Take A Guess When Baby #2 Comes!

Finally...An Update!

Finally...a quick update. We weren't sure anybody read this blog, but a friend of Cricky's e-mail him the other day and said that he had been keeping up with our blog. Just a lot of getting ready these days as we prepare for baby #2 to come next month. Grace is wonderfully delicious as she is learning sooooo much these days. She says more words then we can count, and signs more words then we can count. Here is a picture below of her being cute with here flowing pipe curls. Here hair does grow down, but into itself as Jenn's did.

Chris continues to work at Klingberg, it's been five years this June. He's also gearing up for Seminary this Fall, but still has to submit all his forms and things as his mind is pre-occupied with either preaching, being the provider, Karate, or getting ready for our number of kids to double.

We did get some R&R, just the two of us, for an overnight on our anniversary as we went up to Lake George as seen in the photo below.

Then Chris fell into a dryer and shrunk.

We thought we'd also share with you how Grace wakes up in the morning. This is her sleepy face while watching "Toman" her word for "Tomato" which is actually her way of asking to watch the TV Show Veggie Tales. Which she is obsessed with.

Lastly...we're having a home birth. (Giving Birth at Home). Our midwife, Joni, comes to our house every two weeks and checks Jenn out. Grace helped at our last appointment.

We're very excited to forgo the hospital experience this time and bring baby #2 into this world in the comforts our home.

Cricky's Sister had her little one a month ago. Joseph Aidan Juliano (called Aidan). Maybe one day the whole lot of us will make it to California to visit them.



We're forgetting a ton of stuff. Oh well....Hope all is well.

Seminary!!

Just as an FYI, Chris got accepted into Bethel Seminary of the East and will be starting there in the Fall. Chris will be travel to Worcester, MA every Thursday evenings. Exciting and challenging times for the Johnson's ahead. New baby in August, Seminary...the fun never ends. Pray for us as we enter into this new season of our lives.

Free Ergo Baby Carrier! The best carrier around!

Win a Free Ergo Baby Carrier from Along for the Ride

Like Mother, Like Daughter

Happy Easter

Crazy Grace

Not sure if it's been mentioned....

I know we splashed it on Facebook....but, yeah...

WE'RE GOING TO HAVE ANOTHER BABY!!

August 18th.

Almost 17 weeks!

WOO HOO!

Grace....Our Little Story Teller!

We can now post pictures with like two clicks!

We just moved back to blogger!!

Rather than trying to import all the posts from our Wordpress blog back into blogger...I'm just going to post the link to our old blog on Wordpress. If you want to read what we've been up too (even though the info is sparse) then Click here to find out.

More Pictures- Yay!

Hey guys! Just wanted to let you all know that there are new pictures on my flickr account. Go here to see them : http://www.flickr.com/photos/gracejohnson/

Grace is 12 weeks old today! She's been laughing and smiling a lot more recently, and as you can see from some of the pictures, she's discovered her hands! She's so much fun right now- so alert and happy to see us when she wakes up from naps. She watches us as we move around the room, and smiles when she catches our eye. How adorable.

We're still working on the first floor apartment, getting it ready to rent. We're still looking for a tenant, so that is a definite prayer concern right now. The sooner we can find someone to move in the better. Chris is down to working at Target about once a week, and I am now looking to possibly nanny 2 or 3 days a week. I haven't found a family yet, as I only started looking yesterday.

Hope you're all doing well in this new year!
-Jenn

Finally! New Pictures!

Hey guys! I know that some of you have anxiously been waiting for new pictures of Grace. Well, here you go. I put together a flickr page for you to see pictures of Grace. She's 10 weeks old now, and these pictures are from her first 7 weeks (or thereabouts). I"ll post more in a couple days when I get the pictures off the other computer.

We had a great Christmas and New Years. Hope you all had a blessed time as well. We spent lots of time with Family and wish we could have spent more time with friends, but we'll have more time now that the holidays are over. It was so much fun to have Grace this year. Of course she didn't know what presents were, or anything else, but we had fun anyway. She's such a joy to have.

Grace will be 10 weeks old on Tuesday, and she is so smiley and responsive. She loves to "talk" to us and smile and watch us walk around. She loves her swing, bouncy seat and play mat on the floor. She got a new mobile for her crib from her Oma (German for Grandma) and she gets very excited when I wind it up for her. I never stop taking pictures, and that's part of the problem when it comes to posting them. It takes me forever to go through them and pick the best of them to post for you guys!

