My Future Daughter-in-Law

Yesterday my very bestest friend Sarah came to visit with her two little sweeties.  We don't live very far from each other, but it seems so difficult to make plans with our busy schedules.  Sare was one of my roommates in college and has been one of my closest friends ever since.

Sarah (and her husband, Andy) has 2 adorable little girls.  Nina is 3 and Vivi is 10 months.  I'm so happy to report to you all that Lincoln and Vivi hit it off really well yesterday.  They seemed to have a very special bond...Sare and I are pretty sure it's love. 

I stole a couple of ideas from Joelee's nanny: we played with spaghetti and Jell-o.   Vivi and Lincoln took a pass on the spaghetti, but they both loved the Jell-o.  Nina had so much fun with the pasta! 

 

Spring is in the air!  Having Lincoln gives Kirk and I EXTRA motivation to get outside and enjoy the fresh air.  It's been great getting out and enjoying the nice weather.  I'm so happy this is just the beginning of the warm weather...the best is yet to come! 

Jagged Edges

For the last 4 months, we've been thinking Lincoln is getting a tooth.  I'm not kidding.  We always blamed his bad mood on teething.  He'd cry: we'd blame a tooth.  He'd get a bad night's sleep:  had to be a tooth.  The ladies at day care even told me they thought he was getting a tooth about a month ago.  I cried.  I wasn't ready for him to get a tooth. 

Last week I predicted Lincoln would have his first tooth by the end of the week.  Weeeellll, I guess mommies know best.  :)  Thursday when Linc got home from day care, I was playing with him and as he loves to do, he bit down on my finger and felt the little jagged edges of his first tooth.  I tried to get him to open his mouth so I could get a good picture of it, but it's darn near impossible!  You can feel it and the darn thing HURTS, but it's almost impossible to see. 

This was as good of a picture as I could get:

On a side note, we hope you all enjoyed your Easter. I'm failing at my picture taking skills. I love Joelee's camera so when we get together, I always snap away with her camera. We went over to Joelee and Jason's for the day. It's so fun to have all of the kids together! I'm thinking Jo will probably have an Easter blog up soon (maybe??) with pictures from yesterday. Kirk and I didn't even take a picture of Lincoln before we left in his little Easter outfit. Oh well, there will be many more Easter outfits.

Hugs

I don't like dropping Lincoln off at day care, but it has become routine: take him in, jot down his day so far and leave quickly.  We are both really happy with Lincoln's care up to this point.  The ladies take such great care of him and are always commenting on what "a happy little man he is".

Great care aside, I miss him all day.  I always wonder if he misses us while he's at day care. 

And today, I may have got my answer.

Lincoln always smiles when I walk in to pick him up.  Today when they handed him off to me he gave me a great big smile and hugged me.  He put his arms on my shoulders, put his head down and hugged me. 

My heart melted just a little.

The Little Things

Everyday, Kirk and I are convinced Lincoln is going to do something new.  Maybe today will be the day he has is first belly laugh (For the record, my stand up routine has not worked on Lincoln.  Only Kirk thinks my jokes are funny.) or he'll start rocking or he'll say "Mama" or "Dada".  And here we are...still waiting for all of those things to happen.

With the help and encouragement of my good friend Dawn, I decided to make Lincoln's food.  It sounds like much more work than it actually is.  It's so easy and takes hardly any time.  So far we've tried sweet potatoes, avocado, green beans, peas, parsnips and bananas.  Today he ate his entire bowl of avocado, bananas and cereal!  We were so excited.  While today he did not belly laugh or crawl or say "Mama or Dada" he did polish off his bananas, avocados and rice cereal.  The day has come where he finishes his food!!

At 6 months, it is now ok for babies to drink juice out of a sippy cup.  Well, it seems a couple years too early for juice to us, so we have been putting water in Lincoln's sippy cup.  He doesn't have the hang of it completely yet, but he's been trying and doing a really great job.

