2014

2014
Happy New Year!

Well, here we are again at the end of another year. In January it felt like it was gonna last forever and now, in December I can hardly believe that it's almost over. Here's a short summary of what we've all done this year.

David: continued being successful at his instructional technology job at the Jordan School District and also continued working for Best Buy until November when he started working for Barnes and Noble. He loves reading books and sharing that love with others so this job is pretty fun for him. He was also a presenter at a technology education conference in Salt Lake City and applied and was accepted to present at a national conference in Philadelphia in 2015.

Merry Christmas!

Dahlee: still staying home with the girls and still loving it. She teaches them lots of things and their most favorite activities are going to the library, the zoo and the aquarium, singing, reading books and watching movies.

Jane (4): happy, sweet, active, sensitive, observant, caring little girl. Started gymnastics in October and loves it. Also loves Elsa and everything princess and Toothless the Night Fury Dragon. Favorite color - pink. Favorite song - Let it go (Frozen). Favorite outfit - Elsa dress. Favorite thing to do: singing songs with mommy and her sisters.

Alyss (2y 10mo): happy, stubborn, daring, loving, playful, tender cutie pie. Loves Lightning McQueen. Favorite color - blue. Favorite movie - Cars. Favorite song - Let it go. Favorite outfit - anything McQueen.

Kaley (1.5): happy, sweet, cute, loving, smart, boob-loving little bundle of joy. Gives the best hugs and kisses. Loves to sing and dance. Favorite song - Twinkle, twinkle little star. Favorite shoes - her new winter boots and her sisters' shoes. Favorite thing to do - nursing.

Happy New Year 2015!

Our beautiful girls: Kaley, Jane & Alyss

Jane is 4 Years Old

4 Years Old

Toothless cake

Jane, iubita, you're 4 years old today! What a big girl you are! It seems like yesterday that we went to the hospital to have you and now you are four.

It's been a great adventure so far and you've changed so much since the day you were born.

You look and act like a child now, not like a baby anymore. You are really smart and know lots of things. We are so proud of you and of all the things you can do now. You like to color and draw with chalk, you like to dance and sing and you like to play with your toys and with kids at the playground. You are very nice and make friends easily. You like talking with little kids and with adults alike and everyone finds you a very pleasant and friendly little girl. Other things you like are movies and games on the iPad. You also like dressing up like a princess and also like going to gymnastics. You are getting pretty good too. 

But do you know what I think is your best quality? You are very kind and always try to find ways to help those in need. When Kaley cries you pick her up or give her a toy. When Alyss cries you usually try to comfort her or tell me that Alyss needs my attention. When mommy needs help picking up, you're the one who comes to help. You are so in tune with the feelings of those around you and that's a great quality to have. 

Another gift you have is your intelligence. It seems that your brain always works in overdrive and that you make connections between different things that may not easily seem related to others but make perfect sense to you. What a great gift to have!

Some accomplishments this year would be going to gymnastics and doing really good, being fully potty trained, knowing how to put your clothes and shoes on, jumping, talking a lot in correct sentences and knowing lots of words, singing and acting and remembering lots of songs and lines from movies. Some favorite movies are How to train your Dragon, Robots and Frozen but you like most of the cartoons we have. You also like Team Umi Zoomi, Doc McStuffins, Sofia the First, Little Einsteins and, Dora. 

For your birthday daddy made a tasty Toothless cake and you got a Toothless toy, a couple of shirts, one Anna doll and from bunica: a nice bike! You loved your presents especially since you got pretty much everything you asked for and more. 

Now, at the beginning of a new year of your life we'd like to wish you a very happy birthday and good health for the year to come. There are many adventures ahead of you and we want you to know that we'll always be here for you, no matter what. You are beautiful and perfect and I want you to know that I'll always be here for you and that I'm here to always listen to you, teach you and take care of you. I love you Jane with all my heart, more than I thought possible. May you have a lot of fun and happiness in this new year of your life!

Te iubeste mami mult de tot, pui mic si drag! Sa nu uiți asta niciodată!

