Christmas shopping...sort of

• Felt very judged today shopping in Christmas mania pregnant without my wedding ring on! So much for putting on lotion and forgetting to put it back on.
• Hand a wonderful time shopping today without the kiddos. Thanks Kirk! Why did I buy MYSELF 3 pairs of shoes? Selfishness runs deep from birth to death I guess. I certainly purchased other things but I went for myself first. Ha!
• The girlies didn't nap today...instead we drove around and then ended up at McDonalds. The kids have only been there 1 or 2 other times with people. I am proud to say that they do not know what the Golden Arches are...or at least I thought. As we pulled in, Logan quickly said..."oh, this is a great idea...I love Old McDonald". It was actually fun and clean and Lilly could do all the of the climbing things without getting stuck and me having to go in after her. It was a fun inside park since they have been stuck in all day with the cold.
• I had them do alphabet flash cards while they were eating tonight. I would turn the card over and whoever guessed first got to keep the card. Lilly pretty much dominated Logan. How is that possible? She is a year and half younger?! Logan was proud of her and told her she was doing a great job.

Prayers and Pumpkin Pie

I love the random entries made on this blog. It is perfect. My mind does not go in a straight line of thought anyways- I am always all over the place. Kirk always calls me random since I travel from one thought to the next without finishing the original thought.

• We went to Pump it Up today and a mom was talking to her 3 yr old daughter. She suggested that she run as fast as she can to the wall and back. Why am I so competitive that I almost told Logan to try and race her and beat her? We are talking about 3 yr olds. I am thankful that I didn't stoop that low and walked away.
• Is is really "helping" when a 2 yr old puts the dishes away with you but licks each silverware piece before putting it back (remind yourself of this when coming over to our house for dinner)
• Logan insisted today that Gwen Stefani's name was "Gwen the Farmer"
• We are moving next week and a few days ago Lilly thought it was a good idea to paint her toe nails on the carpet while I was taking a shower. Yes.. the carpet needs cleaning now (she also ran a marker over it) and No....she did not do a good job. Her hands and feet were covered in red. She said it looked pretty.
• We have decided to get Logan and Lilly each a fish for Christmas. Thinking of going with a Beta. This really challenged Kirk on the whole "how do we deal with death issue". Goldfish would have been the easy route since they are easily replaceable. However, I am going with the outlandish colorful...so obvious if it dies fish. We will enjoy it's beauty and deal with the other stuff later.
• Logan goes back and forth on whether we are having a girl or a boy. She is calling it Micah for a boy or Ayla for a girl. I don't know where she comes up with this stuff. She will be dissapointed when we do not choose those names...regardless of the sex. We find out Dec. 21 :)
• I asked Logan to pray tonight and say what she is thankful for. Her response: "Thank you God for Pumpkin Pie, Chicken and Mac n Cheese. Those are my 3 favorite." So I said, "What about people?". Her response: "Silly, we don't eat people!" I love it!
• I love fun and sweet moments with the kids. In the middle of being pregnant, moving and the holidays...I feel like I am constantly beating myself up for them watching too much tv, not enough home cooked meals or educational activities. Then I hear them randomly sing all the words to "Amazing Grace" or "Jesus Loves You" or "Jesus Loves the Little Children" or when they say excuse me before talking or "please" and "thankyou" or "may I please be excused",or hold the door open for someone without being asked.... whatever it is at that moment, it is precious and I am just thankful that I get to experience it with them and be there to witness it. We are not the perfect parents but God gave these kiddos into our care and he did not give them to anyone else to care for them. It is nice to know that we can be trusted with their well being, no matter how we feel like we are doing. I am thankful.

Confessions

Logan had school yesterday so Lilly and I had some free time to hang out. We went to lunch, got a little something sweet and then went clothes shopping. Was it too much to ask to be good in the store? She decided she didn't want to be held or stay near me. She of course decided to scream and cry and within seconds nearly the whole store was staring at me. I was actually done and about to pay and what do you know....the checkout line was terribly long. Even though I am used to this "2 year old display", I spared the rest of the store that was sick of hearing it. I practically dropped the stuff on the floor and ran out of the store.
So....when Lilly took a nap at 2:30pm and wasn't waking up when it got dark....I didn't wake her up and let her sleep all night. Harsh but she paid me back by waking up at 5am.

Misc cuteness

It doesn't get any sweeter than your 3 year old telling you "you are my very best friend in the whole world". She will not being saying this when she is 13 so I am eating it up!

