Updates

The holidays are here! We love this time of the year and look forward to coming home for a few weeks. Days off work, parades, turkey, football, family, friends, snow, and our new addition Maddie have us excited about the holidays this year. Maddie is growing and we added some new pics to our flickr account to the right. I am also working on a small video to upload on to this site so look out for that soon.

We are coming home on December 18-January 2nd, alot more time then last year!
I have also taken a few steps to start my own business, while Mary is enjoying motherhood and keeping Maddie nice and full:), and Mary is also looking to take a few classes next year towards her Master's.

That's all for now...adios!

Happy Halloween

Things are well in Florida, despite recent weather. Pensacola was hit hard with tornado's yesterday, but all we got was a lot of rain and some wind.
Maddie is growing....she weighs in at 13 pounds and 10 ounces. She smiles constantly, especially the mornings, and is trying to talk. She stands while we hold on to her and she loves tummy time.
We are looking forward to visiting Akron this Christmas and should be making travel arrangements soon. I know this time we are going to relax and enjoy ourselves because last year was too much on us trying to see everyone in 1-2 weeks. Go Indians and Browns...and Buckeyes!!!!

Updates and New Pics!!

We uploaded about 10 new pictures to our flickr account on the right. Maddie is growing like a flower and her first word was Hi, she said that about 2 weeks ago. Since then she had her 2 month shots and did excellent, and is also saying red, roar, and other sounds. Mary, being a true speech language pathologist is going to have Maddie reciting her full alphabet by this weekend!

My mother has been visiting us for the last week and is leaving tomorrow, it's been nice having her down spending time with Maddie, and it makes me miss Akron. I guess the other thing that makes me miss Akron is the stupid rednecks I am surrounded by, in all seriousness most people are nice down here, but some are just really dumb, especially in Panama City where I do business sometimes. That places has the best looking beaches anywhere, but when you step off the sand it's all down here from there. Oh well...

We got some good pics of Maddie and her grandma today, check them out.

Other wise work is busy, and has it's ups and downs, but I can't complain. I had a nice talk with my boss today and it was very reassuring. My fraternity brother in Minnesota and I will be running the Pensacola half marathon in February, it's 13.1 miles so it will give me a reason to put down the sweets and run more.

Go Buckeyes, Browns, and Indians!!!!

Updates

There's a bunch to update everyone on so here goes...Maddie got her shots yesterday and is doing great. Although I was traveling for work, Mary and Maddie had a great time. Mary is enjoying mother hood:)...I heard her on the phone singing Maddie the hokie pokie (is that spelled right?)and Maddie was loving it. We will be spending a day at the beach and taking the dogs out so I will make sure and get some updated pics up. Maddie is up to 22 inches and almost 12 pounds already.

My new job is going very well. It's busy now because I'm learning on the go but I would rather do this then my last gig any day. There is no doubt in my new position that I am helping to make a difference in many students lives. Although I'm still waiting for Mary to get through grad school, get a job and make the big bucks so I can retire at 35 and be a stay at home dad.

We are looking to move to Jacksonville in the next 2 months and will probaly rent out our house, while we rent in Jacksonville. There's alot more to do in Jacksonville and it's closer to Disney. My new company has an apartment for us in the mean time if we need it while we tyransition from Pensacola.

That's about all for now...Go Browns, Go Indians, Go Buckeyes and now I don't have to fake it any longer...Fuck the Gators...pardon my profanity but it's a true indication of my feelings on that subject.

Monday update

Madison is growing like crazy, she has to be up to 8-9 pounds now. She's doing very well and is smiling alot:)

As some of you know, or could read from my last post my job was not going well. Since then I have decided to leave UF and have accepted an offer from a company that is a provider of supplemental educational services to schools in Northern Florida. This job will mean moving to Jacksonville by the end of the year. It will also mean alot more to me, but I won't go into that.

With the new job we have decided to have Mary stay home with the baby at this time. The more I read about daycare, and the stories I hear from friends/family, the less I like the idea of taking Madison to a place full of relative strangers and leaving her, although I can see why some have to do it. Economically some famalies have to do it and I understand that.

Mary is looking to begin her Masters in Summer/Fall of '08 and is getting her applications in order. The 2 programs she will be applying to are part distance ed. programs so it will work with the baby, although we may find someone to help out.