Water can take your most precious possession

It is true. While I love the beach and the pool, I never felt completely comfortable in water. This year we have been using the pool at our apartment complex quite a bit. The first day the girls were really scared, the second day Jane started letting go of my hand and a few times later both her and Alyss were playing in the water and having fun. However, Alyss seemed to have a hard time not rolling face first in the water. We tried different life jackets and flotation devices and the only thing that seemed to keep her up and her face out of the water was an inflatable ring sewn inside a vest. Just yesterday she went all the way around the pool and floated everywhere and j thought that we finally found the flotation device that would keep her from getting face first in the water.

Well, today we went to the pool again. As the water was dirty with lots of leaves floating around I told the girls to only play on the stairs while I got the net and started gathering the little floaties. As I was engaged in this activity I kept checking on the girls, especially on Kaley who kept wanting to crawl out of the inflatable tub I'd put her in. For a second I forgot about the older girls who we're having fun together by the stairs. As I looked towards the water I see what I now describe as the most terrifying image of my life. Alyss was on her belly with her face in the water, struggling to lift herself up. I don't know what happened but for a split second I couldn't register what was happening. It was like I was watching a movie. I looked at her, then I looked at the kids playing and not noticing what was happening then I looked at her again. She wasn't really struggling anymore and was just lying there, face in the water. I got in and pulled her out. She wasn't responsive though she was conscious. She coughed a couple of times then just laid quietly in my arms. Her cheeks were still red from the heat but all around her mouth she was a pale green. Eventually the color returned to her face and she showed a desire to get back in the water though more cautiously. All I wanted was to leave and never return but I didn't want this experience to scar her and make her afraid of the water for the rest of her life, so we went back in. My hand never let go of her though and I know I'll be scared and paranoid for a while before I could trust that she will be ok.

The pool is usually a great place for us - 2014

Alyss at Two

Alyss loves Sulley and Monsters U

Fun on the slide

Disney Store in SLC

Happy Birthday our sweet Princess

Sulley cake made by daddy

Happy birthday our sweet Alyss!!!! Man, you're two years old! I can hardly believe it but you've grown so much and every day you show us more of your personality and of who you are and what you like.

Physically speaking, you still look like a toddler, with chunky legs and squishy rolls on your arms and cute, chubby cheeks but you are slowly transforming into a small child. Sometimes I think I see an older you when I look into your face but then I blink and your serene, innocent 2 year old face stares back at me. I just love your little face and everything else about you. I love you when you fight with me, when you bite your binky or when you throw yourself on the floor because I won't let you play with the iPad anymore. I love you when you cry and scream and I love you when you give me hugs and kisses and when you play wit Jane and when you love Kaley so much you can hardly stand it. I love how vibrant and spunky you are. I JUST LOVE EVERYTHING ABOUT YOU!

You are so lovely and smart and happy. You still copy many of the things Jane says but you are also becoming more and more independent and are learning how to use language in your favor. You are a talking machine. You know so many words and you put them together in sentences and are pretty easy to understand. The pediatrician is always amazed when she hears you talk, how coherent you are and how many words you know and understand. You also know lots of songs both in Romanian and English and you love to sing and dance. You also love to watch movies (Minions and Monsters being some of your faves) and to play on the iPad. 

I just thought of something really cute you do. You like to give me hugs and kiss me when I'm on the floor at your level, after I change your diaper. Yes, you're still wearing diapers even though sometimes you use the big potty and tell us now when you need a diaper change. It's a bit scary to let you run around naked because of the puddles and bombs we usually find all over the floor when that happens :) I guess this summer will be the time to help you learn more about using the potty all the time like all the big kids. And speaking of big kids, you also still LOVE your binky; so much in fact that you cry even when I move it from one onesie to the next. We'll see how we'll deal with ditching it but for now I just think that it's not that bad and that you'll eventually stop loving it so much eventually on your own.

Now, a bit about your actual birthday. We went to Chuck E Cheese in Orem with Eni, Lia, Rodica and Maria and their kids and we had a great time playing and eating yummy food. You love to eat and are a great eater. I love how you try almost everything and are good at sitting down and eating your food. After this party we went home where daddy had another party for you. He had made a Sulley cake and decorated the living room with Monsters U stuff. It was so cute and the cake was delicious. Your daddy is an awesome cook! You then opened the presents and loved everything you received. Jane liked your new toys so much too and you two shared the little ponies that you got.

