Hey! Did I tell you I'm a great aunt?

No? Well... let me remedy that and just show off some pictures of the Cutest.Baby.Ever.




Liam discovering rattles for the first time






He's not that impressed!







It is so hard to believe this baby has had a baby!!






My goodness... but he is adorable!







His grandmother... we are calling her Nina... thinks so too.






Liam letting his Aunt KK how he really feels about the humidity in Tennessee







This child can almost get his entire fist in his mouth!







He has some of the best looks!






This look is my favorite!



But first... a break in the action

I realized as I was going through some photos that I did not include the baby shower the family threw for Kristin about six weeks before the baby was born. So... I thought I would share some of the photos with little tidbits of the day, for those three people who happen upon my blog occasionally! :)

After realizing that the wedding shower we'd had a few years ago maxed our home out (too many bodies, not enough space) we held the shower at my mother's church, Stones River Baptist Church. It is a wonderful room that allowed everyone to spread out and visit/fellowship.



Our color scheme... fun boy colors



Kristin picked out a specific pattern from Party City for the decorations. The wonderful people at Julias' Homestyle Bakery in Murfreesboro took one of the napkins, and decorated the cake exactly the same. I love them there. They did Kristin's wedding shower cake and matched my specific colors and designs that time too. Double Score!!



Welcome Little Prince - Liam Alexander
Cake by Julia's Homestyle Bakery, Murfreesboro, Tennessee





Gift table... there were lots of presents!



Candy pieces on the food table.
I didn't take enough pictures of the food table!





Mother-to-be, Kristin
A/K/A my baby



Mother-to-be with the soon-to-be grandmothers, Kim & Jean





I'm a little prejudiced to some of the gifts.
Liam's first little UK outfit from his great-grandmother





And blanket from his Aunt Karen





Bears and blankets



Aunt Sarah and another great-grandmother
Sarah handled the games

Kristin was rather surprised when she received a gift from her brother, Joey. He was not in attendance, but had a special little something he wanted to give to Kristin, for Kristin. Just from him.




Kristin is a little suspicious of a gift from her brother, Joey

When Kristin saw the gift for the first time. Well, let's just say, she threw her little head back and had a good laugh. She laughed hard enough to lose her mother-to-be tiara!



Giggle Box



What, pray tell, brought all this merriment and mirth? Diapers? Baby Wipes? Another Kentucky outfit?

Nope. It was (insert drum roll here)

A jump rope.

That's right. A jump rope.

Now, lest you think her brother is trying to suggest she get her grove on as she is approaching her eighth month. The answer is no. He wasn't. This was an inside joke.

Apparently, when they were much younger, Joey swiped a jump rope from Kristin and made her so mad, that she kicked a hole in the wall of her bedroom. As Kristin begins to enter the newest phase of her life... parenthood... her brother decided to make amends.

But, perhaps my favorite gift of all... The Pee Pee Teepee. It is a cover for when you are changing the diaper of your little boy to keep him from "christening" you. I have seen the Pee Pee Teepee in action. Let me tell you people, it works!



The Pee Pee Teepee

 A good time was had by all. The mother received many wonderful gifts... and we loaded up and got everything to their home in preparation of our Little Prince.

Liam's First Days

So... we finally got our boy here and we were all so excited! He was born here in Smyrna and mother, daddy and baby were all doing great. We got to watch him for about 45 minutes through the hospital nursery window while they measured and monitored and cleaned and swaddled and all those other things that nursing staffs do for babies right out of the womb.



Screaming HELLO to the world!


He put on quite a show for us! While this is going on, Kristin was being tended to in post-op for the C-section and being sent back to her room. They took Liam back to her to see if he could start nursing, and he apparently latched himself right on! Once the baby was here, a couple more people came to see their first great-grandchild!






Nana & Granddaddy

 Because I know my place on the familial food chain, I went ahead and left the hospital. The grandparents (my little brother is a GRANDPARENT!) stayed to visit with Kristin, David and the baby and I drove across the street to see the fourth Pirates of the Caribbean movie.

