Potty Talk by WBB - 4 years old

"Restroom?  A potty isn't called a restroom, that is so crazy!  Why would you call the potty a restroom when there isn't even a place in there to take a nap?" - WBB

HAPPY EASTER 2011

Uncle Roo is in the house!

Uncle Ryan or "Roo" as we like to call him, came to town to meet baby Adeline last weekend.  He was suppose to land around 4:30pm on Saturday, but due to extreme weather conditions in VA his plane was diverted to Allen Town, PA.  We thought it might be a close call, but he made it to our house on Saturday night around midnight.  We were ready and waiting to welcome him.  After all, we were wide awake with the star of the show - Miss Adeline.

No one was more fired up to see Ryan than William.  He had been counting down the days just waiting for Uncle Ryan.  William wasted no time at all and proudly showed off all the airplanes and his incredibly impressive Ipad airplane game skills.  

Ryan, Dan and William were able to squeeze in a Washington Nationals game at the ol' ball park too.  This was loads of fun for everyone and William's first time at a real baseball game.  He even took his mit in case any pop flies came their way.  The ball park has a great playground area for kids, so Dan and Ryan let William race down the slides and even bought him a ball cap.  

Tuesday arrived too soon and it was time to send Ryan back to OKC.  William was terribly sad to see Ryan leave (even though right before the send off he fell asleep and missed the whole thing), but I assured him that we'd get to see him again this summer.  William asked if we could make a paper chain to count down the days......such a sweet little fellow.

Thank you SO MUCH ROO!  It meant the world to me that you were so excited to come meet Adeline.  I am lucky to have such an awesome brother and William and Adeline are blessed to have such a rockstar Uncle.  We love ya!

- I am still trying to find the ONE picture I took of Ryan holding Adeline.....it must be on my other camera chip.

Adeline is ONE MONTH old!

My little lady is one month old!  I can't believe it.  I feel like she was born yesterday.....time marches on way too fast!  If only I could bottle up every ounce of her scrumptious, chubby body and just live in this moment forever.  

Adeline is a wonderful baby.  From day one, she's put herself on a schedule and I will say that it suits her mommy just fine!  She has never confused day and night, she eats 3.5 ounces of formula about every 3-4 hours, and poops about every 5 days (just had to throw that in for the sake of journaling).  If it's about time to eat when she wakes up from her naps, she will scream until the bottle hits her lips.  My girl loves to eat!  It takes us awhile to burp her too.  She is also a spitter upper which William was not.  So, we try our best to get as many burps as we can before laying her down flat on her back or moving her around too much.  Her pretty black hair is still as full as the day she was born and so far, her eyes have remained blue.  I have noticed a little bit of baby acne on the left side of her face, but the doctor says it will clear up over time.  I don't know her exact weight, but at 2 weeks old she was a little over 8 lbs.  I would guess she's close to 9.5 lbs now.

 

Adeline loves to lay horizontal across my torso with her head resting on my left arm.  She'll lay this way for hours. Sometimes she'll fall asleep and other times she'll just lay that way with her eyes wide open - just starring at me.  More often than not, she will also put her left hand at the base of my neck while she lays across me.  It's her signature move.  If I am wearing a necklace, she'll hold onto it.  If she wants to lay on my chest, she'll curl up in a ball with her bottom sticking out.  It's just so amazing how small she is (yet so big too!) and her bottom fits perfectly in my hand! 

Adeline LOVES William and he is equally smitten with his sister.  Her eyes follow his voice until she can clearly see him.  She is very content sitting in his lap and she'll fall asleep while he's holding her.  The first thing William does every morning is find Adeline and tell her "good morning baby sister!" He gives her endless kisses and holds her bottle for me during feedings.  He is also in charge of the pacifier and will tell you so.  

I am so thankful that he adores Adeline the way I always hoped he would.  Just the other day I glanced into the living room to check on Adeline and I saw William bending over her and giving her Eskimo kisses.  Then I heard him say in his very gentle voice, "Baby Adeline, you are my very best friend."  This mommy's heart is complete.

"All the goodness in my life..."