Our dear Alyss, you are such a sweet little girl and we love you more than you can imagine. This kind of love cannot be explained and you will too experience it when you have your own children. We want you to know that we are proud of you and so happy to have you in our lives. You are an independent and very happy little girl. You are not afraid to try things and you show no fear even going down the tall slide for big kids. You show me every day that life is to be lived. We love you and hope that you'll stay happy and adventurous and will keep saying "no" and being the independent little person that you are. Te iubesc Alisucu' meu mic si drag!

2013 - A Good Year

So, I don't know what others thought at the beginning of 2013 but I was a bit skeptical since this year ended with the number 13 which is sometimes thought to be a bad luck number. It turns out that 13 wasn't that bad of a number after all and 2013 was a good year for us.

Johansen Family - December 2013
Kaley (6 mo), Jane (3) and Alyss (1 yr 10 mo)

Here's what happened:

- Alyss turned one and started walking at 14 months

- We moved to Taylorsville at the beginning of June

- My mom (bica) came to visit in June and stayed with us until December 20

- Kaley was born on June 30 by successful VBAC

- David's parents moved to the States from Japan and came to visit in July

- Our apartment flooded in September

- David started a second job selling at Best Buy in September

- Jane turned three in November

- We loved trick-or-treating on Halloween, enjoyed our great Thanksgiving dinner and had fun opening presents at Christmas

Now for each person a little bit to remember...

Kaley - born on June 30 at 11:10pm, at 38 weeks. She was 7lb 14oz and 19.5 in long. She is exclusively breastfed and we introduced solid purées around 5 months of age. Kaley has a hole in her heart that we need to check on periodically. She doesn't seem to be bothered by it. She is a very happy, alert baby. She loves to be help and gives the best hugs. She smiles all the time and people often comment on how beautiful she is and how sparkly, like stars, her blue eyes are. She loves to kick and roll over and she enjoys eating sweet potatoes and squash and drinking from mommy's kefir. Up until 6 months she hasn't cut any teeth yet, to the enjoyment of her mom who is a bit worried about breastfeeding a baby who has teeth and likes to mischievously nibble and play with the source of her food :)

Alyss - man, what a dynamite girl she is! Especially since she likes Wreck it Ralph I think that the description fits her perfectly. She runs around and climbs on everything. She copies everything that Jane does and says. At her 18 months appointment when the doctor asked if she knows 10 words I almost started laughing. Not only does she know a lot more than 10 words but she also understands and speaks both English and Romanian words and even sentences. This baby is pretty much my dynamite baby. She is also very happy and loves to laugh. She already knows the ABC song, Twinkle twinkle little star, The itsy, bitsy spider and even some parts of a couple Christmas songs. She can count to ten almost without any help and knows lines from several movies by heart. She enjoys playing toddler iPad games and puzzles and also loves being outdoors where she loves the park and the swing and to play in the water. 

Jane - our cute, sensitive, dainty Jane! She is such a girl. She puts her hair behind her easy, pulls on her sleeves so that they don't ride up her arms and likes to wear cute clothes. I love how when people say that she is pretty she simply answers "yes" :) She knows she is beautiful and I sure hope she will hold unto that knowledge for ever. As much as she's grown and is more of a child than a toddler now, Jane still likes to crawl around under tables and climb up on tables. She likes to watch a bunch of movies on the computer and play toddler and preschool games on the iPad. She talks a lot and sometimes I wonder how and where she learned some of the things she says. I just love how she actually forms correct sentences and phrases and how we can actually have a conversation. Jane is a very sensitive girl who observes those around her and their feelings. She is touched by music and likes to dance and twirl around with her toys, epically her puppy toys. She loves puppy toys, the 'noceros' (rhinoceros) and the reindeer bath toys and she carries around her beloved pillow what she used to take out in the car but now she just leaves on the couch when we go out. One time we were at the mall and a nice, slow pop song was playing at the radio and Jane almost started crying. I had the same feeling so I totally understood her but I was surprised to see how soft she is. Jane enjoys going to IKEA and to the "parking park" and the dinosaurs at City Creek. She loves her two younger sisters even though she doesn't show it very much. She always makes sure that Alyss also gets gummies, water, apple or whatever Jane asks for. She sometimes holds Kaley and likes to kiss her head. Even though she more often than not makes a mess by leaving toys and books everywhere in the house, Jane also helps mommy with stuff around the house and helps pick up the messes she and Alyss make. Both Jane and Alyss like our sleepy time routine of brushing teeth and reading books and they even 'read' the books to us and know parts of the rhymes in them. Jane's favorite color is pink and her favorite letter is W. She knows many songs and loves to sing. I love how Jane and Alyss sing "oac, oac, diri, diri, dai" or "Monkeys on the bed" while actually jumping even though both the song and mommy tell them no to. 

