6 months and snow!

It's really sweet that Laney's 6 month day was Christmas eve. I hope you enjoy the pictures...



and, now we have Laney's first time eating solids(ish)!

More video!

Laney and Asher chattin' it up...




Bath time with Gram...




Sitting up like a big girl...




More laughing at Daddy...

Late Videos

I've been taking some really cute video, but never remember to upload it. Here are some that I hope you enjoy...

Laney and Daddy having a good ole time -



Laney beside our window -



Holding her own bottle -

5 months old

Today Laney can grab toys, hold a bottle (almost), sit up (with help), and hold her feet. She still does the usual adorable stuff too, like talk and smile and laugh. You know, all the stuff that makes your heart melt and you just want to squish her.

happy baby

Nine times out of ten, this is how Laney wakes up... from a nap and from a full nights sleep.



And this is her playing in her "station." - She's the most excited when she gets in this.

finding toes

Laney "found" her toes yesterday...



so all she's done today is this... over and over. And, you'll notice she's found her tongue, too.

card for mom

Joy Magic Story Christmas 5x7 folded card

Get custom photo Christmas cards online at Shutterfly.com.

View the entire collection of cards.

Laney playing

For the first time, she has started playing with toys. It's so cute to watch her discover so much around her with cause and effect.
Until she sees the camera :)

four months :)

So, I've noticed that I update around the same time Corrie does and realized Laney and Samuel were both born at the end of the month. Her four-month picture isn't all that different from her three-month... she can even still wear that same sweet outfit.
However, she has outgrown lying sideways in her pack-n-play...
And, I'd like to give props to the Hoersch family who gave us all these adorable hand-me-downs for Laney. Thanks!

Laney loves her Bumbo, and even though she isn't eating in it, I like to think she's getting some good vibes from it. She sits up so well with a prop - the bumbo is perfect for her right now. And the sleeper has pumpkins and candy corn on it... so cute.

She's started laughing a lot these days. She does it around Charlie, her daddy, and when I tickle her.

Laney and Asher becoming best buds...

Barak vs. Charlie...with Laney's commentary.

Laney Loves her daddy!

... and her mommy.

Propping herself on her elbows - almost rolling over, but not yet.


We were walking around the yard with Charlie and ended up on the front porch. Laney and I were swinging and she just busted out laughing when Charlie would walk around. Barak went to get the camera and started playing with him and she thought it was hilarious! So precious - glad we caught it.

portraits of the Laney

So, we go to this studio Saturday to get some pictures made and the photographers there are great, but crazy! they got some good shots, but we had ideas of what we wanted before we got there - and those didn't really get captured. Mom and Delane both went with us and we wanted some that did not show Laney's bare chest (I know she's a baby, but still), some of her sweet smile (since I can never get any), and some in her halloween outfit (since I think our rainbow bright ones are still adorable today). This is what we got (the proofs):


I saw a lot of bare-chested Laney and not a lot of smiles. But some were still very cute. I mean, we ordered some because, come on, who doesn't want a baby in a pumpkin on their coffee mug?! Still, we ended up taking some of our own once we got back home:

I love that smile!

Laney's Dedication

I promise we weren't the only ones there! no one likes to sit in the front, no matter how big the room...


It was such a great day! I loved how we were able to all get together.

Autumn is here!

I love referring to the fall as "autumn" in North Carolina. It's so different than what we had growing up. The leaves are changing, the air is crisp and fresh, it's not cold, but definitely not hot... and we get to start having fires in the fireplace! Barak's grandparents gave us their wood stove, so we get the heat - lots of heat - without the smoke and fire hazard. I love it. It's so cozy.

I also kept Laney in her warm pj's for most of the day to keep her warm I added a hat and socks - super cute in an unfashionable way.


She is captivated by the computer and tv. It's so cute right now.

what it's all about

So, again, I need to remind you, my readers, that this blog is all about how awesomely incredible Barak is - to me and Laney and, well, the whole world. I would like to thank him publicly, in front of the whole wide world on the web internet, for giving me the opportunity to share in Colossal Cookie Monday!

Everything from m&m, oatmeal raisin and chocolate chip to pumpkin-shaped shortbread, chocolate with nuts, and toffee... he even threw in some fudge brownies and sweet bagels. Basically, the best Monday I've ever had.

