Six Months

Johnny turned six months on November 17th! Here are some things about Johnny at 6 months:

Johnny is a Momma's boy. 

But he does love to hang out with Daddy!

He is a pro at sitting up. He loves sit and pull his toys out of their basket.

It is so nice that he can sit in shopping carts and high chairs! It makes shopping so much easier.

He already has such a personality. He is so sweet, loveable, and funny. He cracks me up all the time.

He is the happiest baby. The above picture was taken right after we had been driving for 11 hours!

He LOVES the water! He would stay in his bath forever if I would let him.

He is so cute- I can hardly stand it!

Some other things about Johnny:
- he weighs 16 pounds 6 ounces (35th percentile)
- he's 25.5 inches tall (10th percentile)
- his head circumference is 42 centimeters (25th percentile)
-he can roll both ways
- he doesn't crawl yet. When a toy is just out of his reach, he'll lift his arms and legs off the floor and move them really fast. If he was in a pool, he would swim really far. On the floor, however, he just looks really cute but doesn't go anywhere.
- his laugh is my favorite sound
- he has started eating solid foods. He likes them okay- it's still a bit of a struggle to get him to eat solids. Bananas, applesauce, and sweet potatoes are his favorites.

- he has 4 teeth coming in. 2 have already cut through and the other 2 are really close.

Marcus and I feel so blessed to be his parents!

Jesus wants me for a sunBEAM!

Marcus and I have been called to be the sunbeam teachers in our ward. The kids are super cute and so funny. Sometimes they say the funniest things so I've decided to record some of them on my blog. (I'll just use the first initial of the kids' name).

Marcus: Does anyone know any stories of Jesus?
L: I know the story of the Misty Island Rail.
Marcus: Can you tell us that story?
L: Well Thomas the Train gets stuck...
Marcus: I don't think that's a story about Jesus.
C: I want to hear the story of the misty island rail.

Most of the time, they just say cute little things to us. And they have a domino effect on each other. One kid says they're hungry and then everyone is hungry. Or one kid needs to go to the bathroom and then all of them need to go. We also usually get to hear about their siblings. Those little 3-4 year olds sure adore their siblings- it's very cute. Needless to say, we sure are enjoying teaching those little kids!

Mirror, Mirror on the Wall

Well Johnny certainly is the cutest of them all!

Halloween

It's already been a week since Halloween! I can't believe how fast time goes. Marcus only has 3 more weeks of classes and then finals and then he's done with his first semester of Law School. Crazy! Next thing you know, John will be leaving on a mission. But thank goodness we still have 19 years before that happens- I still have a hard time leaving him for more than 4 hours...

But back to Halloween! Johnny was a monkey- and a dang cute one!

 Our ward had a trunk or treat on Halloween. It was fun to pass out candy and see all the little kids dressed up. Johnny's too little to go trick-or-treating but he enjoyed watching the kids and got lots of comments about how cute he is from people in the ward! :)

Stay tuned for a post about the adorable little sunbeams Marcus and I now teach!

Clothes are way more fun than toys!

Folks,

we have a roller:

And here are some pictures that I just have to share because they're so cute!

 Johnny loves watching Monk!

 He also loves Sophie.

 And his toes.

 And BYU football.

 And his mom.

And Dad eating donuts.

 And going on walks.

And having his picture taken.

I mean seriously... how did I have such a cute baby?

4 Months!

John Albert is 4 months old! I can hardly believe it. The last 4 months of pregnancy felt like an eternity- but John's first 4 months of life have FLOWN by. It's funny how time works.

 John's 4 month stats:

14 lbs 2.5 oz (45th percentile)

24 inches (25th percentile)

Head circumference 40.8 centimeters (25th percentile)

He may look just like his Daddy but he is much smaller of a baby than his Daddy was.

 John has started squealing SUPER high pitched- not one of Mom and Dad's favorite things

He has also started laughing- this is a favorite thing! (See video below)

 John has also discovered his toes- so cute!

And the doctor said we can start giving him some rice cereal. I think we'll try that tonight and see how it goes :)

 Grandma and Grandpa Smith were in town and we loved having them here! Johnny certainly enjoyed having them around as well!

Happy 4 Months, Johnny!

GFL

It's GFL's birthday. GFL stands for Good Friend Leah. It's the acronym my dad made up for her when she and I first became friends back in middle school. But she's not just a good friend, she's the best friend and I'm so lucky to know her!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY GFL- I love you! 

P.S. A year ago today we found out we were pregnant with John. Time sure does fly.

Dear Sophie

Thank you for making teething a little more bearable.

Love,

Johnny

Flo Rida

Marcus, John, and I spent two weeks on vacation! Most of the time was spent with my family for the Smith Family Vacation 2011.

Our itinerary was as follows:

July 23rd-25th: Marcus, Brittany, Johnny and I went to Twin Falls to see Grandma and Grandpa Gilson.
July 26th: Johnny and I fly to North Carolina. I was worried to do 8 hours of traveling on planes by myself with Johnny but he did great! He barely cried and slept a lot of the time.

Johnny hanging out with Grandpa Smith

July 27th: Hung out with my family in NC. We took Johnny swimming for the first time and he enjoyed it!

Johnny's first time swimming

The Smith Grandchildren: Ashlynn, Madison, and Johnny

July 28th: I got to go to lunch with just my Dad. He and I use to go to lunch together all the time right after I graduated from high school and was working full time for my neighbor. It was definitely a highlight of the trip for me. Marcus also flew in on this day and it was wonderful to have him back with Johnny and me!

We love Grandpa Smith!

