Tomorrow, Lana will be 5 months old!!  

And..... one week from today, I will be returning to work. :-(  I have never felt so torn.  I am excited about my opportunity to teach 6th grade in middle school this year, but will miss Lana sooooooo much.  I know she will have the best babysitter anyone for which anyone could ever ask, my mom.  I will never forget, when Luke and I began dating, he asked innocently if I would ever consider being a stay-at-home mom.  At the time, I snapped back, "No way! I didn't go to Butler for 4 years to stay at home." Well, it would't have mattered if I had studied to be a doctor at the most prestigious university in the country, there is no job I would love more than to stay home with Lana.  But, I know I need to go back to school.  I will continue to be the best teacher I know how- all second to being the best mom I know how.

I finally figured out how to upload pictures off of our new computer, so that would explain why there are so many pictures this time.  The pictures go as far back as the 4th of July parade, and include: Luke's cousin's wedding in Jasper, a trip to the Indianapolis Children's Museum this past week, a trip to meet baby Jack and to the Straussenfest on Saturday, our time at the Indiana State Fair yesterday, and many things in between.  Lana also got to go to the zoo for the second time last weekend, but the few pictures of our trip are on Luke's phone.  We also have some pictures of Lana's first 4-H fair... also on our phones. I will figure out how to get those on here too. :-)

For now, Happy Birthday, Lana, and if you think to pray for Lana and my transition as I return to school, that would be fantastic! :-)

Lana is 19 weeks old!

Today, Lana is 19 weeks old.  I can't believe 4 and a half months have already passed.  Lana has grown so much, and brings us so much joy every day!  She truly is the greatest blessing.

Last week, Lana was off the charts for her length at her pediatrician appointment.  She is 26 1/4 inches long, and weighs 15 lbs, 4 oz., putting her in the 88th percentile for her age.  Mimi says we need to sign her up for a scholarship now. :-)

Saturday, Lana learned to roll from her back to her tummy (of course, when just Daddy was home with her).  She has done it numerous times since, and is so proud of herself each time she does it.  Now, we will work on rolling back the other way. I have a feeling this will happen soon.

Also, new for Lana, is the discovery of her little feet.  She has been staring at them for some time now, then just a few days ago, she began grabbing her toes.  Yesterday, she had both of feet up by her face.  I'm thinking those little feetsies will be in her mouth before we know it.

Yet another new adventure for little Lana is eating food!  She began last week by eating cereal.  I would venture to say 75% of the cereal ends up on her face, in her hair, on her hands, and my clothes, but practice makes perfect, right? Our next step will be to introduce veggies.  (Too bad she can't at least have a little ranch dressing with those veggies).

Since our last post, Lana has helped move Auntie Em and Uncle Bone closer to us, celebrated Mimi's birthday, attended her first Carmel 4th of July parade, helped with her first Hamilton County 4-H queen pageant, danced it up at a wedding in Jasper, and, tomorrow, will experience her first Hamilton County 4-H Fair with many more to come in her future.  This Saturday, Lana will celebrate her daddy's 28th birthday.

I'll post pictures as soon as I figure out where to find them on our new laptop. ;-)

The Sweetest Baby...

Lana will be 16 weeks old on Wednesday, and is changing every single day.  She is absolutely the sweetest baby.


She still sleeps 10.5 hours each night in her crib like a champ.  Her newest milestones have been giggling much more often talking more often,  and GRABBING TOYS!!!.  She s really rocking at tummy time, too.  


Lana's recent adventures have included going to her first wedding last night and going swimming again.  The wedding invitation from last night stated," ties are welcomed, cowboy boots are encouraged." Well,  Lana wore her cowgirl boots last night and was so stinking cute in them, if I do say so myself. She stayed awake almost the whole night to visit with her new friends.  Today, at the pool, Lana just floated in her raft like she had been swimming all of her life.  The baby beside us was crying its poor little heart out, and Lana looked at her like, "What could possibly be upsetting about THIS?! Hand me a chocolate milk on the rocks."


