The Grand Adventures of a Boy and his Wife

Asher's numbers

2011-12-18T16:11:00.002-06:00

We took Asher in to get his yearly allergy testing last week. For those of you who are interested, these are the results.

Last year's numbers:
Peanut - 16.7
Milk - 33.9
Egg - 61.3
Wheat - 18.7

This year's numbers:
Peanut - 7.49
Milk - 11.8
Egg - 34.4
Wheat - 16.5

He came down by half in almost everything. The doctor was really encouraged (as were we). We might be able to do a wheat challenge (they are willing to challenge wheat when the number falls before 20) but probably won't try it until after the new year. The rest we'll have to wait until at least next year (they don't challenge for the rest until they are under 2). That's the update.

The First Haircut

2011-12-13T13:41:00.002-06:00

Elias had his very first haircut the other night. It was long overdue. We had been asked about our "little girl" a few times and decided that it was finally time.
Before.
He's such a ham.
In progress.
And after.
Even though I loved his hair, I much prefer this. He looks so dapper!

Hodge Podge

2011-12-05T13:33:00.000-06:00

Here is a collection of pictures from the past month. There isn't really a central theme or anything. I just wanted to finally post this because I uploaded these pictures 5 days ago.Asher talking to Brittany from the library in the library. They were having a heart-to-heart.
Daddy took Addilyn on a Daddy-daughter date. They went bowling. Check out their adorable matching shoes.
She did really well and thoroughly enjoyed trying out the real thing after playing Wii bowling with Daddy. She even got 2 strikes in a row!
Last week was the kids' last week of gymnastics. Since it was the last week, Tyler was able to watch Addilyn's class. Yay for our biggest monkey.
Asher all dressed up and ready to go to church.
Elias was sick for 4 or 5 days a few weeks back. He had a high fever and slept a ton. Here he's all cuddled up with his monkey. Cute!
Before we packed away the Halloween costumes, we had Elias try on the turtle costume (which we loaned out to the Habluetzels this year). He wore it around for the entire morning.
Addilyn and Asher posing with their pumpkin. They were super excited when we finally carved it.
The older two eventually got Elias' sickness and were put out of commission for a few days as well. Asher even fell asleep on me! It's been at least 2 years since he did that.
More sleepy baby shots. They really were awake this month...I apparently just didn't take pictures of that.
We have 2 and a half weeks until our move and 2 more weeks of classes to get through. It should be crazy!

Look What I Can Do!

2011-11-21T16:40:00.002-06:00

He's walking. Yay!

Elias Videos

2011-11-15T21:18:00.003-06:00

Elias vacuuming with Daddy (in the coolest hat ever).

Elias "buzzing" around the dining room. I know...so bad.

The Visits

2011-11-14T13:18:00.004-06:00

The weekend before last we had two separate people (or groups of people) visit us.
The first was Aunt Courtney! The kids were super excited.
The other was Tyler's friend, Don. Don works at NASA and was Tyler's NASA/TaeKwonDo friend when we lived in Houston. I call this our "Don in the wild" picture.
Since this was Don's first time in Chicago, we had to hit up all the normal tourist sites with him. From the first picture you can see we went to the Bean. We also wandered downtown a bit and walked the Magnificient Mile. We met this interesting character on our way.
Addilyn wasn't completely sure what to think of this human statue at first, but as you can see she eventually warmed up to him.
He made Addilyn a flower, Asher this sword and Elias a teething toy. Unfortunately, the sword didn't last long but it was fun while it lasted.
After wandering the Mile for a bit (and finally trying the famed Garrett's popcorn...pretty good), we headed toward the train. We stopped at the exotic car dealership on the way and found this Bugatti Veyron. Tyler was pretty giddy.
We gawked at some other pretty cars while we were there as well.
The kids showing Courtney their hats.
Addilyn thoroughly enjoyed Courtney's guest and travel partner, Jillian. It kind of looks like Addilyn's going to steal her drink in this picture.
Elias was a little tired and pretty relaxed. Super cutie.
After our day downtown, Tyler and Don went back out the next day to see the rest of the sites such as Wrigley Field, the Sears Tower, Navy Pier and Lake Michigan. I think Don saw all the highlights.
Courtney and Addilyn made cupcakes while she was here. Addilyn was pretty excited!
Mixing in the food coloring.
Look at all those pretty colors! Courtney got a picture of them arranged on an artist's palette. It was cute.
We ate a ton, walked a lot, and generally enjoyed our visit from our two guests.

Halloween

2011-11-01T21:50:00.004-05:00

We had some really bad luck when it came to photos this year. While our costumes were okay, our pictures are just plain bad. For that reason, I give you an abundance in hopes that you will get at least a gist of what they looked like last night for their trick-or-treating adventure.After ruling out dinosaur (or dragon) for what would be the third year in a row, Addilyn happily settled on Princess Leia from Star Wars. The neighborhood boys are constantly playing Star Wars so she's definitely excited by the characters. Also, Daddy has let her and Asher watch a few scenes from a couple of the Star Wars movies (he's had to be surprisingly deliberate; I was shocked to discover all that violence, gross things, etc. that I had completely forgot were there). Here is an overview of her costume. I was stoked to be able to make it completely from stuff we already had.
Pretty Leia and her hair.
Elias in a hand-me-down monkey costume. All three children have gotten to wear this costume. It's still cute!
Asher wasn't really thrilled with wearing a costume this year so I'm having to get a bit more creative with photos. It took us some convincing to get him in the costume. He screamed and we almost switched last minute to Batman (since he was already wearing his Batman t-shirt). Luckily Daddy was able to do the trick (yay Daddy!). Here Asher's checking out his tail.
Doing what any good dragon/dinosaur would do...climbing things. I guess this skill would have worked just as well for Batman too.
Here is the group of trick-or-treaters right before we set off. In our group we had 3 monkeys (although only 2 are visible, 1 is hidden behind Leia), a dragon, a turtle, a knight, Luigi from Super Mario Brothers, Princess Leia, and a duck.
When we got home, we allowed the kids to each pick one treat from their bag to eat. Addilyn's choice was candy corn and Asher's, luckily, were the raisins (especially since that was the only thing he could eat in his entire bag).
A good time was had by all and Daddy was easily stocked with candy until the end of the semester.

October

2011-10-25T15:24:00.004-05:00

Asher and Addilyn practicing their gymnastics moves. I wish I had a better picture of this because they were playing so well together. Addilyn was leading him through the whole process of climbing up and then stretching out their wrists. So cute!
Elias has only been taking 1 nap a day for a couple of months now. There are still some days where he gets pretty tired right before lunch. I left him in the living room for a couple of minutes and found him like this when I came back.
Happy crawler!
Look, Ma, no hands!
Laundry baskets are the best toys ever.
He looks so innocent as he scrounges for food.
We see this face a lot.
Addilyn made a pretend bed in her closet. It's about as high as her bunk bed so it's pretty fun to watch her climb up there.
Cornelius enjoying the bed (Addilyn's hiding there too).
Eating the bird as it eats him.
Reading in the laundry basket.

Party Time!!

2011-10-22T15:11:00.003-05:00

We had a little party for Elias' birthday on Tuesday night. Here's the spread and decorations (which Asher says really well and is super cute doing it).
Elias' cupcakes - Double Apple Cupcake with Cinnamon Buttercream (because my boy is crazy about apples)
Diving into that cupcake. We've got a couple of videos of that at the end of the post.
A pose with Mama and Daddy on his birthday.
Opening gifts.
Check out the hat he got. So cute!!
Showing off his climbing skills. He also got up on one of our dining room chairs all by himself. Yay?!
Asher playing in the box of one of the toys.
Playing with his new "car".

The videos:

Happy Birthday Baby!

2011-10-18T14:59:00.004-05:00

One year ago today, Elias looked like this.Now he looks like this. "I am soooo big!"
Yes, he's about to snap me in the face with that.
And here he's about to club the camera with the arm that's out of the shot. He's a bit of a brute.
This is definitely one of my favorite pictures ever!
And finally..."Look what I can do!"
Happy birthday, Baby Boy!!