I need to see that movie again. I think it was pretty good. However, I think I was coming off an adrenaline high... so I was so sleepy in that movie that I think I actually dozed a couple of times.

But, that afternoon was officially MY time.

Meeting Liam for the first time

Okay... it was not SOLELY my time. I took the great grandmother with me and so I shared some time with her. Unfortunately, we timed our visit just as they had given Kristin some meds for the pain. She did not feel comfortable nodding off and sleeping while there were people in the room, so we were really only there for about ten minutes.

But it was a GREAT ten minutes.



Nana and Liam

Kristin and David spent the weekend at the hospital. They had Liam on Friday and were able to go home on Monday. Which meant... another day of VISITATION for the family! How awesome.

Of course, I was doing my best NOT to overstay or call constantly. That was very difficult for me because I wanted to know how MY baby (who had just had a baby) was doing. I had to just be careful and text Katy or Kim or John in order to get updates. I know how tired new parents are and I did not want to be a bother.

So on Sunday, after being grateful to the Lord for His great blessings! The great-grandparents and I made an appointment to come up and visit the newest member of our family.



Liam and his Mommy- is there a sweeter picture than a mother and her child?



The new family: Kristin, David & Liam




Liam meeting his great-grandfather for the first time




Four generations



Liam and his great-grandmother

 There is just nothing more precious than this little man.



He's Here!!

It has been a while since I have stopped by here and commented on life. But, life has been busy and therefore I have not had time to comment. Isn't that the way it always works?!

But... I am VERY happy to say that the next generation of my family made his appearance in May.

Finally!

I can also say that now I feel like it is safe to breathe. I have not had children... but I had a couple of moments of complete FEAR. My baby (not birthed to me, but I refer to all my nieces and my nephew as my children, and often, my babies) was having a C-Section because she was percolating a rather big boy. (We grow 'em kinda big in our family) So, I was filled with worry. What if something goes wrong? What if there is something wrong with the baby? It was a time filled with angst and anxiety.

The Lord kindly reminded me that He was in charge of everything... and regardless of what man's purpose is, His purpose is greater and He will complete His work in whatever situation we are found in.

Oh. Okay. I'll just shut up and trust.

So... here's a little pictorial of our day:

I arrived at the hospital first. Mostly because I was told to be there at 7:00 and no one else got there until closer to 8:00. Oh well. I was there in time to take pictures of the soon-to-be parental units arrival.

Momma, Daddy & Aunt Katy arriving at the hospital



Mommy-to-be and Daddy-to-be. So cute!



See these scrubs David is wearing? I bought them. I have to give credit to my good friend, Carey Dean, who gave me the idea for them. I felt like much attention had been given to Kristin and the baby and I didn't want David to feel left out. So, I called my friend Carey, who is the father of triplets plus one, for an appropriate gift for the new father. He told me the best gift he received when the triplets were born, were a set of monogramed scrubs. So... I picked up some scrubs at a local uniform store and found a monogram place here in town and they did a great job!



The scrubs say "David Johnson, Daddy to Liam" and the birth date. Isn't that cool? AND... he looked like he was a doctor and worked at the hospital. As a matter of fact, a couple of the staff at the hospital thought he was a doctor.

So fun!!

We had a number of family members present for the big moment!



Aunt K-K



Katy is here waiting in the hospital lobby while Kristin gets herself checked in. We enjoyed people watching and laughing at each other. It was an enjoyable morning and the hospital staff got a big kick out of our antics.

The family members took up a good bit of the small waiting room at the hosital. As a matter of fact... we took up the entire waiting room. To our credit, the waiting room is rather small. But, we all had fun hanging around waiting for the sound of the lullaby to play over the intercom system (a sign that a baby is born) and tried to just have a good time.