 William: "Mom Mom, one more thing.  We forgot to say our prayers.  I will go first.  Dear God and Baby Jesus, Thank you for all the goodness in my life.  Thank you for my airplanes, my race cars, my baby sister named Adeline, Mom Mom, Uncle Ryan and Dada.  I love everything.  Amen."

Aunt Rachie's in the house!

My very awesome sister, Rachel, came to town last weekend so she could officially meet Adeline and play with William.  You might recognize her as the eyelash model for Bobbi Brown cosmetics on the QVC.  But we know her as our very own "Aunt Rachie!"

We were all thrilled to see her and spend time together, but I think William is her biggest fan! Just look at the picture above! He just had to know where she was every second and his favorite part of her visit was "having slumber parties at the hotel in Shirlington."  Rachie always knows how to party!

And being the rock star aunt that she is, Rachie did not disappoint in the gift department.  She brought the kids Easter gifts galore!  Adeline got a precious gown with her name and a bunny on it, a very soft lamb throw pillow mat so she can lounge in style on the floor and a pair of purple bunny ears.  William scored a cute frog puzzle and a pair of green bunny ears.  THANK YOU RACHIE!

I don't think Rachel stopped moving the entire time she was in town.  If she wasn't holding Adeline, William would have her all to himself.  Together they baked a colossal cupcake, went for a skutt bike ride, flew a million airplanes, read books, did puzzles, ate pizza and discussed life through the eyes of a 4 year old.  Just having her in town was a special treat!  You better believe that Dan and I thought long and hard about convincing her to stay!  

 I was SO THANKFUL to have her help and spend a long weekend with my sister and my mom.  We had fun with the kiddos, but we also had a GREAT time just the 3 of us.  We shopped and went out to eat while Dan stayed home with William and Adeline.   It was a wonderful way to spend time with just the Johnston girls! 

We love you Rachie!  Thanks for taking time off from your busy work schedule to come meet little Adeline and party with William.  You are simply THE BEST!

My girl in pictures - 0-3 weeks old

Bonded forever.

Adeline was born on a Monday morning at Inova Alexandria Hospital in Alexandria, Virginia.  During the winter months, the hospital placed restrictions on visitors to the maternity ward.  This was because they had experienced several whooping cough and RSV outbreaks among their patients.  However, by the powers that be, the ban was lifted only two days before my c-section. 

This meant that William had the opportunity to come to the hospital and meet his baby sister.

I mulled this idea over for days.  Part of me wanted him to come to the hospital the day she arrived so he could be a part of the excitement and finally meet the little person we'd been talking about for SO LONG!  Then, the other half of me was nervous to have him come by and see me with an IV in my arm, sitting in the hospital bed and not able to get up and hug him.  It was also VERY IMPORTANT to me that if and when he did come to the hospital, I would be in a good state of mind and not loopy or in a fog from the medication.  I wanted to REMEMBER THE MOMENT he was going to meet Adeline so badly that I really wanted to make sure I was "with it."

As it turned out, I was in a great state of mind (thanks to the meds!) and Dan and I decided we'd let him come meet Adeline on Monday night.  So, Pops and Bebe took him to the cafeteria for dinner and when he entered our room, Dan had the video camera rolling.

I have NEVER EVER seen a smile so bright on my little boy's face as I did on Monday, March 21st.  He was SO THRILLED to meet Adeline.  He walked up to her and softly kissed her cheeks. He bent over and whispered in a small voice, "hi!  I am William, your big brother.  You are sooooooo cuuuuuuute!"  He wanted to hold her immediately, so he climbed up in my bed and I handed him his baby sister.  He was SO PROUD and his smile is emblazoned in my memory forever.  He stroked her hands, kissed her head, told her "don't cry.  It's ok!" in the softest, most gentle voice.  He wouldn't put her down.  

Love at first sight.  A bond like no other.

I am so happy Dan got it all on video.  I can't wait to show it to William and Adeline when they are older.  I hope that they will see their unspoken affection for each other and the instant connection that links their souls. Sibling are irreplaceable.  A bond that can't be broken.  A love that is never ending.  

P.S.  William did ask me about the IV in my arm.  I told him it was just like the fuel tank that brings gas to the airplanes and gives them fuel to fly, only mom mom's was water to keep me full of energy.  He shrugged his shoulders and was over it pretty quick.