I took her for her 2 month well baby visit this past Tuesday. For anyone who's interested, she's 12 lb 2 oz (90th percentile for weight) and 23 inches long (50th percentile for height). The doctor says she's doing great, and just to keep up with what we're doing. Which basically means nursing, sleeping and playing. :)

Love you all, and hope you have a blessed year.

Here's the link for new pictures:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/gracejohnson/

Enjoy!

7 weeks of Grace

Well guys, it's been 7 weeks since Grace was born, and we've been quite busy bonding! We are having such a great time with our little Pumpkin. She's so much fun! She is so smiley and fun! Just the other day I got her to (almost) laugh. I even got it on video! I've been taking tons of pictures too, and hopefully by next week I'll have a link posted for you all to see more pictures. Everyone is asking, and I will try my best to get some new pics up for you. It probably won't be until after Christmas though.
What else is new....
Well, Chris is working at Target as a second job at the moment. That makes it especially busy for us. We're trying to work on our first floor apartment, too. We're hoping to find a new tenant soon. If you want to help us paint... ;)
Grace is growing so quickly! She weighed 10lb 14oz when I took her to the doctor 2 weeks ago. She's probably close to 12 lbs now though. She's getting long too. I take her to the doc again on January 2nd for her 2 month well baby visit. We'll find out how big she is then.
Well, I hope you all have a wonderful, blessed Christmas. We have a lot to be thankful for this year, and we are enjoying this time. Merry Christmas.

Two Weeks of Grace

Hey there!

Grace is Two Weeks Old today. We've been busy settling in as a family. And she's been doing great! Eating like a champ, sleeping about 4-6 hours a night. We've had many visitors, and people who have been very graciously making us dinner. Grace is certainly being cared for by many. Here is a link to some pictures from the last two weeks. I say some, because we've been snapping away a some 500 pictures so far. It's a good thing we got that digital SLR because we would have been bankrupt with all the pictures we've taken. Here is the link...



http://www.crickynjenny.com/TwoWeeks.html



Enjoy!

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Welcome Baby Pumpkin - Grace Leila Johnson

Hello Everyone. We are so thrilled to announce the arrival of wonderful, beautiful daughter, Grace. She was born Tuesday, October 31 at 5:59PM. She was 8 lbs 13 oz and 20" long. We're both quite in love with this very healthy little one.

See lots more pictures here: http://web.mac.com/skandij/iWeb/Critter/Grace.html

We're Ready!!!

Well...Baby Pumpkin is due on Tuesday and we're ready for this baby to come. The nursery and the house are ready. We're both ready to be parents, and we're ready for this phase to be behind us. Jenny is tired, but in good spirits and really relaxed. Pray that everything goes well.

Cricky surprised Jenny with a mother/ early Christmas gift (for the both of us)...a new Nikon Digital SLR. Cricky figured that with all the pictures Jenny is gonna wanna take of Baby Pumpkin...we'd spend more in film in a few months rather than what it would cost for the whole camera. :) So, expect some cool pictures of Baby Pumpkin when he/she arrives. Here are some pics we tookWe're soooo ready!! Tuesday is D-Day for Baby Pumpkin. Our nursery is ready...we're ready to be parents. Jenny is tired, but in very good spirits...while Cricky tries to remain calm in anticipation of fatherhood. Our schedule is light these days, no big plans...except awaiting the arrival of Baby Pumpkin. Cricky bought Jenny her mother gift (as well as Christmas gift for the today of our outing to Lyman Orchards in Middlefield. We thought it would be fitting to take some pictures before Baby Pumpkin arrives. Enjoy!

This is our nephew Brandon, kissing his soon to be new baby cousin.

It's Jenn!

Hey guys! Jenn here. This is my first time updating this thing, but I figured since Chris is busy working and I had my last day of work on Friday, it's my turn to start updating. I will try and be diligent, but we'll see how that goes!

I am 34 weeks along today, only 6 more to go! The time is going to fly by I'm sure. Chris and I have been busy getting ready for this baby! Chris has just about finished painting the nursery, and I have been busy buying and washing cloth diapers, cleaning the house (AKA "nesting"), and just getting the house ready in general. We'll be setting up the nursery in the next couple of weeks (sooner if I have anything to do with it!).

