No Work, All Play

We're enjoying a second week off of work for me. Even though Todd doesn't have the whole week off, he loves coming home at night and hearing about all the fun things we did during the day. We've been playing, running errands, watching our favorite videos, and just relaxing! The house is clean, the laundry is getting done and I love waking up without the rush of trying to get out the door by 7am. I think we could all get used to this lifestyle!

Bridget has been cracking us up with some of things she's been saying lately. We sometimes have no idea where she picks up her words and phrases. She's been plagued with the hiccups quite often lately, so she says, "Hi-ups again?!" She calls a heart a "heartbeat" and thumps her chest when she says it. She asks to go to the car wash everyday and every night she tells Todd we went there, even when we didn't! She is phasing out "Mama and Dada" with "Mommeeee and Dadeeee". And we have been watching our "Boopy" (Snoopy) videos over and over and over on the new playroom TV from Grandma and Grandpa Garner. This has been quite convenient as I try to get ready in the morning!

She has been such a good girl and I'll be sad to head back to work next week. The good news though, is that the countdown to my maternity leave is officially on! 5 weeks and counting!

She never gets tired of this toy, which is not new...it's from her 1st birthday!

Checking for cars

She was very excited when the lawn people showed up during breakfast yesterday

Reading those Christmas books one last time

And today was a tea party kind of day...

Christmas

It was a very Merry Christmas for us. We hosted Christmas Eve at our house with family and friends. Bridget stayed up way too late entertaining all the guests and had to be woken up on Christmas morning at 8:30! I was up at 7:00 and just couldn't wait any longer to get the morning started. Her new play kitchen was put together and waiting under the tree for her. The good news...she loved it! The bad news...we had a hard time getting her away from it to open any other gifts! It took us about an hour and a half to get through all the gifts under our tree. Not because there were sooooo many, but because Bridget wanted to take each new thing she opened out of the box to examine it more closely. And then in most cases, she threw it to the side to get back to her kitchen!

On Christmas Eve she opened her gifts from Grandma and Grandpa Johnston and boy did she love this one...

Bridget slept on and off throughout all of Christmas Day which is very, very unusual for her. We were worried that she must be getting sick, but she woke up the next day feeling just fine. I think she must have been completely exhausted from all the Christmas festivities of the week.

The house is still cluttered with toys and boxes and new gadgets, but Christmas clutter is the only kind I don't mind. I'm usually sad to see each Christmas season come to an end, but not so much this year. Once the Christmas decorations are packed away, we'll be decorating with new baby furniture, hanging teeny tiny clothes in the closet and bringing out all those newborns must-haves that have been put away since Bridget outgrew them not so long ago.

Good-bye Christmas, Hello new baby!!

The Most Wonderful (And Busy) Time of the Year

The Thanksgiving to Christmas stretch has flown by and I can't believe Christmas Day is this week! Each year things seem to get busier and busier. We're keeping busy decorating, shopping, wrapping, cooking, socializing and celebrating with friends and family. And in between all that trying to keep up with the normal day to day routines. It seemed like every afternoon was spent making a quick stop here or there to pick up this or that...another bar of cream cheese for the dip, one more tube of glitter for a 1st grade craft or grabbing that last stocking stuffer! AND I'm approaching my 8th month of pregnancy! I'm seeing the doctor every 2 weeks now and can't believe how much more of a physical strain this pregnancy had been. By the end of the work day I am completely exhausted, but I'm trying my best to have all the energy I can for my afternoons and evenings with Bridget. Thanks goodness Todd is there to do anything and everything we need. He'll mop the floors, put Bridget to bed, clean up the dinner dishes-whatever it is, he'll do it! We still have A LOT to prepare for the new baby, but I know it will all fall into place just in time.

Bridget is loving anything and everything Christmas this year...She has grown to love Santa. I think she's sat on his lap three times now. We're pretty sure it's the freebie coloring book that keeps her going back for more! She's having fun searching for our Elf on the Shelf each morning and she's in heaven with all the Christmas sweets that have been in the house.

More fun to come later this week!



