New York, New York!!!

Todd and I went on a short trip to New York last weekend. I was kind of pretending that it wasn't going to happen right up until we had to leave and we had to say goodbye to Laney. I could barely stand the idea of being away from her. BUT, I was very excited about the idea of spending four uninterrupted days with my very busy and very hard working husband! We had the best time. I was so much better at being away from Laney than I thought I would be. Of course that is not to say that I didn't miss her like crazy and stare like a crazy person at all the babies (particularly the asian ones) on the subway. We knew that she was having a blast with her grandmas, and we were able to have such a fabulous time together!

We couldn't come back empty handed, so here is Laney sporting some NY wear!



Todd and I had so much fun just the two of us. We went to a show, walked all over the city, went running in Central Park, and ate copious amounts of junkfood!!


These were some of the signs at this little Rice Pudding shop we stopped at. They were cracking me up!



We got milk tea in China Town and it was just as good as the real thing!


You have to eat pizza when it is rated by Zagat as "the best pizza on the planet!!!" You can't even feel guilty about it!

We wanted to have a picture to remember the skeezy subway station by our hotel in Queens. Definitely worth the money that we saved and we were only two stops away from Times Square! However we did see some pretty grodey stuff at this stop!

18 Months Old!

We just celebrated Laney's 18 month birthday yesterday! 18 months old means that Laney has, as of today, been home with us for more of her life than she was away from us! YAY!!!! The past nine months have been the most fun times of our lives. I could write a long and emotion filled post about all the joy that Laney has brought to our lives, but I would rather just post the tangible evidence of our little joy bringer! I know that her light radiates even through her pictures. I am still taken back and so honored that we get to be Laney's mom and dad. How great is the love that Father has lavished upon us?!

The picture at the top of this post was taken by one of my precious students, Emma. She is doing a project for school and had to choose someone who has made a difference in someone else's life. She was in my class the year that we started our long journey to Laney. That was a pretty rough year emotionally for me and my students were a constant source of encouragement and reminder of hope for me. Emma chose Laney as someone who was made a difference in my life. Hallelujah!!! A+ for Emma. She could not have possibly chosen anyone who has more greatly blessed someone else's life than our little Laney!!! Annalise, who was also in my class that year, wrote an essay for her project, and she also chose Laney. She wrote a beautiful heartfelt essay that I can't wait to share with Laney someday.

So I love this picture of Laney. My roommate, Michelle, and some of our other friends made these shirts for Sadie Hawkins our freshman year in college. Some people (janelle) have made big fun of us over these shirts which, I must admit, are not the coolest things ever. I still have mine along with all the other dorky stuff that I made for Todd in college. Laney drug it out of our heirloom box in our bedroom and seriously put it on. Todd calls us his girls all the time and I love it, so I had to take some pictures of Laney looking way less dorky than I did 10 years ago when I wore it. (that's right...10 years)


We went to Melissa and Joshua's apartment last week to decorate pumpkins and had such a great time. I love when Laney gets to play with Joshua and Ella. They are so cute together and it means that I get to play with my friends too!!



Last week, we got to have lunch with Becca. Becca's gorgeous 2 year old niece calls her "my best friend, Aunt B" totally unprovoked by anyone. Isn't that awesome?? So that is what we have been calling her ever since we found out. Laney and her best friend Aunt B were looking at the baby ducks and the turtles at North Park Mall. Laney's best friend Aunt B and I were a little concerned about some of the turtles that appeared to be "hiding" under the rocks and not moving at all, but we didn't tell Laney. My stupid camera died which is why I don't have any better pictures of Laney and her best friend Aunt B.


We all got shirts to wear to Grant's T-Ball games, and Laney's was like 10 sizes too big for her. So, I altered it, using a little skill that I picked up on after 6 years of teaching. This, my friends, is what you do if a shirt is too big. Cut straight up the sides, cut fringe all along the front and back of the shirt and then tie the fringe together making knots all down the sides of your shirt. There you go! Glad to have educated you! I am sure that you are all running for your scissors right this very moment.

Laney and Claire had so much fun running around at the game. Claire loves to make Laney laugh and Laney loves to laugh at Claire-what a winning combination!


Can you tell she loves her cousins??



Although we don't have t-shirts to wear to go and cheer for Todd's flag football team, Laney does love to cheer for Daddy every Sunday. She runs over to him every time he comes off the field. It is so cute!!!


Happy Birthday to Todd!! Todd's birthday was last Thursday and we got to celebrate with his mom and Hailey. Laney was so excited about blowing out Todd's candle that she nearly burned her lip on the flame. It really surprised her. No worries, she cooled it right off with some yummy ice cream cake!



Playing at Grandmommy's house is so fun! And now Laney has her very own toy room there!!!!


Laney helped me make some banana pudding for Todd so that the three of us could celebrate his birthday together before Todd and I left for New York on his actual birthday.

"Fun" at the Pumpkin Patch

Yesterday, we went with our playgroup to the Flower Mound Pumpkin Patch. Jessica and I were ready! Our girls had on matching pumpkin shirts, with pigtails sporting pumpkin ribbons! Bring on the cameras!!! It took us about 45 minutes to get there and that was after a ridiculous detour due to mine and my sister's complete lack of a sense of direction! The whole time we were driving and driving and driving, we were still thinking it was going to be totally worth it because of how much fun the kids were going to have! As you can see by our pictures, we were sadly mistaken. Maybe because it was like 12,000 degrees outside or because every elementary school student in Texas was there since it was Columbus day....who knows, but after just one hour of "fun", we packed it up and went to Chick-Fil-A for some real fun!





Laney was the least miserable when we were in the little pumpkin house. I think that these pumpkins were for sale, but we weren't really interested in bringing home any reminders of this experience!!



We were really making an effort to get a cute picture, but at some point, you just have to let go...


On a happier note...here are some pictures of Laney in her favorite spot in the house, the fridge! She was literally trying to climb up it at this point.






Last weekend, we went to the Annual Lewis Family Reunion in Nocona! We had a great time. Todd has the most incredible family! (I am not just saying that cause I know you guys read this) I love when Laney gets to spend time with Pops, Nae Nae, and her aunts!!! They love her like crazy!!
Here is a picture of Granddaddy Lewis's leg of the family tree!


Laney was very intrigued by Uncle Mike's remote control plane. She chased it all over the gym.



We got to see the Lemmons family for the first time since we brought Laney home. Does it bring tears to anyone else's eyes that they all wore their Made in Taiwan shirts! They were so excited to see and play with Laney!!!





Playing some Twister with Rylan!

Laney is trying to figure out what to do with the ball that she has snagged from the boys!

How bout this?

We love Aunt Hailey!!

I don't think that the tongue stick out is intended for Pops, but you never know! He probably deserved it!

These are some pictures from Chicken Reds last week. I just love this outfit. We waited all summer for her to fit into it and she never did. Finally I just safety pinned the pants, cause it is way too cute to not get to wear!


Look at my cute girl peeking through the tunnel at me! I LOVE this picture!