Cruising Around

2011-10-11T16:08:00.001-05:00

Here is Elias cruising around. This video was taken awhile ago and I wanted to get it posted before he starts walking and it becomes out of date.

September: Part 2

2011-10-07T09:51:00.002-05:00

This includes our trip on the Wendella Boat Tour and then some random straggler photos.The Wendella Boat Tour is an architectural tour of downtown Chicago via the Chicago River and Lake Michigan. As you can tell, Elias was quite interested in the diverse architecture.
Addilyn was also enthralled. Here she's listening as our friend Adam explains.
Elias playing with Daddy (or being chewed on by Daddy).
Sad Asher.
Asher hanging out with Jessa. The kids brought along books for those slow parts in the tour. Addilyn being read to by Jessa and Alicia. This was actually the last time we saw that book. Addilyn loved it and was quite bummed it was gone so we went online to see if we could replace it. Having bought it secondhand we didn't realize that it was actually a fairly rare book and sold exclusively at the Disney store. If you happen to live near one and find a copy of the Tangled graphic novel by Glen Keane there, Addilyn would be very appreciative.
Asher dressed up and looking super stylish.
Elias enjoying an apple. If you don't watch him really carefully, he'll eat it core and all.
Asleep, cuddling his nectarine.

September: Part 1

2011-09-28T14:27:00.004-05:00

FYI: This post is pretty boy (especially Elias) heavy. Just so you know.Asher helping Daddy do push ups.
Elias pretending to be a vacuum. He does this a lot. We realize how blessed we were that Asher wasn't one to eat things off the floor. We would have been in trouble if he was.
Ladyfingers for Tyler's birthday tiramisu. Just in case you missed it, Tyler turned 29 on the 13th. It fell on a Tuesday which is our crazy day (we overlap for meals and that's it from 9-9). We had to switch our celebrating to other days but I think he still had a good time (and he got a lot of books and some coffee so he was happy).
Asher smiley face.Elias crying face.
Addilyn happy face (in a tent).
Elias cruising around.
Elias smiley face.
More smiley face.
Trying on the galoshes.
Pirate face.
Overwhelmed face. Don't worry, Elias. I feel it too.

Adventures in Toronto

2011-09-25T21:13:00.007-05:00

After our fun-filled day at Niagara Falls, we decided to spend the day exploring Toronto with Karmyn and Adrian. Our first stop was the Distillery District. It's an old section of town filled with lovely coffee shops and art galleries. The architecture of the old buildings is gorgeous too.
Addilyn and Asher enjoyed playing on the artwork and taking advantage of an abandoned stage. There was a lot of singing and running around in circles.
After the Distillery District, we headed downtown to the waterfront. There is a nice view of Lake Ontario and some very fun boats and ferries to watch. In the far left, you can see a string of islands. They are supposed to have some lovely parks. Maybe on another trip.
I don't know why but this struck me as funny. Is it still called litter if you put it in a can?
Adrian and Addilyn entertaining each other on our long walk through downtown.
Poutine. It's one of the only kinds of authentic Canadian fare (that was unique to Canada at least) we could find. It involves fries, cheese curds, and gravy. It was actually pretty good. We would definitely try it again, especially the different varieties offered at specialty shops.
The family posed at the waterfront (in front of the CN tower).Said CN tower. This tower is actually taller than the Sears Tower but it's only purpose is to be a tower (not an office building) so the Sears Tower maintains it's "tallest building" status.
We wandered by some old steam engines on display on our way back to our car. Excitement!
As for the final day of our trip, we took a leisurely trip back to the States. We decided to round out my view of Canada by stopping at a Tim Hortons. This time I went inside and actually perused the menu. Mmm...donuts.
Our Canadian change. I'm so nerdy.
This was our view as we crossed back over to the States. It's a view of Lake Huron. We ended up seeing 4 out of the 5 Great Lakes on our trip.
Fun facts: With this trip, Tyler added 2 new states (Pennsylvania and New York), I added a new state (New York) and a province (Ontario), and the kids each added 3 new states (Ohio, Pennsylvania and New York) and a province (Ontario). This was the first time in nearly 10 years that Tyler added a new state.

Niagara Falls

2011-09-13T14:58:00.006-05:00

In August, right before classes started, we took a trip. We had to get away from the city. It was for our mental health.
Since Tyler's cousins visited us back in May, we thought it would be nice to return their visit. It was also an opportunity for us to travel and see things we haven't seen before. I think Tyler was wanting to give me a better view of Canada than I had back in January in Saskatchewan.
Our first stop (aside from an overnight stay in Cleveland) was Niagara Falls.
Tyler was pretty excited. This was the first trip we've taken that was new to all of us. He had never been to Niagara Falls or even New York and Pennsylvania. It was a whole family adventure. Yay!
We stopped on the American side. We intended to stop on the Canadian side because you have a slightly better view but we decided to stop and get Addilyn one of her smashed souvenir pennies. This is still a pretty spectacular view, right?! Check out that mist!
Elias was happy, even if he wasn't seeing too much. If you zoom in really close, you might see that his hair is covered in the mist that was coming up from the Falls. We were all pretty wet by the end.
The standard tourist family photo. It was wet so it's fitting that our camera lens was too.
Checking out the view.
A Johnson men totem pole!
Grandmas: Look away!! Tyler was dangling over the edge of the banister (and therefore, the cliff).
Elias thought it was pretty cool.
The American Falls (the first set you saw was the Horseshoe Falls). So pretty.
Addilyn and I posing by a waterfall. Addilyn looks pretty fierce.
Next we'll show you our trip through Toronto and across Ontario. Lots of Canadian fun!

In No Particular Order...

2011-09-11T13:48:00.004-05:00

Here are some pictures and videos from our trip to the Field Museum of Natural History and then just some randomness from the month of August. Asher enjoying his trains. Every time it would go by he would say, "Hello Gordon."
Asher and Sue.
Addilyn (doing her scary, dinosaur face) and I with Sue.
Taking a leap.
Elias enjoying the view from the El.
Enjoying some more.
The other two enjoying some books on the train.
One of my favorite pictures...Elias looks like he's about to attack Asher (which he actually was...although maybe not as fiercely as it appears) and Asher is loving it.
One last look at Sue (which chronologically was actually our first look at Sue). I know, your mind is blown.

Asher and Elias. I love how Asher runs around in a circle until he gets dizzy. I remember doing that as a kid. Awesome.

Elias. The video is a little dull until the very end. So cute!
We'll post about our trip to Niagara Falls very soon.

Aquarium

2011-08-30T10:01:00.005-05:00

A couple of weeks ago we went to the aquarium. We went to Shedd last spring on one of their free admission days. This was a much more enjoyable experience. For one, we didn't have to stand out in the rain for nearly 2 hours waiting in line to get in. Yes, much better. Since we had been there before, we made sure to hit only the exhibits we didn't get to see the first time around. We got to see the penguins (always my favorite), dolphins, and we even got to see them feeding the beluga whales. Very cool!

Enjoying the dolphins!

Elias was enjoying watching the sting rays on the see-through floor.

Our last stop was once again the big aquarium in the center. We didn't spot the giant turtle this time but the other huge fish were still a big hit.

Taking a standard Chicago skyline picture just outside the aquarium. The Willis Tower is just left of my head.

On our walk back to the train, we had to stop by Grant Park and check out the clean up from Lollapalooza. Do you see all that mud? Tyler and Mark got to see Foo Fighters play while standing ankle-deep in that mud. Amazingly, they both seemed to enjoy the experience and said it was an awesome concert.

Sears/Willis Tower

2011-08-04T11:03:00.003-05:00

We still haven't completely fixed our computer. While we still don't have our files transferred over from the external hard drive, we do have some new ones from our camera. So we'll simply skip what happened in July (hopefully we'll be able to fill in the gap later), and start with what we have.

