14 Months

Dear Lane,
For sure, 1 is the new 2! You are full of energy and personality. We are loving it! This was a big month. You learned how to blow kisses, clap, and you exhibited your first sign, 'more', in sign language. We are so proud of you! This month, you really enjoyed being at the ranch and pushing the mop around. You also learned how to pull your big, red Radio Flyer wagon this month. We had a great month including a wonderful Thanksgiving with Nana, Pop, Aunt Haley, and Uncle Kevin. You loved the turkey and dressing and pumpkin pie. We said goodbye to my Great Aunt Eula this month. She was 95. She was so happy to know you. She was so proud of you. Aunt Eula never had children, so my mother was like a daughter to her and I was like her granddaughter. She never particularly paid much attention to babies, until you came along! She said she compared every baby she saw to you and wondered how old that baby was compared to you. She was smitten with you. She bought you a white piggy bank and deposited all her bingo earnings in it. I hope those quarters earn a lot of interest in the next 17 years! Aunt Eula, you will be missed. You were one of a kind!
Know that you are loved,
Mommy

XOXOXXOXOXOXO

2 Little Monkeys

Lane and Pop had a great time at the ranch this weekend. Pop climbed the tree to entertain Lane and Lane put up his hands like he wanted to go up there and Nana obliged.

Thanksgiving 2012

We are so thankful this year. We had a fun Thanksgiving. We celebrated with Nana, Pop, Aunt Haley and Uncle Kevin. We hosted Haley and Kevin for dinner on Wednesday night and Leland and Lane wore their shirts that Haley bought them. Leland's said 'burro' and Lane's said 'burrito.' Thanksgiving lunch was just lovely. The food was great and the company even better. Thanks for cooking, Haley and Nevie! Love you.

13 Months

Dear Lane,
You are a full-blown toddler now, complete with temper tantrums, attitude, and total melt-downs. Along with the negative 'challenges' of toddlerhood, there are the WAY COOL things that go along with you being more independent and smart. You are more expressive now and learning new things every day. You can now 'gimme five' and blow kisses, although you don't do the latter on command just yet. You are also now 'helping' me dress you by extending your arm through the arm holes.

We had a great month. You traveled to Dallas with me to host a twins baby shower for Michael and Tiffany. I did the trip solo, which was interesting. You did pretty well in the car, but after about hour three, you had a slight melt-down. I just kept driving. There was nothing I could do to make you happy. You did great at the shower. You were really interested in the balloons. It was a really windy day, but it was a nice shower and I think Tiffany and Michael enjoyed seeing all their friends that turned out to celebrate Gabe and Finn's arrival. They were born this summer and will be discharged from the hospital sometime soon...hopefully this week. They are cutie pies!! After the shower, we headed south to Waco for the Annual McCall pumpkin carving contest. I carved a pumpkin for you and you won an award!! You wore your lion Halloween costume for about 2 minutes. It was a hot evening and the costume is very thick. You enjoyed playing in Mimi and Dado's kitchen. There were several pots and pans pulled out that I am sure haven't been taken out of the cabinets in years!! Mom and Dad don't cook much anymore!

You were a lion for Halloween. We went to the Sierra Vista Trunk or Treat event, but you didn't get any candy. I made an executive decision and decided you didn't need any candy and either did I, so we just strolled around. After Trunk or Treat, we went to Marcie and big Lane's house to show them your costume. I guess you got hot sitting in the stroller and car seat in your thick, lion costume, because you barfed all over the costume and my car when I was getting you out of the car. My little lion!! Oh my!! Needless to say, the trick-or-treating was over. I will count that as a trick for you. The score is Lane - 1, Mommy - 0. :) I loved your costume so much. It reminded me of my three years as Leo the Lion at Waco High. W-A-C-O High!!

You are just the best thing that has ever happened to us and we can't imagine life without you, Catfish. Happy 13 months. May it be very lucky for you.

