Bowling

I went bowling with the family today with the plan of watching all the action from the sidelines. I assumed Lane was too young to take any part in the fun but when my youngest niece lost interest in the game Lane had to step in and take her place. I showed him how to push the ball the first time and from then on as soon as Tyler would put the ball on the ramp he would jump into action. Somehow he still managed to get a few gutter balls even with the bumpers up. I'm not judging him too harshly though, it was his first time after all.

Just a Picture

I don't have a lot of time to blog today, but I had to share this picture. This is Lane with my friend Carly's son Taylor. They are three months apart and Lane probably weighs 50 lbs more, but they both have awesome blue eyes. And they just happened to be matching so we had to get a picture.

Pictures I Like

For Luke

A few weeks ago a fire started in a house down the street from us. When the firemen came they cut the roof off and the fire exploded out the top. No one was hurt so it was kind of fun to watch. I know it wasn't fun for the owner, but he was able to save the house. I hear them fixing it up every day.

I told my nephew Luke about it and he wanted to see it so I borrowed some pictures that my neighbor took that night.

It's Hot

83.7 degrees to be exact. Inside our house. And like last year we don't have air conditioning. I'm actually much more comfortable than last year because I was 7 months pregnant then. I'm not complaining though, I don't mind the heat all that much because with it comes ripe peaches. We have to eat them plain because it's too hot to use the oven to make a pie or a cobbler or can them. Which is probably a good thing because it's healthier that way.

I wanted to share Lane's new talents. The first is Lane shaking his head. This video shows the beginning stages, but he has mastered the head shake now. The second video is of Lane dancing! I'm so glad he's a dancer. Tony is too, at least for now. Now Avery has a dancing buddy! Although Avery is way better. Lane has not mastered dancing yet. He does a good booty roll though.

This picture is of a toy at the park we go to every day. It's a bowl that spins on its own once you get it going. Lane surprisingly likes it.

Getting to know you...Again!

We had Lane's 9 month check up today. He went down for a nap about 15 minutes before his appointment. I hate waking him up but it doesn't matter when I schedule it, he will inevitably be asleep when it's time to go. Maybe when he's ten he'll finally be on a schedule. Despite the nap interruption it all worked out and now he's back asleep.

He's doing well. He's 90th percentile for height and weight. He's sleeping through the night now. Being a parent is way better when you don't dread nights. He's cruising around with his army crawl. He's been doing that for two months and I think he may skip the normal crawling phase. He's still loud and his voice is deep so he seems tough, but he's not. He's afraid of swings, the vacuum, and the mechanical horse at the outlet mall. Although, he did pretty well when they got a blood sample at the doctor, he wanted to watch and he didn't even cry. He's like Tony in that way, he wanted to watch his root canal and he did watch as he had a toenail removed. Have you ever seen a toenail being removed?!!! It's gross, like a torture scene in a movie, but he watched and said, "that's awesome." Anyways, I was going to put up a bunch of pictures, but I decided to just put up a video instead. Nothing really happens in the video, but it shows him at 9 months which was what I was trying to do.

 

Harvest

I was so excited when we moved to Beaverton last year because I would finally have a yard. Our last apartment didn't even have any space for a pot. I immediately planted five or six tomato plants and by the end of summer I got two tomatoes total. I wasn't too disappointed because it was my first time and I didn't know what I was doing. This summer I've planted tomatoes, strawberries, watermelon, and peas. I harvested yesterday. I know there is a lot of time left before the first freeze but I think this is about all I'm going to get this year.

It was very small and kind of sour. My excitement is quickly fading as the weather continues to stay around the mid sixties in the middle of July. It's crazy.

And this last photo is for Shelly. I don't think I could judge your kids too harshly for being messy eaters. He grosses me out too.

Skills

In case you were wondering what Lane's skills were...he's got major keyboard skills.

Jumper

Recently we lowered the mattress in Lane's crib because he can pull himself up now and we don't want him falling out. So now he's working on another way to escape...

Friends

We babysat Ian today. He was cute and wonderful. Lane was kind of in a bad mood today but he seemed to enjoy Ian's visit anyways. He crawled right over to him and grabbed his hand. It actually seemed like they were arm wrestling but I'm sure it was in good fun. I think they will be good friends someday.

Tractor Revisited

She's a runnin.



This is Jay doing cookies after they worked on the clutch. At the end you can see that the clutch got stuck so it needed a little more fixin and the brakes did too. And now the tractor is mechanically all better. Now onto the aesthetics.



