Lost our buddy today :(

"Death is a part of life" Forest Gump's mama, Forest Gump. It seems to come into our lives too often. We lost our sweet Gus McCrae, Texas Ranger today. Gus...a terrific, amazing, smart, happy little puppy. He was blossoming into such a great dog. He and Jo were such good buddies and worked and played together all day and night. We miss him so much, his sweet little personality just made you smile. I'm going to miss him riding in the pickup with me in the passenger seat pawing my hand on the gear shift if I stopped petting him. I'm going to miss him snuggling close up against me and rubbing his face on mine to get kissed. He was such a ham. How he would ride on the 4-Wheeler with us, or on the seat next to you on the Mule just like a little person. He loved it when cattle were out and he got to do extra work, he loved working, never wanted to miss any action. I just can't believe he's gone. He ran in front of a corn truck that was pulling off of the scale. We buried him next to Zoey under our big cottonwood tree. We spent the afternoon feeling very empty and sad. We miss him and love him so much and we wish our little friend was still here to brighten up our lives.

14 weeks

We had a big event this week, in fact we had two big events this week. Last Friday Laney rolled over from her back to her tummy. She started rolling on her side then all of a sudden just rolled all the way over. But then last night she rolled back onto her back! She just changes so much so fast. Each day she pulls something new out of her bag of tricks. She is really starting to make lots of different expressions. When you call her name she looks at you with a wrinkled brow then cracks a huge smile. She's so funny. She has also started to flirt with herself in the mirror. She gets very excited to see herself, then she smiles, laughs, then flirts, it's hysterical! She is really a happy little kid! Last weekend, she was sitting on the potty and looked over at the magazine basket that is next to the toilet. She just kept staring at the magazines like she wanted to see them. So I grabbed one and opened it and she got all into it...it looks like she's shopping for shoes! Each time I would turn the page she would scan both pages up and down...she's just a doll. She is also now reaching and hitting her mobile friends. She whacks them and breaths really fast and excited, then she looks at their faces for some kind of reaction, then hits them again, as if to try and provoke a reaction. She is really such a sweet little girl!

3 months (13 weeks)

I can't believe that Laney is already 3 months old! She has really started smiling, as you can see in the pictures she's just adorable! She is trying to roll over, she's made it from her back to each side and almost over on her tummy, but can't figure out what to do with her arm. She is trying to sit up all the time. In her swing she rarely lays back anymore, just constantly doing little crunches to sit up. She is making more noises, lots of "ga" and "ouie" I'm not sure how to spell her sounds but they are super cute. Grandpa Tim came up for another visit, and so did Great Grandma Marge and Great Grandpa Cork. The picture of Jo was just cute...Scott gave her the day off after a couple really long days of sorting, and I found her waiting for him on the 4-wheeler.

12 Weeks

Laney is just becoming such a little character. She has learned how to raise her eyebrows and she will raise them in question, then smile, it is just adorable. She really is becoming more aware of her surroundings. She has started to grab and hold onto things. She grabbed her little green dog that Mor Mor and Grandpa Tim gave her off the shelf and raised it up to her face. She carried it around for awhile and had a long talk with it. She has started giving me "kisses" now, I lean in to her and say "kiss" and she leans in and open mouth kisses me :) sometimes she sticks her tongue out too :) We went to Mor Mor and Grandpa Tim's for Easter and had a nice time. Laney really is starting to recognize people. She looks, then she'll give a big smile. She is just changing so much every day it's really amazing how fast she learns and grows.

11 weeks

Wow I can't believe how fast the time goes by! Laney is already 11 weeks! This last week she really has increased her babbles and coos, and smiles. She sort of "laughs" now, she opens her mouth, squints her eyes, and squeals but it sounds like a squeaky chuckle :) Grandpa Tim came up for a night to visit and soak up Miss Laney. Laney is starting to really learn the word "shower". When you lay her on the changing table to get her undressed and she hears the water running, you ask her if she wants to take a shower, and she starts to kick her legs, wave her arms, smile, her eyebrows go way up, and she squeaks...yes that's right it's it's own unique sound :) She now has started to fuss and cry in the late evenings when it's time for a shower. Once you lay her on that changing table pad and ask her if she wants to take a shower, she immediately stops crying, and does her little shower song and dance :) She has really started to recognize her mobile friends more too. Her favorite friend is the buggy looking fellow on the vibrator chair. She loves him! She now does her initial hello smile and coo, then goes into this 10 minute long story where she stares at her friend the whole time and she waves her arms, her face gets all sorts of animated, and she talks and talks and talks. It is the funniest thing to watch. She also loves to "ride" on my shins...I lay on my back and lay her on my shins and move my legs up and down...she just lays there and smiles and relaxes...it's good for my abs too :) She is also now able to hold her body at a 90 degree angle when she is on her tummy. She just picks herself up and looks around. I really can't believe how fast she changes. Each day there is some new sound she makes or a new expression. We just love her to pieces.

Laney is 10 weeks!

This week Laney started to really observe and study her mobiles. The first picture of her is the look she gives them when she first sees them, as if to say "who exactly are you". But then after a few seconds she cracks these huge smiles because she recognizes them. She has increased her noises to little babbles and coos. She often "talks" to her mobile friends after she smiles at them, you know how it is catching up with friends :) She also started to look up at her row of stuffed animals on top of her dresser as I carry her around her room or when I'm burping her in our glider. So I took a few down and let her see them. She was especially interested in the giant cow that Yaya gave her. I sat it on the floor and held her on my lap, she would look at it, smile, then lean forward, close her eyes, bury her face in it's fur, and with an open mouth, try and suck on it's fur. She would then sit back up look at it, smile, then do it again. It was so cute, it was as if she was hugging it with her face. We had her 2 month check up on Monday, she weighed 12 pounds half an ounce, and was 23 1/4 inches long. Just growing so fast. She also got her first set of shots :( But she was such a good girl, she was very brave and only cried for a few seconds. She is really a happy little kid.