Piers, presents, and patches (of baldness, that is)

Today we went to Santa Monica Pier. Here's my internal monologue this morning:

"Well, it's been close to 100 degrees here the past few days, and Finn almost burned at the Zoo, and we are going to be walking along the pier...no jeans for me, I'll go with a skirt...I won't pack Maya's pants, but put her in a cute beachy outfit, and Finn needs some shorts and sunscreen...should I wear this nice lightweight skirt because it's so thin and breezy? Is it a problem that it's black? Too hot? Hmmm...can't forget the stroller, I wonder if there will be swimmers and what we'll have for lunch..."

Are any Californians laughing sardonically yet?

OK. I have clearly never been to Santa Monica Pier. It was FREEZING. Overcast. Windy. 65 degrees tops (there was wind chill too, I tell you!). Maya took one desperate look at me, and I ducked quickly into a tourist shop to buy her the very snuggly sweatsuit you see pictured below (only available in size 12 months—ha!):
Finn didn't complain, though he sported goosebumps the entire time. In fact, he LOVED the pier! With one arm I desperately tried to keep my skirt from blowing up Marilyn Monroe style every 30 seconds, while holding Maya in the other arm (the angle in the photo makes the skirt look long, but it's knee-length, and Wes eventually tied knots in the sides to add some weight and keep it more securly against me). And oh yeah, did I mention we forgot the stroller? Well, we did. 3 inhaled hot dogs later, a quick jaunt down to the end of the pier, and I was ready to head back to the car. It was SO obvious who the tourists were, because we were the nut jobs wearing beach clothes instead of jeans and hoodies. Clearly this former Texan is using Texas beaches for all beach referencing. I have a thing or two to learn about Cali beaches. Next time I'll check the weather in Santa Monica, not just Burbank. But can you blame me? I've only been here 9 days. When I lived in Mesa, if the weather was 106, it was 106 in Mesa, Tempe, Phoenix, Gilbert, Scottsdale...you get the idea. So I just need to change the dial in my head from Sonoran reality to Californian reality.

We took a drive through Beverly Hills, across Rodeo Drive (where I couldn't resist a bad joke in a Texas accent about looking out for all the livestock on RO-deo Drive), along Hollywood Boulevard (Kodak Theater flanked by sex shop, shoe shop, sex shop, shoe shop), past the beautiful LDS Temple, then home again to Burbank. And waiting for me on my doorstep was the most delicious present! My good blog friend, Christy (found HERE), gifted me a fantastic box of goodies from California's Wine Country that arrived just in time to satisfy a much-needed cookie fix (I mentioned cookies repeatedly on the way home, ask Wes). I was laughing, though, because in the past two weeks I kept getting cryptic food messges from Christy asking things like, "Are there any food allergies in your family? I need your phone number. I can't remember—does everyone in yor family eat meat?" So I was half expecting a magic casserole to show up through the mail slot in my door (yes, we get our mail through a slot in our front door—very cottage-y). The box was overflowing with nutty fruity things, and cheesy crunchy things, and savory mustardy things, and general deliciousness in beautiful little boxes all begging me to open every one. Wes came in and out of the kitchen with remarks like, "It looks like Christmas in here!" and "It could be dangerous having all of this around..." (through a mouthful of Danish buttercookies). I love having blog friends. I do, I do! They are so good to me.

On a totally separate note, Maya is...there's no better way to say this...balding. She has a rather prominant bald spot on the back of her head that is so attractive for darling baby girls to have this season. I am trying to encourage regrowth and stop the hairloss by keeping her on satin surfaces. That will help reduce the breakage caused by sleeping in her crib on regular ol' sheets. I found and ordered this product, and quite like it: Baby Walton. It comes with a satin hair protector for the crib and carseat. One tip! If you are expecting a baby and want to protect their hair, think about having a little satin square put in the carseat cover where their head will rest (especially if you are ordering a custom cover). My friend recently asked the lady who was sewing her carseat cover to do this, and I thought it was a great idea!

Hope everyone's week is off to a good start. The rest of my week includes glamorous things like laundry and unpacking those last packing box stragglers.

Making up for lost time and a tutorial

I wasn't really using my nice camera during the whole packing and moving process, so I need to make up for lost time! Maya is growing every day, and I thought we needed to have a little photoshoot. Such a sweet girl!


Want to post your images larger like the ones above? Here's how:
1. Upload the photo you would like to post. (I select "Center" under Layout, and "Large" under Image Size.)
2. From your Posting window, select the "Edit HTML" tab. Find your width and height (highlighted in purple below) and delete it (including the semi-colon but not the quote marks).
3. Then find the setting that says "s400" and change it to "s640."
4. Click back on the "Compose" tab and you'll see your photo is larger!

Sweet Evening Air

My Mom said she pictures me in our front yard, on a blanket with Maya, computer in my lap, and Finn at play. And here I am—blogging in the sweet evening air. One thing we are not accustomed to is having a grassy front yard with wonderful weather to enjoy! So we are taking advantage of it...and all of the photo ops it has to offer.

Songbird

SO, I make up a lot of spontaneous little ditties on the spot for Finn and Maya. Most are silly and fleeting, and I usually don't remember them. But occasionally a few stick (often in Wes's head, which he complains about, but I think he secretly loves it). Since I wouldn't be caught dead posting recordings of myself singing them, I am just going to post the lyrics for posterity's sake. That way Maya and Finn will always remember, and never be able to fully escape, the full force of my songbird abilities. :)

Springtime Song for Maya
You're like a little blossom
blooming in the spring,
look at all the joy you bring.

