Since I didn't bore the blogosphere with details about my first two births, I'm not about to go ruining my record now. (Ironically, I love reading other people's birth stories.) Suffice it to say that Peter's was my roughest delivery yet, but only because he was posterior and I had to push more than five times. And the labor was only about three hours start to finish -- with a perfect epidural -- so I certainly won't complain!
In fact, complaining is about the last thing I ever want to do again. I can feel that my life is so good, and I can also feel it slipping through my fingers: when I watch Truman walk through the door to his preschool, too-big backpack slipping off of him; when I realize Caleb is so heavy I can hardly hoist him over the crib rail to put him down for a nap; when I try to remember what my older boys were like at Peter's age and the memories, so recent, are already dim.
I've cried blessed little since Peter was born, but in two- or three-minute bursts it comes out. Motherhood will break your heart, one way or another. There is a certain anguish in loving a little person so much and knowing that, in some ways, you will fail him. And with the addition of our third little boy, I feel sometimes like my heart might burst from loving him AND the other two so much -- and, lest I forget, the good good man I married. My love for him has grown with each baby too.
So, no birth story. But man, it's a good life.
Wednesday, December 7, 2011
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Peter Jens Johnson
He has a name! I am sure Brittany will post details about the delivery soonish. Here are some newer pictures.
Monday, November 28, 2011
New Baby Johnson
We are pleased to announce the birth of our third boy (name still to be determined). He was born at 2:27 pm, was 7 lbs 3 oz and 20 inches long. He and Brittany are doing great. Check out his hairy back and arms.
-matt
Saturday, October 29, 2011
The Monster, The Witch and the Elephant
...and the priest (with a glass of milk, do we love it?). And the tiny skeleton.
Happy Halloween!
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
The Self-healing Van
So our minivan (which was 'new to us' five months ago but hasn't been 'new' in over a decade) has power locks that have never worked quite right for us. The passenger side sliding door never locks or unlocks with the rest of them, it just sits there. Until the last two days, when it has randomly decided to fall in line a couple of times.
I was telling Matt about this yesterday when we started talking about how cool it would be if you had a car that gradually got less run-down and beat-up rather than more: painted over its own rust spots, popped out its own dents, and eventually turned itself into a 2011 Honda Odyssey. The ultimate self-healing car.
Fast forward to Zumba this morning. Caleb and I walked out of the church and he wouldn't get in the car. I coaxed him inside with the keys, which he put in the ignition, then he spent a few minutes avoiding my snatches at him (my ever-growing belly makes it hard to drag him out of the front seat of the car), pushing buttons, turning on the A/C, etc. etc. Then I caught him, strapped him in his seat and closed his door.
I went around to my door. It was locked. One of the many buttons Caleb had pushed was the power locks. No big deal, I thought. That sliding door never locks.
Except for this time. The third time in its life. So there was Caleb, strapped in tight, looking at me through the window and expecting to leave any moment. And there was my phone sitting next to him in the car. And there were my keys in the ignition. And my spare key was at the seminary, only a couple of miles away, but in Matt's pocket as he stood in front of a class of teenagers. And there I was dripping sweat.
I flagged down a friend who offered to take me to the seminary, but retracted the offer when she realized the van might get too hot in that amount of time. So instead she found the police dispatch number on her iPhone, then we waited around for about ten minutes watching Caleb get red-faced and sweaty in the car as it heated up (thankfully it was only about 11 AM and today wasn't a scorcher).
So the police officer showed up, looked at me disdainfully, slipped his hanger-looking thing into the car and hit the power lock button. At which point all the doors unlocked.
Except for the passenger side sliding door. Because, you see, that door never locks or unlocks with the rest of them.
When I got home, I cursed the self-healing car. And then myself for forgetting that another spare key was hanging from the key holder in my kitchen - five blocks from the church!
C'est la vie.
I was telling Matt about this yesterday when we started talking about how cool it would be if you had a car that gradually got less run-down and beat-up rather than more: painted over its own rust spots, popped out its own dents, and eventually turned itself into a 2011 Honda Odyssey. The ultimate self-healing car.
Fast forward to Zumba this morning. Caleb and I walked out of the church and he wouldn't get in the car. I coaxed him inside with the keys, which he put in the ignition, then he spent a few minutes avoiding my snatches at him (my ever-growing belly makes it hard to drag him out of the front seat of the car), pushing buttons, turning on the A/C, etc. etc. Then I caught him, strapped him in his seat and closed his door.
