Our E-Christmas Card

I am a total slacker this year and I didn't send anything out for Christmas.  I will next year, I promise!  I love getting Christmas cards from people and my fear is always that if I skip a year, no one will send anything to me the next year.

But I did send out a Christmas email.  If you read the blog no none of this information will be new to you, but in case I didn't get you in the email list (quite possible considering that I don't have my email very organized), here is what I sent:

Hello Friends and Family,

We are going the easy route by sending out our Christmas card over email this year, but at least we have a good excuse!  We recently welcomed our newest child, James Burton Johnson.  He was born the afternoon of December 3rd, and was 9 pounds, 4 ounces and 20.5 inches long.  He is three weeks old now and has charmed us all already.  If you were to ask any of the other kids about James, they would all shrug and say, "he cries."  See?  Charmed.

Joel continues working as a financial analyst for the HON company here in Muscatine, Iowa.  He also is enjoying serving as Young Men's president at church and attending the boy scout campouts.  During Joel's free time he finds himself constantly bombarded with little bodies who love wrestling with their Papa, and he is especially charmed by our daughter's magical giggle.  

Elise continues working. . .at home.  With four little ones we stay pretty busy but it is almost always a whole bunch of fun.  In between changing poopy diapers, sleeping, and filling hungry bellies, Elise is teaching preschool to Everett and Ashley this year in preparation for Everett's advancement to kindergarten in the fall.  So far this school year we've reviewed number recognition, letter recognition, beginning reading, patterns, rhyming, writing, the days of the week, animals and their habitats, and experienced plenty of nature first-hand.   Everett and Ashley have enjoyed staying at home with Mama for one last year, and Elise has enjoyed the quality time with the kids and having an excuse to delay doing housework.

Everett turned five this year, an event he had been counting on for months.  He is fully immersed in a major superhero phase, and although Wolverine remains his ultimate favorite, he especially enjoys acting out different scenarios involving made-up superheros and their powers.  Everett is a fantastic older brother and takes pride in helping to make his siblings (and his mother) happy.  He loves writing (dictating) stories and listening to Elise read any of the Magic Tree House books, as well as kicking the soccer ball around in the back yard.  We are happy to report that this year at church, Everett did not pull the fire alarm or eat the sacrament bread during the annual children's Primary program.

Ashley is three-and-a-half and is every bit our little lady.  As stubborn as her father, she also has a very sensitive side and has consequently softened each one of us.  She has a real love of life and a mature intelligence, as well as a profound sense of empathy.  Not much of a baby person, Ashley constantly cares for her treasured stuffed cat.  We all know we have met her approval when she brings her cat up to lick our faces. 

William, at almost two, is our little clown.  He loves wrestling.  Elise often hears him yell "Hi-yah!" as he runs to attack her legs, usually while she is busy in the kitchen.  William waits anxiously each day for Joel to return home from work so he can run into his Papa's arms.  William also enjoys throwing anything he can find and has proven to have quite a strong arm.  This is especially evident when his latest projectile hits one of his siblings in the face.  Other interests include: dogs, cars, baby dolls, and being held by his Mama.

We have had a wonderful year and we wish you all a very Merry Christmas, and a joyful year to come.  Thank you for your continual love and support.  Your Christ-like examples have made it easier to teach our children about the Savior this year.

With Love,

Elise, Joel 

Everett, Ashley, William, and James.

My William

I've talked a little already about how William is my little shadow.  He has really been doing some fun things lately so I thought I would talk about him again.  

Just before James was born, William decided that baby dolls were very interesting.  He is the first of my kids to like dolls.  We have two old baby dolls with no clothes on and one Dora the Explorer doll, and he would carry them all over the house.  

Lately William has been dragging a baby doll around while it is sitting in a doll highchair.  He stops periodically and feeds it with a baby fork, or gives it drinks with any cup he can find.  It is very funny and very sweet.  William similarly tries to help me with James.  Any time he sees me sitting down with the baby, William grabs my nursing pillow and brings it to me.  He also loves to bring me pacifiers, and if James is crying I will often find William trying to give a pacifier to him all on his own.  

William also loves necklaces.

