Evidence that Alice is loved

Bits of evidence that Alice is loved:

1. Pieces of food found in her hair from being held while eating or kissed after eating.

2.  Bumps on the head from disagreements on who gets to "HAVE" her at the moment.

3.  Sleep deprivation

4.  Multiple baby toys and stuffed animals found in her crib to cheer her up if mom took too long getting to her after her naps.

5.  Various types of food shared despite the lectures and lack of many teeth.

6.  All the giggles that emit whenever she burps etc.

7.  The race to try to get into the tub before mom can get Alice out.

8.  The stopped tears whenever Alice smiles come your way!

9.  Baby toys strewn about the house...along with everything else!

10.  The ability to wake even the grumpiest child with a smile if Alice is the one doing the waking.

11.  The most frequently asked question, "Can I hold Alice?"

Happy Birthday Grandpa!

Happy 70th Birthday Grandpa Parputt!  We love you and wish we were there to celebrate with you.  Sam and Meg sang you a song, Kate and Alice were napping but they send you happy wishes in their dreams!  We hope you had a great day!  Hugs and Kisses!  

Meg, "My favorite memory of Grandpa is when he gives me hugs."

Sam, "He is a fun grandpa, he takes me for snow cones."

Kate, "I love grandpa."

Alice, "He makes me smile."

ballerina girl time

Daddy time for Alice is always play time.

Meg and Kate starting Alice early on the dress up scene.

Sweet Meg and Alice.

Reading time thanks to Meg!

Daddy likes to show off his little girl's talents!

Alice has grown

Here is a more recent picture of Alice, she is so busy, just like all the other Johnson kids....so much to keep up with!  She is rolling over, front to back and back to front.  She is also grabbing at everything around her and very interested in food...oh how the kids have kept trying to put varying things "secretly" in her mouth.  She coos up a storm....again keeping up with all the noise around here!  She is an absolutely lovely baby.  She smiles all the time & only complains when she is tired or hungry and occasionally when she is placed in the car seat.  Erik keeps "working" on her sitting abilities.  She is getting better each day.  The bottom picture is when Alice was about a week old.  I put it on for comparison.

Opening Soccer day in Pleasanton

These are the scorpions, do you like the tails?

Here Sam and his team are in the city parade on opening day of soccer!

Our Family Castle

Erik working in our garden after the harvest while the kids make a castle in the backyard.

Our little Kate working hard on her castle.

Our neighbor Ali Cannon helping with the paint job.

Sam working on the inside kitchen.

No picture could do this fancy new building in my backyard justice. They were so creative. The castle had bedrooms, a patio, front door with a door handle, an oven, a family room and an archway that led to the patio and backyard.

Sam looking out the front window.

Meg working on the back patio roof.

Kate painting the side wall by the second window...very artistic!

Sam getting the front doormat ready.

It hardly ever rains around here, only for a month out of the year and a few sprinkles in the spring. This year it rained heavily within a week of creating this masterpiece....unfortunately we had to dispose of the melted castle sooner then planned.

Rubber Duck Controversy

I would put this under our quote of the week, but I thought it needed a story behind it.  As I was driving Sam and his buddy in the car I heard Kate telling them that the rubber duck that she had just found on the playground was a boy.  Sam quickly responded that it wasn't a boy duck.  He said, "it doesn't have a pee-ness, it has a poo-ness."  This seemed to make sense to all little children in the car and the discussion changed to something else profound like how fast I was driving, and why I couldn't go 80 MPH in a parking lot.

Just messing around the house

Here are some funny pictures taken around the house....some are taken by the kids.  The best Christmas gift Meg ever got was a digital camera.  I highly recommend it!  It is so fun to see the world through their eyes!

Very important conversations are being had.

We found Kate banging on the doorknob that had fallen off.  She even had her safety glasses on for the job.

Our handsome boy!

Tummy Time

Sam and Meg jump down to play with Alice as soon as they get home from school.  Here everyone is having a little tummy time.

Our Family Celebrates Kate

So many presents for such a little girl!  Kate showing us her new silverware for her kitchen.

Kate's Princess Tiara Crown cake.

Happy Birthday to you!

Our Celebrate Kate Day started out early in the morning as we took the BART into San Francisco.  I think Kate will always have fun birthdays since she was born the day after labor day.  This year her birthday was on labor day!  Erik was able to celebrate her day all day long with us!  Sammy looked like a puppy looking out the window and wagging his tail the entire ride.  He kept checking to see how fast we were going and giving us updates every 10 minutes.  Erik and I both decided that this was a birthday adventure for Sam more then Kate since he has been wanting to take the BART for a year and a half.

Sam and Kate riding the MUNI in the city.

What other transportation would we take in the city but the trolley?

Sam ringing the trolley's bell.

Kate getting help from the conductor to ring the bell on her birthday!

Meg ringing the trolley bell.

Riding the trolley takes me back to the days when we used to live on the trolley line....Sacramento and Hyde.  I used to hear the bell ring at 11pm when the trolley would go by.  Thank goodness we didn't have children then, it would have woke them up!  Such a fun time in our marriage and it is so fun to revisit with our children.  Erik used to take the Trolley to work sometimes he could out walk the Trolley because it stopped so much.

Waiting with the tourists for a Trolley ride...hint to those who don't have 6 people to get on at once....just walk up a few more blocks and you can usually get right on!

Riding the BART!

Our little girl.....SOOO BIG!

Princess Tea Party

Sophia and Kate are beautiful Princesses!

Opening all of her princess gifts!

A Pink Cake with princesses and a castle candle to make all of her wishes come true.

Four year old Kate!

Pin the jewel on the Tiara....of course!

Four little princesses having a tea party.

Kate's guests included Sophia, Katie Jackson, Sasha, Tyler and Ryan.  The boys didn't seem too interested in the tea party, but liked all of Kate's fun toys to play with(:

We started the party with jewelry making and crown making, pin the jewel on the tiara, then we had a tea party and cake and ice cream.  They had so much fun!

I love this little girl!