We had and awesome Independence Day! Our first fourth of July with John!
We started the day by watching "Despicable Me 2" at the theater with my sister Martha. Thanks Jeena for babysitting John for us! It was so fun and funny! The last time Seth and I went to the movies was for the last Harry Potter movie. That was a really long time ago. A year, or more.... it's not high on our priority list. We would usually rather get it from the library, make popcorn and watch it on the couch. But not Despicable Me 2. The first one is one of our favs, and the second one did not disappoint! :)
John had so much fun with Grandma Jeena. They were so patriotic!
This is a 4 generation picture. Seth's grandparents, Walden and Gwen Johnson, his mom, Jeena Wagner, us, and John Robert Wagner. I wish Robert Wagner could be here, but I know he is in spirit. It was special to be all together. Walden and Gwen's posterity is now over 225! 9 children, 56 grandchildren, and more than 111 great grandchildren! John was 95th. Grandpa Johnson said at the reunion in Burley. "We feel richly blessed to have all of you. If we had nothing else but you, we would be very rich indeed. You are our treasures."
He said to me, "You are a beautiful woman, very special. I'm thankful for all my posterity, and that they are faithful in the gospel." It really is a miracle, of all their children and grandchildren, all that are married, have married in the temple, and the men have served full-time missions, and so many of the women. They are special people, and have created such a legacy.
We got to see some of Seth's family just as we were leaving Jeena's house for a picnic at my cousin's. They were sad to see John go, but we needed to go see some of my family.
Here is my mom's dad, Claude Hubbard, John's only other living great-grandpa. We were glad to get to see him, and we got to meet his fiance, now wife, DeAnne. They really love Baby John, and he loves them.
It was hard to be back at my grandparents house again. I used to live there, when my grandma was alive. She's been gone a year and a half now, and I missed her so much being there again. Just seeing her handwriting all around the house brought me to tears. She used to write on sticky notes, and neatly label all her containers. I know that if I do have a guardian angel, I think/hope it's her. The last time we were in UT, I told her, my grandpa and my great aunt Edith that we were pregnant. I remember they were all so happy and anxious to meet the baby. My grandma passed away a week later, so perhaps she got to meet John before the rest of us. And, my aunt Edith passed away also. My family actually completed her and her daughters temple work today. It is a special day.
Me, Aunt Kelli (my mom's sister), and Martha (my sister who is so tan she could be Native American!)
My cousins, Heather, and Kyle, and Kyle's wife, Val
Tyler, Heather, baby Tanner, Sadie, and Devin
Grandpa and DeAnne
Devin, Heather and my Uncle David.
Tyler, Kyle's kids, Carson and Brynnley (I didn't get a shot of McKay! :( , and Sadie
It was so nice to see everyone. We also got to go to Carson's baptism. I won't forget my Aunt Kelli's heartfelt talk with lots of visual aids, and how she showed that we're all like dirty pennies when we sin and how Christ helps us be clean. I also loved that during Carson's confirmation, his cousin Tyler was being a little loud, so Heather was taking him out, and he called out, "Grandpa! Help!" :)
John tells us he's tired when Bert and Ernie take their places, and he guards them with his other hand.
But we took so long to leave after we put him in his carseat that he just wanted to see what was going on. He always lifts up the carseat cover, and it's so cute :)
I am thankful for my ancestors and all who have helped to build this free country, and for all who are fighting now to keep it free. Happy Independence Day!
We recently returned from a marathon family vacation. We left
on Friday, June 28th. It was John's 4th time on an airplane (he flew with me to
Chicago and Seattle). It was so much nicer to have Seth with us! It was still
difficult flying with a baby of course, but I know that in a few short years,
we'll look back and remember how easy it was to fly with only 1 child! So we'll
be grateful now, and I was indeed grateful for Seth's help! All things
considedered, John was as good as a baby could be on the plane.
