Christmas Break 2011

Our Christmas Break was a blast this year. It started off with a road trip to California which surprisingly went really well, considering it was with a seven week old baby. Miss Savannah loved riding in the car, and when she wasn't sleeping, which was most of the time, she was starring out the window. She is one observant gal.

 The first night we got to California was hysterical, because she had been so great in the car and slept so much she just wanted to play all night. All Cory and I could do was laugh because we were so exhausted and we realized we would rather have a rough night then a rough ten hour car trip.

The next couple days were spent surrounded by loved ones and Savannah's baby blessing! I always loved watching other baby blessings but seeing your husband give your baby and first born a blessing is such a touching thing. It was so amazing and the rest of the family  who hadn't already met her was finally able to see her,we were so thankful that so many people could be there for such a special day for our family. And boy o boy did she look adorable!

The following week Cory had surgery which was not a fun adventure for him but he was still able to play video games with his brothers and cuddle with Savannah,and get some rest which he was so in need of.  So the combination made his recovery pretty good. He is one tough cookie! 


Although  I missed having my husband 100% for a few days I loved having a lot of one on one time with Savannah, she made me smile so much. About the third day we were in California she gave me the biggest smile when she was awake for the first time. She had smiled while she was asleep plenty of times before but seeing those bright eyes look right at me and smile was seriously magical. Now I just have to catch one of those smiles on camera so everyone else can fall in love. Not only did she start smiling but she started cooing all the time. It is so stinking cute, she makes a noise then looks shocked, as if she cant believe that sound came from her. She has been in a constant growth spurt for the past week and a half and I am dying for her to chunk up! Her little cheeks are staring to fill out but for the most part she just keeps getting longer.

Since we have the first grand baby on both sides we were on high demand while we were in California. Everyone wanted to see her and cuddle her, so to say the least Savannah's first Christmas was a BIG one.  We had Christmas Eve day with Cory's side of the family, Christmas Eve night with my mom and Christmas day with my dad. If only you could have seen how full our car was on the way back home.

We loved every second of our time with family in California! We wish we were closer but are looking forward to having visitors in Utah and going on a family cruise to Jamaica in June! Happy Holidays and great wishes to you all in the New Year! 

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Our life with Little Miss Savannah so far

These past couple weeks have been some of the most amazing of our life. Yes, we had some nights with little to no sleep but we have been blessed with an exceptional baby. She is so content and we love her to death. The only time she gets fussy is when she is hungry and when she has a stinky bum lol. I don't go back to work till the first week of January and although I miss my other girls, it has been a blast having this time to bond with Savannah. Anyone who knows me knows I have a passion for taking care of children but I never knew just how rewarding taking care of my own would be. The love I feel for her is so strong and honestly, I sit back everyday in awe that I am a mommy. 

Cory has been so great! He is a natural at being a dad. He handles her as if she has been around forever. There is not an ounce of hesitation in anything he does when it comes to his little girl. I will tell ya, she has him wrapped around her little finger and it is precious.  Not only is Cory in school right now but he also taking on the burden of being the only one of us working because he wanted me to have time to recover after having Savannah. Seeing him hold her and just love on her is the most beautiful thing. He is so sweet and is always willing to do whatever he can to make sure she is content. I probably take at least one picture of the two of them together daily because everyday she looks more and more like her daddy and I think it is adorable. 

Here are some things we have learned about Miss Savannah that are pretty stinking cute

1. She is not a fan of bath time! She does however love having her hair washed and brushed, she is such a girly girl already.

2. She loves to sit up  like  a big girl a cuddle with daddy.

3. She loves to sleep!

4. She HATES to be cold.....so we got to keep her nice and warm.

The first couple weeks of her life we had visitors constantly so it was a little more difficult to get a routine down but now, for the most part she is on a schedule and is doing so great with it. She eats every four hours and in between she has like an hour or two of being alert and then an hour or two of sleeping. She does so great at night now as well. She generally will sleep for a five hour stretch, then she eats and will sleep for another three or four hours. It is so nice for Cory and I because we can actually function like normal people again. SO the last five and a half weeks have been great and we are so looking forward to next week when we head to California for Christmas break and can introduce Savannah to more relatives and more family friends. 

Happy Holidays everyone!!!!!!!!

Savannah Rose Johnson 11/1/11

On Halloween morning, I woke up at 6:30am having contractions  that were about six minutes apart. Now, everyone knows we were anxious to have our baby girl, but we did not want to have her on halloween lol. Due to the discomfort I was in, we decided to take a trip to labor and delivery to get checked out and they informed us that we were indeed in labor but that my contractions were not strong enough to help me progress so they sent us home. When they sent us away, they sent us with the recommendation to "stay as active as possible so the contractions would lead to something".  Being the impatient woman I am, when we got home, and not a second later, I  started bouncing on our yoga ball.

I bounced and bounced for a good three hours. By 5pm the pain was awful and I could not help but be very vocal about it,our poor poor neighbors.

 I probably looked like this. 

Cory looked like this.

JK!