This was all after our very sad Saturday when he replaced the washing machine! The old one was quite old, probably put in when the house was built 30 years ago. I love it when Barak gets all handy around the house - super impressive. Here's a shot of him drilling and being all manly.

Laney laughing

She had her first chuckle with DD in Mobile this past weekend. It was hilarious. I'm so glad Mom was a part of it.


And she started actually playing with toys...

same old

So I feel like everytime I post something, it's all the same... and no one really comments, but if I don't post I get hate mail :) so here's a typical day:

I've been trying to get Laney smiling on camera, but as soon as I click, I get this -
...or this -
And as cute as that is, I was hoping for something more like this -

new marvels

Laney has dozens of toys she doesn't even know exist yet. However, this past weekend, we tried out some of them, and she became so excited! I found her smiling and cooing at her mobile in the pack n play the other day, and so we put the attachment to her Itsy Bitsy Bouncer. She tried singing along and smiled a lot...


The pediatrician has given us a lot of tips, and one of them is to prevent a flat head. Instead of trying to "make" her lie on one side of her face or the other, just turn her body to where her feet touch different ends of the crib each night. She naturally wants to face out, so she should get through infancy with a round head :)

growing everyday

There are so many things I love about Laney... but it's so hard to savor how she is one moment, when the next she seems to have already "outgrown" whatever it was that I adored. She won't just sit with me as long as she used to, so I started putting her on her tummy to see if she'd like to play with some toys. She hated the toys, I guess they'll be more interesting later, but loved working out her abs! She swings her arms around, pushes her feet up, and talks a lot.
Here's video I took yesterday of her pushing up on her arms. We had been "playing" a while and she accidentally rolled over onto her back just before I shot it. It's like she gets distracted by the circles - so cute! I helped her back to her tummy and then shot this...

a little fun

Here's a funny video of Laney. She cracks me up!

Two months

Since this blog is supposed to be all about Barak (see the subtitle) I figure I'm way over due.
It just so happens, I have great material for today. Charlie (remember him? that puppy we got about a year ago?) the sweet one that he is, ripped out and destroyed the dryer vent/hose/ability to dry our clothes the other day.
I had NO IDEA how much work this required to fix. I guess being homeowners has its perks. Barak had to crawl marine-style under house, the whole length of it, to get to where the dryer hose was. Then, amidst spiders and mud and darkness and who knows what else, he had to attach the new parts. After he made it out of the horrible tunnel that you couldn't pay me enough to even look into, he had to attach the parts in the house, above ground. This took a long time since Charlie had, like I said before, destroyed the whole ensemble.Barak finally finished and it works perfectly! I had to "sweep" him off before he came into the house, as he had a blanket of dirt and dust all over him.
I love my renaissance husband.

In other news...
Laney turns two months tomorrow, and she is so much different than the day she was born! I really can't believe she is as big as she is, even though when we take her out, everyone comments on how tiny she is. She's pushing up on her arms when she's on her tummy, and is very alert the whole time she's awake. She loves to have conversations and will smile all the time now. The thing I love the most is when she wakes up from a nap, she'll just sit quietly in her swing or crib and just talk to the light or the mobile. It's so precious!

Laney talks!

I know you're thinking, she's only 8 weeks old, how is she talking? Well, let anyone spend a week with this grandma and they'd be cooing, too. It was the first time she realized she could make cute little noises with her precious voice. The clip is a bit long, I can't figure out how to edit it.

milestones?

Thursday Laney turned six weeks. I've definitely seen her smile more than once at me (did too, Barak) and she cried her first tear. Up until now, it's just been screams and random face movements. I'll try to get the smiling on film, but it's difficult.

a month and a half

Laney can follow you around with her eyes, and pays attention to some toys, but doesn't really "play" with them yet. She is super strong and holds her head up all by herself. When she pushes her legs against me, it's all I can do to resist her. She's eating a lot better, I don't have to supplement every time I feed her now, and, the BIG news...

she slept through the night! I took her to community group at the Lowe's last night from 7-9 and she stayed awake for the whole thing. Brian held her while we played catch phrase, but Cheryl held her most of the night. When we got home, I let her eat and she stayed awake for a few minutes, but I put her in her crib at 10 p.m. and didn't wake up until I heard her fussing in the monitor at 6 a.m.!!!! I got out of bed and asked if Barak had gotten up during the night to feed her, and he was just as surprised as I was.

