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Nick-Out

Where have the last 4 months gone!

Wow, I have not posted anything for four months now! Well lots and lots has been going on. Makayla has grown so much I am not sure where to start. Well lets see I guess we will start with the Holidays.

Thanksgiving day was great we got to spend time with all of our family. We found out for the first time that Makayla has finally taken a liking to honey baked ham. She ate several pieces at Brandi's house *YUM YUM*. I had to catch my breath a few times while we were their because things have just changed so much. Last year around that time I remember all the kids surrounding her just watching her lie on her blanket giggling. That was the extent or her get up and go and this year wow the TORNADO was here. Kayla loved trying to get into everything that the boys had especially Billy's markers. Life is not so peaceful anymore lol. All and all Thanksgiving was terrific it reminded us to be very thankful for our family and our beautiful daughter, plus the house didn't get broke into this year so what more can I ask for haha.

Christmas oh boy did Santa come! We did Christmas morning for the first time this year at our house so that Makayla could have her Christmas morning traditions just like I had. My mom, Sarah, Sam, Dad, Rose, Karen, Eli, Christhian, Terri, Wayne and Grandma MaryEllen all made it over at 7:00. Yes our house was very full! What fun though the girls (Sarah, Sam and Kayla) all got to wake up and go see what "Santa" had brought them. Nick and I had gotten a few hints from Santa as to what he would be brining Makayla so we prepared in advance by getting rid of ALLOT of toys. Kayla was a bit overwhelmed but seemed to enjoy everything. She received a school bus activity toy that is like what you would see in a doctors office it's huge! She would not stop playing with it for the longest time. Santa also brought her a doll stroller, doll, doll carrier, bowling game and a few other items. The doll carrier is a little pink plastic carrier which Makayla chose to sit in most of the time. She believes she is just as small as she was 1 year ago. What a fun time though. When we got to the opening up of gifts she had fun but the opening process would come to a screeching halt when she opened something and wanted to play with it. Getting a 15 month old to sit back down and get back to business is not at all easy. After all the festivities at our home we headed over to Brandi's to have all the kiddos together. Siena has taken quite the liking to Kayla so she helped me out allot :) What a fun time and I expect every year to be filled with more and more excitement as Makayla grows and understands things a little better.

The new year is now here and the Christmas is put away and life is back on track. Things are hectic and Kayla has found her attitude already. I can tell this will be a tough year lol. She throws her small tantrums regularly and has not quite found her independence yet. My little one has always been a bit needy but hey she's only little twice and some day she wont need me as much so I enjoy it. Daddy on the other hand probabley wishes she would detach from Mommy a little bit. Makayla now has 11teeth and were working on number 12 now. At Nana's (which is where she stays Tuesday - Friday) she is learning her ABC's and already can recognize the letter A and working currently on B. She has also grown her vocabulary like mad. It seems everyday she picks up something new. I guess this means mommy and daddy really have to start watching what there saying now, oops. Her vocabulary now includes words like Cheeessseee, hello, bye, Mommy, Dada, Nana, milk, and many more. Such a chatterbox we have on our hands. Oh and the best update of all, she has been pretty healthy lately. Excluding a brief virus and Roseola are little one seems to finally be growing out of her "always sick" faze. (thank goodness)

I'm sure their are a million more things to say but typing up four months of updates is a task that just may be impossible. I will try to wrote more frequently as things change so quick.

Hope everyone is doing well and we will post more pictures soon.

