World Down Syndrome Day

March 21st is World Down Syndrome Day! We have a couple fun activities planned that day, and we would love for you to join us in celebrating Caleb and the rest of the Down syndrome community! If you are the proud owner of a Team Caleb shirt, please wear it on Monday! Take a photo and either send it to me or post it on your social media account! We'd love to see you celebrating our little guy!

OKC friends, head to 23rd Street for dinner Monday evening! Back Door BBQ and Big Truck Tacos will donate 10% to the Down Syndrome Association of Central Oklahoma! 

And while you're here reading this blog post, check out this beautiful video!

Happy Heart Day Caleb!

It's been three years since Caleb's open heart surgery! Our heart-shaped pancake breakfast celebration is one of my favorite family traditions. Caleb had an outstanding check-up with his cardiologist a few weeks ago, and his heart still looks great! We are forever thankful for God's provision and protection, the skillful hands of Caleb's surgeon, the expertise of the cardiac team at Childrens Med Center in Dallas and Children's Heart Center in OKC, and all the prayers lifted up by our family and friends. 

Tyler - Twelve Months

Weight: 19 lbs, 6 oz

Length: 30.5"

Clothing size: 12-18 month shirts, 12 month pants

Shoe size: Size 3

Diaper size: Size 3

Eating: For the past month, Tyler was still nursing when he was with me and taking bottles at MDO, but we're starting the weaning process now that he's one. He nurses a few times each day and drinks whole milk at other times. He refuses to eat any homemade baby foods now, except for his favorite avocado/banana. He loves yogurt and baby food pouches. His favorite bite-sized foods are peanut butter Cheerios, raisins, and cheese.

Sleeping: Tyler goes to bed at about 8:30pm and wakes up around 7:30am. He often wakes around 10:00pm and quickly falls back asleep if we rock him for a little bit. He also usually wakes up around 2:00-3:00am. (Brad and I are hoping that the night-waking comes to an end soon!) He usually takes a nap around around 11:00 and sleeps for 1-3 hours. Occasionally, he takes a short afternoon nap.

Highlights of the month: Tyler has switched from army crawler to hands/knees crawler. He pulls up to anything he can find, and he loves walking while holding our hands. He hasn't built up the courage to take independent steps yet, but I bet he will soon. 

2015 Review

Here's the nine most liked photos from 2015 on my instagram account. These photos pretty much sum up our year.

First row (l-r)
- Caleb and Brad after Caleb was discharged from the hospital in Kansas where he was treated for RSV and pneumonia.
- Caleb was so excited to hold his baby brother! They didn't get to meet at the hospital because Caleb had the flu when Tyler was born. January and February were rough months for illnesses in our family. Let's hope 2016 treats us better.
- Welcome to the world, Tyler Cole! Brad and I were so excited to meet our little guy!

Second row (l-r)
- Baby Tyler on his birth day. His head was too big for any of the newborn hats at the hospital.
- My precious family of four
- Those boys. "Tyler bit me!"

Third row (l-r)
- Happy Heart Day, Caleb! We celebrated the second anniversary of his open heart surgery on Feb 1st
- Another pic of my precious little family
- Caleb started walking this spring. What a game changer that milestone was!

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas from the Johnsons!

The Gift Giver

There's a new childrens book this Christmas season, and I'm loving it! I don't even remember how I heard about it, but I ordered it weeks ago and patiently waited for it to arrive a few days after Thanksgiving (it was on backorder at the time). Anyway... the book is called The Gift Giver. The beautifully written story explains how Santa Claus and his gifts are a representation of God and His gift to us, Jesus Christ. And the illustrations are absolutely breathtaking. I've always thought Polar Express was the most beautifully illustrated book, and I think The Gift Giver is equally stunning. 

Caleb and Tyler aren't old enough yet to really be into Santa or understand the true meaning of Christmas, but I hope that this book will help keep the holiday in perspective for them (well, for all of us) as they get older. 

It might be too late for you to get this book and read it to your kids this Christmas, but you can order it now and have it ready for next year!

The Gift Giver website - read more and order here!

http://www.thegiftgiver.net/

Or order on Amazon.com!

http://www.amazon.com/Gift-Giver-Jacob-Haslem/dp/0996700005/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1450893225&sr=8-1

Tyler - Eleven Months

Weight: 19 lbs, 3 oz

Length: 30"

Clothing size: 12 month

Shoe size: Size 3

Diaper size: Size 3

Eating: Tyler is still nursing when he's with me and taking bottles at MDO. He eats pureed foods three times/day. We've been trying to introduce some new foods like cheese, pasta, and small veggies, but he's not a fan of those things yet. He likes blueberry yogurt, raisins, Cheerios, though.

Sleeping: Tyler goes to bed at about 8:30pm and wakes up around 7:30am. About half of the time, he sleeps through the night. On the other nights, he will wake up once (sometime between 11:00pm and 3:00am). He usually takes a nap around around 11:00 and sleeps for 1-3 hours.

Highlights of the month: Tyler got his top two front teeth. He is pulling up on furniture, toys and me. He's also taking some steps while holding my hands and with his activity walker. He can crawl on his hands and knees, but he still prefers to army crawl.