Halloween and Randomness

Sorry about the lack of blogging lately. I've been busy, and well....just lazy! :) So here are some random pics for your viewing pleasure. :)

I lu lu lu lu love this pic!!!!

I decided I wanted to have Lucy be Lucille Ball for Halloween. And my amazing mom pulled off this fantastic costume! I laugh every time I look at it!

Simon decided to be a vampire. I was a little disappointed cause I wanted him to be something really unique....but I think he actually makes a great vampire!

Oh the jealousy...I wish I could sleep this sound, and look this cute!

Hayley and Lucy.

Jen and Lucy. (I love the fat face. Lucy's, not Jens.) :)

Enjoying the last of the good weather.

My Dolls

I know.....right?

Love them.

First Day of School

Seriously folks....he's pretty dang handsome, right? Simon started his second year of preschool yesterday. He was so excited to see his "buddies" (I love how he says that!). This year Kamden will be joining him (My apologies Teacher Tana! Together they might be some trouble!). Add his good buddy Owen to the mix and I can only imagine the damage they can do!

Here are a few pics of Miss Lucy Mae. She has grown so much in the last couple weeks. It's crazy! She has added so much to our family and it's been so fun to watch her grow. Simon sure does love her and she lights up as soon as he walks in the room.

Simon had the sheer pleasure of letting Lucy have a sucker for the first time. She freaking loved it if you can't tell! She got so mad when we took it away! Great- another sweet tooth in the family! Simon thought it was pretty fun to be the one to give it to her. Now we have to watch him extra close cause he thinks it's fun to let her "try" other things as well. Not good!

Simon has been enjoying riding the 4 wheeler with grandpa this summer. The kid is all boy!!! He has a serious need for speed!

We took Lucy on her first camping trip for the Downs Family Reunion. Besides the fact that we all got sick and had to come home early....she loved it! She loves being outside and she slept really good each night! I'm glad she enjoys camping!

This is just one of Gregs famous "self portraits" he does. He is pretty skilled if you ask me! I sure do love my family and am so glad we all have such a great relationship!

Randomness

So, here are a bunch of pics. Although our lives have completely changed, there isn't really much to tell about. Life with 2 kids is actually harder than I thought. Everything we attempt to do has to be planned around "eating" time. The idea that mom sleeps when the baby sleeps doesn't apply when you have a 4 year old. But I will say how greatful I am to some amazing neighbors who have pretty much adopted Simon, so that has made things a little easier! Plus my mom has been an amazing help, and thanks to her I actually get to shower now and again. Ah, things will mellow out shortly I'm sure, and I will find my new rhythm....until than, here are some pics to enjoy!

My mom has this huge snowball bush in her back yard, and Simon discovered it also made a pretty great hut! Doesn't it look so fun?? I miss the days of finding/building huts!

And here are a few (ok....a lot) of pics of the beautiful Miss Lucy Mae! I think she is stunning!

Simon loves to hold her and kiss her. He is a pretty great big brother!

I seriously didn't pose her like this!

Simon Says....

So, although I have totally been enjoying Simon playing outside so much with this new baby around, it stresses me out because he WILL NOT stay out of the road and watch for cars! I don't know how many times I have to go out and yell at him to watch for cars!

The other day I go out to once again loudly remind him to get out of the road and his response to me was....

"Mom, this is just a dream! This is not really happening!"

What the.....????

Introducing Lucy Mae Johnson

Welcome to this world Lucy Mae Johnson!

What a crazy weekend it has been! We went in Friday morning to have our little Lucy....start to finish labor was only 4 hours (it's really fine to be jealous if you'd like!)....and Lucy joined us Friday May 21, at 11:47am. She weighed 8 lb. 1 oz. She was a little bruised up in the face from coming out so quickly, but is still ridiculously beautiful (in my opinion!)

She looks so much like Simon did when he was born.

This was Simon getting to hold his baby sister for the first time! It was a pretty great moment!

