2 Months

13 lbs. 13 oz. ~ 93rd percentile

24 1/2 inches ~ 96th percentile

Head circumference: 16 1/4 ~ 86th percentile

Has it really been two months already?  Or is it only two months?  I feel like it hasn't been that long since I was complaining about still being pregnant, yet I also can't seem to remember a time that Johnny wasn't in our family! I'm finding that's a funny thing about the passing of time...

Johnny's check-up went well.  He's obviously growing in a satisfactory manner!  Dr. Edralin commented on how strong Johnny was, as he resisted against everything the doctor tried to do.  We did get a referral to a physical therapist, however.  As is somewhat common, especially with big babies, Johnny's skull is becoming misshapen from favoring one side of his head while he sleeps.  Apparently, that can be caused by stiff neck muscles, so we have an appointment to go learn what we can do to loosen and strengthen those muscles.  He's young enough that if we start now, his head should return to a nice round shape soon.  And we really want to make sure he doesn't have a stiff neck growing up.  How would he be able to scan the field before throwing the game-winning pass into the end zone?  :)

Here is a little about our Johnny at 2 months old:

*Wears 6 month clothes quite comfortably

*Wears size 2 shoes

*Wears size 2 diapers

*Goes to bed right at 9:30, and usually sleeps through the night (maybe eating once before 5-6 am)

*LOVES to talk to Mama, Daddy, and especially his sisters

*Is ticklish, but only laughs when Daddy tickles him

*Is a total flirt with the ladies

*Smiles his biggest smiles for Mama, first thing in the morning

*Can always get his fist in his mouth, and loves it

We love you, Little Man!

Caramel+Apples=Delicious Tradition!

Halloween is just around the corner!  Danny thought it would be fun to do caramel apples as a Family Home Evening activity/treat.  It was a lot of messy fun!  We're pretty sure we have a new family tradition on our hands...quite literally in the girls' case. :)

Johnny wasn't really in the mood for a photo-op.  I think he was mad he didn't get any of the caramel...

It's so fun to start new traditions now that the girls are getting older and able to participate in the holidays more.  It will be fun to see what traditions stick over the years to come!

I'd hate to forget...

It's crazy to think that I'm a mother to three small children!  For all of my growing-up years, I looked forward to this time in my life.  And here I am!  Not only am I here, but before I know it, this will all be behind me.  I won't get to have babies forever.  One day, they'll all be kids, and then teenagers, and then gone.  It breaks my heart to think of it, though I imagine it will be nice to have a clean house for longer than three minutes! :)

You think you'll never forget.  But I already know that you do.  There are so many things that I thought I would always remember, but those memories are getting fuzzy...if I can remember them at all!  And I never want to forget what Claire and Sophie looked like while they were playing "trains" as I mopped the kitchen floor.  Or how cute Claire looked in her game-day shirt and fuzzy pigtails.  Or how perfect Johnny looked, asleep in my arms.

I absolutely love my children.

Watch Out, Ladies!

Before we know it, he'll be stealing hearts left and right, leaving a trail of wounded hearts behind him...

Johnny has been smiling for a few weeks now; since he was about 5 weeks old.  But he's been awful camera shy, so I haven't been able to get a good picture.  Until now...

Behold, the many faces of Johnny Call:

Blue Steel

Laughing (can you see the dimple?)

Classic "You Know You Love Me" Smile

"Hello, Ladies..." Smirk

That sideways smile gets me every time!  I might have to keep him home forever...I don't know that the girls will be able to handle that!  He steals my heart every time.

This is one good-lookin' kid...

A Day of Exploration

"Columbus sailed the ocean blue in 1492..."

And thank goodness he did!  If it wasn't for him, this new land may never have been discovered.  :)  More importantly, we wouldn't have a wonderful federal holiday to enjoy!

Since Danny got to be home with us, and we didn't have anything we had to do, we decided to take our kids and go on an adventure.  There is so much for us to explore here in our new stomping grounds.  We haven't had an opportunity to discover much, what with me being pregnant and all.  So we were excited to have a day to do just that!

We started out by going to Fort Tejon State Historic Park.  Between 1854 and 1864, this U.S. Army fort protected people in the surrounding region from the social and cultural conflicts between American settlers and the California Indians.  We thought it was a really neat opportunity to expose our girls to some local history.

It took just over an hour to get there, so after we saw the cool cannon, lunch was next on the agenda!  We packed a picnic, and enjoyed our sandwiches in the wonderful Southern California fall weather.

We had our lunch right next to the jail and guard house.  We couldn't get Claire to go into the guard house (I agreed it was a little creepy), but Daddy and Sophie showed us just how fun the jail house could be!

So we joined in the fun...

Another neat thing about Fort Tejon were the awesome oak trees.  Some of them were over 300 years old, and they were massive! The younger trees, while not quite as massive, provided a natural playground for the girls.

Johnny found it all very exciting...

Next we went to explore the old barracks and officer's quarters.  It was neat to see the old construction, and how well the buildings have stood the test of time.  The inside of the buildings had been converted into a museum of sorts, with actual period artifacts and reconstructions.  It was really neat!  They even had some wax statues of soldiers that were SO "Night at the Museum"!

The rest of the time we spent just playing around the fort.  Unfortunately, Claire chose to spend a good deal of the remainder of our time sitting by herself instead of listening to Mama...

We felt compelled to continue having fun, just so she could realize what she was missing... :)

After the kids were all "funned-out", we decided to let them nap while we drove to Bakersfield.  It wasn't too far from where we were, and we hadn't been yet.  We found it to be a very pretty city, with a very nice Costco (we forgot something during our regular shopping trip), and it even had a California Pizza Kitchen!  We just had to take advantage of that...besides, it was dinner time!  We enjoyed a wonderful dinner there, and then drove a different route home through Tehachapi.  Danny, who is just like his Grandpa Lovell, loved the "long, pretty drive".  It really was beautiful.

