Anali's Dedication

Last Sunday, March 11, Anali was dedicated at our church. Our families visited and joined us on stage to bless our baby girl and feasted at Brandon's parents house that afternoon. I looked forward to it for months. I couldn't wait to have our daughter dedicated, to receive the collective prayers of hundreds of people at once. What I didn't expect was how anticlimactic it would feel. I realized later why that was. Brandon and I dedicated Anali to the Lord before we even knew she was conceived. Every day of these nine months she has lived with the blessing of God upon her life. The prayer of a pastor wasn't going to make that any more powerful, just more formal. With her relatives on stage celebrating her, what it did was create a visual commitment to Anali from those who love her most that her life is worth getting all dressed up for. Her life is worth a two-hour drive, a night on the floor, a rushed breakfast, a scratchy dress, a difficult walk to the stage, and a spotlight in the face. The nicest thought is God thinks her life is worth way more than that, I'm told.

We Had Fun

Birthday Cake and Books

Hannah made Shannon and me a chocolate and ginger birthday cake with chocolate orange frosting. We didn't even bother cutting slices. We placed it in the center of the table and shoveled it in. Oh, my. You don't even know. Words cannot even express the delight of a chocolate slumber party with sisters!

Anali is becoming more and more interested in books, to her mother's everlasting joy. She turns the pages when I read to her and picks her board books up throughout the day to entertain herself. Yeah, I'm happy.

Tuesday was 70 degrees in Bonney Lake! I didn't even go indoors when I arrived home. Anali and I met Dad in the driveway with the gardening shears. We all have a lovely afternoon pruning my garden and exploring the bugs and the grubs. Anali took her first romp around the grass, which was still pretty wet, fascinated by the colors and textures outdoors. Brandon mowed the lawn. All were happy and dirty. We can't wait for full-on Spring.

February 2007

A rare date at Mt. Rainier National Park

The Johnsons

Polka Dot Pookey

The Welcome Committee

Out Back

Whoa Baby!

An evening walk.

In this picture, she looks like me as an infant, if I do say so myself.

Last week she learned to wave. Now she's throwing signs.

Anali at the Children's Museum of Tacoma, where she attended her first birthday party. Her friend Ava turned two.

New foods this week (We're gettin' a little crazy in the kitchen):
Mushrooms (not mushy enough, so there was no room for them in her diet)
Fresh miniature mozzarella balls (she thought these were toys)
Raspberries (just right, mixed with multi-grain cereal)