Seth's brother Ricky and his wife Kristin were kind enough to
pick us up from the airport, and let us stay at they're home. It was so fun to
see them. John was instantly Ricky's buddy! I think he was a little confused
that Kristin has blonde hair, he's not used to that. But it's hard to compete
with Ricky. Sarah and Jacob joked that Ricky bathes himself with sugar and
candy to attract all the little children. But John definitely warmed up to
Kristin, and now he thinks blondes are pretty cool :)
We went to the Johnson reunion (Seth's mom's
parents, Walden and Gwen Johnson and all their posterity were invited). This
was the first one that Seth and I have been able to go to together. We were
able to see many family members that we haven't see for years (and that I have
never seen!). We had fun in Rupert Idaho swimming, in the snake
river, jetskiing, tubing and kayaking. There was a makeshift water
slide, which everybody thought was pretty fun... I did too until the third time
I went down and scraped my leg on the edge - causing the second worst bruise of
my life, the size of a baseball.
We "camped" at the site - for us, who were so so
blessed, and maybe even a little lucky, got to take over the grandparents cabin
after they went home which had air conditioning (it was over 100 degrees!), a
bed and a bathroom. It was pretty awesome! I have an aspiration to like
camping, roughing it out in the wilderness...that day has not come yet, but
maybe someday.
Unfortunately, I didn't get my camera out. We were too busy
having fun and visiting with so many people. There had to be 50-75 there
including the greatgrandkids.
Then, we got to go with Seth's brother Jacob back to Rexburg,
ID. We figured since it was just a couple hours away, and we were all the way
across the country, we might as well stop in to visit our old stomping grounds
and show John the best school in the world (in our opinion :)
We went to Jacob's student ward, and it was pretty funny how
silent it was and how loud John seemed when he wasn't very loud at all! We got
to meet up with Jacob for lunch a couple times and spend some time with him.
Jacob was so nice to let us borrow his car (that was an answer to our prayers,
it would have cost so much to rent a car!)
Seth's Aunt and Uncle, Simone and Mike Wood were so kind to
let us stay at their home in Idaho Falls, and feed us, and visit with us. It
was great to get to know them, and they were genuinely interested in us, and we
appreciated that.
We used to be able to see the Rexburg Temple out our bedroom window. How glorious! If you live near a temple, go there, often! If you don't, make plans to attend as often as you can. I can think of nothing else that could improve your life than the temple.
It is amazing how different the campus is since we graduated exactly 5 years ago. There are so many improvements, and enormous modern buildings that weren't even there before, or they were just a hole in the ground, like the I-Center (that is almost as big as the Conference Center in Salt Lake!) and the MC, and a bunch of fancy apartments. We passed by good old Bunk House and Royal Crest, where Seth and I met - where we used to live.
We got to visit with the Taylor family in Idaho Falls too. We will never forget all that the Taylor's have done for us. Alan was our student ward bishop when Seth and I met and started dating. And he helped us through our engagement, and Alan and Tammi even let me live at their home in Rigby for a month before we got married, so that I could go to school. They have done even more than that for us, and we are grateful for their love and generosity. It was great to catch up, with Tammi, Alison and Devin in IF, and then with Alan, Natalie and her husband Scott, on the way down to UT (they were driving back from Las Vegas).
BYU-I is such a place of giving and genuine desire to help others. Seth's former professors, Brothers Gifford and Galbraith took the time to meet with him and give him helpful advice and suggestions as he prepares for an MBA. We also met with dear friends (former professors), Ron Anderson and Eric Embree. After all these years, it's wonderful to still be in touch.
I also had an opportunity to meet with Rebecca Cheney who is in charge of the ESL side of the Pathway Program at BYU-I. I would love to be an online teacher for them. They can't hire in Ohio because of all the difficult laws, but it was a great chance to meet her and for us to get to know each other in case we live in a state they do hire in some day. It went really well, and she said she is looking for teachers with exactly my experience and education and that she hoped that I would keep in touch and let her know if I move to a state they can hire in. I certainly will!
We stopped over at BYU to see our friend Leah Anderson (who was on our debate team at BYU-I, and whom we went with to teach English in Guatemala). She teaches Spanish at BYU, and is just a bundle of fun. It's always great to see her!
We also got to go to Salt Lake with my sister Martha. We ate dinner at the new mall, City Creek, which is very cool. And we walked around temple square and the visitors center.
