harvest.

who knew there were so many parties available during the halloween season? we happened to catch a phenomenally fun one at the vineyard church nearby... bouncy house, petting zoo, games, balloon animals, oodles of candy, and plenty of friends! makes for a great morning. so many thanks to kj's older friends who showed her the way through the fun fun chaos of the day. special shout out to cm, who gifted kj with her first experiences in a bouncy house & on the gigantic slide! i can't even tell you how high that slide was, 20ft perhaps? and kj's response at the bottom? "more, more, more!" she had a blast. all-around. yeah for wholesome halloween activities!

pumpkin.

though i had high hopes of a creative halloween costume, plan b worked so much better. and who can argue with such a cute little pun'kin?!

leaves.

time for leaf-raking again! it always feels good to get the yard cleaned up before the first snowfall... made it this year! ;) kj has really enjoyed crunching through dry leaves this season, but when it came to jumping into a humongous pile, she was a bit dubious. yay for daddies who remind little girls of the joys of leaf piles. ;) happy fall, all!

jumping.

kj's latest endeavor: jumping. she still hasn't caught any air yet, but we'll keep you posted!

business.

we had the rare opportunity to tag along on daddy's business trip to the cities this month. what a treat we were in for! kj & mommy fell in love with the minnesota children's museum, being able to walk to/from trader joe's, and driving down the street to ikea & the mall of america. not to mention that we thoroughly enjoyed the generous, playful & comfortable hosting of some of our favorite ppl (and one friendly pooch). thanks, uncle micah & aunt rebe, we loved visiting you & can't wait to come back soon!

 

baby.

you may or may not know that my pet name for kj has been "baby" since the day of her birth. now, kj is hardly ever without her baby-doll, affectionately & creatively named "baby." she also has a few new baby friends in her life recently & has loved every minute she gets to spend with them. good thing, because she'll have plenty of that in just a few months! perhaps that title above should read 'big sister'...

yes, we are about to add another baby to the house-- a baby BROTHER!! welcome, baby jj! we'll see you in early march, or maybe even on the leap year's extra day? ;) we can hardly wait to meet you!

kj has already proven herself a wonderful big sister-- she brings baby jj's vitamins to me everyday, gives him lots of hugs & kisses, says good morning & goodnight to him everyday, and tells him that she'll rock him when he gets sad. it is sweet to see how committed she is to babies that she loves-- here's to big sisters & little brothers in the johnson home! ;)

singing.

lately kj has been infatuated with nursery rhymes, songs and finger plays. we say them over and over and over again. in her own fashion & when in the right mood, she can recite whole mother goose rhymes, like jack & jill, hey diddle diddle, and one two buckle my shoe. it's incredible!

kj also helps me sing her favorite songs, and ring around the rosy (sweetly termed "rock-a-posy" by kj) can be regularly heard around the house... today, though, was the very first time that i heard her sing "jesus loves me" all the way through, all by herself. it was a melt-my-heart and praise-the-Lord kind of day. i can only hope and pray that such songs & words of Truth may play through her mind throughout many of her days...

bison.

most of our trip to fargo was centered around a beautiful wedding. congratulations, r&t, kj's favorite bicycle-riding buddies! somehow, though, between the potty-training (remind me NEVER to leave the potty chair at home when planning to drive across a midwestern state!), fevers, late arrivals, early-to-bed nights, and wonderful family-time, i only secured two photos. good thing they included the bison- only too appropriate for the ndsu alum of said wedding. ;)