Know that you are loved,
Mommy
XOXOXOXOXOXOXO

Lane's 12 month checkup and goodbye to Dr. Herbert's clinic

Lane had his 12-month check up and shots today. I know this may not be very interesting for my 'audience/readers', but I plan on getting this blog turned into book format one day, so this is for posterity or something like that. Lane was a brave boy when he got his four shots. It about broke my heart. He is doing well on growth. 21 pounds, 13 ounces puts him in the 25th percentile. 29'' is the 40th percentile for height and his head circumferance is 18 1/2'', which is the 75th percentile. He has to have a big head for all the big brains!! He is really snotty right now so he will be seeing a pediatric allergy doc next week. I hope he doesn't have bad allergies like Leland and me. :(
This was our last visit at Dr. Hebert's office. He is retiring and closing his clinic on 10/31/2012. We are looking for a new pediatrician now. We are sad to leave Dr. H. He was also Leland's pedi. He is a calm, sweet man that truly cares about children. I really felt like Lane was in good hands under his care. When we were worried that Lane wasn't eating enough he immediately got us in the office when Lane was 4 days old to weigh him. I think we were at his office three times the first week of Lane's life. He helped calm our nerves. I went and peeked in his office this afternoon when I was following Lane around while we were waiting on paperwork. Dr. H graduated from Baylor in 1968 for undergrad and my grandaddy's signature is on his diploma. It makes me proud to see that signature no matter how many times I see it on someone's diploma hanging on an office wall. I don't have any pics from today. I was so busy entertaining Lane and holding him down for shots that I couldn't get out the camera. We're going to miss you Dr. Herbert. Best wishes for a relaxing retirement!

1 Year!

Dear Lane,

Happy birthday! You had a big month that included your first trip on an airplane/your first trip out of Texas and three birthday parties (if you count the one at daycare). This month you became much better at walkng. You don't crawl at all anymore. You still have 8 teeth, but you are drooling a lot, so another one may be on the way soon. You still love mac 'n' cheese, banana cookies, Greek yogurt and ravioli. We are working on getting you to eat more fruit and veg. You love going on evening walks with Mommy and your favorite toys are blocks, empty water bottles, empty two-liter bottles, and your green froggy bouncy ball. At daycare they through a pizza and fruit cup birthday party for you. We had a family birthday party for you in California while we where there for Chris and Emily's wedding. You had a beautiful strawberry cream cake. You were pretty polite while eating it. You really didn't dive in like I thought you would. Aunt Bette (BeBe), Uncle Paul (PauPau), Mimi, Dado, Uncle Harvey, Aunt Anne, Uncle Allan, Aunt Kathleen, Uncle Pieter, cousin Petra, cousin Lauren and her husband Chris were there. It was a great time. Today we held your family party in San Angelo. Nana, Pop, Uncle Lance, Aunt Judy, cousin Tyler, Uncle Bob, Corie, cousin Kristie, and cousins Lacy, Jon, Davis, Truett, and Brogan were there. Nancy made you a cute turtle cake. The theme was blue and green turtles. You got a little more into the cake-eating today! We love you, sweet boy. Happy birthday to my sweet angel.

Lots of love,
Mommy

Strawberry cream birthday cake for California party

I love cake!