And here are some pictures from our family beach trip. We missed the full family photos at the beach because Lane was napping (and we try to never wake the monster) so after we checked out of the rental house Tony and I went to the beach one last time for some ocean pictures. We had no one to take a picture with all of us but that's ok. Lane enjoyed staring at the waves which was as much as I could hope for since he was only six months old when we went. He definitely enjoyed the love and attention he got from his extended family. Lane and I decided we should always live with everyone on the beach in a big house where no one has jobs.

Sun

I am loving the warm weather today. I was getting tired of the wind and rain.


It's so bright and wonderful Lane can't even open his eyes.

But then we came inside to eat some lunch. I leaned over to pick something off the couch and a VERY LARGE and UGLY bug fell off me and onto the couch. Then I thought maybe I don't mind the cold so much. I would have taken a picture but I was freaking out a little and trying to figure out how to get it off my couch without touching it. I used an empty water bottle to scoop it up and then I threw it outside. Tony will have to pick up my litter when he gets home. Why do bugs have to love the sun too?!

Story

Lane was having a good time hanging out in his basket.Then his friend Taylor came over for a visit. They had a nice visit.Then Lane tried to strangle him.The end.

Getting to know you...

I didn't want Lane to grow up when he was first born. Now I'm realizing that it keeps getting more fun the older he gets because he starts to interact and have his own little personality. Here is a little about Lane.

He is a very loud baby. He is loud when he is happy, sad, mad, and he even moans loudly while falling asleep. He prefers books to toys. He drools non-stop. Yesterday I used a paper towel to try and squeeze the drool out of his shirt collar and the paper towel was so wet there were not any dry parts left to squeeze it all out. Gross, I know. It's usually because his mouth is open, but even when it's closed he pushes tons of slobber bubbles out so it looks like a beard.

When we can't get him to stop crying we put him in the bouncer (the one in the picture) and if that doesn't work the only thing that has never failed at settling him down is taking him outside. (not to beat on him, I swear)

He smiles and laughs easier with Tony, but he prefers me when he's hungry or tired. He's starts to cry when I leave the room, but he recovers after a few seconds when I guess he forgets about me. Thank goodness for a short attention span. Even though he's clingy with me he's at the stage where he loves other people. He loves when anyone gives him attention when we're running errands.

He loves being naked. That's another trick we use when he's crying and we can't get him to stop. Take of his clothes and the world is a happier place.

He's pretty neutral about baths. Loves bananas. Hates green beans. Understandable. He gags really easily so I have to be careful when feeding him solids because if I put the spoon in his mouth even a little bit and he's not hungry he will throw up. Like he did this morning.

I think he's starting to sleep better. He goes down at 8:30 and usually gets up at 6:30. I usually get up 2-3 times a night. But every once in a while I only have to get up once. Those nights are wonderful. Naps are a little better too, he's not on a good schedule but he will usually take two good naps a day.

I could go on and on all day about Lane, the good, the bad, the messy. But I also have a short attention span so I must go on to other things now.

p.s. did you notice he's wearing a sleeper with pants on in this picture? Over the head clothes are bad news when I think he might have a messy diaper coming. TMI? probably.

What a difference 5 months makes

I was looking at some pictures on Tony's phone last night when I came across this... It's obviously not a real flattering picture, but it's fun to look at because I had forgotten what I looked like after giving birth. I was kinda big. Lane was kind of small. And now I'm not so big and Lane is a giant. He's actually outgrown that car seat, we just got him a new one. The changes that happen to your body in a year when having a kid are almost unbelievable and then it's unbelievable how fast you forget what you just went through.

Just for fun

Here's a video from last night, thought the grandparents might enjoy.

Dumb kid

Don't get me wrong I'm glad he's sleeping. I'm always complaining that he won't nap or sleep at night. He's not a fan of sleeping for some reason. However, he is a fan of trying to smother himself. He always sleeps better if his face is covered. I keep moving it away and he moves it right back. Oh well.

The Tractor

Tony has a new project. He is restoring this old tractor. My grandpa was a farmer and at one time he used it but for many years this tractor has been just sitting outside rusting away.









Until Tony came along and hauled it away to his parents farm.










So far Tony and his dad have spent a lot of time trying to get it to run. They have put a lot of new parts in it, but it still refuses to run. Hopefully in a month or two she'll start up. And then I'm not sure what we'll do with it but eventually we'll figure that out.










Here it is at the spratlings shop after being power washed I believe. Isn't she a beaut.

Yesterday

I got crafty yesterday. I made this.