Enoying her first cup of hot cocoa on one of the few chilly days we've had so far this season



An evening out to look at Christmas lights!



Hugging her singing and dancing snowmen given to her by the Smith Family last year



Almost chose this as our Christmas card picture, but went with ths one instead...

Thankful

We have so much to be thankful for this year! I am thankful for this family photo where we are all looking at the camera and smiling! Those don't happen very often:)


We have been blessed this year with so many great things. A growing, healthy toddler...a new baby on the way...a perfect new house to celebrate the holidays in...cooler weather that arrived just in time for Thanksgiving...family and friends both near and far. This long holiday weekend has gone too fast, as they always do, but nonetheless I am VERY thankful for the extra time off.

The week began with a new adventure. The arrival of Bridget's big girl bed! She loved it from the second we put it in her room and her face lights up everytime she sees it. She chants, "Big Girl Bed! Big Girl Bed!" The first few nights were too good to be true. She slept nearly the whole night through. We've taken a few steps back the past couple of nights. She's been waking often and wanting Todd or I to come in and lay with her. She loves being in there, she'd just prefer some company! Overall though, it's going great. I know she'll get it perfect soon enough.

Thanksgiving day was spent at my parents house, followed by some Black Friday shopping, Gator Football and decking the halls for Christmas. We are ready for Santa and all the festivities that come with this wonderful time of the year!


Happily jumping into her big girl bed!



Bedtime stories with Daddy



Making her 'Home Alone' face!



Thanksgiving morning waffles



Trying so hard to be like the big kids!

A Day at Disney We Won't Forget

We'd been looking forward to Bridget's first trip to Disney for a long, long time and last weekend we made the trip. We were NOT disappointed! It was perfect! We planned just one day at the Magic Kingdom for our first trip. We are quickly learning that everything you do with a 2 year old is hit or miss...it could be wonderful or it could be the last time you do it! We were prepared for either, but the day turned as perfect as I had hoped!



Our first ride was "It's a Small World"...this was her reaction to most of the rides. I don't think she was quite sure what to think!


My sister Caroline drove to Orlando from Gainesville to spend the day (and her 20th birthday!) with us. Bridget was very surprised to spot her down below as her and I rode through the sky on Dumbo! We made our way through all the Fantasyland rides, but Bridget's clear favorite was the carousel. She kept saying, "Again, again!" after each time and then moved her hands around in a circular motion to really get her point across! Just as we were about the board the Winnie the Pooh Ride she conked out for a much needed rest. She slept through the ride and slept through lunch, but woke up just in time for the parade. We used an ice cream cone as a bribe to get her to sit still on Main Street while waiting for the parade to start. It worked! She finished her ice cream with just a few minutes to spare before the parade started. She, of course, used those few minutes to put on her own show on Main Street-twirling and spinning and then running away from us while laughing hysterically as we chased her! She loved the all the characters and waved to them as they paraded past us.

Ride #2 on the carousel with Caroline



Somebody loves ice cream!

Main Street Parade



Next we were off to meet Mickey and Minnie in person. These days at Disney, the characters don't roam the park like they used to...you have to wait in a line to get a chance to meet them. Thanks goodness we did-she loved Mickey and Minnie! She high-fived them and gave them both a hug and a kiss.

She loved them!




Our day ended with a few more rides and a long visit to Pooh's play area. We called it a day just as evening came and Cinderella's castle lit up. It made us so happy to see Bridget have so much fun. I can't wait to go back again with a little brother or sister in tow!

Making herself at home in Pooh's house



A completey exhausted little girl...sweet Disney dreams!

Halloween: She Got It!

The holiday season is officially underway and I'm happy to announce that Bridget "got it"! From carving our pumpking, to trick-or-treating, to It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown...Bridget loved it all!

We carved our Pumpkin on Friday and Bridget alternated between "helping" us carve to watching Charlie Brown. We recorded it from TV earlier in the week, and I think we've watched it everyday since then! The pumpkin transformed into a spooky Jack-O-Lantern much to Bridget's delight. She seemed to like all the spooky and creepy Halloween decorations the best!


