My little guy is three months old, rolls over, and I'm still using the free diaper bag that the evil infant formula company provided at the hospital. In the quest for the perfect diaper bag, (which doesn't exist), we concluded that the inside of the bag has to be light colored. Black lining makes the inside dark and things hard to find.
Also, most inexpensive bags have really cheap zippers. When you buy products with zippers, look for YKK on the zipper pull- then you know you have something good.
What do you think about this bag? What's the most important feature to look for?
Dexter is going under the knife today. He had a large umbilical hernia that needed to be repaired immediately to prevent complications. While he's under anesthesia, he's also getting fixed. Poor little guy.
Henry was completely entertained by this napkin while we ate dinner. The best entertainment of the evening came when we went to Costco. We were witnesses as dozens of people were turned away after Costco closed at 6:00. Many people, including myself, thought they closed at 6:30. Linette made it inside, literally as the door was being pulled down. Nick and I didn't make it in time to pull an Indiana Jones and slide in. So we waited outside and heard the door monitor explain over and over again they were closed.
The most heart-wrenching was a woman with an infant who arrived at 6:10 to pick up the custom-ordered birthday cake for a party. Eventually the manager let her run back to get the cake, otherwise we would have had Linette pick it up for her. You can't fail to bring the birthday cake to the party.
Anyway, Costco was a great show. Catch it at 6:01 PM weekend nights.
Henry loves laying on the toy mat, swatting at the colorful toys above. Unfortunately, Maggie has figured out that the toy mat has a built in squeaker, and therefore wants to chew on it.
Picking up Caesar at the airport in Salt Lake. Look at that tail wag.
Caesar made the 1300 mile trek from St. Louis to Salt Lake City underneath the seat on a Southwest flight. Until last week, Southwest had a "No Pets" policy. Now that they're looking for additional sources of revenue, you can pay $75 for your pet to sit in your water-proof carrier underneath the seat in front you. The dog or cat has to be able to stand up and turn around in the carrier. Caesar is probably the upper limit of how big an animal can be to make the journey. Because the program is so new, Caesar was the first dog many of the Southwest staff and crew had seen.
Caesar did pretty well through the flight, but was a little anxious so Nick gave him a little medication to take the edge off. Caesar was very excited to be reunited with Maggie and Harley. He was also very interested in meeting his tiny look-alike, Dexter. Dexter is Dallas & Shannon's brand new little Shi-tzu puppy that looks a lot like Caesar. Dallas's blog has pictures of Dex. I want to get a picture of the two with Henry before we leave. I'll keep you posted.
The third year of medical school is reported to be the hardest. Nick is just 18 hours and one test away from completing the third year of four of medical school.
The Page family is currently somewhere west of Oklahoma City, heading towards San Diego. They are moving to San Diego where Nate will do a one-year pediatric ENT fellowship. It's hard to let Sarah go. She was my first friend when I moved to St. Louis. I was in St. Louis for a couple months before I starting working at the hospital. Nick was studying nearly all day and I was sort of lonely. But Sarah invited me to her house, and fortunately she lived about 100 yards away. As time went on, we became better and better friends.
Last year we baked together on many Wednesdays. The Pages even entrusted their sourdough starter with us as they left town. We'll miss their company most of course, but I also know we will miss the delicious pastries Nate makes. San Diego has no idea how lucky it is.
I also forgot to mention the great visit we had with Nick's step-sister Caroline, and her three kids. Caroline's husband was at a nearby Boy Scout camp re-certifying as an aquatics director. So she and the kids came to St. Louis to see the town and spend some time with us. Her girls loved the Children's Garden, even though one ended up with a rope burn. We also had a great time at the Magic House, but I forgot my camera so there are no pictures. It was my first visit to the Magic House (a children's museum) and it was really crowded because it was Memorial Day and raining outside. It was still a pretty amazing place to play and the kids loved it. They also went up the arch, and how can you not be excited about that?
Miss A, Brigham and Janette's little girl, had such a good time playing with Caroline's girls at our barbecue that she still asks if they're here or if they can come over to her house.
Henry and I flew from Salt Lake to St. Louis on Wednesday. The flight was fairly full, but not completely filled. Up until the last few minutes, I had two empty seats next to me as I sat on the isle with Henry on my lap.
Then a woman came and sat next to me. Not in the window seat as you would expect, but literally next to me. I was wondering how I could politely hint that she should scoot over. I mentioned that it looked like everyone had found a seat, so no one would be claiming that window seat. "Oh good. We can spread out if we need to, " but as she said that, she was doing up her seat belt in the middle seat with no intention of moving.
Now, I understand that I only paid for one seat and am therefore only entitle to one seat. But it seems to me that if there's an empty seat on the row, you should share the extra space. (She also only paid for one seat, so why should she get the extra all to herself?) With a baby on your lap, you can't use the seat-back tray. Also, it is much harder to feed him without a little elbow room. I realize these are small complaints, and things I'm completely ready to deal with on a full row. Eventually when I was feeding him, the woman moved into the window seat. Who's so anxious to sit right next to a woman with a baby anyway? No one wants to sit next to a baby. That's why I had two empty seats by me for so long.
Nick compared her seat selection to a breach of urinal etiquette. In the absence of a long line for the urinals, you never use the urinal next to a urinal already in use.
But then again, how can I complain that in a flight that lasts just under three hours I returned to my home 1300 miles away from where I started? It's pretty amazing, even if the seat doesn't recline very far and all they serve is peanuts.
This video is pretty funny. The relevant airplane ingratitude segment starts at about 2 1/2 minutes.
I neglected to mention earlier that little buddy (Henry Charles) got to meet Grandpa Buddy (Charles Johnson) Memorial Day weekend.
We were invited to Kim and Allen's house for a barbecue to celebrate the holiday and spend time with Buddy, who was visiting from Dolores Colorado. It was so sweet to see Henry being held by Nick's wonderful grandpa, whom Henry's middle name is in honor of. We had a delicious dinner, but the best part was spending time with Nick's Aunt and Uncle, and Grandpa.
We blessed Henry at my parents' house on the eve of Sam & Megan's wedding. Because Liz is working in Florida, it is the only weekend this summer that all my siblings would be in town. Nick's sister Sami, who live lives in Las Vegas (with her husband Kyle) was also able to come to town this weekend, so it was the clearly the best time to do it.
Henry wore an all-white ensemble made for him by Nick's mother, Debbie. It was a wonderful evening where we were surrounded by our family and a few close friends. Before the blessing, the Johnson/Preston/Jacobs side of the family had pictures taken by Holly Hyde Photography. You'll get to see them in a few weeks. After the blessing, we took some of our own pictures with Henry in his blessing outfit.
It was also a special day because it was Sami's birthday. Immediately following the blessing was a celebration of her birthday, complete with birthday cake and ice cream.
