Home Team

Merry Christmas

2011-12-31T16:04:00.002-05:00

We had a very Merry Christmas in the Johnson home this year. We celebrated Christmas at our house a few days early before heading to SC to visit with family. We also had an early Christmas visit from Uncle Cory. He came and stayed a few days with us while he was on leave from the Navy and we had a great time with him. Greer enjoyed "Santa" a little more this year and was excited to receive a visit from him. Overall we have been truly blessed this year and look forward to what the New Year brings!!! Happy 2012

Will @ 6 months

2011-11-26T16:46:00.001-05:00

What a handsome 6 month old we have (if I must say so myself). He is a happy, healthy boy. He is sitting for short periods of time on his own and loves eating his pureed food. He is now:
17 lbs, 12 ozs (50th percentile)
27 inches (75th percentile)

I can not believe we are half way to his 1st birthday!!!!!

William Douglas Johnson's Baptism

2011-11-20T17:02:00.001-05:00

Will was baptised on November 20, 2012. My prayer is we will be a good example and continue to raise him in the church where he will become a strong Christian man.

Five Months

2011-11-07T14:44:00.001-05:00

Will is absolutely the happiest baby! He is growing like a weed. His teeth have been trying to come in for over a month, so he is contantly wet around his neck (as you can see in the pictures :)) He loves to smile and laugh at his big sister. His poor little hair has been falling out more and more each month. I am hoping we are at the end of falling out as some new growth has been coming in!!! Oh and did I mention he is still not sleeping through the night.......we are hoping for that really really soon!!!!!!

Fall 2011 (in pictures)

2011-11-01T14:23:00.002-04:00

Halloween 2011

2011-10-31T22:11:00.002-04:00

We had a fun Halloween this year. Our new neighborhood was full of families trick or treating! Our little butterfly did not want to wear her antennae....oh well! We also had a cute little piggy join us!

Four Months

2011-09-26T14:14:00.000-04:00

Weight: 15lbs, 14 ozs
Length: 25.5 inches

Trip to SC

2011-09-12T15:37:00.000-04:00

As mentioned in the previous post we traveled to SC to spend some time while our house was being renovated. We had a great time visiting with friends and family. We got to visit with my roommates from Clemson and as always we had a great time. All three of us have a 2 year old and new babies born this year. It was fun for us to catch up and have our kids play together. We hope to do it again!

***I am having some trouble organizing the pictures, so the are not going to be spaced or labeled.

Crazy times

2011-09-09T15:04:00.005-04:00

So, life has been absolutely crazy in our home these days. We closed on a new house on August 2nd or 3rd (can't remember which date). It is in a great neighborhood, but it is an older home and needs alot of TLC. We are also building an addition to add to the stress. My wonderful, handy husband is going to do the finish work on the inside, so it is going to be great when it is all done. All done being the key words here…..

We had to be out of our current house on August 14th because we had renters moving in. Moving day was the 13th, so I had most everything packed. That morning was a rough one, because earlier in the week Greer had strep throat and I was terrified Will was going to get sick. At 12 am he was running what I thought was a high fever, 100.3, so I elected to take him to the children’s hospital ER. Doug stayed home with Greer and a migraine. On the way I decided to call the after hours nurses line and after talking to the sweet nurse, I turned around and went back home. Apparently there is no cause for concern until the fever goes over 100.4, but I was worried because I had a dear friend’s little boy get meningitis, and she mentioned 100.2. Anyway…I digress, so I woke up that morning and Will’s temperature was lower, but still there, so I decided to take him to the doctor. Two hours later, we found out he does not have strep and could be getting a little cold. I rushed around trying to pack our last few things into my car while Victor and Doug were packing the Uhaul and we were off to SC for two weeks.

Greer, Will and I spent the next two weeks in SC while the construction was being done on the addition. Doug took the second week off to work on things in the house. He got the old floor ripped out of the kitchen and new tile down and wood floor down in our extra/play room. While we were gone we missed the earthquake and Hurricane Irene. Did I mention our house is in a flood zone? There was water up to our second step of the house!!!!! We were supposed to return home on that Friday, but stayed until Sunday due to Irene. We arrived to a house of boxes and DUST EVERYWHERE!!! We repacked our backs and left the next morning for a week of vacation in the OBX.

This past week since we have been back has been tough for me!!! I spent the last three afternoons at the Brannon house so the babies could nap. They are finishing up the siding and tearing the ceiling down in two rooms. I cannot unpack anything because of the construction going on. Our bedroom (the addition) is not complete in the inside. We are sleeping on mattresses on the floor in Greer’s room. Greer is sleeping in the extra room upstairs and Will is actually in his own room. New cabinets will be going in the kitchen, but not until the ceiling comes down in the kitchen and extra/play room, so I cannot put any of our dishes away. The dining room is full of boxes and the stove. The living room is actually livable except the floor still has coats of dust on it despite being mopped numerous times. But we will get there. I did not write this post to complain or get sympathy. I just wanted to remember how stressful this time has been, so when it is all complete I will enjoy and appreciate it that much more…..Did I mention I have a 2 year old and 3 month old!! :)

*pictures to follow*

1st day of Preschool

2011-09-08T14:36:00.002-04:00

Greer had her first day of 2 year old preschool today. She is going 2 days a week, so not too much. She wasn't in the mood to take a good picture so these three are all I got. They will have to do for the album. I think she enjoyed herself. A little boy did accidently throw sand in her hair, but she seemed fine when I picked her up. She told me she learned about apples and that they are red!! :) Such a big girl!!!

Will @ 3 months

2011-09-08T13:50:00.002-04:00

Due to our crazy life at the moment, this post is a little late!

Will, overall, is a good baby. Technically he is sleeping through the night, but if I could just get him to sleep a couple more hours in the morning it would be perfect. He is such a pleasant baby, laughing and smiling all the time.

Duck 2011

2011-09-05T14:42:00.002-04:00

We traveled once again to Duck in the OBX for vacation. Last year it was Earl, this year Irene rained on our parade a bit. Instead of checking in on Sunday, we weren't allowed to get into Duck until Tuesday morning, so we all stayed in a hotel in Kitty Hawk on Monday night and then headed to Duck on Tuesday. We had a wonderful time, mostly playing in the pool and just relaxing with the Mapp family. And of course we got our new family photos :) !!There were swim advisories the whole time for the ocean, so we did not attempt it. There was also some debris left from the storm. All in all it was perfect weather and company....can't wait for 2012.

