Arkansas Visit - Part 1

Lincoln and I went to Arkansas this weekend to celebrate his 5 month birthday, and we had a great time! It was his second trip to Arkansas but his first trip to Newport, so there was lots to do. Mom hosted a Sip & See for our friends to meet Lincoln, and he was on his best behavior. He didn't do anything embarrassing during the party-like spit up, burp or blowout! I'm so glad everyone could come. (They all said they read the blog, so "Thanks, ya'll!") Lincoln made a visit to Newport High on Friday and entertained teachers, staff and kids alike. He hung out in the cafeteria with Allyson, checked out the Principal's office, sat in on a class, and met the lunch ladies. What else is there to do at school?! I even heard a girl in the hall say, "I wish my baby was that cute!" Hmmmm . . .

Checking out the guests at the party!

My friends were the first to arrive. We debated pulling out a few cheerleading moves, but common sense won out!

Rydder was giving Lincoln a friendly kiss . . . but that didn't go over well. Maybe he got too close, or maybe Lincoln was jealous of Rydder's cute curls. What a cute head of hair!

Visiting Minnie's office at school - maybe we need to help her clear off some space on that desk. Lincoln could definitely make a mess of that!

What a fun day at school!

There is much more to come about our Arkansas visit, so stay tuned for Part 2!

Starting Early

We're wasting no time teaching Lincoln to love the Razorbacks. My Aunt Sarah sent us a Baby Razorbacks DVD, and it is so cute. Before long Lincoln will be calling the Hogs! Wooo Pig!!!

Milk Maid

You know the old saying . . . 'don't cry over spilled milk', right? I told myself that at least 100 times yesterday, unfortunately I wasn't able hold back the tears. Breast milk is liquid gold at our house, and I'm constantly monitoring how quickly it comes and goes. I do lots of pumping to ensure the supply is plentiful, and I have always had enough without a problem. Recently it's become more difficult to produce as much, so I added another pumping session each day to get back ahead. Yesterday I completed my pumping sessions at work with great results and was ready to head home when disaster struck. As I transferred the bottles from the fridge to my bag, one slipped out of my hand and in super slow motion with a long loud "nooooooooo!" the lid busted off and milk streamed out! Six whole ounces gone in a flash! I'm not sure when I've felt so defeated, but I cleaned up the mess and hurried out. I managed to keep it together until I got to the car, but it was a rough ride home. I've decided that the old saying doesn't apply to breast milk. It's definitely ok to cry over spilled milk when it's this valuable! The good news is that I can always make more so Lincoln never has to know. He happily ate his dinner last night without a care in the world . . . and that's just how it should be!

Color Me Happy

More masterpieces from Lincoln! I got out the (washable, non-toxic!!!) markers for a little art session. Lincoln made me a couple of wonderful pictures, but he had much more fun chewing on the marker tops. Don't worry . . . he only got marker on the paper!

New Favorite Toy

Like father, like son . . . the remote is king at our house. Lincoln always wants to play with it, so we gave him one of his own. Who needs baby toys?

Working Hard

We recently went to visit Pops at work and had lots of fun. Lincoln entertained the restaurant staff, a few hotel employees and guests, and all of Maguire! All the ladies at the office loved Lincoln, and he loved them too. We joined their lunch and kept them laughing. When we weren't all paying enough attention to Lincoln (we were talking about him instead of talking to him, apparently), he would issue a fake cough. Seriously he did it over and over because we would laugh each time.

Playing Outside

Lincoln loves to go outside. I would walk him up and down the sidewalk when he was a newborn, and he joined me on walks early on. Almost every evening we take a stroll down the block just to look around, and some mornings we play on a blanket under the tree. When the breeze blows through the tree and rustles the leaves, the amazement on Lincoln's face is just precious. We'll be glad when the hot weather is over so we can spend more time outside.

Good Luck Charm

Lincoln is definitely the good luck charm the Rangers needed this year, so we went to the Rangers/Red Sox game on Sunday to help get a win. It worked! It was an exciting game, and the Rangers won! It was pretty hot out and our seats were in the sun for the first part of the game. We took turns walking Lincoln through the concourse and enjoying the breeze in the shade above our seats, then Lincoln had his bottle in the air-conditioned restaurant with the other diners. Sunday's promo was $1 ice cream for kids under 13, so Kevin took Lincoln to the ice cream stand to claim his treat. Since he used Lincoln to get cheap ice cream, Kevin gave him a lick from the cone! Lincoln LOVES the taste of ice cream!!!! Even with all the excitement of home runs and double plays, Linc had to take a quick nap. The fans behind us thought he was the cutest, sweetest little man. I totally agree!

How's the high chair?

Lincoln and the High Chair

"Um, I don't think I like this high chair. What happened to the friendly bumbo? It was so nice and soft. Do I have to sit here, Mom? Dad, save me!"