P.S. Nick is working on creating our own website where we have more functionality so once it is up and going we will update you :)

Kidney Update 2

Kayla had her Urology appt on September 4th and we met with Dr Berkman. He confirmed that there was no reflux in her kidneys anymore which was great. He did however find that the kidney ultrasound showed a noticable size difference in her kidneys. When she came in as a newborn her right kidney was larger than her left now her left kidney is larger than her right. He is not sure what to think about this he stated. Due to the fact your kidneys are sopposed to be the same size he is going to continue keeping her as his patient until next year when we will have a third ultrasound to see how the kidneys are growing. I am not too concerned as the doctor stated it could be that the ultrasound tech just did not get a good picture therefore the measurement could be off. Giving a 1 year old an ultrasound on her belly, back and side for 30 minutes you can only imagine she wasn't exactly perfectly still. Dr. Berkman stated that after her next birthday she would be more willing to lie still therefore we will know more at that time. So one more year and we will recheck. Nick and I were kind of disapointed because that was never something we thought of as we were unaware of the size problems from the first ultrasound but happy that she is doing well. I guess Nick and I will just have to hang on wondering for the next year, but time sure flys so I'm sure it will be here in no time =)

Update on her kidneys~

Great news finally! Makayla had her VCUG and kidney ultrasound done on September 2nd at Phoenix Childrens Hospital and everything is perfect! No more kidney reflux woohoo. One medicine down and one still to go. This has been the best news we have gotten in along time considering Kayla is constantly sick. Anyhow just wanted to share the happiness!

Milk - oh no not another nono

Makayla started drinking Milk for the first time on August 22nd. Nick and I were supper excited to be able to start transitioning off of formula. But as everyone knows with Makayla there is always surprises. On the 23rd Makayla started getting blotchy red spots on her face which look almost like dry patches yet they are tinted pink/red, I didn't think much of it though at the time. But then on the 24th Makayla came home with a minor rash in her diaper area. Which is very unuasual for her. Believe it or not Makayla has only had two diaper rashes in her 13 months of life and they were minor and went away in a couple of hours after putting ointment on them. This was one of those, so I thought. The next day makayla went to Nana's with no rash it had gone away overnight but again by the time she came home it was awful! Matter of fact I know I have lack of experience with diaper rashes but it was the worst thing I had ever seen. It was totally red, blistered and swollen. So the only thing that was different in her diet was the milk so this could be a reaction. I spoke with the doctor on the 26th and they prescribed ointment and also made us go on lactois free milk. They are not possitive but think she may be lactoise intollerant. So back to always needing "special" things for Makayla. I guess it's ok though as I at least most of her ailments are not serious. We will try milk again in a month so wish her luck. All and all though Makayla is doing wonderfully just a few hickups along the way.

1 Year well check

On August 21st Makayla had the dreaded one year appt which means more shots!!! Makayla did really well though and only cried for a few minutes :) Such a tough little girl! Makayla had her MMR, VAR and her flu shot. We will be going back in October to get the second half of the flu shot along with the swine flu vaccine. It didn't take Nick and I long to decide on giving her the flu shots because she is already sick so often it would be absolutly awful if she were to get either flu. Her Dr said in her case it is an absolute necessity! Other than that they did the usual check up and also checked her iron levels. Good news her iron is back up to normal so no more daily iron supplements woohoo, one down 2 to go!

Height: 29.5 inches = 65th percentile
Weight: 19 Lbs 1 Oz - 27th percentile
Head circumference: 46 cm = 77th percentile

1st Birthday

Makayla's first birthday party was on August 16th and it went great! She had so many people show up to celebrate with her and we appreciate everyone for showing. Nick and I are pretty sure that her birthday next year will be at Chucky Cheese, it will make it much less stressful leading up to it I'm sure. I can't imagine anything could have been better though for her 1st year! Thank you again everyone for your birthday wishes Makayla is so fortuanate to have you in her lives.

XOXO
-The Johnson's

Shes growing up way too fast!

Makayla started walking today. She took several steps while trying to reach the couch all by herself (multiple times). She has taken one or two steps before but nothing like this. I guess it goes back to the saying look mom no hands! Someone needs to slow her down shes is growing up way too fast. Although I must say she has two very proud parents. What an amazing little girl she is.

My little one is standing by herself!!

Guess what last night 06/25/09 Makayla was hanging onto the couch and flipped around holding onto nothing. Nick and I started clapping and she got a huge smile on her face and started waiving her hands above her head. She was very proud of herself. Then she would casually sit down and when we would stop clapping should would stand back up! Such a show off. I'm guessing by her birthday she will be a pro at walking. Nick and I are in amazement by how fast our baby is growing up. It seems like yesterday I was still pregnant and counting down the days.