Lots of pool time

Tea time in the elevator was popular

"I'm on a dolphin!" (actually a killer whale, but Greer called it a dolphin)

Will did not enjoy the photo shoot

Brannon & Johnson Families

Will @ 2 Months

2011-08-02T11:07:00.002-04:00

Will is now 2 months old....how time does fly! He did not like his shots AT ALL. I had to hang out in the room for a good 5 minutes for him to calm down. Poor little guy!

2 Month Stats:
Weight: 14 lbs
Length:

Little Tiger

2011-07-19T22:29:00.005-04:00

Tigers need to eat and they are sure to say the blessing first!

Visitors

2011-07-06T22:36:00.005-04:00

We had some wonderful visitors over the holiday weekend. Jenn, Dan & the boys along with Amy all came up to visit. We had a great time visiting with each other, beaching it up and celebrating Greer's birthday! I wish we would have had more time to visit because the weekend flew by!!! We sure hope they come again because Greer LOVED Daniel once again...she still asks for him!

Two Years

2011-07-01T22:27:00.005-04:00

I am amazed how fast time flies when it comes to my babies. I can not believe Greer is now 2 years old!!! She is so talkative and active these days. I am amazed on a daily basis how many words and phrases she learns every day! She loves to give Will kisses and offer his paci if he is crying. She loves on him all the time...sometimes a little too much! She also LOVES her Daddy to pieces.We sure do LOVE her!

Happy 2nd Birthday baby Greer!!!

One Month

2011-06-28T22:17:00.005-04:00

I can not believe this little man is already a month old. We didn't have a scheduled well visit for one month, but I decided to take him in for what I thought was reflux so we got a weight check.....11lbs, 14 ozs!!!!

(It was not easy getting a picture...he kept flopping over!)

Happy Father's Day!

2011-06-19T09:36:00.003-04:00

Wishing my wonderful husband a Happy Father's Day! He is a fantastic Dad and partner for me in this journey we call parenthood!!

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY! WE LOVE YOU!

William Douglas

2011-06-05T21:32:00.004-04:00

William Douglas Johnson was born on May 26th at 12:02 pm. He was a healthy 8lbs, 4ozs and 19.5 inches long. We decided to be induced to make it easier for someone to watch Greer and we are so excited to finally meet our beautiful baby boy.
We did have a little scare at the hospital. We noticed a couple of times his whole body would turn completely blue and it would take a minute to get his normal coloring back. The nurse said that with fast deliveries sometimes they will swallow a bit of fluid and since they are so young they have a hard time swallowing or spitting it all the way up, so it will block their airway. We were told if he does it to turn him on his stomach and pat his back. Well he decided he wanted to do it a third time, so as soon as we noticed we turned him over and he immediately regained his color. Once we told the nurse about this they took him down to the nursery for the night to watch him with monitors. They wanted to keep him in the nursery the next day and night also to make sure he did not have anymore episodes for 24 hours. Luckily he didn't and we got to go home on Sunday!!! It was a little scary, but I am glad they kept him because I would have been watching him all night long!!!!
Doug took this past week off and we have enjoyed some quality time together. He has been very helpful keeping Greer busy! We sure are going to miss having him home!!! But Nana, my mom, is coming to help for a few days after Doug goes back to work. I am keeping my fingers crossed that Greer adjusts well to having a baby brother...we are still working on a few things! :)

Strawberries!!

2011-05-11T21:18:00.000-04:00

It is finally strawberry season here. I have been looking forward to taking Greer to pick strawberries this year and we finally got to do it over the weekend!

We used some of our fresh to make chocolate covered strawberries!! Yum Yum!!!

Happy Easter!

2011-04-27T15:00:00.004-04:00

We celebrated Easter this year at home and Mom and Amy came up. It was a quick weekend, but we enjoyed our time with them. We didn't get any good family photos this year. Greer would not let anyone hold her at that point, oh well!!

Attempt w/ Aunt Amy

Swim Lessons

2011-03-20T15:55:00.001-04:00

We thought it would be fun to put Greer in a swim class at the YMCA and it helped that Isabelle was going to be in the class too!!! Greer did not like the water AT ALL during her first lesson, even though she loved being in the water last summer. The second week she had warmed up to the idea and mostly enjoyed the rest of the lessons.

I'm ready to go now!!!

Trip to SC

2011-03-18T09:11:00.004-04:00

Greer and I recently took a trip to SC. We made our normal rounds around Hartsville and then headed to Columbia. We visited with Lara and Boyd before baby Trevor was born (unfortunately, I left my camera:( ) Then we met baby Cullen and visited with Daniel and Jennifer. Greer loved playing with Daniel!
After that we headed to Charleston to visit with the Stone clan. My Aunt Elizabeth, who lives in Texas, was visiting for the week and we celebrated Aunt Trudy's birthday. Amy, Angie and the kids (minus Robert) all came down. We had a great time visiting and watching all the cousins play with each other! We also had the chance to meet up with Lauren and Ashley. It was the first time Ashley and Greer met and well...I wouldn't say they are best friends yet. Greer was very quiet and did not want to play much, but I think she wasn't feeling very well, so hopefully they will love each other at their next meeting.
It was so nice visiting with family and friends, but also so nice to get back home!!!

This pretty much sums up Ashley and Greer

Ashley's silly face

All of the kids at a tea room where we had lunch for Aunt Trudy's birthday

Millie

Greer LOVED Stone

Greer & Jim

Recent Days

2011-02-17T14:47:00.003-05:00

The past week, we have had nice weather here and there and we have been trying to take advantage of it!!! I also need pictures for my class, so to the park we go......

[I have tried several times to post these pictures and have not had much success. Thankfully it finally worked today!!]

Randy & Jessica's wedding

2011-01-22T10:21:00.000-05:00

Greer, Pongo and I made a quick trip to SC to celebrate Randy (my cousin) and Jessica's wedding. It was a quick trip, but we enjoyed getting to see the family and celebrating a fun occasion!!

