General Conference, Wisdom Teeth, Halloween

Ladies Luncheon

This weekend was a great weekend. Friday Geneva and I held a LADIES LUNCHEON for the new ladies who just moved in the ward. We have three new first year med student families, Shannon, Kristen and Natalie and another new lady with four girls, Wendy. We invited about 15 girls from the ward and had lunch and played get to know you games. They are really cute girls. We were excited to get to know them better. Friday night Chris and I watched a movie, I gave haircuts to the boys and then I painted crafts while Chris studied for his presentation on Monday.

General Conference and Party at the Breinholts

Saturday we watched conference at Jared and Geneva's house. We really enjoyed it. We especially liked Elder Jeffrey R. Holland's talk at the end of the second session about the broken down car and young family. I cried, of course. Right after second session we headed over to the Breinholts for a big potluck dinner with about 9 other couples. We ate dinner and then the boys all headed off to Priesthood Session while the wives stayed and had a 'recipe exchange'. Now I've got a whole pile of new ones to try. The group of us have SO much fun together. We laugh about everything. When the boys came back we stayed and chatted a while longer and then headed home.

Ryan was so good even though he stayed up way past his bedtime. They put on 101 Dalmations for the kids to watch and as soon as it came on Ryan started staring at the TV saying "Ruff, ruff!" and then he said DOg! (He barely said the g but that was his first attempt at saying dog.) I was so excited. Then he started to bounce up and down to the music. I pushed him forward for a better view and he sat on a pillow and watched it for a good half hour. Every once in a while he'd just start saying "Ruff, ruff." Everyone thought he was so cute. It's amazing the things he's learning all the time. He understands us very well. We always tell him to "go get Daddy's shoes" or "bring the book to mommy" or "go get in your chair". He now knows where his NOSE is. It's cute. Sometimes it's rather difficult for him to find. It's funny to watch him.

Preschool

Preschool is going well for me. On Tuesday Randi was crying at the door and Caitlin went up to her, patted her up on her shoulder and said, "it's ok, your mommy will come back later." It was so precious. They are cute kids. Thursday morning none of them had a huge crying session. It was very under control. I'm enjoying it. I got little carpet mats for each of them to sit on. They like that. Ryan likes the Nursery next door except when there are crying babies. The nursery babysitters tell me that Ryan tries to give toys to the crying babies and pats their stomachs. When they still cry Ryan starts to cry too. An empathetic cry, they said.

Medical Appointments

Last week I had to get my TB test done for the Preschool. I made an appointment for Ryan as well just for his 15month well-baby check up. He's 24.5 pounds and 31 inches tall. Big boy. 50th percentile. He had to have four shots and of course felt very upset and betrayed... but that only lasted a couple minutes. We didn't even have to give him Tylenol. I also decided to get a pregnancy test. I was only a couple days late but was so anxious to find out. When Chris and I found out the test was negative we were so amazed. I thought for sure I was pregnant. I wasn’t feeling too well. Chris and I are excited to get pregnant again. I think it would be perfect next month but I guess we’ll see. It would be nice to spend some time in Utah next summer but I would’ve given it all up if I would have been pregnant last month.

Chris Update

Chris is doing well. He seems to be studying a lot more than last year. It seems like he is constantly having tests and his classes are much harder... especially pathology. He just finished another test and did very well. I'm not used to him studying at home very much but now he is starting to do so a bit more. He's in between sports seasons right now. Actually he is still playing indoor soccer but has finished outdoor soccer. Now the ward basketball season and the school intramural basketball team are about to start. Geneva and I think we'll be living at the gym. I don't know how I'm going to keep Ryan off the court!

Ryan at 16 months

Ryan has been so funny lately. A couple days ago I got all the makings for salad and put it on the kitchen table. Then I went back into the kitchen to finish stuff. When I finally turned around and caught Ryan's eye, I started laughing. He was sitting on one of the kitchen chairs so his eyes just peeked over the table. He was holding a half eaten tomato with red tomato juice all over his mouth. No wonder he was so quiet. Then yesterday I had Oprah on while I was making dinner and thought it was so cute that Ryan was just sitting on the couch watching intently. I glanced at him and he looked up and stiffened which made me curious. I walked over and realized he had taken one of the apple muffins off the table for dinner and already started eating it. I couldn't stop laughing. I think he thought he was in trouble... but I couldn't stop laughing so I just let him eat it and then vacuumed after.

