Easter Pictures

Here are a few pictures from our Easter weekend in Benton. Julie had a lot of fun dyeing eggs, making a bunny cake with Grandma, playing Wii bowling with Papaw and hunting her eggs in the front yard. And of course the Easter treats the Easter bunny left for her were a big hit. We had a wonderful Easter weekend, even if it did rain all day Sunday. We got up early enough for a round of egg hunting before the rain started. And we're still eating candy!

Julie's 2nd Birthday Party

Julie's 2nd birthday is Tuesday, March 31st, and we celebrated with a party on Saturday afternoon. The theme this year was Little Einsteins, one of Julie's favorite cartoons. We told her a while back that she was going to have a Rocket cake for her birthday and she got so excited that anytime anyone asked her about her birthday she said "Rocket cake!". The cake itself was a lot of work and took both Ben and I working on it to get it right but it was all worth it when we saw how happy she was when she finally saw her Rocket cake. We had some family and a few friends over and it was a very fun afternoon. Julie of course was spoiled rotten, but that's what birthday parties are for! : ) She got a lot of little baby doll toys, some Little Einsteins toys, a princess dress and lots more. She had a terrific time.

Here she is anxiously awaiting the arrival of her party guests.


The cake itself.



Opening presents with Daddy.



Julie was great at blowing out her candle. I had thought she might need some coaching but I was wrong, she's a pro!


The kiddos enjoying playing with the Mrs. Potato Head (and it's 40 pieces!) that Julie got from her aunt April.


Julie loves her friend Ryland!


It was a bit cold but they had a good time playing in the back yard, even if it was only for a few minutes.


Here's Julie taking turns playing in her Elmo chair with her friend Jackson.


What good buddies!


Julie's Papaw and Grandma gave Julie a baby care center where she can bathe and feed her baby doll and put her baby doll down for a nap. She loves it!!


Thank you to each of you that came to the party and all those that blessed her with birthday gifts. She received some birthday money in the mail last week so we are planning on taking her to the store on her actual birthday Tuesday to let her pick out a little something. Let the party continue!!

We have been blessed beyond the limits of our imaginations having this little girl in our lives. She is such a joy. We are so very thankful for her and although we wish the time wouldn't go by so fast we do look forward to experiencing the rest of life with her. These past two years have been amazing and have taught us so much. We love our Julie girl!!

The BEST Daddy ever!

I have several pairs of fuzzy cuddly socks that I wear around the house when Julie and I stay in. Today I was wearing a pink pair and Julie asked for pink socks too. I went to get her some from her drawer but she insisted that she wear a pair of my fuzzy socks. So we've been wearing pink socks together all day. And when Ben got home she showed him our pink socks and said that Daddy needed some too. So he went and got a pair of my socks to wear to match us. It made Julie really happy. What a Daddy!! He's the best!!

New toy

A few weeks ago my parents came over for a visit and while they were here they gave Julie a Barbie four wheeler toy. She loves to ride on it, but hasn't quite figured out how to steer it. We are working on it. : )

Short Video

Every night we read Julie books, give her a drink of water, say prayers and put her to bed. Well, this video was taken a little while ago when I noticed that Julie was doing her bedtime routine for her baby doll. She gave the baby a bottle, put the baby in her bed, then climbed in bed with her to read her a book and then decided to say prayers with her baby. I thought it was too cute not to share. We especially like the last part in her prayer where she pauses to think if there is anything more she'd like to add before saying amen. So sweet.

Finally! A new post!

It's been forever, but here it is, a new update from the Johnsons. : ) We had a great Christmas and New Year's complete with family visits. Since then, we have gone back to visit my family a few times and my parents have come to visit us. We've also been visited by Ben's brothers and their families. Ben went out of town a couple of times so Julie and I were lucky to have my family to keep us company on those weekends while he was gone. Julie has been back at Mother's Day Out and continues to really enjoy it, as do I. : ) She also keeps us on our toes these days since she is very much into repeating everything she hears. She talks like a "big" person now, in sentences and everything, and continues to amaze us with how grown up she is, for an almost two year old. That's right, she'll be turning two at the end of next month. The time has literally flown by.
Here are a few pictures of the last couple of months.

This is Julie cheesing it up for a picture at her MDO Valentine's Day party.


She loves helping out with whatever I am doing and here she is vacuuming for me.


On one of our visits home she went for a walk around my parents land and had a really good time playing in the creek with my Dad.


Yes, we got some snow this year. Twice!


We spent an afternoon with my parents feeding the geese at Shelby Farms one weekend. I'm not sure who ate more of the bread, the geese or Julie. She would throw a piece and then say "Julie bite!" and proceed to eat the rest of the bread in her hands.


The park is always a favorite place of Julie's and here she is racing Uncle Dan down the slide.


Julie had such a good time with her cousins Claire and Ethan. She loves her family!!

New house coat!

My aunt and uncle, Doris and Larry, came up to have Christmas with us. And they gave Julie the cutest little sock monkey house slippers and a red house coat with the little monkey on the inside. Julie is so super cute in it. Thanks so much Doris and Larry! We had a great time visiting with you, and are so glad you were able to make the trip up. : )