Mimi, Dado, Lane and Laura

Dado, Mimi, and Uncle Harvey

Cousin Lauren, Chris, Aunt Kathleen, BeBe, and PauPau

Uncle Pieter and cousin Petra at California b-day party

Uncle Allen and Aunt Anne at CA b-day party

Leland, Laura, and Lane at Chris & Emily's Wedding 10.7.12

San Angelo birthday cake

Lane and Nana

Uncle Lance, Leland, Lane, Pop, Corie, and Uncle Bob at San Angelo party

The aftermath of the smash cake

11 months

Dear Lane,
Life is so good. God has blessed us with you, a sweet, happy baby. We thank Him for you every day. This month was very exciting as you became more steady at walking. You are truly a walker now. Crawling is SO YESTERDAY! You are a big boy now, well, at least you think you are. You discovered honey vanilla Greek yogurt this month and you're hooked. You continue to wolf down mac 'n' cheese and you also love banana cookies. We're still working on getting you to like fruits and veggies. Oh goodness!! Don't tell me you are going to have your father's eating habits. It was a great month and we loved every second of it. Did I mention that you love to stick out your tongue? Also, Mimi, Dado, BeBe, and PauPau came to visit you this month and to dove hunt. Of course, you were the main attraction. The dove hunting was secondary. Unfortunately, you were not in a very good mood when we took your 11 month pics, so I didn't get very many smiles.
I love you more than you'll ever know. Mommy



Laid back...with my mind on my mommy and my mommy on my mind!



Lane and BeBe

Lane and Dado swinging at the park (pillow for extra support)

Lane and Me

Exploring trash can liner and George Foreman grill cabinet

11 months y'all!

10 months

Dear Lane,
Wow! This month was extra crazy. You are all over the place. You are definitely wearing us out, but we love it. This month you tried tons of new foods: fresh watermelon, fresh peaches, pot roast, steamed carrots, Cheetohs puffs, macaroni and cheese (your current fave), soft tacos, hamburgers and many others. You are a good eater and we are enjoying letting you try new foods. You are pulling up all over the place and the day you turned 42 weeks, you walked stood up and walked three steps at daycare two different times. You have taken a couple of steps at home too, but aren't walking consistently. We installed a new outdoor swing for you on the ash tree in the backyard. You like swinging, but it has been so dang hot here lately that we haven't gotten to swing much. This month Mimi, Dado, and Uncle Harv came to visit. We took you to the newly renovated Municipal Pool, your first time in a big pool. You did great. Afterwards, we went to TJ's yogurt and you had a teeny bit of Mimi's sugar-free yogurt, but weren't a huge fan. Too cold, maybe? Last weekend we traveled to Waco for your first wedding. We attended my cousin Scott's wedding to the beautiful and smart Alyssa. It was a beautiful wedding. You were perfectly behaved for the first 20 minutes and then you were ready to get out of there. Mimi and Dado entertained you in the foyer. Congratulations Alyssa and Scott! What else?? You still have 8 teeth and weigh around 19 to 20 pounds. Your hair is getting longer and we love to tell you that it looks like Dado's hair!! Of course, Nana and Pop came over a lot to visit you and babysit you this month. They are smitten. It was a great month, buddy!
Know that you are loved, Mommy

9 Months

Lane and Pop

Lane and Great Aunt Iris

Lane and cousin Tyler

Lane's First Fourth of July

Dear Lane,
It has been a big month, buddy. You are a CRAWLER!! You started crawling about 2 days after your 8 month birthday. We were pumped, but also a little nervous because we had to scramble to baby-proof! All is well now, but it did take a little adjusting. You love electrical cords, shoes, Lefty's water bowl, and Lefty's food bowl, so we have to keep those things off the ground. It's a constant shuffling of stuff!! You tried lots of new foods this month. You had spaghetti and meatballs (blended in a blender), saltines, sweet potato Puffs, graham crackers, and some others that I am forgetting right now. We went on our first Mommy/Daddy overnight getaway. Nevie and Kent babysat you for the weekend. You were a model baby. They got lots of smiles and coos and you even went straight to bed each night. Kent was the sole babysitter most of the weekend as Nana had to attend her sister's funeral in Duncanville. Kent was a trooper! Great job, Pop! We introduced you to the sippy cup this month, but you are still learning how to do it. The daycare workers told us you were stealing the other baby's sippy cups, so we decided to send one to daycare with you. At your 9 month doctor's appointment, you weighed 19 pounds, 2 ounces and were 28''. Your head circumferance was in the 70th percentile. It was a great month and we can't wait to see what you are up to next!
Know that you are loved, Mommy