Whilst I was waiting on Kristin to have her baby, I ran downstairs to have my first mammogram. I would like to take the time to smack all the women who told horror stories of how painful an experience this was going to be. It was not bad AT. ALL. The staff at Stone Crest were very friendly and courteous. The technician who did the mammogram was very nice and professional. The total amount of time I was there was probably about 30 minutes, and I was able to get up to the waiting room just about five minutes before the baby was born. Soooooo... no time to really worry for me!

And then finally... we were awarded with this:

Daddy and Liam!

Liam Alexander Johnson was born at more than 9 pounds and 21 1/2 inches long. Daddy David did a great job in the surgery room and so did Kristin!

Our first good look at Liam!

But, I think this is my favorite first glimpse picture:

The Look of Love

I'll share more soon. There is much more to tell.

Sunday afternoons...

Sunday afternoons are usually a time for napping, watching a sporting event, napping, doing laundry, napping, doing homework and, well, napping.

However, our family has decided to create a family time on Sunday afternoons. We will gather here at the homestead and enjoy, tolerate, berate, love, castigate, smack on each other and have a meal together as well.

This past week was our first gathering. It was also the 58th wedding anniversary of my parental units.

58 years. Together.

Wow.

I thought I would throw down some photos of family time. These were not taken this week, but the previous week. It will be a good showing of times to come:



Look at that concentration! Fierce.



The Old Man still has some moves too.



Nana, Katy & Kristin - on the back porch




Katy talking to little Liam




Not sure that I like how big this one is getting




Momma to be





Like Father...





... Like Daughter



Why does it HURT so much??

I had my gall bladder removed a few years ago. It was the first hospitalization I had ever personally had - and I was in my 40s. So, I thought that was pretty good.

The pain that led me to the doctor, which led me to the ER, which led to the x-ray and ultrasound and finally led to surgery was pretty bad.

I would have done it all again instead of the millisecond of a burn I sustained on my right thumb earlier this week.

I was getting a pan out of the oven and the oven towel slipped and for the most fraction of a second, my thumb made contact with a VERY hot pan.

But, I did not curse. I thought of curse words, but they did not come out.

And then... the pain.

Oh. The. Pain.

How could something that was such a short time inflict something that hurt so bad!?

So, I slammed it into a glass of ice water and the maternal unit told me I need to rub butter on it.

Then, I had a butter finger! Ha! Get it? OOOhh. I know. I'm too much.

Seriously, then I shoved it back in to the ice water and spent the next HOUR biting my lips and talking myself out of driving to the ER in order to have my thumb amputated, which I can assure you would NOT have hurt nearly as bad.

Grammy ReWind 2011

I am officially an old person. I know this because I just sat through the entire 2011 Grammy show and wished for the days when the weirdest artist out there was Alannis Morrisette. An artist who I really like… but weird in her time.


I am also old because I was looking forward the most to Bob Dylan, Mick Jagger and Barbra Streisand. So… having issued that disclaimer, here are my thoughts on this rather lackluster evening:

Red Carpet:
I made the mistake of turning the channel just in time to see Lady Gaga being unloaded onto the shoulders of male models with nice pecs. Gaga is in an egg. An. Egg. She cannot be bothered to be interviewed because she is incubating.
Maybe the correct term should be incubus.

I stopped listening to this nonsense when I heard the words womb and dilating in reference to Gaga’s departure from said egg onstage. We must all wait patiently for what will be the great birthing of this legend…. Blah, blah, blah. We learn this is not entirely true as it appears that Gaga is clothed in black in said opaque egg and her emergence onstage is in something yellow. At some point G has left the birthing canal for a costume change. Now I just feel cheated. Okay, I don’t really feel cheated at all.

Oh look. Rhianna. Wearing a mesh dress of white Christmas garland. That’s a little past the season. Unless my friend Brent still has his Christmas décor up… then she is fine.

