Just can't quite keep up

So I really had good intentions when starting this blog of somewhat keeping a journal of what's going on in Lainey's life...obviously this one post a month business is not going to cut it! There's so many things that I want to remember! I think I have said this at every stage of her life so far, but I really feel this is my favorite so far. She has such a big personality, and we love seeing it develop more and more every day.

It's funny the things she knows that amaze us...things like her entire alphabet, her numbers 1-16, and the fact that she tells us when she thinks we are going the wrong way. She loves going to church and school and often does not want to leave. She runs to the door when her Daddy gets home every night. She has a way of bringing the biggest smile to our faces for no good reason except that she's just so stinkin cute!

A few things I definitely want to remember about her right now:

• Lainey LOVES having tea parties with her daddy, Tiger, and Bear. Her daddy has taught her that when she drinks a sip of tea she's supposed to say "OH! That's HOT!" Hilarious!
• Lainey cannot sleep without her tiger or her two bears. At least one of the three go everywhere with us!
• Lainey is almost over the paci. If we're being honest, we are absolutely the sole reason she still has it. She does not use it at school or church. For all purposes, it doesn't exist there. She has it now only for sleeping at home. Not so sure when we will break that habit here. I think I hold on to it because in my warped mind as long as she has that paci, she's still my baby.
• The girl weighs 28 pounds and is 34 inches tall. We cannot believe how much she has thinned out even though she still has a little preggo belly. Cutest thing I've ever seen!
• When asked who plays football, she says Jake and the Huskers!
• She has a giraffe tent that her Nana and Papa gave her. After setting it up and playing in it this last time, she has affectionately named her tent "Nana." Of course my mom is thrilled, and Jovan and I got a big kick out of her calling it Nana over and over and telling Nana to "Hum ere" (Come here).
• The girl LOVES to clean! She will Clorox wipe any and every surface. :)
• Her big thing lately is trying to put on her own shoes. She likes to go in my closet and get my shoes to try on as well as attempt to put her own shoes on. Today she tried tying her tennis shoes...love it!
• Telling us she loves us. Three words I will NEVER get sick of hearing!

These days...

Ok so here's what the little boo has been up to these days...

watching these movies OVER and OVER and OVER and OVER again. And once we've watched one in its entirety, we start it over again!

Don't get me wrong...I used to LOVE these movies...it's why we owned them long before Lainey came along, but I never thought it possible to watch them as much as I have now. You think I could quote them before--oh no! I think I could do a one woman show of both movies!

It cracks us up. She loves these two movies, and she is so fun to watch watch them. She just laughs and laughs. She knows exactly what's coming next and will come sit in our laps for the "scary" parts and go on about her business for the rest. Can't complain though...there are worse things she could be watching. At least she picked two movies I love, right?

Blessed

I am having moments a lot lately where I have to step back and truly thank God for the blessings in my life. I have more than I could ever want or need, yet lose sight of that often. I take the small things for granted and need to remind myself how blessed I really am. Every time I get all stressed out because Lainey acted a fool in public, or she throws a tantrum, I just have to sit back...chill for a minute...take a deep breath and remember that I am lucky to have a baby girl who is doing all those things.

I think being in the "blog world" now I come in contact with a little too much pain and sickness. It seems everywhere you look someone has lost a child, has a seriously ill child, or cannot even have a child. Even when I think I am having such a horrible day with Lainey, I have to remember how blessed I am to be having that moment with her. She's an almost two year old--of course she is going to be moody from time to time...aren't we all?!?! She is our little miracle baby, and I love every moment I have with her. Praise God for my baby girl!

sweet girl

I'm really bad at this...

Ok so I am making a resolution today to get better at this blogging thing! I am on this computer enough...it shouldn't be that hard to write down a little bit about what Lainey's doing! Anyways...

Today we went to the zoo. It was an uncharictaristically cool Memphis day in August. We packed up this morning and had a great time! Lainey did an amazing job of walking like a big girl with us and pointing out all the animals. She amazes us with how many animals and sounds she knows!

I started back to school 2 weeks ago, and Lainey starts back next week. Nana and Papa graciously came to visit and keep Lainey while I started back to school. She had such a great time with them and was SUCH a good girl!

I'm anxious to see how Lainey reacts to starting school Monday. It's always hard when you've been the center of attention for so long and have to give it up. We met her teachers Thursday and she got to play in her new classroom with some of her friends. She played very well, and I hope this pattern continues!

Here's a few of Lainey's expressions and favorites right now:

• "Hum ere" (come here)
• "You funny...I funny"
• What does a frog say? "Riddit riddit"
• "I get it" (really means--you get it)
• "I like it. You like it?"
• Swiper, no swiping "Aww man!"
• Her favorite songs right now are "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star", "The Wheels on the Bus", "Old McDonald", and she LOVES dancing to her rap music, haha!
• There are SOOOO many more that I will list soon...

20 Months

May 19th marked Lainey's 20 month "birthday." She is the absolute light of our lives, and every day she gets more and more of a personality. She is talking all the time, and we are actually starting to understand her quite well! She loves to sing songs. Her favorite song right now is "The Wheels on the Bus" in which she only sings one word...TOWN! We sing the rest and when we get to that word she belts it out. We laugh every time! We are reminded daily of what a blessing she is in our lives and how lucky we are to have her.

The Reason For It All

After realizing more and more lately that I cannot remember ANYTHING, I figured I would join the trend and start a family blog. This way I can keep you updated and also remind myself!