We love you, Brooks!

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These are a few of his favorite things!

Balls--which Brooks can now officially say. It really sounds like ball! He is so cute and so smart. Anything that looks like a ball is "ball" to him. He recently looked at Greg's apple and said "ball". Cute.

His daddy. Brooks loves playing in his Playzone with his daddy. The giggles warm my heart.



His sippy cup. He is drinking water from his sippy cup now and does a great job with it.



I almost forgot his most favorite thing is smiling and posing for the camera! I am sure you all figured that out.

A Little R & R

It's not too often that we have a whole weekend without any obligations. With the hustle and bustle of the Holiday season behind us, followed up by a great anniversary weekend, we found ourselves with a weekend with no real plans. Friday night was spent hanging out at the house and watching Friday Night Lights, our favorite show. The whole family was pretty tired and we went to bed early. It might sound boring, but it was a perfect night.
Heather and Steph hit the gym fist thing Saturday morning for another workout with trainer Matt. They love working out and Matt's doing a great job with them. He always seems to come up with new exercises to mix things up and to push them to the next level. I better watch out because Heather's starting to get some pretty nice pipes!
After Heather got back from workout we got together with the rest of her family to discuss the upcoming family vacation over lunch. More details soon to follow, but it will be FUN! Everyone will have a great time, especially the kids. With the trip details finalized, we spent the afternoon shopping in Canal Park and just bumming around. Again, I'm sure that it sounds boring but it was just what we needed.

The fun day continued into Saturday evening with the family over for pizza and ice cream and a little bit of Wii action. Saturday is the one day of the week where we don't worry about eating junk food. We like to refer to it as "cheats." We love cheat day and the pizza and dessert didn't disappoint.
I found my video game skills to be lacking as Keven easily outscored me in just about every game we played. I'm definitely not good at it, but it was fun playing Wii.

On to Sunday. Race Day. I talked Heather into doing her first cross-country ski race and she was pretty nervous about it. Mostly she just didn't want to finish last. Heather is a natural athlete and I knew that she would do great, but she didn't know what expect. We loaded up the car and headed over to Boulder Lake for the race. There were lots of people and it was fun to run into a few friends we hadn't seen in a while. As for scoping out Heather's competition, it can be quite intimidating to see so many racers all decked out with fancy race suits and expensive skis. Almost all of the participants fit that description. I told Heather just to ski at her own pace and that she would do just fine. After the gun went off, it quickly became apparant that Heather no longer had to worry about finishing last. She was far from it as she skied out of sight in mid-pack. It wasn't a particularly good course for spectators, so we (Kev, Steph, Kennedy, and Maggie were also present to show their support) had to wait until she crossed the finish line to see how she did and get the post race report. Heather would tell you that it was a small field and that there weren't a lot of participants, but she did great. Third overall woman and solidly in the mid to upper half of the pack. Great job Honey! Not bad for your first xc ski race! I'm proud of you.

It just wouldn't be a true blog update without talking about Brooks. He continues to amaze us daily and we thank God constantly for him. It's so much fun to watch him learn new things every day. He's started to make sounds starting with G, he LOVES balls, and is really good at putting things in and out of containers. It's so much fun to show him how to do something and see him mimic it. I'm thankful to have such a great wife to raise this little buddy with. Family life is good.

Awesome Anniversary!

We celebrated our two year anniversary this past weekend with a trip to Maplelag Resort. We left on Friday and came back on Sunday. We celebrated with Stephanie and Keven who have now been married for 10 years (December 27th)! WOW! We had a blast. For anyone who has not been to Maplelag, YOU NEED TO GO! This place is Heaven on Earth! Our descriptions just couldn't do this place justice, so you better make a reservation, pack your bags and GO!

Maplelag is a cross county ski resort with over 60 kilometers of trail. The trails are taken care of beautifully and the skiing was phenomenal. The Richards family, who own the resort, go above and beyond. They know your name, treat you like family and really know how to cook. We enjoyed family style meals that were much needed after hours and hours of skiing.