You're like a little flower
growing up so tall,
even though right now you're small.

Even though
you're oh so tiny
in this great big world,
Don't you know
out of all the many
you're my very favorite little baby girl!

You're like a little rosebud
smiling in the sun,
Maya you're the sweetest one.


Little Miss
Little Miss Piccadilly,
Little Miss Piccolo,
When you fuss it's oh so silly,
no more crying,
no, no, no.

Little Maya you're so pretty,
with a voice just like a flute.
When you smile it makes me giddy,
Little Maya you're so cute!

Finn's Sleepy Song (this has endured since the days of his infancy, with lyrics adjusting for his age)
Little Finn,
Little Finn,
It's time to sleep again.
Close your eyes,
rest your head,
now it's time to go to bed.
We'll say goodnight,
and you'll sleep tight—
it's time to sleep again.

The Happs

Want the 411 on some more of our new happenings? Hop on over to Wes's blog to read a bit more, HERE. (Basically I'm too tired to recap exactly what he wrote—and he always writes better than I do.)

Sniper Safari

This is Finn making a gun from one of the myriad little things he finds daily with which to make a gun. I have tried to ban guns from the house. I have tried turning his attention to sweet, passive activities. I have tried telling him pointing small make-believe "guns" at people is not very nice at all. To no avail. He is a boy, and this boy will make toy guns out of anything, like crackers, pens, and even small plastic nozzles for inflating exercise balls (pictured above). My mom tells the story of one of my little playmates when I was a small tyke. David's mother was a total pacifist, and their family didn't even own a TV. One day David picked up a stick in our yard and said, "Bang!" So there you go—it's ingrained from birth, I say!)

To diffuse the rampant sniper-ing, we decided it was time to go to the Zoo for the year memberships I was requesting:
Safari Finn asked for "Yions and Gigers". We delivered!

Slow going!

Well, we're in beautiful Burnank! We have a house full of boxes and no Internet. So this current view from my snuggly bed (Audrey in bubble wrap, Finn's TV stolen for OUR bedroom) will have to do for a few days. I'm telling you--this place is going to feel like a mansion once the boxes are gone! (OK, maybe a cottagy mansion...) I'm starting to feel a bit claustrophobic.

Funniest thing I've heard all week...

While playing at the cousins' house:

Finn: "Mamamamamamamama!!!!"

Me: "Yes, angel?"

My niece, Maggie: "Angel?"

Me: "Yes, I call Finn 'angel' sometimes."

Maggie: "He sure is a LOUD angel!"

:)

Please excuse me for a bit...

Seeing as it's packing and moving mayhem around here, I thought it befitting to take a little break for a week-ish. I'll be back and blogging from beautiful Burbank! Until then, wish me luck (jeesh, I'll need it)!
But you can catch small updates as I Tweet in my sidebar over yonder...

Put me to work!

We have been packing, packing, packing! And, consequently, finding lots of random things we didn't know (or forgot) we had. Finn found these funky work glasses, and has been wearing them a lot. I turned around the other day and saw that Finn had decided to try them on Maya! (It's a wonder that he managed not to poke her in the eye...) She was giggling and smiling. I think she was ready to join in the packing party! Wes was lucky enough to capture it with his iPhone just in time.

This market of ours

Remember how we were selling our home?? Well, not so much, anymore. We have decided to RENT. In this crazy market of ours, it just makes better sense for us. So seriously, if you know someone who is looking to rent a home in Mesa, AZ, send them HERE.

Top 10

Yesterday Wes and I were talking about some of the "perks" of being a toddler—you know, the things you can get away with that no one even questions (like sporting a diaper and a miner's light, binky in mouth). So here are our favorite 10:

1. Body fat is cute. Especially in rolls.
2. You can eat with your hands (ketchup included).
3. You can run around without your shirt on all day.
4. NAPS! (Sometimes multiple naps...)
5. Your normal speaking voice is naturally set at the highest decibel, and generally involves 2 word commands directed at everyone (followed maybe by a sweet "pweeeeeese?").
6. You get everywhere you want to go by RUNNING. All out. Fastest pace.
7. You can pass gas, and not only is it completely acceptable, but people actually giggle when you do!
8. You are catered 3 plus meals a day (and often dictate what they will be).
9. You are the most imaginative/best creative brain/best actor/cutest in the household. Ready for an agent!
10. You can pee in the tub.

Got any others??

Little Giggler

Maya has been laughing since 2 months—a skill her pediatrician had never seen in a baby so young. But there she was, cracking up at the nurse, astounding the staff! I have been trying to get it on video, and last night was a success. I was blowing raspberries ("zerberts") on Maya's tummy. So that accounts for the funny sound effects. :) Enjoy!

California living...almost

Where have the Johnson's been? Well, I'll tell ya. We've been hauling heavy loads to Burbank, California—the site of our new lives (for the next two years, at least). We are officially moving on June 20th. But we wanted to take an initial load of our belongings, pick up the keys to our cozy little rental home, and scope out the awesome neighborhood. Think tree-lined streets, hazy mornings, and mountains peeking at us from a close range. I love it. Wes did a wonderful job finding a home for us. Here are some highlights from the car trip, and some shots of our new old house, circa 1920 (with a few upgrades).