He Gets It from His Momma...

Daniel hasn't been feeling the best the past few days...  His silly Mom decided she wanted absolutely needed to go to the YMCA early in the week, and poor Daniel caught a cold.  He has been snotty, coughy, and low-grade feverish ever since. 

Great decision, Momma.

Anyway, since Mom knew Daniel wasn't feeling all that well (and because it was practically her fault), she felt it necessary to give Daniel a little treat yesterday afternoon after he ate all of his lunch.  Most kids would get a new toy or try something outside-of-the-box, but not when your Momma is a pregnant, Jenna Johnson...

A child after his Mom's own heart eating habits.


He Gets It from His Momma from Jenna Johnson on Vimeo.

He seemed to really enjoy simply playing with the empty container...  

 

Did I mention there was one Oreo left?!

(We need not mention where all the others went.)

Momma, I need it ALL in there...  Stuff it in, like this.

 

And, just like Momma, when they are all gone...

You just can't help but cry...

Who Needs a Nap?

Daniel needed one, that's who! 

He's been fighting them for days his whole life, but ever since last week's 9 month well visit, the pediatrician said it is completely necessary that an over-active baby like mine :) gets at least one nap a day.  I guess you can imagine what that means for me...  I have a fighter on my hands, and he has realized what I'm doing each day when I take him to his room.  It honestly begins an all-out war between Daniel, sleep, his crib, and me. 

However, after minutes or an hour of crying, Daniel will take a nap.  It usually looks something like this:

Did I mention that Daniel fights sleep in such a fierce manner that he falls asleep either standing, resting on his knees, or sitting straight up?  I know it's heart-breaking...

But, a mom's gotta do what she's gotta do, and, he slept for an hour today!  Only bad part is, most of the time, Daniel's face ends up looking like this quite often...

Isn't he precious?!

Feeling Fine at Nine (Months Old)

Daniel turned a whopping 9 months old today, and WOW, what a month it has been!

In his 34th week:

He found his way into Mom and Dad's shower!  Often...

He visited the Opryland Hotel with his family to see the lights.

He saw his very first nativity scene there.

He had Christmas Eve with his Mom and Dad.

They gave him 3 gifts...  just like Jesus received.

His Daddy read him the Christmas Story from Luke.

He got his red GT walker from Grandpa and loved it!

His Mimi gave him a talking Elmo and an Elmo movie... 

He really liked Elmo!

He started pushing his lion walk n' ride while on his knees...

In his 35th week:

He visited West TN to have Christmas with family.

His Mema got him a stick horse, and he wasn't sure about it.

He let his cousin, Landon, feed him a bottle.

Mostly, he wanted to hold them all by himself!

He met up with his family on his Nana's side of the family.

He really entertained all of the girls!

He went to a New Year's gathering with his buddies, the Clark and Harris families.

He stayed up to watch the ball drop on New Year's Eve!

He cut his second tooth!

He enjoyed playing with plastic bottles.

 

In his 36th week:

His two teeth were all the rave!

He got a Costa Rica hat from his friend Thomas.

He loved riding Daddy's shoulders...

And for Daddy to toss him up into the air.

He saw his first snow and loved playing in it.

His friend Pierce came to visit...

Daniel enjoyed climbing on him.

He went to Izzy's 1st birthday party and ate cake!

He loved playing at Mommy's feet while she painted.

He got lots of visits from Pop and Mimi!

He liked playing with Pop and reading with Mimi.

In his 37th week:

He found out he'd be having a baby brother!

Then, his Mommy got the stomach bug...

SO, he spent lots of time with Daddy, Grandpa, Mimi, and Aunt Jessica.

When she was better, she got sick again in her kidney and landed in the hospital.

He hoped she'd be home soon and she was!

He began crawling over and under everything!

He started snorting and smiling before and after each bite.

He loved eating saltine crackers.

His favorite toys were Legos and his TN Vols ball hat.

He stuck out his tongue while watching television.

It became impossible to change his diaper...

He'd either crawl away halfway through,

Or he'd kick and fuss until it was over.

He stood up on his own!

He started Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child.

Except it isn't working yet...

He shopped for something to help him fall asleep.

We cannot believe he's already this big, but he's such an incredible blessing!

Carrying a Blessing

Maybe you haven't noticed it, but I can't help but stare every time I see it...
 
It's that little gadget on the top right side of this page, and it's a daily reminder of how truly blessed I am.

Being a woman who has miscarried and was later given a child, I am incredibly fascinated by the process God takes in creating a child in a woman's womb.  I read all I can about what's taking place each week with this new miracle, and though I've already been here and done this all before, I am still amazed by God.  I am floored by what He's doing within me.  I am humbled that He's chosen me to carry this one, and though losing a child taught me to understand this, I cannot help at times to be human and want to be in control...  You know?

It's my body, yet it's actually His. 
It's my baby, yet it's totally His. 
It's our future, but it's completely His.