Last night we went to the Sears/Willis Tower. We have a pass that my parents got us that will get us into a few attractions around the Chicago area and this is the first we've used. Way fun! (Thanks G&G B!!)
Enjoying the view from Daddy's arms.We went after naps so after dinner and waiting in line, we got to the top just before sunset. It was some beautiful lighting.

Checking it out.

They have a ledge that you can walk out onto and see 103 stories straight down. Here they're taking full advantage of the vantage point.

A few poses.

Family pic.

Ahhhhh!

A view of the city. Gorgeous.

This one you might have to enlarge to get the full affect. Beside the white truck, you can see our bikes parked on the sidewalk. They might be a little blurry but you should be able to make out the blue trailer attached to Tyler's bike.

The reciprocal view of the building from our bikes.

It was a fun evening even if we got home really late. The kids seemed to really enjoy it (that and the opportunity to eat Chipotle and be out way past their bedtimes). Fun was had by all (and Tyler and I rode 17 miles, roundtrip on our bikes; woot, woot!).

Broken

2011-07-26T10:10:00.003-05:00

Our computer is broken. It has been that way for almost two weeks. Tyler is in the process of trying to resurrect it but it's taking awhile. After seeing the "blue screen of death" a couple of times, things are looking up and it appears that he will get all back to normal. He's had to completely gut it though and start over so it will be a little longer before we get all our files and pictures back off the external hard drive (as our computer tries to complete the 96 updates to the version of Windows we have). To make a long story short, sorry for our blogging absence and it will probably be at least week (maybe two) before we will be able to post another update.

Fourth of July

2011-07-11T08:14:00.003-05:00

We didn't do tons for the Fourth. We ate outside with our neighbors (steak and corn on the cob, very American). After that, we headed to our closest big show, the Evanston show. Evanston is one of the wealthy, northern suburbs (it's where Northwestern University is and is also where Mean Girls is set). We decided to drive a little closer, park and then ride our bikes to a good spot. It was perfect weather for such activities. We ended up with an awesome spot on this peninsula into Lake Michigan. We were right next to where they were shooting off the fireworks but we could see downtown Chicago in the distance. Addilyn is such a good big sister. We rode our bikes and Elias fell asleep on her lap during the ride. She stayed very still and quiet as to not wake him.
We got her out of there without waking him! The kids woke him up probably 10 minutes later by running around and screaming but he was going to get awakened by the fireworks anyway. So cute!

This is probably the best show we've seen. It was 20 minutes long and was very consistent. This wasn't even the finale!

Entertainment

2011-07-08T11:23:00.004-05:00

Addilyn and Asher are really good at finding ways to entertain themselves (and us). Here are a few of their more recent ventures (that we have pictures of because, honestly, we haven't been very good about that lately).Addilyn "doing her Greek".

The duo playing with shoes. Adorable!
In case you didn't get the full effect of his awesome ensemble, here's another view. Also, he was using his galoshes properly and wearing another pair of shoes under them.
Stuffing a toucan puppet full of crayons. I guess that's as good of a place as any.Reading with Brittany.
Reading with Nick. Unfortunately, they won't get to do this very often any more as Nick and Brittany have moved to Arizona. We're pretty bummed and miss them like crazy.

Elias Eats (and Such)

2011-07-07T10:10:00.002-05:00

As you may have noticed in the past, we like to take pictures of our kids eating. Here are some pictures of Elias trying different types of solid food.
Here is Elias after trying his very first strawberry. We call it the "strawberry carnage" picture.
Mmm...strawberry.
He also tried a slice of cantaloupe. It was an especially nice teething food because it had come from the fridge so it was nice and cool. He also likes peaches. See how happy he is.
But don't try to take that peach away because he'll fight you for it. Seriously, steer clear.On somewhat related new, those teeth we've been watching and thinking were going to come through "any day now" for nearly 2 months are finally coming through. We're thinking all four of the front top teeth will make it through this week. You can just see one of them here.On completely unrelated news, Elias has figured out how to pull up. He had done it a couple of times before but always seemed to be shocked to be standing. Now he know not only knows how to pull up, he knows he knows how to pull up. He's getting to be a pro. He pulls up in his crib, in the bath and on any random toys that will stay still and sturdy enough for him. Yay, Elias!

Kansas Trip

2011-07-05T14:46:00.004-05:00

A month ago we were in Kansas for a visit. We did loads of fun things with family and friends. Unfortunately, we didn't take very many pictures. Here are the few that we did.
The kids helped Tyler wash the van one afternoon. Sneak attack!Getting to use the hose by herself. She brings a very determined face into this new responsibility.Elias and I visited Candice and Elliott (and Eric) one evening. The kids got to hang out a little and Candice and I got to chat. It was really nice.
Gotta love that tongue!
We did lots of other fun things like visiting the Smiths (and a sleepover), going to a sprinkler park, the Hope building dedication, a date night and watching some pretty cool storms. All in all, it was a great trip and a wonderful break from the city.

Photos: Part 3

2011-07-01T08:15:00.002-05:00

Looking shy.
Checking out the grate (and potentially sticking things in it).
Bikes and bubbles...can life get better: I submit that it cannot!
Walking on the wall along the lake.

Waiting for the train.
Super cute face.
Thus ends my pictures from the cousins weekend. Many, if not all, have been presented on other blogs but these are my favorites.
The end.

Photos: Part 2

2011-06-30T21:21:00.006-05:00

More photos.That picture must have been FUNNY!
You might have to click on this one and look at it at full size. Airplanes!
Chasing bubbles.
Riding bikes.
Enjoying the fountain.
Enjoying some quite time by the lake.
Bedtime stories with Ben and Karmyn.
Perusing the menu at Tre Kronor.

Adrian was looking for a place to sit while the kids played on the playground. He found this chair in the bushes, thought it looked comfy, and drug it out for a better view.
We had a picnic at Lake Michigan. Mmm...burgers.
Enjoying some berries and whipped cream for dessert.
More lake views.

Photos: Part 1

2011-06-30T20:54:00.004-05:00

Back in May, Tyler's cousins (and their husbands) came to Chicago to visit. It was a grand old time of cousinly comradery (as Courtney was here to partake in the festivities as well). With everyone and their cameras here, there were a lot of pictures taken. Here is the first set of my favorites from that weekend.Asher enjoying some art time.
Addilyn enjoying some art time too (with aunt Courtney...best art time ever!!).
Taking a moment and looking very gangster-like.
Blue eyes!
That's one scary duo!
The aforementioned cousins: Adrian, Denita, Karmyn, and Ben.
Touristy picture of our group at the Bean.
Less-touristy picture of some jumping over a child at the Bean.
A child and man jumping at the Bean. (Apparently, there was a lot of jumping.)
More blue eyes.
Chilling with Karmyn at the fountain park.
Drawing with Adrian.
Enjoying Chipotle. These Canadians (minus Courtney) had never tried Chipotle before. They have now.
Smelling the tulips alond the Magnificient Mile.
Being photographed by random tourists. We fully expect to see Elias someday on an Asian Pampers box or baby food container.
Darth Asher.

Addilyn's Bears

2011-06-28T13:44:00.004-05:00

Addilyn got a cookbook for her birthday and earlier this month we decided to finally try it out.
She was super excited to pick out a recipe, find all the ingredients and get going!
Stirring and building some arm strength.
The M&M's all lined up and ready to go.
Flattening some Rice Krispies balls. Smoosh.
Decorating. She got to use the black icing all by herself.
As you can tell, she was pretty excited!
Her beautiful bear creations! Well done, Addilyn!

My Failed Attempt at 6-Month Pictures

2011-05-20T14:08:00.003-05:00

I tried to do our own 6-month pictures for Elias. It didn't go horribly but I wouldn't say it went well. These are the best shots (or at least funniest ones) of the bunch."Rocking" out.
Tasting.
This is actually part of a 3-part series. Elias tastes the ball.I don't think it tastes very good. Bleck!
Strike that: it tastes horrible!!If the lighting were better, this would be one of my favorite pictures. They are all genuinely smiling. Awesome!

And just for good measure, here's a video of Elias hiccuping and jumping in his jumper. Enjoy!

