Sarah Bear

Sarah is continuing to blossom each day to our amazement. She is picking up new words, forming sentences and now singing songs on her own. Last night she sang "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" after I put her down for the night. Too cute. We are trying to get her to sing 'ABC's' but so far she only chimes in at "X, Y, Z". She is also trying to learn how to channel her frustration without turning into the Tasmanian Devil. We taught her to tell us "Sarah frustrated" when she is just that...frustrated. It seems a 2 year old gets frustrated a lot because they want to be so darn independent and are still trying to communicate. She loves to get her groove on. We didn't have the video recorder on last night as she was shaking her booty to Lady Gaga's "Poker Face". Her new favorite phrase is "love him" or "I love him" in reference to any of her dolls, toys, "Fishy", etc. There's a quick update to the world of Sarah.

Happy Earth Day!

Kirk and Sarah show off their chalk art work at the front entrance of the house. Included is Darth Vader's star fighter (I know, I'm a dork)

Got er'done!

I participated in my first triathlon yesterday in Durango, CO at the Fort Lewis College. I was pretty darn nervous before the event started and had to call Kirk for a pep talk since we drove separately given he was on Daddy Duty. I started to feel a bit more comfortable as I watched the first heat of swimmers. I took a deep breath and reminded myself participating in this event was for me...it was a goal I had and was going to complete successfully. So no worries, just have fun. Plus the weather was awesome and I ended up with a sunburn on my arms. Sunscreen would have been nice...go figure.

I felt comfortable while swimming which was the biggest hurdle in the entire race, so I thought. My swim time includes the time it took to run from the swimming pool to the transition area entrance so all in all, I'm happy with the time I think it took to swim. It was better than I anticipated given my recent introduction into the swimming world. The bike ride went well. But I thought the toughest part of the race was transitioning from riding a bike to running. And I love to run. The first 100 yards of the run was difficult. I felt like my legs were rubber and I was in one of those bad dreams when you want to run and you think you are running, but you're not at all. Once I got warmed up, I was good to go. That's until I hit the part of the run course I wasn't expecting. It must be that I'm challenged when it comes to map reading or just didn't know the area. I thought I was prepared because I ran the course a couple of times before the race date. But the course went from on the road to an off road dirt trail that in parts where more like mild hiking vs. running. So I quickly walked the downhill parts to eliminate potential for falling since my legs were tired.
The best part of the race was running through the finish line. Once they collected my timing chip anklet, I proceeded to walk into Kirk's open arms for a wonderful hug. And then I held Sarah and got a big smooch. Never underestimate the power of 1. accomplishing a personal goal and 2. receiving wonderful love from your team of supporters at the end. When I got home, there was a beautiful bouquet of flowers waiting for me as a gift from my hubby and baby girl. Awesome!

The following goals were met:

1. I learned how to swim. Kirk said I looked graceful which was a HUGE complement.

2. I completed my first triathlon.

3. I didn't come in dead last.

4. I didn't get a penalty for screwing up along the way.

Life is good.

New Addition

We have a new addition to the Johnson family. Meet "Fishy". He is a Betta fish that hails from the exotic land of Petco. We ran through several names but "Fishy" seems to be sticking. We thought we would take a stab with our first pet for Sarah being a fish. So far so good. We haven't found "Fishy" belly up yet. We nicknamed Sarah "Darla" from the Disney movie 'Finding Nemo'. Darla is the niece of the dentist with a history of harassing the fish in the aquarium. Sarah likes to tap on the fish tank and says "tickle tickle" because she wants to hold the fish and tickle him. Too cute.

Sarah had her 2-year well child visit yesterday with our new doctor. I wasn't impressed with the sweat shop pediatrics office at the hospital. We finally got into a highly recommended family practice. Her stats are as follows:

Weight: 25 lbs/25th percentile

Height: 33in/40th percentile

She is an active kid that I hope is taller than me so she doesn't have to hem her petite pants. We keep trying to feed her all the time and have switched to whole milk for a fat adder. She may just have the Johnson and Cristofano families' metabolism which isn't a bad thing. But she is doing great!!

Thank you Easter Bunny...Bwak Bwak!

We had a nice Easter weekend though the weather wasn't the best. It was cooler and very windy. Our co-workers invited us over to their house on Sunday for an Easter egg hunt and lunch with their girls. We had a great time and the food was wonderful. Sarah really enjoyed the egg hunt once she got the swing of it. At first she didn't understand what was going on until she opened her first egg to see there were treats inside. Once she figured it out, she got her game face on and was after any and all eggs. She quickly filled her basket. After the hunt, she wanted to be like the big girls and eat the treats inside. Most were chocolate so we had to divert her attention to other things. She got to try jelly beans for the first time. However, all other candy was confiscated and put away. We hope everyone had a nice Easter celebration.
Sarah's 2-year well child check up is later in the week. We had to reschedule her first dentist appointment for later in the month, however. I get to enjoy my first trip out to the field on Thursday and can't wait. It's been a very long time since I wore my Nomex coveralls and steel toe boots.