How in the world did God look down and pick me?  How did He know that Brian would be exactly the friend I'd want to have in every situation?  How did He know that losing our first baby would break me?  How did He know that I'd need time to heal?  How did He know that Daniel would bring more joy to me than I could have imagined?  How did He know that conceiving a third child would bring a calming peace over me in the midst of pregnancy and infancy? 

I'm not sure.  There's so much about my Lord that I simply cannot understand...

But this is what I do know.  He's good, and He just knows.  Not only that, but it's all His.  All I've been given and all I own, I owe to Him.  So, this sweet blessing is just that...  His child being carried by another one of His children...



I am 20 weeks along with Baby #3...

Better than Ice Cream

I've never had Maggie Moo's ice cream, and I'm sure if I did, I'd be hooked.  However, since I've gotten it on your mind, let me tell you about something better than their ice cream.  What?  Better than ice cream?  I know, we're all suckers for it, but I hope you'll settle for allowing me to introduce you to a dear friend and sister-in-the-faith, Alison. 

Alison and I went to high school together, and though I was a few years younger than her, I vividly remember her kindness to me even then.  Though time has flown, I was fortunate enough to find her blog online - Maggie Moo's Mom - only to discover how incredibly talented she is.  The Lord has blessed her with an amazing gift.  Please take the time today to visit her site and enter to win a great give-away!  I've been sporting one of her adorable keyfobs for months now!

All my love,
Jenna

8 is Great... Even When Almost a Month Late.

Daniel actually turned 8 months old on December 20, 2009.

 
Daniel turned 8 months old on December 20, 2009, but with all of the hustle and bustle of the holiday season, I completely forgot to update you on how his eighth month went!

In his 30th week:
He became fascinated with gum.
He would try to pop them when Mommy blew bubbles.
He weighed 19 lbs. and 14 oz.
He received his second vaccination of the seasonal flu shot.
He slept 6 hours a night and took 2 hour naps.
He was wearing 9 month clothes and size 3 diapers.
He met a lot of his family (whom he'd never seen) over Thanksgiving.
He was crawling and standing all of the time.
He had his first taste of ice cream at Jason's Deli.

In his 31st week:
He figured out how to move his wrists.
He drank juice from his sippy cup, all by himself!
He followed us everywhere.
He discovered he wasn't a fan of cold weather...
He disliked being bundled up with coats, mittens, and hats.
He watched as Mommy and Daddy put up the Christmas tree.
He was in awe of all the lights.
He got his first tooth!

In his 32nd week:
He called everyone and everything, "Nay-nay" or "Na-na."
He pulled the pearls and ornaments off of the Christmas tree.
He saw and noticed rain for the first time.

He started scooting/pulling himself around the coffee table.

 

 

In his 33rd week:

He went to his buddy Drake's 1st birthday party!

He started reading the book, What is Christmas, before he went to bed.

He loved playing with whisks and spatulas.

He held his bottle all by himself!  YAY!

He met up with his friends, Philip, Melissa, and Daniel, for dinner! 

He started really enjoying his Mimi's piano.

 

 

 

 

Christmas Vacation... Johnson Style

The Sunday after Christmas we headed west to Clarksburg for Brian's family Christmas.  If I told you how many hilarious things happened while we were there, you honestly wouldn't believe me because it became our very own rendition of Chevy Chase's Christmas Vacation.  From the water heater going out, forgetting presents for everyone who would be there, running to Walmart to buy Mema gifts because her big gift (framed pictures of all of us which we had taken two months earlier without her knowing) wasn't ready at Hobby Lobby, unexpected yet wonderful guests, wrapping last minute, eating more leftovers than I care to recall, being woke up by either a crying baby or a dedicated hunter (who only hunts once a year), to being more thankful than you can imagine due to a growing, healthy, rambunctious, always eating, messy, cold, hilarious bunch of family.  We even sat around telling what we were thankful for in this year - because we've lost Granddaddy, Thomas, and Cindy yet we've seen 6-year-old Hayden recover and strive after a partial removal of a tumor.  I mean, the blessings are more than I can tell you, but here are some of the pictures from our amazing Christmas Vacation.

Daniel checking out his great-uncle David

Brian and nephew, Landon, reading the Christmas Story

Daniel with his stick horse from Mema

The cutest girls and nieces you'll ever see -

trying on their new clothes!

Cousin, Landon, feeding Daniel his bottle

Mason, Landon, and Brian working off their food

The whole Johnson family

Daniel taking a bath at his Aunt Kim's

When we left Clarksburg, we headed even further west to Jackson, where we met up with Brian's mom's sister and her family.  We love getting to see them because it isn't often when we do.  We stopped at this great pizza buffet, Snappy Tomatoes, and really enjoyed each other as much as we did the food.  Here are few pictures of our last Christmas gathering.

Daniel entertaining his cousin Jodi

With cousin Kevin

 

It's been a while since Daniel has seen

his great-aunt Dina.

Daniel showing off for all the ladies!

Daniel with Daddy and his buddy, James Evan

Great-uncle Bubba and Daniel

Daniel was ready to get down and crawl!

Cousins Kevin and Brian

Brian and his aunt, Dina

Again, we are so blessed with a loving family!

We love and already miss you all.