Nora was in charge of the tree

Decorating the tree

Nic watching the decorating

Nic stayed in his pack-n-play while we decorated the tree. You can see his two little teeth starting to poke out when you look at the full-size image.

Getting ready for Christmas

Now that the kids are healthy again, we are catching up on the things that we were supposed to do last weekend like getting the Christmas decorations up.

Tonight we got a nice Noble Fir from a nursery down the road and a beautiful handmade wreath to hang on the door. Nora was in charge of hanging the ornaments on the tree, a duty she took quite seriously. I was busy documenting the event like some crazy paparazzi. I have a long way to go before I figure out how to get everything right on this camera but it has been a lot of fun to play with so far.

Last Day with Mommy Home

Our Little Man is back to his ol' self and loving bath time.




























Yes, he is painfully skinny at this point :-(

DyDy

I'm sure many of you have heard us talk about Dyanna, the kids' nanny, but here she is, in the flesh.

He's baaaack

Nic is getting healthier with every passing day. Although he still isn't 100% recovered from his bout with RSV, tonight he was up to his usual monkey business.

Daddy has a new camera

Our (early) Christmas present to each other was a new digital SLR camera. We started playing around with it tonight and it has been FUN!!

I have already taken dozens of pics of the kiddos...here is the first one of many!

HOME

We are all home as a family! Brian brought Nic home from the hospital at about 11:30 this morning and the kids were so happy to see each other. They quickly started with the sounds they make back and forth to each other. It was so wonderful to see them together again.

It is also wonderful to have Mommy and Daddy in the same place for more than a minute or two! When we would pass the torch at the hospital, we'd put the sides of Nic's crib up, run to the elevator, and meet the other in the lobby. After a quick run down of the logistics needed at that moment, the other parent would make a mad dash for the elevators (cleaning the hands with sanitizing lotion of course). I would usually take Nora out for dinner at some horrible burger joint and quickly regret the need to spoil her with a place that has waitresses on rollerskates.

Dinner together, followed by baths and bedtime books will be a welcome routine tonight.

As a follow up to last night's triple puking episodes, Nora kept everything down today. Hopefully the Remfrey family is on the mend and you won't see anymore posts related to illness in quite sometime. Now all we have to do is start fattening up Nicky! I'm going to get started on a fat laden cheese sauce to drizzle on EVERYTHING!

Good news from the hospital

Nic is coming home tomorrow after four long days in the hospital fighting off RSV. He is looking better and getting stronger every day and should be back to his usual self very soon.

There is just something about the Thanksgiving holiday that makes things a bit chaotic in our family. I recall the day before Nic was born: April started having contractions, and on our way to the hospital we stopped at the house to pick up some clothes. Just as we were about to leave, the Safeway truck pulled up to deliver all of our groceries for Thanksgiving dinner. I ran up to the driver and told him we needed to make it quick! The image of the wild-eyed truck driver hurtling down our driveway with a frozen 20 lb. turkey cradled in his arms is something I will not soon forget.

This year's Thanksgiving had its share of adventure too.

Nic had not been feeling well for a couple of weeks, and the cold-like symptoms started to become really severe. He was feverish, wouldn't eat or drink, and was coughing and vomiting every few hours. We finally brought him in to the emergency room at Children's after dinner last Thursday, an unfortunate end to what had otherwise been a fun evening with our friends and family.

April and I spent the first two nights in the room with him on the pull-out bed, watching the stream of masked nurses come and go, keeping a careful eye on the monitor above him to make sure his little lungs were doing their job. As far as hospital rooms go, this one was fantastic. Seattle Children's is a very modern facility and the staff here have taken great care of Nic.

He has come a long way since that first night...he is smiling again, sitting up on his own, and cramming fistfuls of Cheerios in his mouth just like he used to. April and I are both exhausted but extremely grateful to everyone who helped take care of Nora while we were in the hospital this weekend. We are very lucky to be surrounded by such great people.

Unfortunately, we're not out of the woods yet...I just got word that Nora lost her dinner in the back seat of my car on the way home tonight. When it rains, it pours!

Nic health update

Nic checked in to Seattle Children's Hospital late Thursday night. He's been diagnosed with RSV, a nasty virus that is camped out in his lungs.

The staff at Children's has been doing a great job looking after him. April and I are appreciative of everyone's help and positive thoughts. We hope to bring him home in the next day or so.

Nic's first b-day

Nic's 1st Birthday

We had a small celebration for Nic's first birthday today. Check out the video to see how he did with his birthday cake.

Butt Up

In true Johnson fashion, Nic prefers to sleep with his butt sticking up in the air!

Nora still loves our trips on the ferry!













