Drake's 4th Birthday

Our little man Drake turned the big 4 on June 2nd. Drake loves his birthday. Drake loves anyone's birthday. He insists that presents be opened first thing in the morning, no matter whose birthday it is. So he did that in the morning, and just had fun the rest of the day with Shad, Graham and "Nana". Drake is such a wonderful boy. He loves, loves, loves to talk. He's a great big brother and helper towards Graham, but also thinks it's great to get Graham to do things for him. Drake thoroughly enjoys being read to---or reading (he can read a few small words), and thrives on just playing, no matter what it is. He likes to play board games, build with blocks or lincoln logs, do his "homework" (complete worksheets about words or numbers), and play outside. He is such a wonderful little boy, and he keeps me on my toes with his energy and his curiousity. I'm grateful Drake is part of our family!


When Avery and I got home from the hospital on the night of Drake's birthday, him and Judy ("Nana") were making this cake. Drake probably had just as much fun, if not more, making his cake with Judy as he did eating it.



This is us singing "Happy Birthday" to Drake the night of his actual birthday.

Thursday, June 12th, Drake had his very first "friend" birthday party, and he was ecstatic! We served the kids pizza, jell-o jigglers and carrots for dinner.



My mom set up a treasure hunt. Drake loved it. He was very confident in where he thought the next clues were, even when he wasn't right.



They played "Duck, Duck, Goose!" for a while.

They also played "Red Light, Green Light". Graham just stood in the middle as an obstacle for the kids. After that game, Shad brought Gilbert (Drake's rabbit) to the front yard and let the kids run around with him for a while.



This was Drake's cake the night of his friend party. When he saw the car sitting on it, he took it off and informed me that cars don't go on cakes. I put it back on and tried to explain it was a decoration, but Drake wasn't convinced. When he showed his cake to one of his friends, he told her, "This is my cake, but the car isn't supposed to be on there."

Despite his qualm with the car, he kept it on long enough to blow out the candles.



It was nice to have my mom here to help out. My brother Matt even came down from Rexburg with his friend Kami (mostly to see my mom and Avery, but Drake didn't know that).



It was really fun to have a friend party for Drake and to see how excited he got about everything. Earlier that day, when he saw some of his friends, he kept asking them if they were coming. And during the party, he kept saying "Those presents are all mine." His little 4-year old self just thrived on having a party just for him. After everyone left, and we were sitting in the front room visiting, Drake snuck under the kitchen table to eat candy, after I'd told him he'd had enough. But how can you get upset with such a cute boy who only gets to celebrate his birthday once (or twice in this case) a year? We love you Drake!!

The first two weeks

I am definitely blessed. Avery is an angel, and has made my recovery from the birth quite nice. And Drake and Graham love her to pieces... so far. So these first two weeks as parents of three haven't been too bad. Shad's mom, Judy, spent the first week with us, and my mom, Diana, was here for this second week. Come Monday I'll actually have to wrestle three kids on my own! It'll be fun! On Avery's birthday, our friend Joan took the boys to church with her. Well, in Primary, the kids that were supposed to do the talk and the prayer that day weren't there. So they asked Drake to give the opening prayer. They were going to help him, but he told them he didn't need any help. So, he said his usual prayer, and then thanked Heavenly Father for his little sister. Drake is really sweet with her, and is always asking to hold her. Graham still likes to point at "baby", and is always wanting to touch her. I think Avery's lucky to have the two older brothers that she does.


Judy, a.k.a. Nana, holding sweet Avery.



Graham, Shad and Avery.



Drake and Graham picked out a toy for their sister before she was born and helped wrap it for her. They made a card to go with it, and one of the things Drake wanted it to say was, "We love you because you're almost here."

Avery also picked out (with mom's help) something for Drake and Graham. They thought that was pretty cool.



The boys admiring their gift from Avery.



Graham has had a harder time sleeping at nights the last few weeks, so we decided to move him out of the crib and into the toddler bed. He climbed in before I'd even finished making it. He's done pretty good with it since, and hasn't woken up as much at night.



Our local fire station has an Open House each year at the beginning of June, so Shad took the boys to that. Last year, it was on Drake's birthday, and it's the one thing he remembers most about his 3rd birthday, so we knew he'd like it again this year.



My boys.

Shad's parents have been instrumental in helping us get our basement finished (I'll post before and after pics when we're all done). This week, Shad's sister Amber came down one day with Shad's dad Brett. She helped watch the kids while Brett was working in the basement. Amber lives in Las Vegas, but was in town for a little while, so we're glad we got to see her.



Diana, a.k.a. Grammie, holding Avery.



Avery showing off her chubby cheeks.



More pictures to come ....

Avery Melissa Johnson is here!

She has finally arrived! Avery was born at 6:53 a.m. on Sunday, June 1, 2008. She weighed in at 9 lbs. 2 oz., measuring 21 inches long, and is just beautiful. If you want some details, keep reading... if you just want to see pictures, feel free to skip all the words.

I woke up around 3:45 a.m. Sunday morning to go to the bathroom, and was just laying awake in bed afterward when my water broke at 4:00 a.m.. I woke up Shad about fifteen minutes later, and for the next half hour or so, we got all our stuff together, got things put together for Drake and Graham, and cleaned up little things around the house. Around 5:00 a.m., we called our friend, Joan, to come over and be here when the boys woke up.

