Johnson Family: Happy 1st Birthday!

It's so hard to believe Avigail and Deacon are turning 1 today. My friend Danelle summed it up pretty well, "they are the closest thing to a miracle that I've ever seen". I don't think I could have said it any better. As Tyler and I reflect back on this past year, we are reminded how truly blessed we are to have these little miracles in our life.

July 2 was a day of remembrance for us. This day, one year ago, our lives were forever changed when I was rushed to the hospital by ambulance. We were told by doctors that the situation was not good and I would be delivering our babies at just 24 weeks gestation. We had been very anxious the last couple of weeks for this day to come and go. I never thought I would say the words, "our hospital days seem like a lifetime ago", but there you have it, they've been said.

We had the kids 1 year check-up. Avigail weighed 18 lbs. 11-3/4 oz. She fell in the 7th percentile for weight and 10th percentile for height. Deacon weighed 21 lbs. 6 oz and is in the 25th percentile for weight and 50th percentile for height. These percentiles are based on a 1 year old child. Avi and Deacon have been on the charts for a few months now, but the pediatrician is very impressed with their continued progress.

Avigail has finally learned to crawl forward. Her first crawl was to the diaper drawer where she proceeded to open it and start removing all of the diapers. Let the baby proofing begin! She is also starting to pull herself up onto her feet, often trying to use Deacon. She had not quite learned that Deacon isn't a steady object and they both usually end up toppling over.

Deacon is quite the roller. He usually rolls around to get whatever he needs. He can also turn a full circle while sitting up. He has been in physical therapy for the past 5 or so weeks and he's doing really well. We're working on getting him on his hands and knees so he can start to crawl around.

Were working on Avi and Deacon trying more "finger foods". Avigail has stuck to cheerios and popsicles for now. However, Deacon puts everything in his mouth. He's tried a few foods including cheese, scrambled eggs and popsicles. He will eat just about anything you put in front of him. A true Johnson/Karr boy.

He also loves to bang on anything, even Avigail. Avigail will often crawl up to him, usually with the intention of taking his toy, and he will use her as a drum too. Fortunately, she doesn't seem to mind. They are very good with playing and entertaining each other. Some of their playing leads into grabbing the toy the other one has, but thankfully no tears are involved and they usually just try and grab the toy right back. Even if we have two identical toys, they only want the one that the other has. I guess they're just preparing us for what's to come.

We are so lucky to have very happy children. Avigail usually has a smile on her face (unless she's tired) and Deacon is often laughing. His laugh usually sounds like a courtesy laugh which is pretty hysterical. Both of the kids love playing peek-a-boo. We put burp cloths over their face and when we ask where they went, they pull the cloth off and have the biggest smile on their face. Their reaction makes it seem like they think that they really were missing and couldn't be found.

Deacon knows that making noise into cups will create an echo. Avigail doesn't feel the need to use a cup to have her be heard. While at the pediatricians office, Avi sure had a lot to say. The word they use the most is "da-da".

We have had an incredible last year and Avigail and Deacon bring us so much joy. We're ready to take on the next year and have many more memories with the miracles that were brought into our life.

Avigail, one year ago