Wednesday, August 3, 2011

First Week at Home

Today marks the end of our first week at home with Henrik. It's amazing how a week can feel like a few hours and a whole month at the same time. We have been loving every second together. Here's a recap of what we've been up to:

Wednesday
We came home last Wednesday in the pouring rain to a home that had been adorably decorated with "It's a Boy" signs and balloons. Annika picked out a giant monkey balloon for her brother and a giant Hello Kitty balloon for herself. My mom was there to help with our transition home and was a lifesaver when it came to easing Annika into the idea that her baby brother was here to stay. A highlight was a gift of a baby doll and cradle my sisters and I used to play with so that Annika could play mommy to her very own baby. She's been putting her baby down for naps, changing diapers and burping her baby ever since.











Thursday
Nana Peckenpaugh took Annika to see her very first movie at the movie theater - Winnie the Pooh. She did great and even brought home her bowl of popcorn to share with her daddy.


Friday
Grammy Johnson took Annika to the lake house for a day with Grampy, Jenna and her to play on the boat and run off some energy outside. She even took a nap in her new toddler bed for the first time! Branden and I took Henrik to the doctor for his first check-up and ran some needed errands. We also took some of the quiet time at home to cuddle with and enjoy our new babe.

Saturday
We spent Saturday laying low and enjoying time the four of us. Thankfully Henrik has been a fantastic eater and sleeper so we haven't felt too desparately sleep deprived. Branden being home has been a huge blessing - I'm thankful every day to have such an amazing husband. We were gifted with a couple hours of babysitting from Grammy Johnson Saturday night to grab dinner at one of our favorite restaurants, Oakwood Bistro, and celebrate our seven year anniversary. It has been an amazing seven years!

Sunday
On Sunday Branden and Annika went to church and had fun sharing with our friends the good news about the arrival of baby Henrik. Everyone at church has been so warm with prayers and well-wishes during the anticipation and arrival of our little guy. After church we got brave and packed everyone up for a day at the cottage in Sawyer with my sister Becca, her husband Chris and their daughter Kayla. We had fun showing off Henrik, relaxing, playing games and catching up with each other.

Monday
Monday was picture day. We spent the afternoon with a fantastic photographer, Valerie Ott, getting photos of baby Henrik and the family. We're anxiously awaiting to see the results!

Tuesday
Yesterday we spent another (much needed) day relaxing at home. None of us changed out of our pajamas all day. We were blessed in the afternoon when our friend Danielle brought over all of the meals our church family had made us to get us through our homecoming with baby. We were absolutely astounded at the generosity and have enough food for more than the next week.

Every day is such a gift. I love every minute of being home to cuddle with Henrik (who wants to be held constantly), giggle with Annika (who has the cutest sense of humor) and hang out with my best friend, Branden.

I promise some newer photos of Henrik soon, but he has been bitten by the baby acne bug, so I've been hesitant to take too many.

Here's to hoping that the rest of the summer coasts by slowly!

Saturday, July 30, 2011

Welcome Baby Henrik

We joyfully welcome to the world
Henrik Drake Johnson
Born 7.25.11 | 2:51 pm
9lbs 14oz | 21.5 inches

We are so thrilled to be a family of four

Thursday, July 21, 2011

Hot, Hot, Hot

Today it is 100 degrees outside and our baby boy is a week overdue. We celebrated with some fun in the yard with the hose, sprinkler and kiddie pool. It's hot outside!41 weeks!

Monday, July 4, 2011

Happy 4th!

We enjoyed a weekend of beaches, food, friends, family, fireworks and anticipating the arrival of baby Johnson. One week to go!

Friday, April 29, 2011

Easter Eggs

We had a wonderful Easter this year. We spent it in Naperville with the Peckenpaughs and had the gift of my Grandpa Wilson joining us from Ohio. After a rainy week it was such a joy to spend a few days enjoying spring and God's beautiful creation coming to life.


We crammed a lot of Easter fun into the weekend:
  • Annika had her first train ride, traveling from Kalamazoo to Chicago to Naperville.
  • We attended a service at Willow Creek. It was an impressive service and the church was bigger than I expected. They had an entire wing for 2 year olds!
  • We dyed Easter Eggs with Nana, Papa and Great Grandpa and only spilled the dye once :)
  • Annika spent a warm afternoon at the park and insisted on going down the biggest, steepest slide.
  • We attended Easter service at Naperville Covenant and got to see a lot of old friends.
  • Annika discovered the fun of Easter egg hunts, participating in not one, but three hunts! It was no wonder that her favorite part was the candy inside.
  • We enjoyed a lovely Easter lunch at Great Grandma and Grandpa's home in Hinsdale - getting to see aunts, uncles, cousins and 2nd cousins.
The weekend was an amazing celebration of the sacrifice Christ made for us. He is risen...indeed!

Thursday, April 14, 2011

Spring Break

Last week Branden was off of work for spring break. Though I was longing for some time on a sunny beach, I instead took some days off of work and enjoyed time with our family at home. Last Friday we made a trip to Grand Rapids to take Annika to the Children's Museum. She had a lot of fun running around exploring the activities and playing in the bubbles, but her favorite part was watching the elevator go up and down. Isn't it it typical that her favorite thing would be the thing we could have enjoyed with her for free :)LEGOS

THE ELEVATOR

BUBBLES

Wednesday, April 6, 2011

Baby Kay-Kay

On St. Patrick's Day we eagerly welcomed the newest addition to our family - a new cousin, Kayla Joy Koetje. Becca and Chris are doing a wonderful job navigating the first sleepless weeks of parenthood and it has been so fun to to introduce Annika to her new cousin who she endearingly calls "Baby Kay-Kay".

This past Monday I took the day off of work and Annika and I headed to Zeeland to spend a girls day with Becca and Kayla. Annika had fun "mothering" Kayla and claiming the baby's bounce seat as her own. We are so excited for the fun ahead for these two girls.