Nora and Daddy participated in the pumpkin carving contest at Karina and Paige's Halloween party last weekend. Nora used a new Light Bright technology that only requires the lid to be cut. She got runner up for best funny pumpkin! You can see Brian sporting his bee keeper costume while the rest of us in the family were the bees.

Houston, We Have a Tooth

Finally, after months of waiting, Nic has produced his first tooth along with hours of fun-filled screaming. He isn't letting us get anywhere near the tooth, so you'll have to wait patiently for pictures. I have a feeling the second tooth will be rearing its head soon as well!

Nic on his own two feet

Loyal readers of the blog may recall this post from October, 2005, when Nora first tried out her walking car--a gift from Auntie Nessa on her first birthday. Now, three years later, it's Nic's turn to play with it.

He hasn't quite figured out how to keep it in a straight line yet, but he is awfully proud of himself when he is able to move on his own two feet!

Halloween Preview

Look out, Cottage Lake! Nora tried on her halloween costume today...this is Amber's old bumblebee costume, circa 1985.

No More Baby Food

Nic has just informed us of a very important decision: "Get that damn baby food out of my face! I won't eat it anymore!" At least that is what I thought he was saying when he pushed away the spoon for the hundredth time this week. He has officially graduated to eating anything he can pick up and shove in his mouth. And I mean shove. We learned quite quickly (how did we forget this in 3 short years) that we could only put a few pieces, of what ever he may be eating, on the tray at a time.

This morning Nic ate a whole applesauce pancake for breakfast. We have obviously turned a corner. Baby fat here we come! Stay tuned for the pictures of the rolls on his arms, legs, and tummy. Don't hold your breath too long. For some reason, we make skinny kids and it just isn't in the cards.

Nora's Four Year Stats

Nora had her 4-year checkup this afternoon. She courageously made it through three booster shots without crying. Sparkly band-aids seem to help.

Weight: 35 lbs. (50%)
Height: 41 in. (75%)

Happy traveler

Nic and Nora had lots of fun in the back seat of the car on the way home from the orchard today...

A day at the orchard

What a weekend!

Yesterday we celebrated Nora's fourth birthday with 42 of our friends and relatives. The theme of the day was "butterflies," and we had lots of butterfly-related activities for the kiddos. They made butterfly charm bracelets, butterfly ornaments, and even butterfly suncatchers to hang in the windows. It was a lot of fun to introduce some of our friends to others that, prior to the party, they had heard about only through stories.

After yesterday's huge celebration, today was decidedly low-key. We met Matt and Renee this morning at Cafe Flora in Montlake, a vegetarian restaurant which has become our new favorite brunch place. The food was absolutely amazing. Nora's pancake was shaped like a fish, complete with fruit fins and gills. The eyes were made of bananna slices with little raspberries on top.

With happy tummies, we got back on I-5 and headed north to the Skagit Valley. It's apple season in Washington, and we were on a mission to find the best ones we could. Our destination: the Jones Creek Farm, a "U-Pick" farm near Sedro-Woolley.

We were greeted at the gate with cups of hot apple cider and dispatched to the orchard with a cart and lots of plastic bags. There were hundreds of different varieties of apples, on trees that were low enough that Nora could pick them without any help from us. One of the most fascinating varietals that we saw today was the "Pink Pearl," a yellowish apple with a pink flesh inside.

The farmers encouraged us to eat as many apples as we wanted while we picked...and we certainly obliged. Nic rode along with me in the Baby Bjorn, and with every apple I tasted, he would crane his head up to look at me with his mouth open like a baby bird. I gave him little bits of apple and he did the happy food dance, smiling and kicking his legs up and down.

As we made our way up and down the rows we were treated to beautiful views of the Cascades to the south. Despite a gloomy forecast, the sun peeked through the clouds every few minutes.

At the end we filled up the truck with 64 pounds of apples and pears, a bag of beautiful tomatoes, and squash. What in the world does one do with 64 pounds of apples, you may ask? Stay tuned. We have quite a few ideas already...do you have any you would like to share?

Happy 4th Birthday Nora!

Making blackberry jam

We picked these blackberries along the side of the road in our neighborhood and made four jars of blackberry jam.

Sunny afternoon at Bainbridge Island

We have had a busy September. It's hard to believe that the month is almost over...but the return of the grey skies and rain is a sure sign that our beautiful summer is coming to an end. School is back in session, April's new business is ramping up, and we are getting used to our new routine. As you can probably tell from the lack of posts here over the past couple of weeks, we haven't had a lot of time to spare!

