hijacked blog

I, KaRynn Sheranian, have officially hijacked Melissa's blog. (ok, so she gave me permission to do this because I have a gazillion cutesy pictures of them, and it seems strange to put them on my blog...)

So in collusion with Melissa, here is Dan, Melissa and Juliet Johnson news from KaRynn's perspective:

they now live in Harry Potter Land (aka, 5033 3/4 ... that's right, there's a 3/4 in their address):

Dan is alive: (see?)

and he's working at cool places like the Natural History Museum: (Melissa said something like, "Yeah... you thought he came to California for construction. But he's secretly a paleontologist...")

[I guess his company did the second floor of this room...]

their cute little family:

the child now uses a fork: (so cool)

Make a gif

the child's uncanny talent for "just-got-out-of-bed" hair: (she already has the California girl persona--natural highlights, long bangs and a cute hair accessory...)

the child can walk: (it's more of a cute waddle)

the child can sing and dance: (before she could even talk or walk!)

the child can conduct: (I think Dan's been working on this in secret...)

the child found her belly-button: (she has a bad habit of trying to find everyone else's belly-button, so beware of her lifting your shirt...)

and the child likes to eat things: (some of them not so edible)

And just so you are aware, the child is NOT always naked, as may seem from these pictures and videos. She is clothed often. ;D

As you can see, the Johnson family is alive and well and loving California--mostly because (let's be honest) i'm here. Oh, and the weather is pretty awesome too, despite the occasional tsunami warning...

A Little Bit of Quiet Time

My daughter loves purses. In fact, she loves anything she can carry around while pretending it's a purse - shoes (the laces are excellent purse straps), her book that has ribbons attached to it (thanks, Aunt Marie), and any type of bag.

Now that we have that clear, let me get to the point. A couple of days ago, Juliet was being exceptionally needy and clingy...it was driving me nuts. She had been yelling at me all day. She insisted on climbing into the dishwasher while I tried to do dishes. She got a hold of my not so empty soda can while I left her alone for all of two minutes. She wanted up and down out of her high chair every five minutes. She stole my phone away from me and hung up on my mom when I tried to call her to complain. I was done. Don't get me wrong, I love my child, but when she finally wandered off by herself I was elated. I took that opportunity to start making dinner. After several minutes, I realized (with dread) that she was being very quite. Not wanting her to see me and subsequently attach herself to my leg again I decided I would stealthily take a peek at her to make sure she was okay. I tiptoed into the living room. She wasn't there. I peeked around the corner into her bedroom. There she was playing with the box of new diapers I had left on the floor. Then I realized, no, she was not playing with the new diapers. She was playing behind the new diapers. She was playing with the dirty diapers from the diaper pail. She had managed to loop them (yes, multiple) over her arm and was carrying them around like purses. Then, to my (further) horror, I noticed an empty diaper on the floor that had clearly once contained poo. After performing a quick and frantic search for the diaper's lost filling, I noticed the smeared poo all over the diaper pail. Apparently, Juliet had not been interested in the poo (to my relief). She had tossed it back into the diaper pail - but not before smearing it inside and out. Keep in mind that all of this took place in about five seconds. Meanwhile, the child was standing there (poop purse still slung over her arm) looking alternately at me and at her opening and closing poo-smeared hands.

It was a good thing for all parties involved that Dan came home just at that moment. "Go show your dad what you did!" I said, pointing toward the door. "But don't touch anything!" She took a couple of steps (poop purse still intact) and turned back to stare at me. "Daniel! Get in here!" I bellowed. So in came Dan to the rescue. With two of us on the job he was able to plop her in the tub while I disinfected her room.

A Look Into the Minds of Bookworm and Builder Bob

In a lot of ways Dan and I are really similar. For example, we both frequently have nightmares (and by frequently I mean just about every night). However, the content of these dreams is very different for each of us. Mine tend to be more realistic, while Dan ends up being Harry Potter or being chased by zombies.

A few mornings ago, we had a conversation that has really given us some insight into our respective psyches. It went a little something like this (keep in mind we were still in bed and still pretty drowsy):

Builder Bob: I had bad dreams last night.

Bookworm: I'm sorry. So did I.

Builder Bob: I'm sorry.

Bookworm: Me too.

(Pause)

Builder Bob: The vampires were trying to get me.

(Pause)

Bookworm: The government was trying to get me.

And there you have it...

On the Phone

Admittedly, I have been incredibly lax about blogging recently. My last post was three months ago? (As a side note, admitting that felt a little like going to Confession..."Forgive me, Father, for I have sinned. It has been three months since my last post...") My apologies to the grandparents desperate for a glimpse of the Babe.

Juliet has loved talking on the phone for a while now, but she has just recently taken to grabbing the phone away from me and talking on it by herself. I finally decided I needed to get it on video so I called Dan while he was at work. This was the result:

He's Still Builder Bob

Last weekend we had a birthday party for Dan. It was construction themed. We even got the Babe to wear a birthday hat for a couple minutes...and then she realized she had a hat on.

We had a dump truck shaped pinata. It was dark by the time we started, but you're not supposed to be able to see anyway, right?

I made a bulldozer shaped cake (don't worry, I made another pudding cake first in case this one didn't turn out).

I even found candles shaped like orange construction cones, but they only come in packages of six. Evidently, you're only supposed to have construction-themed birthdays until you're six. Well, not much about our relationship has ever been conventional.

How to Host a Murder

Last night Dan and I went to a Murder Mystery Party. I've always wanted to do one, so I was excited. All the costumes were pretty amazing, and we all stayed in character...most of the time.

I even got some extra use out of an old prom dress by adding a boa and a couple other alterations. We couldn't find any chocolate cigars in time though, so I had to make one out of scrapbook paper for Dan.

Life With Juliet

My mom came to visit me (really Juliet, but we'll keep up the masquerade) last week. Now that she has gone home again, I know how much she is missing life with me (again, really Juliet). So I thought I would post some pictures to remind her of the joy I (Juliet) bring to everyday life.

Sometimes, Juliet looks like she's straight out of Where the Wild Things Are with her crazy hair and squash all over her face (and hands, and hair, and stomach, and legs, etc., etc., etc.)...

She gnaws on anything she can get her two little teeth on - fingers and feet (not necessarily her own), toys, books, furniture...

And as long as she has someone or something to play with (better yet, both: Daddy and a swing) she couldn't be happier!