Medford and More

Another slew of random pictures over the past couple of weeks.

To start off, we took a trip down to Medford to visit with Uncle David who just got back from his mission in Brazil and to visit Ken's Nonna out in Brookings (sadly, no picture with her.)  It was lots of fun to see David and Nonna again.  Not so much fun to drive in the car with a crying baby.

With Uncle David just hours after he got home. Still too fresh to hug girls but baby nieces don't count.

We are in the process of trying to buy a house with some land.  It has been a long, exhausting process.  Fortunately, the owners do not currently live there so they told us we could stop by anytime.  We like to go out there occasionally just to remind ourselves that the stress will be worth it if it all goes through.

Dressed up warm to go tromp through the forest on a cold day.

A nice little stream on the property.

Lots of natural forest.

Even though Scarlet is just barely 5 months old I have been letting her start to lick/suck on various foods.  She has licked tortilla, apple, banana, strawberry, orange, mango, asparagus, cucumber, and bell pepper (keep in mind, for the most part she is not actually eating the food, just licking.)  She LOVED the strawberry (did ingest some of it) and was sooo ticked when I took it away from her.  Sadly, she ended up with a little rash the next morning so I guess we will have to hold off on the strawberries for awhile.

Her first taste of orange on a nice sunny day.  She liked that pretty well too.

And just like most babies...she regularly assumes the "happy baby" position and loves to suck on her toes.

Yum!

WARNING: If you are super baby safety paranoid you may want to skip the following picture.

...

...

...

...

...

Scarlet's first swing at the park with friends.  She seemed to enjoy it and didn't fall over.  We eventually stuffed a jacket behind her though just in case.

Some people have asked whether the little miss ever cries.  Although she is overall a very content baby, yes, of course she does cry!  Here is proof from a tough day.

Of course she stopped crying hard as soon as the camera came out.

And one with me.

Yeah! Moms do exist.

And just for fun...this little delight (if you can believe it!) is a Ken Johnson creation.

 

Two graham crackers, two marshmallows, a reeses peanut butter cup, and a brownie. Yeah, that's got Ken's name written all over it.

Scarlet's Blessing Update

Here are the pictures from Scarlet's blessing that I finally got off of the nice camera.

Our little family.

Thanks to everyone who came!

Just Some Recent Pics

Just some recent pictures of Scarlet.  4 months and 1 week already!!!

Starting to figure out what a mirror is.

She frequently shoves both hands in her mouth. Today though she did decide to lick her reflection instead of chow down on her hands.

Lots of walks.  We try to go several days a week.

We have had some really nice days here so she is trying to getting used to the brightness of sunshine.

I love watching her explore and learn about new things.

She didn't enjoy the empty orange juice carton for too long though because she kept dropping it.

Her first trick. Reach up to grab a toy above her.  More of an arching motion than a straight grab.  She is getting pretty good at it now though.  She doesn't miss very often unless it's too high for her.

Batting at the toy that rattles.  Oooh that thing makes her mad though since she can't put it in her mouth.

Toy and fist in the mouth at the same time.

New trick today.  Lift chest up enough to chew on a hanging toy.  Sadly it moves so she had a hard time hanging on.  I finally held it in place so that she could chomp on it and she sure went to town on that thing.

Just Had to Share

An awesome rainbow is one of those things that just makes me smile...

...and it was right in my own backyard.

Mobile Life... Here We Come!!!

No we are not buying a mobile home or an RV.  But my baby is starting to become mobile.  No she is not walking or even crawling at 3 1/2 months, but she is starting to squirm and move a lot when she is laying down.

When I put her down she was on the play mat at a 90 degree angle from where I found her on the carpet.  She was trying to get the blanket.

And a few minutes later, another 90 degree turn....

Multiple mornings in a row I have found her in her crib at a 180 from where I put her down and completely underneath her blanket with her little feet hanging out the other side.  I wish I had a picture of it.  It makes me laugh every time.

She is also starting to learn how to get onto her side.  She hasn't quite completed the rollover yet though.

And yes, she was totally ticked, but it was her first time getting onto her side by herself so I had to take a picture before I picked her up.

And another picture just for fun.

Boots, Reese's and a Good Deed

So far I have not had any cohesive thoughts on what I want to blog about, I just have some recent pictures to post.  So basically I am just making this up as I go.

