer.

Thank you to all of our family and friends who have supported us, loved us and held us accountable these past five years. The Lord has blessed us with love beyond what we could have imagined and we can't wait to see what He has in store for our family in the years to come.

Transition

You'd think the bouncer is for being on your behind and bouncing...but Noah disagrees as he loves to turn around on it now. The baby bouncer has been a wonderful thing for us these past few months as Noah will sit in it while I take my shower, cook and just do things around the house. I think we're moving out of that stage and into the "doing anything but sitting still" stage.

Five months has definitely been the hardest month for us so far. It seems to be a weird transition time in preparation for the six month milestone where his schedule will be different, eating solids, sitting up more, talking and becoming more mobile. I've also noticed that in the various things I've read, none of them ever really address the fifth month...I think it must mean no one else knows what to do during this month either.

Fabulous Find Father's Friday

With Father's Day just around the corner I thought I'd post about some fun gift ideas.

I've seen this idea a few times now and thought it was a fun, inexpensive and easy idea for the kids. Leave it to Martha to do her thing.

And of course, we had the Mother's Day coupon idea...so why not the Father's Day coupon? Here is a link to the template.

I did this last idea for my husband for our anniversary a couple of years ago...but I think it could work for Father's day or any one that is special in your life. It takes some time and work but who doesn't want to be reminded of the many reasons why you love them? And it's fun to add in personal jokes as well. This one stays on my husband's nightstand (pay no attention to the ones that need to be re-glued on!)

Another swap

Now this one sounds fun. Kelly is holding a favorite things swap here which sounds like a ton of fun! If you're interested, sign up by June 6th. I think I'm on my way to sign up now.

I've been under the weather this week but I promise to get a crafty post up soon!

Memorial Day weekend

We had a wonderful Memorial Day weekend filled with quality family and friend time. After working on the house so much we decided Monday was a no work day and we just relaxed and enjoyed spending time with each other.

We had a great time Saturday meeting up with friends at Joe's. The group is filled with little boys which will be fun once they're all able to play with each other.


We took Noah to our community pool for his first "swim." We went later in the day so we didn't need the shade for over his floaty. Isn't he cute in his little red puppy? We weren't sure if he'd think the water was too cold, as we thought it was, but we must just be wimps because Noah just sort of floated around and was content. I'm sure the more we take him the more he'll realize he can move around in the giant bath tub.


Then it was on to having cereal for the first time. We decided to go ahead and start giving it to him since he was watching every move we made when we ate. He opened wide for the spoon...something tells me he'll be a good eater!

Monday we went for a run through the neighborhood (you can sense Noah's excitement...). Then it was burgers, watermelon, corn on the cob, rice crispy treats, chips, potato salad all topped off with some homemade vanilla ice cream.


What a great weekend.

Rainy Friday

I love when it rains here. It cools everything off and just feels like a nice change of pace. It was actually cool enough that I had to dig out some warmer clothes to wear for us all. I just love it when Noah is all soft and warm and cuddly like this. Thankfully a friend of ours had given us some clothes that had a pair of sweats that would fit Noah. I figured we wouldn't need anything like that now in AZ so all I have in his size are onesies. I hear to enjoy the cooler weather now though as in a couple of days it's back to the triple digits.

We're still painting and putting down baseboards. Once my parents left the motivation started to slow down a bit. We're seeing a glimpse of the light at the end of the tunnel so we're just trying to push through this weekend to hopefully get a big chunk done. I cannot wait to get the house all put back together, sit on the couch, pop some popcorn and watch a movie as a family knowing we're finished with it.

Fabulous Find Friday

It's almost the end of Friday and I'm just now posting. The weather was great today for Arizona, in my opinion. Nice and cool and rainy. It's about the only change in weather we get here so I'll take it.

Lots of new fabrics are coming out! So exciting! One of my favorites is Sandi Henderson's Farmers Market. They're all so cheery and refreshing. And be sure to check out Heather and Anna Maria for their new lines and pics from Quilt Market as well.

I stumbled upon this amazing cupcake blog that you should check out. So many yummy, and fairly easy recipes to follow and she shares some great tutorials to show you how to do the "fancy" stuff.

And if you're wanting to save some money (who isn't?), check out Baby CheapSkate for some great deals on children's items.

A little break won't hurt anyone...right!?!

We've been busy still painting and putting new baseboards down in our home so I haven't had much time to do anything...however, when I went to the mailbox I was so excited to see what came that I decided to take a break with my Sunkist and my new reads. Hip, Hip!

On a side note, I remember when I was younger my mom used to spread the leftover cake icing (who has that anyway?) on graham crackers and would put them in our school lunches as a special treat. I had some icing for cupcakes that I was going to make and decided to do this instead. Yum! I'll make those cupcakes a different time...

Oh, and I ordered one of Anna Maria's fabrics from her new line, Drawing Room. I can't wait to make pillow covers with it for the living room. If only I had the time.

A trip down Pickled Pear Lane

I recently began a craft blog separate from our family one and hadn't had time to share it yet. If you're up for some creative inspiration and sharing of ideas, click on this link and hop on over to Pickled Pear Lane. Can't wait to see you there!

