Vote Now!!!

Today Shannon, Lane, and I arrived in North Carolina for the first time in nearly 8 months. We showed up just in time for our friend Courtney (who, incidentally, is an awesome photographer) to take our pictures, and we want your vote as to which one you like best. Votes, please! We could combine 2 of the vertical ones (one of me and Lane with one of Shannon and Lane), or just have 1 of the horizontal ones.


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Cast your votes in the comments section by photo number (the number underneath the photo). Thanks!

A Visit with the Brookses

Today something fantastic happened.

I got to see Kevin and Emily for the first time in over three years. Now you see, me and Kevin and Emily go way back. In fact, we met around exactly seven years ago at the airport in Warsaw, Poland, when I went to meet them for the first time. We've been close friends ever since. While we haven't lived near each other in about six years, we're the kind of friends that just pick up where you left off. Our friendship was forged in the toughness of living in a country other than your home country, and nothing can change that. Some people don't understand how you can be friends with people you rarely see and don't talk to that often. But if you have those kinds of friends, you understand: some friends you don't need to see everyday for them to be your best friends.


Me and Emily on the Baltic Sea. We took a semi-vacation together back in 2005, before any of us had kids.


In 2007 Shannon and I drove to New Orleans to see Kevin and Emily. James was about eight months old then.


Today: Shannon and Lane, me, Emily, Kevin, Beth (almost two) and James (almost four).

I was very proud of both Emily and myself: neither of us cried upon saying goodbye. But it's never really goodbye. Instead it's always "see you later," even if "later" is three or four years from now.

Just for Allison

Wanted: 1 pair of black shoes


Found: 1 pair of Merrell sandals

I went to DSW searching for a new pair of black shoes since I tossed my Danskos (hate those shoes) last August after forcing myself to redeem the cost of them by wearing them for a year and a half. Why is it so hard to find basic black shoes that you can wear socks with? Anyhow, obviously I didn't find any, but instead I found these Merrells on the clearance rack for half the regular price. Since we'll be moving somewhere (soon to be disclosed) where we'll be walking a lot, I thought that these looked (and felt) like good summery walking shoes. And I knew that Allison would be proud, since she has a self-admitted obsession with Merrells.

Things That Make Me Smile

My daughter's laugh
It's spring!
Strawberries for $1.25/pound
I get to see my sister in six days
I can fit into most of my pre-pregnancy pants/bottoms (although they're still a bit tight, at least I can get them on!)
College basketball is almost over: I will get my husband back from ESPN
Lane's stretch when we un-swaddle her in the morning/after naps
Christ has risen!
New $80 Merrell sandals, just my size, on clearance for $40
So many things checked off our to-do list and only a few things left to do before we leave Alabama on Friday
Life will be "regular" for two months, starting in two weeks. Maybe Lane will then sleep through the night
Remembering getting doused with water six years ago today in Poland for Wet Monday
I'm gonna be an aunt! (again)

Fun in the Sun

I think it's finally spring in Alabama!


Being pushed around in the stroller is exhausting!

On Sunday our friends Greg and Diana (and daughter Ava) came down from North Carolina to spend a couple of days with us. They have some other friends (well, they're our friends too, but they're better friends with Greg and Di) here who just had a baby boy two weeks ago and they decided to come and visit us all and then head to Florida over Greg's Easter break.


It's the baby brigade! Jerri and Isaiah, me and Lane, and Diana and Ava

Yesterday was a gorgeous day, so we invited Jayson and Jerri to come over and we'd all go for a walk at a nearby lake. We walked around a bit, getting some exercise and just chatting, and fed the ducks while Ava tried to catch them (and Greg and Di restrained her). Diana and I went to Target where I got new pajama pants (my late, late birthday present from Shannon) and sunglasses (my 2-years old, $1 sunglasses from H&M finally broke in half the other day), and then we picked up barbecue from Full Moon Bar-B-Que and brought it home to go with homemade squash and green beans. We played cards while the kiddos slept and just enjoyed hanging out with each other.


I see your pacifier and raise you one!