We were even sang to and given an Anniversary cake courtesy of the Richards family. They are unbelievable. We had a blast and can't say enough good things about this place. We reserved our spot for next year and can't stand the wait.



Me and my sissy Steph!

Oh yeah, Happy Anniversary honey. You are the best thing that ever happened to me! I love you from the bottom of my heart. Thank you for being so unlike so many men and loving me, taking care of me and always putting me first. I am blessed.

Heather

First Blood and a Happy New Year!

We had a great New Year's celebration with friends from church and our family. We were so happy that lots of the people we love were able to come to our house for lots of food, Wii, and fun! At the end of the night we went around the room and told everyone the best thing that happened in 2007! It wasn't hard for us. Brooks is a true blessing to our family and the best thing that happened in 2007. We thank God every day for Brooks and can't think of anything better than having a healthy little buddy in our family.

Speaking of the little buddy, he had his first blood on New Year's Eve. Our sister, Laura, was able to capture the moment perfectly! It turns out it was just a little cut in his mouth and was not a big deal. You wouldn't know it by his face though! Take a look...


We rang the New Year in early (around 10:00) with streamers, noise makers and hats! None of us were able to make it to midnight.


This morning we went in the back yard and "groomed" a snowshoe route with our snowshoes. A bunch of us did relays and races in the back yard for about an hour. It was a blast (if you like the feeling of almost throwing up after your leg of the relay!) We were excited that our Pastor joined us. Afterwards we all came inside for coffee, oatmeal and eggs. Yum, Yum!


Happy New Year to everyone. May this year be better than last, or just as great if you had a year that would be hard to top (like we did)!

Love to all!

Christmas 2007

Christmas was jam-packed this year to say the least. We started with a visit to Greg's parents house on Lake Dowling. It was a snowstorm on Sunday (the day we went), so I was a nervous wreck the whole way out there. Once we arrived we were treated to a wonderful meal and presents. Greg's parents were very thoughtful in "rushing" us out of their house because the snow continued to get worse. We are glad we made it home in the daylight!

Before Greg went to work on Christmas Eve we had a chance to go snowshoeing in the fresh powder. We have access to trails at the end of our dead end street. It is neat to never have to put Scout on a leash. We had a blast doing hill repeats and enjoying each other, while Brooks was sleeping at his Auntie Lee Lee's house.

On Christmas Eve we attended church and went to my parents for dinner and presents. It was a fun filled night of us opening up all of Brooks' presents while he was in bed!


Santa came on Christmas Day with more presents for Brooks. After Santa we were able to see all sets of Great-Grandparents and were able to spend some time at our Auntie Lee Lee's house.

We could barely keep our eyes open when it was all done, but we both agree there wasn't anything we would delete from our plans next year.

Excited for Christmas!

We are so excited for Christmas at the Johnson household! We are excited to celebrate this wonderful time of year with our new addition. We know that Brooks won't really understand that he is getting presents and that Santa will come, but that does not take away the excitement we feel this season. We are thankful for so much more than presents. We are thankful that we have a wonderful marriage and are best friends. We are thankful that we have a sweet, smiley (notice the teeth) baby boy and we are thankful for the true meaning of Christmas. We so anticipate spending quality time with both sides of our families and feel blessed that we live close to everyone.

Brooks had breakfast with Santa today at Northland Country Club. He doesn't get it, and just looks at Santa like "Who are you?" Even though he doesn't understand, it was very nice to be with family. We also had a chance to ski the Northland Golf Course. They groom it each winter for classic skiing. We had a blast and Brooks is so happy being outside. He was all smiles the whole time.






We will post Christmas pictures once we have them. Merry Christmas to all of our family and friends. We love you all and are blessed in so many ways.

Heather and Greg

They say I look like my Mom...

...and that is a wonderful thing! I love you, Mom! We had our work Christmas party at my parents house (we both work for them!). It was a nice 6 or 7 (we lost count) meal catered by The New Scenic Cafe on the North Shore. It was great food and a very mellow atmosphere, which Greg and I both appreciate. Thanks Mom and Dad!