We got to the hospital around 5:30 a.m., and my doctor was already at the Labor and Delivery desk, just waiting for us (he was on call this weekend). They took their time getting me into a room, and it wasn't until shortly after 6:00 a.m. that they checked me for the first time. It got the nurse's attention when she discovered I was already 8 c.m. dilated! She immediately started getting all the stuff ready for the delivery.

My contractions remained fairly consistent for the next half-hour or so. Around 6:45ish, I got a really strong, extra-painful contraction. After two or three more intense contractions, I knew her arrival was just moments away. On the next contraction, and a few pushes later, our sweet little Avery was born, happy and healthy. It's always such a miraculous experience, and I feel very blessed to be able to bear children. And now I have a sweet little girl!


Just moments after she arrived, before getting her cleaned up.

Proud dad.



Shot of her chunky 9 lb. body and cute, dark hair.

Prettied up after a nice bath.



Proud dad again.



Graham was pretty excited about a baby.



We'll see what he thinks in a few more days, when she's still around.

Graham and Drake having fun on mom's hospital bed.



Drake couldn't stop saying "She's so cute. She's so cute..."



Nice shot of me in my gown and our three kids. Wow--three already!



Sweet kisses. Today, Drake was pointing out her "cute little fingers."



Sweet Avery sleeping in Daddy's arms.

Just another shot.



I shot this right before feeding her, so she'd actually be awake. She's a chunker.



I was trying to get a shot of her dark head of hair.



This is what she looks like most often--she definitely got her sleeping abilities from her dad!


I can't believe it's been almost 3 whole days since she's arrived. We're both doing well. I feel pretty good, and we have lots of help. Avery likes to sleep, so that makes it easier for me to get rest. Drake and Graham seem to be adjusting all right. Graham loves to point at Avery and say "Baby", and Drake likes to say how "cute" she is, and point out her "cute little" features. I just feel so blessed to have such a wonderful, caring husband, and now three precious, little children. Life is wonderful.

Springtime

I really like our place in the spring and summer, when everything outside is green instead of dead. And the boys like it because they get to play outside, and our neighbor's horses use our pasture again, so they enjoy that as well. I decided to post a few shots of our backyard and beyond, since we're still waiting for Baby Johnson to arrive (sorry if anyone thought this was an announcement post, and yes, today is my due date...).

Drake and Graham feeding our neighbors' horses.

Drake, on top of the world (a.k.a. one of our many dirt piles)

A shot of our pasture, before the weeds and horses.

Our pasture in the background (the wooden fence is where the last picture was taken from), and the unkempt part of our backyard (and a dirt pile).

A shot from our back porch, showing the crabapple tree in full bloom (the only time of the year I actually think it's a "pretty" tree).

A close-up of the crabapple blossoms.

Happy Spring!

Still no baby...

... so you get another random post of pictures. Drake and Graham spoiled me by coming 8 and 6 days early, respectively. Tomorrow, I'll only have 2 days left until my due date. We'll see when she decides to come, eh?

A few Sundays ago, Drake proudly showed us a picture he made of a temple on his little Etch-A-Sketch. Frankly, I was impressed that it actually resembled a temple, so we took a picture.

I don't know if you can see the tear on Graham's cheek, but he got really sad one morning when Shad left for work. Graham really wanted to go with him, so he ran and got his shoes and brought them to me, hoping I could help him leave with his dad. The camera was right next to me, so I grabbed this shot of sweet Graham's longing face, but unfortunately, he didn't get to go with Shad. Graham LOVES his dad, and says his name quite often throughout the day, and especially in the evening when it's almost time for Shad to come home.

Good buddies going for a ride.

Drake and Graham really, really, really like to be outside when Shad is, and are always eager to help him with whatever he is doing. Shad is always nice to let them help, even if it slows him down a little.

Memorial Day Memories

I always enjoy Memorial Day and the opportunity to go visit the grave sites of ancestors. Growing up, it was neat to see the names on the headstones and know that I was somehow related to this person or that person. But my fondest Memorial Day memories are of the times my family would go and visit the grave of my own brother, Brandon Christopher Dyer. Every year on Memorial Day, and other days as well, we would drive as a family to the Salt Lake Cemetery to remember my brother, and place flowers and a pinwheel by his grave. Brandon was born less than two years after me, but lived for only two months before returning to his Father in heaven. Because I can't make it down to the cemetery this year, I thought I'd show a couple pictures I found of days gone by. Have a wonderful Memorial Day!

Father & Son Campout

Last weekend, Shad took Drake and Graham on our ward's Father/Son Campout. This was the fourth year for Drake, and Graham's first! Shad's dad, Brett, met them at the campsite, and I think they all had a good time.

The happy boys right before they left.

Drake being a big help, I'm sure.

The boys learning how to chop wood with Brett.

Brett ("Papa") and Graham hanging out in the tent.

Drake playing with fire...


They each brought a shovel to help plant some trees for the service part of the campout, and apparently, Graham was quite possessive of his little blue shovel, and didn't want to put it down for anything.

Drake and a friend doing their own thing.