A Utah Man Is He

Can you believe it took me this long to get him in a Utah shirt? And the best part is, I did not even put him in the shirt. I walked out of our bedroom one day and Kristin had slipped him into her MUSS shirt. I definitely married the right girl.
Here is a picture with Uncle Ty. I mostly post this so Becca can have a copy (your welcome, Becca). But also to say it was fun to have Ty around this weekend. He got Patten ready for bed, wrapped him in the magic blanket, and even checked on him after he feel asleep.


This just might be my favorite picture of all time. I believe those are my hands helping him stand - I don't know what I did to get him to smile like this, but it sure is cute. He loves to stand, just loves it. In fact, he often refuses to sit because he'd rather stand.
And finally, Patten's first walk. Kristin and I love going for walks. Unfortunately the General joined us during cold weather and we haven't been able to take him for a walk. So, the first halfway bearable day (all of you RSV-fearing mothers would have vetoed this) Kris and I took him out for a stroll. You can see from his outfit that it really was too cold for a 4 month old to be on a walk.

At 4 MONTHS?!?!?

We always knew baby Patten seemed a bit old for his age.

But when Kristin came home on Tuesday and informed me that the pediatrician said it was time to begin the "jella (I mean rice) puddin (I mean cereal)," I was astounded.

Luckily, I didn't write this post that day - because in the subsequent days I've overcome my initial shock. Now I just to get enjoy feeding out little boy.

Before I get to the eating pictures, how about a good Valentine's Day smile from Kris and her boy! (The truth is I don't know how to get the darn pictures to post underneath each other rather than on top of each other, and by the time I figure out they are posting on top of each other I've already posted pictures that I wish were on the top...)

Now for the eating - doesn't that look good!

Time for another bite.

At some point, I trust, he'll enjoy his food. For now, it is simply a test of endurance for his parents to force feed him the entire bowl (and I believe more ends up down his chin than in his mouth).

We Thank Thee...

President Hinckley's passing generated many emotions for our little family. On the one hand, we were sad to see "our" Prophet leave us. On the other, we were happy to see him finally pass on to be with his wife. We enjoyed spending last Monday's FHE reminiscing on President Hinckley: from waving the cane to rebuking the brethren. What a great man.

My dad sent me a link, included below, to Glenn Beck's tribute of Gordon B. Hinckley. I actually had seen this clip the very night it aired, but am grateful my dad sent the link because it is worth watching again and again. Glenn, a long time radio and tv voice, lived in PA during my mission years. I participated in the Messiah sing in with him and found him to be a no nonsense kind of guy who cherished his conversion to the Gospel. I've always appreciated his willingness to embrace and explain our faith on national television.

I hope you enjoy the clip.

http://www.glennbeck.com/content/articles/article/200/5127/

The Johnsons have had a great break. We spent a lot of the time with family. Patten is getting bigger and chubbier by the day. Sadly, he is starting to loose some hair on his head...

Missy and Patten have a fun bond between them. Patten loves to talk to her.
Kristin decided to chop her hair off. She still hasn't decided whether she likes it or not.
Well that is all for now, I know it is rather short but there will be more later.

-The Johnson Clan

Our Growing Boy

Patten is now nearly 11 weeks old. We consider him the miracle baby. He sleeps through the night (has since 3 weeks), has made two trips two Las Vegas with us and both times we made it to Cedar City without stopping, and has now found his smile and shares it regularly. What a baby!!

His Grandpa and Mimi, Kristin's mom's preferred name in lieu of "grandma," gave him the "Jumperoo" for X-mas. Only problem is that although he seems mature for his age he's not quite large enough for the Jumperoo. But, for now it is his space ship - at least that's what this picture reminds me of.

I hope Patten won't one day kill me for posting this picture. But I just had to show how happy he looks in the bathtub. Every other day Patten gets to do his favorite thing - splash in the bathtub. It is the cutest event I have ever seen. We lay him down in the water - he looks at us for about 3 seconds - gets a big grin on his face - and then splashes until he can't splash anymore.

And finally, a random smilely picture. Isn't he cute? We just love Patten. Particularly we love his hair and the fact that no matter what we do it refuses to stay down. Oh well, he looks stlyish.

Viva Las Vegas... err Boulder City!!

We had a great time in Boulder for Thanksgiving. Kristin's aunt and uncle live in Boulder and the entire family, we're talkin' 25 people for Thanksgiving dinner, converged there for Turkey Day. I had never been, and while some of my assumptions concerning Boulder were verified - others were not. For example: (1) I thought Boulder was "just outside of Vegas." While this is true time wise, roughly 25 minutes, it is not just outside like Sandy is to SLC. You have to drive through 10 minutes of nothing to reach Boulder. (2) I thought Boulder was "a little LDS community." Truth is a few Boulder neighborhoods are "little LDS communities," such as the one Kristin's aunt and uncle live in, but the rest of the town is as diverse as you'll find. (3) I thought Boulder would be warm, hence my plethora of shorts for the trip. Truth is it is warm, however not 80's, more like 55 - 60.

Enough of my Boulder insights - on to the pictures.

Kristin's family. I did my best to show Patten's face for the picture - however the Bjorn (that backpack thing) made it a little difficult.

Cousin Trevor and Patten. If you look closely you'll see a hand holding Patten on Trevor's back - as much as I trust Trevor, I don't trust him with my child's life.

Grandpa and grandson. Patten, as you can see, has learned how to use his arms/hands. He now sucks on his hand, occasionally swings his fists of fury, and enjoys waving his arms.

Kristin's sister Kelsey and Patten. One of the best pictures of the young one - now we just need him to learn to smile for a picture.

More pictures of Patten

Patten is doing well. He gained 1 lb. in his first two weeks and at night he sleeps 4 - 5 hours between feedings.

Enjoy the pictures.

Kristin and her boy.

Amazing how people can enjoy a good diaper change.

One of Patten's many hats.

Love the boots.