O' Christmas Tree

O' Christmas Tree you are so beautiful!  Brave Gram put up a tree for Christmas even though we have a roaming 9 month old around.  It's been quite fun to see the magic of the lights in Otto's eyes.

As is often the case with little ones, we have moved some furniture around to make our rooms more child-friendly.  Although I have to say I never did this with my own children, I felt the need to do it with Otto so he wouldn't get any/or not as many bumps while at Grams.

The end table I once had in the living room was moved to the basement (corners) and the ottoman became our coffee table.  Now the ottoman has become the tree blocker and it has worked well.  Otto can just reach in the corners to touch the very tips of the tree branches with his pointer finger.  He just can't resist!  I get it, Christmas trees are just so awesome!

It's so much fun to have Christmas this year with a new little one.  The magic comes back just like when our own kids were little.  Another one of the many things I love about being a Gram!

A Little Boy

Tis the season to be busy, busy, busy…and Otti fits that description perfectly.  He is moving, climbing or crawling all the time.

Otto is in the stage of separation anxiety.  He likes to stick to his circle of "people."  Fortunately I'm one of his "every day people" so I have not had the tears when Momma leaves, but Auntie and a few others have had to experience this.  I'm sure there will come a time when I will get my turn for this also.  We have a break coming up from Gramma daycare with Momma not working over Christmas and Gram going to Mexico, so I expect  some tears when Mom leaves Otto here in January.

One of the highlights of taking care of Otto at this stage is watching his curiosity and determination to figure things out.  He now knows the hammer hits the ball and the ball goes down the path and comes out the hole.  He places the ball back on top and knows it will happen again.

He does a lot of peeking around corners with a big grin, which is just the cutest and also a lot of BANGING!  I don't remember this as much with my own girls, but boy does he like to hammer, bang and make noise.

Otto continues to chatter making loud new sounds and squeals.  He has 3 teeth and a 4th corner coming in.  No new ear infections yet, and let's hope I don't jinx that by typing this.

He continues to want to walk everywhere and just grabs one hand now instead of two for help.  He is standing for bits of time without realizing it and does a lot of squatting while playing.  Here is a conversation I overheard with Grandpa and Otto:

Grandpa:  "Well look at you squat, you are a good squatter…you will be a good catcher…a catcher is the best position… a catcher controls the whole game."

  I'm so grateful for the days I've been able to share with him, he is growing up so very fast.

The beginning…

"Not Today"

Here is a photo of Otto with two bottom teeth! There is also a 1/4 of a top tooth that has popped through. He's pretty cute with those new RAZOR BLADE sharp teeth and loves for you to put your finger in his mouth so he can show you just how sharp they are!   Otto spent Thanksgiving using those new teeth to eat to his heart's content.  He is now eating meat and really likes ham.  The turkey was just okay, but since he's part Johnson he ate it anyway!  Just imagine how happy he'll be when he gets a taste of the sweets someday.

Otti has learned a few new skills.  He is starting to wave bye, but only if you don't ask him…unless you are Daddy.  He will wave to Daddy.  'So big' and clapping also fall into the 'I do not perform on command' arena.  He is able to do them but don't think he's going to, just because you want him to.   His Momma and I were watching home videos of her when she was 1-2.  They were quite a few times that she was asked to sing the ABC's or count, say her name, etc…"Anna will you…"   her response "not today".  I think Ot may have inherited this from Momma;)

Ot continues to cruise all around the furniture and has even let go a couple times and stood without realizing it for a moment.  His balance is getting better and better and Momma thinks maybe by Christmas he will be walking.  Gram is hoping it's more like Valentine's Day:)

8 Months

Our sweet baby Otto is 8 months old this week!  Where has the time gone?  Otti continues to be a delightful, happy baby.  We have had a seamless 8 months of happiness, minus the 2 weeks of teething, teeth and ear infection.  Fortunately, two bottom teeth popped through and we got our old Otti back…for now.


