Well, I bit the bullet (does this mean I caught a bullet in my teeth? Who is trying to kill me, and why are my teeth so strong? Why am I so casually confident about such an extraordinary talent? I bet the Rifleman really could bite the bullet, though. One of those 12 or 13 first shots of the show. [I'm typing this for you, Mom. I love you so], and I started sleep-training my little monster baby. For reasons of general parenting style, I was trying to wait until she was 12 months, but she really doesn't sleep very well in our bed anymore; oh, and I am steadily going insane. I tossed her in her crib Saturday night and let the hate cries ensue. She is a very good hate crier.

Everybody was in Florida last week, but we were not all together, except for when we were. Dan was working in Orlando, so I caught a flight to my parents' house, but my mom offered to drive up with me on Wednesday so Dan and I could have a date on our ninth anniversary. We do not have many dates, so it was pretty special. We went and ate fancy food in our nuptial town, Mount Dora.

Dan's mom comes tomorrow to spend the week, and Joash is already excited about a visit from his "PapaGrandma." Ammi is, too, she just doesn't know it yet. I think we are bound to do plenty of South Bend activities. Dan had the idea last Saturday to go see the Notre Dame campus. We didn't get very far because we almost immediately reached a playground, and the babies played while we drank our Biggby coffees and even met and chatted quite naturally (as opposed to awkwardly) with several parents. It was a simple and lovely day. And then began the night that finally necessitated the sleep-training, but, still.

Video Backlog

I have videos from as long ago as Ammi's first week, and now I will put them here. We'll start with the oldest and work our way forward.

Ice with Accents from serenity johnson on Vimeo.


Ammi's First Days from serenity johnson on Vimeo.


Picture? Aye, Baby! from serenity johnson on Vimeo.


Ice Cream Cone from serenity johnson on Vimeo.


Background Noise from serenity johnson on Vimeo.


Reading to His Sister from serenity johnson on Vimeo.


Helpful Brother from serenity johnson on Vimeo.


Coaxing from serenity johnson on Vimeo.


Joah's Opus from serenity johnson on Vimeo.
Joash wanted to make a video of Ammi, so he did. And then I put all the clips together.

Dan was in Thailand recently, and my dad came up to make sure I didn't go crazy with the pressures of these precious babies. It was a really nice time, just me and my dad, watching Joash climb on him nonstop, and seeing Ammi warm right up to him. It was all very ordinary in the best, most hopeful way, and I won't forget that feeling. I drank too much soda, stayed up well into the 9 o'clock hour, and just indulged in marathon hours of Columbo, no big deal.

We did a couple sight seeing things, like visiting the Studebaker Museum, which Joash insisted on calling the "Tuna Makers," driving to the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore, and eating at one of the local and ubiquitous pancake houses, at which my dad swiftly became a morning regular. He also changed all my burnt out light bulbs and helped me plant a little garden. He's all right, my dad.

A quick comparison and a milestone video.
Left: April 2012, Joash
Right: April 2014, Amielle



She Crawls! (Sort Of) from serenity johnson on Vimeo.

Just Want to Not Hide

Just Want to Not Hide from serenity johnson on Vimeo.
Nap time is a time of peak creativity, apparently. Joash wrote this song back in February.