"Crawl"orado!

A few days before we headed to Colorado, we thought it would be so fun if Ryan started crawling while we were there...
as you can see, Grandpa Johnson tried his best to teach him, but he didn't quite get it while we were there. I just couldn't resist using the blog post title anyway!

Brad and Monica (Brad is Seth's brother) live in Colorado where Brad is going to dental school, and this year they invited everyone out to run the Bolder Boulder! 10K. (Coincidentally, my family is running a 10K together next week, so we like to call this the year of the family re-run-ions. I'm full of punnies today!)

Typical colorado beatiful landscape. And typical for me to have a water bottle in one hand. Seriously, I drink 8 liters a day.

Finley wasn't quite sure what to think of another grandchild (with the exact same Elmo book!) but the boys warmed up to each other. I'm excited to see them play together in a year or two!
Look at that kid, isn't he adorable??
This is how he was entertained for a good hour or two--Monica let him spray the dogs with the water. It was adorable.

The Johnsons went on a hike on Friday. These two Johnsons had a little too much sun for the day so we didn't head up, but we sure look prepared!

Ryan had fun playing with his Grandma, Grandpa, Aunts, and Uncles. He especially liked when they'd show him all of Monica's pretty plants.
Ryan also learned this sniffy snuff snuff face while we were in Colorado, as displayed here next to beautiful CJ. (You know, the smelling flowers face like Brandon used to do!) I think he initially started doing it because I scrunch my nose when I'm laughing at something he does, so he thought it was some sort of sarcastic laugh. But then he started doing it when he was hungry for big boy food...so I'm not quite sure how they are connected.

We like our plaid!

We had lots of time outside (um, clearly this was the part where ryan was in the sun...oops.)

Curt introduced us to the yumminess that is BJs. Home brewed Root beer--it's almost as good as Uncle Nolan's!

And Brad showed us his MAD bbq skills! Ohhh and Monica, she makes so many delicious meals! Brad and Monica were the best host/hostesses. It was SO fun to get to know them better and see where they live...etc.

Ryan was a little tuckered out with the schedule changes. Grandpa was a good pillow.

I was also lucky to get to see Ann while I was there! Nothin' like a Nordstrom Half-Yearly sale or Pizzukies to bring old friends together. There's something to be said about being able to pick up a friendship right where it's left off--one of the things I love most about Ann!

Ohhh, that's right, and the race! I almost forgot! Turns out the babies stayed home with this mama and grandma, CJ, and David while the rest of the family represented and Monica took awesome pictures. I was REALLY sad to not get to run, but that's just one of those things that happens when I'm my son's nourishment and the race is far away :) Everyone did really well and I'm so proud of them all! Way to go people!

The Hollywood Runs

I am NOT a runner.

I remember every year when the Sugar-Salem cross country team would start practicing (at an insanely early hour) I would muster everything in me to go out and run...and inevitably FAIL. I think I told people I had sports-induced asthma....which is also known as "only eats ice cream and therefore cannot breath when running" ...oops.

Coming from a family of track-record breaking and national champion runners, I was always a little (lot) embarrassed. So...I avoided running most of my life!

(Oh, except there was one time in college when I would run on the byu-i treadmills with my bff Brenna and then afterward we'd go get pints of ben and jerry's and devour them. YUM.) (Also, I ran a 5K right before our wedding, and got so excited with the thought of running a lot...which lasted for about 2 weeks...hmmmm)

So, in January, Dan and Jen mentioned that they wanted to run the Teton Dam 10K in June. Something just clicked, and suddenly I wanted to go, too! I got SO excited about the prospect. Coming from having had a baby and a subsequent hospitalization and issue after issue after health issue, I wasn't really in my right mind...but I really wanted to do it.

When we moved to our new place in April, I decided to head out with the jogging stroller and run a bit. I still nearly passed out at the beginning, but I kept at it every day. With some great running buddies (Meghan, Suzanne, Seth, and Baby Ryan, Baby Kaitlyn, and Baby Jack) things kept clicking, and suddenly I was running farther, faster, and happier every time!

Something changed inside me. I was driven, motivated, and excited to run! (Nevermind the added bonus of baby weight sweating off) Getting out of the house, fresh(relatively) air, good conversation with running buddies, and working out was addicting!