The past couple days Ryan has turned into a real Momma's boy. Chris wanted to snuggle with him while we watched TV and he kept squirming out and coming over and sitting on my lap and leaning back on my tummy. Then when Chris tried to take him up to bed he kept reaching for mommy and whining. When Chris gave him to me he laid his head on my shoulder and I took him to bed. Not one peep. Weird eh? He's usually not like this so it's weird. Although he still gets SO excited when I say, "Daddy's home!"

The nights and early mornings are so freezing here. We turned on our heat for the first time a couple days ago. Just for a couple hours in the morning to warm things up. I hate getting out of a warm bed in a cold house.

Chris is sick

Chris has not been feeling well lately. He doesn't have an appetite at all, nothing sounds good to him and he's been sleeping TONS. He'll go to school at 6:30 and find a library study booth and fall asleep for THREE HOURS. He tries to stay awake in his classes and then tries to study later and falls asleep again. On Wednesday I went to craft night and Chris stayed home, put Ryan to bed and tried to study. He fell asleep at the table at 8:30 and finally woke up and went to bed at almost 10:00. He didn't even hear me when I came home. It's completely not like him... he doesn't even feel like playing sports. WEIRD, I know. But it's not like he has the flu or cold or something, I hope he gets better soon. It's really taking a toll on his study time. He is stressed about how fast time is going. He feels like there is so much to learn in a short time. Maybe the 'stress' is what's making him sick. (I keep joking with him telling him maybe he's pregnant.) I wish I was.

Christmas Stockings

Oh, yesterday I got the fourth section of fabric I need for my stockings. Dark red plaid... dark yellowish plaid.... mossy greeny plaid... and navy blue with little white spots. Chris thinks the fabric is so cute and can't wait for me to make the stockings... but says I MUST do a Santa Claus on his. Ha... a Santa's hard to paint but we'll see... I might wait and do the wooden painting things later and just sew the stockings together. I don't know yet. My friend, Missy, is going on two rotations... one before Christmas, then 3 weeks of Christmas break and then one after Christmas so they are going to be gone for four months. SAD. Anyway she is letting me have her sewing machine for that time. I'm excited! I really want a sewing machine. She's leaving at the end of October.

Wisdom Teeth Extraction

Well, four of my teeth are history now. I got my wisdom teeth out yesterday afternoon. Chris drove me to the oral surgeon's office at 2:00 and stayed to watch them 'put me under'. Ryan didn't really like it that I was sitting in the big chair being tested and having machinery hooked up to me. He watched me very quietly. They gave me the IV and then said everything is going to look kind of blurry now and I nodded my head and said yes... then next thing you know it I'm waking up in a different room with big ice packs on either side of my face. I opened my eyes and then decided I'd rather go back to sleep. Chris was trying to get me to sit up. I tried a couple times but it was so much more comfortable to lie down. Pretty soon he actually picked me up and helped me to stand. I was still so out of it. When we got home he helped me to my bed. We talked for a while, he read a letter from Adam and Marilee that we got in the mail, and then I slept for a while. Funny thing is... when I woke up I couldn't remember talking to him or anything in the letter. I forced some yogurt and tuna down as we watched a movie and pretty soon threw it all up into a bowl by the couch. I felt awful. I went to sleep and woke up at 1:30 and threw up again and then got a burning headache right above my left eye that caused me to writhe in pain for what seemed like an hour. Poor Chris was so good to help me through that night ordeal... he's still very sick himself. We are not a very cute couple this weekend. Ryan is doing his best to take care of us both. This morning I woke up and felt better. Chris made a big breakfast and I tried to eat as much as I could. Chris kept saying, "Just four more bites Lisa..." (I can't take my medication on an empty stomach.) I then had a bath and took a nap from 10:00 until 2:45. Long nap, eh? Chris and Ryan even took a 2 1/2 hour nap with me. We all felt better when we woke up. We had chicken noodle soup and cried all the way through the movie STEPMOM. Love that show. Geneva came over and brought cookies for Ryan and Chris and a cute crafty paper bag for me. (I missed out on the Relief Society Super Saturday today. She taught a class on decorative gift wrapping.)

