It's a New Year

We hope everyone had a nice holiday season and New Year celebration. We enjoyed quiet time at home since all four of us seem to be nursing a cold of some form. Below are pictures from the past couple of weeks.

Kirk and Sarah constructing the ginger bread house...very carefully with precision.

Kirk and Sarah with the finished product. Soon the roof started sliding down on both sides so additional support was set up.

Taking Emma (aka Baby Shrek - reference "Shrek the Halls" DVD for the thumb sucking baby) for a spin while Sarah was enthralled with her packaging 'pops'.

Sprinkling reindeer food on Christmas Eve so the reindeer had a snack while Santa was busy inside.

Sarah at her school Christmas program.

Emma ready for Christmas.

Finally Christmas morning. Sarah was allowed to open her stocking after the shock wore off over the new Barbie house from Santa in the background.

New Barbie house with Barbie car and the 2010 version of Ken in the car. What happened to the old fashion Ken? Nowadays he has a surfer hair cut and wears Vans.

Santa's present for Emma. The wagon is premature but will help once she is more mobile. For now she enjoys riding in it.

Sarah is all set for camping next summer with her new Princess sleeping bag.

My mom, Grandma Ann, made Sarah a sleeping bag for her baby dolls so they can join us on camping trips as well.

We went through a series of outfits throughout Christmas morning. This one seemed to last the longest. Princess Jasmine top with pajama pants and Princess Jasmine pumps.

What the heck is going on?

Taste testing the presents is the best way to go.

Emma loves her new Mickey Mouse from Santa.

The aftermath. The kids are in there somewhere.

Our friend Mikie sent the neatest shirts for the girls from Alaska.

"Because I'm Awesome!"

Loving her new Cabbage Patch baby.

After Christmas we received 4-6 inches of snow in Farmington followed by a few days of colder weather. We were so excited to break out the new sleds and go for a ride!

We wish you a Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all!

We hope everyone has a wonderful holiday season.

We enjoyed a visit with Santa, Durango style, this past weekend. We drove up near Durango Mountain Resort to Rapp Corral where we enjoyed a horse drawn sleigh ride through the fresh snow. During the sleigh ride we sang Christmas carols. When we returned from our ride back at the stables, we were met by Santa making a surprise visit who arrived via horse drawn sleigh. Santa hugged each kiddo and then presented them with a present that was direct from their list! (preplanned of course between the corral and the parents). We enjoyed hot cocoa and sugar cookies while the kids unwrapped their gifts and played in the snow. Afterwards, we drove back down to Durango to have dinner with our friends but dinner was cut short due to Emma having a mild volcanic eruption all over her and her car seat. Good times! But we all seem to be doing well, knock on wood, as we coast into the Christmas weekend. We are going to enjoy the holidays at home just us and then hope to venture off to Chama, New Mexico to visit friends and do come cross country skiing. It will be nice to break out the skis again.

Emma looking mildly amused by the outdoor sleigh ride fun. It was snowing and a bit chilly so she was trying to hang in there the best she could before getting sick later at the restaurant.

Sarah over the top thrilled with her new Belle Princess Barbie doll from Santa.

During the sleigh ride. This isn't the best picture of the kids since Emma looks pissed and Sarah looks out of it. :-)

Sarah checking out the horse drawn sleigh as it arrived to pick us up.

Sarah playing in the snow with her friends.

Thanksgiving Weekend

We hope everyone had a nice Thanksgiving celebration. We enjoyed time spent with Kirk's family at our house this year. Kirk's aunt, uncle, cousin and parents joined us for a wonderful day. We ate, drank and enjoyed stories. The girls had a great time as well.

Sarah post Thanksgiving dressed as a princess (as she always is) coloring a turkey picture. She put the headband on herself to spice up the outfit a smidge.

Turkey cupcakes made an appearance again this year along with Gaga's famous cherry cheesecake.

Emma having a nice relaxing moment with Uncle Jim. She was so interested in his go-tee.

Kirk took his parents flying the next day to Monument Valley. The day was perfect for a picturesque flight. They had a great time.

My gorgeous husband doing what he loves. What beautiful country.

I ended up fighting a stomach bug or food poisoning (jury is still out) for a couple of days but am back on the saddle. I just hope the rest of the family stays healthy.

We are excited for December to be here. We are busy lining up activities for the month to celebrate the holiday season. May the magic of the holidays be with you!

6 months!