I went around to my door. It was locked. One of the many buttons Caleb had pushed was the power locks. No big deal, I thought. That sliding door never locks.
Except for this time. The third time in its life. So there was Caleb, strapped in tight, looking at me through the window and expecting to leave any moment. And there was my phone sitting next to him in the car. And there were my keys in the ignition. And my spare key was at the seminary, only a couple of miles away, but in Matt's pocket as he stood in front of a class of teenagers. And there I was dripping sweat.
I flagged down a friend who offered to take me to the seminary, but retracted the offer when she realized the van might get too hot in that amount of time. So instead she found the police dispatch number on her iPhone, then we waited around for about ten minutes watching Caleb get red-faced and sweaty in the car as it heated up (thankfully it was only about 11 AM and today wasn't a scorcher).
So the police officer showed up, looked at me disdainfully, slipped his hanger-looking thing into the car and hit the power lock button. At which point all the doors unlocked.
Except for the passenger side sliding door. Because, you see, that door never locks or unlocks with the rest of them.
When I got home, I cursed the self-healing car. And then myself for forgetting that another spare key was hanging from the key holder in my kitchen - five blocks from the church!
C'est la vie.
Saturday, August 20, 2011
Post-op
Matt had his gall bladder out on Monday (full of stones, but no one knew that until it was out!), and I just can't keep his coming-out-of-anesthesia loopiness to myself. I wrote the quotes at the time through hysterical laughter and nervous tears since he was SO out of it. Our only regret is that we didn't video any of the fun!
This is more or less the way that first little while out of surgery went:
Nurse: "Matt, are you feeling nauseous?"
Matt: (furrowed eyebrows, clearly confused) "I don't know. Are you feeling nauseous?"
Then he noticed me. "How long was it?"
Brittany: "The surgery? From the time I left you until this minute was an hour and a half."
M: "Not 15 minutes? So we had a bad doctor? I want apple juice."
B: "I don't think you can have any yet. Do you want some water?"
M: "I want apple juice, Shaun the Sheep, and the iPad."
B: (laughing, since these are the items Caleb requests every morning when he wakes up) "Do you know who else likes those things?"
M: "YOU?!"
B: "Nope, Caleb."
M: "Caleb who?"
B: "Caleb our son."
M: "Oh, where is he?"
B: "At our house, with your mom."
M: "I want apple juice."
B: "I think you have to wait for that. Do you want some water?"
M: "If it has apples in it!"
I got him some apple juice.
M: "I want to cough, but I think it'll hurt. Why don't you cough?"
B: cough cough "Did that help?"
M: "No. My feet are sweaty."
B: "Let me take your socks off."
M: "Well now they're cold. Did you say they gave me some pain medicine?"
B: "Yeah, morphine."
M: "Did you get some morphine?"
B: "Nope, I wish!"
M: "Where are our kids?"
B: "With your mom, at our house."
M: "Do I have to have this thing on?" (shaking the oxygen monitor on his finger)
B: "Yeah, I think we better leave it on."
M: "It's bugging me. Can I move it?"
B: "To where?"
M: "To you?"
B: "No, I think it better stay on you."
M: "How long was it?"
B: "An hour and a half."
M: "Did you say she gave me some medicine?"
B: "Yeah, a couple of times now."
M: "I don't believe it. Not for one second. He wasn't kidding when he said this would hurt."
The nurse said he could have some oral pain meds if he could keep down some food.
Nurse: "So, what can I get you? Crackers, applesauce...?"
M: "I guess I can't have a double cheeseburger?"
N: "No. I'll bring applesauce and crackers."
After one cracker Matt wanted some oral meds. The nurse said he couldn't have any until the applesauce was gone.
M: "She is a hard taskmaster."
B: (Spoonfeeding applesauce) "Two more bites."
M: "You said two bites like nine million bites ago!"
B: "There, done."
M: "Where'd my socks go?"
B: "I took them off. You want 'em back on?"
M: "No. But I am done with this thing." (shaking the offending oxygen monitor again) "Who do I see about getting this thing off? Can I put it on you?"
B: "No I think we better leave it."
M: "How many stones?"
B: "I can see a dozen in the picture."
M: (Looking at the picture of his gall bladder on a tray) "That is yucky. Those stones are GROSS."
Nurse came in with some Lortab.
Nurse: "How's your pain now, on a scale of 1 - 10?"
M: "I've never had a broken femur before. How long was the surgery?"
B: "An hour and a half."