Jacksonville is a neat place, we visited once and it was so spread out we could'nt see alot of stuff. I really like the fact that it's 2-3 hours South of Charleston, South Carolina, and 1-2 hours North of orlando/Disney! Jacksonville has a bigger airport for visitors as well.

Updates

So it looks like updates are needed. Maddie is doing well and eating like no one's business. She's growing every day and smiling more and more. Mary is also doing well and is pretty much tied to Maddie 24/7 with her feeding schedule.
I opened a forture cookie a few weeks ago and there was no fortune. I thought that was symbolic of where I am at with my job at this time. All I can say is change is in the air.
Enjoy the pics. Go Browns!

Updates/2 year wedding anniversary edition

Maddie just had here 2 week Doctor's appointment and she gained a pound and is up to 20 inches. She is eating a lot lately and seems to be growing over the last 3-4 days. The dogs have gotten very protective of Mary and the baby, especially Snoopy. They no longer let me take them outside in the morning, they wait for Mary and the baby by her bed until she takes them out. Zoey, our white cat is a bit jealous, but is adjusting and Willie, our darker cat, does not give a crap because he's still the big cheese.

Mary and I will be celebrating our 2 year wedding anniversary this weekend. We watched the tape of our wedding last night and plan to "get away" sometime this weekend, for dinner and a movie and maybe some beach time. Of course, I will be traveling to main campus Sunday night for business and will be away the day of our anniversary this Monday, August 13th. Needless to say I am not happy with my job right now.
Enjoy the pics of Maddie's first 2 weeks!!

Update

Madison came home Friday and it's been great having her with us, she's up probaly about 1-2 hours a day, not all together, but the moments she is up are excellent. Mary is doing well recovering and feeding at the same time. Madison is also helping us out a bit by sleeping well, although we are up 1-2 times a night as expected.
Mary's mother and grandma are helping with stuff around the house so we can focus on Maddie. Enjoy the pics...more to come

She's here!!!

Baby Madison Elizabeth Johnson was born on Tuesday at 4:40PM and weighs in at 6 pounds and 7 ounces (more then we originally thought), and is 19 inches long. Mary was excellent throughout the whole surgery and is recovering very well. Both mother and baby are doing great. The staff at Sacred Heart hospital has been wonderful.

Another week..

After testing the Doctor decided to wait another week.
Updates to come, the next date we get will definately be for sure..should get the news today.

Maddie will be here soon...hopefully

Here's the deal, we go in for testing and if all goes well, we go in tomorrow morning very early and have a health baby girl...The Doctor expects the testing today to go as planned and then have the baby tomorrow...There is a chance of the test coming back that Maddie needs more time, and then we wait, at the most 3-5 days...
Needless to say it's a busy time, good busy, but busy...Mary is doing well besides the regular aches and pains...I am looking forward to my next post :)

News...

Doctor's appointment today and it looks like Madison will be here soon, in 2 weeks!

35 weeks and counting

Mary is about 35 weeks and the appointments are every week now. It also looks like the baby will be here sooner then later! Mary is doing great while still working full time, she's a trooper.
Things are crazy with all of the stuff happening but we are excited for the future. We have family on both sides coming down over the next 2-3 months, with my family coming next week. We are finishing up the nursery this week. Needless to say if you call us and we don't answer that's probaly why.

Things are good in Florida!

Shower Pics...Enjoy

Future posts

We've been having issues with our camera so I ordered a new one last night. Before that I want to post pics from the Akron trip/shower asap, hopefully by tomorrow.

We had our Doctors appointment this week and Mary is 30 weeks and doing well. Our appointments have went up to every 2 weeks, compared to every month before.

All is good at the Johnson residence, enjoy the holiday.
mj

Wednesday Post/Pics

This picture was Mary this morning and the almost finished yard.
-Mj

Weekend trips

Mary is 24 weeks! Time is flying and she's getting more aches and pains but she's tough. I think we will have another ultrasound when we get back in May.

I love this time of the year! The weather is nice, the colors start to come out, and the days off work begin. I get a lot of vacation per year along with a bunch of holidays so it makes me happy when this time rolls around. We have our trip home lined up along with a few weekend trips to Destin, New Orleans, and maybe Atlanta. I also will be going to Boston for a long weekend in late May. We love to travel and are trying to hit some places before the baby comes.
There's a chance we may take a short trip home in October with the baby? We'll see.

