Like Sister, Like Brother

...Part 5

Here is the final installment of our catch up session. This everything that's been going on since the move:

Check out Addilyn's shiner. She and Tyler went to the grocery store and she ran into a shopping cart. No one knows how she didn't see it and ran into it with her face. Apparently it was pretty awesome to watch.

Asher has started pulling himself up. He does it on our couches, on his crib, on anything he can. It's super fun. He's got the skinniest legs ever though.

Addilyn didn't want her usually pb&j the other day. We went through all the other options we could think of and she wasn't interested in anything. Finally I suggested "Ants on a Log" which is where you fill a length of celery with peanut butter and put raisins on top. Addilyn wasn't digging the idea of celery so we tried it with regular bread. We call it "Ants on Kansas." (She loves it and has had it every day this week.)

Addilyn with her spaghetti sauce beard.

While Courtney was visiting, she let Addliyn play with her digital camera. Addilyn took lots of pictures (some of which were pretty good) and enjoyed the process thoroughly. When I uploaded pictures today, I found a series of pictures like this. Thanks, Courtney.

Now you're up to date. Whew.

...Part 4: Moving and the Like

We moved. It was just across the street but the snow on the ground sure made things interesting (or messy). We started as soon as we got the keys to the new place on Wednesday (the 6th). We actually hadn't ever seen the inside of the new apartment before getting the keys. We'll take you through it as we first saw it.

The kids room. It's tiny and a little difficult to arrange with the radiator, closet and door taking up 3 out of the 4 corners in the room. That's okay though; the rest of the apartment is a vast improvement over our other place.

The living room (view #1).

The living room (view #2). Look at all those windows! Lots of pretty light during the day.

We even have an extra room they call a "covered porch." We call it Tyler's man cave. Actually we never really called it that but it definitely has been designated as Tyler's area to store stuff and work on projects.

This is a very messy living room as we were getting toward the end of the unpacking process. Tyler may still have 5 more semesters of books left but with this much shelf space I say, "Bring it on."

Our ginormous bathroom with a fullsize tub and room for two people to stand at the sink at one time!

The dining room. We've got space for our table (with a leaf or two), the bulk of the kids' toys, and all my craft stuff; it's awesome!

The kitchen.

A coffee bar (adorably arranged by the Organization Queen: Courtney).

The beautiful, spacious, glorious pantry.

The pantry even has this spot which fits all my spices perfectly.

Sunday evening, with the bulk of the moving done, we celebrated with Smore cupcakes, mochas and a movie. The cupcakes might have been a little lopsided and dented but what they lacked in beauty they made up for in deliciousness (thanks bakerella for posting this wonderful recipe just in the nick of time).

Courtney and Asher.

Thanks Courtney for all your help. You were an integral cog in this moving machine. (I bet you always wanted to be called a 'cog'.)

...Part 3

Courtney already posted about our outing in the snow but I thought I'd post a few of our pictures. If you like to see more of our walk downtown, check out her blog linked on the sidebar. The first stop was of course for coffee. Caribou Coffee was Tyler's favorite from his days in Minnesota and we recently discovered that they've started to steam real chocolate into all their drinks with chocolate. Delicious.

We were getting cold toward the end of our walk so we jogged some of the way back to the train station. Here we're running across the bridge on Michigan Avenue.

Waiting at the train station. I love this picture because it kind of looks like Tyler has four arms.

Courtney didn't have the warmest shoes and took the train ride as a chance to warm her very cold (and very wet) feet.

Train ride fun.

Train ride snack.

We promise Asher was along for the trip but he was very bundled and slept through a great deal of it.

Interlude

We take a break from our regularly scheduled activities to show you this footage:

This boy doesn't stop, EVER.

...Part 2

On the Sunday after Christmas we left El Dorado and headed for both sets of my grandparents (they live 10 miles apart from each other) for a Christmas at each of their houses and then on to Kearney to stay with my parents. It was a hectic day but the kids survived just fine.

The Butts' Christmas:
Addilyn got a pretty new red coat for Christmas. Here she got a chance to try it out in all the snow in Kearney.

Addilyn learning about throwing snowballs.

You can tell that she may have received more snowballs than she threw. Supercutie.

We got out the sled here with hopes that since she was feeling better that she might be more interested in sledding. She certainly was interested in towing it around the yard.

Not so interested in actually riding in it. Tyler was bummed.

This might be one of my favorite pictures I've ever taken. Super sad girl being saved by her Daddy.

Addilyn loves to be read to and Grandma is really good at reading childrens stories. They were a good pair.

Grandpa and one very happy baby.

Grandma and that same happy baby.

Grandpa and Addilyn playing.

Next up is part 3 of our catch up marathon.

Getting Caught Up...Part 1

We've been a little out of it for a while. Asher was in the hospital which made my brain shut off for a little bit. As soon as we were able to pack up the car after he was released we headed out to our parents' houses for Christmas and as soon as we got back from that, we moved. Since we didn't update you all very well throughout the process, here is a quick catch up (or series of catch ups as the case may be) in pictures.

The Johnsons' Christmas:

Since I wasn't able to work on some of the Christmas gifts at home as planned, I borrowed a sewing machine and tried to finish up when we got to Kansas. Addilyn was fascinated by the process and stood there watching me for quite some time.

Asher all chunked out. You have to love Addilyn's expression here.

The Christmas chaos. Courtney and the kids made a calendar for Brian and Cheryl. The finished product looked really good.

Asher unwrapping some pretty snazzy pajamas.

Addilyn playing with her new toy guitar.

Addilyn got a cold almost as soon as we got there. It hit her hardest on Christmas Day and so she cuddled up with whoever would hold her and watched movies. Cuddling with Aunt Courtney.

Somehow in our hurry to get out of Chicago we forgot Addilyn's coat. Tyler really wanted to take her sledding so he got creative and dug out her old snowsuit from two years ago. We were able to shoehorn her in it but it was way too short on her legs. Some windpants did the trick and we ended up with the interesting ensemble. Bring on the snow!

Ready for some snow fun.

Grandpa trying out the ramp the boys built in the backyard.

Addilyn wasn't feeling the sledding but everyone else was able to give it a couple of runs.

Stay tuned for Part 2.