Stuff Soren Says

Micah's glasses are missing and Soren was the last one who was wearing them...
M: Soren, do you know where my glasses are?
S: Are they in my underwear? (Looks in underwear). NOPE!

At Lake Harriet's public restroom...
S: WOW! I had SO MANY tiny poops! They shot out like a rocket! (And continued to talk the entire time we were in the restroom about how awesome that was).

"To-later" is his favorite way to describe time, a combination of "today" and "later."

"When I get stung by a bee, I think you'll need to call 911." (And thus begins his obsession with calling 911. Like father like son?)

"Mama, you are driving me CRAZY!"
-When Rebekah told him she couldn't watch a show with him because she needed to feed Solveig.

Dinner

First dinner at our new home. Shared a chicken and cherry cobbler with nana Nancy and poppa Owen.

March in Photos

It's playground time again! Still loves to swing, especially underdogs. Always have to say "One for the money, two for the show, three to get ready, and four to go!" which reminds me of Grandma Rona getting up from her "davenport." 

Friday Dad-Soren adventure to the Science Museum. Dinosaurs forever. 

Family selfies with Solveig. 

Solveig's first trip to the donut shop. 

Another Friday adventure with Dad to the Train Museum. 

And another to the Como Zoo (lucky boy this month!).

Cuddles with Poppa Owen. This champ came and helped out a few days, bringing Papi to the vet, getting our groceries, and taking Soren to the park many times.

Solveig's first job interview. I think she's the reason mom got the job! 

Sleeping through a park visit. 

Love when Dad brings cupcakes home from work. 

First smiles! 

An adventure to Minnehaha Falls with buddy Filippo. Some patience was bought with lollipops.

Always cars. Always Lego garages. 

"Come here, girl!" 

"Mama, let me take your picture!" 

Soren Turns Three! Party Edition

Soren Oscar Johnson is now officially a three year old. Or, as we sometimes joke, a "three-nager." We can already tell it's going to be an awesome year with this boy! We woke up birthday morning (remember his sister was10 days old at this point, which is why his mama looks like a zombie) and had elephant shaped pancakes bedecked with three candles. 

Then we ventured out to the Edinborough Park in Edina, where his ENTIRE family awaited. We were super excited to get to celebrate "3" with buddy-buddy Luke who turned three just two days later!

The kids played at the park until they were totally worn out. Then we feasted on pizza, fruit, and delicious cupcakes. A highlight was the animal and train toppers on the cupcakes (thanks Auntie Rebekah for that!).

 In addition to cousins Cormac, Liam, Lola, Kate, Luke, and Abby, we had friends Filippo, Jonas, and Lukas come too. Plus aunts, uncles, and "two Nannas, one Poppa, and one Boppa!" It was truly a party.

Lundquist cousins Liam (4), Solveig (10 days), Cormac (6), Lola (2), and Soren (3). 

Then the next day we got to go to the Oxford Community  Center waterpark. It's a blast for the kiddos, and the dads too (who utilized the water slide several times).

Solveig slept through everything. 

Johnson cousins Luke (3), Soren (3), Abby (10 months), Kate (5), and Solveig (11 days). Plus Poppa and Nanna.

Thanks to everyone who made Soren's third birthday so incredibly special and fun. We love you guys!

Welcome Solveig Marie

Solveig Marie Johnson was born on February 25, 2015 at 6:08 AM at United Hospital in Saint Paul. She came into the world pretty quickly; after an 8 hour labor the doctors had to ask mom to wait to push so they would have time to get ready! A rosy red baby, she weighed 9 lb 12 oz and was 21 3/4 inches long. Doctors Michelle Vanselow and Katie Johnson were present, but Dad was able to catch her on the way out (although due to her girth, she had to be pulled rather firmly). She captured our hearts immediately with her squishy face and round belly. 

Our first visitors at the hospital were big brother Soren, Nanna and Poppa Johnson, and the Duluth Johnsons. Then, Uncle Zach and Aunt Courtney came. We also had a lot of hospital friends stop by-at one point, we had 5 doctors in the room! The nurses were a little alarmed until we reminded them it was just a social visit. 

We brought one pink outfit to the hospital and were pretty excited to put it on her! The nurses also gave us this cute pink hat. 

 We arrived home the following afternoon and Soren got busy doing his big brother duties.

 Welcome to our family, Solveig Marie! We are so excited to get to know you!

Otter Tail County Fair

Farmer Johnson getting his hands dirty. The theme for the animal barns was "Please, I want to touch it?" All of the animals ended up in their pens despite Soren trying to free some of the baby chicks. We got to see Faith and Haley's award-winning pigs and eat some good old fair food.