So...today was the real test. Next week is the Flood Run and I wanted to do a trial Hollywood Run first. So with Seth watching Baby Ryan, I set off with a water-bottle belt and GPS! There's nothing that says "COOL" like running down Hollywood Blvd with a "water" fanny-pack and sweaty brows (my eyebrows collect salt in them when I'm running, isn't that gross?)

6.4 miles later, (the farthest I've EVER run at once in my life) I'm a happy Janey! I wasn't even too tired today. Just happy and accomplished and a little bit proud!

Tidbit:

--When I run, either "Rock-a-bye baby" or "Lay all your love on me" from Mama Mia run through my head. Why "mama mia" you ask? Oh, let me show you...



If you think you're bored when watching, skip to about 3/4 of the way through and keep watching. Hilarious.

So....the big race is 6 days away, the forecast is rainy, windy, and much colder than here, and I can't help but feel a little butterfly twittering around in my tummy...but I can't wait! Family re-runions, here we come!

Randoms

I always think of random things, and say to myself "i should blog about that" but when the time comes to blog there are always bigger things to blog about. So this blog is a collection of the "i should blog about that" randoms.

--Our family is apparently bananas! I always buy several more bananas than I think we'll use in hopes of making Elizabeth's amazing banana bread. (side note: i've also been looking for ANY reason to make THESE mounds brownies. Mmm MMM) It is the most delcious recipe I've had, and I can't keep bananas in stock at our house long enough to use them on it very often. Probably good so my backfat doesn't grow anymore.

--Coincidentally, Elizabeth also named May Coconut Month, so in honor of the month I bought me some Coconut Oil. DE-Licious! And Tonight, Elizabeth told me about Coconut BUTTER. Are you kidding me? That's pretty much my two favorite things in one beautiful package. She says it's good on pancakes, toast, and fingers. I'm planning on just taking a bite off the stick (not really...)

--I have decided to name June Orange Month. I made a delicious Orange Chicken recently that I'll be sharing, and Elizabeth (holy cow can you get more blog mentions from me?) sent me a recipe for Zucchini bread that has ORANGE zest in it, and a recipe for ORANGE sorbet. Mmmmmmmm YUMMY!

--Update from previous posts--Ryan likes Banana-guacomole, just not plain guacomole. He also does NOT like Peas. Oh, i'll post the video. It is hilarious.

--I LOVE making baby food. Which is ironic since I used to beg mom to buy me baby food to eat because i loved the tiny tiny little jars. I did find some pouches that taste good for on-the-go trips and days, and Ryan likes them! Thank you Sprouts!

--The word "crunchy". I use the term in jest mostly, but I often talk about how I'm starting to feel "crunchy"--words like organic, toxic chemicals, non-processed, alluminum-free, phthalate & bpa free and all-natural are vocabs that I use a lot more often than I used to. Some people think I'm going crazy. I might be, but please don't judge--I actually do a LOT of research and talk to people who know, and it's not all kooky stuff, either! There's just something in me that thinks if it's just as easy or close, I might as well opt for the natural way! (Note: this does not apply to childbirth (yay epidurals!))

--You might have seen on Seth's facebook that our gas got shut off. Seriously...it wasn't our fault, you've got to believe us! Anyway...they couldn't turn it back on for a week, so we're at day 5 of no oven or stove top, and I have to say it's a lot easier than I thought it would be! Between a Griddle, a borrowed Toaster Oven (Thanks Meghan and Jay!), a Magic Bullet, Hand Mixer, Rice Cooker, Crock Pot, an Electric Frying Pan, and the Kitchen Aid i think I pretty much had the kitchen covered! Mostly I missed the stove top--I've been making homemade cream of _____(chicken, celery, potato) soup instead of using the cans and I couldn't do that without a stovetop so I had to make food that didn't call for anything cream of...

--SILK ALMOND MILK. Mmmmmm. If you are into that sort of thing, go try it! It's delicious. I like the Vanilla because it is sweet and tastes yummy. (What? You thought I was trying to be healthy? Hmmmm...) It also makes a mean green smoothie.

--Did you know (okay, most people know) that I have a sensitivity to MSG? Migraine ensues. It's not pretty. I was trying to think back to the last time I got MSGed, and it has been over a year! Considering my Migraine time in DC, that is pretty amazing. I still get tension headaches now and again that Seth has to massage my head, neck, and shoulders to get rid of them, but they are even few and far between!