Simon LOVES to hold her! He can go from being a total monster to being the sweetest thing ever when he gets around her. He is so protective (he does NOT like flash photography around her!) and doesn't like to take turns holding her...he just wants her all to himself!

Stay tuned for more pictures to come! My mom took a lot more than I did so far....that's what grandma's are for, right?

Our First Rodeo!

You may have seen before in previous posts that our little Simon has decided he is part cowboy. I have absolutly NO IDEA where he is getting this from, but I will admitt it's pretty cute!

Anyway, he practices his bull riding on grandpa's back and has also learned about mutton bustin'. So, we decided to have our very first family rodeo event on Health Days and let Simon give the Mutton Bustin' a try.

We have been talking about it for awhile now, and made sure he knew just exactly what Mutton Bustin' was (for those of you that don't know...it's when the kids ride a sheep and basically hold on for dear life.) He totally wanted to do it!
Simon's cousin Sid even decided he would give it a try! Don't they look like awesome little cowboys? Simon even went over by himself to get registered, and to pay his money.

After a very long day sitting in the sun waiting for his event....it was finally time. He went with dad, waiting in line....meanwhile I was being a very nervous mom! He did good till it was actually his turn to get on a sheep and than he bailed out. I guess seeing all the other kids fall off and start crying made him think "this is crazy....I'm out!". So, I guess I am still the proud mom of someone who does not succumb to peer pressure! :)

And I think he is still the BEST LOOKING COWBOY in the entire world! Love you Sim's....it was a good try! There's always next year!

Happy Mothers Day!

Happy Mothers Day to all those amazing moms out there! For some reason this was kind of an emotional mothers day for me....not a sad one in any way- but I guess being 9 month pregnant and simply the idea that I have a whole new mothering experience on the horizon there were a few times I got a little emotional! I can't think of anything I have done in my life (or will ever do) that is more challenging than being a mom. There are so many days and nights that I absolutly hate the fact that I have to be a working mom! I often hate that my house is usually a disaster. And I hate that it's usually my husband that ends up cooking our family a hot meal. My kids will probably never come home from school to their mom cooking yummy cookies. But, I also can't think of anything that I have ever done (or will do) that is more rewarding! I am amazed every day at the new things my little man learns. Today Cody asked Simon what he loves about mommy....here are a few things he said (and yes I got teary!)
-"she says it's OK to get hurt and cry"
-"she takes good care of me."
-"she says we should always be nice to people"
-"she always tells me to be a good example."
Who knew he was actually listening???
But I do want to thank my mom for showing me the greatness of motherhood! I am 30 years old and I still need my mom! She is my best friend, and the best example I have ever had in my life! When I think about my mom the number one word that comes to mind is "Service". If you know my mom you know exactly what I'm talking aboout. She is the only person I know that will purchase something just in case someone might need to borrow it. She puts everyone else's needs in front of her own. She has done so much to help me....there is no way I could ever repay her! She is such a hard worker and is constantly "doing". There are very few times that I can recall seeing my mom just sit!
I love the worrier in her, and I think she passed down that gene to me! I remember growing up hating the fact that I had to check back in with her when I came home at night, cause she had to know all her "chick-a-dee's where safe and sound", but now I'm glad I had someone to worry about me. And still 10+ years later when I travel for work there are times when I'll call my mom before my husband to let her know I got there safe and sound.
I love you mom and I'm so greatful for the lessons you have taught me, and for the mother that you have taught me to be!

Blogging Hiatis

So....It's been over a month since my last post, so I thought I'd do a little chatching up while I still can. WARNING: MASSIVE AMOUNTS OF PICTURES IN ABSOLUTLY NO PARTICULAR ORDER!!

A couple of my friends that I haven't seen in awhile were begging me to post a picture of me being fat and prego (OK, so maybe they didn't exactly phrase it like that)....so I thought I would appease them, but I guess also for journaling purposes I may want to look back on this and be greatful when I'm skinny again!

So, friends....here you go! Me at 8 months pregnant...only 38 days to go (but really, whose counting?).