Momma and Gram see another two teeth at the ready and are wondering when the next ear tugging, teething baby is going to come back for a visit.  I'm guessing within the next week or two;)  We are all hoping that he will not get an ear infection every time teeth decide to arrive.  That's one thing he doesn't need to inherit from Momma.

We are enjoying this week and those super cute smiles, babbling and his new yelling (not in a mad way) voice.  Otti continues to walk around the couch, chair, end table, etc. until he's all the way around.  He has also learned to kneel down and get to a sitting position after pulling himself up.  This is huge, since he use to just let go and fall down!  Otto will also kneel down pick up a toy and stand back up.

Otto grabs our finger when he is ready for a stroll.  It's funny because he knows he wants to walk and needs us, but he also knows we'll do it.  So, I for one, continue to get exercise on a daily basis with our boy!  It's basically walking squats for long periods of time.  Good job Otti, keeping Gram in shape!

Happy Otti

Cousin Weekend

Over the river and through the woods to…Shakopee we go~

Momma and Gram drove to Cousin Saras so Otti could experience his first cousin weekend.   Fiona, Quinn and Declan were perfect hosts, sharing their toys and giving Otto lots of love.  They spent a delightful couple days together playing, bathing together, eating together and going to the park.  The big cousins, Sara, Em, Momma and Gram also had a great time:)  We hope that this is the first (three generation) cousin weekend of many to come!

Baptism

Otto was baptized on November 1st at the Community Presbyterian Church.  He had a church full of loving people to welcome him as one of God's children.  In attendance was also a large gathering of Otto's loving family.

Francisco Family

Johnson Family

It was a wonderful day to celebrate our boy and show how very grateful we are for the gift of Otto.

Happy Halloween

Definitely the face of the Wizard of OZ lion

Otti's first Halloween was a big hit.  He got to spend time with his cousins and see the craziness of this holiday at Auntie Livvies.  Here is a quick video and photos of our 'Otto the Lion' and his cute cousins Fiona, Declan, Quinn and Momma                                                                                                                                              

         

Cute Cousins and Momma 

Adorableness!

Halleluja!

It has arrived!  The first tooth…finally:)  Otti's been spending a large part of his days rubbing his tongue back and forth on that new tooth.  It's pretty cute. Of course we can't seem to get a pic, but hopefully soon!

Here's Ot being a hotshot standing against the ottoman with only one arm, keeping an eye on Gram.  He also did a no arm stand which resulted in a spiral and bonk on the head.  Oh how I remember these days… I'm going to try not to swaddle him in bubble wrap for the next 6 months but it's not going to be easy!

Movin

Otti is giving Gram a run for her money lately.  He is movin', movin', movin'.  I have childproofed most of the main and upper floors.  There are gates blocking the stairs going down, but no gate to prevent Otti going up.  This was not an issue until today, when he decided steps are way cool and those little metal accents on the balusters move up and down!

Ot is also progressing in the crawling situation.  He is moving from army crawling to the real deal.
As you can see by the pic below Otti is now on all fours, rocking and ready to crawl.

He also loves standing against the ottoman or chairs.  Otto is happiest actually if he is on his two feet and has decided that it is great fun to walk.  Hold his fingers and walk behind him and he is cruising.  I keep telling him that he doesn't need to be an early walker, hoping it will sink in before this rascal leaves me in the dust!

We continue to find new ways to play that don't involve toys since they are not nearly as interesting.  The dollar store has become our new hangout.  Ot loves sensory items and theres plenty of tactile goodies to find there.  He played with this tinsel and cake pan for half an hour.

A funny side story…  I started playing a harmonica for Otti one note at a time and he was really interested…until I ran the notes together from low to high.  Big pouty lip and tears came immediately.  I felt like bad gram but also was fascinated.  Evidently only single notes that are joyful are allowed to be played.  Otherwise it's just too sad for our little Ot.

Army Crawl

Otti on the move!

Growing

Here's a couple pics of our boy growing so fast!  He is learning cool new skills at a rapid pace!

