Preparing for Baby

Now that we are in the final stretch of this pregnancy, I've been feeling the pressure to have everything ready for the baby just in case he/she decides to make an early arrival. So we have been busy getting as prepared as possible while keeping in mind that you can't quite fully prepare for this big transition; in most ways you just have to live it.


People like to ask, "do you have the baby's room ready?" and we respond, "funny thing, we don't have a baby's room!". We're living in a one bedroom apartment and we're planning on moving to a bigger place this summer but in the meantime, it'll be the whole happy Johnson family in that one room. But that's just fine with us since we would have the baby in our room with us at first even if we had a bigger place.

So we just rearranged and added the crib right into our room.

And you gotta get creative with a limited amount of space so we put the baby's dresser/changing table in the closet. It works just fine since we are fortunate to have 2 closets in our room and it takes up less than half of one. And the added bonus is that we can close it off if we want to.

We had a lovely family shower at my cousin's house. Here is Anne who hosted and my sisters who helped out. Thanks guys!

Some classics thanks to Molly.

I know we're a while off from the baby playing with these blocks but I just love them! My friends got them for me from this really cute shop in Stillwater, Minnesota. I kept saying how much I loved them but how I shouldn't spend the money so they bought them without me suspecting a thing (which did take some serious sneakery on their part since I was right there).

The freezer is stocked with home-made meals...

...and veggies. I spent this past weekend making and freezing lots of food to have on hand. I know we could just buy this stuff but I figure we'll appreciate some good home-made food when the time comes (and I'll appreciate not having to make it). I made a big batch of spaghetti sauce (my grandma and grandpa's recipe...the best), chicken enchiladas, arugula/avocado pesto, potatoes and even some frozen raspberry greek yogurt just for fun.

And lastly, a sweet little note from our niece Gwen. She's excited for a new cousin and told me a few weeks ago that she hopes it's a boy because she's "sick of girl cousins" (she already has 4 of them plus 2 sisters). I guess we will see soon enough if she gets her wish but with the Wallgren track record, no one will be surprised if it is a girl.

We can't wait to find out! In the meantime, Matt and I are enjoying this peaceful time with each other (aka, the calm before the storm).