New Milestone already!

New news!! May 20th, I was getting dinner out while Makayla was playing with her monkey jungle toy from my dad and all of sudden I see a little body run in front of the tv holding onto her car. It took my breath away and it took a moment for me to understand what monumental thing had just happened... Our baby girl was walking! I will attach a video soon of her newest accomplishment I'm just trying to get it converted to the correct format. Not only are mommy and daddy very proud but Makayla's face was full of pride in herself. Oh boy and I thought nothing was sacred before, now she's really going to teach us a lesson. Help where is the cage lol.

9 month well check

Makayla had her 9 month well check yesterday afternoon and of course it didn't go quite as expected. Makayla was not a happy baby when we arrived because we had to wake her up. She is a bit grouchy like her father when awakened from a good nap lol. They did all of her measurements as I have listed them below and then gave us the information on a couple tests they were going to be doing. One of the tests is the TB test (Tuberculosis), for this the nurse injected fluid just under the skin of her arm. If it stays bumped up within 48 hours then she has been exposed to TB. The second test was a prick on the tip of her big toe in order to get a small blood sample which by the way she did great for not even a peep. Of course Nick and I were not concerned and figured we would be out with no problems and no medicine for once, well that failed. Makayla's iron came back too low therefore she is considered Anemic. Because of this yet again we left the doctors office with more medication that needs to be given to our poor little girl. She will be on daily iron supplements until her 1 year checkup and at that time she will be retested. I feel so bad for Makayla as she already is taking two medications morning and night that she must take until at least 1 year of age. Try getting a baby to want to take multiple syringes full of medicine twice a day, it's not easy. =( The TB test obviously I don't know the results for sure yet but I can't imagine it would be positive. Anyhow, I guess just another day as being parents and more challenges to overcome. I am saddened by the fact Kayla got mommy's bad immunity and all but hope that she grows strong and healthy like her dad. I will update on the TB if there is anything found otherwise assume all went well.

~Head Measurement 79 percentile (45 inches around)
~Weight 35 percentile (17.15 pounds)
~Height 82 percentile (28 1/2 inches tall)

9 Month Birthday!!!

Wow I have not been on here in just over 9 months now, and I am sorry for that. There is so much I can share about our little girl. Makayla is now 9 months old to the day and is just amazing. We have had little set backs along the way but she is otherwise a healthy perfect baby girl. For those of you who do not know Makayla was diagnosed with Kidney reflux and (Acid) reflux when she was only a little over a month old. Both conditions are doing very well with daily medications. We have also had many sick days as Makayla has an immune system like her mommy (sorry Kayla). We’ve been in hospitals, Urgent cares and frequent visitors to the doctors for kidney infections, flu’s, Bronchilitis multiple times, and the occasional cold or virus. In other words life as a mom and dad are very busy for us but we wouldn’t change it for the world.
Below I have created a list with a few milestones that my baby girl has accomplished including the crawling which is very recent. If you are a parent you know what that brings, STRESS lol. She is everywhere and everything seems to need some sort of baby proofing. It’s amazing the things that little ones will find. We have found ourselves sometimes vacumming multiple times a week because when Makayla is on the floor somehow with her x-ray vision she will find that one scrap of paper that is only ¼ inch big that is all the way across the room in the corner and pounce it, then in the mouth it goes. Wow are things different now that she is mobile.
Today we have Makayla’s 9 month check up so I will update on that tomorrow. Other than that I promise I will start taking more time to update everyone on our little angel. Hope everyone enjoys!

~Rolled over from back to tummy on August 23rd 2008 (Only 9 days old)

~First tooth was on February 13th 2009

~First word was Dad (dadadadada she loves screaming it) March 19th 2009

~Second word was baba

~Third word Mama/mommy on May 10th 2009 (What a great Mother’s Day gift)

~Second tooth broke through on March 25th 2009, 3rd tooth 07/14/09 (top front rt tooth, 4th tooth 07/26/09 (top front lt tooth), bottom (her rt front top tooth) 09/05/09.