A couple weeks ago I took a few days off (I had unused vacation days) and we went away to a friend's (Cliff) family's cabin on a lake in MA. It was an incredibly relaxing couple of days. We spent a lot of time canoeing, Chris went fishing, and I spent lots of time reading and sitting/lying by the lake. What a refreshing time! We figured that would be our last chance to get away without a baby in tow for quite a while. We also decided on names for the baby while we were there. But... you'll have to wait to find out when the baby is born. hehe :)

Chris went back to work last week and his students started on Thursday. He's settling in there, but is open to a career change should the opportunity arise. For now though, we're mostly focusing on the baby and getting through the next 6 weeks!

I don't know how to add pictures on here yet, that's something Chris will have to show me. So for now you'll just have to imagine how big my belly is, what the nursery looks like, and what we've been up to lately! hehe... don't worry, I'm not that big!

-Jenn

THE NEW HOUSE...and 28 Weeks!

Well Gang...

It's been a while since our last post, but...we've moved and we're slowly getting settled it.

Jenny is now into her third trimester. She's feeling great despite the move and the heat.

Moving day went fantastic. What a blessing???!!!?! At one point during the move, 21 people were at the house helping get things done. They were all treated by my sister Sandi with great pizza. She lives in California, so...it was her way of contributing to our moving day. We were done by 3:30 with all the heavy moving.

That Monday...Cricky started painting the living room before we set out to get a new couch. With much needed help from his Dad, and his brother Geoff. The room is now a wonderful Sky Blue. Don't worry...Jenny didn't help in the slightest as to put the baby in the paint fumes. Cricky cleared his latex lungs and set out with Jenny to look for a new couch.

After searching high an low for just the right couch, they came across a great deal on a sectional queen sized sleeper, with a fleece like pale green apolstry. We took one look and we knew we would have a problem getting it into the house. We thought!

Most of last week, Cricky and Jenny help with Vacation Bible Camp at church. We taught the youth...and we got a lot of compliments on having a wonderfully decorated room. The theme for the week was The Artic, so...we crickled up tons of huge sheets of white paper, and decked the room out as an ice cave with black lights and dry ice. The kids loved it. Lots of work last week...but, it came off well.

The couch came Thursday...They managed to squeeze the small part (thankfully the sleeper) into our living room. (So much for it looking like it will fit...rule of thumb, always measure). So, we told the movers to leave the other section on our porch. We knew there had to be a way to get that couch in the house. Joshuaand Geoff came over that afternoon...and we tried the back stairwell...and it was a no go.

So, that Saturday...after Cricky's good buddy Cliff tied the knot to become Cliffy -N- Michelle, we had a ton of guests over from Cricky's alma matter Nyack College...the 5 guys decided to get this sucker in the house. After about 4 hours, through the kitchen window, and much engineering...the couch finally got into the living room. What a blessing. WE HAVE A COUCH.

Thank you guys!

So, things will slow down a bit for us. Cricky finishes summer school this week. Jenny will get a few more vacation days before she's done
with work at the end of August. We should have the nursery done why September. Thanks for all of you who help to make our home and cozy one.

Hello Friends and Family,

As many of you know…we are finally moving from New Britain to Meriden on Saturday July 15^th. We are looking for as many helpers as possible to get the bulk of the move done in one day. I know many of you already live around the Meriden area, but we’re looking for as many people to spend the day loading in New Britain as well as unloading in Meriden. So here is the deal…

9am -1pm we will be loading up in New Britain. LUNCH IS PROVIDED (PIZZA PIZZA PIZZA). COLD DRINKS PROVIDED ALL DAY. I’ve rented a U-Haul for us to fill.

Then we need as many who are able, to follow the U-Haul to Meriden.

2pm-6pm we will be unloading. DINNER IS PROVIDED FOR THOSE WHO STICK AROUND UNTIL THE END! J

Please post a comment and let me know a) if you’re coming and b) if you’re unloading or loading or both!!

These times are approximate as it may be quicker or slower depending on the number of people who show up. The more the merrier!! J

Thank you ALL for your help in advance. God Bless.

Cricky -N- Jenny

The Goodness of God!