We have, of course, been taking lots of pictures.  We also have soooo many videos, but I haven't figured out how to post them to blogspot just yet. ;-)  In the meantime, you can go to http://vimeo.com/44570502 and see Lana doing her tummy time, and enjoy the pictures!

Lana is over 3 months old!

Beautiful baby Lana turned 3 months old on Thursday, and today, is 13 weeks and 4 days old.  She is a healthy, fantastic baby!  God is good! :-)

She is sleeping about 10 hours a night now, and sleeping in her big girl crib.  It only took Luke and I sleeping on an air matress right beside her crib for six nights to finally move into our room, and let Lana sleep in her room.  Lana has been sleeping wearing a "sleep sack," and seems to really like it.  She sleeps on her left side with her thumb in her mouth.  She just loves sucking her little thumb.  She sucks her left thumb, and pets her little hair with her right hand to sooth herself to sleep.  Smart baby.  ;-)

Lana almost never cries, and when she does, you know she means business because she does so infrequently.  She eats like a champ from Mama Cow still, and burps like a froggy.

Little Lana has been a very busy girl!  Since our last blog update, she has gone on a 4th grade field trip to Conner Prairie, walked in her first Relay for Life, gone to school to meet all of the teachers at Sheridan Elementary, met Maw-Maw, gone to a whole lot of garage sales (Mommy, Lana, and Mimi's newest hobby), gone swimming, and hung out with Aunt Jo, Margie, and Grandma Patty.  Aunt Jo and Margie have been home since Memorial Day weekend, and Lana has seen them nearly every day.  We take her shopping, to lunch, dinner, and everywhere in between.  Lana just hangs out, smiles, laughs, sleeps, gets her diaper changed, eats, and fills all of our hearts with so much joy.

Gracie still thinks she is Lana's other mommy and even checks on Lana when she wakes up in her pack and play.  Shelby, well, is still Shelby.  She chews her bone and glances over sometimes if she hears a loud noise come from Lana.  :-)

In other good news, Auntie Em and Uncle Bone will be in central Indiana to stay by the end of the month!  Woohoo! 

Enjoy the pictures!

Happy 10 weeks Lana!

Lana is 10 weeks old today.  I can't beleive it!  As I am typing, she is sitiing up in her little swing watching t.v. She absloutely loooovvveees to watch t.v.  (Yes, I have 16 and Pregnant on, and no, I know this is not a show designed for babies, but for now, she seems to like it as much I do.;-))

Also, today is Gracie's 4th birthday.  I am sure she would feel left out if I didn't share that with everyone. ;-) 

Most of the pictures above are from Mother's Day weekend.  Lana made her first trip to Buca on Saturday and to the ZOO on Sunday!! What a fun weekend.  The third picture down is of Lana looking around under the dolphin tank while the dolphin show was going on. 

Enjoy! :-D

Today, Lana Grace is 9 weeks old, and today was her 2 month well baby check up. Luke and I really thought Lana would literally be off the charts with her length, and it turns out we were not all that wrong. ;) Lana is in the 95th percentile for length!! She is also now 90th percentile for weight and 75th percentile for head circumference! Wowsers! She also got three rounds of vaccines today, and took them like a champ. She has been a little bit "extra" tired, but has otherwise been one tough cookie. She even has two pink camo bandaids to prove she is a tough baby. We love this little baby soooooo much, and know we are truly blessed! God is so good. :)

Happy 2 Month Birthday, Lana!

Here are some recent pictures of Lana.  (In fact, I am so on top of it this time, these pictures are all from within the past week.)  ;-)  I love the pictures of her proudly sucking her thumb.  She is a darn good thumb sucker.  Most of the pictures are  from today, Lana's 2 month birthday. 
Also, I am also proud to share than Lana has slept through the night for an entire week!  Last night she slept from 9:30-5:30.  We are, of course, so proud of her.  :-) 
Lana helped out with our big garage sale this past weekend. Many of our shoppers admired her. ;-) She got to spend lots of time with Grandma Patty, Mimi, and Poppy. 
Enjoy the pictures!