When people say it takes a village to raise a child I now completely know what they are talking about! We are loving the good weather and Simon is having a ball playing with all his buddies in the neighborhood (and there are many!). I think we need to post different colored flags in the front window for each kid we have at our house...that way you can just look out the window and know whose house your kid is at at any time. Great idea, huh? This is Simon's best buddy Kamden. They are one a couple days apart in age and I'm sure we are all in for some serious trouble from these two in the future! Quick story....they both have power wheel four wheelers and one day decided to go to the park by themselves without telling anyone. Funny, but can you say "grouded"?
Simon turned 4 on April 10. I can't believe my little man is 4 already! He is so funny right now and is getting so grown up and indepentant! I'm kind of loving it! He loves Spongebob and wanted a Spongebob party. My amazing mom made this cake for him (don't worry mom, I won't tell anyone about the first attempt!).

And he finally got the 4-wheeler he has been dreaming of! All of the neighborhood kids have one and yes, I became that mom that had to have what the other kids have! He has been having a blast on it....and getting into trouble all at the same time! (see the above story!)

For his party they also played "Pin the pants on spongebob". I loved it and thought it was so cute! Thanks mom for thinking of it! Grandpa Mike even had some fun playing it. :)

Usually for Simons birthday we go to Hogle Zoo. Due to the lack of funds this year, we decided to just hit Willow Park. I think Simon liked it just fine. My mom and dad came with us and Simon got to have some great grandpa bonding time!

We have spent plenty of time with grandpa on the real 4-wheeler too! Simon looooooves the 4 wheeler!!! (I think grandpa kind of does too!)

My grandma sent Simon a birthday card in the mail (seriously....there still is nothing funner than getting mail!). I love this picture, cause she sent some money for Simon in the card. Can you tell he is excited???

We did lots of Easter Egg hunts!

And of course some car trouble! But luckily Cody is a man of many talents and was able to save us a lot of money by fixing it himself! Hooray! And of course had to have a lesson with Simon on auto repair! :)

Simon also had his Special Day at Preschool. It was so fun to go and watch him. They sang a song to him and he got to show the class pictures of him and tell all about himself. I won't lie...I got a little teary! (It's the pregnancy, OK!!!)

So....now you know what we have been up to this last month! Not to mention Cody has been working really hard on finishing a room in the basement for Simon. It's been a busy month and I"m sure the next month is going to go by quickly!!! YIKES!!

Kidney Cancer Awareness Month

So, March is Kidney Cancer Awareness Month. I decided to change my blog to an orange theme (I am slightly color blind, so my oranges and reds look very much alike...hopefully it is indeed orange.). My amazing brother in law is fighting the ugly cancer right now, so I thought I'd do a little blog post for him. Hayley and him had these awesome bracelets made (sorry, no pic of it) that say "Travstrong" and I've had a ton of people ask me about it at work. Probably because I'm not really one to wear jewelry. I love this bracelet, and Trav....we love you! Is it inappropriate to say "Happy Cancer Month"?? Ya, probably. I'm not great with words. You all know what I mean.

Kids Say....Part 2.

Did you know....Simon is a warewolf? He is. Truely. In his mind, he really thinks he is a warewolf! He has noticed that he has two teeth that are really pointy...this must indeed prove that he is a warewolf! He has learned to howl like a warewolf and today he asked me when he would start growing hair on his hands? I just laughed and said I don't know. He thought for a minute about that and said "I hope that doesn't happen till I'm a little older cause I think that will scare the kids in my preschool class." Correct. That would indeed scare the kids! :)

He also has informed us that warewolfs are really really really good at playing Mario Kart. So, he has been playing Mario Kart non stop lately. I'm not a big fan of kids spending a lot of time gaming, and I'm afraid we have created a monster (literally!). But, it is winter and it is pretty entertaining to watch him play!

Kids Say the Darndest Things!

I have to post this one more for my own memory cause it made me laugh so hard.

