‘7 Little Johnstons’: Why Liz & Brice’s Daughter Leighton Won’t Stop Crying At Her Birthday
In true Johnston fashion, things were a little unpredictable today. Someone joked that the baby and I have a “love-hate relationship,” and honestly… they’re not wrong.
Some days she grins at me like I’m her favorite person, and other days she looks at me like I just offended her entire ancestry.
I know I can be a little extra, so I’ve been trying to tone it down. The mission for today’s first birthday party?
Don’t make the baby cry.
That’s it. That’s the whole goal.
Not everyone could make it. Bryce’s mom and dad are still sick, Anna couldn’t come, and everyone else is just trying to roll with the chaos. So we move on to the big moment — the cake.
“Do you want to do cake?”
“Yep.”
“Okay… first-birthday photos!”
And immediately, things go sideways.
“Uh-oh! Don’t let her touch it yet!”
“Hold her legs!”
“Ready? One… two… three—Happy birthday to you!”
Everyone’s singing, cameras are clicking, and suddenly we hear, “I FOUND the problem!”
Turns out, Heidi — who we’ve known for nearly fifty years — is standing right in front of the camera, blocking the entire shot. Someone yells, “Back up, Heidi!
We can’t see her face!” And honestly, I get it. Heidi has made me cry before too, so the baby and I are totally on the same wavelength.
We’re all trying to figure out why the baby sometimes cries when she sees Heidi. Is it her voice? The way she walks up? The glasses? The energy? Who knows
One theory is that from the back, she looks like Amber or Elizabeth — but then she turns around and it’s a completely different face, and boom, instant confusion. Baby logic.
Finally, we redirect her to the cake.
“Look at the pretty cake! Oooh, pretty cake!”
She’s hesitant at first — just like her daddy. He hates getting anything on his fingers, so of course she does too. Classic genetics. Someone hands her a tiny spoon.
“You want to eat it with a spoon, Ladybug?”
And just like that… she takes a teeny tiny bite. Success. No meltdown. No tears.