~First long car ride March 20th 2009 to Kino Bay Mexico (11 Hours in the car and she did perfect, really I’m not kidding!)

~First airplaine ride was on April 16th 2009 to Kansas City to see all the Lang’s (Again she did amazing both ways)

~First time crawling was May 7th 2009 and there is no stopping her now.

~First steps without mommy and daddy holding her May 21st 2009!

~Standing without holding onto anything June 25th 2009

~Words: "Dog" 07/02/09, "Meme" 07/03/09, "Go" (which is her no)07/13/2009, Wheres Sarah?(wheresora) 07/18/09, "Kitty" 09/05/09

~Waving Hello and Bye bye 07/11/09

Post Pregnancy Dad Update

Wow...

okay, its been a long time since we have posted anything but its just been so frekin busy!!! haha, anyways if you dont know alredy, theres something seriously wrong with you, but Makayla is here. woo hoo! So anyways, the blog title is prob gunna be changed around a bit...ok bye

The last Dr. Appt until induction!!!!!

August 7th at 3:00 we had our last appt with the Dr. Of course Dr. Folkstad was out delivering a baby (such a busy doctor) so we had a L&D nurse do the exam etc but first we went and had an ultrasound to do a weight check on Makayla. The ultrasound went well my only question was HOW BIG IS HER HEAD NOW!?!? The answer as usual made me shudder lol. Her head is measuring a little over 40 weeks, now remember I am only 38 weeks plus she already weighs around 7 1/2 pounds! This reminded me why we are having an induction. If I wait around she will be 10 pounds and have an even bigger head lol. Otherwise she looks great! Her heartbeat was in the 140's during the ultrasound and she is really low in the pelvis and hard to see. After that I went in for my exam and sur enough I have progressed a little more. I am now 75% effaced and 1 and 1/2 centimeter dialated, WOOHOO. During the check Kayla started getting excited bringing her heartrate up to the 170's. I think she doesn't like someone poking her head like that. Anyhow all is well, Makayla looks healthy (thank god) and we are ready for the induction.

38 Weeks, this is it!

Your baby's hanging out, enjoying her last few weeks of snuggly comfort in your womb. Two more weeks to go and your nesting instinct is in full throttle. You're busy washing and folding (and refolding) baby's clothes, marveling over how anyone could ever fit into such a teensy weensy T-shirt. If you haven't set up the crib, bassinet or wherever you plan for baby to sleep—now would be a good time. You don't want Dad frantically trying to figure out some incomprehensible instruction manual between contractions.
Wondering what color your baby's eyes will be? You may not be able to tell right away. If she's born with brown eyes, they'll likely stay brown. If she's born with steel gray or dark blue eyes, they may stay gray or blue or turn green, hazel, or brown by the time she's 9 months old. That's because a child's irises (the colored part of the eye) may gain more pigment in the months after she's born, but they usually won't get "lighter" or more blue. (Green, hazel, and brown eyes have more pigment than gray or blue eyes.)

- I can't believe it nine months have come and gone and our little one is on her way! Can't wait until August 12th.

37 Weeks

Congratulations — your baby is full term! This means that if your baby arrives now, her lungs should be fully mature and ready to adjust to life outside the womb, even though your due date is still three weeks away.

Your baby weighs 6 1/3 pounds and measures a bit over 19 inches, head to heel. Many babies have a full head of hair at birth, with locks from 1/2 inch to 1 1/2 inches long. But don't be surprised if your baby's hair isn't the same color as yours. Dark-haired couples are sometimes thrown for a loop when their children come out as blonds or redheads, and fair-haired couples have been surprised by Elvis look-alikes. And then, of course, some babies sport only peach fuzz.

-Wow 37 weeks it has been such a long time yet it has flown by surprisingly!

