He's Heeeerrree!

I am extremely excited to announce the birth of my nephew! My sister, Kathleen, gave birth to Noah Alden Daniel Johnson Sunday, October 26th at 5:56 p.m. Noah weighs 8 lbs 10 oz and is 21 inches long.

Mom and baby are doing fine...just really exhausted.

Look at those adorable, pinchable, chubby cheeks!

The proud momma with her little man.

I just wish I could be there right now! I head to New Jersey November 12th...so I still have to wait a few weeks.

Random Fun

Mike and Dylan have their own little games that they play together. One of Dylan's favorite is 'Brrr.' He loves to hold really cold soda cans and press them to his forhead and have Mike say 'Brrrr.' The kid can seriously play this game for an hour. It's pretty cute to watch the two of them.
Mike takes turns playing the game with Dylan.

I have decided that a lot of times, Dylan acts up due to lack of male presence in his life. At times, Mike has to work a lot of hours and can go two or three days without seeing Dylan. So, one day last week, I took Dylan up to Mike's work and we all went out to lunch. We had a great time and Dylan was literally jumping all over the place. As soon as we got home, he crashed! The poor kid was so exhausted, he couldn't even make it up onto his bed! Luckily he stayed asleep when I moved him.
Dylan has learned that if he knocks on doors, he will get something in return. Whether it be finding Daddy on the opposite side, letting Taz inside from the deck, or getting a snack. He always waits to see what will happen after he knocks.

Pullen Park

One of the reasons we were so excited to live in North Carolina was because we wanted to experience all four seasons. We are so happy because Fall has finally arrived! We have been taking full advantage of the gorgeous weather and scenery. The Raleigh area has some of the best community parks I have ever seen. Last week, Dylan and I met up with our play group at Pullen Park. It has several different playgrounds, a small duck pond with a walking trail around it, train, carousel, and speed boats. We had a great time.

All the kids were so excited about the train ride. A five minute ride for $1?! Who can resist? This is my friend Renee and her son David enjoying the scenery.

Dylan was SO excited about the train. He really loved riding the carousel pony, too. Unfortunately, I was busy holding him on his pony so I couldn't get a picture.

Everyone kept bugging poor little Brayden.
Dylan and his little friends
Dylan was more interested in running around in the sand than playing on the equipment.
I think he was busy chomping on some Goldfish.

You can't make this stuff up

This morning, I realized I had forgotten to pay a couple bills. So, I was sitting at the computer in my bedroom this morning trying to get some of those depressing things paid. Dylan was sitting on the floor behind me watching 'Little Einsteins' on the Disney Channel. About five minutes into the show, he was at my side whining. These were his exact words/whines, "Ahhh, uck.' Seeing as how whining from Dylan is something I hear at least once every 30 minutes, I just ignored him. After about two minutes of it, I looked down at him. He was standing next to me looking and pointing at his hands while still whining. Upon further observation, I realized he had chocolate smeared all over his hands. I'm talking between his fingers, under the nails, etc. I thought to myself, 'Hmmm, I don't remember giving him any chocolate this morning. Maybe Mike left the pantry door open.'

As I stood up to go inspect the house for the chocolate, I realized that this 'chocolate' was also smeared down Dylan's legs, his back, blanket and a little on the carpet. Oh crap...that's not chocolate...that's...well, that's CRAP!

Side note: On Monday, the pediatrician warned me that Dylan's antibiotic could cause loose stools. I neglected to consider that when I fed him a quesadilla with refried beans and cheese on Tuesday for dinner.

Back to my story, yes, there was poop everywhere. I rushed Dylan into his bedroom so I could wipe him down before throwing him in the bath. (I am not into hosing him off in the shower because that would mean I have to clean the shower, too.) After I finished wiping him off, I told him to go hop in the bathtub. Normally, he will run right into the bathroom and get in the tub without any coercion from me. Well, because Little Einsteins was on, he had to stop and watch. Before the explosion occurred, Dylan had been standing with my tennis shoes on. He decided to re-assume his previous position with my shoes on, standing in front of the tv. Wouldn't you know that he decided he needed to pee. That's right, he peed all over my shoes and the carpet...which was already covered in poop. Luckily they were my old tennis shoes that I only wear for going to the park, but still they were MY shoes!

I finally got the kid in the tub, cleaned him up and then proceeded to clean up the mess in my room. I do believe that this is the grossest experience of my life. I'm thankful for only two things: 1) that Dylan actually came and 'told' me what was going on and 2) that Taz (for once) decided this morning would be a good one to stay on the couch downstairs and sleep!

Rest & Relaxation

Because Dylan is STILL sick, (Yes, that's right, he has been sick for over a month now), I decided to take him to my parent's house last week. I was in serious need of a break from wiping snot off his upper lip every five minutes. In spite of him not feeling well, we ended up having a wonderful time. (I stole these pictures off my mom's blog)

Grandpa and Dylan catching raindrops.

Dylan loves the water, no matter where it's coming from.

Gramma and Dylan playing a round of soccer ball.

Thanks to my parents, I was able to get some much needed R&R. One day, I ran away to the mall for a few hours and then got my hair done. It was awesome!

We arrived home on Saturday and Dylan's nose was still running. By Sunday afternoon, he had developed a croup-y cough. So, first thing this morning I called the pediatrician for the fourth time in a month. I took him in this afternoon and it turns out that all the mucous has now caused him to have an ear infection. Blah for the infection, but yippee for stronger meds! Hopefully this means he will be on the mend shortly.

Flashback Oops...

Guess I forgot to do my flashback last week. I've been forgetting a lot of stuff lately because the sickness going through my house is literally making me go crazy.

Lately I have been thinking a lot about my favorite hair stylist of all time. I'm not really sure why...maybe my horribly visible re-growth has something to do with it or the fact that in the three years since I've moved away from Utah, I have yet to find someone who even comes close to doing my hair like her.

So, this weeks flashback goes out to my Destiny! Yes, that's right - I call her MY DESTINY! Everyone else is just borrowing her until I can afford to hire her on in my full time staff (LOL). If you are ever in Orem, UT...you must make an appointment with her at Platinum. This girl is the BEST! I would give up a lot of stuff to fly to Utah and have her do my hair. I should also mention that she is one of my most missed friends.

Love ya, D!