Sitting with Aunt A and Granny

Dancing the night away w/ Madison

Greer w/ the happy couple

Even playing field

2011-01-12T17:44:00.002-05:00

Well, it is official, we are having a baby boy!! I'll admit, I am a bit nervous because I can't dress him in pink and put a bow in his hair, but I have heard boys love their mommy so I am thrilled about that since Greer is such a daddy's girl. And on the bright side Doug will now have a boy in the house to balance Greer and myself!

First Haircut

2011-01-09T15:53:00.000-05:00

Well, we finally bit the bullet and cut Greer's hair. It was very difficult for both of us (Doug and myself) but I'm glad we did it. The back of her hair was looking a bit ridiculous because she lost hair underneath and it had grown out curly, so the longer hair on top looked thin and would just lay with the curls sticking out. Nonetheless, we had it cut up to the shorter hair in the back which is a bit shorter than I would have liked, but it looks precious, much healthier and I know it will grow out!!

Before the haircut

I'm not so sure about this..

Mom agrees

She doesn't like it

This is the best I could do for an after. She does not sit still for long these days!!! Hair looks really cute though!

Snow 2010

2010-12-29T16:22:00.001-05:00

When we arrived back in Norfolk the Monday after Christmas we arrived to almost a foot of snow. I believe a little had melted before we got here, but we got out in it for a moment!!! Greer was fine until she tipped over in the snow and it was cold!!!

Christmas 2010

2010-12-25T14:27:00.000-05:00

We had a very busy Christmas this year. Since we weren't going to be home on Christmas Eve, Santa came to see Greer the weekend before. She loves unwrapping presents, so he wrapped all of her gifts. She would open a gift and say "Ooohh." We made sure to leave some cookies and milk out for Santa....but someone got into them first! We really enjoyed this Christmas with her, even though she doesn't fully understand yet, she knows Santa says "Ho, ho, ho," as she says every time she sees a Santa!

We headed to Pittsburgh on the 23rd and spent Christmas and the weekend there. Greer thoroughly enjoyed spending time with Grammie, Pop Pop and her three uncles. She gets lots of attention when we are there! Mom and Amy also came up New Year's weekend to celebrate Christmas with us. Greer was once again spoiled and had fun with Nana and Aunt A.(Of course I have no pictures of either of these visits. As part of the new year, I will be trying to be better with taking pictures. I am taking a photography class to learn how to better use my camera, so hopefully that will be incentive!!)

Hey Santa

2010-12-22T20:51:00.001-05:00

Greer was not excited to meet Santa. Santa also gave me a lecture on the appropriate way to give a child to him. Apparently it does not include waving and saying hey to Santa ahead of time. He said I should have just kept her back to him and sat her on his lap and gotten the picture snapped!! Thanks Santa....next time have your elves inform us ahead of time!!!

Merry Christmas!!!

2010-12-21T10:24:00.001-05:00

Wishing everyone a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!!

Party of Four

2010-12-10T14:15:00.006-05:00

Yes, that is correct. We will now be asking for a table for four when we go out. I am still trying to absorb the reality of having two, but we will make it as many have in the past!!!

Baby #2 is due June 8, 2011.

Last minute

2010-12-04T20:45:00.007-05:00

Leave it to me to wait until the last minute to get my last minute Christmas items together. I had planned on having our Christmas cards sent out the first week in December, but that's not going to happen since I still haven't found an outfit for Greer to wear. However, I will be using Shutterfly,com to make my cards this year. I love the quality and unique pattern options they have. I'm not sure how I will narrow down which of these cards to use.....Any suggestions???

http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery/christmas-photo-cards

Another great idea are the photobooks. I made them for Mother's Day this past year and they were so easy and turned out GREAT, so I highly suggest using Shutterfly to make them...the quality was impeccable!! The grandparents love and cherish them and they are a great way to document each year. Here are a few of the pages out of the book I made.

This is the cover and then the first page when you open the book

....and a couple of the pages

http://www.shutterfly.com/photo-books

I am also thinking of creating a few of these adorable keepsake ornaments for the grandparents....who wouldn't want this on their tree each year???

http://www.shutterfly.com/photo-gifts/pewter-ornament

If you wait until the last minute like myself, Shutterfly.com is definitely the way to go!!!!

15 Month Checkup

2010-11-17T14:54:00.003-05:00

I am a little late on this one, but then again so was her checkup!! Greer went for her 15 month checkup at the end of October and everything was great! She unfortunately had to get 5 shots that day. Up until that day, I have been very strong when she got her shots, but something happened that day and I cried right along with her. Maybe it was the new nurse that didn't seem very compassionate as she made numerous comments on Greer's poopy diapers that I changed right before she came in. I mean really...like my little Greer could help it! Needless to say here are her stats:

Weight: 23 lbs-50th percentile

Height: 30.5 inches-45th percentile

It really is funny to bring the dog bowls in to the living room and stand in them!!!

Happy Halloween!!

2010-10-31T22:40:00.000-04:00

Helping carve the pumpkins

Mooooooooooooo

Greer & Isabelle

Fall 2010

2010-10-26T14:57:00.007-04:00

We went to the pumpkin patch/petting farm for some fun. Greer enjoyed the animals from a distance. Doug bought food so we could feed them and when he put some in Greer's hand she screamed when the goat tried to lick it out. Oh well....she lets Pongo do it all the time!!

Gone to Carolina

2010-10-19T14:22:00.002-04:00

Greer and I took a trip back in September to SC and stayed with Nana! Aunt Amy was there too!! We had a wonderful trip. We got to visit with everyone and even attend Boyd's 1st birthday party!!!

Happy Birthday Boyd

"Boyd, I really like your new car. Maybe you could take me for a spin sometime!"

"Actually, I think I will take it myself."

Playing at Granny's house

Worn out

Labor Day

2010-10-12T10:30:00.005-04:00

We decided to spend our Labor Day at Busch Gardens this year. We drove up in the morning and made a day of rides! Greer rode on quite a few more rides this time and I think she liked them.

First we rode on the dinosaur water ride.

Then rode it again w/ Daddy

Wirly Worms was kind of like a pirate ship/tilt a whirl, not so sure she like it. Doug said she got really quiet on it!

What a fun day!!!!