Inspirational weekend

Over Mother's Day weekend I was so excited to go here with my mom. The studio is full of such talented and inspiring teachers I hope you all take advantage of it if you live in the Phoenix area (and say hi to the owner, Kristin, too)! It is filled with ideas and I honestly think I could spend days there just taking it all in.

A highlight of the day was that I was able to meet one of my favorite designers, Heather Bailey. If you're unfamiliar you must check her out! She is such a sweet, down-to-earth person and I'm looking forward to hopefully taking some classes from her in the future. I think Noah was excited to meet her too!

Mother's Day weekend

This is what I woke up to for Mother's Day...

We're still going strong with painting and putting down new baseboards. I think we're going to love it! Hopefully we'll be finishing it up next weekend. Noah and Bailey have been great during the entire ordeal. I think the dog is just really confused as he keeps finding his bed and food dishes in various places as we move the project around the house. He finally gave up and laid down on the canvas drop cloth.

Yes, this is dangerous. No, don't try this at home.

My mom and I were assigned the job of washing blinds.


We thought it'd be funny to take a photo while my dad was working of Lucas pointing and telling him what to do.

Nana keeping Noah happy.

What is the TV doing in the kitchen???

Fabulous Find Friday

So I've discovered the FREE nodcast podcast on the Land of Nod site. It's great family fun and you can't beat free! The latest download is from the Barenaked Ladies. Go get it!

You know when you find a blog that you have to go back and read through all of the old posts...Marta's dear diary stories is just like that for me. Marta is full of inspiration and beautiful writing. I honestly don't even remember how I discovered her but I'm sure glad I did.

And lastly, I must get this book. I think it might be perfect for the apron swap I'm going to be doing from here.

Bring on the paint!

We're in full weekend preparation mode. My parents will be visiting and we have big projects planned for around the house. Oh how we're looking forward to the chaos beginning. Actually, Lucas and my dad will be doing most of it while my mom and I make comments about how we think it should be done.

It feels like Noah has gained another pound as it's definitely getting harder for me to lug him around in the car seat these days. He loves to roll around which is fun but makes it much harder for me. I used to be able to set him down to play, leave the room to get something and come right back to find him in the same spot. Now, he is never in the same spot. I think he'll be crawling in no time. Oh...I hear him waking up from his nap. I'm sure when I go get him I'll find him on his tummy (when he started on his back) in the opposite corner of the crib he started on, with his head popped up like a turtle. Or...I might just find him like this.

Weekend preparation

The Johnson family is gearing up for a busy weekend. My parents are coming and we're sending the house into chaos mode as we plan to paint and put down new baseboards. We've been living in our current home for four years now and I've been wanting to do this forever! So...in preparation I'm trying to get the Mother's Day gifts together and ready to go.

I gave you a sneak peak in my last post about one of the gifts. I think personalized jewelry is such a wonderful and thoughtful gift, and who wouldn't want to be reminded that they have grandchildren who love and adore them! So cute! I think I need one of my own with N's name on it...



And of course what goes great with personalized jewelry? Why a personalized card of course!

Oh, and if you're in the Phoenix area, come check out this. It's going to be so much fun I can't wait!

Show her that you care

For the past couple of weeks tons of ideas have been floating around for great, unique Mother's Day gifts. I figured I'd join in with a few of my own...

Want to create your own cookbook? It's simple with Tastebook. I love this idea and what a great way to keep track of all of your online recipes. I want one of my own.

Personalized jewelry. Beaducation is a great resource for learning how to stamp custom jewelry.

I've always been a fan of coupon book idea. Who wouldn't love to have the house cleaned, a back rub, a cooked meal, a free night of babysitting...so many options to choose from! You can find a template here from none other than Martha.

Oh, and I got the new issue of Domino Magazine and it's of course filled with tons of inspiration! Hmm...that could be a great gift for mom too...hint, hint to my husband.

New bride

I think every new bride deserves to see her new initials in print. Afterall, there's dozens of thank yous and special notes to get caught up on after the honeymoon, might as well do it on some cute stationery. I decided this set, for my friend, needed something a little unexpected for the back...I just love surprises.

Keep in touch

We live far away from all of our family. After having a little one, it is even harder to be far away and for our family to not get to experience Noah growing and changing every month. I discovered this idea here by Rebecca Cooper and thought it would be perfect! The concept of this mailable is to send a card each month with 4 2x2 photos showing updates from that month. You can write on the back of the card marking special events that occurred. Make sure to include the binder ring with the first card you send. She has three other fabulous ideas of how to keep in touch with family as well. We're sending these to the grandparents.


Below are templates to help make it easier for you to make your own mailable.

Fabulous Find Friday

So I decided I'd have a theme Friday post about fun finds that I come across throughout my shopping and blog hopping week.

Everything right now has had a strong focus on the environment. We've gotten rid of lots of our plastic containers, we recycle, eat organic, used natural cleaners, bring our own bags to the grocery store and so on. I even went and saw this movie and she works for an organic food company!

I've often thought about all of the packaging that is so overdone on products and that is when I discovered a natural product line, LUSH. Some of their products do contain packaging but I love the fact that you have the option of buying shampoo and soaps without any packaging! They do offer a reusable tin to put the shampoo in but it's great because you can just keep reusing it instead of throwing out that shampoo bottle every time it's empty. I haven't tried it yet but it's definitely on my to-do list.