Happy Spring!

Happy Spring everyone!

Guess what Daddy built me..
I've got Uncle Matt's castle in my backyard
so I can slide and play this summer!
It's way cool!I started swimming lessons last week
and it is so much fun! I learned how to
splash and blow bubbles. I sort of knew
how to do this in the tub, but in the pool
it's a whole new ball game!

This is me practicing my coloring while
waiting for my Outback Steakhouse mac-
and-cheese. I have the potential
to be a big-time artist someday!

Something else I discovered is swinging! Now
that the weather is nice, I get to go to the park
and swing, and swing, and swing! It makes
me feel so free! I can't wait to do it again!

Oh, I need to share my Easter pictures! The
Easter bunny left me some plastic eggs with crackers
inside. I hear it is not typical for him to leave crackers,
but I'm not complaining. I just wanted to shake them
anyway! He left me books and bubbles too, so I'll
forgive him for leaving out the candy!

I never got around to sharing my 10-month pictures...
Here are just a few! The first one is my "Lion Roar"

I'm going to be one year old next weekend!
I'm so excited to be a "BIG BOY" and eat my own
piece of cake! Mommy says I'm going
to get some presents too! Where in the world
are we going to put them!? We already
have hundreds of toys!
I'll share my birthday pictures soon!
Peace out!
Lane

Easter Bunny!

Hello everyone! Guess who I met!

First it was Santa, now the Easter Bunny!
I was so excited when I saw him!
I started kicking my legs and laughing!
Here's proof that he's real...
Before I saw the Easter Bunny, I had my first
eye appointment. They had to dialate my eyes
so I got to wear these cool paper sunglasses... they
lasted about 5 minutes. I'm still pretty stylin' huh?
(Oh... by the way, my eyes are fine, I just have
a mild case of congenital ptosis, aka: "droopy eyelid")

Here I am at Grandma and Grandpa Thorson's.
I'm learning how to climb stairs by borrowing
Meggie's puppy stairs. Pretty good for my
first try!

This is how I help mommy fold laundry.
I like to let mommy fold and then I inspect
each article by shaking it and licking it.
This night, Mommy kept me in the basket.
I guess I was helping a little TOO MUCH!

Over the past two months, I have been sick with
the stomach flu, bronciolitis, ear infections, and
influenza A. This is me during one of those
illnesses. The upside... I get to stay home and
get one-on-one attention from Mommy or Daddy.
The downside... I feel like CRAP!

Hmmm...
I wonder why I keep picking up new germs that
make me sick? Maybe its because I feel that I
need to lick everything! This is me licking
the cold glass door. Mommy gave the door
a good scrubbing before I did this so I wouldn't
lick "doggie boogies!"

Mmmm... Mountain Dew!
Just kidding!
I love to find fun toys in Mommy's recycling
bin. She has things like bottles, plastic bowls,
lids, and magazines. I tell her she doesn't
need to buy me toys... I'll find fun in the kitchen!

This is just a shot of another "cruising" accident.
This bruise was so deep, it lasted 2 months!
Its disappearing just in time for pictures tomorrow!

Well, tomorrow I get my 10-month pictures
taken. I know it's traditional to have 9-month
pictures, but I was throwing up when
I turned 9-months, so we had to reschedule.
Go figure!
I'll share those as soon as I can!
Peace out!
Lane

Look what I can do!

Hello family and friends! Mommy and I are snowed in
today after a big blizzard so I decided to update everyone
on what I've learned in the past month!
This first picture shows how great I am at
emptying my book shelf! Not quite sure why
Mommy keeps putting the books back on the shelf
when I'm done!

Here I am finally crawling on my hands and knees. Its so much faster than "army crawling" on my belly. I'm discovering all sorts of new things like this!

Here is one of my discoveries.....
I've discovered what treasures the kitchen holds
like Sidney's water and food bowl! She doesn't
like me bothering her food but hey... she sits by
my high chair and stares at me while I eat!

The most exciting thing I've learned is how to pull myself
up and stand while holding onto furniture or my crib.
This picture shows what happens when you wake up
from a nap and bounce up and down in your crib
while yelling "mamamama!" Oh... and when your pants
are too big! Hee hee!

This is me hanging out in the living room. I like to play
the fun game "Stand up, Fall down" over and over!
I'll even throw my toy on the floor to give me a
reason to "fall down." Oh what fun it is to be
8 months old!

Now, as you might guess, learning all these new
tricks has its risks! The picture to the right is
my first bruise. It wasn't too big, but if you look
closely it is a nice purple mark on my forehead.
I didn't cry for this one... I was just darn proud!







Now this one was a doozy! I hate to admit it, but
I cried for this fat lip. That darn railing behind
me just jumped up and smacked me when I was
trying to stand up!

Look at me in the BIG bathtub!

I used to take a bath in the sink, but Mommy thought
I was getting a little big for the sink now!
I haven't quite figured out that if I try to lay
down, my face goes right in the water... maybe I'll learn
that when I go to WaterBabies class at the YMCA in March.

Finally, I've learned how to make Mommy laugh by
making this cute face! All I do is close my eyes, smile,
and laugh my silly laugh, and Mommy goes crazy
laughing at me! I'm pretty hilarious!

I'll let you all know if I learn anything else new!
I'm sure it won't be long!
Peace out!
Lane

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year everyone!
I had a very eventful two weeks and I thought
I'd share some of my "firsts" with you!

I got my FIRST Elmo! Santa brought it to my house!
I knew he would listen to me when I talked to him
in the mall. As you can also see, I learned how
to clap! I can do this along with various songs such as
"If You're Happy and You Know It" and "Patty Cake!"