Diana and I know each other from our time in Poland. We lived in different cities but I met her the day she got off the airplane and she spent a couple of nights at my apartment. We spent some holidays, birthdays, and vacations together in her two years and my three years there. We were roommates my first year and her second year in graduate school. And Shannon and Greg were roommates for the semester before we all got married. They hosted us for our last meal in North Carolina before we left. Diana was a bridesmaid in my wedding, and we cut short a vacation in Hawaii in order to attend theirs. In short, we're all really good friends. It was so good to spend time with them and for them to make the 12ish-hour drive with their almost-one-year old in order to see us. Good friends are worth more than their weight in salt. :-)


Diana, Greg, and Ava (who'll be one on Easter!)

Dedication

Today was baby dedication day at our church, so of course Lane was dedicated. Shannon drove into the wee hours of the morning coming back from North Carolina, because he was in a wedding on Saturday afternoon. My friend and former roommate Stacy came down from Chattanooga yesterday to spend the day with us and to meet Lane. She stayed through church this morning to see Lane dedicated...it was so nice to share that special event with a good friend!


Stacy and Lane

For the dedication, Lane wore a dress that's somewhat of a family heirloom. It was handmade by one of Cindy's (Shannon's stepmom) mother's cousins (I think that makes the lady Shannon's third cousin, but I'm not sure on that...). It was worn by a few family members (I'm not exactly sure of their relation to us...our families are complicated like that) for their christenings 25-30ish years ago, and was worn a couple of years ago by our niece (Lane's cousin) for her dedication. So Lane makes the fourth baby to wear the dress. It's kind of neat to think that any other girls we have may get to be dedicated in the same dress (depending on the timing of our trips stateside and our babies' size at those times).


Shannon, me, and Lane. She slept through the entire thing!


Shannon, me, Sharon (Shannon's mom), Milton (Shannon's stepdad), and Lane.


Lyn (Shannon's dad), Shannon, me, Cindy, and Lane

While Shannon was in North Carolina, Lane and I went and spent two nights with Sharon and Milton. Sharon wanted to go and get some professional pictures taken of Lane, so we took the dedication dress along with another dress. The photos of her in the dedication dress turned out fantastic!


Smiley girl!


And serious girl.

Now we just need to get the dress to the dry cleaners asap, because Little Miss Lane spit up all over the dress. Every time we put it on her. Ick.

2 Months Old

Dear Lane,

Happy Birthday! Today you are two months old! You have learned how to do so much this month! First of all, and most importantly, you are now consistently sleeping between six and seven hours every night. This is a recent development, but we're sure it will stick! You are better about daytime naps now, but you're still not sure about a nap at 4:00 or 5:00 in the afternoon, only wanting to catnap then for 30 minutes or so. You absolutely love the bathtub and the sound of running water. If you're fussy and crying, all it takes to calm you down is the sound of the bath water running. You like to kick your legs and splash in the tub, and you don't cry as much from being cold when we get you out as you used to. This month you started to coo at us, and you are the most talkative when you're on the changing table! You also laughed once this month, but we're still waiting to hear it again! You have found your tongue and like sticking it out and moving it around in your mouth. You've also found your hands and like to try to cram your entire fist into your mouth! You have an activity gym that you love to play with, looking at the hanging animals and trying to bat at them. You love to look at yourself in the mirror.

This month you visited two new states, Mississippi and Tennessee. You stayed with your Mimi and Papa during the day for four days while we were in meetings, and you stayed with Papa Buck and Nona Lou once and with Aunt Shannon once so we could go on a couple of dates. You were good for them all, of course! You're still wearing your newborn clothes, but you have a couple of 3-month outfits that kind of fit you, although they're still baggy. At your six week doctor's appointment you were 23 inches long and you weighed 9 pounds, 13 ounces. That's in the 95th percentile for height and the 50-75th percentile for weight! You got some shots this month and while you weren't exactly happy about it, you did really well. Your hematoma is completely gone, and your baby acne is about 95% gone. You can hold your head up when you're upright, although it's still a bit wobbly, and you can also support some of your own weight when we "stand" you up. You're still not a big fan of tummy time, but it's not as bad as it was last month, and you can even lift your head 90° and look at yourself in a mirror placed in front of you when you're on your tummy. You are growing so much! You are such a good baby and we love you so much!

Love,

Mommy and Daddy


You can stand up so well!


We spent 2 nights with Nona Lou while Daddy and Papa Buck were in Nashville at the SEC Basketball Tournament.


You can lift your head up really well!


Just like your first month of life, you're still smiley and happy!