Jaxon's 1st Birthday

Can my little boy really be one already?! I remember thinking when he was first born that a year seemed so far away. Now, it has come and gone and man did it come quickly! I still feel like he can't be that old and sometimes I think of him still as a little baby but then I look at him and realize he is no longer my little baby but my zooming, babbling, laughing, happy little boy. I was so excited for his birthday and I know he won't remember it at all but it was still fun preparing and planning it, and then of course "paryting" it! :) I looked online at what other people had done and I loved the blue and orange theme so we went with that and did a "Shake Shack." We kept the party small because Jaxon tends to be timid around large groups so I didn't want him to get overwhelmed. My parents and sister were able to fly out so I am so glad that they were able to be apart of it. It was also my birthday and my sister's the following days and we always celebrate together so that is another reason why they came :). We kept the party simple and just ate, did a little trivia about Jaxon, and then watched him eat his cake and open presents! I'm no interior designer or super crafty but here are some pics from his birthday. It was a fun day and I just love my lil man to pieces!

Proud parents of the birthday boy with his birthday spread!

Burgers, carrots, fruit salad, blue and orange juice drinks, orange creamsicle smoothies, and blue raspberry and mango Italian ices.

I saw some really cute banners online but I decided to keep it simple but they were way fun and easy to make!

I was able to use a cricut machine to print all the letters which helped soo much. There is no way I would have been able to do this by hand.

I decided I wanted to attempt to do a cake for him myself and experiment with fondant! It was a lot of work and it by no means is anything spectacular but I am glad I did it and I would want to do more cake decorating so I can get a little better. My skills definitely need perfecting! The square is four layers of chocolate and white cake with buttercream and then the circle is Rainbow chip cake. Random I know, but those were the cake mixes I happened to have on hand.

I made special cupcakes for Jaxon that were egg and dairy free with dairy free buttercream frosting. I love this cake recipe and I don't think you can tell much of a difference. It is just a denser cake but the flavor is fabulous! Thank you to Milk Allergy Mom for the recipe! http://milkallergymom.blogspot.com/2008/05/dairyegg-free-cake.html

The cupcake toppers were done by Blissful Nest on etsy. The picture is a little blurry but they were so cute!

I helped him blow out his candle and then just a few days later he started blowing. It is actually pretty darn cute :).

Thanks to my fam, Lauren, and Mckell for coming and celebrating with us!

Little Moments

After waking from his nap today, I was rocking with Jaxon in our chair and he was very eager to get down and play but I asked him if I could have a kiss. He sometimes responds and other times just wants down but today he quickly grabbed my cheeks and placed a big baby smooch on me. He had never grabbed my face like that before and it just melted my heart! It was such a small thing but it made my day. It's little moments like these that I cherish and make being a mom the greatest job I've ever had. I love my sweet little boy!

This is why I love Florida

Ahh beach. I have to admit I feel very spoiled to only have to drive 45 minutes and be at one of most beautiful beaches ever! Powdered sugar sand, crystal clear water, and not a cloud in the sky. I feel blessed.


As you can tell by our very fair skin, we haven't been to the beach in awhile but Jaxon is starting to love it! He loves the water but hates the sand. He freaks out if it touches his toes. It is kinda nice though because all we have to do is put the beach towel down and he won't go beyond the edge of the towel. So no handfuls of sand in the mouth yet! :)

This is where we spent our Saturday, Anna Maria Island

Splashing!

Back on the Blog

I am ashamed. It's been over a year and I have not touched our blog! And it's not like I haven't had anything to blog about either. One of my biggest life changing events occured! Jaxon Rey Johnson was born August 22, 2010 at 6 pounds 1 ounce. It just seems like yesterday our little guy was born and now he is almost a year! Jaxon entered our world and took over my life and my heart. I think you could say that little boy has me wrapped around his finger.

I am not even going to attempt to make up for the past year but in a nutshell: Jaxon was born and I became a full-time Mommy, Jeff now works for Ernst & Young and says he won't ever switch jobs again ha, and we are still living in Florida and loving it!

Our blog will probably become dominated by Jaxon posts but he is my life now! Motherhood is a unique experience. It is the hardest but yet most rewarding thing I have ever done. With school or a job, you get a break. Mommyhood, no breaks. It's a 24/7 job but there is no other place I rather be than at home being slobbered by, chasing after, and laughing with my little guy. He is the greatest and I can't wait to share more about him. We're back!! :)

At the hospital after Jaxon was born

My lil crazy monkey now!

