Family Day at the Zoo

We actually got to spend the day together at the zoo. Aaron usually never gets to go with us because of work of course. We usually don't go on the weekends to avoid the crowds. It was nice to spend the day together, just the 4 of us. It is so nice to see the boys starting to interact with each other and enjoy some of the same things. Of course they both love climbing on the tractors and petting the goats.

Gotta love the brotherly love. No posing, no asking, no bribing... just loving each other.

The Big 1

Well our little baby Lane turned 1 today.

I can't believe how fast this year has gone and what an incredible year it has been. I feel like we just brought him home from the hospital. Now we look at him and he is communicating with us and just about walking. I guess I can say he is walking he is doing 5-6 steps at a time, usually with some bribery. Lane is such a wonderful and fun baby. I have to steal this line from a friend because if fits perfect, "he is one of my obsessions." I just can't seem to get enough. I absolutely love this age.

Here are some fun things we learned about Laner this year.
~he is our little social butterfly-he is as happy as can be as long as someone is around

~he weights in at 22.5 pounds and 30.5 inches tall

~he uses several signs-duck, bird, milk, all done, eat, dog, moon, fan, light
~he will give you a fantastic muscle show
~he has the most beautiful blue eyes and great 70's style hair
~he loves to be outside

~he is sporting 4 chompers ('the hippo teeth'- the bottom two and the top outside 2)

the 2 front chompers will be arriving real soon

~he loves his big brother and already knows when and how to push his buttons

~he could probably take you in an eating contest

These are just a few pictures of Lane's first year. This one above is on his 1st birthday!

A message for Lane...You have been such a blessing to our family. I can't tell you how much we love you and are amazed by you everyday. Your personality is wonderful, cute, funny, and mischievous. We love to watch you grow and discover new things everyday.

We love you so much.

Happy Birthday Lane!

So sleepy

Again with the random place to sleep. Aaron and I really get a kick out of the random sleeping thing. Tonight we found him sleeping right in the middle of the loft and using Monkey as a pillow. Out of all the places in our house to sleep, he chose this.

1st Birthday Party

Tonight we celebrated Lane's 1st birthday. We had a small, duck themed birthday party for him. Why the duck, there are a couple of reasons...
1. At 11 months old he stared signing duck and quacking along with it
2. I asked Zackary several months ago "what kind of party should we have for Lane's 1st birthday" he replied "a duck party"
3. I found the cutest cake and cupcakes with a duck theme
So there you have it, ducks!

He really wasn't into the cake, as you can see on his face. So papa decided to help him with a cupcake and a spoon. He pretty much ate the whole cupcake with his spoon.

We had to take a picture with the big birthday boy.

My sweet baby Lane. He really enjoyed his birthday party, thanks to everyone that helped us celebrate this special day!

Laner

This seems to be what we call him lately...Laner. I'm not sure where it came from but it seems to fit. Everyone has sort of caught on to it also. My favorite is when Zackary asks "Mommy where's Laner?" I'm not sure why, but it always makes me laugh.

A Day With Lane

I thought it would be fun to walk you through a day with Lane.

He amazes us everyday with new tricks.

He starts his day eating of course.

The kid is packing it on right now. We like to call it the pre-crawl chub. Notice the yogurt all over the place, for some reason he insists on feeding it to himself.

He loves to play outside and get incredibly dirty. He is already pushing trucks and tractors like his big brother.

It is always a strait beeline for the open bathroom or staircase
Outside with a sucker.

He loves to play catch.

We like to call him 'the destroyer.' He destroys anything Zackary is trying to play with.

.

He is clapping all the time.

And standing on chairs or pushing them all over the house.

And of course attacking his brother. This is just part of our day...

Lane is such a happy, social, and energetic baby. He is signing airplane, duck (he quacks with it), bird, fan, light, milk, all done, eat, and he shows his muscles.

Just wait until he puts on the muscle show for you!

Time

Just look at him, he looks like a boy. Not my sweet baby anymore. How is it that when you look at pictures and videos you realize that time has flown by right before your eyes without you even knowing. They change overnight. Each new stage is wonderful in its own way, it is all so bittersweet...

A term I seem to be using often lately.

Halloween

We had such a great Halloween this year. Boy oh boy... it just keeps getting better! We spent the day at the J2 Fall Picnic at Tumbleweed Park and got to enjoy a jumpy house, face painting, good company, and a BBQ. What a great way to spent a day outside in October.

We had some family and friends over for the evening festivities. With of course, pizza, wine, trick or treating, and some great entertainment. When I say entertainment I mean a spastic 2 year old on a SUGAR HIGH!

Snoozing

Again with our random napping, this is how we have been finding Zackary. Crashed out in the playroom, using his huge moose as a pillow, and all the toys surrounding him. I can't tell you what goes into trying to get him to go to sleep some days. We are probably creating some bad habits, but it is only a phase, right?

Happy Birthday

Today we celebrated Aaron's 31st birthday. We made an evening of it with friends, pumpkin carving, pizza, wine, and his favorite ice cream cake.

Here is the famous ice cream cake. Mint chip and chocolate cake from Baskin' Robbins, Aaron's First Love! We get it every year and we will probably never change it up. Thanks everyone for helping us celebrate.

Evening Out

Aaron and I got to have a nice evening out dressed up and all! Aaron had another awards banquet for Water Tower Park and Western Powerline Trail. The ceremony was at the Wild Horse Pass, black tie affair, wine, dinner, and desert. I'm so proud of Aaron, he won another 3 awards for these two parks. What a talented man! I love the picture of Zackary sneaking into our photo, how cute are those little puppy dog eyes.

Two proud Mommy's!