Our one-year-old

Actually Avlynne is about 13 1/2 months at this point which is totally nuts for me to think about. I am convinced this has been the fastest year of my life. Sure some of the days have been REALLY long but before I know it a week has passed, then a month, then a year and now we are beginning to start celebrating 2nd things with Av, like the 2nd blooming of our spring daffodils, her 2nd Easter, visiting Daddy at Track practice for a 2nd season...crazy!

Here are a few pictures of her in a fun outfit that Ella's parents brought her from Germany wearing an adorable bow made by my dear friend Amy Hook with Hooked on Bows.

Yes, her outfit is slightly "Christmasy" but I figured it was fitting since I have seen more snow than sunshine this past week. Today Avlynne discovered a new "trick." She was having some no-clothes-on-time and discovered how to undo her diaper. As she nakedly and proudly toddled around the house carrying her diaper I decided I had to get a picture. Unfortunately I took too long getting the camera and the cuteness came to an end when she peed on the floor and then slipped and fell in it, poor thing. Maybe she will learn that keeping her diaper on is a good idea, if not, it might be time for me to invest in some duct tape (a trick I learned from my Brother-in-Law)!

Avlynne Kay Johnson 1st Christmas

A photo compilation of Avlynne Kay Johnson's 1st Christmas with her family. Enjoy!

"It's Beginning to Look a lot Like Christmas"

Avlynne woke up from her nap this morning to white snowflakes falling in the air. We sat her right up to the big window and awaited her reaction. Almost instantly her rosy cheeks let out a big smile followed by one of her precious "grunt laughs"... the laugh that confirms she thinks something is really cool. We took some pictures and video that we will treasure for the rest of our lives. Enjoy the video!

-KJ

The Other Lake

Back in August KJ, Avlynne and I had the privilege of spending one night at Lake Pend Oreille with my parents and my nieces, Ali-Ray and Sophia. My parents rented a condo at Pend Oreille Shores Resort where we used to own a time-share condo when I was in elementary school. Just like I loved getting to share Priest Lake with KJ and Av, I loved getting to share this special place with them too as well as my nieces. Some of my favorite things about the "condo" include:

-listening to people walk on the boardwalks

-the train that passes by and whistles every night at 9 pm

-huckleberry picking and huckleberry pudding cake

-being the 1st person to "I spy" the condo & then getting to be the 1st one to open the door

-taking baths in the "big" tub in my parent's room

We could only stay for less than 24 hours this time however we managed to accomplish each of these memories to some extent or another (we didn't pick huckleberrys but I did have some jam on my bagel and it was Av's turn to take the bath in the "big" tub). We also created some new memories:

-Avlynne went swimming for the 2nd time and got to swim with her cousins

-KJ began to teach Av how to play basketball, as well as Ali-Ray

-I did a Fancy Nancy puzzle several times with my nieces

-We told lots of Daddy Steve stories to my nieces about what he was like as a teenage boy at the Lake

-Sophia did Grandpa Doug's hair

-We watched several episodes of the Cosby Show

Ali-Ray & Grandma Sharon

Mama and her Baby Girl (repin' her Malibu onsie)

Sophia and the "Amazing Grandpa Hair-do"

Learning good form at a young age

Swivel chairs are the best!

The Lake

This weekend we had the privilege of spending 2 days at

the Strait Family's cabin on Priest Lake. They graciously allowed us to use their beautiful place to have a retreat with our area's Young Life leaders. Funny thing is that it turned out to be an all-girls weekend (except for KJ of course). None of our guy leaders could make it. I told my husband that if there was any man who could handle a weekend in a cabin full of ladies it would be him! He was such a great sport! We seriously have some amazing leaders in the Northwest Spokane YL area and we are excited to see what the Lord has in store for this year.

I loved getting to share this place with KJ and Avlynne as it holds many special memories for me; ASB retreats, girl's campaigner weekends, post-prom overnighter, bachelorette parties and a wedding. Avlynne especially enjoyed her 1st weekend at Priest Lake AND getting to hang out with 10 fabulous "Aunties." She also loved the fact that we pulled out all the stops and allowed her to sleep in her swing all night long. This was not our proudest parenting moment, but when she slept for almost 11 hours without making a peep we decided we could sacrifice our pride for a good night's sleep! She was quite a stellar sleeper for a few months, sleeping 9-10 hours straight, but all of a sudden she has decided that she doesn't like going to sleep and she doesn't like staying asleep, so we utilized our resources (the swing) and made sure she had a good night's sleep as well as those poor college students sleeping above our room. Has anyone else done this and had their child turn out to be normal? I could use some assurance that we aren't ruining our child's chances at being a good sleeper or you can be honest and tell me that I am...I'm new at this whole parenting thing and need lots of wisdom!

Avlynne and her Daddy on her 6th Month Birthday

Swimsuits

I can't help but smile when I see this in our bathroom...

My Best Friend

We celebrated our 4th Anniversary yesterday, so here is a little picture to take you back to that glorious and highly anticipated day...the day in which I married my best friend, Kyle Dean.

August 26, 2006

We actually celebrated our anniversary a few weeks ago. Our theory is that no matter how poor we may be we still go "big" for our anniversaries! Marriage is a big deal and a gift that should be celebrated. We take turns every year surprising the other person with an "Anniversary Adventure." This year was my year to surprise Kyle. I had a bit of a challenge now that we have a little one that we get to incorporate into our lives. We weren't ready for a night away from Avlynne so I did my best to plan a little time for just the two of us and some fun time for the three of us. Here is a brief rundown of the adventure - lunch at Taste of India, Movie (Inception) while Grammy and Grampy Johnson babysat, picnic dinner of Bangkok Thai at Manito (until we realized they forgot to include forks), a night at the Davenport Tower (don't be afraid to wheel and deal for hotel rooms, its amazing the deals you can get if you just nicely work at it), breakfast at Madeleines, a walk around downtown Spokane, and last but not least, Avlynne's first time in a swimming pool!

And to top off an already fabulous anniversary my best friend brought me home the perfect gift, a day planner for 2011. I love practical gifts and I love this specific style of day planner. Around every November I begin the search for my new one. The 2 criteria are that it must be this certain style and it must be cute since I will be looking at it for an entire year. Well, my husband outdid himself when he brought home this ADORABLE day planner. Not only did he get the perfect one but he has eliminated something off of my yearly to-do list! Way to go babe, I love it and I love you!