Growing, Growing, Growing

The kids are growing so fast it is hard to keep up. Rachel is loving 1st grade and doing VERY well.  She totally impresses me with her knowledge.  She is reading at a mid 2nd grade level and getting all "A"'s I am so proud of her. Kate is still adjusting to her new class, it was a difficult transition but we are getting there. Her 2nd birthday is just around the corner and we are going all out this year!  Mark is Mark, he is totally laid back and chillin, he looks out at the world and says BRING IT ON!

Mark Thomas Johnson

Mark arrived on May 11th at 7:47 am, he was 8lbs 14 oz, and 20 1/2 inches long. He is a huge blessing for us since he is our first boy and was our surprise baby!  He is adorable of course and makes our family complete.  We named him Mark for many reasons.
1. We like the name and it's meaning - Warrior.  He is a warrior because we almost lost him during pregnancy, but he fought through it.
2. It is an anagram for our family,  Matthew, Andrea, Rachel, Kate
3.  And I had an uncle who passed away a few years ago, his name was Mark so it just makes it even more special to honor the Houghton family.  Now everyside of our family has a namesake.  

Rachel Dian is named after my mother
Kate Janet is named after Matthew's mother
Mark Thomas Johnson is a triple threat, he shares a Houghton first name, an Adams 2nd name (Matthews mom), and of course is the first JOHNSON (Matthew's dad) grandbaby that will carry on the name.

We have a very large family!  We have three babies in heaven that we lost during pregnancy, and three here with us.  That is 6 kids!  We are very blessed.

Busy, Busy, Busy

I cannot believe it has been since October since I have been on here, the addition of Kate has changed our lives so much and yet here we are again 2 weeks away from Mark's birth. Whew....how will I ever blog again :-) The girls are doing great! We have put a toddler bed in Rachel's room to make room for Kate. Rachel is VERY excited to share a room with her sister. We will see if she is singing the same tune in a few months. But Kate is also excited. Kate is still in the nursery in her crib, the transition will be a slow one since Mark will be in our room via bassinet for a few weeks. School is almost out and Rachel will be graduating from Kindergarten, Kate will be spending the summer at home with me and Mark. Rachel has not yet decided to go to summer camp or not. She may not have a choice, I know there will be days that I need a break! Below are some pictures of how the girls have changed over the past few months...enjoy!

Fall Family Fun

We went to Memphis during fall break to visit family and had a great time. Gran and Granddad took the girls to a pumpkin patch, they both loved it. My how they have grown and how beautiful our girls are.

Rachel is contemplating getting her ears pierced, she goes back and forth on her decision. Only time will tell.

Crawling and Spitting

Kate has grown so much so fast, it is hard to believe her birthday is just around the corner. We bought a baby swing to add to our outdoor swing set and she loves it. She is somewhat crawling. She will take a few scoots or a few crawls and stop, she has not yet taken off in a sprint yet. And she has discovered how to make a motor boat sound with her mouth...oh yeah!

Memphis

We took the girls to Memphis to visit Gran and Granddad, we all had a great time. Rachel really enjoyed playing outside with the slip and slide and sprinkler. Kate loved being with her Gran and Granddad, we quickly learned that Granddad's voice was very appealing to her.

School Days are over....

Summer season is fast approaching. Rachel has finished preschool and is doing nothing but talking about Kindergarten and how excited she is about it. Her Pre K year end program was great. I am so proud of her. She won the Barnabas award in her class for being a leader, helper, and encourager. This award is given out every year at Northside and we are so happy for her.