Some friends of ours gave us a big box of outgrown dress-up clothes, and included in there were a bunch of necklaces.  William has been in heaven.  He loads himself up and struts around the house like he is king of everything.

William is starting to talk a lot more.  He routinely asks me for "More cookies please," and he likes to imitate phrases we say.  Most of the time it sounds pretty garbled but I think he has fun trying to talk like a big kid.

William really tries his hardest to be my special helper.  He follows my every move when I'm in the kitchen.  He knows how to shut the little soap door in the door of the dishwasher and he knows which buttons to push in order to start the whole thing.  If he finds dishes or utensils on the table, he whisks them away and stretches as high as he can to dump them in the sink.  William loves to help me load the dishwasher and he also loves to help me put things away.  He knows where most everything goes, as long as it is in a low cupboard.

William also likes to put his clothes in the laundry hamper, bring Joel his watch, help me fold the laundry, and do all sorts of other little helpful things.  I just wish that when he is old enough to really help he will still want to do it!

Best of all, William is very obedient.  He really tries hard to be a good little boy, and it is very sweet.  He almost always listens to us, even if we ask him to stop doing something he is engaged in.  The best part is, he still loves to tease Everett and Ashley, and he knows exactly which buttons to push (such as taking a treasured toy and running away with it).  

Two Questions

When Joel and I were first married, he requested that I make our family's stockings.  He has great memories of the stocking his mom made for him and he hoped our children could have the same memories.

I don't know if they are starting to have memories of them or not, but Everett and Ashley loved pulling our stockings out this year.  

I didn't want to hang them above the fireplace because our mantle is a little loose and I am afraid someone will pull the whole thing down, so we made use of the railing above one of our living room sofas.

BUT, we have a couple of problems!  Only four of our stockings are done (minus the name embroidered on the top--still haven't figured out how to do that).  I didn't do William's last year because he was just a baby and Joel wanted to wait and see if we could think of an elf based on his personality.  

These are the parents' stockings.  Obvious, right?  It took me a while to figure out how to Mrs. Claus myself, but I  realized a rocker and a book would be a good way to do it.  (Don't mind the black lint on her forehead.)

Everett and Ashley are the baker elf and the stuffed animal-making elf.  Fun, fun!

William. . . is nothing at this point.  I have one week to finish, because I am awesome and way ahead of the game here.  Should we have him be the elf in charge of making cars and trucks?  Balls?  Bumps on the head (now that right there would be a good snapshot of William)?

Aaaaand, question number two:

What color stocking should I do for James?  All of these stockings are made from sweaters so I can just add on whenever I want without worrying about matching a particular fabric.  But should I never repeat a color we've already used?  Is this something I shouldn't worry about?  If I do choose a new color, what should it be?  A yellowy gold?  Grey?  Light blue?  I'm having a hard time coming up with options.

Bath Aftermath

Know what I love?

Post-bath, sticking-straight-up baby hair!

Side note: James had his two-week check up today and he has gained back the 7 ounces he lost in the hospital and has grown an inch.  Way to go, champ!

Squeezy

It has been a relaxing first week with the new baby!  I do happen to have a sinus infection, which is not great timing, but it has given us an excuse to sit around and watch movies all day together.  Sometimes I think we need a break from our regular schedule and this has been it.  I don't think I've brushed Ashley's hair all week, I haven't cooked dinner thanks to some wonderful church members and neighbors, and my ratty sweats have become my best friend.

In essence, it has been a great few days!  The kids have really made friends with their new brother.  

When I first came home from the hospital, William would barely even look at me.  This Mama's boy would only go to Joel.  I don't know if William was angry that I had been gone for two days or that I brought a new baby home with me, but he didn't want much to do with me at first.  If I tried to initiate some contact, he would say "Baby" and walk away.

So Baby James spent most of his first day or two home in the baby swing, at least until the kids went to bed at night.  This way I could focus lots of attention on the ones who really needed it.  I hoped this would help William re-adjust.  

Do you think it has?

Yep.  He is a pretty happy guy now and has gotten over his first bout of resentment.  William loves to bring me James's pacifiers, which I don't particularly love him doing but I know the sweet little guy just tries to help.