Mother's Day

2011-05-14T15:30:00.002-05:00

Mother's Day was fun (at times) this year. I had a wonderful breakfast of Trix and some beautiful flowers to look at.
Here is a closer look at the flowers the kids picked for me. I know I shouldn't encourage them to pick flowers from campus but they were so proud of themselves (and the flowers were so pretty). It was super sweet.
The rest of the day was a mixed bag. We had a wonderful picnic on campus. We picked up some Chipotle and enjoyed the gorgeous weather. The kids did fairly well and the meal was enjoyable to all. The rest of the day was tempered by tantrums and fits. I think I'll choose to just remember the peace and comfort of the picnic and block all the rest out. See, blocked. Perfect day.

SOUNDGARDEN!

2011-05-10T19:16:00.002-05:00

July 16, 2011

7:30PM

UIC Pavilion, Chicago

Be there, We will.

Similarities

2011-05-06T10:26:00.003-05:00

Elias is getting around lately. It's slow but he can get where he wants to go. The original intent of this video was to illustrate that fact. Instead I ended up with another "Wild Kingdom" video, much like the ones I got for both Asher and Addilyn. Observe.

Here's one of Asher from January of 2010.

And this last one is of Addilyn from January of 2008.
Enjoy!

Easter Fun

2011-04-29T13:26:00.005-05:00

Time to decorate Easter eggs!!
Start with some drawing.
Then jump to the dunking/dyeing. Go, girls, go!
Eggs.
All the Easter eggs.
Daddy hid them all.
Where did they go?
Ooo...found one!
Here you go, Daddy.
There's another.
And another.
We found them all!
On an semi-related note, we celebrated Easter with the Habluetzel's and another couple. We had a potluck, of sorts. This is the smoked chicken we contributed. Doesn't it look pretty? Well done, Tyler.

Odds and Ends

2011-04-21T08:38:00.003-05:00

This is Asher's dream. He has access to food whenever he wants but he isn't tied down to a chair. He worked this system up himself and I think we'll have to watch him closely so that he doesn't do it again. Stinker.
Addilyn and Asher enjoying a book together.
There's a story that goes with this but unfortunately I only know a little of it since I was out of the house when this happened. I know that they were swaddled and couldn't get out (and didn't seem too upset about that).
This is what I found when I got home. They are watching Sesame Street while all swaddled. They stayed that way for almost a half and hour. Crazies.
Grandpa and Grandma B brought Addilyn a tutu when they visited last month. It goes with almost anything.
This is the outfit that it was originally intended to go with. She's dancing with her camera.
I'm not exactly sure what's going on in this picture but it makes me happy.
It's official...none of my children like peas. We even tried them first with Elias and he still didn't like them. Neither Tyler or I really like peas so I guess it makes sense.
They were feeding each other cereal. Addilyn would feed him some from his pile and then Asher would feed her some from her's. It was pretty cute.
She has special powers when it comes to Asher. She can get him to eat when we can't (some of the time at least). She can also teach him words when he won't even try with us.
The End.

First Feeding

2011-04-20T13:17:00.002-05:00

Elias had his first solid food recently. Actually it was on Asher's birthday. He did really well...much better than his brother and sister did on their first tries.
First taste.
"Hey, let me try that."
Success. Well done, little one.

A video of the first few bites. Enjoy!

Asher's Birthday Continued

2011-04-19T08:11:00.003-05:00

Here are some videos of the birthday fun.

6 Months

2011-04-18T14:20:00.005-05:00

Hello world! Elias is 6 months old today. Hooray! He's broken through his first tooth too. Actually he got his first tooth almost a week and a half ago but I have to fight for the computer lately (Tyler's semester is getting busy) so I hadn't gotten such information publicized yet. If you look very closely you can kind of, sort of see said tooth.

Other news: Elias likes to play. (I guess all babies like to play but I have pictures of him playing.) Here he's checking out the dinosaur's tail. Explore, my little scientist.

"Rawr!!" Now try out that new tooth. Yes, you're much scarier than the T-Rex ever was, I'm sure.

He's so excited to play and interact. I guess it's probably a third child thing; he's just excited that someone is paying attention to him. Cutie!

Playing with a truck.

Super cutie!!

Half a year old and maybe even getting close to crawling. He's already started rocking on all fours. That's way sooner than either his brother or sister. I'll have to post a picture of video of said rocking whenever I can get one; he's pretty camera shy and always stops whenever I get the camera out. Stinker.

Anyway, happy half birthday, Elias!!

Asher's Birthday

2011-04-17T16:02:00.000-05:00

Asher turned 2 (at the beginning of the month)! Here's an account of his big day. In the morning he woke up and ate some Cap'n Crunch. Breakfast of champions!
After breakfast he got to open one gift. Starting to rip...
"Oooo...choo choo!"
Checking out his new Thomas train. Pretty exciting!
Setting up the new track and checking out what you can get to go with it. Ooo; ahh!
Later that night he got to open the rest of his gifts and talk to the Johnson clan via Skype.
Finally, the Habluetzel's came over and we had some cake (gluten-free, soy free, vegan cake...doesn't that sound exciting?).
Enjoying his first Red Velvet cake (and second taste of cake ever).
The destruction.

Spring Break

2011-04-09T10:15:00.007-05:00

Our spring break was pretty relaxed. Mostly Tyler studied and read and the kids and I did our normal things. There were a couple of days, though, where we ventured out for some trips. Our first trip was downtown to see the Chicago River dyed green. This was actually the Saturday before St. Patrick's Day because that's the day they dye and have their parade. They do this every year so we were excited to be able to see it while we are here.

Elias all bundled up for our walk.

Asher was watching for a train. He was super excited everytime one went by.

Our second trip was to Indiana and Michigan. That made two new states for each of the kids and one new state for me (Indiana). Our first stop (after Chipotle and Chick-Fil-A) was to the Notre Dame campus in South Bend, IN. The weather was nice so the kids got to get out and run around which was very needed. Addilyn was checking out a ladybug.

Elias hung out in his stroller some more.

Then Asher and Addilyn chased some squirrels. It was pretty indicative of the differences between boys and girls: Asher chased just to see the squirrel run; Addilyn chased and yelled, "Squirrel, come back; I want a hug!"

Diddy on the Notre Dame campus.

Addilyn climbed a tree (and she wasn't even prompted to do so by her Daddy).

Look how high she got!

After we had our fill of Notre Dame, we headed out to see Lake Michigan and some sand dunes. We headed to Benton Harbor, MI. The sand had migrated over the winter so the playground (and some of the parking lot) was almost covered. We decided to just play in the dunes instead.

Climbing a dune.

Sticking her feet in the lake.

The wind off the water was pretty cool so Asher got cold. Some cuddling with Daddy seemed to help.

Walking in the sand. And lots of Spring Break fun was had by all.

March

2011-03-26T14:15:00.003-05:00

March...what a fun month! We've done lots of fun things. We've celebrated a birthday, did some adventurous travelling, enjoyed a visit from G&G B and started to play outside. Here are some pictures of us doing none of those things.
Elias all happy in his toy.

Loading up!

Now driving around. You can almost here him making car noises.

Smiley face.

Starey face.

Helping out in the kitchen. She mopped while Daddy did dishes (she wasn't just playing with a dry mop; she actually mopped the kitchen).

Chewy face. He's teething so he chews ALL the time.

Awesome.

Addilyn's Birthday

2011-03-19T10:06:00.005-05:00

Addilyn got to pick out whatever cereal she wanted on her birthday. She choose Crunch Berries. Mmm! Check out those uber puffy morning eyes!

She also got to open one gift with breakfast. She got a watch. This was actually the only thing she asked for, for her birthday. Well actually she just declared one day that she would be getting a watch for her birthday so we decided to go ahead and get her one.

Super proud of her new watch.

Lunch. Daddy made her a special pancake.

After naps she got to open the rest of her gifts. She got her very first cookbook and she was pretty excited about it. She looked at every single page and kept telling me that she would make this for me and that for me.

Opening more gifts.

The bike. It was kind of rainy so she rode around the apartment for a little while. Here she's checking out her bell.