OBX 2010

2010-09-07T11:27:00.010-04:00

We went on our 2nd Annual trip to Duck in the Outer Banks and we had a wonderful time. Last year we had really cold, rainy weather, but this year the weather was GREAT. We had lots of sunny, warm days. The only time it rained was when Earl came through and which left Friday kind of wet.
Greer had so much fun in the pool and on the beach and also playing cornhole with Daddy. Can't wait to do it again next year!

Hanging out poolside

Hanging out in the pool

Umm...watermelon!!

Baby Isabelle sleeping so peacefully

w/ Emily, Victor & Isabelle

This is on the sound side of OBX

LT & Henry

Flying high to PA

2010-08-19T11:19:00.010-04:00

At the last minute, Doug was not able to get off of work to go to Pittsburgh for a family wedding, so Greer and I headed up there all alone on an airplane...yes an airplane. It was, of course, Greer's first airplane ride and for the most part she did very well. We arrived at the airport at 8 am on Thursday and our flight was to leave at 9:30 am, well due to weather it didn't leave until about 11:30 which made us miss our connecting flight. When we arrived in Philadelphia for our connection, it was also delayed so we didn't board the plane until 2:30 pm and then we were stuck on the plane due to inclement weather until about 4:30 pm!!!! She did break down and scream until the plane took off and she fell asleep for the whole flight. Needless to say, it was a long day and we finally got in the car at the airport at 6 pm, so that was a LONG day!!

We had a great time visiting with everyone and enjoying the wedding!!! She sure is loved by her three uncles!!!

w/ Uncle Cory

Sitting w/ Uncle Tanner

Uncle Lucas has the magic touch

Sleeping beauty during the wedding reception

The flight back was better in some ways. The total duration from being dropped off at the airport until we landed was about 3 hours, so that was much better than the trip there. She did however scream the entire (3o minutes) flight on our final leg of the trip. We stood in the bathroom for a good 10-15 minutes and she pulled out quite of few of the tissues in the bathroom (it was the only thing I would let her touch). I have to say over all she did well, but I do not know when we will attempt the flying again!!! **

Luckily there was no one sitting beside us on our last flight. This is Greer buckled up in her own seat!!

**Sorry Mollie...hopefully soon...the one benefit is it is a straight flight to Atlanta, but it is a little longer flight!!!

On the road again

2010-08-09T15:21:00.004-04:00

Greer received this for Christmas from Grammie. She was not able to ride by herself when she first received it, so it has been sitting at the back of her toy pile. It was pulled out recently and I believe she loves it!! (I had to split the video)

Happy Birthday Daddy!

2010-08-09T13:51:00.004-04:00

We celebrated Doug's 29th birthday with a (very) homemade cake and ice cream!

Helping Daddy open his presents

Daddy gave me cake

Crazy hair

My Babies

2010-08-03T13:19:00.000-04:00

Some pics of Greer with her babies!!! I have posted pictures of her with some of them in the past, but she now has 4 of them and she loves them all!!!!

Visit from Daniel

2010-08-02T13:34:00.006-04:00

Jennifer and Daniel came to visit us over the weekend. We had a wonderful time. Jenn's niece, Hayli came and she was so helpful with the babies (as was my mom who also came). We mostly did lots and lots of beach time. One day we went to Virginia Beach and the next day we went to the Chesapeake Bay. The Bay is a lot more relaxing with less waves and people. We also made it to a Tides game (Triple-A baseball). Greer and I really enjoyed having them here! We sure do wish we could see them more often!!

Daniel "surfing"

One Year

2010-07-27T13:29:00.002-04:00

Greer finally had her 12 month check-up and she did not enjoy her shots one bit this time. Not that she did before, but this time she was the baby that you can hear in the next room screaming at the top of their lungs for 5 minutes. I had to stay in the room to try and calm her down. She cheered up later though and we went for a stroll and lunch on the boardwalk in Virginia Beach.

(This is about as good as the pictures are these days. I can never get her to look or sit still)

21 lbs, 3 ozs (50th percentile)

29 inches (50th percentile)

As of Friday, July 9th...

2010-07-15T16:05:00.006-04:00

Visit from McKendrie

2010-07-09T11:06:00.005-04:00

Brianna and McKendrie came and stayed with us for a few days. We loved having them here and getting to spend so much time together. We went to the beach, aquarium and at McKendrie's request, got ice cream EVERYDAY!! We had a wonderful time and hope they come back to see us soon!!!!

We were having trouble getting Greer to smile, so McKendrie decided to help out.....see below:

Happy 4th of July

2010-07-04T15:28:00.002-04:00

Hope everyone had a fun and safe 4th!

GiGi got Millie and Greer matching outfits!

It is hard getting these 5 to take a picture!

Myrtle Beach 2010

2010-07-02T11:03:00.005-04:00

We celebrated the week before the 4th at the beach with the Stone side of my family. We had a wonderful time spending time with them. We had a house full as Angie has 4 kids, but it was tons of fun!! We celebrated Greer's 1st birthday (again).

Greer & Millie are going to be great friends someday!!

Riding on a turtle!

Doug & I celebrated our 3rd anniversary while we were at the beach. Since we had lots of baby sitters we had an evening out on the town. It was wonderful!

Greer & Aunt A

HAPPY 1st BIRTHDAY!!!

We love her!

She had to have cake AGAIN on her actual BIRTHDAY!

Millie had some too!

Stone just hanging out

Greer is 1!!

2010-07-01T10:40:00.013-04:00

We can NOT believe Greer is one. This year has flown by and we can't believe our little girl is now ONE! She has completely enhanced our lives and shown both Doug and I a love that we did not know existed. She has grown from a beautiful baby into a beautiful little girl.

Birth Day

Going Home

At one Greer is:

"Trying" to walk. She will take up to 6 steps, but hasn't "taken off" yet! (we are fine with that)

All over the place crawling. She is so active and NEVER sits still.

Saying momma, dada, pup pup, ba ba (for bottle and baby). She says momma when she is crying and upset and dada when she's happy!!

Waving when we say bye-bye
Gives kisses by opening her mouth and sticking out her tongue (by request only)

Clapping when we say clap or sing "When you're happy and you know it clap your hands."

Dancing (bouncing up and down and waving her hands) when she hears music

Eating all kinds of food. Her favorites are bananas, strawberries, blueberries, green beans and broccoli.

