18 months

Weight: 27 pounds (85%)
Height: 34 1/2 inches (99%)
My little pumpkin is in mostly 2T clothes and moving up to size 5 diapers.

The stats above are debatable.  Laney wouldn't stand still on the scale, and the nurse didn't "stretch" her on the measuring chart quite as much as the times before.  But, whatever.  Laney is growing and growing big.  I LOVE it!  I think I say this a lot, but I'm going to say it again.  I love that she's so big and healthy.  You have to try and imagine me holding her as a 4 pounder and just dreaming of the day she would be big, and strong, and healthy, and not so fragile.  Well, now she IS big and strong and healthy and I couldn't be happier.  I went ahead and put a newborn picture down there - it's always a good reminder to me that God is SO good!

As a little toddler, Laney is learning a lot.  Here are some highlights:

She finally got the green light for tubes.  Chad took her for her surgery and it went so smooth (maybe it's because she was dressed so cute with beads and a bow).  She never even acted like she had surgery.  Chad said that she was such a trooper the whole time.  

She's already trying to talk more and try out more sounds.  She doesn't say a lot of words, but she's working on it.  In her own language (recognizable to mom and dad) she says:

mama, dada, Bubba, Kansas, I love you, baby, milk, please, thank you, bow, wall, shoe, brush, ball, baby, shhhh, no, yes, more, water, all done, naked, okay, bye-bye, hi, where are you, bike, I do, me, bath, dog, book, night-night, and blankie (I'm sure I'm missing some).  We're currently working on animals and sounds.  She'll copy me but she doesn't really remember them without my help.  My favorite is her imitation of a kitty cat.  

We recently took her paci away.  By recently, I mean two days ago.  She only has it in her mouth at nap and bedtime (and long car trips), but she would walk around with it all day if I let her.  The first night she cried for 30 minutes before falling asleep.  The first nap without it was not a good nap.  Last night and today during nap she was totally fine.  Looks like we might be in the clear.  I think I need to go ahead and throw all the pacis away so she doesn't find one and stick it in her mouth.  It kind of makes me sad - like she's officially growing out of her baby phase.

Daddy holding Laney for the first time - she loved her paci even then.

Daddy and Laney post surgery...just a few weeks before we took the paci away.

She still loves her brother to pieces.  She follows him everywhere and totally copies everything he does.  She gets so excited when she sees him.  And when she can't find him she starts calling out, "Bubba!!  Are you?!"  It's adorable.

Playing before Church.

I love this picture!

(Side note: Brooks is really into dressing himself these days.)

She also LOVES her daddy.  She is 100% Daddy's Little Girl.


Our little Laneybug is spunky and fun and totally adorable, even when she's being a stinker.  I just can't get enough of her!  I think she's going to keep things interesting for us, and make sure that we're always on our toes.

My New Bag

I never win anything, so I don't know why I even bothered entering for a chance to win something on a friend's blog.  But - I played along.  Well...turns out that I won!  So, in the mail the other day I got a really cool new purse.  I absolutely LOVE it.  If you're looking for a new purse different from anything else, you've got to check out Paige's designs.  I just checked out her stuff on Etsy and she have lots of fabrics to choose from, but I am really glad that I got the one pictured below.  It goes with everything and I get compliments on it every time I go out with it on my shoulder.  Thanks, Em, for the opportunity to "meet" someone new and feel spoiled with a new bag.

Easter Weekend

On Good Friday we took a family trip to "the river" out in Jonestown.  I used the quotes because there wasn't much of a river left.  It's taking a while to fill back up from the drought last year.  But, Brooks and Chad had fun climbing the rocks together.

Brooks and Daddy climbing and hiking together.

Laney had a great time gathering eggs!

Easter Morning

I love these two so much!

I love this picture below for many reasons.  First of all, I made the dress.  That's right - around 11:00 the night before I decided to try and make a dress.  I got the materials earlier in the week to try my hand at dress making.  This Easter dress was my first attempt.  It's reversible, has ruffles, and ties at the top.  It was so super cute - but SUPER tight.  The poor girl had to wear it for church and pictures, all the while it was digging into her armpits.  But look at how cute it is!  Look at how it brings out her beautiful blue eyes!  I just love it.  I'm going to have to get that fabric and try it again.