Venturing out for the first real test ride.

Her birthday cake. She asked for a chocolate cake with red frosting. It ended up being more pink than red but she didn't seem to mind.

Candles.

We had friends come over for dinner and cake. Hey, Brittany!!

Hey, Habluetzel's!

The Aquarium and other February shots

2011-03-18T12:09:00.006-05:00

Back in February we went to Shedd Aquarium. They were having a free admission day so we thought it would be the perfect opportunity to have some family time on the cheap. Wow. We were unprepared. Everyone and their uncle came to the free day. There was a line winding around the lobby, out the front door, and across the lawn. When we got there, we were told that from where we were standing to even get in the front door would take an hour and a half (in the chilly rain). Being the optimistic (read naive) people that we are and very determined not to waste the $19 we had already spent to park, we waited. The kids did remarkably well considering the conditions but it was still pretty miserable. Here is Addilyn enjoying the warmth of her Daddy's coat as we waited in the lobby.

Once we got in, it was crowded but nice. The free admission only covered the basic aquarium and not the dolphins, penguins, or beluga whale (among other things) but the kids didn't seem to mind. Here is Asher examining a school of fish.

If you look really closely, you can see a tiny crocodile with his head just above the water. He was trying to catch something to eat so he was staying perfectly still. He almost looked fake he was so still.

The kids really enjoyed the ocean fish exhibit in the center of the aquarium. They have a sea turtle and oodles of large salt water fish. They could have hung out there for much longer than our visit allowed.

On to other pictures...Addilyn and Elias hanging out. Elias was enjoying this set up, despite what this expression implies.

Asher really likes our chicken and rice bake. It makes my heart happy that I can make something that he enjoys this much.

Filling the crayon jar with cars.

Asher got into Addilyn's markers. Luckily his hands got the worst of it and our walls, etc are unharmed.

Elias is semi-mobile now. He can roll himself across the room if he wants. That's how he came to be playing over here.

Cutie face.

Pretending they're on a boat (or something like that).

My Birthday

2011-03-18T11:41:00.003-05:00

I've come to discover lately that my world revolves around food. I think about it all the time. I love perusing recipes, trying out new ones and of course eating yummy things of all sorts. This fascination was never so clear as on my birthday. When people would ask me what I was doing for my birthday, I would tell them everything I planned on eating that day. So for my (very late) birthday post, it only seems right to show you what I did/ate.
I got to try some new recipes (without worrying whether others might like them). I chose lettuce wraps and egg drop soup. I don't try a whole lot of Asian foods so I was pretty excited (and Tyler and Addilyn seemed fine with them as well).

Yes, I made my own birthday cake. It's my birthday and if I want to make my own cake, I will. I got to christen a giant cupcake pan I got for Christmas so that was exciting.

I giggled a lot while decorating it. I have oodles of cake decorating equipment that I've never had the chance to use. It was fun to try them out. And the peanut butter frosting was awesome so that was an added bonus.

This wasn't actually on my birthday but the Friday after. Tyler and I got to go for a date. I chose to do a dessert date at a restaurant I had seen featured on The Best of Chicago. It's a show on Sunday nights that talks all about awesome restaurants in Chicago. Our date was at Hot Chocolate which was featured in their dessert show. I was giddy excited. This was their Taffy Apples dessert. It was really good.

And this was their Thoughts on a Peanut Butter Cup. Delicious. This was the dessert that was featured on the show and was therefore the reason we came. It was incredible and well worth a special trip.

Addilyn and her new Bike

2011-03-12T15:01:00.002-06:00

Birthday Girl

2011-03-09T10:20:00.003-06:00

Hey there, birthday girl! How old are you today?

4?!!! That's amazing!

Gee, you're pretty. But shouldn't you be happier on your birthday?

That's more like it.

Happy birthday, my silly girl!!

Happenings

2011-03-04T16:23:00.002-06:00

I have been baking and cooking a lot lately. Actually, I've been baking and cooking about as much as I usually do but I've been trying a lot of new recipes. I have about 6 new post for my food blog just waiting for me to finally post them.

Elias is enjoying the ExerSaucer. We have similar pictures of both of the older two kids in this toy. Though they didn't have their older brother crawling around their legs as he crawled through the bottom. Elias has been playing in this for almost a month now and has just been bumped up to the highest level (the level that Addilyn used at almost a year).

Smiley face. Elias had his 4-month appointment last Friday. He weighed in at 20 lb, 7 oz. He's off the charts on all levels (weight, height, head circumference).

Addilyn playing EyeSpy with Elias.

Addilyn lined up all her fruit snacks by kind and then ate each kind in turn.

Addilyn made Valentines for Valentine's Day. Glue sticks...yay!!

Snow Sculptures

2011-03-02T09:54:00.006-06:00

We're going on a snow adventure. Want to come along? Here are our cast of characters:
Elias donning a hand-me-down hat (both Addilyn and Asher wore this hat).

Asher in a hand-me-down hat (Mommy's hat).

Addilyn in a hand-me-down hat (I'm noticing a trend).

Daddy in his own hat. It looks like we're ready to go on our snow adventure!

We are going to a snow sculpting contest at Navy Pier.
Check out Captain America!

I don't know if there's a lot of snow under the sea (it seems like an impossibility to me) but here would be the scene if there was. Check out all that detail.

A stop at the Billy Goat for some cheezborgers (chips, no fries). This is a definitive Chicago eating experience (at least all the pictures of political leaders eating here would imply so).

Back to the snow. Do you see that ladder? We got to see the artists actually working on some of them. It was pretty amazing to see the process and watch them work.

If I remember right, this one won. It was pretty awesome.

The family (and our two strollers) at the contest.

Addilyn and I liked the penguins.

Tyler liked the drums (with ice drumsticks).

Overall it was pretty fun (for a crazy, quick, and fairly chilly trip). On to warmer adventures!!

Stuff and Such

2011-02-27T15:57:00.006-06:00

You, again?!! I'm sorry that sounded rude. Let me try that again. You, again!! Do you want to see some random photos?

Asher drinking some agua (that means water in Spanish).

Me eating a blanket and pondering the imminant doom that is the fish floating in nothingness.

Spiky mohawk.

Lego stairs.

Really tall Lego dump truck.

Living room tent fortess.

Playing with trucks inside said living room tent fortress.

Playing with Mater and McQueen (sans living room tent fortress).

The Blizzard

2011-02-25T10:57:00.003-06:00

Long ago...at the beginning of February...Chicago had a blizzard. It was a big one that involved almost two feet of snow (20.5 inches to be exact). Here are the pictures.
Tyler walked home in the blizzard. He was out near O'Hare for the Covenant's Midwinter Conference and took the train and a bus and still ended up walking from the Lawrence train station home. He was pretty snowcaked when he finally got here.

This was our front door and walkway.

This was the sidewalk heading toward Foster. This was the parking lot just outside our window. Notice the cars at the end that were all the way up past their windshields in a snow drift. This was the trail that we used to get in and out of our apartment for a few days. The main roads (such as Foster) were cleared quite quickly but the side streets (such as Christiana) were blocked for days. The alley way was cleared by the university and was our only way to get from our apartment to Foster for a while. You had to be very careful though because it was only one car wide and had 2 to 3 foot snow drifts on each side. Quite the adventure!!

4 Months

2011-02-19T09:01:00.004-06:00

Elias at 4 months old.

Canada Trip

2011-02-07T16:17:00.007-06:00

This happened a long time ago. Our internet is acting up so we've been having difficulty posting.
We went to Tyler's grandparents in Wisconsin the first night of our trip (Saturday). We were planning on meeting Brian, Courtney, and Kendall in Fargo on Sunday evening so we had all day to do only 4-5 hours of driving. We thought it'd be a good idea to stop at the Mall of America and let the kids run around for a while. Diddy made an appearance as well.

We spent the night in Fargo and left for Saskatoon early Monday morning. I got one of these when we crossed the border. I was pretty excited...like nerdy excited.This was our first stop once we crossed the border. Tim Horton's are everywhere up there, kind of like McDonald's down here. They are mostly known for their donuts and coffee (at least that's what they're know for in the Johnson family) but they have a little bit of everything.