2 weeks until we come home!

Thursday morning

I got up this morning and decided to take the morning off for a few reasons. One being I can, two because I have so much personal leave, and three Mary is off today so I will be able to hang out with her. I think we are going to breakfast. She's been working hard at work (worked 12 hours yesterday) so I did a bunch of stuff including dishes, laundry, and some cleaning last night.
I hope all of you enjoy the pictures. I want to get a better camera and maybe a video camera for the big day and after, but we are not recording the actual birth.

We will be recording the before and after and taking alot of pictures. I hope to put the pics up pretty fast after the big event, I just need to find out if the hospital has internet.
Mary has her Doctor' appointment and she's going solo today, this will be the only one I miss.
We have 2 more weeks until we come home!

As for more pictures we will see. I will try and get a few from the Misses as she "grows".

Madison

We got this at our last ultrasound a few weeks ago. There are a few other pics but this one comes out the best online.

Lazy weekend

We had a lazy weekend. The kind where you set out to get a bunch done but end up staying in and snoozing most of the weekend away. It was Easter anyway. Here are some up to date pics of Mary and Zowie...enjoy

Pics...variety, Mary, animals, and my recent project in the front yard...Thanks Jamie!

Sunday update

We toured the hospital where Mary will be giving birth. I like it because it has a Subway, Wendys, and Starbucks, plus the cafetaria inside the hospital. The facilities and people all seem great to.
We also discussed some details like how long the normal hospital stay usually is, how many people will be in the room when the baby is delivered, and other things that come up.

Mary is doing well, besides a pain here and there, but the naseau has went away. I actually felt the baby kick two days ago, very cool. We also registered and bought a stroller and bouncy thingy...that's what you call them right?!?
And by the way Mary is not to happy these days, her belly is growing and I promise pics will be up very soon showing the beautiful mother to be.

The heat is definately back, we are in the 80's and above all this week. That means the grass will need cut...sigh...but I enjoy the warm weather it just takes a week of getting used to.
Big weekend coming up next week with the UF plant sale which means I will get a bunch of free plants in exchange for helping out. The Pensacola Jazz fest is also next weekend so we are going to hit that.

It's a girl!!

We finally found out the baby's sex and it's definately a girl. Sometimes they are not sure with the ultrasound but 2 other people in the Doctors office confirmed it.
We are happy and excited!!!

Wednesday is the day

We did not find out last week as most of you know already. The ultrasound tech. really tried but the baby was not having it.

We are going to have another ultrasound this Wednesday thoough.

Mary is doing well and still not showing much. We are working on the baby shower this week with my sister and some of Mary's friends. We also made our final plans for our trip back home in early May and I can't wait.

Everything is blooming down here s othe pollen is out of control resulting in me being laid up for most of the weekend. Allergies suck.

Still working on the pics...

Tomorrow!!!

We get the big news tomorrow, hopefully Baby Johnson will go along with everything.
The weather has been nice here so I have been out to take care of the yard. Me and a buddy tore up half the front yard where the grass is dead, put new soil in and mulched it. We are going to put plants/flowers in after the schools plant sale at the end of the month.

Mary is growing!!! I promise to get a pick up but she is finally getting that basketball shape. She also has her last day at rat heaven/UWF on Friday.

Saint Paddy's Day is this weekend..it's nuts but I have to admit that now is the time I have been most homesick and I think Mary feels the same way. Saint Paddy's day is a big day for us and friends back home. I used to get up in the morning and hang out with friends all day and have a few drinks in the process. This year our friends here are going to be in North Carolina for the weekend so it's gonna suck, but we may try and hit the beach Saturday. If I had an extra $500 Mary and I would fly up for the weekend.

Work is work...I really want to start my own business but for now UF puts food on the table and in Marys mouth/Baby Johnson's mouth.

The rest is political so if you don't want to read farther and are a Republican/Bush lover you may want to quit reading.

Bush is such a jabroni. His whole world is falling down around him and he still acts like this Texas cowboy trying to fire attorneys for no reason. His so called great economy is crashing because it was all about the housing market and sub prime lenders giving money to people who were not credit worthy. Now all of their loans are foreclosing and homes are decreasing in value 10% acrossed the board. Tax cuts my ass...mark my words, foreclosures will go up and home values go down equaling a disaster. Alot of people will not be able to pay their mortgage's.
And then Walter Reed hospital is a total disgrace to every politician in Washington, especially Bush. I watched C Span where a guy was testifying on the treatment he got, half of his hand was missing and he served in Iraq twice and he was treated like a piece of crap. What suprises me is not how low Bush's approval ratings are, but how 30% of Americans can still approve of what he is doing? Their all probaly from this area though..