I then told her a few days later "Logan, you are my best friend." To which she replied, "no, I'm not. I am your little girl". That was also a super cute response.

I love being able to hang with them so much. Logan has become my little buddy and we enjoy going places together as she points out letters and numbers and I can listen and notice all that she is taking in. It is really neat to view the world through eyes that are seeing everything new and fresh for the first time. It is a humbling experience as a believer when you think of all that God does everyday for us and we are just seeing it as an every day occurance. To a 3 year old, the miracles seem more fresh and real. It is encouraging.

Lilly on the other hand is 2 and that's fun....ha! As Logan and I are looking for something in a store, Lilly takes the opportunity to sprint as far away from me as far away as possible. She is "over" sitting in the cart and yet she won't stay anywhere near a safe distance away so...it is a lose lose for me. She is dang cute though and she gets away with too much. However, she does say...."mama, want hold me" (pick me up) and "want gum" way too much. Yes, she loves gum and she actually chews it without swallowing it for quite some time. However, Kirk has found gum on the tv and on his favorite chair....oops....

I am hoping and praying Lilly will get out of some of her "terrible twos" before May 21st gets here as baby 3 will be zapping my energy at night!!

Fall Fun

• The leaves are turning and the girls and I are really enjoying cooler weather. We had fun painting pumpkins. Of course with kids, I used water based paint so it has all come off from being outside. Logan spent an hour painting her little pumpkin. She said she wanted to do it all day. Lilly painted her pumpkin but really enjoyed painting herself more.




• We went to Gentry's farm pumpkin patch and had a star sighting of Nicole Kidman and her hubby...that was fun for me at least!




• Logan is going to be Cinderella and Lilly is Snow White for Halloween. Logan wants to wear her costume all the time. We saw Disney On Ice and she was smitten. She kept asking when it was her turn to ice skate.




• Logan has enjoyed playing soccer whenever she can. At least she understands that she can't pick up the ball with her hands (not an easy thing to teach little ones). Cousin Cooper has been scoring so many goals when we go to his games - Logan loves cheering him on.




• Logan, Lilly and their cousins, Cooper, William and Eleanor went to the Parthenon yesterday and explored around. After about 20min Logan decided it was okay to go to the bathroom in the grass. She had her clothes on, spread her legs and peed on the grass! Rachel and I were in shock as people were walking by watching! I asked her what she was thinking and she said "it's okay that I pee in the grass". I proceeded to tell her how that was not okay, so she then tried to take her clothes off. I think peeing in public and taking your clothes off is some sort of violation.....ha! Goofy girl.

Updates

So...I haven't been updating as much as I should!

• Lilly turned 2! We had a fun little family party at home




• We found out the night of her party (Sept 4) that we are pregnant with baby number 3 :-). I am due May 23rd. We are super excited of course!




• The girls started their 2 day a week Mothers Day Out. They are loving it and learning a lot. Lilly is the youngest in her class but really picking things up.




• We decided to stay in TN instead of moving to Chicago




• I retired my Real Estate License and am officially a stay at home mom!




• We had a great football reunion weekend at University of Illinois...even though the Illini lost as always! It was so fun bringing 10 kids to see the game though. They did great even though it was cold!

Missouri

Yep- we were off again. Logan and I went to my cousins' wedding in Missouri and Lilly had some fun time with dad. Logan is a serious dancer. At the reception she danced all night with her cousin Mary. I had to keep her from stepping in on the bride and grooms first dance and the daddy daughter dance. She had so much fun

My brother Nate drove back with us (7 hr drive) and stayed the week here. It was great to spend time with him. The girls love their uncle Nate and would wake up SUPER early to see him. Lilly woke up at 4:50am and was telling him she wanted up and wanted to play.

Logan hasn't napped in 4 days. I am fearing the worst....naps may be coming to a close for her....

Chicago and summer fun

• So- as most of you know...we are moving to Chicago when our house sells. I was up there a couple of weeks ago with the girls and Logan loved it. We drove to see all the "big buildings" and Lake/beachfront. Logan thought Chicago was one of the skyscrapers and was ticked when we didn't actually go in "Chicago". She loved spending time with Grandma and Pops and Uncle Nate. She cried when we had to leave.



