The Bookends Keep Getting Big

The "bookends" (Fiona and Declan) have logged big milestones in the past week. My efforts to keep the gang from getting big are up against some stiff competition!

Last Thursday, Mike took Dec in for his two year well check. He is doing great and is the third V baby to astound Dr. H with 2yo verbal skills. He is right on par with all the developmental milestones. Having two older sisters is probably helpful in that department! He weighed 24 lbs 1 oz (7 percentile) and was 33.75" tall (36.5 percentile). He's such a string bean! I'm afraid for when pants weather returns. Summer is my favorite because I can size down to fit skinny waists (and long legs don't matter). At least half of Dec's shorts are 12 month size. And I had to try on five 18 month swimming suits before we headed north to find two that didn't fall off of him. I should probably stop complaining when he wants six dinners every night ... seems we need to fatten him up before fall!

Then last night was a very big night for Fiona. She lost her first tooth! It's been loose for almost a month and when we were up north for the 4th of July, she and Mike spotted the new tooth popping through the gum behind it. The presence of the adult tooth renewed her wiggling motivation and by the time we got home yesterday, she could bend the tooth to a 90 degree angle with her gum. Mike talked her into letting him tie a piece of floss around it and popped it right out. Q was super supportive (and curious) and held Buggy's hand during tooth extraction. Fiona was scandalized that there was blood, but got over it pretty quickly and was pumped to put the tooth under her pillow. We had a near catastrophe when I flipped her blanket to tuck her in, not realizing that she had put the tooth ON her blanket ... but we found it fairly quickly. And this morning, she discovered two quarters under her pillow from the tooth fairy. She's very proud of her gap and we're proud of how brave she was.

June Stories

I don't have any one topic to blog about. Life is just trucking along right now and we are all holding on and counting the days until we get to go to the cabin. So here are a few random, but fun things going on in our world ...

I was reading the painfully dull super exciting baby animals book to Declan a couple nights ago. He likes it because there are baby goats in it and because we sit there and make animal noises. There is a page with pictures of pets on it. He can never remember "guinea pig," so I had to remind him when I pointed to the picture. He repeated "guinea pig" and then proceeded to label the rabbit "guinea bunny" and the goldfish "guinea fish." 

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Fiona has a loose tooth. It's been loose pretty much the whole month. She was crazy excited when she discovered it was loose right before D's birthday party. The excitement has worn off, as has her dedication to wiggling it. It will probably surprise us all someday - when it actually falls out. Until then, she's bored with it and I'm going to live in a state of denial that she's old enough to have a loose tooth.

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Mike's new job is awesome - and he's really enjoying it. The one thing that we don't enjoy as much ... his hours. He has to be there until 5pm, which means he doesn't get home until 5:30 (or later). That means that I pick up the crew, get home, and run around like a crazy person to get supper ready before Dec loses his mind because toddlers are not known for their dinnertime patience ...

Last night, when I finally sat down after cleaning up dinner, Q sat down next to me, rubbed my arm, and said, "Mama, when I get big, I'm going to cook dinner in the kitchen." I asked her if she was going to do that because she liked to cook, and she said, "No, mama. I'm gonna do it so you can sit in the living room and play." Oh, sweet girl!

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The kids and I met Auntie, Anna, and Otto at the zoo on Saturday. Besides being hella hot, it was super fun! Eventually small people got hungry and tall people couldn't take the heat anymore, so we did what anyone would do ... used my phone to find a restaurant nearby where we could eat. 

My phone said there was a Subway nearby, so off we went. Phone was right, but Subway was tucked into a little strip mall. I was momentarily worried - until we drove by a cupcake bakery in the strip mall as well. Then I knew we were fine (whether Subway was there or not!). So after a moderately healthy sub lunch - and because this field trip was chaperoned by three Johnson women - we took all four kids to the cupcake bakery for dessert. And in a surprising move to all (seriously, the girls had quite the look of shock on their faces), I let each of the kids have their very own cupcake! 

Sweet Faces

Occasionally on the blog, you may see a particularly awesome photo of one (or more) of the kids and think "wow, Sara's pretty talented with a camera." Ninety percent of the time, you'd be wrong (once in a while, I do get lucky). Chances are, if there is a photo that makes you stop and say "wow," my incredibly talented sister-in-law took it!

Tracey has recently started her own photography business (photosbytracey.com), and we have lucked out incredibly in her efforts to build out her online portfolio. She brought her camera to Dec's birthday party - and look at these gems. I love how Tracey captures the kids "in the moment;" her photos show so much of their personality. From Q's sweet face as she snuggles her baby to Fiona's sneaky eyes as she tries to get Brad with a water balloon to Dec's pure joy at playing with the big boys - these are the people we adore.

Father's Day Camping Trip

Happy campers

Mike decided that for Father's Day this year, he wanted to go camping. We were talking with his two best friends from high school about it and ... we all decided to go camping together! We lucked out and found three sites together at Baker Park Reserve in Maple Plain (about 30 minutes from here). We've camped there before with our pre-kid camping partners B&C - and we are notorious "day campers" there since we had kids ... hanging out with C's family and doing super fun things like the Baker Boo. We were set for a weekend of fun with six adults, eight kids (six and under), and two dogs!

The bigs

Mike and I spent Friday morning packing while the kids played at Ms. A's, and then we picked them up right after lunch. Our timing could not have been better as we pulled into the campground right behind B&C. We got the campers set up (non-electric sites) and a fire going to cook our burgers. The sky was getting dark and our phones told us that a storm was on the way. However, the models gave us hope that the worst part may go around us. E&M got to the site just we finished cooking our burgers. So did the rain. The P and V families huddled under the P camper canopy and had a delicious picnic, while the S family set up camp.

When it's raining and
you gotta pee ...