We were supposed to make these for an enrichment activity that never happened. I decided to make it on my own because I'm always trying to plan my weekly menus on scraps of paper that seem to get misplaced a lot. I am not normally a craft-making person. I am not creative. I can't draw or decorate or sew or anything that I would like to be able to do. So I am so proud of myself for doing this. It mostly just required printing and laminating, but it counts, I made it. I typed up all the meals I make and hot glued magnets on them so I could put them on this print out. The color scheme is a little wonky because our printer ran out of ink, so now its yellow and green rather then red and brown.

Also yesterday Lane had his 4 month doc visit and his shots. He's actually a few days short of 4 months but who's keeping track. He did way better this time. After his first round of shots at two months he screamed all day and it was miserable for both of us. This time he was his normal self and he slept well, which is a miracle because that never happens. He likes to wake up every two hours and the doctor said we need to let him cry it out at night. I've tried, but Tony and I both can't do it.

He laughed during his physical exam because he's ticklish.

The doctor said he's about ready for size four diapers. I was like no way. At this rate he'll be wearing depends in a few months.

His stats are: weight 18 lbs 13 oz, height 26 inches, head I can't remember but it was 60th percentile.

He's a big dude. He can only wear pants with an elastic waist. I've tried jeans up to 12 months but they don't even come close. Oh well. Stretchy pants it is.

We ended the day by watching Raising Hope again. Not so funny this week. Although I did laugh when the guy had a rubber boot stuck on his head.

And just for fun here's a cousin shot with the new guy Ian. This was really the best shot I got of them. They need to work on there modeling skills. Ian at least has the nice tan going for him. He's so cute!

T.V.

Did anyone watch Raising Hope last night? I had never seen the show before but I was laughing out loud I thought it was so funny. I assumed it was the season premier because I had never seen it before and I watch a lot of t.v. (I am ashamed to admit) but when I looked it up on hulu it was episode 13. Where have I been and why haven't I been watching this sitcom?! Anywho I advice everyone to watch it on hulu if you missed it so we can talk about it.

Mr.Giggles

For Valentine's Day we had a candle light dinner, too bad you can't tell by the picture since the flash makes it look bright. It was cool for about 30 seconds and then I thought, this is dumb I can't see my food. But it was still fun and we had a good time eating our romantic meal of scrambled eggs and french toast.










Lane likes to laugh a lot. It used to be the occasional giggle, but for the past few weeks we get daily full blown laughter. It's hard to get on camera because he stops when he see's the camera. So we have a lot of videos of him laughing with a side view so he doesn't see it. Here's my favorite, taken tonight.

Kissy Noise

Whenever Lane hears a new sound it usually makes him laugh. Tonight we found a sound that did not make him laugh.

New Discovery

Lane enjoys sitting up. He's not real good at it yet but today his efforts have led to the new discovery of his toes! It's so weird to think about how babies have to see everything for the first time. It took three months for him to finally see and feel his own toes. And he's also making efforts that look like crawling. But I think it will be a while before he figures that one out.

Lane vs. the Pillow

In the past I have documented some of Tony's sleeping quirks. Parenthood has only increased his night time craziness and since the day Lane was born Tony has constantly mistaken his pillow for Lane. Last week I got into bed and started talking to Tony about whether I could leave Lane sleeping on his tummy or not. After a few minutes of sharing my thoughts Tony says, "where is he?" in a panicky voice. I said, "In the crib." He says, "so this isn't him?"(as he points to the pillow his head is laying on. "No, that's you're pillow." "Are you sure." "Yup." Another day that week he lifted up my leg telling me to stop squishing the baby. And he's offered me his pillow countless times asking if I want the baby. Obviously Lane does not share a bed with us because Tony would probably use him as a pillow, but he still thinks he's in the bed with us almost every night. Silly guy. I could write about a dozen things that he has said and done in the past two months that are pretty wacky but that is not the purpose of this blog. I hope this will be a reference for Tony if he ever gets confused again in the future about whether his pillow is a baby or not. Although they are both soft and squishy, here are some differences...

1. Lane will yell obscenities at you if you lay your head on his tummy

2. He will also, most likely, take a few swats at your head to get you off of him

3. If you pick up your pillow you will notice that it weighs substantially less than Lane

4. And lastly, they look quite a bit different.

Hopefully, Tony, this will clear up any confusion for you.

Oh baby cheeks!

Just a few pictures from mom's camera. She's so good. And the kid is so cute, even if he will never smile for the camera.