"If you let me help you with this feeding stuff, I might like my high chair better. Let me show you how to do it, Mom! See you hold onto the bowl with one hand and put the spoon in here!"
"I guess I like this high chair after all. Every time I sit here I get good stuff to eat, and it sure is a great place to go to the bathroom. What more could I ask for?"


Eating in the high chair didn't start out that well. It wasn't bad . . . he just didn't like it as much as the bumbo. We soldiered on for the rest of last weekend, and it seemed to get better. After a whole week of high chair sitting at school, he's a pro! Just one thing about the high chair . . . some feedings come with a giant explosion at the end! I mean a seriously, completely, totally outrageous blowout! Several times we've had a mess in the seat, the legs of the chair, on Lincoln and ourselves. Oh, well. His tummy was just getting used to the cereal and increased amount of food, I guess. The dramatics seem to have died down. Before long, we'll add a new food to his repertoire. Lookout below!!!

Fun with Furniture

Pops gave Lincoln the cutest toy to play on . . . I mean, chair to sit in. Lincoln had so much fun climbing, squirming, and rolling around in the chair. One of these days he may actually sit in the chair!

Good Morning!

This is what I woke up to this morning . . .

A smiling, happy baby ready to eat and play. What a great way to start the day!

Welcome to the Family

In the past few months, two new cousins have arrived! The Kuhlman side of the family is really growing, and I know holidays will be so fun with lots of babies to entertain everyone. I hope Lincoln will be great friends with his cousins. Since he's the oldest, he'll need to show them the ropes. Let's see . . . he'll be able to teach them how to drool, say goo, chew on things, sometimes roll over, and other special things. We're glad to have happy and healthy new babies in the family. Oh, and they're pretty cute too!!

Mason Kahle Kuhlman

born on June 30th to Ron and Charla

weighing 8 lbs 11 oz

measuring 19 1/2 inches

Ava Marie Guiliano

born on August 5th to Jon and Julie

weighing 7 lbs 5 oz

measuring 20 inches

Night Out!

Friday night had several firsts at our house.

1) First Girls Night Out for Mommy. Samantha and I partied until 10:00! To reward ourselves for surviving a silly night, we had Culver's on the way home. If you haven't had a butterburger, you seriously need to find a Culver's fast!

2) First Guys Night Out for Daddy, Uncle Eric and Lincoln. The boys met the group at Mi Cocina then came home to play. They went for a walk, played "toss Lincoln in the air," and then stripped (Lincoln, that is). Lincoln even got to sit in Daddy's chair and play with the remote!

3) First Time Daddy put Lincoln to Bed. This one made me a little sad because I love holding him for one more second while he's peaceful and sleepy. Kevin did a great job, and Lincoln slept all night. During the bedtime process Uncle Eric put together the high chair, so stay tuned for another "first" picture.

We tried something really exciting at our house this week - rice cereal!! Dr. K said we could start giving it to Lincoln at 4 months, so we made a family trip to the grocery store to buy Lincoln's first solids! We had been practicing eating breast milk from the spoon (in addition to our regular bottles) to get used to the spoon. Thanks for the good idea, Julie! The actual eating of cereal is still in the funny stages after 5 attempts. He spits out the first few bites, curiously tastes the next few, then starts sucking on the spoon at each bite. He gets a little frustrated about halfway through, and I'm not sure if he's tired of the bumbo or uncomfortable. If I hold him in my lap, I can alternate between the spoon and a bottle. I'm counting this as a success, and soon we'll be eating solids at each meal. Enjoy the messy photos!

This was one of our practices. Notice there's no mess, but he's making a strange face!!

I tried holding his hands down under the burp cloth to keep them away from his mouth . . . you can see how well that worked!

Mmmmmmmm

Visit from the Freemans

We had some great visitors this weekend . . . Minnie, Grumps and Allyson! It has been a while since they could visit because Allyson plays lots of softball during the summer. After pitching in the Softball World Series in Tennessee, they headed to Dallas to catch up with us. Lincoln was on his best behavior and tried to show them all of his tricks.

He dazzled them with his laughs,


amazed them with his singing,


hyptnotized them with his smiles,

delighted them with his professional shopping skills,

and most of all just looked cute.

We managed to fit in dinner at Twisted Root Burger Co, and if you're in the area you should definitely check it out! It was so yummy! We also managed a couple of morning walks and a trip to the Galleria. We all had fun and laughed so much. Minnie and Grumps were so impressed that he's so good. He doesn't cry much, sleeps all night, eats whatever and whenever I say, and smiles about everything. They just kept saying how they couldn't believe a baby could be so good . . . apparently Allyson and I were nothing like Lincoln! (It sounds like we cried, didn't sleep all night, were finicky eaters, and made you work for a smile!) We hope they'll come back to visit soon!

Too Busy Playing!

"Mom, I'm busy playing. Why are you interrupting me to take a picture? I'm jumping in my jumper!"

"I'm not sure about this frog. I need to keep my eye on him!"

(Later on they became friends. Lincoln smacked him a few times, tried to chew on him and then they chatted.)