Surfacing from the piles of boxes...

We are finally getting to the point where we can do something besides unpacking and cleaning!! Curt and Stella were WONDERFUL painters- they helped paint before we moved in. Daniel slept in the bedroom (notice the BYU shirt!!) while we painted all day. The thought of entertaining a 2 year old around wet pain was not a fun one, so Nathan spent the day with Grandma and Grandpa Johnson.



We will have to share pictures of our place after we are all organized and cutsy! Haven't quite gotten there yet.




I can't believe I am showing the picture of the mess.. but it was like "where's waldo!" Can you see the baby? Every after Nathan is in bed and Daniel is napping, we have been doing projects around the house. Scott has been amazing doing all the moving in and shuffling boxes, furniture, etc for me while I feed Daniel and think of more things to do around the house! (Not to mention working all day!)


Needless to say, we are loving life with our two boys.

First week at home with Daniel

So Daniel came home Tuesday morning! The dr. said that even though he lost some weight on Monday (don't all babies lose weight the first few days??), he was eating well and he could come home with an appt for a weight check in a few days. She really knew how to make a post-partum mom happy! (His weight was up to 7 lbs 11 oz. on Friday!)

It was wonderful to bring him home! Being around him 24/7 now reminded me of how much they just sleep and eat! He is a sweetheart, I love holding him and seeing how peaceful he is. As for his personality- hard to tell much at this point. But he does seem pretty mellow; he hardly cries. That might be so because I have been worried about him eating, and every time he whimpers and starts sucking his hands, it is declared time to eat by mommy.

Nathan has been really cute with him, he likes to give "baby Danny" finger kisses, he also likes to shake his bed. He will hold him for a minute or two with help, and then is ready to move on. I think he is a little jealous of the time I spend with Daniel, he gets upset with me pretty easily. Once I can get around easier and can carry Nathan, I think he will be happier. It is harder to take it easy with baby#2, but I have had lots of help entertaining Nathan. It seems easier to be getting up at night too. It was especially easier the other night when I called my friends at Cortland Hosp. where I used to work. Being awake for 45 minutes several times a night with sleep in between is better than staying awake all night and having to run around taking care of patients!

As a side note: we found a place to live! We will be moving to a condo in Eagle Mountain, UT next weekend. We are excited about it, Nathan still asks about living in the blue house in Groton though. I think he will love to see all of his toys and his bed though. We'll show pictures next week!!

Becoming a Mommy of Two

Just thought that I take a minute to say that Daniel is doing much better today! He hasn't needed the extra oxygen since yesterday evening. He got the okay to try eating this am, and it sounds like he will come home with me tomorrow if he get eating. He is still getting the IV antibiotics just in case basically. So far no signs of infections. I tried to feed him late in the morning, but he was tired- I couldn't get him to wake up! When I first went to see Daniel early this morning, he was so awake and acting so hungry, too bad we didn't have the go-ahead at that time. Oh well, he has had a rough first 2 days of life!!

I do have to say that my last night of being home and very pregnant and dealing with the, " I can't get comfortable and can't sleep" hours of the night, I was worrying away about not being ready for Daniel to come. I was having a few painless contractions for a couple of hours that really got things started I guess- at my Dr. visit Thursday morning I was told I was 5cm dilated and that should any regular contractions start again, to get to the hospital!! I was a little shocked, I thought I had at least another week! I went home and packed a hospital bag and was trying to decide if I had all the baby things I needed ready!

I am grateful that he is here and that the delivery could go well. It was a lot longer (and more painful)than I anticipated after having such an easy time with Nathan, but its so easy to put that behind you once that baby is placed on your chest and you realize that you have a beautiful baby. It is the most amazing feeling to see Daniel and realize that he is our son. I love being a mother and am so grateful that I have been given two beautiful boys to have in our family. I am grateful for a wonderful husband that has been right by my side and helping me so much, especially the last 2 days! And thank you to all of you that have prayed for us and have had Daniel and our family in your thoughts. I know that we are being watched over by a loving Heavenly Father. We will keep you posted and hopefully have some more pictures to show by tomorrow.

Liz

WELCOME TO THE WORLD - HELLO DANIEL!

This morning, just after 8am, Elizabeth gave birth to our second son, Daniel Richard Johnson! He arrived three weeks early, but nearly out did his older brother in birth weight by weighing in at 8lbs. 4ounces. He is longer than his brother at 21 inches long. Once the doctor broke Elizabeth's water, it only took about 30 minutes ... although she didn't break the water until after we spent all night here and Elizabeth had a very uncomfortable and restless night ... however, Elizabeth is doing much better now and is resting while I am typing in the room right now.

