christmas.

christmas is going to be about a 2 week long festivity for us so you're going to be seeing this for a while. lots of pictures, lots of memories; all that i don't want to forget. so...sorry if you're not family, these posts will be loooong for a while to come.

2nd reimer family christmas. short and sweet; lots of love yous, thank yous, smiles, kisses, laughs. lane got a monkey backpack and an electric toothbrush. totally him, he has been happy since.

dana and jeff made a trip down from his family's christmas to spend the DAY with us. what a great day it was, just went way too fast!
...how fun is it to be pregnant with my sister?! LOVE IT!


thank you for the great gifts aunt dana and uncle jeff! push, pull, and ride!

the evening after dana and jeff left, we made a fast decision to drive to omaha...that night(!) to get ahead of the weather. so at 11:30 we packed up the car and started one of the longest, most stressful, ten hours we've had in a car. snow.wind.ice.
...our poor car when we got to my parents house.


who knew skipping a nights sleep was so hard on vance and i? we were pretty miserable(to be around). SO tired!

BUT so HAPPY we were with family for christmas eve!

lane took over the tradition of having to play the piano before any gifts are open...


he wasn't that into opening gifts but got a kick out of the bubble wrap.



snowing on christmas eve.

christmas day, snowed in!

christmas morning.

the boys working on a puzzle.

so happy!

aunt renee love.

grandpa and lane time on the computer. this and this. over and over.


we ventured to the mall the day after christmas...who needs santa? lane's in charge.

getting ready with daddy, just like dad.
and did i mention vance and i got to get away for a few hours on our own without lane? shopping and starbucks...vance knows how to make his wife happy:)

now...off to kansas. more christmas cheer to come!

about time.

about time. seems like the most wonderful time of year has caught up with us and has been keeping us busy busy busy. everyday has had something. weather it's our usual errands or the never ending attempts to find the perfect gift. all in all, i don't think we've lost sight of the true meaning of this time of year. daily lane plays with his nativity and loves giving baby Jesus kisses.

we try to tell him the basics of the nativity; of Jesus being born, angel, mary, joseph, wisemen; majority of the time we're just given a blank stares back. daily we dance and sing to christmas music, taking in the wonder of it all. the other day we were singing to this in the car when i looked back and saw him kicking his feet, smiling, raising his hands. i prayed that the words we say would ring true in lane's life..."let every heart, prepare him room" last christmas he didn't understand, well, any of it. this year he understands baby Jesus and that christmas lights are "haaaht" (hot)
...lane, we'll continue trying to tell you all about about Jesus coming to earth, even if you don't understand ALL of it for a while. (to be honest, it still overwhelmes me!) and we'll continue to pray that your heart, lane, will PREPARE room for God's love, God's gift of Christmas! JOY TO THE WORLD!

since the last post BOTH sets of grandparents have come to visit. what a treat! although, sad to say, i didn't take picturs either time. (i'm in a picture rutt) i did manage to snap this one with grandpa and grandpa reimer. lane LOVES his grandparents and they love him!

in preparation for little baby, lane has moved to a big boy room. he isn't ready(we're not ready!!)to be in a real bed. we were lucky enough to have a family in meade graciously let us borrow their crib. we are SO thankful!! lane was all about helping vance put it together. always helping!

couch potato.


eating or smashing blackberries.

silly faces.


christmas decorations are up! lane has yet to touch the tree becuase he thinks it's hot...which is totally ok by us if that's what he wants to think.




baby einstein christmas. loves it! (typically he doesn't pay attention to any tv)

enough teddy grahms lane?


our newest favorite thing to do...storytime at the library! if i mention it to lane, he makes an excited face and starts clapping his hands. loves it! and best of it...it's free! he also sits and hugs the puppet as long as you let him after class.