Not using a sippy cup and is still taking a bottle. I have been trying since she was 6 months, but she is enjoying the bottle. She really took to it well when I quit nursing, so she is not interested in the cup. We will keep trying.

***************************************************************

We celebrated her first birthday at Nana's house on the lake. She had friends come from all over the state to help her celebrate! We appreciate everyone coming.

She didn't dig her hands in the cake at all.

Greer & Boyd

McKendrie and Granny

Hilt didn't like the hat too much!

She loved her new baby doll from Mom & Dad!

Hannah and Greer

She loved playing in the water with her float! She had a wonderful first birthday celebration!

Visit from The Johnson's

2010-06-20T10:32:00.007-04:00

Grammie, Pap, Uncle Lucas and Uncle Tanner came for a visit to celebrate Greer's birthday a little early. She had a wonderful time with them. We went to the beach a couple of times and had a great party for her!

Greer & Uncle Tan

Greer w/ Uncle Lucas

11 Months

2010-06-01T12:02:00.007-04:00

We can not believe Greer is 11 months old and in exactly one month we will be celebrating her first birthday! I can not put into words right now how much we love her! On Saturday, her first "top front" tooth pushed its way through. They have been bothering her for a while and it finally came through. The other top front one is ready at any time. It was hard for me to accept her new smile as I thought she will never be this toothless again during my lifetime! She is able to stand on her own and has been walking around all of the furniture for over a month now. She has great balance and can actually stand up without holding on to anything, she just doesn't want to take that first step (which we are completely fine with.)

Memorial Day 2010

2010-06-01T11:25:00.005-04:00

We had a wonderful and eventful Memorial weekend. On Saturday we headed to the Pungo Strawberry Festival and we had a great time. I believe Greer's favorite part of the whole weekend was the auction they held at the festival. I don't know if it was the auctioneer or the cows and pigs walking around the arena, but she would squeal as loud as possible. She also watched her first pig race (but I unfortunately didn't get a picture of that.) Since we have season passes, Sunday morning we headed to Busch Gardens in Williamsburg. Doug and I took turns riding a few rides, but we mostly walked around and enjoyed the warm weather. Greer enjoyed her first carousel ride. I'm not sure if she loved it. She was very excited in line as she watched it go around, but had a serious face when her horse went up and down! We did a little outlet shopping before heading back to a cookout that afternoon!!!! We had planned on going to the beach on Memorial Day, but our previous days got the best of us and instead Greer played in her kiddie pool in the backyard.

Getting ready for the auction

Free Ride

Waiting in line

I love this face!

Hold on tight!

Not sure if the video will work. Sorry for the bad camera man too, I was riding on the horse beside her!!

First Beach Trip 2010

2010-05-17T10:40:00.006-04:00

We made it to the beach for the first time as a family this year. We enjoyed the great weather. Doug took his kayak and was determined to fish out of it! Greer and I were playing on the towel and I looked up and Doug is not in the kayak anymore...he is floating in the water trying to turn the kayak over. Once I realized he was ok, I couldn't help but chuckle. By the time he got back to shore he was exhausted!!! It was a fun day!

Going out

Exhausted

This was too funny. When we got back from the beach we were grilling out and decided to let Greer play in the grass. She didn't exactly want to sit on it for some reason and then when Doug stood up she wanted to crawl toward him...please look at her knees. She would not put them on the grass to crawl and on top of that she was trying to crawl with one leg in the air!! TOO CUTE.

Catch up!

2010-05-17T09:53:00.011-04:00

It's been a little while since I have posted. We have been busy. Greer and I took a trip to SC while Doug went to visit Cory in San Diego. We did have a great time visiting with everyone!

Greer looking out at the lake. LOVE IT!

Hannah turned 2, so Greer attended her first birthday party! She had a good time even though is was nap time! We got to spend a little time with Jennifer and Daniel while we were there also!

We had a wonderful visit with Angie and the kids (minus Robert who was in school). I just LOVE to see and visit with them!!!

How can you not love these faces??

Sweet Millie looks much chubbier in this picture than she really is!

We also hung out with Lara and Boyd for a bit. Even though Greer is about 2 & 1/2 months older than Boyd they are the same size!!! Doesn't he look just like Benson???

Boyd and Greer playing

I am pretty sure Greer is thinking "I want that toy," as she did keep taking whatever toy Boyd was playing with. We will learn to share soon!!

Pics just for fun over the past month!

Bath time

Does this look like the "puffy shirt" from Seinfeld?

This rocker was my mom's when she was a baby!

New Ride

2010-04-21T16:19:00.004-04:00

Greer now weighs enough to ride in the backpack. She seemed to like it! This isn't the best pic, but I thought it was cute!

9 months old

2010-04-07T14:15:00.008-04:00

Greer had her 9 month check up. She is so active now. She crawls and pulls up everywhere and on everything. We anticipate her first steps to come at any time!! She loves to babble and LOVES her Daddy!!! She also absolutely LOVES her babies. She cannot sleep with out them!!

9 month stats:

19 lbs (50th percentile)

26 inches* (10th percentile)

*The funny thing about her length is at 6 months they measured her at 26.5 inches...oops...basically I think she hadn't grown at all! I did measure her myself and she looks to be 27 inches long, which puts her in the 25th percentile (still a shorty!) The doctor said we should expect a growth spurt. On another funny note....her head circumference is now in the 95th percentile. At our appointment the doctor mentioned it was a bit larger than average...he looked at Doug and said "is that from Dad." I laughed!

I know...

2010-04-06T14:12:00.001-04:00

...we are biased, but is this not the cutest thing you have every seen?? I almost couldn't stand how cute she was this day!!!

Happy Easter!!

2010-04-04T14:04:00.005-04:00

Greer had a little visit from the Easter Bunny. She crawled right to her basket and pulled her new baby out first and then everything else!!! We also had a great visit and lots of fun with the Johnson side of the family!!

Hoping everyone had a very blessed Easter!!

After it was all said and done, someone was pooped!!

For Fun

2010-04-01T11:03:00.004-04:00

Here are a few more pics of Greer in recent days.

This is a classic "Greer" face

On the beach

This is all we see these days!