This is a video of Otto playing with rice.  Ot's into non-toy toys lately!

• Otti now kisses the cute baby in the mirror…well, actually he full-on french kisses the cute baby in the mirror;)
• Ot is eating lots of cool new foods.  Avocado, sweet potato, squash, peas, bananas, applesauce and those weird organic cheerio thingys.
• He is army crawling all over the place!  He started a week ago and has become a pro! 
• Ot can pull himself up in the crib.  ?   ?   ? already?  
• His upper and lower gums are white! We cannot believe those teeth have not popped through!
• Otto's hair is growing,  growing, growing and guess what color it is?   Auburn brown!

We love watching Otti's new development and are amazed at how fast he is growing up.  It is bitter sweet but absolutely so fun to watch.  We love our happy, cheeky boy!

New Rule

Dear Gram,

I know you have gotten use to my morning nap from 9:30-11:30, but that was when I was little.  Now I am a big boy and don't need naps that long or that early.  We will now be changing our schedule in the morning to a very brief 30 minute nap at 11:15.  I realize that means you are going to need to get in the shower before I get to your house, unless you want the mailman to see you in your jams…but, as you know, I am the boss and I make the rules.

Sincerely,
the love of your life,

Otti

 more playing…less napping

6 months

Someone is 6 months old!!!  Otti has hit the halfway mark to his first birthday and to celebrate Momma bought him a super cute outfit and matching 1/2 birthday cake to celebrate:)

We had a little family gathering and celebrated our boy in true Johnson form…We are all about celebrating birthdays…a perfect reason to have cake!

Mr. Chunky Monkey is a lean 17.11 1/2 ounces (53%) and 27 1/2 inches long (74%).  I for one cannot believe it has been 6 months, and also cannot believe he has only been here 6 months!  None of the fam can imagine life without Otti.  It must have been so boring before March 18th, 2015.

As you can see in the photo below Otto is teething heavy duty these days…and his 25 minute naps and blowouts are another sign that those darn teeth need to show up pretty soon.  Even in the stroller Ot finds away to sooth those darn pre teeth.

Here are a couple pics from a  gorgeous day at the cabin

                                                  Gotta love that big smile and those cheeks

                               

As you know, plaid is all the rage for Fall 2015 and I  must say Otti is rocking it like nobodies business!

Park

What do you do with a 6 month old who doesn't want to nap?  Go to the park of course!

Library

Otto took his first field trip (library) with Momma and it was a big hit! Gram tagged along to get some photos and video to document, of course. Can't have this little nugget growing up without proof he was adored everyday;)


 Otti met his first girlfriend while carousing the Library.  She had quite a crush on him. She kept repeating "baby," "baby."   When the little girl's mom told her it was time to go, there was a resounding "no" and this adorable girly was carried off…

Otti is at the age where he finds wee ones like him fascinating, so their little visit was pretty fun to watch.

Here are some pics/vids of Ot exploring…you will be happy to know that I finally learned how to edit these, so they are short videos:)

It was a fun experience to see a window into the future.  There will definitely be more trips to the library and more disinfectant wipes in diaper bag to clean off those puzzle pieces before they go into the mouth, lol.  

Round 2

Otti and I are going on a 12 day stretch of togetherness.  I feel like one lucky Gram because over and over every day he's a smiley, happy baby! He even does his happy baby yoga pose for you in the video:)                      

This weekend we had our second overnighter.  We went to the cabin for a boat ride, ate at Cedar Creek with Great Grandma, Julius, Gpa and Auntie Sandy and then headed home.

Bath went a bit easier with a square laundry basket.  Seriously genius!  They should market them as a tub for 6 months olds.  Ot could sit and splash in the water and his toys didn't float out of reach.

He slept from 8-4, then had a bottle and snuggled the rest of the night in Gram and Gpas bed.  Honestly high cute quotient when Otti wakes up, stretches his arms and pulls out that big smile in bed to start your day:)          
                                                          
                On Friday, Ot is 6 months old…

He is creeping, scooting, sliding and rolling his way to wherever he would like to go.  I have witnessed arms stretched full out with his butt in the air once, so he's working on the next stage for sure.