Well...it's been a while since our last post, but...we've been busy. First off...WE OWN A HOUSE. We closed last Friday morning, and we move in July 15th. (We need helpers) It's so wonderful knowing we now own our own home. Cricky was busy finishing up school with loads of end of the year stuff. He'd post some of all the end of the year award ceremony slide shows and stuff he worked hard on, but confidentiality forbids him from sharing photos of his students. Jenn is now 24 Weeks. Check out how big her belly is. We also celebrated our second aniversary in the Berkshires with a fancy room and Jenn got pampered the next day with a massage. Now, it busyness with packing and getting ourselves ready to move outta of this apartment, and enjoy our new home. We also had another appointment yesterday with the mid-wife and everything is going great. Due Date is still October 17th. And no, they're not twins in there. Our Ultra-Sound showed everything to be normal, and the baby is right on target for weight and size. Check out the video of our ultra-sound. Isn't that freakin cool?

20 Weeks!

So, we hit the half way point this week. Baby got it's first pictures. Jenny is getting big as you can see in the picture to the right. We can't imagine what she'll be like when she gets to be full term. She's doing well though, sleep is a bit rough, but otherwise feeling fine. Here are a few pictures below from our busy Memorial Day weekend. We had bible study with Musicon on Friday night, Saturday we packed some, and set aside some stuff for the tag sale this Sat. (pray it doesn't rain), then we got to see our Nephew Matthew who is in town from California visting this week. Sunday, Matthew got Baptized and Cricky become a Godfather. Woo Hoo! :) A brunch afterwards in New Haven, then we went a did some shopping and Baby's R Us registry stuff for the first time. Monday, We planted flowers and veggies at the new house. Closing should be happening soon, next week we hope. Moving by the end of the month, again...we hope!! Monday afternoon, we had a picnic at Cricky's Dad's house, and then we went to another picnic at our Pastor's House. That is Debbie, our Pastor's wife, below with her granddaughter Haley. This is also Jenny with Heidi. Heidi is due in like 10 tens. She is so ready to pop!! This weekend we're really praying it doesn't rain as we have a ton of stuff we were hoping to get rid of in prepartion for our move. Please God, no rain!!

Baby Pumpkin's First Picture!

At last, first pictures of Baby Pumpkin. No, we didn't find out if Baby is a boy or a girl. But, Baby Pumpkin is healthy, with a good strong heart beat, and is growing well. No twins in there. he he. We're thinking Baby has a Parker nose, but it's still too soon to tell. The technician couldn't get a good shot of the face as Baby was moving around a lot when we first started, but quickly moved away and hid with it's back towards us and remained in this profile position as well. I guess our baby is shy! The technician needed to get a good measurement of the heart, but couldn't so we'll have to come back for another ultra-sound. We were nervous the whole time that the technician would give away the gender, but...she was great. Cricky thought he saw a between the legs shot, but the umbilical cord was in the way. So, that was nice of Baby not to give the surprise away! :) Anyhow...we were very excited. Jenny cried, and Cricky just stood there with his mouth open the whole time watching everything in amazement. :)

Cricky's First Striped Bass

Great time on Saturday when Cricky went out with Rob -N- Robyn, her Dad, and Jenny's Dad for some deep sea fishin. Cricky pulled in his first Striped Bass ever, and man was he tired. What a fight. Each fish weight 20-25 pounds. What a beautiful day, and what fun!! :) Jenny's been pretty sick the last couple of days, so pray for her as she can't take much of anything while she's pregnant to help with the symptoms. At least this week is going to be sunny with very little chance of rain.

We're Moving!! Part 2

This is a picture of the house we're buying, for real this time. Yes siree. We're in the midst of mortgage stuff. Should be closed on this house buy this time next month. We can't wait. It's a two family. The first floor is already rented out. We're going to moving into the second and third floor. Pray that Rob -N- Robyn's new house (we're buying from them) in Middletown we'll be finished real soon. We can't move until they move out. We're very excited! :)

17 Weeks

So...we're at 17 Weeks now. And well...Baby Pumpkin is moving. Yes, Jenny felt the baby move for the first time this past week. A lot more in the last couple of days. Cricky actually got to feel the baby move for the first time a two days ago. A couple of swift tiny little jabs. Cricky almost cried! :) You may be wondering about the Matzo Ball box in the photo. Well...it's not that we think Baby Pumpkin is Jewish, it's just that we pillaged our pantry trying to find something that was of the relatively the same weight and length of the baby right now. And well...that was it. A matzo ball box!! he he One of these days, Cricky will actually make matzo ball soup out of that box . Insidently, the length of the baby, as compared to the matzo ball box, is more or less from head to toe, not crown to rump as it's traditionally measured. So, that length would be if our baby was standing. It also weighs about 5 oz right now.