It amazes me how we just take everyday as it comes.  I'll be honest: I have no idea what I'm doing.  Absolutely none.  It's been a learning process for Kirk and I.  Thank you to my mom and sister for fielding phone calls from me on a daily basis while I ask some of the most ridiculous questions (I swear they make sense before I ask them!).  I know everyday will be a new day and we're all still learning.  Might I add: no matter how hard a day is, or how little sleep I get, (dear tooth that hasn't come through yet: COME THROUGH!) it's worth it.  Seeing Lincoln's smiling face each and every morning makes the 4 hours of sleep the night before seem like a full night's rest.  Well, almost a full night's rest.

One LIttle 6 Month Old

Lincoln had his 6 month appointment on Monday.  I hate shot day.  Spare me the lectures because I know they are best for him, but I sure hate to hear Lincoln scream as soon as the needle hits his leg.  It breaks my heart.  I can't watch him get the shots...Kirk helps hold him down while the nurse gives the shots. 

Lincoln's latest stats:

Weight: 15 pounds 9 ounces (15th percentile)
Height: 26 1/8 inches (32nd percentile)
Head: 43.4 centimeters (25th percentile)

He's a little peanut! The Nurse Practitioner reminded us that before we know it, he's going to be crawling all over the place.  I know he has to grow up, but I'm so worried I'm going to forget his little gummy smile or his chunky little wrist or the way he puts his arm on our shoulder when we're holding him or the way he looks at me when I pick him up from day care or the way he giggles when we tickle him under his chin or his face when he eats sweet potatoes.  I could go on all day...I just don't want to forget any of the little things I love so much about our sweet baby.  How do you slow time down again?

6 Months Old

Am I the only who cannot believe it has been 6 months since Lincoln was born?  What a 6 months it has been!

I have so many wonderful things to say about our little Lincoln, but I'll refrain.  It's no secret what a blessing he has been in our lives.  He is the most perfect little human being.  I'm happy to report he's sitting and rolling all over the place.  It's so hard to believe how much he has changed in only 6 months.  I can't believe it! 

I've decided to send some pictures of Lincoln's early days and some pictures from more recently.  Thanks to everyone for all your help and support over the last 6 months.  We couldn't do it without you!

Ear Infections, Rolling Over and Sitting...OH MY!

Lincoln is at such a fun stage right now.  Each and every day, we feel like he does something new or he grows just a little more.  He continues to be the very serious, sweet and loving little guy he always has been.  One of my friends told me each stage is more fun than the last.  I didn't believe her at the time, but so far she's been totally right!

Last week, Lincoln was coughing a little more than usual.  The ladies at day care said one of the little boys had pneumonia.  I can't rely on Kirk to always be diagnosing Lincoln, so I brought him to the doctor.  The nurse practitioner found his lungs clear, but said he had a double ear infection!  Poor little guy!  After a couple of days on his antibiotic, he seemed to be back to his normal self.

Lincoln's newest trick is rolling over.  He rolled over awhile ago, but now we'll turn our back for just a second and he'll have rolled over.  This afternoon when I went to get him out of his crib after a nap, I found him on his stomach and looking at me like "Help me, Mama!  How did this happen?!"

I'm not sure what constitutes sitting.  Lincoln can sit on his own for about 10 seconds before falling over.  He can lean forward and sit there for longer before he topples over, but he doesn't actually sit for very long.

One of his favorite toys is his exersaucer.  Lincoln loves just hanging out playing and watching Kirk and I.  I tried to upload a video of him playing in the exersaucer, but it wouldn't work.  Sorry...you'll have to settle for the picture.

We're still working on solids!  We've finally moved onto the last of the cereals, barley.  He either likes it the best out of all three cereals or he's just starting to really get the hang of it.  We tried sweet potatoes one day and he liked them ok.  I think we're going to keep on with the barley a little longer and then take on the "real" food.

For anyone who knows me, you know I'm an Olympic fanatic.  I'm loving the winter Olympics right now.  Speaking of the Olympics, Pop's cousin's son (Nate tells us this makes him our 3rd cousin) is an Olympic ice dancer.  We'll all be tuning in hoping Evan and his partner Emily bring home an Olympic medal.

Happy Valentine's Day to you all!