31 weeks!

and people wonder why my belly is so low this time around...there is always an extra 30 lbs pushig this baby lower and lower:)

ta-da.

this christmas project started in july. i knew i needed a lot of time...and i did. for some reason, i've always had an "itch" to make a quilt. ha, still sounds crazy. i figured now is the time if any and also figured christmas fabric was probably the safest bet, if it turned out terrible, we'd only have it out a month or so out of the whole year. so...all in secret i started. didn't tell anyone. during nap time i would get out the sewing machine and then put it all away before any little eyes saw me. i finally told vance my grand plans and got his approval (although he was and still isn't sure of the fabric i chose). i worked...and worked...and worked. i learned A LOT about myself. i have craft a.d.d. (i should only be allowed to do little projects) i love sewing. i hate sewing. i will always look at it and remember that i felt little baby kicking the first few times while making it. i am proud that i actually accomplished something "big." this project also didn't come without help, the ladies at the local sew-ciety answered questions (ps, if you ever need a babysitter, go to a sewing club, lots of old ladies who want to get their hands on little babies) i sent it out to be quilted, have the batting put on. also, my mom's poor thumbs helped sew down the binding...thank you!

getting started...

getting there...

finished!!!



...it looks good, but if you know much about sewing, this is probably the closest you'll get!

if you can sew straight lines, then you can make a quilt too. this is the tutorial i followed
http://oldredbarnco.blogspot.com/search/label/Quilt%20Along?max-results=20
go get started!

behind.

ahh, yes we're behind.tired.happy.busy.

hopefully tomorrow 'update blog' will be checked off the list but for today
...i'm going to take a nap.

times 2.

it is with GREAT excitment that we finally get to say "we're going to be an aunt and uncle...times TWO!!!) that's right, jeff and dana are having TWINS! double the love, double the joy, double the tears, double the diapers, double everything.
to add to the exciting news...

baby a: a BOY!

baby b: little LADY!


there are LOTS of arms (inculding mine) that can't wait to hold these babies come may!

little baby.

we had an ultrasound the other day for my 28 week appointment...

baby is measuring 29 weeks...
and my stomach is measuring 33 weeks!

so far...so good...so thankful!!

baby is a MOVER! constantly kicking in some way or form. just trying to soak up those little jabs, i remember crying after lane was born b/c he was no longer in my stomach moving around. (can we say crazy lady!?) during the ultrasound, little baby had his/her umbilical cord wrapped around his neck like a scarf. (we smiled b/c lane always carriers his blankie like that) baby has ten or so weeks to stop playing with that thing!! scares me! little baby weighs 2lbs and 13 oz and has "lots" of hair(maybe the old wives tell of having heart burn means hair is true...hope so). this week i felt the need to buy newborn diapers..but i haven't...yet.

we are getting excited, getting ready, but not quite ready for the lack of sleep:)

thanksgiving.

i'm a little behind. i thought that maybe i'd just skip thanksgiving week pictures all together but i know i'd regret it in the long run. we hit up my side of the family for thanksgiving this year and our(MY) waistlines are showing the effects of lots of good home cooking. (yesterday i had a dr appointment and i gained ***** in one month. i love being pregnant over the holidays!) it worked out well, fabulous actually...lane and i flew back a few days early so i could go to the dentist, vance drove out wednesday before thanksgiving, and then we all, plus my mom, drove back to colorado sunday. what a special treat to have grandma in the car with us. lane didn't cry or whine ONCE during the eight hour car ride. awesome!! note to self...no one should go to the dentist the day BEFORE thanksgiving, still hurts!

thanksgiving in and of itself was great! we are SO blessed. once again at the dinner table tears came to all of our eyes when we were saying what we were thankful for. there are too many to make a list. last year i remember trying to plan the thanksgiving meal around lane's "eating" schedule but this year it was all about nap time. before, after, during? i so wonder what my thoughts will be next year.

enough of me...time for pictures.

loves talking on the phone.

dana and jeff joined us via skype. happy turkey day!

thankfully we had pictures professionally taken while we were back, this family picture just doesn't quite have "it"

watching grandpa cut the turkey.


yum!

on friday for the nebraska game, the herricks came over. so good to see everyone!
the crazy thing is...david, sarah, and their girls live ten minutes away from us in colorado so lane got to see one of his favorite play pals on vacation! i always forget the camera when lane and gabby typically get together...so happy to finally have some pictures of these little bundles.

gabby's little arm...

but then i noticed the grandma's in the background.

...then they decided to forget the grandkids and football to play some solitare.

busy ball bopper was a HUGE hit...with the kids and adults. watching these two play kept 12 adults holding their sides laughing.


...and then lane put gabby in the dog kennel:)


the week was FANTASTIC but nothing can beat this...