I got to go to my first Christmas party at day care and
meet Santa AGAIN! Mommy knew he was coming
so even though she had the day off, she let me
go to the party and give my friends presents!

I got to meet my third cousin Mason for the first
time. This is me with Mason and Great-Grandma.
Mason is just a couple months younger than me.
Don't we look related!? My mommy and his daddy
are cousins.

My first Christmas at Nana and Papa's house
was fun. I got fun things like a puppy and a cell
phone. I liked ripping the paper and eating it!

It was pretty close to bed time so this is how
I felt whenever Mommy took away the paper
I was eating! Christmas is a very emotional time!
This is my first Christmas temper tantrum!

Another first was being in the traditional family
Nativity Story. I was Baby Jesus while Rachel was
Mary and Mason was Joseph. There were many
shepherds, angels, and wise men too! I was pretty noisy!

This is my favorite Christmas present. I got a ton
of toys with batteries, but this bucket of blocks from
Mya is my favorite. I just sit at home and dump
them out, bang them together, chew on them, and
occasionally put them back in!

This is me with my first bit of jealousy.
I wish I could have a cool toy like Dalton's Nintendo DS!
I would probably just slobber on it right now.
Maybe when I'm older!

This is me and my cousins Makenzie and Dalton.
I'm a little pooped from opening so many presents!
Dalton gave me a wonderful present too! He gave
me a bunch of board books that he's too old for - Hooray!

From me, Daddy, and Mommy, we hope you had a
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! Check back
soon so you can see how I'm "SOOOO BIG!"

Peace out!
Lane

Santa!

Well, I finally me this Santa guy mom has been talking about.
She kept saying "We're going to see Santa!" but
I had to see it to believe it! He's very nice but didn't
have a very big lap! He read a Christmas book to me.
He must really know me because I LOVE books!
Look at me listening so nicely!
The next picture is when I discovered his beard.
He is MUCH hairier than Daddy (and that's pretty hairy)!

Santa was a pretty cool guy... I think I'll visit him
again next year (as long as he brings me an Elmo!)

This is Mommy and me waiting for Santa.
We got pretty lucky and only waited 5 minutes!
I spent my time looking at the pretty 3-week old
baby girl in front of us. She needed to wake up and
tell Santa what she wants for Christmas!

Here I am practicing for the big day!
I love practicing on Mommy's magazines too!
I think I've got this ripping paper thing down!

Here's me by my new favorite spot in the house...
the Christmas Tree! I love to crawl over there and
shake the tree, pull off the lights, and smack the presents!
What a fun toy Mommy and Daddy gave me! I hope it stays
in the living room forever!

I hope everyone has a MERRY CHRISTMAS!
Be careful in the snow and enjoy your time with
your families. Hopefully I'll get to see you all very soon!
Peace Out and Peace on Earth!
Lane

Brrrr!

Well, it appears that things are a-changing! It's been getting colder
and colder, and I don't think I like it!
First the leaves all fell off the tree and Mommy made me
play in them. This is my first reaction to the leaves!
I hated how noisy they were when mommy raked them or when Sidney
ran by and made them crunch!
Eventually I decided they weren't too bad, but I don't think I'd like
to do that again any time soon!

Next, this white stuff Mommy calls "snow" came down out of the
sky and made Sidney come inside all wet and cold! Mommy let me
touch it but I think that was enough for me! I'll just
stick to my cozy bed and my cozy blanket
for now, thank you very much!

I look happy to see the snow in this picture, but you should see me when
I have to put on my hat, coat and mittens!
That's NOT a pretty sight!

Now, some happy times! I got to celebrate my first Thanksgiving!
I went to Cedar Rapids with my Mommy and Daddy and met
lots and lots and LOTS of relatives!
This is me with my second cousin Kylie Jo.

Here's me with all of my Great-Grandma and Grandpa Knutson's
great-grandkids! There's Mya, Mason, Me, Lewis, and Rachel!
Man, I wish I was big enough to play Leggos with them!

In a week full of traveling, we drove all the way to northern Iowa
to watch my cousin Dalton wrestle! This is me and Aunt Tara
cheering him on! GO DALTON!

Here's Dalton wrestling! He got better each match and even
pinned someone the last match! He showed me his medal but
wouldn't let me give it the "drooly inspection!"

This is my Thanksgiving outfit from Grandma Thorson. I got to eat
my green beans and applesauce for dinner. I tried some mashed
potatoes but they just made me gag - Happy Thanksgiving, huh?

Finally, here is me with my cousins, Dalton and Makenzie. They sure gave
me a lot of attention and kept me laughing the whole day. I think Makenzie
would be a GREAT babysitter if she didn't live 3 hours away! Oh well!

Well, I hope you all had a Happy Thanksgiving! I'll update you more
when the next big event rolls around!
Peace out!
Lane

6 Months!

Today I am 6 months old! Can you believe it?

We went to get some picture taken to celebrate and here they are.
The nice people at Portrait Innovations gave Mommy and Daddy
a CD so we could load the pictures on the computer!
Pretty cool!

This one is me stretching between takes!
I was getting kind of tired but I didn't even cry once!

I'm so big sitting up! Right after this picture I tipped over and
Mommy dove for me like a pro-volleyball player! My head didn't even
touch the ground!
Check out this handsome mug!
In this one I was going for a "dramatic" or "dreamy" look.
This last one is called "Senior Picture Pose."
I just love getting attention from pretty photographers -
Can you tell?
Hope you all enjoy! There were a total of 60 pictures on the CD
so Mommy and I just picked a few of our favorites.
Have a Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Peace and Love,
Lane