Sad day :(

2010-04-01T11:00:00.000-04:00

Yesterday was our last play date with Hilt and Lacy for a while. Lacy and Chad have officially moved back to Rock Hill (today)!! :( I am so sad to see them go, I think partly because I took most of our time here together for granted. So to make up for it Lacy and I did as much as we could together the past month!! Greer loves Hilt...she particularly loves to grab him. Hilt on the other hand wasn't very interested in Greer, yet!!! Here are some of the fun times we did have together and we wish them the best in starting a new chapter in their lives!!

Greer & Hilt LOVED swinging

and swimming!

Lacy's Shower

Pictures from the baby classes that we took together!

(Actually we signed up seperately for them and found out later we were in the same class, pretty random!!!)

When Daddy dresses me...

2010-03-11T13:07:00.003-05:00

my bow doesn't match and my shirt goes on backwards....

surprisingly enough you can hardly tell!!!!

8 months

2010-03-10T18:52:00.007-05:00

Greer is crawling full time now, although not going full speed yet. She likes to stop and sit along the way! Just in the past week she has been consistantly sitting up in her crib (when she should be napping) and talking to her baby. Last Thursday, Doug was playing with her on the floor and she pulled up on him and stood!! When you combine that with being in the crib....not good!! We had to lower her crib yesterday as I saw her pull herself up and start talking to Pongo over her crib rails!!! Needless to say we think she will be walking very soon!! Her new word is "bye" although she will not say it on command....I guess that will come! Yesterday we got her booster for the flu shots and as I was sitting in the waiting room I realized that she has grown so much so fast. I remember her first visits there and she was the smallest baby on the "well" side and yesterday she was the biggest by far. It made me a little sad, but at the same time she is developing into such a smart and ACTIVE little girl! We have truly been blessed with such a good baby!!

She LOVES her books!

and her BABY!

We're still here...

2010-02-17T09:54:00.004-05:00

It just amazes me how much Greer changes from day to day. She is crawling and talking now...well trying really hard to do both. She has crawled a little, but she mostly "worms" her way around. I'm fine with that for now. She also babbles all the time. We have heard what we thought was "da da", "ma ma" and "hey!"

She loves to do this

When I went to get her up from her nap, this is what she looked like

Go Tigers!

I have 2 teeth now!!!!

Snow 2010

2010-02-01T14:00:00.000-05:00

One of the joys of being from the South is the ability to enjoy a good snowfall and taking advantage of slow days because everything shuts down! We had a very rare 6+ inches of snow over the weekend. Although we are in Virginia, they do not get much snow at all here on the coast! We have enjoyed playing in the snow, especially Pongo. She had so much fun frolicking back and forth!!!

Pongo ran to the front door....I think she had had enough!

Oh the joy of homeownership!!!

2010-02-01T13:43:00.006-05:00

We recently changed the faucets in our shower upstairs to match the rest of the bathroom that we had changed. Last Monday I noticed a large crack in the kitchen ceiling and water dripping out. Needless to say the faucet had been dripping since it was installed (3 weeks earlier) and caused quite the problem in the ceiling. So we went the rest of the week with no ceiling in a portion of the kitchen. We have decided to redo the bathroom upstairs while we are at it. Here are pictures to show the start of the project. Oh fun...

Can you see it?

2010-01-14T21:32:00.008-05:00

The day before yesterday I was feeding Greer when I noticed....her first tooth!!! She surprisingly enough hadn't been very fussy lately so I was not expecting it!! Yay.....I guess!??!!

6 months!!!

2010-01-06T13:29:00.004-05:00

We can't believe Greer is already a half year old!! Time has gone by so very fast!!! She is now babbling so much, rolling over, sitting up, loves eating cereal, green beans, peas & sweet potatoes and smiling and laughing all the time! She has truly been a blessing for us and she is such a good baby!!! She had her 6 month check up today and got 4 shots!! She is such a trooper!!!!

weight: 16 lbs, 10 ozs
length: 26.5 inches

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!!!

2010-01-04T13:24:00.012-05:00

We had a busy holiday season this year. We went to SC for Christmas and stayed through the New Year! We went in on a house to flip with Amy and my mom, so we were in Columbia for three days after Christmas doing some of the work on it ourselves. We then headed to Myrtle Beach to celebrate the New Year with Jonathan, Lauren, Cadence & Chase. We had a great time with everyone, but we were VERY HAPPY to get home! There is certainly no place like home and I think Greer needed it more than we did!! Here are some pictures of our busy week and a half!!!

Greer says, "Merry Christmas!"

Greer opening some of her presents (with a little assistance)

Jim, Millie & Stone (respectively)

Robert, Millie & Greer (Greer looks huge next to little Millie)

Before and After of the kitchen of the house we are fixing up to sell

Doug with all the babies

Greer our first day home...she was exhaused and she loves this new toy she has

Greer's baptism

2009-12-22T13:09:00.000-05:00

Greer was baptised on December 20th. Besided getting soaked she did a great job (no crying!!) She wore the dress that Amy (my sister) and I both wore for ours. Both of our families made it for the occasion in spite of the terrible winter storm that came through the east coast. It took Doug's family 14 hours to get here when it normally takes about 8 hours.

If I had to guess...

2009-12-10T10:59:00.003-05:00

Greer is thinking, "Is all of this necessary just to get a bite to eat at Moe's?"

Cereal anyone???

2009-12-02T08:37:00.004-05:00

Greer is now eating rice cereal. We gave her some last night and she loved it. It took her a minute at first to grasp the concept of swallowing it, but as soon as she got the hang of it she ate it all!!! YUMMY!!!

I'm ready!!!

Happy Turkey Day!!

2009-12-01T20:23:00.005-05:00

We hope everyone had a Happy Thanksgiving. We went to PA and had a wonderful time. Here are some pictures of our holiday. I will try and get more (I still didn't do well pulling my camera out!)