Daniel looks healthy, but he is having some difficultly breathing normally on his own (listen to the video below). He is connected to an oxygen tube right now and we are hopeful he will be able to breath on his own shortly. Elizabeth is anxious to hold him, she only briefly got to hold him when he was born, but since then he has been in the nursery. Big brother, Nathan, has come to visit and just saw Daniel from behind the glass in the nursery, but there is no doubt he would say his favorite part about coming to the hospital was getting his very own package of m&m's.

We will keep everyone updated on Daniel's status

Tribute to the Beloved U.S.A.

God Bless the USA!

I just had to write a short post and say how grateful I am to live in this wonderful land called America and to be a citizen of the United States of America! There are many challenges we face as a nation and as a people, notwithstanding these challenges, this is still a great and wonderful land to live in. I am grateful for the freedom we enjoy in the this land and for the many blessings that gives to us. I am so very grateful for the many valiant women and men who have served and who are now serving to provide and protect these freedoms. I am grateful for the founding fathers and for their courage, conviction, and dedication to the great cause of founding our nation. May God continue to bless this great land and may we do all we can to defend and protect it!

(These are both pictures we took on our recent travels)

A Belated Congratulations!

I found this post today... I started it a few days before Daniel made his entrance to the world, and have been side tracked since then! I do want to recognize all of the accomplishments Scott had while completing his MPA at Cornell. It is amazing looking back on our Ithaca experience; the hard days following sleepless nights melt away in my memory and I think of warm fall days and beautiful rolling hills of fall leaves and a blue lake stretching for miles. I am grateful that the good memories outweigh the not-so-good ones! I am grateful to be where we are at now.

CONGRATULATIONS
TO MY CORNELLIAN!!

Love, Liz and Nathan

May 25, 2008: Graduation Day

I know that it has been a few months since your graduation, but what better time to congratulate you on all your accomplishments than now as we can look back a bit and appreciate your hard work as you start your new job. I am amazed at how well you did in all the classes you had, especially when I realize how much time you sacrificed to be home for me while I was sleeping after work and to be such a great dad for Nathan. I know that he loves you immensely. He always talks about his Dad, although he is a little confused that now you go to work and not to school! Here are some pictures from graduation. Scott has a great friend Jillian that helped him study for several of his classes, which I am sure contributed to how well he did. Simon, also another great friend of ours, who is now home in Taiwan. Nathan liked seeing Simon and talking about how he hurt his finger! Graduation was really fun to go to; all of the graduates parade into Schoelkopf Stadium wearing the full regalia of graduates. The weather was beautiful that day- sunny and warm. Scott even had a nice cap tan at the end of the day! It was so nice to have Scott's parents with us that day too. We are all so proud of Scott!!

From Groton to Germany and beyond

We really did not disappear off the face of the earth, okay, only sort of. :) We moved out of our wonderful Groton home with much help from our fellow branchers and were Europe until June 15th and are now in Utah.

We flew into Germany with Scott's parents and deposited Nathan with Oma and Opa Jackson and we flew down to Italy for a week! It was strange being toddler-free, and just being 7 months pregnant! We hit all the big sites in Rome, Florence, Venice, Pisa and Lucca. The weather was perfect for us and Scott got tons of great pictures. It is hard to try and describe what a great trip it was- the whole experience was just great.

We had some fabulous Italian food, among the favorites- gelato. Scott tried a chocolate ice cream that had crushed red peppers in it- he said it was great the first bite, but by the end of the cone his mouth was on fire and his sinuses were pretty cleared out! The gelateria's are so pretty, the gelato is piled high in each container and fresh fruit is displayed on top of the respective flavors. Very hard to pass up!!

I think my favorite day was in Venice, it was such a unique city and seems so well-preserved. The little alleys are fun to wander around in and the many bridges over the canels offer some great pictures. And of course, the gondola ride was amazing. We didn't pay for the singer and accordion-player, but we passed one in a small side canel and certainly enjoyed their talents! The gondelier spoke some english, and was very nice to wear his hat for pictures for us.

One side attraction from Venice-- we were wandering around the little side streets and Scott saw a familiar face- one from the show "The Office." His name is Stanley! He was very nice and posed for a picture with us. He asked if I was getting enough rest and water while being so pregnant. He also pointed out that there will be 28 shows next season and that Scott could watch some while up with the baby. (Notice that Scott is the odd one out with no belly!!)

Needless to say, we saw many wonderful things and enjoyed our European vacation and it is hard to describe all that we got to see. We are now in Utah, and happy to be here before the baby! We will have to do more updates more frequently now.