The Bee Robot

Sorry its sideways but I still thought it was funny!

Robot Bee from Taylor Lane on Vimeo.

33 weeks!!! Ahhh! We're so close!

We're the weight of a pineapple (17 inches and 4 pounds)!! I feel like a pineapple is about to pop out of this belly! There is no room left in there for baby! Baby took a total hiatus from many things over the holiday break... including moving much. I had gotten a little worried, but apparently baby just thinks away from home means vacation and shim sleeps the whole time! It was a quiet little monkey for a full week, but the night we got home (back to its normal surroundings) we started going wild and we haven't stopped yet. Even now, i can sit here and watch rolls across my shirt! That is still unreal to me! Powers felt a for sure body part last night and it completely weirded him out... in a good way! He thought it was Shim's head, but my vote was booty! It was just sticking out there for the touching! Amazing to feel, but that was daddy's first time to experience touching baby and he was so amazed!

My favorite sentence from my update this week: As your baby fills out even more of your belly, lots of things might start to change: Whereas before you were sashaying, you may find yourself waddling.

Ha! Very true, pregnancy update! Very true! We had a doctors visit today and surprisingly gained a little less than one pound since my last visit! Not sure how that happened with momma making herself sick at every single meal, but Im not one to complain about NOT gaining weight! Woo hoo! Keep it up Baby Lane! Also, for you 'have to knowers' out there, our heartbeat was 160. Let the gender guessing begin! Our first shower is in columbus on January 16th and Im really excited! I feel like its all coming together! I can't believe it is so close! Ahhh!

So thankful for this baby...

O Holy Night! The stars are brightly shining,
It is the night of the dear Saviour's birth.
Long lay the world in sin and error pining.
Till He appeared and the Spirit felt its worth.
A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices,
For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn.
Fall on your knees! Oh, hear the angel voices!
O night divine, the night when Christ was born;

Truly He taught us to love one another,
His law is love and His gospel is peace.
Chains he shall break, for the slave is our brother.
And in his name all oppression shall cease.
Sweet hymns of joy in grateful chorus raise we,
With all our hearts we praise His holy name.
Christ is the Lord! Then ever, ever praise we, 

O night, O Holy Night , O night divine!

 

9 week countdown!

We have 9 weeks to go! (Reminder, get countdown link for the blog!) We had a doctors appointment this morning and everything is going along just fine! Baby's heart rate was dead in the middle and we checked out with a thumbs up! I love my sweet doctor! She is great!
I just about had a heart attack when I stepped on the scale though! When they keep notching up the big block on the scale?!?!? Terrifying! Overall we are doing fine in the weight gain department and I am more than fine with all the changes, but Lord knows.... That number is something to swallow! Lets just say this. I weigh what a man weighs. We'll leave it at that! I'll get Powers to take a belly picture tonight and try to get it posted on here for you tomorrow!

Powers and Baby woke up early squirrelly this morning and Powers was able to feel Shim move and kick in all it's glory! He usually feels a few good kicks but he hasn't felt the full show that I feel every day! He couldn't sleep so he just sat there with his hand on baby and baby showed off for him! It was great! I kept waking up and hearing him laughing! It was really sweet! We are just in love with this little thing....

Here are the updates from our email:
This week, your baby measures over 16 inches long. He weighs about 3.3 pounds (try carrying four navel oranges) and is heading into a growth spurt. He can turn his head from side to side, and his arms, legs, and body are beginning to plump out as needed fat accumulates underneath his skin.

Cute thing! Now baby is MULTIPLES of what it used to be! Get it Shim! Growin' little toad! 

Oh! Update Update!! Chicken World

Can't believe I forgot to tell you this! We had our first family chicken slaughter this week! AHHHHHH! I know!! I finished teaching a spin class sunday and called powers to see what he was doing.. he broke the news that he was dismembering chickens... I asked how many... and he said all 3 roosters!! AHHHH!

I have to admit, my heart sunk to the bottom of my stomach and Powers said it wasn't all that easy to do. Bless his heart. I couldn't do it, no way no how! He did say that he saved our favorite for last. Little Jerry was spared the first killin'. :(

The yard is not the same without them, but it is MUCH quieter! Plus, the ladies are a-okay with living in their own backyard so we haven't had any prison breaks since Sunday either! Im sure our neighbors are thrilled! Powers said one of our chickens, Lonesome Dove, the one that the Roosters apparently thought was the prettiest and all fought over to be her boyfriend (if your pickin' up what Im puttin' down) was extremely happy that the guys were getting the axe. Powers said she watched the whole thing through the barn window! Wow! She was OVER IT!