Just like Christopher Columbus, we feel like we discovered a little more of this "new world" we're living in.  We're excited to take advantage of more of the sites Southern California has to offer in the future!

To Grandpa...

Love, Johnny

A Shower for Johnny

I have such wonderful friends!  They have all been such a blessing to me since we moved here.  They're latest way of blessing my life?  Jackie White and Shelly Tolman threw Johnny and I a shower.  Mostly so we could clothe this baby boy of ours!

A special thanks to Jason White 

We got so many cute outfits for Johnny, in sizes ranging from 3 months to 4T!  Seriously, this kid is outfitted to look like a stud for a long time.  And I'm only a little bit proud of that... ;)

Thank you to all our wonderful friends who care so much and have taken such good care of us during my pregnancy, birth, and recovery.  We were truly led here by the Lord, and are so grateful for the blessing that has been.  

More of Our Trip to Utah

We had birthdays and baby blessings.  Danny spent a good part of the week working.  But you had better believe we found a way to work in more fun!

To be honest, Danny's work trip was only a cover for the real reason we were in Utah.  Kenny and Susie planned their wedding for that week.  And I have to add, it was kind of just for us!  They would have been married in August had it not been for my unpredictable delivery.  We so appreciated them scheduling their big day so we could share it with them.  

It was a wonderful event!  There are SO many wonderful pictures, but most were taken by the actual photographer! :)  The luncheon was wonderful, the ceremony was amazing, and the reception was a blast!  I'm thinking this family is getting pretty good at throwing weddings now...right in time to take a break for at least a few years while Julie and Katie finish growing up!  We're so excited for Kenny and Susie, and for their boys Braxton and Taven.  Their union has strengthen so many testimonies and witnessed for everyone involved the deep love Heavenly Father has for his children.

Great Grandma Lovell came back from the Island Park a little earlier than she had planned in order to be there for Kenny's big day.  We were glad, since it afforded us the opportunity to see her and show off her newest great grandson!  Great Grandma and Johnny took to each other quite nicely!

The last adventure of the week was special for Danny.  September in Utah means one thing to him...BYU Football!  Since we were there over a Saturday, and there was a home game that weekend, we just HAD to get tickets.  And Danny being the daddy he is, even got tickets for his little girls.  Claire and Sophie are quite the Cougar Fans!  Grandpa Call, Uncle David, and Uncle Robbie went as well, and everyone had a wonderful time!

Well, everyone had a great time right up until it was obvious we were going to lose.  That put a slight damper on things... :)

While Danny and the girls were at the game, Johnny and I went to go visit Grandpa Richard and Ruth Ann.  Unfortunately, I sent Danny with the camera, so I don't have photographic evidence of the visit, but trust me, it happened and was fun!  Grandpa Richard loved holding Johnny, and so did Ruth Ann.  We watched the first half of the game together before I had to head home.  I'm looking forward to Christmas when the whole family can go visit, and Grandpa Richard can see how much the girls have grown.

That about sums up our trip home.  It's always so wonderful to be there.  I'm glad it'll only be a few months before we're back for Christmas!

September Birthdays

It's already been noted that Sophie had a birthday in September.  But what we haven't documented yet is that Danny also has his birthday in September!  Unfortunately, this year I wasn't able to figure out a way to get him out of work or school early so we could truly celebrate.  He's got a real career now, so it's harder to play hookie.  ;)  Danny spent a large majority of his day at the BYU Career Fair, screening potential applicants for Edwards.  It's karma really.  The same Career Fair is what got us our job here. 

After working all day, Danny was hungry.  And it was his birthday.  And we were in Utah.  Here's some math for you:

Danny + Hunger + Birthday + Utah = TUCANOS!

We were so tired from our time in Utah that we could barely keep our eyes open (as you can tell!)  But it was nice to be out together for a couple of hours.  We kind of pretended that it was our anniversary celebration as well, since we spent our anniversary trying to get Johnny here.  Kind of lame for both a birthday and an anniversary celebration, but what do you do? We made up for it, though, with Danny's birthday present...

Yup!  Danny got an iPad for his birthday!  And money and iTunes gift cards to app it out.  He couldn't be happier!  And I have to admit, it's pretty fun!  So, maybe we'll call that our birthday/anniversary present.  That feels better!

Sophie also had quite the birthday when it came to the gifts...

And we love to have an excuse to have our entire family together.  We're so fortunate that we have both sides of the family in the same town...even if it makes for incredibly hectic visits and a couple of extra tanks of gas. :)

As with every typical American birthday celebration, cake followed gifts.  Danny is such a good Dad, and he let Sophie pick the cake for the both of them.

He even let her blow out the candle first...

And if you look really closely, we sneaked in an extra candle...just for Daddy.  Happy 28th Birthday, Danny!

Terrible or not...I'M TWO!

That's right!  Sophie is officially a two year old!  These will be some good times... :)

We had Sophie's big birthday party with her presents and a bigger cake at Grandma Candy's (to be documented in a forthcoming post).  So we went a bit smaller tonight.  I think she understood it was her birthday a little more this time around than at the big family party.  She was loving that it was her day and every fight her and Claire had ended up with Sophie getting what she wanted.  I'm going to pay for that for a couple of days. :)

Claire was good enough to give her a few pointers on getting that last candle out.

After we ate our cake and cleaned the green frosting off almost every surface in the kitchen, we gave Sophie her birthday cards to open.  She got a card from her Nursery leaders and friends, and a card from Grandpa Richard and Ruth Ann.  

Thanks, Grandpa Richard and Ruth Ann!

We're so glad you're in our family, Sophie!  Happy Birthday!