--Well...that's all for now! Anything random you'd like to share??

Sand in my toes

Ryan has the most expressive feet. They move when he's sleeping. He picks things up with them. They are pretty much adorable.

So when we went to the beach, I was so excited to see him get his feet in the sand. He dug his feet right in and played with just his feet for several minutes before he got his hands in, too.

We love our little california dude.

Crying it out.

That's what I'm doing people, not Ryan!

Update: I wrote this post about two weeks ago...and I'm to the point where I can publish now.. :) There's more to say about his sleeping, but I'll save that for another post, so...here's my thoughts from two weeks ago!

I mentioned my goal for food this week was bread. My goal for babies this week was sleeping.

This isn't such a light subject for me. Bear with me while I "write it out"

Before I had babies I sure had a lot of opinions about babies and sleeping. And then Ryan was born. I couldn't sleep the first night he was born because I just wanted to hold him and make sure he was breathing. The thought of him being even a few feet from me was hard to think of, so I held him close and took it all in.

Obviously my postpartum bionic woman of no sleep wasn't going to work...so he started sleeping in his swing seat or a bassinet an arms length from me. And while I was SOOOOO tired, I wanted so much for him to be okay at night that if I couldn't handle being up with him, I'd make sure someone was...(guess who?)

Insert breastfeeding insanity. Insert a lotta postpartum hormones. Insert a few months and a relatively great schedule that worked well for us!

Seth slowly moved him farther and farther away from me every night until after christmas when we put him in his crib (in our room) and then when we moved to the new place put the crib in the other room...with both doors open it's still feet away, but even then it was a little too far and I set up the pack and play for a few nights in our room to make the adjustment. (ME...making the adjustment. Not the baby. me! who am i??)

Insert a little peer pressure from both ends of the spectrum. and then...Insert that feeling. That maternal (and paternal) feeling. And insert a probably heavensent friend who knew just how to introduce a method in just the right way with just the right touch to make me think that it'd be okay.

And then we read Sleepsense.

So...we'd tried crying it out before. And seriously, I mean SERIOUSLY, it was NOT the right time. Ryan would work himself up more and more as time went on. Like 2.5 hours time. Not for the faint of heart time. It just wasn't right yet.

But this week...it was right. And it's working for him! He's sleeping great (fingers crossed) and is doing so well! I'm so proud of my little guy. Today=a nap without even a fuss and bedtime crying under 10 minutes before singing and sighing himself to sleep with grover and his blanket.

And guess what? I'M the mess! I cried and cried and cried all day yesterday. My little man is growing up! He doesn't need me anymore, he can do it himself!

I was quite the sight yesterday as Seth got home from work to a wife trying to feed her baby his mashed potatoes while sobbing...because my baby, my little guy, my baby boy was eating mashed potatoes and smiling away and loving every minute of it, and he was going to go to sleep like a big kid and then wake up in the morning and scoot all around like a big kid and crawl in no time...like a big kid!

Seth has been amazing at helping me find perspective and balance. He helps me remember that we should focus on how fun he is now and all the things that we love about the present. And he's completely right. We are so lucky to have a little baby Ryan that will soon be a toddler ryan and then a kid ryan and then a tween ryan and then a teen and an elder and a missionary ryan and a college ryan and a grad-school ryan and a husband and a dad and a grand-dad ryan! And we've got to enjoy every stage. Treasure it, even. And then, flow to the next stage, gobbling it up. And then...repeat.

Sigh. So, that's the story. Ryan is sleeping like a champ and I kind of don't know what to do with myself. So... I blog. And I plan....I have some good plans!

I absolutely know this is the right thing for our family, it is the right method for us for now, and it's what we all need. And I also won't lie...I was a little selfish about this one...and I didn't mean to be, and I'm still trying hard not to be. I just miss my baby.

....Okay...phew!

Now...for the cuteness.

The other night one of the kiddies brought out Ryan's Dog that he had lots of his little kiddie pictures with. The friends were SHOCKED at how small it was--they were sure it must have been a bigger dog because Ryan couldn't have been that small (relatively!). So I whipped out the camera for some Six-Month shots. And this is what we got people ;) He's an active little dude!

And...I love him.

Baby Ryan is so clean

Okay, this REALLY isn't his best clean up job ever...but I just think it's so funny that he tries to use the cloth to wipe himself and his tray off!

He's such a grown up.