More About Ryan

Ryan has been so cute these last couple days. He never ceases to amaze us. He learns things at such a fast pace. Chris and I always look at each other and smile. Last night at the end of the video I said, "ok, Ryan... time to go night-night!" He immediately stood up went over and kissed Daddy and then went over to the stairs. When he realized that daddy was going to take him upstairs he came running over to me to give me a kiss goodnight. Before bed we sit on his bedroom floor and say our prayers. He folds his arms and bows his head. As soon as we're finished he stands up and holds onto the crib railings waiting to go in. It's adorable of course. Today I said, "Ryan go over and get a diaper. We need to change your pants!" He ran to get a diaper, and then came and sat down and then lied down in front of us. It amazes us that he understands us so well. In fact, right now we're already in the spelling stage. We can't say O-u-t-s-i-d-e without him running to the front door or P-r-a-y-e-r without saying a series of about five prayers. He always tries to pull at our clothes when he wants us to chase him. And he ALWAYS wants to give hugs and kisses. He just goes back and forth from mommy to daddy giving out kisses. He got so excited when Geneva came over and climbed on to her lap and relaxed. He knows her really well. Geneva said, "Ryan where's my baby Carter." Ryan kept saying BABY and pointing outside. Right now Ryan's sitting on our bed making bubbles with his mouth with a consistent monotone sound. I just said, Ryan what are you doing in there? He stopped and said back... "yadamadbalanafa" and then went back to his bubble making.

Ryan's jabberings have expanded. He uses v's a lot more. For example... "vadava-dava". It's the expression on his face and intonation that's the funniest. He really thinks he's saying something. We're trying to get him to say please and he tried for the first time on Tuesday. Now he’s saying it all the time! And the bad news: He can say NO now. He copies me when I tell him NO... so now I'm trying to say "Let's not do that... etc." He now knows how to climb onto the bed too!

We have had a really good week. We're doing well here. My mouth is totally back to normal. YEAH! What a process. Actually my “chubby cheeks” disappeared about Tuesday night! That was great. I have to go back tomorrow or the next day for a checkup to make sure it's healing alright.

More Homemaking Projects

Hey... I've been so homemakerish lately... last night I made homemade potato soup and rolls. It was so yummy! Last week I made homemade spaghetti sauce for the first time... It was SO good... I don't know if I'll ever go back to the store bought stuff now! I've finished Ryan's costume! He's going to be a cowboy. I already got Missy's sewing machine so I bought some brown felt and made a cowboy vest and some chaps! I think it'll turn out really cute. He's going to wear his jeans, plaid shirt and we got him a cute red cowboy hat. Our ward is having a "TRUNK or TREAT" in the church parking lot on Saturday night since Halloween is a Sunday. The kids will trick or treat from car to car!! Should be fun. I've also started on our stockings. I've just cut some of them out. That's all. Plus... I’m working on a cute little Christmas girly (that Terri has) I've enjoyed being so crafty lately!!

Baby Annie Christofferson

We got a call early Wednesday morning (OCTOBER 20th, 1999) from our dear friends Adam and Marilee. They just had a baby girl!! She came nine days early so we weren't expecting this call for awhile. Marilee was only in the hospital for a couple hours before having the baby. It was 3:30 their time but 6:30 our time when they called us. We talked to them for awhile, then Chris left for school and I talked to Marilee longer. She had the baby at about 1:30am. 8pounds something and they are going to name her Annie Elizabeth Christofferson. They are so excited. This means that she'll be almost a month old when I come to visit!! I can't wait. It's going to be so fun.

