One Month



Bella makes tummy time look easy.

How quickly a month goes by!  Grady turned one month old today and we still look at each other in amazement every day that he is ours.

Grady 1 month Facts:

• His eyes still look blue and his hair blond
• He tips the unofficial Johnson scale at a little over 9 lbs.
• He outgrows his clothes in length much before he does in width (he takes after his dad and not his mom in this respect). It makes me sad every time he outgrows an outfit.
• If he has a family resemblance at this point it may be to his cousin Tyler (see picture below). It will be fun to see if this resemblance keeps up!
• He has given up all binkies except for the SF Giants and the BSU Broncos ones - good choices, G.
• Despite my worry that the name Grady had no nickname, he has picked up quite a few nicknames on his own including Gradyman, Gradymon (the Jamaican version of Gradyman), Gradykin, Gradybug, G, G-Man, Gradyboy, and Gradymonster.  
• He is a good sleeper and a generally a very happy baby.
• We think that the cutest things about him are:
• the way he stretches when you unswaddle him
• the little smiles that we are starting to get
• his little naked buns
• his funny facial expressions including the one eyebrow raise and Benjamin Button (old man wrinkled forehead).
• We really do love him more every single day!!

Grady on the left and Tyler (now 5) on the right.






The one eyebrow raise

Starting to smile. . . melts my heart!



Naked buns and an unshowered mama!

Our 85 year old baby, AKA "Benjamin Button"

In other news, we packed up both of our blondies and headed to the mountains this past weekend.  The overnight trip to McCall was a success by all measures!  Grady did great in the car, had his best nights sleep ever (11:00 p.m. - 6:15 a.m.), and we got in some good eats and great family time. 

Our blond girl did much worse on the ride than our boy!

Thanks for everything guys!

Aunt Erin Visits!

Grady was visited by his wonderful Aunt Erin this week and although she only left yesterday, we miss her terribly already.  Erin lives  in North Carolina now and we've gone much too long since we have seen her so we were especially excited to welcome her to town and introduce Grady to his aunt.  Erin is as wonderful as a sister comes. She cooked every night she was here and made double batches for the freezer including about 4 dozen chocolate chip cookies - any thought of a post baby diet went out the window with those cookies, those things are to die for.   She also just acted like Grady was one of her own kids by rocking him, changing him, and getting him ready for the day.  She helped me navigate the first grocery trip, first trip to a restaurant, first big car ride to the mountains, and many other normal daily activities giving me confidence along the way that I can do it on my own.  We walked together every morning and just had sister talk time and lots of laughs - the best thing on earth.  Grady loves his Aunt Erin so much already!

Grady also got to meet two of his cousins who came for an afternoon visit on Sunday.  They were both so good with him!  I remember when these two were Grady's size.  Brad is now taller than I am!

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR COMING TO VISIT AUNT ERIN!  IT MEANT THE WORLD TO US!

Grady Boy, Week Two!

Life continues to roll along in the Johnson household.  Grady is sleeping well, however, his dad not so much.  I cannot tell you how many times I have woken up to Christopher hoovering over something he thinks is "Grady" telling me things like, "he is in the perfect position, but my arm is falling asleep".  I slowly come out of my own sleep and start trying to figure out what in the world is going on.  We go back and forth for a few minutes until Chris comes to realize that what he thinks is "Grady" is either really a pillow, an extra fold in the comforter, or most frequently Bella and I come to realize that Grady is sleeping soundly in his bassinet.  This whole newborn in the room thing has been a little trying for my wonderful, sleep walking husband :)

The highlights of this week were Grady's first bath and a walk by the river with our newest rig. Here are the pics of those two things and everything in between. We are falling more and more in love every day.



Our boy loved his first bath.



Go Broncos!

Love the BOB!

Get that sun out of my eyes!

The new nightly routine

The green burrito.

Naps with Dad on the couch.

So thankful for this little boy!

6 years!

This is what we were doing six years ago this week!

Our lives have changed so much since then, not the least of which is the addition of Grady to our family.  I cannot say that I knew we'd wait six years to expand our family, but I can say that I am glad we did.  We made a lot of wonderful memories together in those six years with the freedom offered by a no children lifestyle, but I am sure they will be nothing like the memories of the next six years. We celebrated with a dinner out by the river without baby.  We even snuck in some conversation that didn't involve discussion of Grady, although it was a very limited amount.  I enjoyed my first drink in nine months as we toasted in celebration of our anniversary.

Meanwhile, back at home Grady boy had his first gradysitter, a term coined by my mom and the inaugural gradysitter.  We were informed that he slept the whole time we were out, but my mom refused to put him in his bassinet because she wanted to stare at him.  We are so thankful to have family members in town that are willing and able to watch our little guy so we can continue to enjoy some time together as a couple.  We know how precious that is and we don't take it for granted.  Thanks mom!

First Week Photo Update

I cannot believe it has already been a week!  It has been the fastest week of our lives and we have had so much fun getting to know this guy.  Here is a photo packed update from week one.

Grady met big puppy sister Bella who is absolutely amazing with him, a little to my surprise and much to my delight!

We were all spoiled with the help of Kim.  She swooped in like a little angel cooking meals, doing laundry, lending a hand, and giving Grady lots of extra snuggles.  We were SO GRATEFUL for her help and so happy that Grady got in 4 full days of grandma loving.

Another grandma stopped by with the most awesome gift for Grady.  Robin has a tradition of making a quilt for each grandbaby and this time around she refused to give it to us until we told her his name, which she embroidered on the alligator.  It is the most beautiful quilt ever and just so special!!!!  Thank you Robin!

Grandpa snuck some cuddles in too!

Chris took the week off and we found ourselves creating new family traditions like evenings on the porch and nighttime walks.   I might lose it tomorrow morning when we say goodbye to him in the morning.

We cannot really tell who the little man looks more like, but we've decided that he definitely has his dad's feet, big toe and all. 

Grady met his first girlfriend Kennedy, daughter of friends Ty and Leah born June 23rd.  Grady has a bit to catch up on in the hair category. 

We've been enjoying the warm summer evenings outside as we poke and prod Grady for the two hours before bedtime trying to readjust his days and nights.  I will proudly say that this little man only woke up once last night! Woooo hoooo Grady!  I know every night won't be like that, but I will celebrate that victory.

And we've all spent time cuddling with Grady under his big orange G making sure to absorb this special time as much as we can.

We are so blessed.  Tonight we celebrate 6 years of marriage and Grady gets his first Gradysitter.