• Lilly started using the phrase "I do it" (not even 2 yet). Somehow she can pull out a really cool Italian accent as she says it. She is currently obssessed with brushing her teeth and jumping on things....couches, beds, people. She recently fell off our recliner chair that they were climbing on and landed on her head. I was concerned that she had a concussion since she was walking around dizzy and nearly falling over for a few minutes. She of course was fine.



• I threw Logan's "princess shoes" away today. They were her Easter shoes that she insisted on wearing everywhere and with everything (bathing suits included). I have tried to buy her new shoes but they were not princess shoes according to her (they didn't have a heal). The velcro wore out and that made her so frustrated everytime she tried to put them on herself. I am such a bad mom for secretly tossing them in the trash!



• Logan has also had a wonderful summer with Oma and Opa and spending time at their place. She has learned how to plant seeds and water them and watch them grow. Today she learned how to pot a plant. She loves spending time at the "farmette" as they call it. Lilly likes to swim over there but mostly stand in front of their juke box in the diner and sing "big girls don't cry" and shake her hips!

Back seat drivers

So Kirk taught Logan what Red,Green and Yellow colors mean on stop lights. Now we will be driving and she yells at me to stop whenever she sees red or tells me to go fast when she sees green. Clarification was needed as to the specific locations of stops (like at the line and not a mile away from it).

Lilly has also chimed in. She points out hay bails and airplanes. She also has too many boy friends because she started claiming to see "bad guys" in the back seat. Logan promptly informs her: "Lilly, those are not bad guys, those are hay bails".

We are also on the look out for fire hydrants and "daddy's car".

Driving at night requires us to see fireworks. We were driving home when the fireworks were going off around here on the 4th. Now Logan thinks that when we drive at night fireworks should be going off.

We are driving to Illinois today for a follow up dr. appt. I guess we will see what car disscusions deserve a post. Love you all!

Surgery

Hello All :-)

Thanks to everyone for your prayers for my knee surgery yesterday in Chicago. Third time is a charm right? He cleaned up a lot of scar tissue that was under my knee cap. This will help me tremendously he believes.

Last weekend we went to a wedding of a dear friends' in Birmingham. It was so much fun to hang out with everyone and dance previous to surgery!

Unfortunately, while we were gone over the weekend Lilly started getting sick and found out the day of surgery that she has a double ear infection. Poor thing. I feel bad for our dear sitters caring for her since they are listening to her cough all night. This is her real sickness. We are driving back home today. Looking forward to seeing the girls :-)

Thanks again for thinking and praying for us....love becca

Big Girls Don't Cry

• "Big girls don't cry" is now Lilly's favorite song. She sings it when she wakes up, in the car and pretty much whenever.
• They went to vacation bible school last week and have been since stuck on some new songs


• Boston was so much fun with Kirk. We toured around for 7 hrs both days we were there and hit up a Red Sox/Yankees game. It was a blast and demand that everyone put that on your "must do before you die list".


• Logan has decided that ladybugs carry cookies on their back. What else would the spots on their backs be?
• Here is a great difference between Logan and Lilly : going to the car wash. Logan was so excited to get the car washed and thought it was so neat. Lilly sat in her carseat gripping the sides saying "all done, all done!". She was so freaked out! Logan asked when we could do it again! So funny....

Mom and Dad time

• Kirk and I are headed to Boston for a few days. We are so excited to sleep in and spend some fun time touring and going to a Red Sox/Yankees game (thank you Hunter!).


• The girls have enjoyed going to the pool regularly. Here are a few pics of them in their watermelon bathing suits. One day Logan thought it was appropriate to wear boots and socks to the pool.
  
• Logan loves getting dressed by herself lately. Of course, she has some difficulty putting all the pieces together correctly and matching. We had a hard time heading to the park today because of her insistence that what she was wearing was too "itchy" or didn't match. She got undressed several times. Wow...teenage years with two girls may be interesting.....


• We went over to "Oma and Opa's" the other night (Grandma and Grandpa in German). Logan loved catching her first firefly and playing with the ski ball machine. She also planted and water some seeds in Oma's garden.

