Thanksgiving Day - Christmas Tree Excursion

Happy Thanksgiving..... This year we stayed in Montana for Thanksgiving, and sadly we didn't have any plans. So we decided to go and get our Christmas Tree. We have a tradition that we do every year. We go to the same place pretty close to the Bridger Bowl Ski Area. Except we ran into a bit more snow than usually. Jayce made it interesting to say the least. He is way to big to carry, and to small to walk with us. So we opted for the Baby Bijorn that he out grew about 9 months ago. But it got the job done. We were in Snow up to my thighs most of the time. Taking steps was a challenge. We were about to give up and just cut any tree down, because I was so tired, but just then we found a tree that we liked. Pat cut it down, and loaded it up. The funny thing is, I think it was the best tree we have gotten in a long time. As usual it was a beautiful Montana blue sky day. We had a great time getting our tree. We will be celebrating Thanksgiving a few days late this year. We are having Brandt and Mandi over on Saturday. So we thought it would be fun to have our Christmas decorations up for them when they get here.

We are thankful for so many things, and grateful for what god has giving us. Even though Jayce can be a handful, he makes us smile, laugh, and feel loved every day. We love watching him grow. Thanks to our wonderful family and friends for making this a great year despite some hardships that we have faced.

Pat just finishing cutting the tree down.

Family Picture

Crystal and Jayce

Patrick and Jayce smelling the needles

18 month check-up

Jayce had his 18 month check up last Friday. It is really hard to believe that he is a year and half already. Most days I think its flown by, but when I really think of how much he's grown and how much we have done since we had him it seem like so much. Jayce weighed 25lbs 8oz, and was 32 1/2"tall. He seems to be keeping steady with his own growth curve. The doctor said he seems really healthy and happy. He is in the 50% for weight, height, and head circumference.

One concern we had been dealing with is his eating habits. He started off doing really well, from about 6 months-14 months he really seemed to eat everything we offered to him. Jayce was a great eater. But the last 4 months have seemed to get more difficult. He doesn't really want to eat any proteins or meat, except dino chicken nuggets. He isn't eating any vegetables right now, and wont really eat what we are eating. The doctor said usually at his age they will eat parts of our meals, but not Jayce. We have actually had to start feeding him baby food again, because that is all we can get him to eat. The doctor said that based on his weight and the fact he seems to be on track with everything else, she isn't concerned at this point. She said it is fairly common for Jayce's age to be picky. So I guess we will continue to try feeding him and offering him different foods in hope that he will change his mind.

Jayce currently has 16 teeth. He only has 1 more set of molars to come in. I think that usually happens around 2 years old. I an not looking forward to those. Jayce had a really difficult time with getting his eye teeth in. We had a rough 201/2 months teething.

Jayce is really starting to learn a lot of words, direction, and he is constantly watching us. He seems to be really mechanical with things. He loves getting things out (like our kitchen utensils) and putting things back. He says momma, dadda, cat, dog, kitty, outside, gentle, more, please, thank you, hi, bye-bye, toons (cartoons) and more. He also can count to 3. We say 1 and he will say 2 - 3. Its really cute.

Jayce really likes to go outside. I try to take him to the park as much as possible. I also let him run around the backyard when its nice enough. But I think Jayce feels really special when Pat takes him out in the garage and front yard. He loves pushing the broom around and playing with Pats tools. He can spend hours out there with Pat. I think it is so cute.

Well it had been a while since I had updated our blog with much information, so I thought I would give an update.

Love~ the Johanson's!

Halloween 09 Pictures

Patrick and Jayce - Trick or Treating at the Mall

Crystal and Jayce (cute little turtle)

Jayce getting ready to go Trick or Treating

Pat and Crystal - Halloween Party

Paying tribute to our High School days....