21 Months

Helping Nana blow out her candles

Dear Lane,
You had a great month. We started the month by celebrating Nana's birthday at the Ole' Gin Steakhouse in Wall with Nana, Pop, Great Aunt Iris, Daddy, and Mommy. You helped Nana blow out her candles. Then, we met up with Mimi, Dado, and Uncle Harvey and went to Destin, Florida for one week. It was your first time to swim in the ocean and your first sand castle. You loved it. You adapted very well to being on vacation, except for the sleeping schedule. Destin is at the far eastern edge of the Central Time Zone so the sun rises there at about 5:45 AM. Guess what time you decided to wake up every day? Yes, 5:45 AM! Wow. Mimi and Dado were gracious enough to let Mommy and Daddy 'sleep in' for two days while you went to get breakfast with them. Thanks for a great vaca, Mimi and Dado. We'll cherish the moments forever. The remainder of the month was busy with daycare, San Angelo Colts baseball games, swimming at the Community Health Club, running errands with Mommy, and playing in the backyard. You are still obsessed with being outside, the lawnmower, the vacuum cleaner, and the Dust Buster. You are getting very good at helping around the house with putting trash in the trash can and holding the dust pan while we sweep. You are a true joy.

Dado and Lane on our condo balcony

Uncle Harvey, Dado, and Leland fishing trip - Destin

Lane enjoying the view in Destin, FL

Daddy and Lane at Harbor Docks Restaurant

Lane trying out the motorcycle at the airport

Know that you are loved,
Mommy

20 Months

Dear Lane,
This is 10 days late, but better late than never. You had a very good month. It feels like we are finally past most of the teething and you are really loving life right now. Summer has begun and that means Colts baseball games with Pop, swimming in the kiddie pool in the backyard, and rolling with Mommy in the bicycle trailer. You are up for anything! You are obsessed with being outside, the Dust Buster, the vacuum cleaner, and the lawn mower. Your vocabulary is growing in leaps and bounds. I estimate you know approximately 100 words or more. You can understand many more than that, of course. We celebrated Nana's birthday this month with Daddy, Nana, Pop, and Great Aunt Iris. We also visited Aunt Haley and Uncle Kevin's new house in Elgin and had a blast there. You were ALL about the tractor. We also visited BeBe and PauPau at Lake Bob Sandlin, but I forgot to take pics because I was chasing you around. We ate homemade peach ice cream from the fruit stand on the side of the road and took lots of rides in the Ranger. Here are some pics from the last month.

Know that you are loved,
Mommy

19 Months

Dear Lane,

You made it! You are 19 months old! You are getting to be more fun every day. We can give you simple tasks now, like throwing away a piece of garbage or taking your socks to your room, and you can complete the tasks.

You had a great month. We went to Waco to visit Crystal, Kevin, and baby Ethan while they were in town from LA. You had a great time swimming in Mimi and Dado's hot tub. We ALL stayed upstairs because Mimi and Dado are remodeling their house and the downstairs is a dusty mess. So, it was close quarters, but you did great, as usual.

You had your last baby swim lesson this month. You like jumping off the edge of the pool, but you never mastered kicking or floating. We'll keep trying. Nana and Pop have promised to take you swimming at the health club once a week this summer.

Nana and Pop took you to the train depot downtown and you loved the choo choos. That is one of your new words. It was a great month, buddy!

Know that you are loved,
Mommy

Half birthday!

Dear Lane,
You are one and a half!! I can't believe it. Time is flying by. Wow. Where to begin? It was another great month. You go to meet your daddy's cousin, Ann Noble and her smart and funny husband, Jim Lambert, when they were coming through town. We celebrated Easter in San Angelo with Mimi, Dado, Uncle Harvey, Nana, and Pop at our house. It was my first time to host a family holiday and I had so much fun planning the table and menu with Nana. She helped a lot, of course, and so did Mimi. You went to Sunday School for the first time (I am embarrassed that this didn't happen sooner). I always had an excuse when I was breastfeeding you, but then that excuse hasn't worked for 10 months now. You did great at Sunday School and I was so proud of you. You got to hang out with your friend, E.B. Burkhalter at Sunday School. I think you're about 6 months apart.

You attended two Easter egg hunts. We went to the FBC-San Angelo Easter Egg hunt at the park downtown. You weren't crazy about the Easter bunny, but I wasn't either. That costume was kind of creepy. You also had your very own private Easter egg hunt in our backyard. I made real Easter eggs with Mimi, per BeBe's request, and you did a very good job finding them. We celebrated Dado and Harvey's birthdays at Easter also.

The rest of your 17th month of life was filled with swimming lessons at the YMCA (you did great...you are the only boy in your class of 4), going to get donuts with Pop and Nana, fun times at 'school'/daycare, 1 ear infection (you missed 2.5 days of school with 102 degree fever), and lots of snuggle time with Mommy and Daddy. You are really loving the fruit squeeze pouches lately, but still not liking vegetables. What gives? We'll just keep trying. We are still struggling with discipline. You love to throw your toys in the house and rocks in the backyard. Your newest word is 'boo' and you love to scare people with it. We love you and can't believe you are 18 months. Happy half birthday, Catfish!

Know that you are loved,
Mommy

17 Months

Dear Lane,
You are 17 months old now. Time is flying by. Your favorite phrase right now is 'uh-oh'. Your favorite foods are bananas, baby ravioli, and liquid fruit pouches. You are hard to discipline. We are experimenting right now with time outs and such. You LOVE being outside and going to the park. You are absolutely obsessed with playing with balls. Basketballs, soccer balls, tennis balls, racquet balls. You had your second Valentine's Day this month. You gave everyone in your class a Valentine with a sucker on it. It was a great month.
Know that you are loved,
Mommy
XOXOXOXOXOXOX

Valentines Day 2013

16 months

Dear Lane,

You are 16 months today. You had a great month. You were promoted to the 'Monkeys' class at daycare and you are the youngest one in the class. We were worried you weren't ready, but you have done great. The first week was a little rocky, but you are a well-behaved, well-adjusted little monkey now. You actually sit at a table with a tiny, toddler chair and eat breakfast and lunch from a plate now at daycare and you sleep on a toddler-sized cot. Where did our baby boy go?

You started sitting in your big boy car seat this month. You love facing forward and checking everything out. We discovered you love mandarin oranges this month to bring your fruit 'likes' to a total of two. We still haven't found any vegetables that you like. Are you sure you're my son? Just kidding. When I was growing up, I told my pre-K teacher that my fave veggies were brussels sprouts and cabbage. YUM-O!!

We went to Austin this month to help surprise your Great Uncle Lance at the Texas Association of Realtors Mid-Winter Meeting. He was honored with the 2012 Texas Realtor of the Year award. You were a trooper during the reception. Nana and Pop watched you during the reception so Leland and I could enjoy the food and drinks. It was quite a party. Lance was surprised. It was fun to surprise him.

Your love for the park and slides went to a whole 'nother level this month. You get so mad when we have to go home. Also, you are in full-on temper tantrum mode when we tell you it's time to go inside from playing in the backyard. You truly love to be outside, just like your daddy. It was a great month, sweet boy. I can't say sweet baby anymore, because you are so grown up...but you will always be my baby.

Know that you are loved,
Mommy