Seriously?!  She is so cute!

Brooks is getting better at posing and smiling for the camera.

After church the kids finally got to eat their candy.  Brooks was so sweet and wanted to share with Delaney.

Delaney loved to shake her eggs!

Okay, remember that I said how tight the dress was?!  Here we are trying to get it off.  First I tried to pull it down over her hips.  Nope.  That didn't work.  But for a while she thought it was funny.

Here I went for the "pull it over the head" approach.  It took quite a bit of effort, and she was crying the whole time, but we finally got it off.  

We had a wonderful day as a family celebrating Jesus!

"After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb. There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men.

The angel said to the women, "Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples: 'He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him.' Now I have told you."

So the women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy, and ran to tell his disciples. Suddenly Jesus met them. "Greetings," he said. They came to him, clasped his feet and worshiped him. Then Jesus said to them, "Do not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me."" Matthew 28:1-10

Spring Time!!!

Spring means bluebonnets, pretty dresses (which only applies to Laney of course), and Easter!

 My mom looked at the picture below and commented: "I just really think she's going to be a handful."  I think she may be right!  Laney does has quite the personality!

 See...pretty dresses!

 EASTER!  (Easter deserves a post of it's own - coming soon!)

 These two are always playing together.  I love it!

Here's a story...

...about my dad.  Now, my blog is usually light-hearted and mostly about my family and my kids.  It's mainly just a way to scrapbook without really scrapbooking.  This post is going to be a bit different, but bare with me.  It's just something that I need to do.
As many of you know, or maybe you don't know, my dad passed away just 2 months ago.  It's still strange thinking about how he is gone and saying the words out loud doesn't come easy, either.  I don't really want this to be a sad story, but I just want it to be a story that maybe touches your heart:
As a kid my dad was super involved.  He took me on bike rides, took me and Natalie to get donuts every Sunday, let us drive around the neighborhood in the back of the station wagon with the hood up (dangerous, I know), came to all my sporting events, taught me and all my friends how to dive, and he always had time to cuddle.  As an adult he was always checking in on me, sending me or the kids random packages, taking me out to eat - one time he drove all the way from Houston to Austin just to take us out to eat, and then he turned around and went back.  One of the greatest things he did for me was always making me feel like the most beautiful girl in the world.  He was a wonderful father and a loving grandpa.  I have so many memories of the two of us together, and his last few days on Earth are some of the most precious.
My dad struggled with various cancers for the past 7-8 years.  The one that stuck around was Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia. It made him very sick over the past couple of years.  My dad spent hundreds off hours hooked up to machines that gave him chemo and gave him blood.  One day in late January, the low blood cell count caused him lots of pain and weakness, so my step-mom (Lady) called an ambulance.  She called us the next day to tell us he was in the ICU.  We were on our way home from Arlington and we just turned around, dropped the kids off with my mom, and headed out to Shreveport.  My dad doesn't really like attention, so he pretended that he was upset that we were there, but I could tell it made him happy.  We stayed for a couple of days and spent as much time with him as we could.  The doctor's weren't very helpful in giving any answers, so I didn't really know what it all meant as far as a "time frame".  I don't think they anticipated it spiraling so fast, though.  When we left on Tuesday, my dad was sitting up in bed with a small oxygen tube.  He was eating, talking, having a good time harassing the nurses, oblivious as to what the next few days would be like.  If he would have known, maybe we would have talked more about things that were difficult to talk about.  My dad cried and said there was so much he wanted to say, but that he would have to write it down.  I wish he would have just told me, because he never got a chance to write it down.  He died 7 days later.