Look who else… Eva Longoria and Kim Kardashian(sp?) Because when I think of music awards, I immediately think of Eva and Kim. Riiiiight. Kim’s dress had to be refitted today because it did not fit over her booty.

Thanks for sharing Kim.

Let’s get to the show, shall we?

The opening performance is a tribute to Aretha Franklin featuring Yolanda Adams, Jennifer Hudson, Martina McBride, Christina Aguilera, and Florence Welch. I love the music. I mean, who doesn’t love the soulful music of Aretha Franklin? I think individually these women all have strong pipes and make their own beautiful music. But having them all end on the same song and try to out do each other? Tacky. It was nice until the end.

And then Christina stumbles off her shoes.

Lady Gaga: Raise your hands if you are a fan of “This is Spinal Tap” and are holding your breath and hoping the pod/egg will not open? I see that hand!! I do! I really was wishing for a wonderfully bad timed pod/egg malfunction. But alas. I now get to hear Gaga sing different words to Madonna’s “Express Yourself”.

I say this because as G was singing her song, I was able to sing the lyrics to Express Yourself and it completely fits.

I am worried that I know the words to Express Yourself.

G has some pipes. She’s just so freakin’ weird. I am not saying she can’t sing, I am saying having that kind of ability and then wrapping it up in freakishness isn’t really as creative as it looks. Instead, it looks like you’re trying to hide a lack of talent.

Live and sing free Gaga! Don’t stay in that cocoon of awkwardness any longer.

Justin Biebers: Did I spell his name right? I don’t know. I’ll just refer to him as Beebs from this point on.

Why are there Ninja drummers and Ninja acrobats onstage with the Beebs? Does anyone know? Because when I think of the Grammys… I automatically think of Ninjas. Don’t you?

Oh. Wait. There’s a Will Smith child onstage. This song must have been from the Karate Kid movie. That explains the Ninjas. Kind of. At any rate, the Beebs has talent and moves, and a relationship with Usher, who has now joined the party.

Uh-oh. Usher’s shades went flying. He’s not nearly as cool as he was just a few seconds ago. I can’t remember a time I have seen Usher perform without shades. This may be a Grammy first! They really are doing a good job. But, I don’t get the whole Beebs fever thing.

Then again, I’m not a pre-pubescent girl.

Bob Dylan: A moment I have been waiting for. I’ve seen Dylan in concert a couple of times and he puts on a really good show.

Who are these people? Mumford & Sons? Is that like Sanford and Sons, only different? And then there’s this other band… Avert something? Where is Dylan? I thought it was going to be…

There he is! Bob!! Remember me from Nashville?

Bob? Clear your throat Bob. I’ve been rooting for you here Bob.

Wait just a minute. I sit through two songs PRE-Bob by two bands I don’t know and then Bob comes out and I get a verse and a chorus and three blows on the harmonica? I’m feeling a little cheated again here.

Lady Antebellum: I don’t know a lot about this group because they are a country group… but the one song they do that is so popular is pretty beautiful and I think they harmonize very well… and I know they are generous people.

Cee Lo Green & Gwyneth Paltrow… and a few muppets – Oh My.

Confession time: I actually kinda really love this song.

Let me rephrase. I love the G rated version of this song. I am appalled at the X rated version (because I think it is worse than an R rating) But the G rated version has a great beat and so… there you have it.

Now… Cee Lo is looking a little George Clinton & Funkadelic and I have NO idea why there are muppets on the show… but I get the Gwyneth tie because she did this song when she appeared on Glee. If nothing else, I want Gwyn’s shoes and this is the most colorful event of the night.

Best New Artist Award: Getting ready for the Beebs’ fan base to being shrieking.

BUT NO!!! The award goes to Esperanza Spaulding! No one can believe it. Not even the Beebs can believe it!

Raise your hands if you know who Esperanza Spaulding is. (Crickets chirping)

I have a feeling Google is going to be overloaded for searches for her, since no one has heard of her. But… you Go Girl!

