Visitors!!

I have to apologize ahead of time for this and upcoming posts. I use this blog for your information, but also for my personal records. So, if I get a little wordy, it is because I don't want to forget anything about my life right now, and writing it down is the best way for me to remember!

What a wonderful week we had! On Monday, my baby sister, Ruth Crozier and her kids Karver and Kason came to visit us from Logan. This is very special for many reasons: Elliott LOVES Karver, and there could not have been someone he was more excited to see; Ruth is a super-positive, super-helper, and tonz of fun to be around; Lucy loved having Kason around. Ruth held the baby and helped watch the kids, Karver entertained Elliott and distracted him from the changes in our little home and family, and Kason kept Lucy smiling. Elliott has been having a hard time these last couple of weeks. He has been scared of everything (mostly tornados or "whirlpools" as he calls them). He gets so scared that he won't go upstairs alone, comes in a room a few times a night, and doesn't want to go outside because he is scared of a twister. This started before the baby came. I think was his way of dealing with his anticipation of the unknown changes coming up. Once Archie arrived, he became more difficult. He said "no" to us, acted out, wouldn't listen, and was just all around difficult. Once Karver showed up, Elliott was back to his old self. We appreciated that very much...Thank you RUTH!!

I am so grateful Mike gets time off after the baby. Mike has been my champion these last two weeks. He lets me sleep in when the baby sleeps (and sometimes when he's awake!), he gets the kids ready for school, drives me to nursing bra fittings (the doc says I can't drive for two weeks), cleans, unloads the dishwasher, prepares dinner, invites me on outings to get me out of the house, grocery shops, does the laundry, engages the children CONSTANTLY and LOVINGLY, and makes sure I take it easy and am happy. I love you Mikey, I appreciate you so much. It has been priceless to see him interact with Lucy and Elliott so much. As much as I miss them while I sit on the couch pumping or nursing, I am so glad they have their Dad to show them love and attention. What a guy.

When Archie is sleeping, he sometimes blows a little puff of air through his lips. It is adorable. He has done it since the hospital. We took him to the Pediatrician last wednesday, and Archie had lost 11 oz....he only weighed 5 pounds 5 ounces! This is not good. He eats for about 40 minutes, but he is fighting, fidgeting, sleeping or crying for 35 of those minutes. At the doctor's office, I nursed him for a few minutes and they weighed him again: he had gained 3 ounces! So, we know it is possible for him to get what he needs, we just have to help him get it. It was so comforting to know that it was possible! We came up with a gameplan, and he is doing so much better. We will weigh him at his appointment this wednesday, and we are sure he will be right on target.

Here are some pictures from our last week:

Archie's first bath. He hates bath time. It's a great way to wake him up. You can't see it in this picture, but he has an awful looking rash all over his torso. It started as baby-acne, but it has turned so horrible! The doctor says it's normal and it just looks bad....boy does it look bad! But, he doesn't seem to mind, so I shouldn't either!

(Pay special attention to the size of my hands next to the size of Archie. He is so tiny.)

Here are some pics from my little photo session with Archie.

Notice Archie's keen posing skills, he's ready for the big-time!

When Elliott saw me taking pictures of Archie, he got ready for his photo op...here is him winking at me!

Here is my angel Ruth holding my other little angel, Archie!

Elliott and Karver getting on great!

Elliott was able to teach Karver about basketball! It was cute to watch Elliott and Ruth teach him to throw the ball into the hole! Karver caught on nicely.

We decided to do our Johnson Easter tradition, Easter Fish, a little early so Ruth and family could participate. So, on Thursday night we got the Wilsons, Hynes, Croziers, and Emiliy and Jason together for some fishing fun! Mike was the only grown-up up with the kids, and he was the photographer responsible for these amazing photos (again...isn't he the best?!)

The fisher-people:
We weren't the only ones who loved having the Croziers over!
YAY Kason! His first fish was at the Hynes house....remember that forever!

Pure joy and belief on Elliott's face:

Pure joy and belief on Lucy's face (it's a little harder to see, but it's there, I promise!):

That's the update so far. I still have many posts to catch you up on: my pregnancy photos (more for my own history than your enjoyment...sorry!), perspective pictures of Archie so you can grasp just how tiny he really is!, dirtbike videos from Mike and the kids, and more Easter celebrations. Look what you have to look forward to! How exciting for you!