Johnson Household

Craig and I took Dagny to the beach for the first time.

the beach

little bum soaking in the sun

I must admit I was a little concerned, because if toddlers can have OCD then I think Dagny might have it. She hates any kind of mess on her or near her. When it comes to eating she constantly hands me her hands to clean. We actually got to the point where she takes the napkin out of our hands and cleans herself and her eating area. With that said, the concern over the sand was there.

And, here is Dagny’s reaction to the sand.

I don’t like this

We then went down to water; she was not quite sure how to react. The water was a little cold even though people were swimming.

first time with the wave

She started to take to the whole sand idea and played with her Daddy. She actually started to love it.

I will give this sand thing a try

looking

having fun

I guess the best place to be is in Daddy’s arms.

in daddy’s arms

When I asked Dagny if she liked the beach, she nodded and smiled, so I guess we are going back real soon.

-Barbara

It was so special seeing Craig celebrate Father’s Day this year. He is truly such a wonderful father to Dagny. She adores him so much. At every chance she has she wants to be held in his arms. The minute he steps into the house, she does what I call the “daddy dance” and starts repeating over and over again, “Daddy, Daddy”.

This morning my two favorite people hung out and watched some toons.

hanging out

Look at that face, I expect that look when she is a teenager, but than again I am between her and her Wiggles.

the look

Later on we went outside to check out Craig’s Father’s Day gift, a new charcoal grill, because anything else is sacrilege. Propane is for suckers.

the grill

Craig and his girl went for a private walk…

going for a walk

…then they got caught in the rain. This is what Dagny thinks about the rain. She’s not to happy her walk got cut short.

not cool rain, not cool at all.

Here is our little angel.

our little angel

Bonus:
Look how tiny she looks on our bed. Photos like this show that she’s not as big as I think sometimes.

tiny girl on big bed

I love you both.

-Barbara

My Mom and I decided to take advantage of the nice weather before the rain comes yet again for five days and take Dagny to the zoo. This is the first time my Mom went to our local zoo. It’s not the Bronx Zoo, but it’s perfect size for a toddler and some years after that.

The last time Dagny went to the zoo was back in March. It was a lot colder and the experience was very new to her. This time Dagny and the weather were perfect. She is a little older and so much more aware of the different animals. She was so cute, she never wanted to leave the animal we were looking at, until she saw what was coming next.

Here is Dagny checking out the Rhinos.

checking out the rhinos

I think she might be a bit excited about seeing them.

Mama, look!

rhinos, Mama!

someone is happy

Rhinos need a break too.

taking a break

It was a fun day and we are planning to go back lots more this summer. I am sure I will be posting more later on.

Barbara

My Mom, Dagny, and I went to the Strong Museum of Play today. We practically had the entire place to ourselves. Score one for us. It was nice to be able to walk around and not walk into anyone.

The last time that we went was back in March when Grandma Johnson was visiting. It is amazing what a different experience it was this time. Dagny walked the entire way, I never had to pick her up or put her in her stroller. She was so interested and engaged in everything and every kid. It was wonderful.

Dagny would of been happy just watching these guys. She loved the fish.

Interesting side story, while we were watching the many pretty fish, there was a woman and her son also checking out Nemo. Dagny and the little boy started “talking” and the mother and I started conversing as well. When she found out what Dagny’s name was she got all excited. She told me that her best friend from college was named that too. Sweet! She said it was a beautiful name, which of course I agree with. Craig and I love the name we picked out for our daughter, it has a special story that we can’t wait to share with Dagny when she gets older.

she loved this

After some time I was able to get Dagny to say good-bye to her tank sea friends and go over to Sesame Street. Dagny has really gotten into the show. She is becoming so much more focused on things. I do believe we have entered the Elmo phase. She loves Elmo.

Here is Agi Mama with her youngest grandchild.

Agi mama and Dagny

This time the Wegmans experience was so much more fun. Dagny got the cart, put items in and even played at the checkout. I take Dagny to Wegmans all the time, I want her around people, smells, and sounds. Honestly, she seems to like it. I am sure that will change, but for now it’s an adventure and today she was the star.

I’m ready, Mama… lets go.

I am ready to checkout

I want to push those buttons

look at how intense she is

Here is my girl and I on the train. It goes around five times, five times… that’s long for an 18 month old, that’s long for an 33 year old, but we loved every minute of it.

Mom, no more photos. I am looking at the landscape.

In this photo I really get a sense of how big she has gotten.

so big

Almost two hours later we were done. It seems that Elmo decided to come home with us. I do believe he found a good home because Dagny won’t let him out of her site. He is glued to her hands. We embrace the Elmo phase and are ready!

Elmo came home

We ended the afternoon up with ice cream. It was a great girls afternoon out.

Barbara