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...

late.

meant to post these last week but other things (eating!) have come first.

daddy love.




castle rock at their annual "starlighting." it was our first time going and as long as we're here, we'll be there! pretty much everyone gathers downtown; sings carols, eats chili in the firehouse, carriage rides, and then lights the star on top of the rock. the church we go to had a booth so it was really fun to see lots friends we've gotten to know. and of course, lane was in AWE of the lights. "ooooo!"



dinner time fun.


ready for school...
cleaning with mom's backpack...

lounging...

ready to brush my teeth...


...thanksgiving pictures to come (sometime) soon (hopefully).

news.

we are so very excited about some very...exciting...news! ryan(vance's brother) and heather are engaged!! what a special time in their lives, publicly declaring to the world "we're in LOVE and getting MARRIED!" we ALL couldn't be happier for them.

...the best thing about this picture is when they called us shortly after he asked the big question, you could hear their smiles over the phone. don't they just look giddy? thanks for letting me steal the picture heather!:)

feeling blessed.

i was thinking about my "job" (from the previous post)
and couldn't help but say THANK YOU to my husband. you see...without him, i (literally) wouldn't have this job. everyday he leaves the house when the sun isn't even up, works hard all day, and comes back home when it's dark...with open arms(and a kiss too). having lane as my employer pays very little, nothing in fact, but the benefits are AWESOME. vance sees those benefits too. because of that, vance supports us in so many ways. and for that, i am thankful, and love him to no end.

best job ever.

lane is my employer. it has to be the best job ever. i can wear whatever i want, he never speaks up that the sweat pants i'm wearing still have breakfast from the day before on them. i work from 8am-8am, 164hours a week, monday-monday.
i don't have to set an alarm because he'll let me know when i need to get up. no days off, even holidays. and oddly enough, holidays are a day i really wouldn't want off. we can eat breakfast and lunch when we're good and ready. we can go play with friends or stay home and read the same book over and over.
i have job security. he can't fire me. i have never LOVED my employer more. nor have i ever had such a hard job. my employer speaks very little english and is constantly changing demands. i've never felt more failure in a job(when he cries more during the day than when he smiles), never felt more pride in a job(doing things right that we've taught him), and for sure never felt so loved by a job(when he runs to give you a hug and kiss).
i've never wanted to succed at something SO MUCH!
come february, i'll have two employers. never have i worked two jobs. it's going to be a change, a big change, but i'm up for the challenge. two means more diapers, more giggles, more cries, more love, more everything.
i love these jobs.

nebraska.

last week vance was out of town so lane and i skipped town and went to nebraska. we didn't do too much, which was awesome, so i didn't take too many pictures. once again, it felt SO good to be HOME! church, friends, cousins, just felt good. vance and i even went to walmart and he said, "feels good to be at our home walmart." ha:)...it really did though.

mom and i did our fair share of cooking. donuts, meatballs, turnovers, beans, potatoes, red velvet cake, paninis, cinnamon rolls, calzones. we used...4 pounds...of powdered sugar in one weekend. i'm happy to be pregnant so i don't feel (quite as) guilty.

running between the couches. over and over.

giving aunt dana kisses via skype:)


to make the week even better, vance came to omaha friday and stayed through sunday and so ryan came up too. SO fun to all be together.
working outside...


lane could sum up the week by two words...BIG WHEEL. it was pretty much all he did:)
yes...this is a smile. a mischievous smile.

better...

alright...

ah, never mind with the smile after all.

yep, forget it.

lane and sammie(little white dog) had an "incident" with each other. so aunt renee taught him how to put his fingers into claws and hiss at her. the rest of the weekend he'd see ginger and say "dog" with a smile and then hiss at sammie. they are no longer friends.