Preschool Field Trip

Tuesday morning I took my preschool class on a field trip to PHILLIPS FARM. We looked at the turkeys, bunnies, goats, cows and pig... played on the hay stacks.... went through a small corn maze... got a hayride out to the pumpkin patch and got to pick our own pumpkin. Ryan got to come with me. He LOVED it. He really thinks he's one of the big kids. He picked a pumpkin that was his perfect size and now when we say "Where's the pumpkin?"... he points right to it. He especially liked the PIG.

Pathology Test

Chris is studying like crazy right now. He’s had several tests already and I think it has taken it’s toll on him. After he spends an hour or two with us in the evening, he’s been studying until past midnight every night. He's even missing a cycling scout campout this weekend because he's so stressed about this next test. It's a big one. PATHOLOGY... it’s a short test though too so that makes it scary... if he doesn’t know the answers to the few questions they give him then he’s toast! Poor representation.

Craft Night

Thursday night after Ryan went to bed we had CRAFT NIGHT over at Lisa Curran’s house. We had a really good time. Lisa, Terri, Missy, Geneva, Jade and Amy were there this time. I worked on my Christmas doll thing and then on my pumpkin sweatshirt costume. It turned out really cute. Then Friday night we had the GIRLS SCRAPBOOK NIGHT at my house. Terri, Geneva, Missy and her friend came. Terri was so excited to get some ideas.

Mafia Party

Last night we hosted a MAFIA party. We had the Currans, Breinholts, Chuggs and Whites over. It was the PERFECT GROUP to play with. We had such a ball. Lisa and Terri were hilarious as well as Brian and Doug! Several people since have said what a good time they had and that we’ve got to do it again soon.

More about Ryan

Wow... Ryan is so cute these days. I can't believe he’s sixteen months old. The other day I was trying to count up all the words he can say... it’s quite a few. He says mama, dada, baby, uh-oh, ruff ruff, moo, uh-huh, all done, ball, hi, up, no, door and tries to say please (feas), outside (outsi), Jesus (zesus), snack (nak), night-night (ni-ni), eyes (eye) and nose (no), I think that’s it. It's so fun to actually communicate with him. Yesterday in the car when Chris and I were driving home from Chris’ basketball game I kept asking Ryan to say his different words. I would say, “Ryan, can you say snack?” and he’d say “uh-huh”....(pause)... nak. Then I’d say “Ryan, can you say Jesus?” and he’d say “uh-huh...(pause)...zesus” We kept going with the whole list. IT WAS SO CUTE! Then at the very end I said, “Ryan, can you say Daddy? and he’s say “uh-huh...MAMA!!” We tried and tried to get him to say Daddy but he won’t... he just says mama. He knows how to say “dada” but he won’t. It’s so funny. Chris is having a hard time with it though. That reminds me... the basketball game was awful. I thought I’d give it a try but Ryan was just too much to handle. He kept pointing at the basketballs and saying “ball”. Some of the guys would give him their ball to play with and he’d just push it out onto the court and chase after it. Then I’d have to quickly chase him and carry him back to the side screaming and kicking. It was a nightmare. I think that was the first and last game of the season for the Johnson cheerleaders! But Chris did play extremely well. He was top scorer out of all ten teams that played that day!! Pretty neat, huh?

Ryan’s favorite movie is “The Doggy Show” (also known as 101 Dalmations). When we ask him what movie he wants to watch, he always reaches for that one. He sits and watches for at least 30 minutes without a peep. It’s great. He watches it almost everyday.

OH, some other funny things Ryan did today. I noticed the house was very quiet so I went downstairs to see what Ryan was up to. He was playing with a container of toys and things in the living room. All the items were spread out all over the place. He was doing fine so I left him alone and went back upstairs. Pretty soon he came to join me. When I went back downstairs I noticed that all but two of the items he was playing with were back in the container, the lid was placed on the container, and the container was placed back on the shelf where it goes. I was so shocked! It’s amazing what he learns from watching us!

The other funny thing he did today was when we were all sitting on the couch together. Ryan pointed at my eyes and said “eye”, pointed at my nose and said “no..ss” and then pointed at my mouth and said “blatheratherather”. It’s hard to spell... you know when they move their tongue really fast and make a funny noise with their mouth. It was so funny. That’s the only thing he could think of for “Mouth”.

