We Love the Omaha Zoo

Today Jameson turned four-months-old, so we took him to the Omaha Zoo! Okay, so that wasn't why, but we took him to the zoo and he turned four-months-old. The Omaha Zoo is seriously the best zoo I have ever been to. When I was little, my mom and sister and I drove from Colorado through Nebraska just so we could go to the zoo there. They have a lot of really cool exhibits like an indoor rainforest place and an aquarium and a desert dome (it's exactly what it sounds like). So we took Jameson to his first zoo ever and we got a lot of good pictures. We were there for a little over 5 hours and he did great! He would alternate napping and being awake to look at the animals, and even though I think he was mostly just looking around, he did enjoy himself and didn't really cry the entire time! We saw giraffes, zebras, rhinos, a lion, tiger, monkeys, a sloth, sharks, jellyfish, snakes for Dan, bears, and a cougar (the sound it made was actually really similar to the sound they play at BYU games). Even though it was pretty hot and our feet were all sore by the end of the day, we had a lot of fun.

Let Freedom Ring

Happy Fourth of July! Not only is today my day's 72nd birthday (happy birthday, Daddy!), but it was also Jameson's first Fourth of July!

Even though this wasn't our first fourth away from Provo, I still miss how much fun Provo is on the night of the third and on the fourth. Our second date was actually on the third of July four years ago, and Dan and I rode around in scooter gangs and walked up and down University all night. I don't think the date ended until like three or four a.m. It was so fun and I knew he was going to be special :)

Colorado Family Pictures

A few weekends ago we took a (not so little) drive to Colorado to visit my family! Becca was home, too, so my mom wanted to do family pictures. We've never done formal family pictures before (unless you count going to Sears when we were really little one year), so it was pretty exciting. We just got them back a few days ago, and they are GORGEOUS! Thanks to Jessica Carney Wedding Photography for making our family look so good. Becca and I worked hard to pick the perfect colors and I think we pulled it off. We all went up to Waterton Canyon in the evening and everything was just perfect. They turned out amazing! Here are my favorites, and yes, there are a lot of them!

True Happiness is Being a Mother

When I was in high school I was not one of those girls who wanted to go to college and find a husband. That was the last thing on my mind. After a series of events, I ended up at BYU a year after graduating from high school. I still wasn't one of those girls who wanted to find a husband and immediately start a family. Even when I met Dan, I wasn't looking to get married right away. But we fell in love and I knew without a doubt (pretty early on) that he was the one I wanted to spend the rest of my life with. We were married ten months after we met, and I thought I couldn't be happier. When Jameson was born three years later, I again thought I couldn't be happier. I am sure every mother would agree, but being a mom really is the best thing that I have ever done. When I go into Jameson's room in the morning after he wakes up and he hears my voice and smiles, when he stops crying as soon as I pick him up, when he finally laughs out loud for me after doing it for Dan for a few weeks, those are the special times that I know he loves me and that I have made the right decision in getting married and having a baby earlier than most people. Family is the most important thing in the world, and it is so special to know that we can be together forever. I am such a different person because I am a mother than I was even a year or two ago. Dan and Jameson are my world and I would do anything for them. I know I will feel the same about our future children, but those special moments when I hold Jameson close and he really looks at me and smiles are moments that I would not trade for anything in this world. There is nothing like being a mother.

Has it really been 3 months!?

Guess who is three-months-old! I can't believe our little man is growing so fast. And he had a really big month, too. He went to three new states, met his great-grandparents and uncles, went on a plane for the first time, was blessed by his daddy, and does a lot of cool new things. Here is a little update about our little man:

• He can officially hold up his head now! It's a big relief because we don't have to worry about it flopping around or anything. I think that it happened in perfect timing for his blessing since he was passed around a ton. 
• He also is crazy drooly right now. He usually is only drooly when he's happy, and sometimes he has to wear a bib because he'll soak his little onesies. 
• He also now makes an "oh" noise, and can also blow bubbles with his lips. He gets really happy when he does this.
• Just in the last few days I realized that he will grab onto toys if I put them in front of him, and then he brings them to his mouth. He's already gotten better at it since now that I know he can do it I've been having him practice a lot.
• He doesn't like tummy time a lot. He can lift his head up, but he gets frustrated after like 45 seconds of being on his tummy. So we have to do that in short bursts.
• He looooves eating his hands. If we don't play with him, he'll put his hands in his mouth and just suck and suck. It's super funny because his hands get pretty wet.
• His hair is getting pretty long, especially on top. It's just so blonde that it doesn't look like he has any hair. He does have a bald spot on the back right side of his head. Silly boy.
• He had his first laugh this month (courtesy of Dan), and now he laughs a few times every day. It's not like a bunch of giggles in a row, but when he does it's like a single laugh. It's really cute though.
• He also is really really active. If we aren't holding him he moves non-stop. Which makes taking pictures of him really hard. Almost all the pictures I take of him he has a blurry foot or arm or something. I think he's going to be an early crawler!
• He is a smiler! He is generally a really happy baby, so he smiles a lot. It's really fun spending my days with him because when he smiles it makes me smile.

Well I can't think of anything I haven't already said, so I will just do a picture dump now.

 

Here is how he looks compared to his one- and two-month old pictures:

Also, we got a new car! It's for me, so I call it my mom car. I named her Narcissa, and she's AMAZING and has a ton of fancy features (sunroof, seat-warmers, DVD player). It has three rows so we can pretty much keep it forever. Hooray!!

 

Jameson's First Trip and Baby Blessing

This weekend we took Jameson to Idaho for his baby blessing at church. It was his first trip, and he visited four different states! We had a really good time, and he did AMAZING on all four plane rides. He fell asleep on takeoff for all the flights and landing for half of them. While we were in the air he was really happy and made friends with all of the people around us. When we would land people would tell us they didn't even know there was a baby on the plane! It was a huge relief because I was super nervous the night before we left that he was going to cry the whole time and I couldn't really sleep. It turns out I had nothing to worry about!

On the plane! I had a hard time getting a picture because he was so wiggly!!

At the airport in Salt Lake City. Ready to go!

When we were in Idaho he got to meet both of his uncles, his future aunt, and both sets of his great-grandparents. Plus three great-uncles and great-aunts and a bunch of their kids (second cousins?). He was passed around like crazy and was actually pretty happy and fun with everyone.

Great-Grandma and Great-Grandpa Johnson

Great-Grandpa Jolley

Great-Grandma Jolley

On Sunday Dan blessed Jameson in his dad's ward. It was perfect and I pretty much cried the entire morning and during the blessing. It was such a special moment to have Dan bless him. He did amazing and I am so grateful to have a husband who holds the Priesthood. We had lots of friends and family come and it was so sweet. It melted my little heart to see how many people came just for him. He has so many people who love him already!

The family!

The Allreds

Dan's mom

Four generations of first-born Johnson boys

Bill and Morgan came to see Jameson!

While we were in Idaho we also went and walked over by the falls and got to go up to the temple. We tried to recreate a wedding picture in front of the Idaho Falls Temple since we got married there, but it didn't really work so I won't show you the original. The pictures turned out pretty cute, though!

So not only was this trip Jameson's first time out of state and on a plane, but we also stayed in a hotel last night because our flight left from Salt Lake really early. So it was Jameson's first night in a hotel!

It was such a great weekend! Thank you to everyone who came to support our little family. We love you and our perfect little boy!!