Anyway, the ladies are uber happy that it's girls night every night now and I think we'll be having chicken for dinner Thursday... GULP ;\

Merry Christmas from The Lane's

I just emailed this to everyone, so you've probably already seen our 2009 Christmas card! If you didn't get it, then I need your email address so we can stay in touch better!

Thank you to my so fun friend Kelly for reminding me about Jib Jab cards! :)

Click HERE for the Lane Family Christmas Card circa 2009!

Merry Christmas!!

The countdown is on! 10 weeks to go!!

I can hardly believe it! We are officially in countdown mode! I need to find one of those little baby countdown counters and post it on here! We have 10 weeks until D-Day! Ohhhhh!
We are feeling great! Shim is 3 pounds this week and almost 16 inches long... which I can believe on the length stat.... I can feel little thing kicking and punching from the top to bottom and side to side of my belly! I'm starting to make the mental lists of things we need before boo boo gets here. If anyone has any recommendations on what type of stroller or car seat, etc we should buy, please let me know! I get overwhelmed reading all the product info then looking at the prices of all these goods! Holy Cow! Baby business is good business! Better yet, if anyone knows a good website to buy used baby gear, please pass it on! That would be awesome! Thanks!

We look like a head of cabbage this week!

Beautiful, if I may say so! Just beautiful!

Beautiful Birds... for now...

I had to take a few pictures of two of our chickens. They are beautiful, unfortunately male, creatures! I am just amazed with how intricate God is... look at these animals and all of the different colors and designs! Poor things, they are bully's, and wont be around for too much longer, so I wanted to catch all their glory before its too late! I'm sure they will make a lovely dinner one day soon as well!

This is Leonidas... I'm sure you remember him from here. He is our fellow chicken killer....

 

This is Cheetah... another beautiful beast...

Aren't they pretty? I just think they are gorgeous!  Im sure they are roaming around one of our neighbors yards right now. God bless our neighbors. The chicks are apparently over our yard and now just hop the fence and roam around the neighborhood until they find a yard of thier liking. Weird little things!

Belly Post and One Cute Pic!

Since my best friend lives in Jackson and we never get to see each other, she was not happy with me for declaring a 'last belly post' last time , sooooo I promised to keep posting this growing frontal lobe!! I don't think this picture does us much justice... I am bigger than this looks! I am definitely to the point where people feel safe to ask when Im expecting and you really have to be out there for people to cross that line! Anywho- here's baby lane's temporary housing...

Here is a cute picture I took of Pow Pow and the twins Sunday... Aww!

That's about it for now! Just a quick family update! Were having a great big garage sale Saturday, so wish us luck! :)

Oh, I haven't posted much about where we are in baby world lately! We're 29 weeks, 2.5 pounds (holy moly!) and 15 inches long! (double holy moly!!!) We are the size of a butternut squash...

Squarsh Head Lane

 

This picture is awkward to me, as I can't stop thinking about this man hand palming my baby. Im a little weirded out! Baby is continuing to develop! This weeks update was regarding increased nutritional needs, but last weeks said that baby can now see and respond to light. A few days ago, baby was kicking like crazy so I tested its reflexes! I would pull my shirt up so that light would shine on my belly and baby would totally stop. I'd pull my shirt back down and it would start kicking again! Shirt up, totally still. Momma and baby played our first game! Fun times!

If I could just be like Him....

I read this devotion today and it just hit home. Oh how he loves us.... I can not comprehend leaving a kingdom and a throne to become a carpenter, rejected and abused. I can not imagine sending my child to bear the punishment for someone elses sins.... for the sins of the whole world. But now we know him. He walked in our shoes, He faced our same trials, and he conquered them for us! He bled for us. He died for us. He longed for us. So that we could know him. I'm overwhelmed... I long for Him.


Today's Truth
The very heart of Christmas can be found in a familiar verse, a verse we seldom associate with the Christmas season. John 3:16 "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son." 

It was Christmas Eve and the family was preparing to attend the church service.  Everyone was going, everyone except Dad.  He was an honest man, a good man, but he simply could neither understand nor accept the story of the baby in a manger. It was just too far-fetched for the human mind to conceive. How could God allow His Son to give up Heaven for Earth?  Why would Jesus want to die for any man?  The questions lingered and, not wanting to be a hypocrite, the man chose to stay home rather than sit in a pew with an unbelieving heart.
 