New Job

I am a little late on this one but Jeff has a new job! He has now been an employee of ENTRIX for about a month. They are an Environmental Consulting firm and he is now their recruiter. He first interviewed back in February but the whole thing was a very long process so we never thought much of it. They kept calling him back though and interview after interview, eventually offered him the job. It has been such a blessing though and something we really needed. This job opportunity has provided so much for us and was an answer to our prayers. He is only 5 minutes away from home now too so he can come home for lunch, which has been wonderful! His hours are also more flexible which has allowed him to start helping and coaching with one of the high school football teams in the area. Jeff is loving it! The past couple of weeks have definitely been crazy though because BP hired ENTRIX to help with the oil spill so they have needed massive amounts of people to start working immediately. Jeff has definitely been thrown into the fire but he has stepped up to the plate and is working so hard! I am so proud of him and so thankful for all that he does to provide for our little family! If you know of anyone who has marine biology experience and can go to Louisiana immediately, let us know! Jeff can give them a job! :)

Anticipation

So much to come...my mind is just filled with things to come! These next few weeks are going to be pretty busy and filled with much anticipation. Let me fill you in...

Back in February we bought a townhome! It hasn't seemed real though because we still are not in the townhome. They have been in the process of building them and they are finally finished! We have our walk-through this Monday and then we close on Friday. We have loved our apartment but we are so excited to have more space and I abosuletly love the townhome! We have been spoiled having a brand new apartment and we will continue to be spoiled with a brand new townhome. I am excited to move but dreading it at the same time. Since the townhome is ours, we can do whatever we want to it so some of the things my mind has been filled with are paint colors, decorating, BABY J's room, new furniture, etc. Decorating overwhelms me at times. I want everything to look nice but don't know really what I am doing...I need my Mom haha. I am also having a hard time deciding on how to do Baby's nursery. Decisions, decisions, decisions! (Something I'm not good at haha) I should also start packing. I need to actually do and not think! The time has finally come!

A work in progress still...

The almost finished product!

10244 Red Currant Court...our soon to be called home!

The school year is also finishing up which means I almost done with work. I had told my boss that I could finish out the school year and then I would be done. This next week is my last week of teaching my Stretch-n-Grow classes and then the week after that my little cheerleaders have their pep rallies! So my mind has been filled with cheers, pink, and stars as well. I just pray the pep rallies go well and that everyone likes them! The girls are so cute and most of them are around 4 years old so I figure it's ok if they are not perfect. :) I had one girl have a breakdown last week though because they had to do their cheers in front of their class. I was so surprised she freaked out because she is one of my most outgoing and crazy girls! Hopefully she will be ok for the pep rally because she cracks me up everytime she does her cheers. I have a feeling when I am done with work, I am really going to miss these kids!

Luckily I have a vacation to fill the void though! June 9th: official last day of work, and then June 11th: fly to Utah! I have been so excited to come and visit my family and friends and have just been counting down the days. I just wish it would come already!

And of course, my mind is always thinking of this little boy growing inside of me! I got to see him this week although he was snoozing and we couldn't get him to show his face! He always seems to be sleeping when I have the ultrasounds. Otherwise he is moving like crazy and kicking all the time. I will just sit and watch my stomach move as he throws punches and kicks. I guess he needs more room haha. He weighs 1 1b. 10 oz and seems to be healthy!

Me and baby today at 24, almost 25 weeks!

Way to go Mom and Dad!

Yesterday was my parents 40th wedding anniversary!! I am so proud of my parents. When I think 40 years, all I think is wow! My parents don't seem that old to me so it seemed weird that they have been married that long already. It seems like they just had their 25th! I am so grateful for my parents though and their marriage. Sadly, it is rare now to see couples married for that long. They have been such a great example to me and I thank them for honoring their marriage and keeping it strong.

I think of all that they have accomplished in 40 years of marriage and the greatest thing of all is the family they created. It all began with one son, four daughters then grew to two son-in-laws, eight grandchildren-and one more on the way :). Our family will only continue to grow but it all started with them and I am forever thankful for them for bringing me up in a family that was surrounded by love and care. They always worked so hard and still do to make sure we had everything we needed and I have never known someone to be so devoted to their family and their spouse. Thank you Mom and Dad for loving each other and us so much! Here are to many more wonderful years of marriage! :)

My beautiful Mom and handsome Dad :)

I look at this picture and it just gives me so much joy. Love you both!