Back to the Blog

Sorry for the lack of updates! Lots to report on since our last past, most notably the birth of Dylan Thomas Johnson. Michele and Tom welcomed their son into the world on 12/06/2007. Dylan was a healthy 8 pounds 4 ounces and we are so excited for Michele and Tom to enjoy the wonderful world of parenthood. We made the trip to the Cities last weekend to introduce Brooks to his new little cousin. Wow, it's hard to believe that Brooks was ever that small! He's only nine months old, but Brooks looks like a giant compared to baby Dylan.

We had a great visit! In addition to seeing Michele, Tom, and Dylan, we got to spend some time with my mom and dad. We went out to dinner and for the first time ever we ordered restaurant food for Brooks. He's a good little eater and quickly devoured his macaroni and cheese. Our stay at the hotel was good too. Heather was initially disappointed to learn that the fitness room didn't open until 9:00 a.m. (she likes to get her workouts in first thing in the morning) so she improvised and got in a killer workout by utilizing the stairwell. For forty-five minutes she ran up and down the stairs. She could barely walk the next couple of days! After the workout, we decided to put the hotel pool to good use. Brooks is definitely a water baby! We had a lot of fun playing in the pool before we packed up to visit Michele's new family one last time before heading back home.

Babies, babies, everwhere! There must be something in the water because it seems like everyone we know has just had or is expecting a baby. Our friends Joel and Dawn had a baby boy the day after Dylan was born, Chris and Jayme are expecting in the next month or so, and Chris and Amy are also expecting in just over a month. Life is good and we eagerly await these new arrivals!

Switching from babies to toddlers, we celebrated our niece Maggie's 3rd birthday last weekend. Time sure flies, I can't believe that it's been three years already. Each year Keven and Steph give their girls a theme for their birthday parties. This year, Maggie's theme was candy. A very fitting theme for little Maggie Jo-Jo! She even had a pretty special birthday cake that was decorated to resemble the Candyland board game. It's fun watching Keven and Steph's girls grow up. Maggie had a fun day and seemed to enjoy all of her presents. Heather and I gave her an old-school, non-wireless, push-button phone (that's what she wanted). Maggie called us later in the day with her new phone which was a good sign that our gift was a hit.

The last of the big news this past week involves Heather's sister Laura. Laura had been attending the Focus in the Family institute in Colorado Springs for the past few months. We got to welcome her home this week but not before a big scare involving the shootings at the New Life church. Laura not only attended this chuch, she was in the parking lot just minutes before the shootings occurred. We thank God that Laura is safe and pray for the friends and families who have been affected by this senseless tragedy.

That's all for now. We'll try not to go so long before our next post!

Time to Eat!

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Big people food! Yeah, Brooks! He is doing so well with crackers, pears, peaches, bananas, turkey, peas, and pretty much anything else we give him. It is amazing what a good "chew, chew, chewer" he has become.

It is also so sad to watch him grow up so fast. Tonight during feeding time, I looked down at my "big" little baby and felt such sadness. His legs and feet are growing every day, and pretty soon he won't want to have his mama feed him a bottle before bed. The baby stage is going way too fast. I try to remember to cherish every moment that we have at this age.

We had a very relaxing weekend with no real obligations. We spent Saturday working- out and hanging out with our cousins Kennedy and Maggie. Family time and working-out are two of our favorite activities. We had a great day!

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On Sunday we went to church and came home to nap. All of us tried to sleep and I think that Mama and Brooks were the only two successful ones. After a much needed rest, we headed out to Sam's Club, and to look at Christmas lights. We were also testing out our new mini-van...yes, you heard it right mini-van, on the icy streets in Duluth. Greg and I were able to trade in our Honda Pilot for a Honda Odyssey. We love the easy in and out of the Odyssey and all the features geared towards families. The mini-van even has a video image of what is behind us when we back up. It is great. I thought I'd never drive a mini-van and actually swore I didn't want to be so "mom-ish", but I am a mom and I love my van!


Brooks loves his rubber ducky so much, he wants to eat it!