Well, hello there! You look awfully cute. I hope you're enjoying sitting in your seat...because you're never getting out of it!!! Muah-ha-ha-ha-ha.

The kids and I enjoying a movie. We pulled this feature out at strategic times, like the end of our really long driving days. It really helped get us through those last few hours (the hours Asher would have otherwise been screaming).

After the funeral, there was a little dinner for the family and some close friends. Here is Tyler's cousin, Karmyn, and her husband, Ben, taking a lovely family photo with Asher. Aren't they cute?!

Addilyn and her band of houligans. This group really enjoyed getting to play together. And Addilyn keeps telling me how much she loves her cousin Jamie.

Grandma Epp with Elias. Grandma Epp reminded me that it was Elias' 3-month birthday. I can see where Cheryl gets her affinity for numbers/dates.

Asher hanging out with Tyler's cousin Max.

Asher had more trouble with these two ladies. He wasn't sure which one was Grandma Epp so he'd just give them both a hug.

Addilyn (and Tyler's cousin Denita) with the Epp women. They had more trouble getting a picture of the four of them. They were either talking or had their eyes closed in almost every picture. It was pretty funny to watch.

Ben hanging with Elias.

Addilyn looking impish.

Canadian soda!!

Cornelius at the border.

Our final day of driving it was stinking cold. This was the lowest temperature we were able to document. Crazy cold!

And this was our view for most of the trip (the last day it was sunny but the rest was like this but overcast). Snow and nothing else for as far as the eye can see.

Addilyn entertaining herself (mostly under her blanket). They all did remarkably well considering they spent nearly all of their waking hours in the car for 4 out of 5 days.

The explosion of stuff after we got back.

Rolling, Rolling, Rolling

2011-01-31T11:00:00.004-06:00

Tyler missed both Addilyn and Asher's first times to roll over. He was at work the first time Addilyn rolled over. With Asher, he was at least in the house but was out of the room. Elias has been showing signs that he was about ready to roll over for about a week now. Tyler was determined to witness this accomplishment. He's had him on the floor and surrounded by toys to roll to whenever he was around.
He still missed it. This time he was in the bathroom.

Elias rolled over twice this morning too. Tyler missed those as well (out of the room both times).

Good job, Elias! Better luck next time, Tyler.

Elias 3-months

2011-01-24T16:26:00.005-06:00

Elias turned 3-months last Tuesday. We were a little busy then but better late than never, right?!

Our Trip by the Numbers

2011-01-23T17:06:00.003-06:00

Tyler's Grandpa Epp died on the 14th and his funeral was held in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan on the 18th. Tyler, the kids and I made the long trek to meet Tyler's Grandma and celebrate his grandfather. We're just feeling like we're getting our heads back on straight so in the meanwhile, here are the numbers of our trip.
This is our final mileage tally from the trip. We saw it start anew two times so the final mileage was 2798.2 miles.

And this is how long we spent driving.

Here's a quick rundown of all the numbers:

5 1/2 days = 132 hours

2798.2 miles

49hours, 3 minutes

4 states + 1 province

4 different beds

2 countries

2 hotels (1 pool)

1 passport stamp

147 gallons of gas

1 new state + 1 new province for 4 people

4 times to unload/reload the van

3 stops at Tim Horton's (a Canadian coffee/donut shop)

2 stops at the Mall of America

7 Canadian candy bars

15 potty breaks

And our lowest observed temperature = -14 degrees F

Funny Faces

2011-01-16T21:05:00.002-06:00

Happy face.

Silly face.

Sad face.

Excited face.

Now Scram!

Sand Art

2011-01-11T17:07:00.004-06:00

Addilyn got this Cars sand art kit for Christmas. One morning while the boys were out doing manly things (going to Lowe's), Addilyn and I decided to break it out. Here she's posing with it. Very Vanna.

The first step is to get out all your supplies and play with them. Check.
Next you fill up the cars with sand, changing colors frequently to make a pretty design. Having never done sand art before, I was unaware that you're supposed to let the container set for a few minutes between each layer to settle. We simply shook the container a little. It ended up with a little muddling of the layers but we think it still looks great.The filled containers with stickers. Addilyn probably enjoyed the stickers as much as pouring the sand!

We had some extra sand so we filled a bottle to display as well. All-in-all it was a hit and a fun way to spend an hour or two.

The Last of the 2010 Photos

2011-01-09T16:17:00.002-06:00

Hey! I thought I'd share with you the rest of our 2010 photos. And we're only 9 days late.

Asher's new bed. Daddy built the enclosure. The end folds down into a ladder for Asher to climb in with. Asher has been sleeping in it consistently since we got home from our Christmas trip. Yay!

Addilyn helped Mommy make some peppermint biscotti. She got to use a rubber mallet to crush the candy canes. She did a really good job and seem to enjoy it quite a bit too.

She helped Daddy do the dishes too. She's such a good helper.

Daddy and Asher.

Asher and his baby. He doesn't play with it all the time but he's super cute with it when he does.

Here he's putting his baby down for a nap. See how he covered him with a blanket. He's a good Daddy.

That pretty much wraps it up. Good bye, 2010.

Christmas Trip...Legs 3&4

2011-01-05T13:49:00.003-06:00

Our final stop before heading back home was to Tyler's grandparents in Wisconsin. We played a lot of games on their new Wii, saw lots of Tyler's extended family, visited the Mall of America for a day and enjoyed their loads of snow.

Asher in his full snow gear. How cute is he?

Addilyn in her snow gear.

Addilyn sledding down the mound in the front yard.

Asher getting ready to do the same.

Weee!! His final reaction can be seen in our new header.

After a couple of days in Wisconsin & Minnesota, we drove the last 6 hours home. This was one of our lightest travel days and was a nice way to finish our trip. And when we got home Tyler immediately put together our new toy so we could enjoy all the gaming fun. Woot, woot for the Wii!

Christmas Trip...Leg 2

2011-01-04T15:52:00.005-06:00

On to the second leg of our trip. Asher was tired (as was everyone else but we're not as cute!).

Christmas dinner at G&G Butts.

Addilyn got her very own camera for Christmas. She's pretty excited! Keep an eye out for Addilyn's photos posted over to the side.

Asher playing with Grandpa B's mini flashlight.

A big box of gifts. If you look closely you'll notice that Tyler and I received a Wii and Guitar Hero to go with it. We're also pretty excited (and have already enjoyed it quite a bit).

Addilyn enjoying more food (appetizers!!).

On to our last leg...

Christmas Trip: Leg 1

2011-01-01T12:24:00.006-06:00

Daddy and Elias at Caribou Coffee during our first stop of the trip to Kansas. 6 hours in and glad to be out of the van.

We left the kids in their pajamas for the trip because we departed in the middle of the night and we thought it'd be more comfortable. When we got to the coffee shop in Des Moines (which has become our regular stop), we just put Asher's snowboots on over his footies. He liked it a lot and stomped around the store quite exhuberantly. Super cutie!

Addilyn finally went to sleep. We left at 2:00 and she was still awake at 4:00. I'm not sure how much sleep she actually got that night but it caught up with her later in the morning.

Looking cheerful despite being in the car for probably 9 hours at this point.

Skip to Christmas Eve...hanging out and taking pictures with Aunt Courtney.

Giving Daddy a piggyback ride.

The tree overstuffed with gifts.

The chaos after the gift opening...everybody checking out their new stuff. Asher just stared and stared at that Lego Mater.

Elias hanging out with Lily's baby.

New pajamas!

Opening stockings in the morning.

That's not all that happened at the Johnson Christmas (I missed the meal, Christmas Eve service, etc) but that's what we have photos of. On to the next stop.

Bye, Bye, Christmas Tree

2011-01-01T07:05:00.000-06:00

We had to get rid of our Christmas tree before we left.
Going...

going...

gone.

And this is all it left behind.

