Santa

Note to self for future free photos with Santa at Bass Pro: the key is to get there FIVE HOURS before you actually want the photo, get a place holder card, come back at the appointed time and go straight to the front of the line (yesterday night).

This is as opposed to showing up at 4:45 and being told the next opening is at 7:30 (Tuesday night).

So there was no screaming involved with seeing Santa this year! Lincoln sat on Santa's lap, played with the candy cane, and eventually told Santa he wants a "dog--a dachshund dog."

Clearly, this was George's coaching!





And yes, our child does actually have clothing that fits--his pants just rode up a tad. :)


The screaming came before we saw Santa, when I took him to get his second-ever haircut. He had his first in September and did GREAT, so naturally I expected this again this time.


NOPE!


Lincoln freaked out when the girl came at him with spray bottle & scissors. He had his mouth full of chocolate animal crackers, so when he started screaming, little bits of them fell onto his chin, and he started drooling brown all down his face--it was so attractive.


I managed to distract him off and on by asking him what animals the crackers were and pointing out that the kids in the movie (Polar Express) were about to FALL OFF THE CLIFF! He'd be fine for a minute or two, and then every couple of minutes or so would catch a glimpse of the stylist in the mirror and start freaking out again.


It was GRAND. Especially since she didn't have a chance to get his hair as short as I wanted it, so we'll be back again next month. OH BOY!

Lincoln's big announcement

Lincoln will have a little brother or sister in June 2011! (the 23rd is the official due date)

When asked, Lincoln will say Mommy has a baby in her belly and lift my shirt to see my (already-protruding) stomach. Then he'll lift his own shirt and say, "Lincoln baby belly." So pretty sure he doesn't totally get it just yet. :)

Story to follow!

Halloween

So this was our Halloween:

After begging to wear "Yoda ears" all the time after his costume arrived on Thursday, when it came time to be Yoda on Sunday night, Lincoln refused to have anything to do with his costume.

Me: "Lincoln, it's time for Yoda ears! Are you ready to be Yoda?"

Lincoln: "No."

[George and I look bewilderedly at each other.]

Me: "Come on, buddy, you get to be Yoda and see PawPaw and Grandma and Zack! But we can't go see them unless you're Yoda."

Lincoln: "No."

Me: "Don't you want to see John and Kristy? And their puppies?"

Lincoln: "John. Kwisty. Puppies?"

Me: "Yeah, but you have to be Yoda!"

Lincoln: "No."

This went on for HALF AN HOUR, with George and I taking turns cajoling, pleading, threatening ("Fine, we'll just stay home! Is that what you want?" "Yes."), wheedling, even (gasp!) bribing...to no avail. Everything we tried was met with sheer obstinancy!

Finally, I called Mom and told her we weren't going to come over. She suggested we bring him anyway because she had stuff for him.

So, we went to Dad and Mom's and FINALLY got Lincoln to put his costume on when we got out of the car. He was good at the neighbor's, happy at Mom and Dad's, screamed his head off at the other neighbor's, and a perfect doll at John and Kristy's.

And we were exhausted by the time we got home!

Seriously, how come none of the parenting books or magazines warn you about this side of toddlers and Halloween??

Here are some pretty cute photos for your viewing enjoyment, but please don't judge us on the red light saber, which obviously isn't the correct color for Yoda, but is all we had (George wants me to tell you that):

Use the force!

Yoda definitely wasn't this cute!

Kiss kiss:

Thanks, Grandma!

Ha ha! Gotcha, Daadaa!

The REAL DEAL

I was finally able to get photos of Lincoln's REAL haircut off my phone. Enjoy!

I love you

Lincoln now says "I love you!" It is so awesome and exciting to hear!

First haircut

So George and I attempted to give Lincoln his first haircut on Monday. He sat still well for the most part, but kept turning his head to try to see what we were doing. Eventually, this is what we ended up with:

...because we couldn't figure out how to get the back top cut short with the scissors I paid too much for at Wal-Mart. So he walked around looking like we'd put a bowl over his head and cut around it. He looked pretty goofy, to tell you the truth--but still so much older! It was so sad!

He also walked around all night Monday feeling his hair, saying "Haircut. Haircut."

Tuesday I took Link to Pigtails & Crewcuts for a haircut fix. Although the ladies were pleasant, they weren't overly friendly--they were actually a little snotty, I thought. BUT the girl who cut his hair did an amazing job. And the little bugger sat as still as a mouse for her! Of course, he was sitting in a plane with a steering wheel that turned the propeller, eating animal crackers she gave him, looking around at all the fun kid stuff, and watching bits and pieces of a movie on two screens--so at least we know what to do at home next time!