Eating real food!  Ot has had avocado…(a constipator evidently) and sweet potato so far.  Sweet potatoes have the opposite effect of the avocado, so there has been a couple interesting blowouts with mid day baths;)  

Outdoors!  Truly one of Otto's great loves (besides puppies).  We take lots of walks, sit in the grass playing and walk around touching every texture possible.  So fun to see the wonder in his eyes!


Otti is growing.  I am looking forward to seeing his ht/wt ratio at his appt next week.  He is now out of his 6 months clothes and into 9 months.  I think he grew in and out of the 6 month clothes in a matter of weeks.  Time is flying and I'm so grateful I get to spend my days with our sweet little boy, Otto.

Gramma Daycare

Ot and I have had a fun first two weeks at Gramma Daycare.  We are on a schedule that seems to work well for both of us.  We spend three 1/2 days together and two full days together, always starting our day at 8:30.  It's amazing how fast the day goes.  It is much easier being the Gram than the Momma.  All the fun without all the responsibility:)  We spend our days rolling on the floor playing, reading books, taking long walks in the afternoon and watching Lily.

If Grandpa is home, Otto also goes for a morning walk.  Grandpa has discovered that a baby is a great way to get attention from the neighborhood ladies.  Grandpa's a pretty fun guy to have around…the more Otti fan club members the better!

The gates will be going up soon, since rolling has become creeping and I remember what comes next. Ot is awesome at creeping a 360 to try to get Lily, but she is a fast mover…good thing for her.  Otti can also sit alone for a time.  So Big!!


The days of holding Otti for hours and snuggling are over, but I did have a good run.  Now we are on the move and vacillate between giggling, squealing, grunting, sad stories and happy stories.  I think Ot may become quite a talker…again Grandpa will be so happy to have another talker in the family;)

In Otto's 5 months of life he has attended 3 weddings, a Twins game, 4 birthday parties,  2 cabin days, 5 wedding showers, 2 baby showers, 2 trips to Duluth and countless dinners out with Gram and Momma when they are baching (single married ladies) it.

Nothing like a whirlwind to start your life out!  I have to say in all these events he has been a trooper keeping up with the adults in every way.  I figure by now he's probably getting desensitized.  No wonder he sleeps so well!   Funny, Gram sleeps well now too;)

Ready

Me thinks someone is ready for food…

13 Hours

We took our first family trip to introduce Ot to Grandpa’s, Twin’s Baseball obsession.

I have to say the adults were simply amazed at this 5-month old!

A 2- hour nap in the car and no tears all the way down to the cities (granted Gram and Momma may have sang , ‘Wheels on the Bus’ one too many times and read the only two books in the car over, and over…and over).  

We all had a nice lunch at the Yard House, a bit of shopping and then on to the Twin's game. 

Otti could not have been better at this game!  He posed for possibly 1 to 200 photos for his adoring family, snuggled, giggled, and watched in amazement all of the people in the stadium. 

Probably the funniest face of the evening was the result of the crowd standing and cheering for a Twin's home run.  Ot’s head was going left to right, left to right at a rapid pace wondering what the *$#@% was going on.

I can't say whether the Twin's won or lost (please keep this a secret) but I sure did have a fun time with this little nugget!  We walked back to the hotel and lay Otto on the bed expecting a sleepy baby…but nope.  Big smiles for momma and gram.  13 hours later and still happy…gotta love it!

Silence is Golden

Things you don't want to hear when taking care of your grandchild

Otto's Grandpa: "Oh, don't put that in your mouth!  Shoot I think you got a little piece."

Otto's Gram:  watching quietly, trying not to micromanage…

Otto's Grandpa: "Oh well, it probably won't hurt you any."

