half a year later

my little baby girl turned six months old today. so many people say "where has the time gone?" and while i'm not saying time has not gone by quickly, i think i know the answer to that question.

i have truly enjoyed every moment i have spent with little stella. sometimes the time goes by quickly, sometimes slowly (those times where she did not want to sleep a wink). but as i watch her learn and grow and change and as her personality shines through i realize how much i've enjoyed the changes being made.

of course i miss my little newborn that could curl up in my one arm and wanted to snuggle all day long, but i also love my half-year old baby girl that giggles and smiles and raises her eyebrows and looks at me like she understands what i'm saying. i love my little buddy that goes with me everywhere and experiences new things with me. i love talking to her. i love listening to her. i love who she is becoming.

i've always heard talk about how much you will love your child, but i could never fathom what that meant. now i know it is indescribable. every day my heart breaks with love for her. there is really know way i can explain or even fathom how much love i have for her. my baby. who loves to smile. loves her daddy. loves to be out and about. loves to taste the wind with her tongue. and i think she loves me too =).

so happy six months, sweet girl.

we are so proud of you. we are so captivated and in love with you. so utterly enthralled with you. and to think that our Father looks on us with love even greater than this is beyond me.

so this is what all the fuss is about...

stella's first solids

"you guys have something up your sleeves, i can tell."

"hold my hand, this is scary."

"hmmm... it's actually kind of good"

"it's actually really good"

"can i try and do it myself, dad?"

"i LOVE it!"

"keep it coming""okay, now this is getting old."
"please, no more!"

Nothing like a good nap on a rainy day

After Saturday, we will no longer be the Sand Lake Johnsons.


We will no longer live next to this:

Perfect timing, right?

But I am quite certain we will still have a quiet life. Just not as quiet.

And we're pretty excited for some new changes, and new opportunities.

Everything is amazing, nobody is happy.

Staying unbusy.

I haven't written much of a blog lately. Honestly, there really hasn't been a lot going on. Since the beautiful weather finally decided to show up, Stella and I have walked 19 miles. It may not seem like much, but it's 19 miles more than the week before so I'm proud of myself. However, the fresh air may have caused Stella to react to some allergies (maybe pollen?). She's been pretty congested and has had a little bit of a cough, but no fever and she's been a pretty happy camper for the most part. So we kind of stuck around the house this weekend. relaxed.

And at some points we were bored.




My mom sent us a new Yahtzee game for Easter, so Matt and I had a good time with that for a good chunk of our Saturday night. What's funny is, our Saturday night would probably have looked the same even if we did not have 5 month old. We're homebodys in that way.

There has been some anticipating, some new changes in our future but nothing set in stone. Right now we are playing the waiting and praying game, testing my faith (I was born a planner) and trying to figure out our next step. I'll give more details as they come, but please pray that we'd make a wise decision in terms of what's best for our family right now.


Speaking of family, we'd like to introduce you to our newest member as of yesterday:





it leaves me saying 'wow' every time.