Ms. Emma is now 6 months! Wow, time is flying. She had her 6 month check up last week with the following stats:

Weight: 19 lbs 14 oz

Height: 27.5 inches

In both the weight and height categories, she is off the charts. Our doctor was joking that maybe she needed 'Baby Spanx' similar to those highlighted in an SNL skit he apparently watched the weekend before and thought was funny. Jokes aside, she is healthy and proportional. :-) Emma is able to sit by herself for brief periods until she falls over. She is a very happy baby with a very healthy appetite. Her favorite is still the oatmeal cereal she now gets three times a day. We call it prison slop. We keep trying to introduce root veggies and peas but it's slow. She isn't a fan...still. We are excited for the next 6 months which will dramatically change the game here in the Johnson household. We can't wait!

Happy Halloween 2010

We had a fun Halloween celebration starting with a trip on the Durango Silverton Train to the Peanuts Pumpkin Patch where we were able to do many fun kid activities and take pictures/hug the peanuts gang (Charlie Brown, Snoopy and Lucy). For Halloween weekend we headed down to Phoenix to join my oldest brother and his family plus my mom for another boo-filled time. All three of us girls were nursing colds before and during our trip but we tried to not let it get the best of us. It was great to see family and enjoy the warm Arizona sun. The Great Pumpkin returned the day after Halloween to provide the kids with a prize in exchange for some of their candy, similar to last year. This year he delivered Pillow Pets. Sarah received the Lady Bug Pillow Pet and is in love! Emma's treat was being pushed around the neighborhood in the stroller that held our Heineken beers. ha! Sarah was a Southern Belle and loving every minute of it. We kept trying to get her to say "I do declare" and "Bless your heart" as part of the trick or treat routine but it didn't stick. She was focused on the prize. We are now back still healing from our colds and getting ready for the holiday season.

Sarah at the end of the Pumpkin Patch Maze where she could pick her pumpkin to take home. This was her Durango version of the Southern Belle costume with the fleece jacket underneath.

Sleeping Emma in the Pumpkin Maze.

My beautiful girls in beautiful Durango, Colorado.

The Cristofano-Johnson crew. From left to right: Emma in the beer cart (aka stroller), Sir Jack the Knight of Chandler, Witchy Poo Hayden, Ms. Sarah the Southern Belle, and Mighty Kyle the Pirate of Halloween.

From left to right: Me channeling my past from the 80's with the Blondie concert tee/plastic bracelets/gloves and wacky hair, my Mom dressed as a 'Family Tree', and Rasta Man Dan.

Beautiful Hayden and Emma. Hayden was a huge help with Emma during the Halloween weekend.

Emma trying to be like her uncle Rasta Man Dan.

The day after Halloween and the kids decided to dress up again before school.

October so far...

Apologies for not being more diligent with the posts. We are enjoying the month of October and keeping busy. The weather is finally cooling down a bit and even the heater is coming on at night. But the Alaskans in us keep the windows at least in our bedroom open - nothing like that cool breeze while you are snuggled under the covers. The girls are doing well and changing everyday. We think the next set of teeth are making their way out since the drool and stuffy nose have amped back up with Ms. Emma. The humidifier in her room helps. She is rolling over a bunch and getting stuck on her stomach at night which sometimes is an issue and sometimes is not. I just returned from a 3-day weekend in Denver with my mom and without kids! Kirk took care of the girls while I whisked away to shop, eat, sleep and get massages at the Brown Palace with my mom. It was a nice break though I missed the girls and Kirk a bunch. It helped that I made frequent check-in calls. It's now back to the ol'grind. The biggest news here that I can now share is I'm going back to work, kind of. I'm a contractor (or consultant by title) now with ConocoPhillips doing portions of my job that I left behind before maternity leave. I'm going to work from home, support my old team and determine my hours. On occasion I'll go in for a meeting but plan to call in for most of the meetings. This will be good, a bit challenging and will keep me off the Internet during Emma's nap time. (like now - ha!) And if it doesn't work out, then no biggie.

We have another busy week with a trip on the Durango Silverton train to visit Snoopy and the gang at the Peanut's Pumpkin Patch on Saturday with our ol'AK/BP friends. We are headed to Phoenix next week to celebrate the Halloween weekend with my oldest brother and his family along with my mom. We can't wait!

Enjoy the pictures!

A'hoy! Sarah dressing up as usual on a weekend morning.

Sarah at the Pumpkin Patch at Sutherland Farms. (more pictures below)

Emma enjoying the sunshine at Sutherland Farms.

We hosted the local Moms Club one Friday morning and made caramel apples.

Sarah and Kirk LOVE to make little houses and forts for Sarah's little princess dolls with her Magz magnet toys.

Naked Emma going after her toes.

I got Sarah's old exersaucer out for Emma and she loves it!