Happy Christmas

Here's to a holiday celebration filled with bad reindeer sweaters, flannel, long johns, egg-nog, uncle eddie, gingerbread, frosting, sparkling lights, tinsel, tree skits, bing crosby, frank sinatra, manger scene displays, hot chocolate, hot wassail, toboggans, stripped socks, leg lamps, fake turtle necks, scratchy wool scarfs, log cabins, smoking chimneys, snow days, snow angels, gift cards, tylenol, festive caroling, and the like.

Love,

Waylen and Shiloh

A family sweater...5 generations

Here is Shiloh wearing a bonnet and sweater made by my great, great, great grandmother. It has been worn by my great grandmother, my grandma, my mom and my sister! :)

She's so beautiful in it!!

Colleen

Reading to my Sister

"look shy, this is a digger. this here is a tractor. this is a bull dozer.....this is a dump truck......"

I've seen a lot of things in my life...but that was AWESOME!!

this morning something incredible happened. at approximately 8:20am waylen exclaimed "doggie!!" loudly while looking out our side window. i was getting ready to leave for work, and i caught something large out of the corner of my eye.

it wasn't a dog.

it was deer. and he was outside in our driveway.

that's right. a real (non mounted) deer. we both stated out in amazement. after a moment he decided to scamper across our busy street (shiawassee) and wander aimlessly around various neighbor's front yards. i'm pretty sure he was lost. it's not everyday you get to see deer outside of their non-wooded environments. let alone your front yard in downtown farmington.

The Turtle and the Pumpkin

Waylen and Friends

so the little dude can climb up on the couch now. it's kinda amusing to watch, cuz sometimes he can't quite make it. but when he does, he likes to sit with his 2 friends, Kitty and Bear. he puts both of them up there first, then he climbs up himself. they usually watch tv together. waylen was even gracious enough to let me snap a picture of him and his buddies. (notice he has his bus as well, a toy that never leaves his sight)

Thing One? or Thing Two?

colleen recently got waylen this awesome red outfit. it's like a hooded sweatshirt for your whole body. can you imagine?! it has to be the most comfortable thing ever made. i am jealous and i wish i had one. i would wear it around the house, to bed, maybe even outside in the yard. i know all the neighbors would stare, then wish they had one too.

anyways, waylen reminds me of thing 1 and thing 2 from dr. suess when he wears it. which one do you think he looks like more....one or two? now, all we have to do is dye his hair blue.

How alike?

this is a photo of waylen at 7 weeks and shiloh at 6 weeks. who will she look like once she gets more defined features? like her big brother...or mommy?

26.2

Here is Grandma sporting her grandkids pictures during the race!!

Waylen Says: "Grandma, Im so glad I crossed the finish line with you!"

today was a monumental day. colleen's mom ran and completed her first marathon! she joined 14,000 others in the detroit free press marathon. that's 26.2 miles, friends. some of us can't walk that far. the course took her around detroit, belle isle, across the ambassador bridge, into windsor and back via the tunnel. can you imagine? she did it! months of training on hines drive in her own backyard and now this. we even went out to eat afterwards. debbie didn't have to be carried, rolled or anything. SHE KICKED BUTT AND TOLD THAT MARATHON WHO'S BOSS!

----------------

From Colleen - Mom, we are sooo proud of you. What an accomplishment. You are an inspiration to many. We love you!! :)

From Carl - Debbie you killed that marathon. 4 hours and 58 minutes!!! when i ran my wimpy 5k a few years ago, i did it in 26 minutes. i didn't think i was gonna make it....

The Big Race

here is waylen celebrating with grandma D. in the D. on a beautiful sunday afternoon.

high fives all around.

Good Morning, Baby Sister

waylen is usually pretty happy when he gets up in the morning. after he gets changed, he calls out for his baby sister. he pronounces her name as "WHY-WOAH!" he rounds the corner into our bedroom, as he is starting to figure out where to find her. he has to go in and give her a good morning greeting and kiss.

Happy Birthday, Ella

here is a video of waylen pushing his future girlfriend ella in a baby toy car thingy. yesterday was ella's FIRST birthday...yea!!! we are so happy we were able to celebrate with joe, nicole and their family. waylen decided he wanted to take her out for a birthday spin. one day, when they are 16 and dating, they will both look back and chuckle.

cider + donuts

wow, the cider mill and the zoo in one weekend (see post below) it must be fall time in michigan.

we even went out picking apples after the festive hay ride. waylen was picking apples, some as big as his head. he then tried to lift up the pumpkins, but was unsuccessful. 

The Zoo Part Two

we took our annual trip to the detroit zoo this week. grandma and grandpa j went with us. it was so fun. (we are running out of nice days in michigan, so we gotta take advantage when we can. the colors are starting to come alive on the trees and the air is getting brisk.) waylen sat on grandpa's shoulders so he could get a better view of the animals. he loves grandpa because he gets animal crackers from him. an unlimited supply. waylen was eating the various animals while watching the animals. weird.

coolest animals: sea otters, red pandas, seals and the penguins of course.

Shiloh's Day

A day in the life of Shiloh:

Sleeping: 17 hours

Eating: 5 hours

Diaper Changing: 1 hour (8 - 10 times)

Crying: .5 hours

Watching Waylen: .5 hours

Looking Cute: 24 hours (TOTAL)

Shiloh

Shiloh Elise-Lynn Johnson

Born on 9/9/09

Ok lets get all the Neil Diamond references out of the way first. (Shiloh, when I was young, I used to call your name). Yeah, we're not Neil Diamond fans if you are wondering, and the name choice is purely coincidental.  

