Tidbits on a hot day

Well, I'm aware my blog has been lacking lately. Perhaps that shows the lack of motivation I've had to do much of anything. I think the 115 degree heat is getting to me, or maybe it's being in my third trimester, or maybe it's a crazy toddler boy who seems to have turned 2 before his actual birthday???

I don't have any wonderful photos to share. Maybe I can add that to my long to-do list! I do have stories and tidbits though.

:: Noah loves to imitate his daddy. While I was sitting on the couch the other morning, he quietly went over to the kitchen to grab the insulated lunch bag he often plays with, carried it over to me, leaned forward with lips puckered to give me a big kiss, waved good-bye and headed for the garage door.

:: The Veggie Tales video, God Made You Special, has become a lifesaver for me. Noah LOVES this particular video and I have to admit, I do too (except when I wake up in the middle of the night with the theme song running through my brain). He'd watch it on repeat if I let him.

:: When we were at Target a little while back we hit their toy clearance sale and snagged an electric keyboard for $3. It's pink. But Lucas said we could overlook that due to the price. Noah loves music and often will give me the keyboard while he bangs on something that resembles a drum (he broke his, remember). If I stop playing, he looks at me like I should know better. Don't stop the music.

:: Lucas is still being one generous husband working on projects around the house with the little spare time he has. Not only are we (meaning he) painting all 3 upstairs bedrooms, but we're ripping out the wire closet shelving and putting in wooden closet systems. They look nice and he's doing a great job. We can see the end of the road now, I think, and I cannot wait until the house is put back together and we can just enjoy a calm weekend together as a family once again, sans projects. And if anyone needs cans of paint samples, I have plenty to share as we put 6 of them on the master bedroom walls. Yep, I have a great husband!

:: Baby girl Johnson is doing fabulously, although at my last appointment they were unable to measure me due to her being completely horizontal. I've known she's been that way since I get the elbow jabs to the front, the head in my right rib and the kicking to my left. Gosh, I love her so much already. Our appointments are growing closer together now, which means she's coming sooner than I can imagine! Our scheduled date is Nov. 6th...and my mom just purchased her plane tickets! Yippee!

:: Passed my glucose test but was told my iron is low. I wasn't surprised as the same thing happened when I was pregnant with Noah. I had tried to get them to test my iron way in the beginning with little luck. I'm hoping the supplements will help me to get some energy back. I'm going to need it soon enough!

:: I've gained weight. No, I'm not going to share how much. Still under how much I gained with Noah, but I know it's coming. I still have several weeks to go! I figure if the doctor doesn't mention it, I won't either!

Now, off to go do some laundry and make my little mister some lunch. Anyone wanna join us?

For the love of all things tools

Can you tell how much this kiddo likes tools? I think with Lucas working on projects around the house it has increased his special love for hammers. He does have 3 of them.

Lucas demanded he take a photo of the icky gecko that came into our home the other evening. "You can blog about it," he said.

Okay, so when looking at the 3" baby thing it wasn't so icky...but I definitely did not want it in my home. And I definitely did not want to touch it. I spotted it a few feet away from me. You would have thought it was a poisonous snake the way I reacted. Back up, slow and steady. Hope Noah doesn't run this direction and cause it to scurry under the furniture.

I grabbed for the first thing I could think of to capture it...our popcorn bowl. Pretty smart if you ask me. Plus, it was see-through so I could make sure the little bugger stayed where I captured it until Lucas came home to rescue us! So dramatic, I know. Lucas wanted to keep it as a pet. I said no.

Mr. Fit-It

Looks like we have a little Mr. Fix-it in the house. I've been meaning to get to that high chair tray someday but Noah beat me to it. I'm already making my to-do list for him to start on for the rest of the house.

We like to challenge people around here to use things other than their hands. Looks like the mouth is perfect for picking up spinning tops!

Oh, and in case you're wondering about our Little Drummer Boy, after months of use and abuse he broke the drum the next day. Guess my warnings about using it as a step stool weren't good enough.

In other Johnson news, things are going well with our baby girl. I'm in my 26th week and showing it! I don't really crave anything this time around, but boy do I want to eat EVERYTHING. Lucas likes this side of me. =)

And a HUGE congratulations to my brother and his family on the birth of their little girl, Paige. We seriously cannot wait to cuddle that little one and see the rest of the family.

Our little drummer boy

Noah loves music. And this just cracks us up. I tried to capture on video (not very well I might add) but the faster Lucas would drum, the faster Noah would dance, or drum. Who needs to pay for entertainment?

(Sorry about the lighting, I wasn't thinking about needing to turn on extra lights)

Projects

Life has been, well, busy. Don't you just get sick of saying that...or hearing that? I so wish I wasn't a project girl. I think life would be much simpler. But, I am. So off it has been finishing up Noah's "big boy" room and finishing those darn baseboards that have been over a year in the making. I must say though, they look mighty good with the freshly painted walls upstairs.

Noah's gotten used to daddy working around the house, I think.

Safety first!

And when you need entertainment....blow up a balloon!

Really, that's as much excitement as you'll get around here lately. Although I will say we're utterly grateful for a dear friend who watched our son so Lucas and I could have a date night! Woohoo! It was late, we were a bit bleary-eyed but let me tell you we ordered appetizers, entrees and dessert just so we could stay longer and eat like grown ups!

18...I mean 19 month photos

I'm a month behind but I wanted to make sure to capture some photos of Noah around 18 months. I know you get what you pay for, but I think we're at an age where the portrait photos just aren't doable any more for an active boy who really doesn't care about sitting pretty for the lady behind the camera.

While I bought just a couple prints, bad photos equal less money I spend, I did get the digital shots of these which I feel like truly capture Noah's spirit with his cheesy little grin...which I suppose is the purpose of the photos anyway.

This is probably my favorite. It captures Noah's true self in all his little mischief. Sit on the stool? Why would I do that when I can pick it up? I love this boy.



The photographer and I kept pointing to the animal to get Noah to move toward the middle of the set. So, in return he decided to point to things.

I'm not sure if the dog is in trouble here, or if Noah is demanding him to get up?

Such a silly boy who loves to jump and skip around.



In my opinion Noah has the perfect color of eyes, and can capture your attention from across the room. He's so aware. An observer. Taking it all in before he makes his decision. Very much like his father.




I start to tear up looking and thinking of how much Noah has grown. He cracks me up with his silly little sayings and actions and warms my heart as he lays his head on me when he's tired or hurt. I'm so, so thankful for our family to soon become a family of four and pray that I will continue to experience and cherish these precious moments for years to come.

A home-filled 4th of July

Well, our 4th of July was uneventful, yet filled with family fun. Lucas took a 4-day weekend which was such a luxury for us, and Noah enjoyed every minute of it! Of course, most of it was spent working around the house as we're doing some rearranging here and there, painting and ordering furniture for the kids rooms. I love projects, and despise them at the same time.

We debated braving the heat and venturing out to some of the nearby events, but after playing outside briefly we decided that was a no go. Next year...we'll do it up! So we opted for a day at the Johnson household filled with water fun, burgers on the grill and cookies in our stomachs. YUM!

Love this boys grin. People always comment on how happy of a boy he is.


Time for dinner outside for this All American Boy! Bring on the burgers!


And what's better than topping the night off by playing with our GeoTrax in our monkey pjs. This is the life.