Next stop, the midway. This was Soren's first time riding on his own. He got the hang of pretty quickly and (surprise) we spent most of the evening at the train ride! He would get off, run out to get more tickets and then return to stand in line again. After boarding the train and hollering "all aboard!" he waved every time he passed. Later, he rode a child "roller coaster." He made his patented "crazy eyes" each time he went by and tried to hold in his grin. It didn't take long for Soren to burn through Nana's $30 of tickets - sorry Nana, you didn't get to ride the ferris wheel!

California Dreamin'

We had the joy to spend a week in California this summer. We stayed a few days before and after Meg and Becca's wedding in Half Moon Bay, California. With Micah taking some time off after residency and Rebekah off teaching for the summer, it was a wonderful opportunity to take a family vacation. Soren got started right away on the beaches. Luckily, Meg had warned us to bring our winter coats. We needed them right away!

Day one, looking like a Californian already!

We spent hours throwing rocks. Soren would throw it in the water and then run back squealing as the next wave began to crash.

 A few family selfie attempts...

Soren really didn't have time for family pictures. There were too many green slimy things to explore!

Day two: Monterey Bay. We drove down beautiful Hwy 1 from Half Moon Bay to Monterey. The coastal highway is stunning. All you see are farms and cliffs, not a house in sight! We saw many groups of migrant workers picking avocados, strawberries, and artichokes. Once we arrived in Monterey, we went straight to the Monterey Bay Aquarium. This was well worth the drive! Nestled into the bay, the aquarium had ready access to sea life out it's back door. Here we are, about to enter the aquarium.

 A stunning kelp forest for which the water was pumped in and out daily:

We had purchased the movie, "Finding Nemo," in anticipation of our trip to the aquarium. He spent a lot of the day asking, "where's Nemo?" Well, we finally found him! Here, at the coral reef display, Soren found many of his favorite characters.

Wanting a true california experience, we rented a VW camper van for the week. It was amazing! We were able to camp in some amazing campgrounds and see much more nature than if we had stayed in hotels. Here we are at Butano State Park. Little did we know that there was a sort of VW camper van convention going on! We met a few very passionate people... 

Soren liked to call the camper van the "silly red camper" which was quite endearing. It was equipped with a propane stove, a water tank, a fridge, and a 4 speed transmission! We had lots of time to take in scenery while going uphill as we couldn't go much faster than 45 mph!

One of the greatest things about having the van was that he could take his naps whenever he wanted and wherever we were. Soren also loved sitting in the back of the camper pretending he was a doggy. He actually ate a quite a few meals back there biting his food like a little puppy.

Parked alongside the highway. Dad went tide-pooling while Soren napped!

 Avocados, 10 for $1. They were small, but delicious!

 At Butano State Park, we went for a hike along the fire tower trail. It was quite foggy at the beginning and began to rain during the hike, but the canopy of redwoods kept us fairly dry!

 Hide and seek in the trees. Soren loved singing songs and playing in the forest.

 We spent most of the time looking up toward the beautiful redwoods. After about 15 minutes of hiking, Soren said (from daddy's shoulders), "what's that yellow thing?" He had seen a banana slug! After realizing what we were looking for, we saw them all over the forest floor. It was amazing that we hadn't stepped on one earlier!

 Warming up to the banana slugs, Soren commented, "it feels like slime!"

As we were looking at the banana slugs, another interesting creature walked by, a newt. They were a little quicker and blended into the forest floor a bit better so we didn't see quite as many. Soren also had fun trying to touch these creatures.

 Hiking back down the mountain.

The evening before Meg and Becca's wedding, their neighbors, Nance and Glenn hosted a dinner. It was great to catch up with friends - Lee Swanson and Meg and Tracy Tabaka with their baby Alex. They served fresh salmon that Becca had recently caught. Yum!

 The day of the wedding we spent with Nana and Papa at the beach. It was a rare hot day and Soren really wanted to swim. He rode on daddy's back and squealed every time a wave touched him.

Meg and Becca had a beautiful ceremony. The weather cooperated and everyone enjoyed the square-dancing and pie served after. We returned to our "silly camper" which was parked in Nance and Glenn's yard only 1/4 mile away.

We spent the rest of our time north of San Francisco, at a state park near Bodega Bay. It is a fishing village that is also a beach destination for many people who live in the bay area and Sacramento. We had beautiful weather and spent most of our time, hiking, playing on the beach, and eating delicious food.

Our first day, after a hike we thought would never end, we were met with this view!

Here is Soren playing trucks in his "school." We returned to this beach every morning for classes conducted by Soren.

Real-life sound-effects accompanied the driving lessons.

Exploring more beaches around Bodega Bay.

We discovered an amazing restaurant, Fishetarian. The owner was a fisherman and his wife was a vegetarian. The fish tacos were delicious!.. and messy!

Soren trying not to look at the camera. He loved the fish (both eating and coloring).