I have thought about not watching tv for a month, no news, wrestling, well maybe Wrestling and The office but there is too much crap out there. Anna Nicole and Britney Spears do not mean a thing to me.

Friday!!

It's Friday! We find out the sex of the baby Thursday! Breastfeeding class was good although it was kind of weird when the instructor kept on grabbing her boobs to demonstrate. Of course her shirt was on but still...
And yes I went to be supportive and got the Father of the night award!

Enterprise High School

Very sad

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z4U33Ma0HN8

2 more weeks?!?

Needless to say we do not know the babys sex. They are not going to check until mid March. Sorry to all who were excited to hear...the heartbeat was 150 beats a minute though...

Tomorrow is the big day!

I will be posting as soon as we find out the sex so look forward to something tomorrow afternoon. Have a good one!

It's Friday rant and raves

Gosh I love Friday. It's not that I hate my job but Friday is great especially when it's sunny/warm.
Mary's job is a joke though. They have a rat infestation in their ceilings that was right above Mary and finally they moved her. Well yesterday they told her she is moving back into the original office. You would think that he job is in a garage or something but no it's in a state building that looks very nice from the outside. Needless to say plans are in motion for a change.

Mary is either gonna find something else, maybe full time, maybe part time or stay home. It's sad that she's had to deal with this at a Institute of higher education. The people at her work don't care about it because it's not above their offices. Whatever, I will make sure and call the Governor's office and fill them in on their "infestation".

It's good we started watching our money when we learned of the baby. Now we are in the mode of saving/budgeting and if we have to go to one income we'll be fine.

We learn the sex of the baby Thursday, March 1st so we are excited about that. I am going to post a poll if I can so everyone can vote what they think it will be. All indicators so far point to a girl. If it's a girl her name will be Janaki Jabroni Johnson...JJJ...

Sicko's

Is everybody sick or what? Chances are you reading this, or someone you know are sick or were sick in the last 1-2 weeks. Mary has been out of work all week with the flu and I had it in a milder form last week.
It's cold here to, cold to me is anything below 50 (sorry fellow Ohioans) but that's how it is.

It's Friday and I need to do something. Between taking care of Mary, the house, working, tutoring, and my class, I am going stir crazy. Mardi gras (is that spelled right) is huge down here so we may get out to a parade if Mary is up to it. I am also seeing Ghost rider this weekend...yay! I love the comic book and am looking forward to the movie.

Medical bills suck even if you have good health insurance. Mary and I had surgery last year and although 90% of it was covered we had to cover the 10%. The problem is that everyone bills you separately, the hospital, the anaesthesia people, the physical therapy people and it goes on.

I have come to the conclusion in life that information is very important. Take tax's for instance. There are all these tax breaks out there that in my opinion are put out there because they know that some people will not take them, simply because they don't know about them. That's why I laugh when I see people paying H and R block 100 bucks to do their tax's when I paid nothing to use the same computer program that H and R block uses.

OK I'm done yapping. I will be spending the afternoon at the Honda dealership getting my car fixed. Yay..

15 and 1

Mary is 15 weeks and one day today. Everything is going very well and she's starting to feel movement in her tummy. This picture is from a week ago with our sheltie Snoopy Snoo and my beautiful wife Mary "mocha pants" Johnson.
Next Dr. appointment is Wednesday, Valentine's day.
We are looking forward to finding out the sex of the baby in the next 1-2 months.
Also a random observation...2007 is flying by. It's mid Febuary already, nuts.

Sun!!

I know most of you reading this are from good ol Ohio where it's very cold. It's actually been cold here, although I now consider cold anything below 50-60. It finally jumped up to the 60's with sun yesterday. It's a great time of year down here because it's gets warmer but without the humidity you see in June-August when it's really hot.

Mary is doing well and we got a picture to put up this weekend. She has officially "popped" although you still can't tell if you saw her. Our good friends down here that are having a baby and are 3 weeks ahead of us just found out they are having a girl. Jamie teaches at UF where I work so we all hang out together, and then Suzie his wife got pregnant and 2-3 weeks later we found out Mary is pregnant. Jamie was very excited yesterday after hearing the news that they are having a girl.