I was getting Simon ready for a bath and as he was on the floor taking off his socks he says to me
"Mom, remember when I was a baby and I wasn't such a problem for dad."

I laughed so hard! I told Cody and he chuckled, but I think it made him feel bad. You see, Cody has been the stay-at-home-dad the last couple weeks, so he is with Simon a lot. And Simon is 3 and is truely such a little rascal lately! So, unfortunatly it's Cody that ends of being the "punisher". So, apparently Simon has interrpreted this as "being a problem for dad."

It gave me a good chuckle for the night!

Cowboy Up!

I know....right? So cute!!! Simon has been obsessed with being a cowboy lately! And I can honestly say that it is by absolutly NO influence from Cody and I. We are not cowboy folk here! I think he must have spent some time with my Grandpa Downs in heaven before he came down. :) He loves to ride his toy horse "Ponytail", and is determined that he is going to ride bulls when he is older (um...I'm pretty sure I get the last say in that one!). He watches the movie "8 Seconds" about once a day and can't wait to try out the "Mutten Busten" this summer in the rodeos. What have we done? Where did we go wrong? Since we don't listen to country music at our house my sister brought over a couple CD's that she burned for Simon full of cowboy music (he only likes the boy cowboys to sing....no girls!) It just really comes to show that you can influence your kids, but they still have their own little personalities!

I love you Simon!

"Whatever you are, be a good one!"

-Abe Lincoln-

No Title Needed

Stress

Stress

Stress

Stress Stress Stress Stress

Stress Stress Stress

Blah! Ugh! Geez! Sometimes I wish I could just have a free pass to go and just get stone cold drunk!

Prayers

We have been trying to be better at saying prayers at night with Simon. I always look forward to hearing Simon pray. It just absolutly melts my heart and no matter what he prays for (it does get interesting) you can always feel the spirit in the room.

Tonights prayer consisted of this....

"Bless the race cars that they won't crash. And bless the bears in the zoo to be nice.
Amen."

A Week Off!

This week has been WONDERFUL!! I have had the week off from work and let me just say it was mucho needed!!! I think my boss was afraid I was just going to walk in and fire someone at work. Pregnant + Post Holidays = Give that girl a vacation before she snaps! I'm so glad I have a boss that is so forgiving and patient!! :) So, I decided while I was off I would get my house clean and try to do some organizing! No the nesting phase hasn't kicked in...I just finally have a little bit of energy! Simon has loved helping me clean. I got a bunch of these wipes back when I was really into couponing (thanks a lot Albertsons for selling out! Boo to you!!). And let me just say they have been worth every penny! Simon LOVES to use these wipes! He has cleaned my baseboards, chair rails, every flat surface in my house, bookshelves, my railing, you name it...he's cleaned it!

Here's a pic of him going to town on my floor. Let's just say it has kept him busy for HOURS!! And that equals a happy mom!

I also decided to go through the bags of handme down clothes that my two fabulous sis-in-laws have been sending my way (in hopes of me having a girl). Let me just say I had no idea what a project this was going to be! Girls, I mean this in the nicest way possible....but good grief!!! There was A LOT OF CLOTHES!!!! :) I'm not complaining- I am not sure I will ever have to buy a single girl thing till Lucy is 20!!

This bin is 6-12 month old ONLY! That's right....it's overflowing!!!

I'm going to have to change her clothes 5 times every day just so she can wear everything! I'm so greatful though that I have sil's with such awesome taste in clothes! Thanks for sharing with me! Oh, and let me just say this little girl already has a shoe collection larger than anything I have ever owned!!

Enough about girls....

Simon has hit that age. The age that dads instantly skip to when they find out they are having a boy. The pics will speak for themselves.

Shhhh...he's hiding! You have to pretend you can't hear him laughing hysterically!

He's smart enough to find some protection while he reloads his nerf gun.

Good grief! I've got two little boys to deal with!

I love watching them play together like this! Cody literally morphes into a 3 year old and they both have so much fun!