July 29th: We took family pictures! All 13 of us were there and it was so fun. It was insanely hot and humid outside but I can't wait to see what the pictures look like!

Johnny and Madison at Chick-fil-A after family pictures

July 30th: All of the family except Marcus, Johnny, and me drove down to Florida (and Leah flew into Florida to meet them). Marcus, Johnny, and I spent the day in Cary trying out some restaurants and getting ready to meet the family in Florida.

July 31st: Marcus, Johnny, and I fly to Tampa and we all go to the beach. The beach was beautiful but the weather was super hot and humid. We only lasted a few hours at the beach before we were all ready to be back in air conditioning. We went back to the hotel, cleaned up, and drove to Orlando.

Johnny trying to stay cool at the beach

August 1st: We go to Universal Studio's Islands of Adventures! We rode tons of rides and, most importantly, we went to Harry Potter World. Harry Potter World was so fun and so well done but so crowded! It really should just be it's own park. But the detail they put into the castle was amazing and so great to walk through.

Harry Potter World!

August 2nd: We had a rest day where we just stayed at the house, went swimming, and just enjoyed each others company. It was a needed rest for the busy rest of the week.

August 3rd: Marcus, Shelby, Jordan and I went to Disney World! It was the first time for all of us and we had lots of fun. We went on the Safari at the Animal Kingdom, rode the Tower of Terror and Aerosmith rides at Hollywood Studios, and then did the teacups, it's a small world, Peter Pan, Space Mountain, Splash Mountain, Pirates of the Caribbean, and the Haunted Mansion in Magic Kingdom. We packed a lot in but it was so worth it and so fun. Marcus and I decided it would be great if it works out that we can take each of our kids individually for their 10th birthday!

A couple of the animals we saw on the Safari at Disney's Animal Kingdom

Magic Kingdom!

August 4th: We slept in a little and then headed over to Island's of Adventure to do all the water rides. It's a short day at the parks since everyone is exhausted and would rather just be at the house playing in the pool and relaxing. Mom, Leah, Jordan, Johnny, and I head back to the park later that night to watch the fireworks and walk along City Walk.

August 5th: We went to Islands of Adventure early to visit Harry Potter World one last time and then wemt over to Universal Studios and rode Rip Ride Rocket, Jaws, and saw Shrek 4D. Universal Studios also has a restaurant that has over 100 kids of soda. Marcus and I tried Raspberry Sprite, Cherry Vanilla Coke, Strawberry Sprite, and Cherry Sprite. Leah flew home and we all missed her terribly. THANK YOU Leah for coming and watching Johnny while we went to the parks! You are an amazing friend and I'm glad you're in my life!

August 6th: Jordan, Kendall, Marcus, and I go to Universal Studios one last time. We spent the afternoon swimming. (Swimming on this trip became synonymous with playing Marco Polo. We had so much fun!)

Johnny LOVES swimming!

August 7th: Marcus, Johnny, and I fly home and the rest of the family drives back up to North Carolina. We make it back to Utah in time to go to Trent's ordination as a Deacon- we are so proud of you Trent!

It was hot and humid and we did lots of walking but we all had a fabulous time! Now back to reality where Law School starts in 5 days...

THANK YOU MOM AND DAD SMITH for taking us on this fabulous vacation. We love you and are so grateful for all you do!

2 Months!

This little guy is 2 months old today! I can't believe he's been with us for two months already. And at the same time, I can't believe how much he has grown in just two months. He is seriously the greatest joy in my life (along with his dad, of course)! At two months old John:

-is our little socialite. He hates being in a room by himself. If he's in the living room and can hear that Marcus and I are in the kitchen, he'll cry until we bring him into the kitchen with us. We don't even need to hold him- we just stick him in his bumbo chair on the table and he's happy.

-doesn't like to stay in one position too long. We alternate every 10 or 15 minutes between being held, tummy time, bumbo, swing, or laying on his back.

-loves tummy time. Something about being on his stomach gets him to make noises- I love it!

-loves watching TV. He loves the bright colors and moving objects and will stare intently at the TV for a couple minutes at a time. It's so cute!

-takes a couple short morning naps, a long afternoon nap, and sleeps 9-10 hours at night. Yes, we do realize we are extremely lucky that he's been sleeping through the night since he was about 4 weeks old.

-is such a happy baby! He's starting to smile more and even chuckle. It's FANTASTIC!

-has redish hair. It's not fire red, but there is definitely a lot of red in there. We're hoping it doesn't change color.

Marcus and I love being parents to this little boy. We are so blessed to have him in our lives!

Happy Two Months, Johnny!

Oregon Coast!

Marcus, John, and I had the opportunity to go to the Oregon Coast with Marcus' parents for a week. It was so beautiful and relaxing. We had an amazing time and we're so grateful to his parents for inviting us!

The resort we stayed at was in Seaside. But we visited several other places in Oregon.

On the beach in Seaside

Pacific City

We also stopped in Lincoln City for some delicious seafood at Moe's. (sorry- no pic.)

The Sealions in Newport

And, of course, we stopped in Tillamook to tour the cheese factory and get some delicious ice cream.

(at this point- John was tired and sick of traveling)

While in Oregon we enjoyed collecting sand dollars on the beach (FREEZING ocean water even in June- unlike the NC beaches I'm use to), walking around the town, visiting neighboring towns, sitting in the hot tub, and just relaxing. It was a fabulous trip and we're so grateful for the time we were able to spend with his parents! And an extra special thanks to Grandma Gilson for her willingness to watch Johnny so I could participate in things like collecting sand dollars and sitting in the hot tub.

We love you, Mom and Dad Gilson!