new kid in town

Here we are on our way to Oneonta. This was taken before Ben cried all the way to the next rest stop. :( Too bad they are so far apart in Pennsylvania.

Check out my accessories! And I did it myself too!

The new new "alpha small creature" in his new bumbo. Mom was so sure she would never get Ben one of these, but he likes it so much!

Hanging out with Fr. Joe after Mass.

Ben loves seeing everyone at St. Mary's again!

We're getting settled in Oneonta. Not sure how long we'll be here but Dad starts working in Toronto at the beginning of August.

Busy Week

We had a busy busy week. Not much time for pictures.

Ben's 4 month check up went well. He's 14lbs 6 oz and 25 inches long!

Mom's dance recital also went really well. The kids were great and she only messed up a couple times. She's so sad to be leaving! (Although she's glad to be done with rehearsals!)

Other than that it's just been packing, packing packing. We leave for Oneonta on Friday and there is so much to do before then. And we're finding that we have way too much stuff! Trying to fit what we need for the summer in the car might be a losing battle but we're giving it a shot.

This week will be more of the same - sorting, organizing, and packing.

And tomorrow we will finally be getting thank you notes into the mail for everyone who gave Ben a baptism gift. Sorry to take so long! We haven't forgotten and we're not trying to be rude but our life is a little insane.

A Drama-Free Week!

We're sure you are glad to hear that the soon to be Canadian Johnstons had a drama-free week (FINALLY!). We used some of our free to time see some area sights before we head out of town. And had lots of photo ops. :)

One of our stops was the National Shrine of Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton in Emmitsburg. It was a beautiful day to walk the grounds.

We had a picnic at the Maryland Welcome Center.

Ben said "enough with the pictures already, ma."

Over the weekend we traveled to Harrisonburg, VA for Tracy and Erik's wedding. You can see Ben was thrilled to attend his first wedding (and worn out from too much partying).

Our happy family.

Happy birthday to Bill, Pat, and Dan - 3 generations of Johnston men on Father's Day.

Again, just a little too much partying.

On the way home from VA we drove part of Skyline Drive in Shenandoah National Park. It was a gorgeous way to spend the afternoon!

Checking out the Appalachian Trail marker.

Dad's great idea to keep Ben from getting a sunburn.

Ben and Dad.

Ben and Mom.

Ben's thinking hard about that pizza and breadstick Dad gets to have for dinner.

We're all tuckered out. Glad to have had a wonderful week.

This week, Ben's got his 4 month check up (yuck, shots). Mom has production week for the Bettie Jane Center of Dance Art recital (yuck, rehearsals). And Dad will be getting ready to move (yuck, packing and paperwork). But hopefully it will be another fabulous week!

4 Months!

Happy 4 month birthday, Ben!

In honor of this special day we went out for ice cream. As you can see, there was a little something for everyone (and Ben only had a couple sprinkles in his hair when Dad was done.)

O Canada

Well, it's never a dull moment with the Frederick Johnstons. You know how bad things come in threes? Last week's fire was number two. Due to corporate cutbacks Dan lost his job on Friday. Luckily, he had been offered a (better) job on Wednesday! So we're moving to Canada.

(Dan took this picture when he got back from his interview - it's a month old. Can you believe how big Ben has gotten?)

Oh look, feet!

Has everyone picked a moving buddy?

So we're sorting through and packing up. After Kate's dance recital we'll be heading north to spend at least part of the summer in Oneonta. Dan starts the new job at the beginning of August, Kate and Ben will follow once they have all their paperwork in order. We're looking forward to a new adventure and are hoping that things will settle down a little for us now.

The Happy News

And now for the happy news - our week wasn't all bad. Really.

We had a nice visit from Gramma and Grampa. Ben was a very good host, most of the time.

And he had another great weight check. Up to 12.5 lbs! Quite the little chubber these days!

He's also "talking" up a storm. Tonight he just wouldn't fall asleep and was vocalizing away. I think he had to say his prayers first before he could sleep because when he was done he just crashed.

We're very glad to be back in our apartment. Lots of work to do but so much to be thankful for. This week we'll be replacing everything from our fridge, finishing washing everything, getting the carpet and such cleaned, and getting everything else back in order.