But… Esperanza apparently plays the upright bass. So, she’s pretty cool in my book.

The Beebs is watching her play upright bass from the audience and he is still in shock. He can’t even spell Esperanza.

Mick Jagger: Well Mick… you still got the moves and the pipes. You go on with your bad self. Classic.

Barbra Streisand: Ahhh… Evergreen. Babs is introduced by Kris Kristofferson who played opposite her in “A Star is Born”, which was the first R-rated movie I ever saw.

Sidenote: my mother took me to see A Star is Born. I think it may have been the first and last movie my mother took me to see. We went because we love music. We were not expecting curse words and nudity.

My mother announced that we were not expecting curse words and nudity to the entire movie audience at the time. I sank into my seat and tried to pretend I didn’t know her.

Back to Babs.

I love this song. It reminds me of the movie. I don’t agree with Babs on any number of political positions… but the sister can sing. AND… her performance actually has a melody and full orchestrations. Take that! Rhianna.

But for the LOVE, Grammy producers! What would make you think a great segueway would be to go from BABS to handing an award to Eminem for RAP? Were you smoking Crack when you put this show together? You go from BABS to a standing ovation to a commercial break you Jack Wagons!

Here’s John Cougar Mellencamp/Cougar/Mellencamp’s illegitimate love child P. Diddy… Diddy… or Sean Combs… or Sean John… or Puff Daddy… or Puff Pastry. Crap. I can’t keep up with this man’s name. And when did he go all GRILL on us? Seriously affecting your speech pattern there Diddy, er, Daddy, er… whatever.

More Rhianna. With Drake. I don’t know who Drake is… and I only know Rhianna because of her hair and her ability to make me want to stuff cotton balls in my ears. Not a fan of Rhianna. Its just the tone of her voice that grates on me. Others like her and that’s fine. I am not a fan of the bedazzled chastity belt she is wearing… but I like the color of her hair.

You know… I liked Empire State of Mind for about the first 150 times I heard it. I’m kinda over it now.

Arcade Fire: I have no idea who this group is… I am just grateful that I don’t suffer from epilepsy. I also don’t know why there are dirt bike riders on stage. Because when I think of the Grammys, I immediately think of dirt bike riders.

And pro football players… because Clay Matthews was there earlier. And I ALWAYS think of Pro Football players when I think of the Grammys.

And… Arcade Fire wins the big prize at the end.

And all the dirt bike riders in America rejoiced.

And I could finally stop watching and do my homework.

Just a Game??

I have the best of friends. I really do. On Thursday, in the midst of the snow here in


Coach Calipari and Doron Lamb

Tennessee, I got a text from my friend Missy. She had two tickets for me if I wanted them - to go to the Kentucky/Vanderbilt basketball game in Nashville.

I'm a Kentucky fan. Did you know? Missy knew. She's a rock star in my book now. A Complete Rock. Star. So is her son Eli, who was the actual initial recipient of the tickets. I am just glad that he really did not want to go to that game.

So, I got to go. I took my older brother. This will undoubtedly cause problems with my younger brother. But I figure it is payback for the fact that he went to Lexington and was at the 2000th basketball win at Kentucky. Did I get an invite to that? No. No, I didn't.

Paybacks really do stink at times.

At any rate... the seats were GREAT! We were seated right next to the Vandy student section... and that was loud. But the people who were in our closest proximity were pretty nice to us. There were hecklers around that were a little hateful, but we just tried to ignore them.

I got to take my camera in, so I thought I would share a few with the three people who read this blog:



Terrence Jones - warming up




Really wish I had a faster shutter speed to get these shots a little clearer




Gotta love this team!!




Tip Off




Coach Cal - right after the technical was called on Liggins. I agree with Cal - it was a bad call





Brandon Knight (12) and Terrence Jones (3) bringing the ball up the court



Time to huddle up. It's too bad we lost this game. But, it is always great to see this team play!