In other news, Jenny and I got off a busy weekend this past weekend as we had a wedding on Saturday afternoon. Congrats to Patrick -N- Nicole!! :) It was a wonderful wedding and many aspects of it reminded us of our own wedding. So, it was a nice trip down memory lane for us. (Two years next month...can you believe it?) So, that's how we spent most of Saturday, plus Small Group on Saturday night with our friends from church. That was a fun evening of chillin. Then on Sunday we had Ben -N- Jen's baby shower (Jenny's Brother and Sister In-Law). It was held at their church in Attleboro, MA and they got a stinkin lot of baby stuff. She's due next month. (Look at that pile of loot. ) In other news, mortgage stuff is well on its way, and we hope to close in a month. I keep forgetting to get a picture of our new house up on the site. Since we're buying Jenny's brother's house...we don't think to take a picture of it as we see it all the time, but we forgot that not everyone has seen Rob -N- Robyn's (almost) old house. So, the busyness will continue. Pray for all that's going on. Cricky is in the midst of a job hunt, and hopes to be settled into a new and more well paying job by July. Lots of change...all good change though. :)

16 Weeks!

Hey there...there is the 16 Week picture as promised! Jenny is feeling fine. We won't have our ultra-sound until May 30th, later then we thought. Our next appointment is in a few weeks. So, it's going to be a long month waiting for those first Baby Pumpkin pictures. Click Here. To see how much Jenny's belly has been growing. Meanwhile, house stuff is on it's way. We'll have to take a picture of the house we're buying in Meriden. We're in the midst of the mortgage process and hope to close in about a month. We're going to be moving in around the beginning of July. We'll keep you updated.

California and Stuff

Well...we got back from California okay...too short of a visit...wish we didn't have to leave our Nephew Matthew so early...he's wicked cute. Here's a few pictures from his website.

Check out the random Geeselings (below) at the park. They were cute. The flight back from California was pretty rough, and tiring, we took a red eye on Sunday night, and then got back very early on Monday morning. The both of us recovered from that flight for a week. Then we headed to Musicon this past weekend. It was the last weekend of Musicon this season and in it's present format, as Musicon will no longer be putting on full length musicals to be touring with. It was also the end of Joe Lamboghini and the show Not Forgotten. Cricky played Joe in that show over 90 times since 1994. He's going to miss the character. All in all it was a good weekend.

Jenny is now 16 weeks pregnant. The bellyshots page will be updated tonight with 2nd trimester pictures as well as a current 16 week picture. She's getting pretty big. No...no ultra-sound yet. Couple more weeks and we'll have our first pictures of Baby Pumpkin.

Time to Relax

It's time for a little relaxtion for the Johnson's as we've just finished a fairly busy week. First accomplishment is that Cricky passed both his tests for his CompTIA A+ Certification. Now he qualifies for Help Desk, PC Tech type positions. Plus, Jenny gets her husband back as he was studying like a madman. This past Friday, we headed up to Boston to spend Good Friday with Jenny's family at Jonathan -N- Rachael's church for their Stations of the Cross service which showcases orginal art depicting the 14 stations of the cross. Then Saturday Night we went to small group and had a BBQ and a little birthday celebration for Jenny. Easter Sunday we found ourselves just as busy with church in the morning, then to Cricky's Dad's house for Dinner, then to his grandparents for a visit. Monday night, we got to celebrate Jenny's birthday with her family. There she is to the right with her new Sewing Machine given to her by her wonderful husband. Just in time to make baby stuff for Baby Pumpkin. Yesterday, we hopped on a plane for Semi-Sunny California. Our flight was good, a non-stop flight via Jet Blue to see Cricky's Sister Sandi and our new Nephew Matthew. Now, he's just friggin cute. Won't it be so much cute when we have ours. October 17th. 179 More Days!! Woo Hoo! We'll be back from California on Monday. We're hoping to spend a fair amount of time outside, taking pictures, visting San Fran for the next couple of days. More pictures when we get back. We'll also update our belly shots page with our first two weeks of Trimester #2. :)