We have been using the baby k'tan carrier a lot lately.  Scarlet enjoys being able to look around and see what I am doing.  A friend of Ken's said she looks like a ninja when she is in the sling facing out.  I love the coat and boots she is wearing in this picture.

Getting ready to go outside, I think just to get the mail real quick...

A better look at these adorable boots and a matching hat.  Even the onesie matched too.  :)

She has another pair of boots that I like except they are both left shoes!!  I kid you not, they really are.  So funny.

Two left feet.

So Ken loves Reese's candy.  He claims to be the biggest fan. He recently acquired a bright orange sweatshirt that has the Reese's logo embroidered on it.  He especially loves the Easter Egg edition.  He says they are the best and they are better than any of the other holiday editions (i.e. better than the Christmas trees.)  I've asked him why, something to do with the peanut butter to chocolate ratio... Anyway, I suppose Scarlet will probably love them someday too.

I sent this picture to Ken with the caption "Hey, where did all the Reese's go?"

I have been trying to get out and go walking or running at least a couple of times a week.  It has been pretty nice here lately so I have really enjoyed it. Scarlet usually likes it too. My jogging stroller is the one baby item that I really splurged on.  It is a BOB revolution.  I bought it used but it still wasn't cheap.  I LOVE the stroller. It is so smooth and easy to maneuver.  That may be, at least in part, why she so frequently falls asleep.

The other day while we were out on a walk I could see from a distance that a lady was struggling to close her large backyard fence (she was on the sidewalk trying to close it from the outside.)  As I neared her she was still struggling so I decided to stop to see if I could be of assistance.  At first she said oh no, no, no, it's ok, but she was obviously still struggling so I stopped to investigate the problem anyway.  One side of the fence was lower than the other so the two holes that had to line up for the lock to go through were way off.  I was able to lift the fence from the bottom (even got my hands dirty) while she put the lock through the holes.  She thanked me profusely and then as I was leaving she stopped me and said she wanted to give me something.  She then went to her car (which was parked there on the street at the back of her house) and pulled out three eggs.  They were from her own chickens!  My favorite part was when she said, "Good eggs, organic you know." (Oh, p.s she was Russian.)

My organic eggs.

I haven't tasted them yet but I am sure they will be delicious!  They are, after all, organic.  :)

I really don't know what she was trying to do but I think I may have a little houdini on my hands trying to get out of her clothes.

A little scandalous, I know.

And just for some more funnies...

Ever had a banana that wouldn't peel?

Did you know that spaghetti can burn if you don't shove it down into the water right away?

Baby Blessing

On February 3rd, Scarlet was given her baby blessing at Church.  We had photos taken with Grandpa Johnson's camera rather than a phone camera, but unfortunately the sd card doesn't fit in my computer and we don't have a usb cord.  I kept thinking I would go print the pictures and then scan them into the computer but that hasn't happened yet.  Fortunately we took a couple of pictures at home with Ken's phone so I will just post those few.  The only one with Ken is not a good picture so he won't let me post it, that is why there are none with him here, not because I don't like him.

Grandma Morgan handmade the blessing gown for Scarlet.  It is made out of linens that Great Grandma Morgan and Great Great Grandma Edlund had made when they were young women.  They did the lace and the embroidery.

"AE" = Anna Edlund, She was Scarlet's Great Great Grandmother who lived in Sweden.

"IMK" = Inga Kristina Morgan.  She was Scarlet's Great Grandmother who was born in Sweden and came to the United States when she was just 22 years old.

Inga Kristina's maiden name was Edlund but when she made the linens she just left a blank spot to add the initial of her new last name when she eventually got married.  That is why the M is in the middle.  Isn't the lacework gorgeous?!  Thanks Grandma Morgan for saving these linens and turning them into a beautiful blessing gown.

Scarlet was luck enough to have several extended family members at her blessing.  The group photo of course is on the other camera.  But here are a few pictures from our visit with Medford relatives who came up Saturday and stayed over night.

I can't believe I actually got a picture with Grandpa Morgan smiling!  I guess he really likes Scarlet.

Scarlet and Grandma Morgan

Grandma Morgan still has the baby touch

Is it just me or does Scarlet look like Great Grandpa?  She must look like he did when he was a little girl.  (No that's not a typo...)

I think Scarlet was relaying a message from Great Grandma Morgan

I thought I had a picture of Scarlet talking Spanish with Uncle Tomas but I guess not.  Thanks to everyone who came for her blessing.  It was beautiful.