As his family went out into the cold wintry night, the man added a log to the fire and settled into his favorite chair to read the paper and wait for his family's return.  A knock at the window pulled him away from his peaceful reverie and glancing outside, he was stunned to see that the knocking sound was actually a small bird desperately trying to reach the warmth of the fire. 

The man thought for a moment, contemplating a solution to the bird's predicament.  He opened the window but the bird wouldn't come in.  He tried opening the front door, but the bird refused his offer.  Finally, the man grabbed his coat and stepped into the Christmas night and God's plan.  He trudged through the deepening snow, determined to save the tiny bird by opening the barn doors, convincing the little bird that the barn was safe and warm.  Still, the bird refused his solution. 

Frustrated, the man thought, "If only I could be a bird, for just a moment, I could lead the bird to safety."  Suddenly, the sound of church bells rang through the cold, dark night - and he knew.  He finally understood the reason Jesus came - to be one of us - to lead us into the safety of His will. 

"And it was necessary for Jesus to be like us so that he could be our merciful and faithful High Priest before God.  For since he himself has now been through suffering and temptation, he knows what it is like when we suffer and are tempted, and he is wonderfully able to help us."  Hebrews 2:17-18

A few cute pictures

Hello World!
I promise to post thanksgiving pictures soon, but I took them all on my mom's camera and they are all on her computer. We have a very sick 94 year old puppy in the hospital so please be praying for him and our family. Here is a picture of our puppy last time he was in the hospital...

It breaks my heart to know he is locked in a hospital room, but a picture like this just over flows my heart with joy! I have the greatest grand dad! He is just wonderful! Just Wonderful!!  He is in a lot of pain right now, so please be praying for him to get better soon. Please be praying for Momma also, as she will be right by his side through everything he needs. She is amazing and I know she will appreciate your prayers for them both.  (Don't you just love PaPa from just looking at his picture! He is the greatest! I have a million memories running through my mind right now.....)

To tide you over until we can get holiday pictures up, please find below a few pics I've taken on my phone over the last few months... (as you can tell, and Powers can confirm, I'm obsessed with our dog! She is GREAT!..... which many of you may recall all the posts where I referred to her as our demon dog.... because she did things like eat our blinds... from the ceiling down, and rip her way out of a metal cage, and eat the bottom of my favorite piece of furniture.... she has come SUCH a long way! Now she doesn't do anything except sleep in our bed.... all day every day!)
Here she is getting caught mid jump-on-the-bed-sneak-attack while Powers was in Africa! She was trying to be sneaky!

 A few pics of our sweet thing and Allie Ballie!

Aww! Allie was snuggling with Renny while she watched a movie! (again, on the bed)

My parents house is awesome! Its just so comfortable and relaxing! It is the perfect place to veg out on a cold day... I'm not the only one who feels that way! Yep, head on pillow. 

And last but not least, here is Allie snuggling with Shim on the way home from the holidays!

Shim's ears must have been burning! Baby just started kicking like crazy! Just for a minute!

Thank you guys for praying for our family and for doing life with us! We love you all so much and are so very thankful that you are in our lives. Thank you also for pretending to love my dog while I act like a crazy person and devote almost a full post to her!

Skinna Marinky Dinky Dink

No words neccessary... they are my heart stealers... i've been robbed by a pair of two foot bandits...

skinnamarinky dinky dink from Taylor Lane on Vimeo.

28 weeks

We are almost 29 weeks, but I liked this update...

By this week, your baby weighs two and a quarter pounds (like a Chinese cabbage) and measures 14.8 inches from the top of her head to her heels. She can blink her eyes, which now sport lashes. With her eyesight developing, she may be able to see the light that filters in through your womb. She's also developing billions of neurons in her brain and adding more body fat in preparation for life in the outside world.

I can't believe how big baby's gotten! Shim has been kickin' chicken inside of my tummy this week and last night was the most amazing acrobatics routine I've ever seen! I sat there and watched as it kicked and rolled and moved around in my tummy! Unbelievable! Right now the feet are on the way left side of my tummy and arms a little right of center.I can't believe it has stretched out so much! I wish we could see another sonogram of this little thing!

We are still feeling great! Tying shoes is a little harder than it used to be and riding in the car for very long is getting difficult. Otherwise, we are both feeling awesome!

Things I love and Pregasaurus Cravings

There are a few things I am just LOVING today! And yes, these are listed in order of importance and levels of love!

#1 Most Lovable....

She is just THE BEST. All caps because she deserves it! I have the GREATEST sister in law! We had a lot going on yesterday and I bailed on stopping by their house on my way home.... shortly after I got home, she pulled up in our driveway bearing gifts! She is so sweet and thoughtful and I just love every inch of her!

