My Cousin Eddie...

So, I have this cousin named Eddie. It's really a shame that we haven't met yet, but we're going to. Eddie was born on July 10th, just 2 months before me. He's a really cool guy. He lives in California with my Uncle Brady and Aunt Cristiane. I'm really hoping they'll move back to the midwest or that my mom and dad will move to California. I want to be able to hang out with him all the time. I bet my Uncle Brady could teach us how to surf. :) In the meantime, we're going to take advantage of holidays together in Grand Forks and visiting one another on occasion.

We've already decided that some day we're going to meet in the middle of MN and CA on a dude ranch in Wyoming. Our "cowboy" outfit is the first stage of planning that rendezvous.

Ellitot's "professional" photo shoot

Angie, a friend and co-resident, came over on Sunday to take pics of Elliot. She's an amazing photographer (and it's just one of her hobbies). :)

Reading with Daddy

Hi Friends,
One of my favorite things to do is listen to my daddy read. My favorite is Dr. Seuss but daddy seems to want to read to me in Spanish. You see, he is working on his Spanish and thinks it is very important for me to start being exposed to the language. Sometimes I get a little tired of listening to folktales in Spanish, but I sure love listening to my daddy's voice. Next thing I know he is going to be reading his medical books to me and I'll learn all about ear problems.

Oh my....it makes me tired just thinking about it.

Love,
Elliot

Some pretty fun pics...

My First Bath!

We gave Elliot his first bath yesterday. I think it was a few days over-due but I was too nervous to tackle that whole ordeal. He absolutely hated his first bath at the hospital and I was in no mood to endure such misery. Well...he loved it! He did a fine job. Daddy did most of the work while I was snapping pictures.

It's so nice to have a clean baby!!

Welcome home Elliot.

We brough Elliot home on Satuday, September 13th. Wow. This is a lot of work. :) We are having fun getting to know one another, trying to establish some sort of routine (yeah right!), and trying to keep all the baby gear from spreading from one side of the house to the other....that's not an easy job! We are overjoyed! Elliot is doing great. We had his first doctor's appointment yesterday. He's back to his birth weight (champion nurser). His jaundice was being closely monitored at the hosptial which, apparently, is VERY COMMON. It's seems to already have reached a normal level. The pediatrician at the hospital detected a very small heart murmor on Saturday before we left. He had an echocardiogram done which verified that diagnosis. The good news is that the leak is very small and most often closes on its own within the first six months. Well....our pediatrician that we saw yesterday just barely heard anything abnormal. Daddy listened too. It seems as though it is already closing on its own. Apparently, this too, is "happens all the time". My big question...if all this is so "normal"...why is it so hardy for a new mom to deal with?!? Wow. I've shed a lot of tears in the past few days. This is a whole new level of WORRYING!! Thanks for checking up on us! ...more pics are on the way... Alan, Katy, and Elliot

Welcome Elliot Robert Johnson!

Elliot Robert Johnson was born on Wednesday, September 10th at 12:35pm. He weighed 7 lbs, 2 oz and 21 inches long. He is long and lanky just like his daddy!! We are all doing great! His delivery went "perfect". I did need to have a c-section because little Elliot just didn't think it was such a great idea to come out and join the world. He just wanted to stay nice and curled up right next to mommy's ribs. When the doctor tried to give him some medicine to make him come down, he got CRABBY and his heartrate dropped. That was the end of trying to force him down. We went right to a c-section which made mommy, daddy, and Elliot a lot more happy. He's a wonderful baby thus far. We're enjoying his "quiet before the storm"...which we're hoping doesn't happen but we're not too optimistic. Thankfully Uncle Brady and Aunt Cristiane have paved the way for us with cousin Eddie. :) Enjoy his first set of pics!