The light rain continued for the rest of the evening, but it never got too heavy. It definitely didn't stop the kids from running around and exploring the full expanse of the three side-by-side(-by-side) campsites. They hunted bugs, played baseball, played cars, played tag, and really, played who knows what all! After all the kids were settled into bed, the adults grabbed some "big kid" beverages and huddled in camp chairs under the P canopy. We had the best time with each other - only interrupted by returning small people to their beds or watching E try to catch fireflies!

Friday night was not the easiest sleep in our camper. It was hot and really really humid. Dec was overheated in his little area and therefore, quite restless. At one point, he started screaming "owie" and was quite inconsolable until I picked him up. In the morning, we discovered a golf ball-sized welt on his calf that we suspect was a deer or horse fly bite. The girls woke up with the sun (sigh ...) so we handed them a coloring book and some colored pencils. A bit later, we folded up our bed (which is also the table) and set up the table. They came down and did some art while little bro slept and I ran to take a quick shower. 

Fiona had wild camping hair!
Humidity=Johnson women's curse

After breakfast and Bugs' daily flush in the S family's camper, we headed out on a bike ride with the S's. We did not go as far as them (they have independent riders ... we have extra weight to transport), so we hit the playground on the way back. Then we made a pass by the lake to check out how the Ps were doing fishing.

After a full gang lunch (we filled two picnic tables!) and a short nap by Dec, we headed down to the beach. The overcast sky of the morning turned into a very sunny afternoon. There was a definite separation of sun and shade lovers in the adults. I happily took a sun role and hung out in the sand and water with the kiddos. The beach was super busy, so it was too much for Q. She was much more comfortable hanging out in the shade where it was quieter. Bugs was all "bring on the beach" and Dec was more in the middle. He's usually all over the beach, but his bug bite and the heat were really getting to him and he was not himself for most of the day.

Our site

My favorite part of the beach was when Mike looked at Bugs and said "Bugs, you lost a shoe!" She says, "I know. Jack is looking for it." And we turn and see Jack in full goggles, diving away. He did not find her shoe (but B did), but he did find $10. No lie! Once Bugs, Dec, Cooper, and I were forcibly removed from the water, we headed back to the sites. 

Dec was still acting off and when I kissed him after dinner, I thought he felt warm. The other moms thought so too. With an assist from C's thermometer, we determined he was definitely running warm; Mike and I decided that I would take him home and see if cooling him off and getting some benadryl for the bite would make a difference. We asked the girls if they wanted to go home with Mom or stay camping with Dad. Neither of them hesitated - camping! I was surprised and pleased by their answer. 

Little bro is feeling better

Mike drove D and I home since he needed the car to bring the camper home on Sunday. And if D wasn't feeling better, we didn't want to have to drag him back up. By the time Mike got back and worked to prep the camper (he rebuilt the bottom bunk so the girls could each have their own beds - since Yogi and Dec were home with me), the girls didn't go to bed until 9:30 or so. They thought they were hot stuff! Both girls reported that their favorite part of the weekend was camping with just daddy (which makes my heart so happy!). 

After a solid 12 hours of sleep, Dec was feeling much better (the swelling on his bite was way down too). So we drove back up to the site to spend the morning with our friends and help with the packing. The kids had a great time continuing to explore together while the rest of us visited and broke camp. 

The proof that it was a great time - we are already booked to do it again next year. Same time, same place, same group! This looks like our new Father's Day tradition.

The Baby is Two!

Declan forgot that he's a baby and has decided to follow through on this whole growing up thing. He's very much a two-year-old - in all the best that two will bring AND all the "special" moments that two provides. Dec is a bundle of fun, smiles, and charisma. He has a grin that is SO cute when he is being good and SO frustrating when you are trying to be mad at him!

Dec is quite the character as well. He tries to be funny all the time - so if someone laughs at his antics, you can guarantee he will repeat that behavior. We spend a lot of time glaring at the girls for laughing, while trying to discipline him ... and not laugh ourselves. There's a family bet that he will be named Class Clown his senior year. Or at least be a serious contender!

Loves his new train

He still loves everything sports and is becoming quite a good thrower. In fact, he has figured out how to wait until Quinn falls asleep and then stand up in his crib and lob his mimi (lovey) across the room - usually right onto her head. We are in constant training of what you can throw and where you can (or can't) throw it! He also loves to watch his big boy friends and try to emulate everything they do. He picks up on skills pretty quickly and is always interested in learning more. He even makes a pretty good hitting coach, telling Mike to "stop dropping shoulder, daddy" after a particularly bad at bat at softball last week!

Testing Q's bed

D is extremely verbal (thank you, big sisters) and is happy to narrate his activities. "My bonk a knee. My okay. Want my water. Thank 'em, mama." He's our first kid to use the "my" instead of "I." I've tried to correct him a couple times, but he just thinks I'm talking about myself. So we're letting that go for the time being. The words are there. The logic, not as much.

In the mornings, he's usually the first one to get ready. His new favorite thing is to grab a book and climb up on Q's bed to read it. He will happily sit there, turning the pages, identifying the cars on the page, and making up little stories about them. He loves it when Q is ready and will come sit with him and "read" the book to him.

Birthday proper was spent in the pool

As a third child, he is generally decent at sharing. As a newly two-year-old, he is generally not good at sharing. It's a interesting paradox to watch. He got a couple birthday presents that he will adamantly protect with every ounce of his being. The first is an inflatable football, pretty much the same size as him. If Q or Bugs touch it, he screams like a crazy person. And then there is his new big boy water bottle. If his sisters even look like they are thinking of looking at it, he loses his freaking mind!

At two, Declan loves sports, balls, cars, trains, books, music, and being outside. He is quick to smile, quicker to giggle, and a bundle of energy! Happy birthday, little man!