Want to know what gift she was bearing????
#2 Most Lovable

Yup! That's right! A whole pan full of Rice Krispie Treats!  About 8 months ago, i fell into a slight... okay, severe rice krispie treat addiction. I could not get enough of them! I hadn't had them in years and made them one night. It awoke the sleeping demon and I had to have them all the time! Literally last week, I was standing in the grocery store debating if it was worth $5 for a box of cereal to make myself some treats. I voted no and left. Yesterday, the lady in position #1 showed up with two hands full of my favorite goodies! Whoo hoo!

#3 Most Lovable

Honeycrisp apples. If you haven't ever had this type, do yourself a favor and pick one up at the grocery today! They are the best apples! Sweet and tart and crisp! I have one a day at least! (keepin' the doctor away!!) Thanks, Tara, for this beautiful introduction!

Just so I remember later on, this is what I crave the most in this ever so in tune time of life....

 

Syrup and cinnamon. Are those weird cravings? I can't even walk down the syrup isle at the grocery because I have to pancakes or waffles as soon as I leave! And I've added a little cinnamon to anything sweet I've eaten lately! Yumm!

I also like hot dogs more than I used to, but I don't crave those. I used to think hot dogs were yuk, but now I've grown to love them!

Funny kids!

Powers and I went the Rhea's to visit and celebrate Charley's anti-braces smile Tuesday! All our readers were probably affected the same way we were, but the bottom fell out ALL DAY LONG Tuesday. It rained, and rained, and rained (and rained and rained and rained)....

The bright side to the torrential down pour was that Lizzy and Caden pulled out their raincoats!

Look at those little feet poking out!! :)

 The greatest thing... Elizabeth's rain coat had little beach balls printed on it and Lauren explained to us that earlier in the day the kids kept coming to her bedroom and 'throwing' her balls to catch. She had no idea what was going on and realized they were running back and forth picking the 'balls' off of Lizzy's jacket and would throw them to her! They did it for Powers and I while we were there! It was awesome! Watching their little imaginations in action is so fun! They would go pick a ball of the jacket, ball their little fists up, call the name of whoever they wanted to throw to, then chunk their imaginary ball to us! They were very into it and it was a great moment to watch! Reminds you of the fun and freedom of being a kid!

Of course, being the bad influence that I am... Elizabeth wanted my camera right when I walked in the door! Since they both were interested this time, we taught Caden how to take pictures! It is so funny to watch them pose and shoot their objects! Please find below a combination of pictures by Caden and Elizabeth... Caden making his blogger photographer debut!

 

(You know Elmo made the cut!!)

We're working on getting faces... Stay tuned! 

SHE'S JUST BEAUTIFUL!!!

My precious, smart, loving, gorgeous neice, Charley Bug Rhea, got her braces off this week and she looks GORGEOUS!!!

I can't believe how old and grown up she looks! We went to see her Tuesday night to celebrate and this beaut is what opened the door...

Oh my. We're all in for it. She is drop dead beautiful.

We are all so excited for her and her new grin! She has been a trooper the past few years but now can chew as much bubble gum as she wants... and trust me, she's off to a good start! :)

I LOVE YOU CHARLEY BARLEY!

26 weeks!

We're 26 weeks and the length of an English Hothouse Cucumber. That's funny! Baby can now hear conversation, so my email said it can likely hear Daddy talking now too! Between Daddy and Mommy blabbing all the time, Baby may have signed up for more than it's ready for!! We are feeling great and now have a for sure protrusion popping out of this belly :)

Spoons and elmo feeding time

Powers and I ate dinner with the Rhea's a few weekend's ago and got a few cute pictures of them while we were there...

We wanted to see if the kids could balance spoons on their noses again since we didn't get pictures of the original display. Lizzy could get it! She was SO FOCUSED. We all went crazy when she balanced her spoon and she just sat there. Didn't crack a smile. Still as a statue. And held it for while! It was great! Caden thought it was way too much fun and couldn't quit giggling long enough for his to stick!

So Serious...

Here are the kids feeding their elmo's. Lizzy obviously understands a picky eater. She just pried elmo's mouth open and shoved that 'food' right on in!

Welcome to the Soap Opera Chicken World

Here are a few updates from the chicken world...

Meet Leonidas:

We have reason to believe that Leonidas murdered Bully a few weeks ago, thus slashing our chicken count from 7 to 6.