Our Christmas

2010-12-30T20:16:00.005-06:00

We did our Christmas well over a week ago. We did it on the 20th since we were leaving on the 22nd and we wanted the kids to be able to play with their toys (and it worked out that way).
Tyler made us special drink for the occasion.

Since we can't put any of the syrups in Asher's drink we stuck a cinnamon stick in instead. It was pretty good.

Family photo in front of the tree.

Asher opening his first gift. It's one of those boppers that you punch. We thought it'd be fun for him to punch his bopper while Daddy punches his punching bag.

Addilyn showing off her "paints."

Why do they strap everything down so well? Asher was very confused as to how to get his truck out of the box.

Addilyn right after she opened her new book light. She had not a clue what it was.

Yay...she figured it out!

Attacking the bopper. He doesn't so much punch it as tackle it.

Elias trying out the kids' new bouncy thing. He really wanted that ball. He talked to it and tried to wiggle toward it. He even just stared at it and kind of willed it to come toward him.

Addilyn demonstrating the new bouncy thing. She likes to run and jump in it from across the room.

Christmas #1 down and many more to go...

Santa Claus: An Engineer's Perspective

2010-12-21T15:50:00.002-06:00

Though I share this perspective this is not a Tyler original. Enjoy!

There are approximately two billion children (persons under 18) in the world. However, since Santa does not visit children of Muslim, Hindu, Jewish or Buddhist (except maybe in Japan) religions, this reduces the workload for Christmas night to 15% of the total, or 378 million (according to the Population Reference Bureau).

At an average (census) rate of 3.5 children per household, that comes to 108 million homes, presuming that there is at least one good child in each. Santa has about 31 hours of Christmas to work with, thanks to the different time zones and the rotation of the earth, assuming he travels east to west (which seems logical). This works out to 967.7 visits per second.

This is to say that for each Christian household with a good child, Santa has around 1/1000th of a second to park the sleigh, hop out, jump down the chimney, fill the stockings, distribute the remaining presents under the tree, eat whatever snacks have been left for him, get back up the chimney, jump into the sleigh and get on to the next house.

Assuming that each of these 108 million stops is evenly distributed around the earth (which, of course, we know to be false, but will accept for the purposes of our calculations), we are now talking about 0.78 miles per household; a total trip of 75.5 million miles, not counting bathroom stops or breaks.

This means Santa's sleigh is moving at 650 miles per second--3,000 times the speed of sound. For purposes of comparison, the fastest man-made vehicle, the Ulysses space probe, moves at a Poky 27.4 miles per second, and a conventional reindeer can run (at best) 15 miles per hour. The payload of the sleigh adds another interesting element. Assuming that each child gets nothing more than a medium sized Lego set (two pounds), the sleigh is carrying over 500 thousand tons, not counting Santa himself.

On land, a conventional reindeer can pull no more than 300 pounds. Even granting that the "flying" reindeer could pull ten times the normal amount, the job can't be done with eight or even nine of them, Santa would need 360,000 of them. This increases the payload, not counting the weight of the sleigh, another 54,000 tons, or roughly seven times the weight of the Queen Elizabeth (the ship, not the monarch). 600,000 tons

Traveling at 650 miles per second creates enormous air resistance-this would heat up the reindeer in the same fashion as a spacecraft re-entering the earth's atmosphere. The lead pair of reindeer would absorb 14.3 quintillion joules of energy per second each. In short, they would burst into flames almost instantaneously, exposing the reindeer behind them and creating deafening sonic booms in their wake. The entire reindeer team would be vaporized within 4.26 thousandths of a second, or right about the time Santa reached the fifth house on his trip.
Not that it matters, however, since Santa, as a result of accelerating from a dead stop to 650 m.p.s. in .001 seconds, would be subjected to acceleration forces of 17,500 g's. A 250 pound Santa (which seems ludicrously slim) would be pinned to the back of the sleigh by 4,315,015 pounds of force, instantly crushing his bones and organs.

Merry Christmas

Elias at 2 Months

2010-12-18T15:48:00.000-06:00

Elias is 2 months old today.

And he's huge!

Early November

2010-12-17T07:56:00.005-06:00

I'm getting caught up. These are a bunch of photos from the first half of November.
Asher in Daddy's NASA T-shirt.

Awkward.

Addilyn and Aunt Courtney scrapbooking pictures from the summer. Courtney was here at the beginning of November to visit and meet Elias.

Yawn.

Asher and Addilyn enjoying each other's beds. (A little less fun considering Asher's big fall last week)

Playing with Daddy.

A different kind of playing with Daddy.

Go, Daddy, go!

Cheese.

Asher enjoying a little time in his cabinet. He and Addilyn trade off emptying out and shuting themselves inside it. Easy entertainment, I guess.

Elias' first bath

2010-12-16T16:31:00.002-06:00

We gave Elias his first bath...a long time ago. Here are pictures from the experience.
Peacefulness beforehand.

Hanging out...checking out the dishes.

Just a little concerned.

Really, really concerned.

The survivor...very clean survivor.

Oh Christmas Tree

2010-12-08T09:33:00.004-06:00

I hate to post things out of order but I'm backed up about a month and a half. I don't want to post the Christmas pictures after the new year so what choice to have? I guess I could just post the other pictures really quickly but it seems impossible to get that much uninterupted internet time. Alas, here are the pictures of our beautiful tree and all the decorating fun.
We got our tree at the ever-so-exciting Home Depot. It was surprisingly cheap for the city so...yay! After our family trip to pick out the tree, we came home and got into our pajamas, had some special drink and started decorating.

A video of the decorating fun.

Addilyn helped me make my gingerbread army. She got to help me cut them out and then she got to decorate all the ones for eating. She managed to only eat a little of the frosting in the process. I was impressed.Beautifying one gingerbread man with some sprinkles. So pretty!

Gingerbread army.

The finished product. It only took 5 days to finish decorating it. Apparently three small children can make it a little more difficult to devote time to craftiness or baking.

Leaves

2010-11-22T15:16:00.003-06:00

1 Month

2010-11-18T12:24:00.002-06:00

Elias is 1 month old today.
He's quite the stud.

Check it out: he's started smiling already. Super Cutie!

October...Part 2

2010-11-11T11:58:00.005-06:00

Reading to Elias.

Sleepy Duo.

Sleepy Daddy.

Foot Five.

Cuddly, sleepy baby.

October...Part 1

2010-11-04T11:26:00.005-05:00

Addilyn helped Daddy with the dishes. She's a pretty good helper.

Asher and applesauce. He can feed himself but also likes to experiment with it as a hair product as well.

Playing on the new bunk beds. Video at bottom. Oh and Asher most definitely got up there on his own.

Reading.

Stacking...one of Asher's favorite breakfast activities.

Stacking as well...with some help from Daddy.

Halloween fun

2010-11-01T11:10:00.002-05:00

We went trick-or-treating with a group of kids from the family housing.
Here we are getting ready to head out. Addilyn is the purple/red dragon/dinosaur. Check out her supercute tail; it would swing back and forth as she walked.

Our little peapod. I saw this costume at Target when I was pregnant with Addilyn and so wanted it. Unfortunately both of the older kids were too large for it by the time Halloween came around. I was super-excited that Elias was still so little so he could actually wear it.

Asher was a turtle. He wasn't real thrilled with the hat or gloves and decided against wearing them.

The treat-or-treating posse.

Trick or treat! It was pretty funny to watch Addilyn trick-or-treat. She was so confused as to when she should say what. We tried to go over the procedure a couple of times while we were out (maybe we should have done that before then). At our final stop for the night (Nick and Brittany's), Addilyn was still confused. She ended up saying thank you at the beginning (when they said, "What do you say?) and Trick-or-Treat at the end. It was pretty cute.

Glamour Shots by Deb

2010-10-30T12:12:00.004-05:00

Pick your own caption: "I'm just so nervous."

"I see dead people."

"I am so scared."

Elias

2010-10-25T14:53:00.004-05:00

The final belly shot. This was taken on the 16th.

Grandma & Grandpa J brought the kids over to see Elias in the hospital. Here Asher is checking Elias out for the first time.