But he’s not all good... that’s for sure. I’m having a heck of a time trying to keep him off the table. Plus he knows how to open the microwave so he does it all the time... even when food is cooking in there. It’s dangerous. He knows he’s not supposed to do it. He walks over there, watches to see if I’m looking, says “no” and then proceeds to open the door. It may sound cute but it’s not. He has also learned how to turn the radio on. We tried to trick him by turning the volume off but now he knows how to turn it up. Several times each day he turns the radio on full blast and starts dancing!

Chris’ Intramural Basketball

Chris is playing with the same group of guys as last year. I thought I would give it a try and go cheer, but Ryan was just too much to handle. He kept point at the basketballs and saying ‘ball’. Some of the guys would give him their ball to play with and he’s just push it out onto the court and chase after it. Then I’d have to quickly chase him and carry him back to the side while he screamed “BALLLL” while kicking. It was a nightmare. I think that was the first and last game of the season for the Johnson cheerleaders. But Chris did play extremely well. He was the top scorer out of all ten teams that played that day.

Halloween

I had my preschool Halloween Party on Thursday. We paraded through the other rooms, did a little pumpkin art activity, sang some songs, ate lots of treats, and played outside.

The kids were cute in their costumes but Ryan was DEFINITELY the cutest! He was a COWBOY and the costume looked so cute all put together. His little chaps have fringe that sticks straight out on the side. It looks like he even walks like he’s been on a horse. It’s SO cute. All the other moms and teachers were impressed that I made the costume. They thought he was adorable. Well, I could go on and on about Ryan but I’ll stop.

I’m doing well. My different activities are keeping me very busy. I’m enjoying them all though. I only have two weeks from tomorrow before I go on my vacation to California and it seems like there is so many things I need to have finished by then. Like my scrapbook all caught up, stockings sewn?, quilt squares done! and more... It’s my birthday in two weeks and I really want good brown shoes so I need to go shopping for those too. I would LOVE for Chris to go with me but he’s SO busy studying. He has a huge test this Monday and then things will settle down for a while. Hopefully we can do some fun things like go to the zoo before Ryan and I leave.

Academic Awards for Chris

Chris had a very exciting ceremony today. He was awarded three academic awards for his grades from ‘first year’. He scored in the TOP 5% in three different classes: Anatomy 11, Anatomy 111 and Fundamentals of Epidemiology and Biometrics. He wore his fancy fancy uniform and looked like quite the military man. It was neat to be there and see him receive the awards and shake hands with all the big-wigs of the school. Our friend Jared got a couple as well. Unfortunately we couldn’t celebrate much... they have too much to study for their next test.

Walton Update

It is so fun to hear from Amy. I love hearing from her and talking with her on the phone. Scott says she is “living the freshman dream” and he’s quite right. I’m so glad she’s having such a great time. She’s always excited to talk to me because she knows I’ve lived what she’s going through. It’s like we’re the same age now. I can’t wait for Christmas. Dan’s coming home in one month. I can’t believe it. Everyone’s going to be there when he comes home... everyone except me. I’m bummed but at least we’ll all have Christmas together.

Trunk or Treat

We had such a good time at the TRUNK or TREAT last night. It was cute to watch Ryan get the hang of trick or treating. We would walk up to each trunk and Ryan would say “FEAS!” The people would laugh and then put some candy into his bag. Ryan would immediately look in his bag amazed that there was something in there. Then he’d try to retrieve it and we’d have to say, “Ryan we’re going to eat it LATER.” Then he’d grab his bag again and we’d follow him to the next trunk. Sometimes he was so mesmerized by the jack o lanterns that he’d forget about the candy and sometimes he’d get a piece of candy, put it in his bag and then say “FEAS” again hoping to get some more... I’d say he thoroughly enjoyed himself. The cutest was when we got home and we let him explore what was in his bag. We helped him dump it out and he was so excited. He started giving candy to me and daddy and then kept trying to eat the stick part of the sucker. We opened a sucker and let him hold it. He LOVED it. Then it was time for bed... he was so excited for bed that he didn’t even want to say his prayers. I think we wore him out... plus he’s still a little bit sick.