Appt update

I had an appt with the doctor on 07/31 and not much new. I passed my GBS test so no antibiotics will be needed before or after labor which is great. I have progressed a little more I am now 70% - 75% effaced, a finger tip dialated and the baby is at -1 station! I couldn't be happier that means that the induction should go smoothly since my body is preparing itself. Not long to go before we see our little baby girl.

36 week update woohoo!

Your baby is now around 18½ inches long and nearly 6 pounds! Your baby continues to put on weight at about ½ pound each week. This layer of fat will help your baby regulate his body temperature after leaving your climate-controlled womb. In fact, your baby will be 15 percent fat at birth (and you ... well that's another story). Even in the womb, your baby can listen, feel, touch and see. The only thing separating him from living in the outside world is a little thing called the birth canal. His gums are firm with ridges that look somewhat like teeth, though his actual pearly whites won't start breaking through until he's between three months and a year old. Your baby has definite patterns of sleep and wakefulness—opening his eyes while awake and closing them while sleeping. Your baby will become alert and turn his head toward light and sound just as a newborn would—except when you put on that Celine Dion CD. Then the baby puts his hands up, turns away and gurgles, "Oh no you didn't!"

Only 19 days to go!!!

Dr Appt Update and crazy day!

Well we are now in the final stretch! I will be seeing Dr. Folkstad for weekly visits now. Yesterday was a bit crazy though. Nick had a seizure at the office in the morning (which he hasn't had in almost 4 and a half years now)! Of course I was a nervous wreck and went ahead and had him taken to the ER just to make sure all was good. During this whole adventure I had been trying to shrug off the fact that I had been crampy all day and feeling what I thought might be contractions. Anyway once Nick and I got to the hospital and I new he was ok I went on to my doctor's appt since I wasn't feeling well. Sure enough the doctor was running late, I didn't get in to see him until 4:30 and my appt was at 2:45. The doctor confirmed that yes I was having real contractions and that the cramping was my cervix effacing. I am currently 50% effaced and a finger tip dialated. Makayla is also head first and very very low! She is trying to make her grand entrance a little early. The doctor is not sure if I will make it but he is going ahead and scheduling the induction for August 13th just in case. At this point he says if I go into labor he will not stop it, so I guess Nick and I better be ready. Anyhow after a long wait at the doctors I headed back to the hospital to be with Nick. He was released from the ER after the doctor spoke with his nuerologist. He is hurting awfully bad (like being hit by a train) and is pretty much laid out but he is excited to think baby Kayla could be here very soon. So everyone is beggining to take bets on when I will go into labor, I say I will wait until the 13th and everyone else has other plans lol. We will see though only 3 weeks to go!

Baby shower #2

On Saturday July 19th we had our second and last baby shower hosted by my step-mom Rose. It began at 5:00pm with greetings and fun. Nick and I hadn't seen most of these people in over a year so we were delighted to spend time with them. Everyone socialized out back and we were all served dinner by my step sisters (Karen and Elizabeth) and there cousin (Jackie). Finally around about 8:30 we served the cake and wow what a cake it was, there was about 54 big slices. Anyhow around 9:30 Nick and I headed inside with all of the ladies (the other guys stayed outside to drink) to open gifts. It was so exciting we received over 700 diapers! Thank goodness, now we are set for a while. I will attach a picture below showing the mass amount of diapers we put away on Sunday. At around 10:00 we started playing some games that a good friend (Nancy Haye) put together. One of the was a big bowl filled with rice and mixed in was a bunch of different sized safety pins. The object was to feel around and take out whichever ones you could find in one minute while being blindfolded, the person with the most wins! So I got 9 safety pins which I thought was great but one of the ladies got 31!!! It definately put me to shame but at least I got more than Nick who got 4 lol. After that we did one last thing, we made Nick taste 12 jars of baby food. He has decided none of them are good except bannanna. Finally around 11:00pm Nick and I said our goodbyes and headed home, I'm just not a night person anymore because I was exhausted. Anyhow, everything went great and everyone had a blast. I will attach more pictures later once I get copies from my dad. I can't believe it's almost time for Makayla to say hello!