Everett thinks Baby James is his special buddy.  He is right.  But Everett also thinks that he gets priority when anyone else wants to hold him.

So Ashley holds her own baby, the well-loved kitty.

She gets frustrated with Everett's possessiveness but she doesn't mind too much.  Like many little girls, she does have a special bond with her favorite stuffed animal.  Ashley bought it at Walmart with some Christmas money about a year ago.  We recently noticed that these cats are still available for purchase.  It was pretty funny to compare the new, soft, un-used plush animals to the ratty, stained old thing Ashley still carries around.  But she loves it just the same.

And James?  He is doing great!  He is opening his eyes more and more, which is a real treat and melts me up inside every time.  There is something special about watching a days-old baby seeing the fuzzy world for the first time.

We're all in love with this sweet baby!

Vacation Days with Papa

I don't think the kids really missed me while I was in the hospital (or hotel, as they kept calling it).  Sure, they were a little sad when they realized after visiting me that they had to go home without me, but I don't think they were sad for long.  Why?  Because they have an awesome father!

Yesterday I got to see for myself why that is.  Joel took the day off work and the kids had a blast!  They had much more fun with him than they do with me.  It reminds me of when I was six and my younger brother was in the hospital for a few months--I always looked forward to movie nights with popcorn on the days my Dad was home with us.

Joel let me sleep in and handled all of our usual morning things, like chores.

He even did school with the kids.  They learned about the letter P and painted pictures of princesses, pirates, and penguins.  Everett claimed Joel's pirate ship masterpiece as his treasure.

As though games of Memory and Guess Who?, fun TV shows, and a trip to Wal-mart for some essentials and candy weren't enough, it even snowed yesterday.

You can't have fun outside without running from a few snowballs.

Joel showed Ashley how to form a perfect snowball and she was delighted.  William was sad that he didn't get to go out with the kids so I finally got him dressed and sent him out.  He was thrilled, although he fell down every other second.

It's funny how big the youngest child looks when you bring home a new baby.  I always know it is going to happen but I am never fully prepared for it.  William doesn't look like a baby to me anymore, but he is still just as fun.

Everyone has enjoyed snuggling with baby James, especially Everett.  He is pretty comfortable around babies by now and he has learned to really value the cuddliness of newborns.  These two share a room.  When William wakes in the middle of the night, sometimes Everett does too and so I let Everett give James a little kiss and a snuggle before I feed and change him.

These two co-conspirators were sneaking candy from under that Spiderman blanket.  Pretty funny!

So as you can see, Everett, Ashley, and William were in kid heaven with Joel home.  (I was in wife heaven.)  Today has been pretty boring without him, I'm afraid, although Everett and Ashley found the rest of the candy stash and polished it off before I caught them.  I don't know what that means but it probably counts for something.

Our New Bundle

James Burton Johnson

was born

Saturday, December 3rd at 12:19 pm.

He weighed

9 pounds, 4 ounces

and was 20 1/2 inches long.

(Saturday night--Mama is pale and swollen and James is red and swollen!)

None of the nurses could believe that I had a nine pound baby, but if they had seen me at the end of my pregnancy they wouldn't have been so surprised.

Everett was the only one who wanted to hold James in the hospital.  This picture really shows how swollen that little baby's face was!  

Ashley sat on the bed next to James and me and was thrilled when he grabbed her finger.

William sat on the bed next to James and me. . .and was decidedly not thrilled, so he began to shove baby James away.  

James is a little feisty.  He didn't cry much the first day but after that he really let his wishes be known.  He discovered that he prefers being held to anything else and it takes him about two seconds to start yelling if he has gotten hungry.

Aaaand, he has quite a birthmark on his nose!  It is about the size of a pencil eraser and is probably permanent.  The Pediatrician at the hospital suggested we get it lasered off when he is about one year old, so we'll see if that is even something we want to do.

None of the nurses ever mentioned it until I did.  I think they are too smart to even insinuate to a Mom that her new baby is anything less than perfect.  

There is a large red birthmark on his abdomen as well.  I told some of the nurses that this way we'll always be able to tell him apart from the other kids.

I will report more later.  We are home now and I am enjoying being out of the hospital.  Joel has a few days off from work and I am looking forward to some good family time.