Oh, and to get the back short like that? You use an electric buzzer thing (razor?). Which George has and wanted to use, but I insisted that my baby would NOT yet have buzzed hair. And that was the first thing she did.

I stand corrected.

Doesn't Lincoln look adorable? A little goofy in this photo, but adorable? :)

Fun photos

Here are some recent fun photos!

Lincoln loves to open and close doors:

Look at that chiseled physique!

Last mohawk before the first haircut:


George and Link love to play with a long poster tube.
This is George's view:

Lincoln in Branson

We went to Branson with Dad, Mom, Grandpa & Grandma, and aunts and cousins over Labor Day weekend.

Lincoln ate his first corn on the cob and LOVED it:

After eating at Branson Landing Saturday night, we walked outside and heard the band that was playing, and Lincoln just had to put on his dancin' shoes! Is this not the cutest thing you've ever seen?

Lincoln's 18-month photos

Finally, here are Lincoln's 18-month photos! We had Billy Rude of Rude Photography (www.billyrudephotography.com) take them, and we absolutely love them. Billy spent a lot of time with us, which was awesome, because Link was not a happy camper at first--if this is what toddler photos are like, I am dreading the next few years! But Billy did an amazing job, and was really patient with Lincoln's fussiness.

Anyway, ignore the fact that it took me forever to post these--Linc will be 20 months old in less than two weeks--and enjoy the photos. :)

More 18-month photos

Still more 18-month photos!

YES! A new post! A video, no less

What? I KNOW! After slacking for a solid month once school let out, I am very close to getting back on the ball. This is just a tantalizing preview of everything I'll post once I get back from D.C. :) Forget the fact that this video was taken on Lincoln's 15-month birthday and he'll be 17 months old this Wednesday. It is so flippin' funny!

This is what life at our house is like most of the time these days...Lincoln cracking himself up, us cracking up at him. It's a blast.

FREEDOM!

The kids are gone, and SUMMER IS HERE!

Well, I still have to be here until 3:00, but who cares? Nothing to do but hang out until then because there are no students.

Did I mention that the kids have left?

Two months of summertime awesomeness, here I come!

Ying Ying

Lincoln said his name for the first time yesterday. And this is how he pronounced it: "Ying Ying."

I was so excited! And I laughed really hard, because "Ying Ying" is just too funny.

Sleeping

Last night when I went in to check on Lincoln before I went to bed (yes, I still have to check and make sure he's still breathing. It's a thing. Doubt I'll ever get over it), I hung out in his room staring at him sleeping for a while. As in, I hung over the side of the crib with my hand on his back, listening to him breathe, feeling his torso rise and fall and staring at his beautiful little face, marveling at how amazing he is.

I marvel at him often, but usually at night I look at him, check to make sure he's breathing and warm enough, and then beat a hasty retreat before he wakes up because he senses me in the room (this has happened before). But last night I just couldn't. I had to give in to my amazement at the wonder of him, which really means at the wonder of God. I mean, come on: Lincoln didn't used to exist!! And now he's a walking, talking little person. Wow.

Every day I marvel (and sometimes cry) at how quickly Lincoln grows and learns and changes. I think about how last year at this time he was just 3 months old! and could hardly lift his head. I think about how he loves to talk, walk and eat crackers, and how he couldn't do any of those things just a few short months ago.

And then I think about how quickly the last year has gone, and I want to cry even more thinking that all too soon, Lincoln won't be my little baby anymore. He'll be a boy, and then a man, and then I won't be able to protect him from the world. Even though I know that he has to face trouble and failure and challenges in order to develop into the man he will become.

Sigh. I want to cry just thinking about it.

Instead, I'll enjoy every single second of being Lincoln's mommy, even when he cries and throws his entire bowl of food on the floor because he wants brownies instead of grilled chicken!

14 months later

...I am finished with the pregnancy scrapbook!

Yes, it took me 14 months to finish (OK, to start and finish) my scrapbook of all the cards and notes we received from the beginning of my pregnancy, through baby showers, Lincoln's arrival and subsequent NICU stay, and finally to his homecoming. I know 14 months really isn't THAT bad, but still.

And when I say "scrapbook," I mean "paste the cards on plain white pages." I am not a scrapbooker--I have NO patience to sit and pick out different background papers, cut cute pictures with cool scissors and layer. I paste and stick.

The good news, other than this, is that I've been pretty much keeping up with his baby book, so that will never be a huge chore. Just have to remember to keep up with that until he starts flippin' Kindergarten.

Anyway, the card scrapbook is done, and I feel very productive. Now I need to get another book to put Lincoln's stuff from his birthday in. Hopefully that will be done before he is two!