Our baby is now 2!

On March 30th, Sarah turned the big 2! We can't believe how fast time has passed. I had flashbacks to the days before her delivery and the delivery itself. We went to the doctor the week before the due date, April 1st, to find Sarah was retracting and not making her way into the birth canal. The decision was made on that day to schedule a C-Section for Friday, March 30th. We had to be at the hospital before the crack of dawn for surgery prep. I remember waking up at 3am in a total panic because I thought we overslept and lost our opportunity to have her that morning. After calming down, Kirk and I went back to bed but couldn't sleep because of the excitement. We were originally scheduled to have surgery at 7am but my doctor, Dr. Mark Richey who is superman, was called to an emergency delivery. Unfortunately the moon was full that week and there is an old wives tale about the full moon and the increase in babies delivered. We were convinced of that because the maternity and labor ward was full...there were no beds available. The only place for Kirk and I to wait was in really uncomfortable chairs in the hallway. I was sitting naked in my hospital gown with my IV and hospital issued hair cap + socks on. We watched the nurses come and go as they scurried to help patients. We waited for two hours...the longest two hours of our lives. We were both nervous, excited, scared and growing inpatient. Then, it was time. Deep breath...I was a bundle of nerves as the nurse took me through the operating doors and I had to leave Kirk behind for the time being. They administered the spinal and laid me down on the table for all the world to see. At that point, I didn't care who saw me buck naked, I just wanted to finally meet my baby girl. They escorted Kirk in and in no time, there she was. The emotion that comes over you the first time you see your child is hard to describe but so overwhelming and powerful. If the world was full of that emotion, boy would this place be much happier. After recovery, they took me to the room. Shortly after arriving and getting settled, in walked Kirk pushing the bassinet with Sarah. He handed her to me and I had fallen in love. I was a mommy and couldn't imagine life otherwise. We were complete.

That baby is now 2 and she is growing so fast and becoming a very smart whipper snapper. Her personality continues to blossom on a daily basis. We are truly blessed.

Our original plan was to have a birthday celebration Saturday March 28th with both set of grandparents. But thanks to the random spring blizzard in Denver, my parents did not make it which was a bummer. Kirk's parents were able to join us and we had a great time. Sarah received many wonderful gifts from family and friends. Her big gift from Kirk and I was a big girl bike made by Kettler. It's the cat's meow and is adjustable so will grow with her until it's time for a 2-wheel.

We enjoyed "Horton Hears a Who" strawberry cupcakes, recipe courtesy of Martha Stewart. Sarah wasn't too interested in the cake part...she would rather just lick the frosting from her fingers. We enjoyed another favorite of Sarah's that night - lasagna. We took cupcakes to school on Monday to share with friends as well. Her 2-year well child check up is scheduled for April 16th as well as her first trip to the dentist. Stay tuned for the stats...

Go Orediggers!

Kirk and I celebrated EDays Around the World last Thursday with local alumni from Farmington and Durango. I volunteered about a month ago, to be the CSM alumni section coordinator for the Four Corners area. Kirk, poor guy, got sucked in by default.

We had a great time catching up with an alumni that worked with BP in Alaska while we were there along with others in the area. Our babysitter had to cancel last minute, so poor Sarah was subject to hanging out with us but she was a trooper.

Wish me luck

I'm about to embark on a new adventure...new to me and intimidating to say the least. It's something I've always wanted to do but never had the guts to get er'done or wanted to deal with the crazy competitive women in Anchorage. After meeting Brandyn Roark Gray, super Xterra triathlete and coach for the Four Corners Aquatic Team, I can now swim for the first time in 34 years. Sad but true. Sarah was a big motivator to learn plus I can't tell you how many times I had a mental breakdown in the ocean while snorkeling due to the lack of swimming skills or confidence. Kirk may be able to relay his painful memories from trips to Hawaii or Mexico.

So, now I can swim. And once we arrived in Farmington last fall, I purchased a new road bike. Given those key ingredients along with training off and on since December, I feel I'm as ready as I can be for my first triathlon. In less than two weeks, I'll be participating in the Tri the Rim triathlon on the Fort Lewis College campus. I say participate vs. compete because it's more of an event for me to try and finish (without coming in dead last). If anything, I'm competing with myself. I've had great support during all of the preparation from friends and family especially Kirk. But I do want to thank my friends and co-mommy triathletes Mikie, Jennifer Starck, Jessie C. and Shannon Titzel. Ready or not!