some random cute pics

A close up of our beautiful babies. Gavin on the bottom, Griffin on top.

Gavin is the sad face. He really doesn't cry as much as it appears on here...we just capture his moments when he is trying to tell us to put the darn cameras down!

The boys like to look outside. Gavin fell asleep this way. (he is on the right) Notice the chubby legs of the boys....I love to squeeze them!

Snugglin with Dad. Immediately following this photo....Daddy was puked on.....muahahahahaha...our little spitter struck again.

Meet the Lavigne's

These are my friends Dave and Tiffany Lavigne and their children. Dave and Tiffany started off as hair clients of mine back in ND years and years ago ('96?) and moved to Minneapolis shortly after I did back in 2000.

Playtime with Daddy!

Randy was showing the boys some fun shapes and colors and they were mesmerized. I love to watch them explore their world!

All about Gavin!!

Waaaaaaa!!!!!

Ok, this one isn't so bad....

I don't like this at all!

Why mom?
So, with all of my nieces and nephews I have always given them "hats" made from burp clothes. Well, now that I have my own little cuties....they get to be part of the fun but, as you can see, Gavin maybe didn't have as much fun as I did!

(in my defense, it was time for him to eat too....dinner was served immediately!)

All about Griffin!

Dr. Burton our cardiologist checking Griffin over. For those of you that may not remember, Griffin was born with a small heart issue called pulmonary valvar stenosis (sp?). It means a narrow valve from his heart to his lungs. He checked out to be just fine. They measure things by a number and anything under 30 is considered mild. He is under 30 with minimal change since he was discharged from the hospital. They want to check him at specific intervals to chart any changes and follow it as he matures. All in all, excellent news! Praise God!

Weight check: 15.1lbs!! Our big boy!

Getting his length checked: 24.25in long

Bathtime fun! Seriously. so. cute.

Tummy Time

If this offends you then don't look! :)

Griffin practicing for the future....and.....as you can see, he likes it!
Don't worry, no children were harmed in the making of this photo.

Visit from Great Aunt Di and Cousin Tami

My Auntie Di and cousin Tami with Gavin and Griffin. Tami lives here in the Metro area and my Aunt was here visiting from ND. The boys love getting all the snuggles they can. The ladies even served dinner to the boys. It is so fun to introduce the boys to family. Especially when you hear oooo...awww... so cute!... :) Of course WE think they are cute...and I am sure we aren't biased one bit. I wonder if there is a mother out there that says "I don't think my baby is cute"? But seriously, MY babies are the cutest babies EVER. Hahahaha :)

off the deep end....

When we are about to go off the deep end and the babies are being extra fussy, we throw them in their new favorite chair....it even swings baaack and fooorth. Whew....

Father's Day gift

How much does Daddy love his babies? Thiiiiiis muuuuch. Minnesota Twins t-shirt

Wear it with pride babe!

We also did a photoshoot with my friend Teea that was all Green Bay Packer attire. I made it into a photo collage for Randy....now if only there was time to shop for a frame....

Happy First Father's Day!!!

Randy and the boys. We had lunch today at the Freighthouse in Stillwater, MN. It was a perfect day for dining riverside. (St. Croix River)
Happy Father's Day!!

On our drive home, we took the "scenic" route and took the boys to Wisconsin for the first time. They can now start appreciating their love for all things Packer related.

>We got the boys some dolls called Ugly Dolls at a store in Stillwater. Every boy needs a doll, right? At least these don't look very girly. The boys seem to like them and snuggled right in.

Griffin top, Gavin bottom.

Trolley ride at Lake Harriet, Minneapolis

Our family on the trolley

My nieces

My brother's family minus his daughter....

My sister's family minus her daughter.

There is a trolley line near Lake Harriet that we took the kids for a ride on. Just a little something fun to do. We were spending my sister's last day here together. We have had such a fun two weeks hanging out with everyone but, all good things must come to an end and tomorrow is that day.

7 out of the 12 of us got the flu while her family was visiting. My brother and I were laid out and the rest had a milder version of it. Randy and GG didn't get it so that was a blessing and Randy was able to take off of work to care for the babies while I recovered. It was awful!

**Sister, we had so much fun with you and your family! I so wish we lived closer to one another so our families could play together more often. I miss you dearly. Thank you for a super fun 2 weeks and sharing your mad mommy skills with me!! I love you!

Sister's Husband, thank you for toting the family up here so we could spend time together. You are one of a kind and have blessed my sister and our family so much.