It is so wonderful to know that we were sealed (married) in this very temple, and that because of that, John was born in the covenant, and that he is sealed to us forever. We never want to lose him, so that is a great comfort to me to know he is our son, as long as we keep our covenants, and we are determined to do just that.
John took to Martha instantly. They were great pals.
For Father's Day, I made a make-shift children's book about my Dad, Grandpa John. Baby John loved reading it and looking at the pictures and turning the pages. We read it for him on Skype and made a video as well. John really has a connection with his Grandpa John, and I believe his Grandpa Robert, both of whom he is named after. I am grateful that he has these 2 men to look up to.
John and I tried to make it a special 1st Father's Day for Seth. We let him take a long Sunday nap while we made him a special dinner. Roasted potatoes and veggies, salad and a grilled steak.
That is not a common occurrence at our house, so it was a very special dinner. Baby John sure wanted to get at it.
We had fun eating out on our backyard picnic table in the perfect weather, and pushing John in his baby swing. Then I gave Seth a massage to finish off a good day.
John just adores his father. He starts getting a little fussy around 5:00pm. I think he can feel that Daddy is coming home soon, and he just can't wait. He hears the back door open and gets so alert, just waiting for Daddy to round the corner, and then lights up with a huge grin when he comes in the room. He truly is "so glad when Daddy comes home." That hour and a half that we have all together as a family each day is our precious time. It is the best time of the day.
Seth is such a dedicated and helpful father. He works so hard to support our family and provide for us, but at the same time, does all he can to spend time with us and be there for us. He is so helpful around the house and shares the responsibilities of caring for John equally with me. He always gives John baths because it's hard on my knees to kneel in our tiny bathroom. He gets on the floor to crawl around and play with John, reads him books, feeds him, sings to him. He is an all around good Dad. And the most important thing is that he loves us. He loves us so much, and we love him.
I knew that Seth would be a wonderful husband and father when I married him, but I never could have foreseen how selfless, kind and compassionate he would be. We have struggled through our own set of trials in these last 7 years, and Seth has been by my side every step of the way to hold my hand, put this arm around me and even carry me on some parts of our journey together. I didn't know that my love for Seth could grow so much in such a short time, but as I have seen him become a father and step into his role with such diligence and care, my love for him has truly deepened, and I know it will continue to grow as we raise John and our future children together.
Father's are so special, with a very special love. They watch us and protect us. They guide us and direct us back to our home above.
Thanks for being such a wonderful father and husband, Seth!
John loves to shake things. He is getting very good at using his wrists. He can wave, (although he doesn't really do it as a greeting yet. Just for fun) and he shakes toys all the time. He really likes rattles.
We used to barricade the living room area between the couches with some couch cushions, and John liked to bounce on them a lot. And then one day, he learned how to crawl over them! So we had to figure out a new plan, and we are creating a toy room with baby gates in the sunroom.
John is getting so big! He weighs 25 pounds now. Next month we'll get him measured for his 1 year appointment! It is hard to believe our baby is almost a year old. It has flown by so fast.
John is a READER! Hooray! I am so excited that John loves to read now. I am working to translate John's books into Spanish so I can read them all to him in Spanish and Seth reads them in English. He loves books that have 1 big photograph on each page with 1 word. He loves to look at the picture, and then he helps turn the page. It is so cute! I love to read with him. We have a couple books that have pictures of kids and babies, and he squeals in delight when he sees them, and often tries to turn back to those pages when we're half way through the book.
John still likes to bite books too! He has eaten his fair share of board books, so we have to be careful to not leave them on the floor.
On Father's day, John wanted to try some of our dinner, so we let him try chewing on a potato. He likes pureed food mostly, so anything with a texture usually throws him for a loop. But, he likes to hold things and put them in his mouth, so the potato worked pretty well. I don't think he considers it as food yet, but it's a start. We only had to occasionally stick our fingers in to pull out bites of potato that were too big. All in all it was very fun to watch this cute baby eat.
John is a good eater. His favorite foods right now are spinach, kale, hummus, vegetable bean soup and marinara sauce (pureed of course)
John learned how to clap with his hands together. One morning, I went to get him up from his crib, and he saw me, and just started clapping. He clapped throughout the day, and in the evening, when I was nursing him before bed, he would take a few sucks, pull off, wriggle his hands free and then clap with a big smile on his face, then go back for more, then start all over again. It was hilarious He was so excited about his newly discovered skill.