Here's what being a mother looked like today:
5:35 Alarm is set for this time, but I don't roll out of bed until 6:03, because I know Brandon is home to watch her today, so I don't have to drive her to south Puyallup. Plus, I don't really need to wash my feet every morning. That'll save me thirty seconds.
6:20 I'm showered, dressed, with dry hair and dry contacts. Anali decided Dad doesn't deserve sleeping in. She's awake.
6:50 Just now nursing Anali, though I hoped to be out the door at 7:00
7:00 Scrambling to pack my lunch, give Brandon instructions ("Feed her two cubes of orange, two cubes of green, and don't feed her the orange squash or the orange carrots; make it the orange yams.")
7:30 Arrive to school half an hour early. Must be early on Mondays, since I didn't plan nearly enough over the weekend and the kids have to learn something. (I was grading an essay this morning, and a kid wrote that I am the "dreaded Joking Johnson" and that I think I'm funny, but I'm not. I'm not paid nearly enough for this!)
8:27 First class starts. Actually, it's about seven different classes in one. It starts, nevertheless.
11:00 This should be lunch, but I'm running circles in my pumps (who calls them "pumps" anymore?) instead of pumping (for Ani's bottle) in the room behind my classroom like I usually do (Anali needs one bottle while I'm at work, and I'm trying to keep her on breastmilk, though pumping at work is becoming less and less feasible) My last class was switched to a portable across campus, so I have to cart my supplies back and forth when I should be eating/pumping. I eat some wretched tuna slop I threw together and five fork-fulls of the wrong kind of yogurt. 12:52 My Junior English class is equipped with a suitable background on the Harlem Renaissance, and I'm on my way to my own classroom to pack up for home
1:25 I'm home, and I want to grab Anali and Brandon and snuggle their necks, but I'm stuck on the phone with a credit card in hand registering for my GRE. March 1st - pray for me. Can you believe you actually have to pay $130 to take a four hour test? What is this world coming to? Shouldn't they be paying me? Note to self: Establish retirement plan. Charge students for every quiz, test, and essay I make them write.
1:27 I actually get to snuggle my family. Anali is dressed in teal pajama pants (Dad thinks these are slacks) and an orange, green, and cream striped shirt (Didn't I just wash all of her laundry to avoid this kind of scene?). Her socks are meant for a five-year-old and they hang past her toes about two inches. He wouldn't be a dad if he didn't dress her this cute/horrible.
2:10 Anali goes down for a nap. She's getting pretty good at this, though for her afternoon nap she has to stand in her crib until she's falls from exhaustion. Whatever works. Those Babywise pseudo-doctors ain't got nothin' on me!
2:35 I finish the last twenty pages of Ayn Rand's The Fountainhead. I really needed to finish that book so I could spend Anali's naptime doing responsible, adult activities such as cleaning the kitchen, studying for the GREs, planning lessons, grading papers, folding laundry, writing a Middle Eastern peace plan.
5:00 Walk with Anali to the infant swing three blocks away. I love this swing. Anali loves this swing. I hold her and all her potential energy and release on the count of three, after counting in English, French, and Spanish (only to three, not as impressive as it sounds, I mix the accents, more pitiful than pedantic). Anali sucks in air with an inward squeal and releases her laughter out her eyes. She loves this swing. I love this swing.
Somewhere after her nap and before her swing I fed her: blueberries and banana, sweet potatoes, and green beans. Weird, but healthy. I'm proud of the baby food her Grammy and I make. Didn't fly with the cloth diapers, so this is my make-up assignment.
6:35 Bath time. We sing this song: "Rub-a-dub, in the tub, we will scrub away, all the dirt, and the grime, from our day of play. In the garden, with the bugs and the grubs. In the kitchen, with the grool and the drool. In the forest, with the dogs and pollywogs. Rub-a-dub, in the tub, we will scrub away, all the dirt, and the grime, from our day of play. In the barnyard, with the cows and the plows. At the seashore, with the snails and the shells. At the playground, with the swings and climbing things. Rub-a-dub, in the tub, we will scrub away, all the dirt, and the grime, from our day of play." Copyright 2006. Rachel E. Johnson.
6:50 Nurse. Sing. Brush teeth. Lay down. Pet her forhead. Sleep.
7:00 Walk in circles trying to figure out what to do with myself. Where do I start? Study some really tough vocabulary. Nefarious - really wicked. Ubiquitous - omnipresent. Quotidian (I like this one. It's fun to say. My sister-in-law thinks this sounds like something I threatened to name my child) - commonplace. And so on.
8:30 Should be in bed. Spending way too much time on a blog post. Love you, Mom (my mom, that's not a closing.)!

This is.

Good night.

Rachel

Toys and Tricks

This week, Anali began waving to us and slapping Dad's hand in greeting. She also started drinking out of a cup. She's really skilled at maneuvering it to her mouth and drinking, but she hasn't quite mastered the concept that the water will spill out when she flings it around. We're pretty impressed that she can even hold it and sip. We went all out tonight and got her a cardboard box to push around the living room. She was particularly engaged by the packaging tape remnants on it. Last weekend, we wanted to get her a new toy she could stand up against and play with because she loves to stand and fiddle with things, so I went to Target and carefully chose a lovely little Fisher-Price table-toy. She is riveted by it...for fifteen-second intervals. What really gets her attention is the VCR. All afternoon she'll crawl back to the little coffee table we have our electronics on, pull herself up, and commence button pushing. Whoever says VCRs will be obsolete in five years doesn't have a baby in the house. She set the thing to record House before she went to bed. 21st century kid. Don't worry, we won't let her watch it.

Seven Months Old

She is so cute, she makes me hyperventilate trying to describe how cute she is! So cute, I can hardly wait for the garage door to open so I can rush in to see her. So precious, I have to actually work to keep from kissing her every five seconds. You can't imagine how true that is. I love how she rubs her face when we feed her peas and how she'd rather roll to her left and helicopter spin all the way around rather than simply reach to her right to grab a string of ribbon. I love how she bangs her wooden puzzle pieces together because she likes the sound they make and how she plays with my clothing when she nurses. I can't wait to tip-toe in in the morning to find her on her hands and knees always alert, always delighted to see me. I love how forgiving she is when I don't get to her in time or how she cries fast and quick when she bumps herself, but stops even faster than she starts. I love her sense of humor. She laughs in quick coughs when the cat enters the room and in pride when she bangs on her drum. In short, I love, I love, I love, I love, I love being her mother.