She didn't even mind to ooey-gooey inside of the pumpkin




Laughing out loud at that silly dog, Snoopy!



Our Jack-O-Lantern

On Saturday our ladybug was ready for treats! My parents and our good friends, the Baileys, came over to watch the FL/GA game (FL won!) and celebrate Halloween. Bridget was a little hesitant at first, but after about 4 houses, she got exactly what was going on! She started to walk up to the houses all by herself, say her jumbled little version of "Trick or Treat!", and then waited for the good stuff. Most houses held out the bowl for her to pick from which she loved. M&M's were the most popular treat much to her delight. We're still working on saying "Thank You", but she had the "Bye-Bye" part down pat! She slugged her trick or treat bag over her shoulder and moved on the next house.

There must have been 100 or so kids just on our street trick-or-treating. Bridget loved seeing the other kids in their costumes and looked like such a big girl trying to be just like them! By the end of the street our ladybug was getting tired and sweaty, so she opted for the wagon on our way home.

This morning when I asked what she got when she said "Trick or Treat" she told me, "M&M's!"



Baby Gabe was a hot dog!





Walked up to the door all by herself!




Coolest house in the neighborhood...they had Charlie Brown playing on their garage! Between that and the M&M's, Bridget was in heaven!





All done!

Pretty Pictures

We kicked off Fall last month with a Fall photo shoot. Bridget was less than cooperative on picture day, but you'd never know it by these beautiful pictures. She wanted nothing to do the cute pumpkin, apple and hay props the photogapher had set up, but we managed to keep her somewhat happy with some Mimi M&M's and the freedom to run around the yard.




www.kellehamptonphotography.com


And even though we didn't get the pefect pumpkin shot that day...here we are a few weeks later at the pumpkin patch in our neighborhood. She picked up the pumpkin, look right at me, gave me a partial smile and I snapped just in time. Pretty cute!


Always moving...

My Baby is 2!

Hey Birthday Girl!



Finally, I'm getting this big birthday post complete! Yeah, I've been really busy, but my computer has also been so slow lately, making uploading pictures nearly impossible. It's been a great week here at the Johnstons! The most exciting news is that Bridget turned 2 last Thursday, October 15th. I can't believe it's been 2 years already! Celebrating her 2nd birthday has made me even more excited to welcome another one is just 4 short months. I can't wait to do it all over again!

We celebrated both on her actual birthday and a few days later with family and just a few friends. She was spoiled with so many wonderful presents, but it sure is great to have some new fun toys around the house. With her birthday being pretty close to Christmas, it's been quite awhile since she's gotten so many new things at once. She loved ripping into the presents this year and wanted to play with all the new toys immediately!

Our 2 year old little girl is so much fun to be around everyday. Her favorite words right now are "Mo"...which means NO, and we hear it quite often. And "Oh-tay!" She loves to sing and hum songs and is getting pretty good at humming a familiar tune and she tries her very best to sing the words to her favorite songs. She tucks in and kisses her baby dolls good night every evening and she loves her bedtime stories. We'll tell her to go and choose "one more book" and she comes back with four! She loves getting dressed and re-dressed throughout the day and fortunately she has no problems wearing what I pick out for her. She loves trucks and cars and doesn't mind taking big tumbles, but she still loves a pretty tutu and sparkly shoes. A very funny moment from her birthday party was when she opened a new pair of pink Crocs from Aunt Caroline. She ripped off the shoes she had on to put on the new ones...then not even 5 minutes later she opened another new pair of shoes from Uncle Kevan and Kimmy, ripped off the Crocs and put those on! She still wakes up every morning between 5 and 6 and wiggles her way between us in our bed.

She is part baby, part toddler, but most importantly she is all ours!



A lovely ladybug cake to honor Bridget's upcoming Halloween costume



The three of us!





Cheeeeese!



Loving the new easel and all the fun art supplies to go with it from Grandma and Grandpa Johnston



The new piano from Grandma and Papa Garner was an instant favorite (yes, that is green icing all over her face!)



My favorite shot of the day!