Deep thoughts from the Johnson Girlies

• "Stop talking on the phone and drive mommy"


• "Daddies panties!" (after helping unload the dryer)


• 6am: "I want to play with Uncle Hunter"! (instead of dragging him out of bed....we decided to put together the puzzle he gave Logan for her bday)
• "I don't like it when you tell me no Mommy" says Logan


• Hugs and kisses REQUIRED before Kirk leaves for work (or major melt down ensues)


• Lilly asks "why" when you tell her something (what one and a half year old says that?). When you explain to her "why", she says "ohh....okay".
• They call the grocery store "cookie" (because they get a free one) and Chick-fil-A "chickie"


• Lilly tells her own "knock, knock" jokes. "Knock, Knock". Who's there? "Daddy". "Daddy who?" (Pause)......"Knock, Knock". Who's there? "Daddy"......etc. Logan gets so frustrated because she keeps asking who's there and gets the same answer. Finally she gives up and tells Lilly to stop saying the joke.

Road Trip!

I(Becca) took Lilly and Logan to visit a dear friend Amber Porter and her 3 kiddos in NC the other day. It was a little over 7.5hrs from here. The girls did so awesome. There were a few moments of annoyance since Lilly has butterfingers and drops everything in the car and then yells..."I want it" or "Give it back!". It's not so safe trying to drive on the interstate and pick things up in the seat behind you and give it back all without turning around. At any rate-we arrived safely and it was soooo good to see our friends! 5,4,3,2, and 1 yr olds together in one house with two chatty friends. It was a great time. Logan slept in the same bed as Ella and Ava (right in between so she wouldn't fall out). Ella was looking out for her. I think on Wed and Thur they didn't go to bed until 11pm (put in bed at 8pm). Oh well- we had good convo, coffee and pie so what did we care?! We went to my new favorite store IKEA :-) Here is a pic of all of us loaded in the car and driving there and then the picture on the way back. Only Ella made it back to the house awake.
I was so proud of my little road trip buddies and am looking forward to taking them to Illinois sometime this summer to visit the fam.

Cousin Slumber Party

Logan and Lilly stayed over night at their cousin's

house on Friday. On Saturday-their cousins came to stay at our house (minus baby Eleanor).

When they got to our house we all loaded up and went to Zoes for dinner. It is pretty funny to walk into a restaurant with 20 something parents (well..Kirk is over 30) and 4 kids ages 4,3,2,and1......people stare! But, they did great and ate wonderfully and they all got cake! The drive there consisted of numerous "Knock, Knock" jokes. Cooper is 4 so he can usually string something together that makes sense where Logan on the other hand just looks out the window and says the first thing she sees. For some reason every joke had to do with Orange Juice. "Knock, Knock. Who's there? Orange Juice. Orange Juice who? Obviously, there is a long pause as either Logan or Cooper determine who Orange Juice is. If it is Logan's turn...she will look outside and say "Orange Juice bush or flower or house" and die laughing (to which everyone else does too because there is 4 of them and they love to scream and giggle). As you can see in the picture-every joke was halarious!!

Cooper and Logan slept in Logies bed. We read the bible and Cooper read ME the story of the Last Supper (nearly word for word). I don't know that I would have expected anything less from a son of a Yale Divinity Grad :-) It was adorable.

Lilly and William were in the other room and William told me that I was singing "Jesus Loves You" wrong (it is "Jesus loves me").

They got all dressed up spiffy for church the next day. Cooper looked dashing and Logan called him handsome. He said thank you. He told Logan she looked pretty to which she replied...."I know". We will have to work on her humility. Here are a few pics of them all dressed up.

We had a great time :-)!

Wed. night prayers

Logan prayed before bed tonight. "Tank u God for this day and for Daddy and Wiwwy (Lilly) and the stars and my bed". "Mom....can u do it now?"
Adorable.
Went to Puckets in dowtown Franklin for a yummy sandwich. The girlies did pretty good and were a bit restless before the food came. Good thing we ate early as the lunch crowd was pulling in. Logan proceeded to share that I could not have any of her M&M's because they were all hers (reward for finishing her lunch). However, she did decide to share one green one with me and two red ones for Lilly (incidently had a dyed red face after only eating two). She thought it would be a good idea to lick all the dye off and not actually consume the m&m.

Day one of our blogging journey!

Well...I have entered into the "blogging world" for a chance to update friends and loved ones on what is going on in our life. The life of a 3 year old and 20month old is exciting and exhausting as a parent and I want to be able to record all of the craziness and joy.
To those of you that will read it....enjoy! Hopefully, you can get a closer glimpse into what goes on in our day to day life!!
Love becca

oh...the kids are sprinting around the house right now chasing eachother (Logan sans underwear). We are headed to the park with the Bryants in a couple minutes....