On Wednesday, he called and left me a message about his progress.  I'm so glad that I missed that call because now I have his voice on my phone.  We kept in touch on Thursday.  I think he was getting tired of me calling all the time.  He was moved down to the Oncology floor and was holding on by getting constant blood transfusions.  On Friday, Chad pulled me out of school and told me my dad was dying.  He had a bad reaction to some blood and it had made him very sick.  We packed, pawned the kids off, and drove the long 5 hours (we were speeding) to Shreveport.  I can't even describe to you how the pit of my stomach felt when I heard those words, "Your dad's dying."  It's awful.  All of a sudden it was real.  And all I cared about was getting to my dad and making sure that he heard the message of who Jesus Christ really is.  When we got to the hospital my dad had aged 20 years in just a few short days.  The small oxygen tube was replaced by a huge mask.  His happy spirit was obliviously affected. But, nevertheless, the first thing he said in my ear was, "I'm not dying."  He has always been stubborn. I wasted no time, and I started sharing the message of John 3:16 and Ephesians 2:8-9.  He shook his head as to say, "Yeah, yeah...whatever.  I believe.  Just stop talking to me."  It wasn't the assurance that I was looking for.  But I prayed that God was working in his heart to persuade him.  That night my sister (yes I actually have a half-sister who lives in Portland) flew in.  We slept there in the room together - Daddy and his girls.  The family was slowly coming together (my Aunt and Uncle and half-brother were on their way as well).  The next day my sister, Bonnie, and I were sitting on either side of Dad just holding his hands and talking.  My dad couldn't talk much, and when he did it was really hard to understand him because of his huge oxygen mask.  He just listened most of the time.  Well, my sister asked me the most wonderful question anyone can ask: "Heather, will you tell me what you believe?"  ARE YOU SERIOUS?!  Of course I started again by describing my love for Jesus and what he did on the cross for me.  That nothing I can do will ever be good enough, but because of my faith in Christ, I will someday get to spend eternity with him.  Again, I recited the verses mentioned above.  Now, this is the part of the story that is the most important - so pay attention.  As we're talking, my dad lifts his tired hands towards Heaven and in the loudest whisper he said, "I believe!"  Thank you, Jesus!  From then on, I knew my dad was dying, but there was such a sense of peace just knowing that it wouldn't be long before he was in Heaven with The Savior.  My dad and I had many sweet moments just the two of us in that hospital room.  We cuddled, shared stories, just sat in the quiet, listened to worship, held hands, and talked about what Heaven would be like.  I'm so thankful that we had that time considering many people are just robbed of the people they love without any warning at all.  The last few days were tough.  The communication was less and he was in and out of consciousness.  It took me 4 nights to leave his side.  And the night that I did, he passed away that morning.  He was always trying to protect me and I think he did that even in his last moments.  I'm sad that he'll never see my kids grow up.  I'm sad that Brooks and Delaney will never know his sweet love.  I'm sad that he never got to see Brooks ride the bike that he gave him, or that he'll never be able to teach Delaney the art of diving.  And on a daily basis, I'm sad that I can't call him just to say hi.  But through my grief comes Joy - Joy in knowing that someday we'll be together again.
So, my point in sharing this story is to tell you that nothing is impossible with God, but that with God - ALL things are possible.  He can change even the most stubborn man's heart.  God is faithful and wonderful and He never stops pursuing us, so please don't stop pursuing Him.
And it's kind of a nice reminder that miracles really do happen.

Grandpa and Brooks meeting for the first time.  

I love this picture because I think it shows how much they look alike.

Grandpa with the Kids.

Grandpa drove in to surprise us in October.  This was the last time he came to visit.

This was the last time my dad saw the kids.  It was this past Thanksgiving.  He loved every minute of it...can't you tell?!

My Ranch Cuties!

Like I said in my earlier post...my kids totally dig the outdoors.  Brooks has always been happiest outside and exploring, and Delaney is following in her big brother's footsteps.  

 Daddy's Little Girl.  Chad actually bought her that dress.  He said he just couldn't resist!  

 My Little Explorers!

 Let me tell you a little about the picture below.  We were all sitting on the porch "kind of" watching the kids playing.  We all saw Delaney go around the corner of the house.  After a few minutes, she didn't return, so Chad went to find out what she was getting into.  This is exactly how he found her.  No posing her for this picture.  Driving the big four wheeler around The Ranch was definitely one of Laney's favorite activities.  I think she was just trying to tell us that she wanted to take one more ride before going home.