Baking success!

You know, since my life revolves around food and baby Ryan, I figured I needed to set some goals and the food goal for the week turned out to be something I've been afraid of for a long time....BREAD.

I tried a fancy schmancy oat flour on an oatmeal bread on monday...FAIL! Oh, such a disaster. All sorts of things went wrong...and I ended up with three little bricks in the bottom of my loaf pans. Blech. Straight to the garbage.

Tuesday: Banana Bread. My friend Elizabeth (okay, labaus are getting all the shout outs this week, hollah!) has the most amazing recipe EVER that I LOVE so much, so I decided to attempt it. Turns out she is a fancy cook and it had all these complicated instructions....BUT...it TURNED out.. SUCCESS (you can see the remnants in the top right corner of the picture). Seriously, I don't usually love my own food, but i thought this bread was delicious.

Wednesday: White Bread. Simple. Sweet. and guess what??? IT turned out! YAHOO!!!!! I was a little nervous, but since Ryan was down for a long nap I got up the courage and tried it. OHhhh I'm just so happy!

And guess what this means, people??? Thursday = BREAD PUDDING!!! Stay tuned.

More from Utah!

Awwww...

Look at this hug....priceless! I love when this little dude meets and wins the hearts of all the people I love!

Green Acres

A few weeks ago I started getting Organic Produce Delivery to my house through a company called Farm Fresh to You. If you've talked to me in the past month, you've probably heard about it, because it makes me SOOOOOO happy!

Lately we've been trying to eat more veggies, so this was kind of the chance for me to make it happen. I have had so much fun putting meals together with my veggies, and finding new ways to use things. The picture doesn't even really do it justice....there was SO much this week!

So...how are we going to eat all those zucchinis, you might ask? Insert Mother's Day Present here:

This, my friends, is a spiralizer! Our good friends the Labaus introduced us to this nifty machine, and we LOVE it! It makes pasta-like swirlies out of vegetables for use as...well, pasta or salad toppings or anything, really! It makes a delicious zucchini pasta dish, and I'm excited for all the other uses (apple cobbler, anyone?)

I told Seth one night that these days my life revolves around babies and food, so I guess this blog will have to do the same. Stay tuned for my bread-making disaster from yesterday, my attempt at banana bread today, and many more to come I'm sure! :)

Mothers Day and Womens Week!

And by Mother's day I mean both Mother's Day and MY MOTHER's BIG Day (aka the day she spoke at Women's Conference at BYU!)

After hemming and hawing and trying to decide about flying up for Women's week for MONTHS...literally, on wednesday morning I was running and decided I couldn't live with the regret of not going, so less than 24 hours later I was on a plane to Utah. It was a great decision, I was so glad I got to be there for it.

I flew in Thursday and spent the evening with the family, and then got to go down to Provo and stay with my long-time friend Katharine and her adorable family! We spent Friday morning together and then she watched Ryan while I headed up to BYU campus!


Alumni Center


Mom with the two Aunt Pats (aren't they so cute!)

Nelson-Side Cousins and Aunts. I love these ladies!

Some of the sisters (miss you Carol!) Also...seriously where did my hair color come from?

Morfords + Nelson side cousins before the presentation!




Mom was so beautiful up at the pulpit speaking. She has such a good presence and spirit, I felt so at peace listening to her speak. And her message was needed and so good for me to hear (and everyone else, there were tears all around!)

I love Utah. Ahhhh, and just seeing the mountains brings tranquility to life!


On to Mother's day. What a beautiful holiday to celebrate! I was a little teary at times thinking about my friend Julies and her very different mother's day (her mom passed away a few months ago) but it was nice to look at Mother's day from the perspective of all the different types of feelings we have about our Moms on this special day.

This was the perfect card I found for Mother's day. It sums up what i feel better than I could express:

To My Mother

I don't know if you realize how much I admire you, but I do.

You've been a role model for me,

not just in the way you raised me,

but in the way you live your own life.

I've learned so much from you.

Like what it means to be truly giving and caring,

how important it is to be fair,

how to believe in myself and in my ideals.

Your example has shaped the way I think and feel and believe

more than you know,

and I'm proud to be your daughter.

Happy Mother's Day

And...as a first-time Mother for Mother's Day, I have to say I loved all the well-wishing and "Happy mother's day" from people all around. I am so grateful to be a Mom to this little guy.