Yeah, so Colleen did it again.

She beat her first record (3 hour labor and delivery) this time doing it in 14 minutes. Another all natural, no drug delivery. It was like a slip and slide....(maybe we should nickname her "Rapido")

We left our house at 7:05pm for the Providence ABC unit in Southfield.

Arrived at hospital at 7:30. Rushed Colleen to floor 3, screaming all the way.

(I was yelling "Get out of the way!" Colleen was yelling "I need to push!!")

She was dilated to 9 (fitting for the day) the moment we got to our room.

Doctor ran in, took off her jacket, washed her hands and was ready to catch.

Colleen pushed 3 times.

Shiloh was born at 7:44pm. 

She was born in the same room Waylen was, just 19 months earlier.

God showed up again (He is into things that give life, as He is a life-giver himself)

So crazy.

And to think I might have had to deliver her in the car....

9/9/09. Should be easy to remember. I guess that was Beatles Day too. Maybe we should of named her Elinore Rigby. Or Penny Lane...

Waylen, the Barista

baristo?

waylen got hired in at his first job. he works at starbucks now. a good friend of ours got him the official little barista apron. he loves it. when we got to starbucks our friends loved it. they put him right to work. he was drinking epresso by the end of the day. 

With Child

hi. these photos were taken back in october 2007, when colleen was pregnant with waylen. i stumbled upon these jems and decided to post them. and here we are again, round 2. i don't know about you, but i think colleen is one beautiful pregnant lady. wow. there is something really cool (and natural) about seeing a pregnant girl. it's the biggest achievement a human being can do/have/declare. being pregnant and giving birth. think about it. creating a life. all of a sudden, a person is here. that kind of stuff doesn't happen everyday around the office. its like someone can ask me, what is your greatest achievement? and i can say, i made some really amazing pancakes at breakfast. and colleen can say, i made him. (while pointing to waylen)

RIP Hobo

today, wow. it was one of those days where you wish you could rewind and do over. or just fast forward to get through it quicker. (warning: the following contains BAD NEWS.)

today our cat hobo died - struck by a car on good old shiawassee street. yes, it was in fact a hit and run. (SUV) major bummer. the street in front of our home is pretty busy, especially around end of work day. i was just telling joe yesterday how hobo has basically used up 7 of his 9 lives on shiawassee alone. he caused a car accident once in front of our house as some good folks dodged frantically to not run him over (true story). hobo was quite the popular neighborhood cat. everyone loved him. neighbors let him in their homes. hobo followed people (even strangers) into town. he was basically the official cat of farmington.

in case you were wondering, yes hobo was his real name. he was already named when we got him from the humane society back in 2004. he was a hobo who actually had a home. we will love and miss our little maine coon furry buddy. farmington won't be the same without you.

Thank You

Thank you to whoever send us a Meijer gift card in the mail today. You were trying to send it privately, and now we are thanking you publicly. If you read this blog, and it was you, thank you from the bottom of our heart.

Carl, Colleen, Waylen, Baby 

(aka the young and budding family)

Hair Peace, Bed Peace

ok. so colleen was in the hospital for the WHOLE weekend, being monitored. she started having pre-labor contractions last week. (not the braxton hicks kind) she is 30 weeks along. the doctors do not want the baby coming this early... so they gave her medicine to try and stop the contractions. colleen was doctor-ordered to bed rest for the next 4-7 weeks. or until the baby arrives. that means to basically stay in your bed, in case you are wondering. for some reason, it reminds me of what john and yoko did in 1969 with their whole bed-in deal. except we won't be having any reporters by our house.

in all seriousness, this will be tough for us... especially for colleen as you can imagine. if you can keep her in your prayers, that would be greatly appreciated. we are so thankful for our friends and family at this time, who have already started to come out and help. 

carl

Anticipating Our Daughter

Ok, I think Im going bananas....I just cant wait to meet our little girl!!  I wonder what she's going to look like.   The other day I bought a cute little pink dress at a consignment shop (couldn't resist it).   When I got home I held it up to Waylen...luckily Im not to the point where Im putting the dresses on him!!  I figured, "She's gotta look a little like him since they are brother and sister".  Any-who, (as  my Grandma would say) I'll be meeting her in a short 10 weeks, so Ill try to hold off the urge of subjecting my son to pick things.  Although, it sure was funny when I held that dress up to him - wish I could have recorded his facial expression but I didn't have a camera near by....Im sure you can imagine the dislike!! :)  

A Perfect Day

what we did on saturday:

- went to borders books

- got coffee (new blackberry creme latte)

- went to the mall to get new sandals for waylen

- finished up the latest issue of my magazine

- went for a bike ride in the park

- had steaks out on the grill

yep. pretty much a perfect day

Grandma's 50!!

Grandma, I really enjoyed celebrating your BIG milestone birthday.  I celebrated one too this year when I turned the big 1!!  When I get older, can I go running with you?  But Mommy says I need to learn how to walk first!!

I Can Say Airplane

Waylen's word for everything, "Au-Da".  Not exactly sure what it means, but he does and thats all that matters.  Here, it means "airplanes" :)   My sister was in town for my moms 50th birthday celebration and staying at a hotel by the airport, so we came to visit for a little swim.  It was fascinating to Waylen, because airplanes would fly overhead.  He would get so excited.  He loves things that "go" - airplanes, cars, and especially trucks and school buses.  This video is a crack up.  I was laying on one of those long beach chairs and he was sitting on my lap facing me and  watching the planes fly behind us.  Every once in a while a plane would fly over the pool, but I couldn't seem to catch that in a video.  You can just hear them overhead!!

Canada Trip