Greer & Papa

Tanner & Shaylen

Cousin Jamie

w/ Cousin Shaylen

....Speaking of Shaylen, she is the family star. She is a part of the show "The Wannabes" that is currently filming. It is a show about kids at a stuffy dancing school that create a group that secretly sings and dances. (I hope I have that correct) Filming will be wrapping up in April, so we will let you know when & where to watch. Check it out...http://www.savvymusic.biz/ (click on the media & downloads to watch videos)

5 months

2009-12-01T20:13:00.003-05:00

Greer is 5 months old today! She did have a 4 month check-up here are her stats:

weight: 15 lbs

length: 26 inches

(both of which put her in the 90th %)

Stop, Drop & Roll

2009-11-24T11:54:00.003-05:00

I was in the kitchen and Doug put her on her play mat to go get something and when he walked back in the room he said "I think she rolled over". I said no way b/c neither of us saw her do it and she had been trying for days, but just couldn't get there. And Doug said "Well that isn't how I put her down." We flipped her back over and did watch her do it a couple more times!!! Needless to say she has finally mastered the art of rolling over (from back to stomach). Unfortunately she had not mastered the opposite, so she will occasionally get stuck and frustrated. Here is a quick picture I took of her in action. She wasn't very happy! :)

What do you think?

2009-11-22T16:12:00.010-05:00

When Greer was born, our families brought some of our baby pictures up. I tried replicating them with Greer, but she did not cooperate completely....she had her hands in her mouth the whole time! I believe we are all roughly the same age. What do you think?

Fun Times

2009-11-22T15:22:00.009-05:00

I have been very slack lately with posting. We have been traveling a bit though. We went to Pittsburgh in October to see Cory before he left for the Navy and I don't have any pictures from that trip. I will try and get some to post at a later date. Greer and I just returned from a trip to SC where she got to meet lots of new friends and family. My cousin had a baby girl and Greer was able to meet sweet Millie! I have a feeling they will be having lots of fun growing up together. I also met up with my roommates from Clemson, Mollie and Lara and their baby boys. After that we spent the night with Jennifer. It was so nice to get to see all of them and for all of us to share our new additions. I have some pictures from our time together, but for some reason I forget to bring the camera out when I am with family. I will do better over the holidays and have lots to post after Thanksgiving and Christmas!!!!

Mollie, Grayson, me, Greer, Lara & Boyd

Bri and Greer

Daniel & Greer

Greer riding on Bett

I love sucking my thumb!!

Happy Halloween and more!!!

2009-11-03T19:03:00.006-05:00

I believe Greer enjoyed her first Halloween! We sat outside and handed out candy to the neighborhood kids!

BATH TIME!!!!

Visit to SC

2009-10-12T17:55:00.005-04:00

I failed to add some pictures from our visit to SC back in September. We have two cameras that we use and I hadn't pulled the pictures off of the little camera.

McKendrie holding Greer right before he pushed her aside b/c he heard her pooping! :)

Visiting w/ Lara (40 weeks pregnant). Boyd didn't want to meet us yet!

Weezie (mom's dog) decided to jump in her lap while we were riding in the car. Greer didn't seem to mind!

Zoo

2009-10-12T17:51:00.008-04:00

Last weekend we took Greer for her first visit to the zoo. She mostly slept in her stroller while Doug and I laughed and enjoyed the animals. I have posted a couple of pics where she got out and looked at the giraffes. I think she liked it!

This pig looked so happy

Love birds

LARPing

2009-10-05T12:24:00.004-04:00

A couple of weeks after Greer was born the weather was really nice and Doug, Greer and I packed it up and went for a little picnic at a local park. I posted a couple of pics of Greer's first picnic, but that was not the exciting part. When we pulled up we notice a group of people gathered under the trees and to our surprise they were LARPers! It was funny to actually see people doing it in person. If some of you are unfamiliar with LARPing google it. It stands for Live Action Role Playing...use your imagination! If you have seen the movie Role Models or watched the reality show Beauty and the Geek you may be familiar. Enjoy!

September

2009-09-24T20:20:00.008-04:00

Where has September gone? Once we returned from vacation we traveled to Hartsville for my 10 year high school reunion. It was interesting, that's pretty much all I can say about it. While we were there, the church I grew up in had a shower for Greer and they all got to meet her. Greer got way to much stuff, but it is all much appreciated. Greer and I stayed in SC some extra days while Doug came back on Sunday. Amy and Mom brought me back and stayed a day. It was so nice having some extra time to visit with everyone back home. I have been lacking on updating the blog and to be honest I have not taken too many pictures of Greer lately, but here are a few!!

Last days at the beach for this year!

Hanging out at the Lake w/ Mom & Dad

Greer and Hannah got to meet

2 month checkup

2009-09-08T16:17:00.005-04:00

Greer had her 2 month check up this morning. She now weighs 12 lbs, 7 ozs and was 23.5 inches long which puts her in the 90th percentile for both. I had been worried that she wasn't eating enough, but of course she proved me wrong. He said she should be rolling over soon since she is so active and also said she looked more like a 4 months old than a 2 month old. She is a healthy one!

She also got her first round of shots and did pretty well with them!

Duck, NC

2009-09-03T14:54:00.011-04:00

We went on vacation to Duck, NC (Outer Banks) last week. We had cold & cloudy weather pretty much the whole time. There was sunshine on Saturday when we were leaving so we decided to stick around and hang out on the beach for a few hours since we didn't make it to the beach all week. Needless to say, we don't have a ton of pictures, but we did get some to document the fun and relaxing time we had!! Greer loved laying out with her shades on although her hair did not fair so well in the humidity and wind. It was "puffy" the whole time!

Go Tigers!!!

2009-09-02T21:29:00.003-04:00

In honor of the first Clemson game that is coming up soon, Greer wanted to put on her new cheerleader uniform. (it is a little big, but she will grow into it before the season is over)

7 1/2 weeks

2009-08-21T09:09:00.005-04:00

Here are some other photos that we have taken over the past week or so! I try really hard to get pictures without her tongue sticking out, but I am usually not too successful!

She loves to swing

Greer's first day at church

Photo Shoot

2009-08-21T08:53:00.007-04:00

My dear friend Shannah came over and took some pictures of Greer and me. She did a wonderful job considering how fussy Greer was that day. I have posted a few of them. We can't wait to have another shoot in the near future with Doug since he missed the first one!! :) (If you are in the VA Beach/Norfolk/Chesapeake area, I will be happy to get you in touch with Shannah)

Bath Tub

2009-08-13T22:23:00.010-04:00

We had still been giving Greer sponge baths since her belly button fell off 2 weeks ago (and yes it was on for a month), so we thought it was time to give her a bath in her tub. We really thought she would like it since she would partially be submerged in the water and that would keep her warm...guess we were wrong. We did get some cute pictures though!!!