Dahlee - so, pretty much the biggest, happiest moment this year for me was the birth of our third cutie pie, Kaley Olivia. The birth wasn't too difficult, the only part I didn't enjoy being the labor pain and the painful epidural, and the pushing only lasted a couple of minutes. I still needed an episiotomy but it wasn't as unbearable as last time afterwards this time around. The doctor was amazing and very nice. The other great accomplishment for me is successfully breastfeeding Kaley. She was exclusively breastfed until she was 5 months and we are still doing it and having a good time. I love the closeness breastfeeding brings and even though it gets hard sometimes especially because of having three children so young and close in age it is also very rewarding and comes in handy at night or when we're out and about. I've gotten pretty good at the whole nursing in public thing and not only do I not get embarrassed anymore I actually enjoy doing it. The other thing that I've been learning and working on is the type of parent I want to be for our girls. There are many days when I can't help but wonder "what was I thinking having so many kids so close on age?" but then I look at them and am so proud of every little thing they do, so happy to see them smile and play and giggle, so thankful to see them healthy that I forget all the hard times and just want them to feel loved and happy. We must not be such bad parents after all :) I'm learning about RIE (Resources for Infant Educarers) and attachment parenting and I try to help the girls be independent while knowing that we are there for them and love them unconditionally. I'm far from being a perfect parent but I'm seeing my mistakes and am trying to be a bit better every day. Now, If I could only stop yelling :) One other thing that I've researched quite a bit and started applying in our,livesmismhealthy, greener living. I try to get greener products for our home and for ourselves and I also try eating better and using natural remedies and health options. We take multivitamins and minerals, cod liver oil and probiotics and try to go out for walks every day. I hope that we can get better at living a healthy lifestyle and feel great while doing it.

David - our hardworking daddy. I honestly don't know how he does it. He leaves before 8 in the morning and some days doesn't get home until midnight. Oh, how I wish that he had one job that he loved and provided enough so that he didn't have to work menial jobs and be away from me and the girls so much. There have been days when the girls wouldn't see daddy for two or three days in a row and it really saddens me to see them ask for daddy and want to be with him when he has to be at work to provide for us. We love daddy so much and hope that 2014 is the year when our dream of having one great job and daddy home more will come true. The sad thing is that David is so good and knowledgeable at working with Macs and iPads; he is great at teaching people how to use them; he can troubleshoot and fix computer problems while helping others understand the problems; he wrote a book about the use of iPads in the school district where he works, was invited to speak at several educational technology conferences and was asked to help and tutor several people and companies. Yet, he is underpaid and not able to get a better paying job because of not having a degree in educational technology which would require money and time that he doesn't have. There also isn't a huge job market for technology teaching. He could work for a company but we haven't been directed towards such opportunities and are not aware of many companies who would give him an opportunity to show what he knows and can do. So, he keeps trying and learning more every day. He is also a really good and loving dad. He plays with the girls and I love seeing him hold both Jane and Alyss in his arms when we are out and they are tired of walking. He reads to the girls and helps them get ready for bed and almost always stays with them until they fall asleep. He is also a great husband. Who would come home from a long day at work to do dishes and vacuum the living room because Mommy had a rough day and didn't get to do it? I just love him and my girls so much and feel, so lucky to have such a wonderful family.

We hope that your 2013 was a great year and wish you all a new year with much love, health and happiness. Happy New Year 2014!

Our Sweet Little Girls