Beautiful Girl

Mikenna, my little ray of sunshine, you are so amazing. 

I love you more than I could ever begin to explain.

In your short 20 months here you have done and learned so much!

(Truly, a small part of me thinks you are a genius... you know all of your colors and a good majority of your letters at 20 months, and learned them on your own. Smarty, right? Ok, maybe I'm a little biased.)

Genius or not, you are beautiful inside and out.

I am so proud to be your mama.

That face melts my heart. 

Thank you for loving me like you do Mikenna Faith, you make me happy! 

xoxox

4th of July

Mmm-k so I'm totally behind (thank goodness for backdating).

I'm a much better blogger in the winter when we are stuck inside, but someday I will catch up I swear.

Here's some pictures of our fun on the 4th.

Mikenna and Ellie put on a show and played the drums with pens and pencils... Kenna always finds the fun stuff to play with at Titi and Unco's house!

We went outside once it cooled off enough (barely) for some kick ball and fireworks.

Kenna loved the fireworks this year.

Everytime one would stop she requested "More farworks pease!"

Did I mention how flippin hot it was? Check out Kenna's sweaty hair. Pretty sweet.

Unbearably hot or not, we had fun... holidays are so much more fun with a little one around!

See you next year "farworks!"

Graeagle July 1st-4th

We went on a little weekend vacation to Graeagle this year for the 4th of July weekend.

We got some rest (amazing) and spent some time with family.

It is always nice to get away and to see Mikenna's face when we go somewhere new. 

Mikenna spent most of her time painting, blowing bubbles, exploring, and of course getting into things she isn't supposed to. (Like the cool red bamboo sticks inside the house).

We saw fireworks Saturday night. Kenna loved them and kept requesting "more fireworks please!"

Sunday we got our 4th of July clothes on and got ready for the parade.

It was hot! But we still enjoyed every minute of it. 

Kenna clapped for the bands and sat patiently watching the entire parade while eating her lunch.

This year especially, I've realized why people love vacations so much.

Having a child you get so caught up in the day to day stuff, it's so nice to get away and just be able to enjoy eachother. I don't think I really understood this until Kenna came along.

(A little sappy? Yes... but it's true. Vacations this year have become a whole different experience for me. I love spending time with those two cute faces!)

Chalkboards and Magnets...

I need more hours in the day for crafts, seriously. 

I would love to make things/paint at some point everyday, but unfortunately between cleaning, taking care of missy (and Ryan and Jala..), cooking, working, and everything else under the sun that comes up, that doesn't happen. (Sad. If anyone wants to chip in to the let Meghan stay home and craft fund, we are gladly accepting donations.)

I did find time for a couple small projects this month. 

Numero uno... I found this really cool long, skinny frame at Michael's. It was super clearanced plus I had coupons so I ended up getting it for $2.00!

I spray painted it to match the kitchen, painted to glass with chalkboard paint and voila!

We have a cute new chalkboard for our kitchen. :)

Project numero dos was some new magnet letters for the fridge.
I got the idea here

The original magnet letters are cool but the magnets tend to fall out quite often, and to be honest, they hurt like hell when you step on them!

So I made a trip to Michael's to see what I could find.

I came back with some little round wooden circles, magnets, and letter stickers. Oh, and spray paint of course. Here's how I did it:

 1. Spray paint little wooden circles.

2. Attach letter stickers to the front.

2. Mod podge the heck out of those babies! Then glue magnets to the back.

4. Finished product, I love them! Kenna love em too, she was very excited to see her "new yetters!"

I didn't leave Mikenna Faith out of all this fun... she had her own craft goin on.

I found a plaster magnet for her to paint.

She spent almost an hour painting it, happily.

That cute little cupcake is the newest addition to our fridge.

She gets it from her mama! :)

Father's Day Photo Shoot

It started out innocent enough...

I wanted cute pictures of Kenna for Father's Day gifts.

Let me tell you... attempting good, somewhat posed photos of your own 19 month old is no easy task.

Really though, she was being a little ham and I got a couple good ones off the get go...

Then, as usual she started being her funny little self and making faces for me.

Right as I was about to decide that the photos I got were good enough, Jalapeno jumped up on the couch.

I thought "maybe I'll get a picture of Kenna and Jalapeno for Ryan!"

Both his babies in one picture... had to do it.

Getting a decent picture of a 19 month old AND a small, somewhat skittish dog = well, I'll just say good luck.

I ended up getting what I needed, and couldn't help but laugh looking through all the pictures.

I love both of those little peanuts so much.

Happy Father's Day Daddy! Hope you enjoy your gifts (and pictures)!

Water Baby

I'm not sure I've ever described how much Mikenna loves water.

She would play in it all day long if I let her, even when it's cold. 

She loves swimming, and will jump in on her own over and over. 

(We will be starting swim lessons in July for my little fish)

It has been HOT so I took Mikenna to a nearby park that has a big water play area.

We played and had a picnic with Joanna and little miss Hannah.

Kenna was insistent on feeding Hannah her lunch, luckily Hannah was a team player and went along with it.

When we first got to the park Mikenna ran off on her own with the big kids.

She didn't even look back for me.

Then, I think she realized how big most of the other kids were and she wanted me to go in the water with her.

(P.S. I love that she stands sticking her booty out. This may not be a good thing in about 12 years, but for now it's cute.)

She was too busy to stop and look at the camera (stinker).

Thank you sweet Hannah for stopping long enough for a picture!

Oh wait, Mikenna almost paused once long enough for me to get a decent picture:

(notice the feet are still moving)

"All wet mama, all wet!"

 We ventured to the swings for a bit...

But not long before the girls were back in the water, holding hands (so cute).

I wish I would have gotten pictures of Mikenna running, laughing, and screaming through the water, but it's hard to do when it's in water (ha!) and you are the only one there watching her.

I seriously need a photographer to follow us around (any volunteers? I'll pay you in treats! Think about it...)

We will definitely be back soon, and often, so lots more pictures to come! :)

Princesses wear panties!

Exciting things have been going on around the Johnson house!

After a few naked days (for Mikenna, not Ryan or me, thankfully)...

...this little chicken nugget is potty trained!

Woo hoo! 

Seriously, it was like, the easiest thing ever.

Why was I so worried?

All it took was a little princess potty...

...and some "pincess big gil panties."

Mikenna hates being dirty, so I knew once she started to figure it all out she would probably be happy to be out of diapers.

Since she discovered some of her panties have princesses on them, she will NOT let them get dirty! So, princess panties it is every day. (Side note: I have totally cleaned out the stores around here of their 2T princess panties... so sorry to anyone in the area looking for them, I'm sure they'll restock 'em soon.)

She is still wearing a diaper when she's sleeping (which is fine by me, she is only 19 months old!), but hasn't worn a diaper during the day for almost a week with no accidents.

It has been one big potty party around here!

I'm sure we look like complete idiots to someone on the outside looking in... our whole house erupts with excitement, high-fives, and cheering each time Mikenna goes potty.

But, I am more than happy to celebrate like an idiot... good job little mama, so proud of you!!