A little laughter goes a long way...

Here's just a little clip of Zane's sweet laughter. Luke was tickling him. Dad always knows how to get the laughs out of the lil' fellow.

I can't believe my little baby is 10 months old, as of last week. I cried last night as I held him before I put him to bed. I couldn't believe how big he looked in my arms, and just how fast this time has flown by. I'm so thankful that God has allowed me to experience the joy of motherhood (hey, don't get me wrong, there have been some rough spots along the way, of course, but so far, my experience has been pretty great!). Hopefully, I'm becoming a better person because of it.

Soon to follow, posts from my recent trip to Texas with Zane...

Our Anniversary

On June 24th, Luke and I celebrated our 8th anniversary. Wow- eight years! That's hard to believe- where has the time gone? We have lived in 5 different cities, in seven different homes including 2 apartments, 1 cool place by the lake, and 4 houses (if you count the month that we lived with his mom and aunt when we first moved to Montana). We have shared many adventures together, as well as joys and sorrows along the way. Luke, I am truly blessed to have you by my side for this journey. Thank you for loving me always and being my best friend. You are one of God's greatest blessings in my life. I love you!

Luke's mom and aunt were kind enough to watch Zane at our house the night after our anniversary so we could go out. We couldn't remember the last time that we had been out on a date- we thought it might have been New Year's Eve. How sad is that? Anyway, we traveled down the road a few miles to the town of Bigfork. It is a quaint town similar to Salado, for my Texas friends out there. We had a scrumptious dinner at the Bigfork Inn, followed by an enjoyable performance at the Bigfork Playhouse, where actors from across the nation come to perform during the summer. We saw Footloose- I've only seen parts of the movie, never in its entirety. I need to watch it now to compare.

Sidenote: For those fellow former Crusaders out there, what I mostly remember about Footloose, is from a Stunt Night when the Senior Class (Junior?) mistakenly won with their rendition, beating out our class (Freshman or Sophomore?), who should have won with Decent Dancing (at least I'm not bitter, right?!).

Here are some pictures from our wonderful evening. We've got to get out more! I'm sure most of you parents out there can totally relate. We had a great time. Thank you Mom and Noanie for staying with Zane so we could go out, even when you had to get up early for work the next morning.

Outside the Inn

The Inn after the musical

Random Pics from June

18 months in the making...

Well, this last weekend, Luke and I finished decorating Zane's nursery. At one point, I had entertained the thought of painting and even putting up a chair rail, but that was before Zane was born. Recently, I had lowered my expectations and decided I would be happy if we just hung some stuff up on the walls. I had wanted to put his name above the crib and had bought these letters at Hobby Lobby at Christmas time. We finally got them out and Luke spray painted them 2 weeks ago. When the sun started pouring in Zane's room each morning around 5, I decided that the curtains would make a nice addition. So, here it is, folks. Better late than never, right?

Kissin' Cousins

On Tuesday evening, Zane and I ventured out into the winter storm. I had definitely gotten stir crazy from being cooped up inside all day, so we traveled just a couple of miles down the road to visit Matt, Christy, Jayme and Caleb. They had ordered pizza for dinner and graciously shared some with me, as well as a few other delicious treats. I provided the entertainment- Zane. He, of course thoroughly enjoyed all the extra attention and found Caleb to be of particular interest. At one point, Zane was all over him, patting his head and giving him kisses. Caleb was a good sport and suffered through this special attention!

Nine Months Old Yesterday

I tried to post these last night but encountered some technical difficulties. I cannot believe that Zane is 9 months old- in just 3 short months, he will be a year old. Unbelievable! He has stolen our hearts with his smile and sweet personality. We love you, Zane!

I tried to take a picture of him sitting on the couch, but all he wanted to do was crawl toward me.

This is a new pose- leaning the head to one side and smiling...

or giving the wrinkled nose pose!

Here is a little video of this boy is constantly on the go these days!

Believe It or Not...

Well folks, I'm beginning to doubt that we are going to have spring or summer here in Kalispell this year! We've had record cooler temperatures and rain/snow this year. We enjoyed a beautiful sunny morning yesterday, only to be ended by cloudy skies and rain only hours later. I had reached my breaking point and spent Zane's nap yesterday morning perusing the Internet for available flights for this week to either Texas or Arizona. I am beyond ready for warmer weather and almost booked a quick getaway with a frequent flier ticket that would have left today. I wouldn't have gotten back 'til after Father's Day, so that wouldn't have been a good plan- to miss Luke's first one. Anyway, I'm glad I didn't book it, because I would have had to drive to Spokane in a snow storm today! That's right, people, I said SNOW! It is June 10, and the ground is covered with snow! It's been snowing since 8:30 this morning!

In other random news, Zane slept in til 8:20 this morning. I was actually able to sleep in til 8 this morning! I can't even remember the last time that has occurred. He usually wakes between 6-7 and I try and wait to go in until 7 as long as he sounds happy. A week or so ago he was even waking as early as 5:30. He has also been pulling himself up on his knees in the crib, so it has been taking him longer to fall asleep before his naps, pushing his naps later,and ultimately pushing his bedtime later. I guess we are in a new phase and I think it may take us a while to figure out his schedule. He had been going to bed around 7, but now it has been between 7-8. Anyway, since I got extra sleep, I have a much better perspective on this crazy weather and for some reason, I'm not at all bothered by it! I put him down for his nap at 11 and he is just now getting up-almost 1 hour and 45 minutes later! He usually only takes 40 minute naps, so this has been nice! Unfortunately, I've not gotten anything done other than this blog post!

Well, here are some pictures of the snow. I think there are a couple of inches that have accumulated! It's supposed to be in the 70s this weekend, so hopefully, summer is right around the corner!