At Home with Anali

Though I'll be in school until July as a result of our snow days, it sure has been fun ("fun" can't even capture it, but I'm out of adjectives; I'm on vacation) to spend the week at home with Anali. Right now she's banging on her little piano, accompanying herself as she croons, "ahhh, ahhh, ahhh." ....Oop...she's crawling across the livingroom to her little stool, shrieking in an even higher pitch...nope, now she's pulling herself up on the table.

She's a busy girl lately! We love to watch her wheels spinning as she figures things and repeats the same moves over and over. A few days ago she climbed two stairs all by herself! Brandon taught her that, of course. She's into everything, but it keeps us smart and involved in her playtime. It excites me to see how much she loves being outdoors. Even accompanying us to the mailbox delights her. And it gets even better! I'm particularly glad that she will settle in my lap long enough for me to read her an entire book! That means more cuddle time and hopefully a love for reading, in time.

I have never loved anything quite as much as I love being her mother and Brandon's wife. Right now, as I end this post, Brandon has her wrapped in his legs She's patting his knee, looking up at him and "singing." The greatest joy in my life is sitting on my couch.

A New Year

Anali is crawling fast and pulling herself up now. I'll come in from the kitchen and find her standing against the sofa! Six and a half months. Who knew?

Snowshoeing at Snoqualmie Pass

Whee!

Bran and Anali

Anali's First Christmas

Anali made all the difference in our celebrations this Christmas. She was the centerpiece at every table. Since she's eating in a high chair now, she was delighted to join us for Christmas dinner. She even had butternut squash...very festive. Watching her open her little gifts and squeal with delight once she realized there was more than a bow was alone worth the pains of labor. I've really enjoyed my two weeks' holiday at home with her.

And She's Off...

It has been quite a week here in the Johnson household. I was trying to figure out why Anali was crying this afternoon, as it's become a rare occurrence, and the checklist was shocking. Could it be her new tooth bothering her? Or maybe her runny nose? Maybe it's her frustration that she can't crawl faster. Or maybe it's the immunizations she received today. Could it be the rice cereal bothering her? Holy schmoly. It's all happening at once! This week Anali turned six months, popped out her first tooth, began eating rice cereal, and started crawling. At this rate, she'll be getting her driver's license by February! Despite this afternoon's misadventures, we've been having a ball together. All of these new accomplishments are exciting. Brandon and I love watching her explore her environment and express her pleasure and frustrations. She likes to get into her toy basket and take out each toy, one at a time, shake it till it's "dead," then reach in for a new toy. Sometimes she even pulls herself up to kneeling to peer in for a better view. It's so precious. We have a hard time not waking her from her naps sometimes so we can play with her sooner. "Fetch" is our new favorite game now that she's crawling. Sometimes those naps are treasured time to catch up...on sleep. But we're surprised to find how quickly we miss her when she's sleeping during the day. Our lives are so carefully knit with hers, yet we don't feel a loss of ourselves, as individuals. At least, I don't. I'm speaking for Bran while he's in the shower, but I'll be sure to ask him when he gets out. Brandon stills gets out to play basketball with his friends and help others out with projects. And I am fiddling with sewing and reading more than I did before I had her. I even joined a writer's group this fall, and I'm trying to discipline myself to write more often. If I made New Year's resolutions, which I generally don't because I know myself well enough to know they won't last past January 5th, I'd resolve to write more. I'm working on an essay on the humor of our New Year's celebrations and resolution-making rituals. Do you have any observations or tidbits I can work in?

The Great Outdoors

Brandon enjoys taking Anali out around our home in a little backpack. She loves it!

It feels like we've been on a short camping trip. Along with much of Puget Sound, we've been without power for two days. We've cooked on the barbeque and stayed put by the fire. Fortunately, the lights came back on this afternoon. So Anali wouldn't feel left out in the dark last night, we gave her Brandon's small headlamp to use to find her toys. It was pretty stinkin' cute!

Pookey!

A Bite to Eat

This is what happens when we leave Dad in charge!

...And when Mom's in charge.

Additional landmarks this week

First Food: Mom's paycheck. Seriously. She ate part of the envelope.

Second Bite to Eat: A sliver of a candycane she somehow unwrapped. The pink drool stain on her sweater was evidence enough for me! They say start with veggies. We'll see how she does starting with peppermint. I think this is payment for my saying last week that she'd never get candy.

Lesson Learned: You really can never watch too closely!