christmas lights or photo op?

sunday afternoon vance put up the christmas lights. lane and i went out to help...ok watch...ah, yes ok...take pictures.

"mom says its cold outside."

"Ooo, pretty lights, I'll eat them."



"dad, what are you doing up there?"


grizzly man...

baby lane dedication.

Lane: narrow road
But the gateway to life is small and the road
is narrow and only a few ever find it.
Matthew 7:14

David:beloved
And we have known and believed the love that
God has for us. God is love and he who
abides in God and God in him.
1 John 4:16

monkey man.

for some reason he thought this was so funny.

happy 6 months lane!

dear sweet baby lane...
today you turn 6 months. you're halfway there kid to eating cake! this isn't a huge day of celebration as may 16 may be, but today marks a big day in my book. i have always thought that when a baby is 6 months, they are so grown up and that their moms must have it all together. you are so grown up but we are still working on the mom part of it.
you're growing up so quickly. you've changed so much these past months that i'm scared you're growing up too quickly...
you've gone from an 8 lb 12 oz snuggle babe to a 20 lb kiddo that can get anywhere you want to with ease. you've mastered rolling and can scoot with shear determination to get whatever is in front of you. soon, very soon, you will be crawling.
you've gone from offering sweet smiles in your sleep to full out giggle fits. we will do anything to get those laughs. we end up laughing just as hard till our sides hurt and have to take a breather. nothing warms our hearts more than to hear your giggles. your smile is contagious lane. you smile with your whole face, your eyes light up.
you've developed a personality. you can go from being so serious to getting a smirk with crazy eyes. you've even got a little attitude. you know what you do and don't like and aren't shy on letting others know. you reach for what you want. you reach for me and you reach for your dad. you reach up to feel our faces; lips, checks, noses. Even when you're sleepy from milk you reach up with your eyes closed.
i've changed a lot too over the last 6 months, lane. being a mom comes down to one word...more. it is way more challenging then i ever thought it could be and way more rewarding then i could have imagined. i love you more than i could ever have expected. i've learned to trust God more and i know i can only be a good mom to you if i'm willing to let Him show me how.
your dad loves you so much lane. watching him take care of you has been so fun. when you still lived in my belly, i said if the baby was a boy, i wanted him to look just like vance...you look just like him. i watch him hold you and can almost hear him thinking about how he is going to teach you so many boy things; farm stuff, cars, and basketball. he is already your biggest fan.
your dad and i love you more than we can express but we sure are trying.
happy half birthday lane brain:)
love...mama

seconds old...

1 month...

2 months...

3 months...

4 months...

5 months...

6 months...

late night talks.

coming to bed after getting up with lane for at least the 10th time in one night...
me: vance, you're snoring really loud

vance: fine, then i'll try to snore more quiet

me: (shock) what did you just say?

vance: i'll try to snore more quiet.

...the snoring continues.

coming to bed after the 11th time...
vance: come lay down, its warm under the covers, its a special treat.

me: ha

the 12th time...
me: vance, you gotta get up

vance: ok

...i love my husband! :)

wowzers.

Diapers:
Let's say Lane averages 6 diapers a day-
6 (diapers)*30 (days a month)*6 months= 1080! That's over 1000 diapers we've changed! That is not even taking in account the 42 diapers we went through in 2 days when we got home from the hospital. eeks!

Breastfeeding:
I'll pretend I do six feedings a day, though I suspect the average would be more. On average they go about 20 minutes. These are pretty stingy estimates-
6 (feedings)*20 (minutes)*30 (days a month)*6 (months)=21600 minutes of feeding!
That's... 360 hours, or 15 days, or over two weeks straight of eating!

That's a pretty good chunk of time! Now if I could just figure out how much spit up I've worn...

scrub a dub dub.

bath time cutie. of course, always has to be chewing on something.

swing.

sweet little lane. 4 days old, so gentle and cuddly...

6 months old...now holding on to the edge of the swing like its a roller coaster.

...then he falls asleep. haha.

zoo.

lane went with a few of his buddies to the zoo last week. it was quite possibly one of the last nice days we'll have of this year so we had to take advantage of it. not really sure if lane got a kick out of any of the animals or not but it gave mom a chance to take more pictures.
lane vs. gorilla stare down.

that doesn't look like a doggie...

butterfly pavilion.



we made it out of the zoo before the rain came in but by the time we got home the sky was amazing.

squish squash.

lane had his first taste of "real" food. squash. he loooved it. we couldn't keep the spoon coming fast enough.
i wouldn't eat this goo but i guess babies like it...

before: the eyes of innocence.

"give me more."


wasn't too fond of rice cereal.

texas.

last weekend lane and i made the trek down to texas for molly's wedding. lane did great, grandpa and grandma ferry drove down and picked us up at the airport so we didn't have to check in any luggage or anything. it was also nice, wonderful, because we had adjoining rooms so grandma came and relieved me of a crying baby at 4 am. sigh. :) the wedding was beautiful. the hair turned out gorgeous and my friend since preschool is now a married woman. we so enjoyed our time there but we were oh so happy to get home to vance.


this is the only way lane would sleep in texas. not kidding, night time and everything!

hotel fun. supposedly the box of wheat thins was more fun than toys i lugged down from nebraska.


hotel crib or a prison cell?

at the wedding...



diaper change in airplane bathroom...gross...