Addilyn checking out her littlest brother.

Holding said brother.

Daddy and Elias bonding.

Elias was born at the same hospital as Tyler. Elias is showing off his Daddy's shirt from back in the day.

Conversing with Mommy.

Showing off the cutest hat ever. Thank you random Swedish ladies who knit hats for the newborns.

Sad face.

Elias just after we brought him home. This picture pretty much sums it up: Addilyn is thoroughly interested in Elias and Asher...is not. Asher will give Elias kisses occasionally but mostly would much rather pay attention to his toys, etc.

#3

2010-10-18T20:26:00.003-05:00

Elias Newton Johnson

Born 12:32am, 10.18.10

10lb 4oz, 22.05 inches

Boat Tour

2010-10-14T10:30:00.004-05:00

The first weekend of October was the annual Wendella Boat Tour trip. We had so much fun last year that we were super excited to go again this year.
There were 40-some adults with the North Park crew. Here are a few of them.

The Wendella Boat Tour is an architectural tour of downtown by river and out on Lake Michigan. Here is the new(ish) Trump Tower. It is now the second tallest building in Chicago (second to the Sears/Willis Tower).

The parking garages that have been featured in many a movie. Fun fact: you are required to back into your packing spot so that you don't over accelerate and drive over the edge.

The weather was very spotty this time around but made for some very pretty skies at times.

Addilyn sees something she thinks is cool.

Keeping warm with Daddy.

It started to rain (actually downpour) at a few points during the 90 minute tour. Here is the group that decided to brave the weather and stay on the top deck.

During a break in the rain, Addilyn and Daddy went back up stairs. She still managed to stay warm and relatively dry. A fellow passenger just straight up gave her that scarf. So nice!

When it was really pouring (and the lake became super choppy), we headed to the lower deck. Here we found a spot to sit down and ride out the "storm".

Tyler took a few panoramic shots. This one shows how it looked when it was really raining.

I think this is my favorite panoramic, though. See the storm that had just moved passed us.

After the tour, the Habluetzel's and Johnson's headed to Giordano's to enjoy some Chicago-style pizza. Mmm...cheesiness.

September Wrap-up

2010-10-11T09:18:00.005-05:00

The rest of the pictures from September (it's not quite halfway through October so it's okay).
Most of my plants died over the summer. This peace lilly is cooked.

I've decided to try my hand at basil instead because I figure that I might be better at keeping plants alive if I can eat them.

Addilyn had just woken up and Tyler was trying to get her to smile.

Daddy made a superfort for Addilyn and Asher to play in.

Inside said superfort.

I'm not sure what this face is supposed to mean.

Addilyn playing with her art supplies.

Asher humoring Mommy and showing off his "cheese" face yet again.

Perusing a book.

Sharing their kitchen. (Asher arranged the chairs for them.)

Asher climbing (technically he was climbing back down at this point).

Swinging.

Helping push Asher.

Super chubby face. Don't you just want to squeeze him?!

Thanks for stopping by. We'll see you around!

The New 'Do

2010-09-24T14:07:00.004-05:00

"Hey there, Daddy. What do you have that thing out for?"

"I feel...hairy."

"Less hairy and much more spiky, alert, adventurous...just like me."

The End.

Numerous Videos

2010-09-22T15:47:00.004-05:00

Various Pictures

2010-09-20T20:46:00.002-05:00

Some random pictures from the last few weeks:

Asher enjoying some apple sauce...the spoon is optional.

Addilyn all dressed up and ready for church on Sunday.

Asher after landing in a pile of pillows (videos forthcoming).

Tyler's Birthday

2010-09-19T22:04:00.004-05:00

The Birthday Shindig:

Tyler's 28th birthday was last Monday. Addilyn made him a beautiful card and presented it to him at breakfast (which, of course, was Count Chocula).

We had a birthday shindig/dinner in the evening (since he still had to go to class and such). Here we are with the family and our ever-present neighbors.

Addilyn and Samuel enjoying their burgers.
Asher got a burger too.

Mark diving into his burger. Way to commit!

Tyler got some pretty cool gifts too (although very few on his actual birthday). Here he's showing off his prized new commentaries (that's a weird sentence; then again, he's a weird guy).

We topped off the evening with dessert and a rip-roaring game (or two) of Carcasonne. It's a game Mark and Lisa recently introduced us to that we've gotten pretty involved in/addicted to. So far we've played at least once a week.

The Food:

Here was the birthday meal spread (minus some baked beans which were still on the stove). Notice it included burgers (which meant that Tyler got to play with the grill), fried eggs for said burgers, bacon, Pepsi and rice pudding...all favorites of Tyler.

Tyler's burger (one bite in). It will kill you (eventually) but wow is it good!

I finally tried my hand at tiramisu (which Tyler has actually been requesting for years). It was good and Tyler managed to finish off the whole thing within 24 hours (with the help of many, many people).

Labor Day

2010-09-09T16:00:00.004-05:00

A run down of our Labor Day excursion: Addilyn helped Asher put on his shoes before we went out. So cute!

We went for one of our Chicago walks. This was the first of this school year and we chose #16: the Gold Coast. It was a bit of a disappointment. We were expecting things to be swankier and to see some more exotic cars. Here are the highlights nonetheless. CityWalks noted this house and a very cute street. This is less than a block from Lake Shore Drive and the lake. I'm not really sure what was supposed to be so spectacular about it though.

The family perusing the street.

Thanks to a very life-like birthday cake Addilyn will always be to recognize a Mini Cooper and frequently points them out when she sees them.

Both doing their "cheese" faces.

A Segway tour following our route. I hope they found more interesting things to look at than we did. Although I bet from a Segway everything is interesting.

Addilyn was bringing me a present she and Daddy found in the trees of the park we stopped at.

A locust shell!

She was so proud of herself!

Climbing on the bench Mommy was resting on.

The original Playboy mansion. I don't know about you but I was expecting something a bit different.

Addilyn sitting at the bar at Chipotle...also another proud moment for her.

So the Belly and the Bean wasn't out most recent belly shot; I completely forgot about these.

This was our first and, most likely, last city walk of the season. It was a little much for me and ended up being more stressful than relaxing. It was, nonetheless, nice to get out and enjoy this much cooler weather together as a family.

The Belly and the Bean

2010-09-08T15:43:00.004-05:00

Here is my latest belly shot. I took it at the Bean while enjoying a glorious afternoon in downtown Chicago (and a very nice chiropractic appointment). It was actually taken almost 2 weeks ago. I have no excuse for why I didn't post it sooner.
FYI: the official due date has been returned to October 15 (after a brief stop on October 5 after the midwives couldn't find a record of the original due date in the records from my OB) which puts me at 34 weeks and some change (35 weeks on Friday).

We got a new camera!!!

2010-09-07T21:27:00.006-05:00

Last Wednesday we got our new camera. Yay!

Here's a picture of our life since then. I baked some very yummy brownies.

Daddy read.

Addilyn inherited our completely useless, old camera. She's had a lot of fun with it already.

Asher played.

Yelling.

He fell down and got a bit of a shiner. Despite looking kind of ominous at the start, it didn't get much darker than this.

Addilyn helped Daddy make pancakes. That girl is funny.

Mmm...an airplane?

As one of the side effects of this pregnancy, I have the compulsion to mix flavors. My latest fascination has been peanut butter. Peanut butter and pancakes, peanut butter and oatmeal (which is actually really good; you should try it), etc.

Asher played outside too.

Best picture ever! We call this his "Blue Steel." It's a reference from Zoolander (the movie about male models with Ben Stiller).

Asher likes to climb the stairs.

Daddy followed him up to the third floor.

Their view from up there.

We smoked a whole chicken. Tyler has enjoyed playing with the grill/smoker since we got back.

Addilyn taking a picture while talking to Grandma J.

Addilyn and Cornelius talking to Grandma J.

Addilyn looking pretty cute in the outfit she picked out on Saturday. She's really gotten into posing for the camera.

That's it for now but we'll have more very soon.