As I worked on the scrapbook, I got a little teary remembering how how wonderful our friends and family were, and are. Everyone was SO supportive and generous, it was incredibly overwhelming--and is still overwhelming when I think about it.

The entire journey of pregnancy, birth, NICU stay and homecoming was the most amazing experience of my life, and it was made even more amazing by all of our family and friends, and friends of friends!

Thank you all for everything you did and continue to do for us. You bless and enrich our lives!

Lincoln walking

This is the first halfway decent video of Lincoln walking I've been able to capture. When he sees the camera, the little bugger always drops to all fours and crawls to me as fast as he can (which is pretty fast) so he can see the video/photo on my side!

Notice how worn the knees of his jeans are? That's how much this kid loves to crawl!

He walked so well in this video that I had to keep scooting--hopefully it won't make you seasick.

No photos in this post

And that's because Lincoln is weaned! So really, what would I post a photo of? Him fussing in the morning because he wants to nurse?

I had already cut down from four nursings to two nursings a day by the middle of February. Then the last week or so of February I was just nursing him in the morning; or rather, I nursed him for the last time on February 28, and he had a bottle in the morning for two days after that. And then no more! George said he was fine with it. Of course, when I got up with him this last Saturday and Sunday, he got upset because he wasn't nursing on me, but hopefully that won't last long.

I stopped pumping in the morning last week and was in SEVERE pain most of the week. YOW. I'd cut down nursing so much that I thought I wouldn't get engorged, but boy was I WRONG! I couldn't lift my arms or turn without screaming in pain, so obviously working out was out. And every time I picked Lincoln up I had to clamp my mouth shut so I wouldn't yell.

But now things are much better, and my boy is no longer much of a baby! Makes me sad, really. I nursed for 13 months, and it's suddenly no longer part of my life. But it is very nice to be able to be out without rushing home to nurse!

First birthday party

Lincoln's first birthday party was Sunday the 24th, the day after his actual birthday. Since I did most of the actual unwrapping (how that will change next year!), the best photos were of him attacking his cake, sans hands.

I made this puppy cake for him.

It was WAY more stressful than I ever thought it would be,

but worth it in the end because...

Lincoln really liked it!:

Lincoln dove face first into the puppy's ear:


And then proceeded to gnaw on it like an ear of corn
until he finally realized he could also use his hands:

He had a blast!:

Finally, here is a video of Lincoln's second or third foray around the room pushing his new truck from Grandpa and Grandma. The first few times, he just fell flat on his face because he couldn't figure out how to get his legs to keep up with the rest of him! But in this video, he's really getting it, and now he pushes it everywhere.

Lincoln is a year old!

Lincoln turned one year old on January 23rd!

He is such a smiley, happy, wonderful little man.

What did we do before he came along??

He is the joy of our lives!

Lincoln's 1-year stats

Weight: 21 pounds, 1 oz (24th percentile)

Height: 30" (58th percentile)

AND he has 6 teeth! 2 on bottom & 4 on top

Our chubby chunka boy is starting to get longer and leaner like his daddy.

1-year likes & loves:

*LLAMA CAT*

(calls Llama "Ba", like "ball" without the "l"s.

Hey, it rhymes with Llama!)

*Eating*

*Crawling super fast, cruising,

standing alone for a few seconds until he realizes he is*

*Babbling nonstop*

*Laughing*

*Dogs--

seeing them, seeing pictures of them, hearing them bark*

*Drinking water from the straw cup*

*Pushing his walker truck, dining room chairs, his high chair...*

*Books*

*Balls*

*Dancing*

*Rolling balls under the couch*

*Pushing buttons on things he's not supposed to touch:

remote controls, TV, speaker, phone*

Lincoln says

"Mama" & "Dada"

"ruff ruff" & "meow"

"at" (hat)

"ot" (hot)

"uh oh"

"hey"

"quack" (OK, he said that once. Yesterday.)

"I love you"

No, really! The other day I said "I love you!",

and since he'd just heard a dog bark, he ruffed & said "I love you."

Seriously! It was very Scooby Doo-ish: "Ri Ruv U."

But it REALLY sounded like "I love you"!

1-year dislikes:

*Teething*

*Being sick (first cold & ear infection around his birthday)*

*Being told "no"*

*Not being able to talk & tell us what he wants*

*Having face & hands washed, teeth brushed, or nose wiped*

I can't believe he is (over) a year old already!

Dexterosity

I kind of doubt that's a word, so let's go with dexterous instead.

A couple of weeks ago, Lincoln decided that it would be fun to attempt to re-buckle himself in his high chair. And he sat and tried for AGES--at least 10 minutes straight. Then he cried when I took him out of the chair...he hadn't gotten it buckled yet!! Don't worry, little man. All too soon you'll be able to do things on your own, without Mommy's help.