On the 13th, we celebrated my birthday with a group of friends at Lake Sammamish State Park. Most of them were transplants from Milwaukee (many of whom were former colleagues of mine), who had found their way out to Seattle over the past couple of years. The kids had lots of fun building sand castles on the beach and flying kites, while the grown-ups swapped stories about their relocations. I got a Wii (yessss!) which has been a ton of fun to play around with, although Nora has managed to humble me at several of the games already. My favorite so far is the golf game, because I can get the little cartoon guy to actually hit the ball straight: a feat I am incapable of in real life. Several of you who have seen me (try to) golf in the past have been witness to this.

Last weekend we spent a sunny afternoon across the water on Bainbridge Island. Nora spent the majority of the ferry ride chatting up the other passengers, and got a chance to talk to Uncle Eric who called from Argentina. After a stop at a great gluten-free bakery, we took a walk around the town and the marina. The blackberries are in season now, and they seem to be everywhere. The ones we saw on the island were the biggest ones we have seen so far.

A Quick Update

Time has been flying by around here so I wanted to make sure I caught everyone up on the happenings.

School has started for both Mommy and Nora. Nora is loving being in "The Big Kid Room" as she calls it. She is doing extremely well, but we've heard a little feedback that she needs to work on not being so bossy. Gosh, I can't imagine where she gets that.

Nic is pulling himself up on anything and everything and traveling around to the best of his abilities. He's had quite a few crash boom bangs on his little noggin. This morning, he fell right between the toilet and cabinet and wedged his head between the two. He is just taking off in every area of motor development. Unfortunately, he has been extremely crabby lately and pulling at his ears. We have an appointment tomorrow afternoon to have them looked at. He still does not have any teeth that have shown themselves.

We'll keep you posted.

Nic's wave

Nic has learned how to wave!

New Cousin Levi

My dad and Drew went to visit the newest cousin on the Johnson side this morning. Levi Charlie was born a little over a week ago. Congratulations Jake, Liz and Cooper!

Nine Month Stats

Nic continues to be as skinny as ever, but he has be on that path since he was born. Believe it or not, we just make skinny kids. At this check up he weighed in at 16 pounds 15 ounces and measured 29 inches. His weight is in the 5% and his height is in the 75%! Man, if I could be in the same boat, I'd be THRILLED! Good thing they don't make growth scales for adults with percentages on them. I'm ALL about the percentages as you special ed teachers can empathize with. Since his visit, he's tried ground turkey, cheese, and eggs and loved them all. There isn't too much that he'll spit out. He is still in love with green beans, but he enjoys cauliflower, mashed potatoes (what well respecting person doesn't LOVE mashed potatoes, come on!), carrots, avocado, many different fruits, rice, orzo, and lentils.

As you've seen in some of the videos, Nic has changed significantly in the last two months. He is now mobile, can communicate with his hands, and talks constantly. Nora and Nic have created ways of talking back and forth with one another. Nic vocalizes a high pitch and Nora responds with the same pitch, or Nic makes a quiet grunting noise and Nora repeats the same sound. This banter can go on for a few minutes. I hear it in the car or even when they are in two different rooms of the house. It is fascinating and just damn cute!

Nic learns how to sign "more"

Bath Time Fun

Army Crawl Followed by a Lick

At the Park with Grandma

Nic and Grandma went on a little stroll yesterday morning while I slept off the wisdom tooth pain. They went to our neighborhood park that is on Cottage Lake. It sure looks like Nic had a good time!

Camping with Grandma

This weekend we went camping with Grandma, who arrived here late Friday night. We stayed at a new spot called Denny Creek, in the Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest just a couple of miles away from Snoqualmie Pass.

Saturday was a cloudy day, and we knew that there was a pretty good chance of rain, but just after lunch we got a beautiful blast of sunshine and decided to go for it anyway.

The kids are getting pretty adept at camping after our last excursion to Oregon with Uncle Eric. While we were setting up, Nora helped me keep track of the tent stakes. Nic was content to watch us from the confines of his Pack-and-Play. Our dinner Saturday night consisted of classic camping fare with a slight variation: I forgot to pack the graham crackers. We were forced to improvise on the recipe and discovered a delicious (and gluten free!) substitute: putting chocolate and raspberries inside a roasted marshmallow. Yummy!!

The next morning we packed up our soggy tents (the rain had finally caught up to us) and headed out on the trail to Franklin Falls. It was an easy hike along Denny Creek to a beautiful waterfall. We could see the westbound lanes of I-90 on a bridge far above us. The water in the river was crystal clear.

We made a couple of stops on the way home...first at the Snoqualmie Brewery for some fantastic sandwiches (and beer!), and then a roadside stand where we got a great price on some locally-grown peaches and nectarines. April made a salsa out of the peaches for dinner tonight which was fantastic.

We're hoping to squeeze in one more camping trip this season before the weather and our schedules become too crazy.

Nic Giggling

Nora "jumps on it"!

At the zoo with Kristian