May 22nd

Sometimes a picture can tell it's own story... :)

A Friend Indeed!

Last Thursday I received an email that literally made me weep. It read ..., "Kelly, what are the Johnson's doing tonight? I thought I might come over and sit in a corner with DJ for a while...no need for you to entertain or even talk to me.. Let me know if you're available or if another night would be good. Esther" Now, some may wonder why that would make me weep...but anyone with a child is sure to understand... I'm exhausted and here someone was offering me an hour or two of relaxation in my own home - at no cost, with no need to "visit". In fact, in true Esther fashion - she came bearing food! Superwoman I am not. Barry is working nights, I work from home (8-10 hour days) or am in the office...with a new and very demanding role as Deputy Program Manager for Operations for a large government client; plus managing my role as new mom and fairly new wife - simply put, it's not easy. But on last Thursday, I cleared some clutter that I've been "getting to" for the last 3 weeks, folded some laundry and took a long, leisurely soak. When I came out of the tub and down the stairs, Esther and DJ were completely relaxed...




And the best thing is...Esther says she'll be back this week! She's doing lots of weekend traveling the next several weeks so instead of trying to visit DJ on the weekend, she's visiting in the week - perfect for me since it's in the week that I get most worn out....

1st Mother's Day

Mother's Day 2006...my first! It was a wonderful day, made even more wonderful by the love and fellowship of family and friends. The weekend started with my dad stopping by for a visit on Saturday. He delivered a very lovely "For My Daughter..."card that moved me greatly...plus some delicious chocolates and a wonderful scented candle gift set. What a way to start the Mother's Day festivities. Of course, the most wonderful time of all was watching him with Doyle...yes, Daddy calls him by his given name - as I often do myself - they chatted and Daddy sang to him and of course, it was a lovely scene.

Daddy arrived while I was baking... I made cookies and brownies throughout the day and took them, a thank you card and a photo of DJ to the NICU at Holy Cross on Sunday after church...I couldn't think of a more fitting day to say "Thank You" once again to the wonderful staff who cared for DJ (and me and Barry too!) during his first few weeks. The photos below show "Baby Johnson" in his finest...I selected the second picture to share with the NICU staff. My favorite person from that group - Nurse Navigator Extraordinarre Kathy Lee - sent me an email telling me what a great job we are doing - evidenced by DJ's fantastic growth (or did she say his girth?!)


After our trip to the NICU, DJ and I met my Jan, Pooh, Lanae, Chance, and Lanae's cousin and her daughter for an extravagant champagne brunch. And boy did we eat! After brunch, DJ and I went home and snuggled and napped..then I opened the wonderful presents sent from the West Coast - a silver key locket key chain from the best mom in the world (next to me of course!) and an awesome Coach bag just the right size for when I'm out strolling with DJ. It's good to be a new mom!




Not a bad shot of mommy and son...although I've got to teach my little one to focus on the lens!
A little snuggling... :) Barry funded our brunch as he was working hard all weekend. Hopefully he'll be off for Father's Day...


Oh, almost forgot this one...with Doyle in his "big boy" pants!

Mr. DJ

One of the cutest things to Barry and me is how Ericca calls Barry..."Mr. DJ" Here you see Mr. DJ walking the floors trying to put DJ to sleep - he did a good job, after the laughing spell - caused by DJ's gastrinomical outburst - DJ was asleep in short order.
The photos below were taken weeks ago...with the Johnson men asleep on the sofa then DJ "hanging out" with Dad.

And every now and then, I come from behind the camera to get a shot or two with the kid myself. These were taken yesterday...(5/11/06).

Spring Has Sprung!

April showers give way to May flowers... Spring has arrived at 1235 D. Street, NE!! That means the irises are in bloom...


...Long sleeves are put away and short sleeves are in season....




And everyone wants to play!

Here you see DJ resting (or is that wrestling?) with his Cousin Benjamin after one of Ben's "select team" soccer games....Below, Madeline gets in the picture with the fellas....

WalkAmerica - April 30th

On April 30th, Roxane and I joined hundreds of other walkers in a 5-mile walk raising awareness and funds for the March of Dimes in support of research and development to assist premature infants. We even took pictures so that I could include here on the blog...well, we thought we took pictures! In fact, we took "movies" - that fancy-schmancy digital camera of mine! I was taking movies of DJ last week and forgot to change the camera setting back. Suffice it to say that we completed the walk in fine style. I thought we were signing up for a 5k... note to self - read the fine print! Anyway, it was a great way to kick off the Spring "back to shape" campaign. I was a tad sore on Monday but none the worse for the walk. Together we raised $400. Next year I hope to have a stronger showing (meaning- if you're reading this, you'll be asked to walk and/or donate to the cause). I was moved by the families walking together - t-shirts of preemies, there were toddlers with little signs, "I was a preemie" on their backs...once the walk was completed, Roxane and I took the time to write notes to families with babies in the NICU now. The experience reminded me of how far we've come with DJ in a very short amount of time...and I am so incredibly grateful to God for the health of our son...

So, I took a picture! Which is really what you want huh? Does anybody even read my missives?

Here's one of DJ showing just how interested he is in our "WalkAmerica" story...LOL!


As you can see, he's into reading faces and expressions now. He is locked into Roxane as she chats him up..