 The fear we had of being sent home again kept us pretty tough and we decided to still stick it out as long as possible. That evening around 7:30pm we joined Corys' dad, brother and his brothers girlfriend for dinner at Applebee's, I could not let Cory miss out on dinner with his family lol,to say the least, I think everyone was very entertained. During every contraction at the restaurant I squeezed Corys' hand so hard that even mine turned purple. We made it through dinner and I was very impressed with myself but the "strong" Mia routine only lasted till we got home. Within 30 minutes of being home I was telling Cory we had to go back to the hospital! He of course was concerned we would be turned away but I assured him if they tried I would pull a "John Q", just joking of course ;). When we got to the hospital I was only at 3cm, so I was scared to death they were going to send me home, but thankfully we had an amazing nurse who could tell I was miserable. She suggested to the Dr that they watch me for two hours before deciding if I stay or leave. During this time, Cory could not have been more supportive. During every contraction he would get up and comfort me in one way or another and honestly it made me even more thankful for him. He is the most amazing husband, best friend and now father.  After two hours of awful pain and stressing out I was at 5cm so they admitted me :). Then the very second they could, they gave me an epidural and I could have floated on a cloud, I have so much respect for woman who can do it naturally and I wish I could, but the epidural was GREAT. After the epidural was in place, the Dr came in and broke my water. Once we knew we got to stay and things were moving we must have had huge relief because Cory and I both fell dead asleep for two hours.We were exhausted and finally knew we were going to meet our angel. Suddenly I woke up feeling a lot of pressure and turns out I was at 7cm. Well one of our friends Nickell, who by the way is the most amazing photographer, was coming to take pictures of the birth for us and had told us to text her when we were around 7cm so I quick woke Cory up and had him let her know. An hour after that to EVERYONES surprise I was at 10cm and ready to push. Now, the unfortunate part of progressing so quickly is the Dr figured he had time to go home for a little snooze. Sooooo here I was feeling the most intense pressure and our nurse is saying we have to wait for the Dr. Well,my body had other plans so I told her I had to push! Within  twenty five minutes we had our baby girl and that was with them telling me not to push for ten of those minutes. She was 7lbs 5oz and 20in long. Cory and I both cried like babies when we saw her precious face. This tiny little baby that had been beating me up on the inside was finally here and soooo calm and mellow. She has been so amazing and has brought so much joy into our lives. We are very very blessed and thankful.

FIRST FAMILY PHOTO

If you need a photographer......use her!

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Nickell-Photography/19818079946

October 1, 2011

September was a very fun, educational month for Cory and I. Being that I have been a childcare provider since ten years old, I feel very confident in being a parent. But as far as pregnancy and labor and delivery go, I think Cory and myself both had a lack of knowledge. Last weekend, we went to a prenatal class where we were able to learn some basics that both helped us feel some comfort and probably made us a bit nervous. Up until this point I have been pretty adamant about wanting Miss Savannah Rose to come early. I can now assure you that after watching some pretty vivid videos of births, I am more then ok with her coming whenever she wants. Plus, one of our favorite doctors Dr. Gamette,  at Valley OB reminds me continuously, that most first time babies do indeed come late. Soooooo I have decided I am MORE  then ok with that. We are just six weeks away from our due date, which is 11/11/11. Pretty cool right??!! Well once again, Dr. Gamette said "If everyone who wanted their babies to be born on 11/11/11 actually gave birth on that date, we would have to build another hospital." So we can hope all we want but she will come when she is ready. 


This trimester has been a very interesting one. I feel like I am about the size of a house and my emotions have been insane. I feel that the smallest things start a flood of tears whether it be because of something happy, something irritating or me just feeling like a cow. Cory has been AMAZING at dealing with me. He will just come sit next to me and give me the warmest most sincere embrace and tell me that all is well. Not only has he been the greatest comfort to me but he is such a HUGE help. The little girls I watch are amazing but as I grow, so does my inability to do simple tasks. Cory will come home from work and school and without hesitation he will change dirty bums, or straighten up the house or just play with the girls. He has the sweetest temperament and I know he is going to be the most amazing dad. Something else that has been a tremendous help is Cory's cooking. I cannot stand soooo many smells and he will cook dinner or make me snacks or whatever and they are always delicious! Soooooo my dear hubby, thank you! You are the greatest man in the world. 


As for how Savannah is doing, she is doing perfect! She is still very active, and when I say active boy o boy do I mean active. I have no clue when she gets any sleep because she moves every five minutes. Cory and I get a kick out of watching her make my belly dance, which she does constantly. Every time we go to the doctors they comment on what an active girl she is and they always say her heartbeat sounds very strong. I am anxious to see how she is when she is here because apparently how they are in the womb is how they will be outside the womb. We just found out this past week that she is head down! So we were very excited to hear that. Cory and I would always try to determine if it was her little bum or head we were feeling but we had no clue. Starting on October 11, we go to the doctors every week, so we will be sure to keep everyone in the loop. 

Last week of the second trimester

These past few months in our life have been pretty amazing and fun! Here are some highlights:

We went fishing!!!!

Cory caught a BIG one

Enjoying watching my baby fish!

Taking a break from fishing and enjoying the shade together

Had an amazing baby shower in California where we were able to see a lot of relatives and friends we haven't seen in a while.

Daddy & Mommy before the shower

Thank you Bibi and Sam for throwing an amazing shower!

Went to Grandmas cabin in Strawberry Reservoir! Still waiting on some pictures from that trip.

We finished a great deal of Savannah's nursery which I think is pretty stinkin cute!

Baby Nursery

On the 30th of this month we have our next doctors appointment which will start our doctors visits every two weeks! I am so ready to meet this sweet little angel who keeps me up all night with her kicks. We are praying, or mama bear here is praying that all this movement means there is a chance she can be a dancer. That is a talent mommy lacks but daddy however has some moves! For anyone who hasn't seen pictures of the sweet baby here is our favorite!

All in all this trimester was a lot more fun then the first with far less sick days and a very active baby aboard . Now we are heading into the final countdown and we are sooooo anxious. Cory is a little more patient then me but he still is ready to meet Miss Savannah Rose Johnson.That is all I can think of to add right now but I am sure we will be updating again very very soon! Cory starts school again at the end of this month and we have another baby shower on the way, sooooo there will be a lot to update.