M: "How many stones?"
B: "A dozen."
M: "That is so yucky."
There was a lot more asking about the kids, the length of the surgery, the oxygen monitor, and complaining about the yucky stones. Thankfully, that stuff wears off, and he's recovering nicely. The pain has been getting a little better each day, and he's still planning on teaching starting Tuesday, even. Thanks to all for your prayers and concern.
This is more or less the way that first little while out of surgery went:
Nurse: "Matt, are you feeling nauseous?"
Matt: (furrowed eyebrows, clearly confused) "I don't know. Are you feeling nauseous?"
Then he noticed me. "How long was it?"
Brittany: "The surgery? From the time I left you until this minute was an hour and a half."
M: "Not 15 minutes? So we had a bad doctor? I want apple juice."
B: "I don't think you can have any yet. Do you want some water?"
M: "I want apple juice, Shaun the Sheep, and the iPad."
B: (laughing, since these are the items Caleb requests every morning when he wakes up) "Do you know who else likes those things?"
M: "YOU?!"
B: "Nope, Caleb."
M: "Caleb who?"
B: "Caleb our son."
M: "Oh, where is he?"
B: "At our house, with your mom."
M: "I want apple juice."
B: "I think you have to wait for that. Do you want some water?"
M: "If it has apples in it!"
I got him some apple juice.
M: "I want to cough, but I think it'll hurt. Why don't you cough?"
B: cough cough "Did that help?"
M: "No. My feet are sweaty."
B: "Let me take your socks off."
M: "Well now they're cold. Did you say they gave me some pain medicine?"
B: "Yeah, morphine."
M: "Did you get some morphine?"
B: "Nope, I wish!"
M: "Where are our kids?"
B: "With your mom, at our house."
M: "Do I have to have this thing on?" (shaking the oxygen monitor on his finger)
B: "Yeah, I think we better leave it on."
M: "It's bugging me. Can I move it?"
B: "To where?"
M: "To you?"
B: "No, I think it better stay on you."
M: "How long was it?"
B: "An hour and a half."
M: "Did you say she gave me some medicine?"
B: "Yeah, a couple of times now."
M: "I don't believe it. Not for one second. He wasn't kidding when he said this would hurt."
The nurse said he could have some oral pain meds if he could keep down some food.
Nurse: "So, what can I get you? Crackers, applesauce...?"
M: "I guess I can't have a double cheeseburger?"
N: "No. I'll bring applesauce and crackers."
After one cracker Matt wanted some oral meds. The nurse said he couldn't have any until the applesauce was gone.
M: "She is a hard taskmaster."
B: (Spoonfeeding applesauce) "Two more bites."
M: "You said two bites like nine million bites ago!"
B: "There, done."
M: "Where'd my socks go?"
B: "I took them off. You want 'em back on?"
M: "No. But I am done with this thing." (shaking the offending oxygen monitor again) "Who do I see about getting this thing off? Can I put it on you?"
B: "No I think we better leave it."
M: "How many stones?"
B: "I can see a dozen in the picture."
M: (Looking at the picture of his gall bladder on a tray) "That is yucky. Those stones are GROSS."
Nurse came in with some Lortab.
Nurse: "How's your pain now, on a scale of 1 - 10?"
M: "I've never had a broken femur before. How long was the surgery?"
B: "An hour and a half."
M: "How many stones?"
B: "A dozen."
M: "That is so yucky."
There was a lot more asking about the kids, the length of the surgery, the oxygen monitor, and complaining about the yucky stones. Thankfully, that stuff wears off, and he's recovering nicely. The pain has been getting a little better each day, and he's still planning on teaching starting Tuesday, even. Thanks to all for your prayers and concern.
Sunday, August 14, 2011
T-bag
He's four now, and the quotes are just getting better.
Truman on his fourth birthday, which we spent at Matt's parents' cabin up Logan Canyon.
This shot is from Tony Grove.
This boy...
...thinks he is so smart when he saves time by washing his hands before he goes to the bathroom. (He gets mad when he has to wash them again after!)
...likes to sing the words "rock, paper, scissors" to the hymns in church.
...is convinced that the "sprinkles" on his feet (wrinkles) make him itch.
...tells inventive stories. Most recently, he came home from school on his motorcycle to find that Mommy and Daddy were gone getting married at the temple. Then Daddy skipped work to go on a mission.
...insists on eating grapes with no holes in them. (!)
And as for quotes:
OUCH.