John has learned how to crawl. He'd been army crawling for a while, and bouncing on his hands and knees. But then one day, he took a few crawling steps, and then BAM! He was off. Once he figured it out he wasn't looking back.
John has loved his newly found independence. He's always been a curious little guy, but his curiosity seems to have increased exponentially since he can now explore like never before.
I've been trying to baby proof the house as fast as I can, which is no small task. Every time I feel like I've figured it out, and I've made the place safe for John, he learns how to get into something else that I didn't think he could. I often underestimate his abilities and rapid learning capacity. Each day I set up obstacles in his way to contain him, and each day I find myself saying "Oh, you can open cupboards!" "Oh, you can climb over that" It seems as if the more things I put in his way, the stronger, more creative and resourceful, and the more capable John becomes. He develops and grows so much through the struggle. If I pay attention, I learn many lessons about life from John. I am better able to understand Heavenly Father's plan for me. I am reminded why the Lord lets us struggle through adversity and overcome obstacles, because through the effort, we learn and we grow. If we work hard and have faith in Him and His Son, Jesus Christ, and in ourselves, we become more like our Father in Heaven.
Now, John crawls so fast that if I turn around for just a second he's gone! On to the next adventure!
John is still a biter. He bites everything he can get his hands on. Which makes it kind of strange that he doesn't like to chew on food. He'll bite it, but then he has a huge piece in his mouth that he doesn't know what to do with. :)
I am not perfect at Spanish, but I can speak enough to talk to John in Spanish during the day. I'm learning a lot as I go. John responds to 3 words now "Potty" "Leche (milk)" and "Agua (water)"
John is getting very good at entertaining himself as long as there are plenty of things to get into or explore. But he really loves to play with other babies, well not with them, but around them. He loves to see kids and lights up and squeals and laughs when he sees them.
Especially when he's sleeping, we just look at John with wonder and think, "This is our son! He's our precious little son." It is a miracle that this sweet boy is ours, and we count our blessings.
Thankfully John hasn't figured out how to crawl up the stairs yet. We haven't thought of any ideas of how to block them off. But he loves to play at the bottom of the stairs. and bang things.
John is a talker. He loves to babble! His favorite things to say now are usually, "gully gully; gilly gilly; golly golly; aaah aaaah; dada; mama; baba; giggle giggle; liggle liggle."
John has had his second hair cut! I just had to trim it around his ears because it was really growing long over them. He has such cute ears.
John loves paper. One time I let him get into the recycling box for a good time, and he loved it! He flapped that paper around like he had grown wings. He was pretty good at crawling with it too. I let him play with the paper until I saw that there was ink all around his mouth...probably not the best thing to eat. He wasn't very happy when I put it away.
John went swimming for the first time this month. He has always loved baths, so I assumed he would like the pool. He did! He didn't splash a lot, but he kicked a little and would feel the water. He liked to pat the water, almost like he was petting it.
We also got this baby pool, and John got to swim around a little while we washed the car. He really liked it! We want John to be a strong swimmer, so I'm glad he's liking it early!
John has 6 teeth now! He's got 4 on the top and 2 on the bottom. He doesn't like to show his top teeth, but from the right angle you can see all of them. You definitely have to be careful not to stick your fingers between these chompers!
This month has been full of milestones for John. I don't even know if I remembered them all, but we have loved watching him learn and grow. He is doing so well. He is sleeping really well now; I think for now we have gotten into a rhythm that is really working. He goes to bed at 7pm and usually sleeps until 6am. He takes about 3 naps a day, and goes down pretty well. He nurses 5 times a day, and eats baby food 3 times a day. Things go really well when we have a routine going. He thrives on it. People often exclaim that he is the happiest, easiest baby they've ever seen. I think the work we've been putting in with John help him sleep and eat and use the potty has really payed off. But I also know that John is a very special spirit. He is so content and sweet, and every day, we thank the Lord for sending us this precious soul to care for. He is a joy in our life, and we love being his parents!
.jpg)