We couldn't resist playing with the hair!!!

At this point she is tired of taking pictures and trying to get away!

5 1/2 Weeks

2009-08-09T13:28:00.009-04:00

Well, Greer has been much better the past week since she has started taking some medicine for her reflux. She has been a different baby and the feedings have been much more pleasurable.

I just loved this pic

This past Wednesday was Doug's birthday, so he took the day off of work. He has been itching to go to the beach, so we packed Greer up and headed to the water for a couple of hours. I posted some pics of our trip. She is in her sundome which we were so excited to receive, but it didn't hold up extremely well in the wind. All in all, we had a good day and I think Greer enjoyed napping on the sand!

This was on the way to the beach......

Much better!!!!!!!

Aunt Amy has requested a picture of her and Greer be on the blog, so here you go Amy.

Doug's fam came and visited this past weekend. Cory, Doug's brother, will be going into the Navy soon and he did not get to meet Greer when she was born. I think they enjoyed their meeting!!!

4 Weeks

2009-07-30T11:53:00.008-04:00

I have been slacking on the blog lately. Greer is now 4 weeks old and she is growing like a weed. We have had some ups and downs with the feeding and are trying to figure out what is causing her fussiness during feeding time. We believe it may be reflux, but are going to the doctor again soon to find out, so I'll keep you posted. Other than that we are adjusting to life with a little one and loving every (well almost every) minute of it!!! :)

Not a fan of bathtime

2 Weeks

2009-07-18T15:54:00.003-04:00

Greer is 2 1/2 weeks old. We can't believe she has been with us for 2 weeks, but at the same time it has been the longest 2 weeks of my life. At her 2 week checkup, she weighed 8lbs, 4ozs which is over a pound more than she weighed when we brought her home. She is truly a good baby. The only time she gets fussy is when she is fighting sleep or when she wants to be held. She got a little spoiled with all of the company, so we are going to work on that. We sure do love her!!!!!

Go Tigers!!!

One Week

2009-07-12T08:49:00.012-04:00

We have had a good first week adjusting to life with Greer. She is a wonderful baby and only cries when she has a dirty diaper. The hardest part is waking up to feed her in the middle of the night. I can't wait for the day she wakes me up to eat, b/c she loves to sleep!! :) I added some more pictures--she looks like Doug!!!!

First bath

First ride in the "BOB"

Greer Elizabeth Johnson

2009-07-04T13:09:00.012-04:00

Greer Elizabeth was born on July 1 @ 1:15 pm. She weighed 7lbs, 11 ozs and was 20.5 inches long. We made it home yesterday afternoon and have been enjoying her so much!! I am just going to post some pics for all to enjoy now! We love her so much!

Almost 39 weeks

2009-06-30T18:25:00.008-04:00

Well, we went to the doctor this morning for a half week check up since we thought Baby Greer was going to meet the world this past weekend. She had other plans. She is obviously not ready to come, despite our attempts to walk her out. This morning the doc said I am a full 3 cm dialated and pretty much 100% effaced, so everything is ready. She said she could still come at anytime, so we wait. We have everything ready for her now, so I posted a pic of part of the room. You can kind of tell the color, it is a little lighter than that. I also posted a late belly shot of me. Hopefully she will decide she is ready to meet her Mom & Dad soon and as soon as we meet her we will share her with all of you. Keep your fingers crossed!!!!

37 weeks

Busy Month

2009-06-21T20:04:00.005-04:00

We have had a really busy month since Memorial Day Weekend. We had the privilege of having Doug's brother, Tanner, stay with us for a couple of weeks this month (he is 15). He and Doug really had a good time. Then we had a baby shower here given by our friend Emily. It was super nice and again we got a ton of nice gifts. I have posted some pics of the shower. We had our 37 week visit this past Thursday (yah...we are full term now!) and I have showed little progress within the last week, but I did find out that I have been having the Braxton Hicks contractions and didn't know it! I have felt some other little pains today, so Baby Greer may be here before we know it. I'll let you all know after our appointment on Thursday how things are progressing. I believe they are going to do something to move things along, but I'll keep you all posted! I am also currently washing all of the baby linens, so once I finish that I will post a pic of the crib and stuff. Everything is not completely done (I never found curtains), but it is almost ready for her!!!

Shower in Hartsville

2009-06-07T07:30:00.010-04:00

Amy and Jennifer had a lovely shower for me in Hartsville on Memorial Day Weekend. It was wonderful and Doug and I got a LOT of nice things for the baby. I posted a few phot0s from the shower...most of the pictures seemed to be of me, so I am not going to post all of those! :) We had lots of family and friends make the trip and we are so appreciative of that. We also had some of little ones running around which always makes for fun.

Me & the hosts

Cadence

Daniel

A lot lighter

2009-05-28T21:33:00.003-04:00

I finally decided it was time to get rid of 10 inches and give it to Locks of Love. After the initial shock of not having long hair, I really like it. It feels so much lighter and I know someone will enjoy it much more than I did!!!!! I'll post pics soon!

Last Trimester

2009-04-30T13:00:00.002-04:00

Well, we are down to the final three months now and we went to the doctor last week. She said everything looked fine and the baby was measuring on time. So that is good news!!! I actually gained what I consider alot of weight in the last month, but the doctor wasn't concerned, so I will quit obsessing over it!
Doug's family joined us for Easter and his mom painted the nursery, so we are trying to finish up on that. I'll post some pictures soon! Other than that we are just enjoying our last days as a couple in anticipation for our new arrival!!

2009-04-12T15:51:00.003-04:00

Doug decided it would be a good idea this year to get rid of all of our grass and start from scratch, AGAIN. So he rented a sod cutter which entailed a little more work that he anticipated, but we are crossing our fingers it will look good in a month or so. I put up two pics, one during the sod cutting and one after. The 2nd is what our yard looks like now....Pongo has enjoyed all of the walks she has gotten lately!!!

Sod cutting

After sod cutting

Doctor's Visit

2009-03-25T12:55:00.003-04:00

I went to the doctor yesterday for a check up. It was the first time they measured my belly and he said it was measuring on time, so that is good I guess. She also still had a very strong heartbeat which we are thankful for. Other than that things are progressing, including my weight!! :) I had quite a jump in the last 5 weeks, so I am going to have to watch the sweets!!