Otto's Gram: remains quiet (with difficulty…)

Otto's Grandpa:  "He's just so fast"

Ottos Gram: staring…(thinking to herself)…How fast can he be? He's 4 1/2 months old... Sigh

…And so it begins

                                               

                                                 (It was a leaf by the way…nothing toxic;)

Ottto

Dear Sara and Em,

I am at the age where I realize how blessed I am!  I guess that means "old" but truthfully I wouldn't trade this age for anything because I have been given the best gift  ever,  A GRANDCHILD:):):):):)  It has truly been a blessing to spend time with Otto for the past 4 months.  He is quite awesome and pretty much walks on water.  We are great pals and are going to have even more time together soon, cuz momma has to go back to work in a few weeks and lucky Gram gets to have otto/gram adventures while momma works.

The adventures I share in this blog are for you, my dear cousins because you have been kind enough to blog and keep me up with the going-ons in your lives.  

*personal side note; please realize that I have been retired for over a year and now have limited vocabulary/grammar. 

There will be continuous spelling errors, run on sentences and who knows what else.  Remember,  often I spend hours just saying Babababa, Mamamama, Ahahahahah and making up words to Raffi songs.  (When I play 'words with friends' with otto's momma I do a little dance when I come up with a 4-5 letter word…yes I celebrate 4-5 letter words.)  Dear lord, where did my brain go?  I know at this moment you are both shocked.  I have amazed you for years with my incredible memory and wealth of knowledge during xmas family game time;)

Otto and Grams Adventure

This week I spent a couple days with Ot while momma got ready for work out at the college.   I have to say, in these past few days I have taught Otto quite a few tricks…or maybe it's just typical development, but I choose to believe I had something to do with it.

Otto tricks at 4 1/2 months

So…new Otto tricks, rolling and rolling and rolling.   It doesn't matter if it's tummy to back or back to tummy, he's got it covered and rather proud.  Also, new trick, flirting.  He'll give you a big smile, bury his head in his momma's neck and then look back at you with another quick smile.

He has learned to transfer toys from one hand to another midline…toys are mostly teethers, because his bottom teeth are coming in at a rapid pace.  We are covered in baby drool by the time our day is done.  I use to wear something and possibly hang back up in the closet unscathed because my life was so boring, but not anymore.  I have baby drool and spit up on just about everything by the time our adventures are done for the day.

Naps, ahh yes they have arrived.  Otto has been known as the no-napper.  This may or may not be because momma and gram have been holding this little nugget for the past 4 months during the day rather then parting with him and putting him in a crib…the horror!  Ot now sleeps in the crib for 2-2/12 hours in the morning and another 45 min-hour in the afternoon.  This is HUGE!   Especially since he will be arriving at 8:30 every morning at my house and odds are I will still be in my jams focusing on the Today show until he arrives.  This precious nap time will be my shower/hair/makeup/clothes time  God willing.  If not, I will still be in my jams at 3 when momma arrives:/

Other observations in the past week by gram,

• Ot is on the move, no more sitting on the lap and snuggling for him.  He needs to stand or roll on the ground to be happy, unless you are willing to walk around with him and show him the sites.  As long as he's moving he's happy.

• Everything is free game to Ot now.  If it's in reach it goes in the mouth and then dropped so it can be retrieved by whichever adult is willing to bend over and start the game over again.  This I believe will be part of my new physical fitness plan.

• Highlight of Ot's life…Puppies!  They are the best.  They are soft and always moving. Nyko gets the best giggles out of this baby.  Lily isn't too thrilled with Otto's newfound skill of grabbing fur and not letting go.  She's at a distance from here on out.

• Chatter…Otti has big stories to tell.  They remind me of cousin Fiona's stories when she was a baby.  He is also quite a squealer and a pro at a slobbery raspberry.

• Smiles:)  They are the best and he gives them out to any and everyone!

So Sar and Em this is for you.  I'm sure I will have some funny stories, because I am old and sarcastic and…well…you know our family…and I'm part of it…and so is Otti 

j