Mommy asked, "Am I losing my mind?!" Truman answered, "What mind?"
"Mom, but you have such a big bum."
"I sure wish Grandma Jill was my mom."
"Mommy, when are you gonna go home?"
"Home where?"
"Home to the zoo, cuz that's where you live!"
Thinking about the future
"I think I want Daddy to stay a dad and I will grow up to be a Grandpa instead."
"Mom, when is Earth gonna get old?" (EVERY night before bed. Who even put this thought into his head?!)
"I want to be a daddy and a grandpa and a missionary and a fireman and a policeman. Police is last cuz I want to be a policeman forever."
On good vs evil
"I wish bad guys didn't have any bums!"
"Mom, a bad guy named Magic Man turned you into a bird. I'm pretending that."
When Daddy told Truman he was killing ants by coloring on them with sidewalk chalk, he said, "Well, that's just the way I hath to do it."
"I'm Iron Man! I just ironed that dragon's head off and its wings!"
"Why is that police car going so fast?"
"Maybe to catch a bad guy."
"Like a bad guy who kills fish?" Then, "[GASP!] Are there bad guys on earth?"
Wonderings...
"Mom, when you eat the fudgsicle and it breaks into pieces in your tummy, does it fall on the baby's head?"
"Jordan, why are YOU driving? Why isn't Carly driving? Is it because she's not a very good driver?"
At the end of Land Before Time: "So...are they gonna turn to humans now?"
Outta NOWHERE
"Mom, baseball players don't. Have. Phones. Cuz they just play baseball."
When Mommy told Truman to count sheep to help him get to sleep, he said, "Yes, and then the kangaroo will jump out and scare the sheep!"
Holding Mommy's hair straight out to the sides of her head:
"Mommy, you're turning into an animal."
"What kind?"
"A bat."
Grab bag
"Number one: I run. Number two: I run fast. Number three: I run into you. Those are the clues."
Complaining about bumpy roads on the way home from Logan: "Stop it! Stop shaking my ears!"
...thinks he is so smart when he saves time by washing his hands before he goes to the bathroom. (He gets mad when he has to wash them again after!)
...likes to sing the words "rock, paper, scissors" to the hymns in church.
...is convinced that the "sprinkles" on his feet (wrinkles) make him itch.
...tells inventive stories. Most recently, he came home from school on his motorcycle to find that Mommy and Daddy were gone getting married at the temple. Then Daddy skipped work to go on a mission.
...insists on eating grapes with no holes in them. (!)
And as for quotes:
OUCH.
Mommy asked, "Am I losing my mind?!" Truman answered, "What mind?"
"Mom, but you have such a big bum."
"I sure wish Grandma Jill was my mom."
"Mommy, when are you gonna go home?"
"Home where?"
"Home to the zoo, cuz that's where you live!"
Thinking about the future
"I think I want Daddy to stay a dad and I will grow up to be a Grandpa instead."
"Mom, when is Earth gonna get old?" (EVERY night before bed. Who even put this thought into his head?!)
"I want to be a daddy and a grandpa and a missionary and a fireman and a policeman. Police is last cuz I want to be a policeman forever."
On good vs evil
"I wish bad guys didn't have any bums!"
"Mom, a bad guy named Magic Man turned you into a bird. I'm pretending that."
When Daddy told Truman he was killing ants by coloring on them with sidewalk chalk, he said, "Well, that's just the way I hath to do it."
"I'm Iron Man! I just ironed that dragon's head off and its wings!"
"Why is that police car going so fast?"
"Maybe to catch a bad guy."
"Like a bad guy who kills fish?" Then, "[GASP!] Are there bad guys on earth?"
Wonderings...
"Mom, when you eat the fudgsicle and it breaks into pieces in your tummy, does it fall on the baby's head?"
"Jordan, why are YOU driving? Why isn't Carly driving? Is it because she's not a very good driver?"
At the end of Land Before Time: "So...are they gonna turn to humans now?"
Outta NOWHERE
"Mom, baseball players don't. Have. Phones. Cuz they just play baseball."
When Mommy told Truman to count sheep to help him get to sleep, he said, "Yes, and then the kangaroo will jump out and scare the sheep!"
Holding Mommy's hair straight out to the sides of her head:
"Mommy, you're turning into an animal."
"What kind?"
"A bat."
Grab bag
"Number one: I run. Number two: I run fast. Number three: I run into you. Those are the clues."
Complaining about bumpy roads on the way home from Logan: "Stop it! Stop shaking my ears!"
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