Alyssa Marie Johnston

Alyssa Marie Johnston - Such a sweet baby!



All she does is sleep - she hardly wakes to eat.



But how sweet she looks as she sleeps.



A brief waking moment caught on film.



Back to sleep again.

Bringing Alyssa Home

We checked out of the hospital Tuesday afternoon. We actually stayed in the hospital less than 24 hours from Alyssa's birth. It was a quick stay, but the boys were sure happy to have both Mom and Alyssa home.

Benjamin couldn't wait to hold his sister as soon as we walked in the door to the house.

Of course if Benjamin got to hold her Ryan had to hold her as well. He was so cute. "Me hold her, Me hold her" he kept repeating until it was his turn. He held her very nicely. It was a good thing I was sitting right next to him because when he was done holding her he was done...he pushed her right off his lap as I quickly got a hold of her so she did not go flying. After I had a hold of her Ryan stood up on the couch right next to us and decided that he wanted to wrestle with Alyssa. He laid right on top of her and wrapped his arms around her just like he does with the boys when they are wrestling on the floor. Alyssa is definately going to grow up being tough with him for a big brother. We haven't had any more of those incidents yet - knock on wood.

We didn't get a picture of Tyler at home with Alyssa so I added the picture from the hospital. I guess I did not take another picture of tyler and her because he holds her so much I always think I can grab the camera next time. I need to stop making excuses and take more pictures. Itis not uncommon for Tyler to pick up Alyssa and hold her while he is watching a movie, cartoons or just because. The other day we had to run an errand and I brought the snuggly to carry Alyssa around in since we do not have an infant carrier and Tyler actually ended up carrying her for the time that we were out and about.

Alyssa is here!

Alyssa finally decided it was time to join us. We welcomed her on Monday October 22 at 3:13 p.m. At 39 weeks she weighed in at a healthy 9# 6oz. Can you imagine how much she would have weighed had she waited one more week! She is 20 and 7/8 inches long. We were grateful to have Nana Babbel at the hospital for her birth. She was able to break away from work for a couple hours to be there. After work she drove over to Utah to be with Tia when Champ was born. What timing!

Tyler and Benjamin both out weighed Alyssa for birth weight, but Alyssa weighed more than a full pound more than Ryan. We definately grow them big in this family.

Tyler came right on up to the hospital after school. He was so excited he could hardly wait to see his new little sister. He stood by her the whole time the nurse was taking the measurements and while Alyssa had her first bath. Tyler was so intrigued by everything. Not much distracted him from the scene involving his little sister. He could not wait until the nurse was done and he could sit and hold her for a while.

Alyssa has her own look. We are not really sure who she looks more like. She is the first to have dark hair at birth. The boys all had red hair when they were born. We are so grateful to have her in our lives! It is nice having another girl in the family now. We are so grateful to Heavenly Father for the wonderful addition to our family and that everything went well and we have a happy healthy baby girl.

Ryan Turns 2 year old!

I am really late publishing this to our blog but I thought I needed to post it anyway. Ryan had his 2nd birthday on September 14. What fun we had with it.

I even made the cake this year. It was quite the adventure. I have not made a cake like this before. Ryan decided to help me about the time that most of the car was complete - he must not have liked the logo because he wiped it clean off in one good swipe of his index finger. He sure liked the taste of the frosting.

Casey and Abby bought Ryan a cars helmet, knee pads and elbow pads. He loved them! He immediately had to pull it out and put it on. Nana and Papa bought him a bike. He was sure excited about the bike as well. He hasn't quite mastered riding this one - he still prefers the pink and purple one from Aunt Mindy and Kylie. Maybe next summer he will be more in to the big boy bike.

Ryan was excited about clothes this year as well. What kid gets excited about getting clothes for a gift at this age?

I did not really understand what people would say about the terrible 2's because our first two boys did not go through those stages - or at least it wasnt too bad. I definately understand the phrase now though. Ryan fits it to the "T".

Jack-o-lantern fun

We went to Nana and Papa Babbels for a pumpkin carving party. What fun we had. Each of the pumpkins came out of their garden this year. What a great pumpkin harvest they had. Tyler being the oldest had first pick of the pumpkins and chose the largest one of course. Ryan only wanted one that he could carry all by himself.

WHAT A FACE! (The pumpkin or the little guy carrying it around!?)

Benjamin actually had fun sticking his hands into the pumpkin to pull out the "guts". He hesitated at first but once he got going he didn't mind having such a large pumpkin to clean out.

We did not post the final product unfortunately when we got them home the temperatures really dropped and they started to rot very quickly. Benjamins bat collapsed and Ryans wrinkled up. Tylers just turned black. We were not able to put candles in them to light them up for a really good picture. There is always next year.