I told her all morning how proud I was of her. Hopefully she's a pleaser like me and will make this a pattern.

more expressions

She gives us so many faces these days! Here's a clip of her trying to wake up from a short nap...

First trip to Grandma's

This was taken back at home, just chillin on the couch, watchin' some tv... it uploaded out of order, and took too long for me to re-do it. Isn't she cuh-yoot?



Laney did so great on the trip to VA! She had only a few fussy spells, and was loving every minute of being constantly gawked over. We went out to eat with her a couple of times, since we had like 10 people ready to pick her up at any given moment. It was Delane's birthday, so we bought Laney an outfit that said something about "grandma's house"...
Anyway, This weekend was the first time I've noticed a change in our Laney bug. She is so much bigger, fatter, and cuter! She has developed a pitiful case of baby acne, but her adorableness definitely made up for it! Her eyes are so much more alert, she follows people's faces moving in front of her, she loves bath time, responds to voices, and I think is less fussy, overall. A good amount of her "newborn" size clothes don't fit her anymore, so we're moving on to the 0-3 mo!

last Horah

You know how tired I've been telling you I am at the end of the day, and how, even though last week was a four day week at school, I still felt like I couldn't go on after Wednesday, and my feet are starting to swell and, basically - I'm just feeling very pregnant? Well, listen to this - Barak called me at school Friday to tell me about a surprise "staycation" he planned for us. He got an incredible deal from Priceline for us to stay at the Hilton in Charlotte and have our super special last date as only a couple before Laney gets here!
Walking around downtown Charlotte is one of my favorite things to do. Barak really hit the nail on the head with this amazing outing. I kept the AC at 60 (crazy, right?) the whole time, and soaked in a bubble bath that did wonders for my spazy legs. We relaxed the whole time and had great conversations about our future, Laney's future, and how far we've come in God's grace... He has provided so much for us and we're sure he will continue to do just that. It was a refreshing time to gain perspective and talk about how excited we are about our new family edition.

One month to go!

I saw this shot in a magazine and wanted to recreate it with my belly... it doesn't seem as magical as I remembered, but it's still kind of cool.
This week is #35 for us, and I'm starting to feel the "weight" of being pregnant. School is hectic and I'm getting tired, so I'll be ok if she decided to come a little early...
We had the shower this weekend from girls at church and I loved it. It was so encouraging and prayerful. It makes me realize how dependent I'll be on God and his grace to endure whatever comes into our new lives. I felt like I couldn't be more surrounded by other mothers.

party cupcake

We went to a birthday party this afternoon, but left before the cake was served (and right after the life-sized Elmo made an appearance) so we stopped by Lowe's Foods and Barak bought me this! Yes, it was as good as it looks and he let me have it all to myself. I didn't have to share :)

Other fabulous things Barak has done for me recently:
- started "French Toast Friday"...self explanatory!
- asked me how my day was and also gave me great conversation about his
- made me the best lunch today - baked potato with ground chicken, taco sauce, melted cheese, and sour cream
- showed/faked excitement when our stroller/car seat came in the mail and brought it upstairs for me
- let me spend 2 hours online catching up with Flash Forward on Hulu just so I could spend another hour watching the April 29 episode in real time
- got me a Kashi frozen pizza for dinner
- walked around the neighborhood with me three times this week
- went with me happily to the previously mentioned birthday party - a party where he knew no one... it was my teaching partner's daughter's 1st birthday
- watered our flowers
- told me he loves me a million times

Basically, he's the best. My pregnancy has been great, partly because I haven't been sick or seem to have any of the annoying typical side effects, and partly (mostly) because he's been awesome and sensitive, and over the top with his affection.

Here it is...

... the post you've all been waiting for. I seem to have a small fan base, all of whom keep asking for me to post something new on this here blog. I was browsing this afternoon since it's Spring Break and I have a lot of free time, and re-found my blog. It's been 8 or 9 months since I've posted!
So,

I had my first baby shower Saturday and I loved it. Delane had great snacks and tons of people came. I forget how big that family is until they all get together and it's overwhelming how many people are there, and then you realize it's only half of them... They're all so loving and funny and great to be around. I really wish that my used-to-be immediate family could be friends with them. You guys would love them.
This picture was taken before the shower started (it's on facebook). After the shower, we had so much stuff, we could barely stuff it into our rental car.

And... I can't WAIT for mom to get here on Friday! It's been way too long since we've seen each other.