Sister's children, you two are such joys to my life. I love you both so very much and wish I could see you grow in person. A, you are such a lovely little girl and a great helper with my boys. You are so brave and I can't wait until you are tall enough next summer to go on a roller coaster with me. I adore you!

J, I can't wait for you to teach GG everything you know! You are a smart little guy and I love to hear you talk! Such a handsome little fella you are.....I will take you on rides at the amusement park anytime. That was one of my favorite things to do with you also!

All of us getting ready to board the trolley.

Johnson cousins

Here are the babies with my brother and sister's kids. Max, Mia and A are 4 and J and Adam are 2.

Our big boys!!

So are the cheeks!

Griffin(l) Gavin (r); the bellies are growing around here.......

Griffin and Dawtz the parking dog. Griffin has a hard time not shooting his paci out when he gets sucking on it so we have hired Gavin's surgery puppy to do the job. We don't leave him like this unattended but, when we are in a bind, this does the trick. Randy was unaware that I do this so when I showed him my trick, he laughed and had to take a picture.

Bonding with my niece A

Creative hair days! A stayed home with me one day while my sister ran some errands. She is creative in the hair dept. just like her Auntie!! :)

Little A and Griffin. She is such a great big cousin to my boys! What a great helper she is and she is only 4. She would put paci's in if the boys would cry. She helped hold bottles and feed them. She also rocked their bouncy chairs if necessary. I would hire her in a minute....if only she lived closer....

Auntie Carol and Uncle Sergio

This is Randy's sister holding Griffin and her husband holding Gavin. This was their first weekend meeting the boys too!

We still have extended family introductions to do but the boys have finally met all their Aunties and Uncles. They are lucky little boys, that is for sure.

Baptism Day

The boys were baptized at our church this weekend. I asked them today "how does it feel to be a Lutheran?'. They are still pondering it.

About to be baptized. My sister and her husband, and Randy's sister and her husband are the boys Godparents. Most of my nieces and nephews wanted to come to the front with us for the baptism.

More birthday fun

Birthday girl with her presents

The fun part of our family is you usually get a birthday month instead of just one day! This was A's b-day party night. After Gma/Gpa J and Gma C got here, we had a family birthday party for her. From the left, we have my brother's twins, A and her little brother J.

1st playdate with MVMOMS

As I am sure I mentioned before, I joined Minnesota Valley Mother's of Multiples during my pregnancy. Well, this is what it looks like when you get 5 MOM's together with our babies. There were 4 sets of twins, 1 set of triplets and 1 older brother to a set of twins. All babies were 9mo and younger. Ours were the youngest. I love this group! There are so many things I already have learned and will continue to learn by knowing all of these MOM's. Not just the ones in the photo but, the MVMOM's group has been so beneficial to us.

Griffin(l) Gavin(r) enjoyed meeting their new friends.

They came to sing to A with an ice cream sundae. We didn't have that great of service and they messed up our bill along with other things but, we still had a great time.

My sibs and our families at the Mall of America Rainforest Cafe celebrating A's birthday.

Randy and our neice

Me and Max

My sister's husband and Gavin

We are lucky to be have the youngest children out of all the nieces/nephews on my side of the family. That means all the momma's and papa's have great experience and can handle the babies. While my niece and I were on a ride, Gavin needed to be fed so Auntie Annette got the food ready and Uncle R fed Gavin. All of the Aunties and Uncles helped in one way or another so we were able to stay at the Mall of America from 10AM until almost 8PM! With 7 kids 4 and under we had no meltdowns or trouble. It was an awesome day!!

FYI- Tuesdays at the Mall of America are called Toddler Tuesdays. Kids 6 and under can get an wristband- 10$ for 3hrs of unlimited rides and at certain restaurants, with the order of 1 adult entree, kids eat free. Our niece's birthday fell on a Tuesday so it worked out perfectly. Also on a childs actual birthday, they get an unlimited ride wristband for free!! A went on soooo many rides! She is a little daredevil. She and I went on a logride, or a flume and laughed the whole way. There was one moment that we both got a little nervous and that was when we dropped down into water. (It is a roller coaster sort of ride) Of course the drop is where a camera is and of course they caught our faces on camera! I had to buy the photo as it was that funny.

First visit from my sister and her family

When all else fails, get the bear to hold the baby!

Our sweet nieces with the boys.

My sister's daughter meeting Griffin

My sister's daughter and son on the left, and my brother's youngest boy on the right.

My beautiful sister and Gavin