Suzie, Jamie's wife and Kat are throwing Mary a shower as well. Very cool.
We are also making plans to return to Akron for a shower in late April/Mayish.
It's almost the weekend!

Updates

Brrrr..it's been cold outside, even down here in Florida the temp. has dipped in the 20-30's a few nights. January here sucks...it rains all the time and it's cold.
Mary is doing well, she is around 13 weeks. This is the boring time I guess where there's just not much going on pregnancy wise. She is going into her 2nd trimester, not showing yet, no kicks yet, we don't know the sex of the baby yet and no Doctors appointment until early/mid February.
Finding the right daycare has become a goal of ours. I've heard some stories from people that make me want to scream. There are 2-3 within 10 minutes of us, one that will be opening in August so we will see.

2nd Doctors visit

We had our 2nd Doctors visit yesterday and it went well. Despite having to sit there for almost half the day we were very pleased with everything. They did a doppler ultrasound and we saw the baby for the 2nd time on the screen. This time the baby was jumping around, it was unreal. And then it's little hand went up and started waving, it was very cool. We then listened to the heart beat...another awesome thing. Then the baby went to sleep...lol. I guess babies in the womb sleep a ton.
After that we met with the Doctor and she went over some stuff with us. Everything is healthy and on track. Mary goes back in 4 weeks, and she is exactly 12 weeks today.
We got our first few items for the baby at the bookstore last night. We don't know the sex so we are waiting on that for alot of stuff but we figured some books would do. Mary and I like to read so we plan on reading books to the baby early on.
Mary is doing well, still getting sleep whenever she can. Her appetite is up and down but she's keeping what she eats down. She's doing well with work and everything.
We are looking forward to finding out the sex of the baby in the next 1-2 months. My bet is on a girl, but I also thought the Buckeyes would kill the Gators.

Friday is the big day

Mary has been feeling bad the last week with the sickness and the aches/pains. We are both impatiently waiting for the 2nd trimester where we are told it gets easier for a few months. She seems to be keeping down alot more lately and getting the extra sleep she needs.

I spend alot of time wondering what it will be like with a baby in the house? Will I be a good father? How will it affect our relationship? To help me answer these questions I do alot of reading. Not many people know that I love to read, and it was not always that way, but after college I started to read almost a book a week. My current reading consists of pregnancy magazines and books and all of my questions seem to be normal for a first time father.

The reading does get me excited about having a child, forming our family, and putting my stamp on this world. In my mind Mary and I are a team throughout the process, although she deals with alot more physically and mentally then I have to. My goal is to make her feel as good as possible throughout the pregnancy.

Our next Doctors appointment is Friday for the 12 week ultrasound. We get to hear the babys heartbeat and see him/her again!
Mary is not showing much yet, but we expect the tummy to grow in the next month. I will definately get some pics up if she lets me.

1st Doctors visit

We had our first major Doctors visit and found out Mary was about 10-11 weeks along, exactly as I predicted. I was right that she was initially pregnant, and now I'm right on how far along she is...cha ching. Included in this post is the picture from the ultrasound. We are going back next Friday to have a more in depth ultrasound done. All I can say is it's amazing to see the heart beating on the screen, I took the picture to work and showed it off to everyone!

Mary has been sick alot with morning sickness and has all the other signs of being pregnant. It's pretty funny, she has these cravings that are so specific it's not even funny. One day she wants cheese sticks without the sauce and the next she wants something else weird. Besides the morning/all day sickness she is doing fine and she has been a trooper only missing one day of work because of it. Good stuff

We're having a baby!!

We found out after christmas we are having a baby. I think we both had feelings of excitment followed by alot of thought. We have been talking about having a baby for a while, but thought it could wait...guess not.

We are happy right now and excited for the future....and I am going to do my best to keep you all updated using this blog! Pardon my grammer...blame Akron city schools...

Our trip home was great because of many reasons, one reason I already went over above, but we also got to see our family and friends. We spent time with our family and got to see many of our friends. Although we were tired from all of the traveling it was well worth it.

Enjoy our pics from our trip home...

Ice skating

Browns game with some good friends

Mary with her niece

I love my nieces!