Now, meet Crow. Crow is apparently terrified of Leonidas. After 'the incident' Crow stopped sleeping in the coop. All the chickens would go to bed and shortly after dark, Crow would mosey right on back up to the house and find a spot to nest in our carport! We found him a few nights in a row! The picture below was by far the funniest!  Powers walked outside, started dying laughing and called for me to come look. This is Powers's smoker. Crow was DEAD asleep on top of the smoke stack!

 

 A few nights later Powers saw Crow coming back towards the house to go to sleep so Powers went out to cut him off and send him back to the coop. Crow dodged and weaved and Powers said he was practically running football plays in the yard trying to keep Crow from coming to the house! Eventually Powers headed him off and sent him on his way to sleep with the other chicks. Poor thing has a spot way above where the other ones sleep so he can be alone and safe :(

Other news, here is our new chicken coop! It's ENORMOUS!!! It also was free, though, so I LOVE IT!
It is sitting in our yard trying to figure out how it is going to move it's heavy self to where it belongs! Good luck, hubbers!

Lastly, we officially have a rooster! (That apparently won't shut up!)  Powers and I were brushing our teeth yesterday and heard this LOUD 'cockadoodledooooooooo!' Then we heard it over, and over, and over, and over again! Yup. Dinner is served!

I don't have one single picture of our rooster (cheetah). I'll get a video so you can share our pain!

I think that's all in chicken world!  :)

A bright future in photography...

We have made major progress with the twins in the past two weeks! We have this great event called Kid's Clubhouse at our church on Sunday mornings. It is for the whole family, but it's geared towards younger children. It is loud and colorful and funny and there is a LOT of fun dancing! Caden and Liz have been more 'observers' until last week! Woo hoo!!! Caden hopped down during the last song and just danced his little heart out! Liz was not ready to jump in just yet... until this week! Yay!!! Here's a precious video of them doing the movements that our step team on stage is doing! They are really spot on, if you could see the actual dance!
Finally Dancing!! from Taylor Lane on Vimeo.


Somehow during the Kids Clubhouse skit, I introduced Elizabeth to my camera and taught her how to take pictures. She took at least one hundred pictures in 5 minutes! It was so funny! She would call your name, point the camera at you, say cheese, then shoot away! We were all dying laughing because she was taking pictures of everyone! Here are a few of the keepers from her newly developed portfolio!

 

 

She even figured out how to use the zoom function! Not bad for a 2.5 year old!!

Other big news....... CHARLEY BUG GOT HER BRACES OFF TODAY!!! I can't wait to see her gorgeous smile! She has been so excited to get them off and I can't wait to celebrate with her! Ill get some pictures tonight and try to post her new grill tomorrow!

Baby Bump at 25 wks

My mom, among others, have been anxious to see this growing belly so I had a friend take a few pics today... Here goes... this is rather humiliating, Ill have you all know!

 

Im claiming bad angle on this one. Or stripes. Whew. There, that's done. you are all just going to have to see me in person from here on out because this might be as big as it gets for the ole family blog! 

25 weeks!

I got a good idea for my links up top!  If I can figure out how to do it I'll start posting our recipes and videos and all that good stuff up there!Thanks Stephanie :) (Who Im dying to meet!!)

Before I give baby updates, I wanted to give a big shout out to everyone who has either sent pictures or posted pictures of their kid-o's lately! We LOVED the halloween costumes and i have loved getting to see all my friend's offspring's grow! We are in love with them all long distance! (How many times can I say 'love'?!)

I liked this weeks updates! We're 25 weeks and the WEIGHT of a rutabaga. Maybe that's where I've gotten confused by the sizing... some weeks were the LENGTH of an item but I noticed this week we are the WEIGHT of an item. It's all coming together now!

Rutabaga's are not pretty. I've never seen one before. Baby Lane is much prettier than this Ruta! Downer on my excitement!

Here was my update from this week:

How your baby's growing

Head to heels, your baby now measures about 13 1/2 inches. Her weight — a pound and a half — isn't much more than an average rutabaga, but she's beginning to exchange her long, lean look for some baby fat. As she does, her wrinkled skin will begin to smooth out and she'll start to look more and more like a newborn. She's also growing more hair — and if you could see it, you'd now be able to discern its color and texture.

Yay! Baby fat!! That makes my day! I wonder what color hair baby has?!?! Powers was a toehead so I bet its blond! Anybody recognize this guy?!?!? Sorry the pictures so bad... I had a time with this!

I love this picture! I love you, Pow Pow!

This goodie is for a friend who reads our blog!