Little Crawler

We have quite the little crawler these days! Lincoln was crawling a little before Thanksgiving, but he has really gotten the hang of it. I know he loves the freedom because he won't stay anywhere I put him. He's determined to crawl somewhere . . . even if he just turns around and crawls back to me. We've had a few bumped heads and noses, but he's not been slowed down by it. He gives a good cry then remembers what he was crawling to and takes off again. Once he thought he was alone in the living room and began crawling to Kevin's voice in the next room. Life will never be the same for any of us! Here's a short video from this weekend.

Put a lid on it!

Lincoln rarely leaves the house without a hat, so I have accumulated quite a variety. He has a ski hat, a fleece hat, two toboggans, a wool hat, a beanie, and a monkey hat. For one thing, I want his ears covered so he doesn't get another ear infection. For another thing, he is especially cute when he wears a hat. We wore out the pumpkin hat during October, and now I'm getting ready to debut his December hat. Stay tuned for a very merry photo soon!

Giving Thanks

Having fun at Thanksgiving dinner

On the move . . .

I am thankful for so many things this year. Of course I'm thankful for my family, my friends, my job, and my home . . . but most of all I'm thankful for every single little inch of Lincoln. He is pure joy! Here are some of the not so obvious things I'm thankful for:

Cheerios! Lincoln is enjoying Cheerios each day, and I love it. He likes to play with them and eat them, and I love anything that multitasks!

Old MacDonald! I sing a million verses of Old MacDonald, and I'm so thankful for all the animals I can include in my song and that Old MacDonald has such a wide variety on his farm.

Diaper Genie Elite! What an odor-keeper!

Christmas China! I'm thankful that we can celebrate the holiday at each meal now that I'm officially allowed to bust out the Christmas China.


Medela! The best $300 I ever spent was on the Medela breast pump . . . thank you for making a product that keeps on going and going and going.

Clorox! I'm sure Kevin is more thankful for germ-killers than I am, but the Clorox got a workout during our Thanksgiving prep. Who knew preparing a turkey was so germy?

I hope evereyone's Thanksgiving was great!

Hey Pops!

"Hey Pops! I'm gonna need to check out this hat you're wearing. Is it as good to chew as it looks? Let me have a bite, but don't tell my Daddy. He doesn't let me chew on hats!"

Where's my baby?

Each day is a new adventure for Lincoln: he sees something new, figures something out, tastes something different, and finds humor in something silly. It is truly amazing to see the world through a child's eyes. He is getting better and better at crawling and can get to any toy in the room. I don't think he sits still for even a minute because he's so busy rolling, scooting and crawling to the next thing. We started clapping and saying "Yay" every time he sat up yesterday, and he really picked up on that. Now he claps for himself when he gets upright! Of course we join in too. What a fun time! While I love that he's learning and growing so much, I sometimes hold him like a baby for a second (that's all he'll give me!). How did he get so big with so much personality in such a short amout of time? I could never have imagined he would grow up so fast. I am taking in every moment and will enjoy what's to come.

Big Teeth!

It takes a lot of chewing . . .

. . . to grow such big teeth!

Sweet Lincoln

(check out that hair standing straight up - no, it's not static!)

Lincoln and I do LOTS of cuddling, playing, tickling, climbing and hugging every day, but we never have pictures to prove it. Daddy has been taking an interest in the super-cool camera, so he took a few shots this evening. Sweet Lincoln was climbing all over me (as usual), but stopped to look cute just for Daddy!

Speaking of "Sweet Lincoln", his teachers inquired as to how we play at home. "Do you play pretty rough and wrestle with Lincoln at home?" she asked. I was baffled by this question and assured her that we played in a perfectly normal manner. "Well," she said, "Lincoln has pushed a few kids over and plays kind of rough." WHAT?!?! He's the bully of Infant Room F?!?! I first laughed then was embarrassed and asked if there was something I should do about this. She calmed me down and said it's probably just a phase and that some kids are just rough. Since this conversation I've noticed how he dives at me, climbs on me, pulls up on me, kicks me, grabs at me, rolls over on me . . . you get the picture. I guess I'm glad he's not the wimp of Infant Room F, right?

Ants in my . . .

Lincoln is so squirmy and squiggly that I'd say there are ants in his pants, but he won't be still long enough for me to get pants on him! Seriously, diapering is getting difficult! He is determined not to be on his back for even one second and flips over the second I lay him down. Not content to lay on his tummy, he pops up to sitting and examines everything on the changing table. I don't think this is the only post I'll have about the lack of cooperation around here!

Hungry?

I hope there are no hungry children headed to Albertson's because we bought all the baby food!!!!

Happy Anniversary!

On November 12, 2005, Kevin and I were married. I know that there was life before that, but it seems like I look back on that differently now. It's sort of hazy, but married memories are clear . . . is this sounding crazy?!?! Our wedding day was a complete fairy tale, and I don't think I'll ever forget a moment of it. I know our families put so much into making that day perfect, and it was! Being married is quite a lot like a fairy tale: sometimes there's a wicked witch, sometimes there's a big bad wolf, sometimes there's a sleeping beauty, and sometimes there's a prince charming. To make the story much better (and infinitely cuter), Lincoln arrived and taught us how much love there could be. We found out that Lincoln would be a 'he' on our anniversary last year. I'm outnumbered around here but couldn't be happier. On this 4th anniversary, we're one blessed family. I'm glad to say that this fairy tale ends just like the books because face it dear, you're stuck with me!!!

. . . and they all lived happily ever after!

Lincoln wasn't overjoyed with his hat, but he kept it on like a real trooper. He sat on Daddy's lap while we ate, and he even tried to dig into the cake!

Proof

Today I decided to get proof of Lincoln's long hairs and two teeth. I guess the angle of most of my pictures don't showcase just how much hair he has. I'm not saying it's a lot of hair, but it's a lot more than it was. There is a whole section that sticks straight up, and I love that!

I hope this picture does his two little teeth justice. They are so cute, and he's always checking them out with his tongue. I can't believe my little baby has teeth - what a grown up! I must have taken a million pictures but his tongue is always in the way.

7 months

When Lincoln was first born, a friend told me that life would be 180 degrees different at 7 months. Boy was she right! He's the squirmiest, smiliest, chattiest, huggiest, nosiest little boy ever! Here are a few things about Lincoln at 7 months.

Weight: 17 lbs (it varies from 17 to 17.8) Sometimes he's ravenous and eats everything in sight, and sometimes he's not interested in food at all. He always wants to try what's on our plates but makes a face and spits it out if we give him a taste. Come on - who doesn't like hash browns?!?!

Height: getting taller by the minute (Actually, he won't be still long enough to get a good measurement.) He seems tall to me when he's on the changing table but short when he's standing next to the ottoman.

Favorite Foods: Milk is still king, but he loves oatmeal. Rice and wheat cereal are just ok, but don't hold back on the oatmeal. Squash, sweet potatoes and carrots are his favorite veggies, but he likes green beans, corn and the mixed veggie dish pretty well. I have slowly introduced fruits to very strong opinions. Bananas - yes, pears - yes, applesauce - slowly yes, peaches - no way! Since he loves the jar bananas so much, I thought he should try a real banana mashed up. On the first bite, he gagged. On the second bite, he vomited. Hmmm, maybe we'll stick with the jar for now. Something must not be the same there.

Favorite activities: Lincoln loves being in his jumper almost more than anything. He gets to jumping so hard, and I can't stop laughing. He keeps us entertained during dinner in the jumper. We've noticed it is also a favorite place to poop. We always check his diaper when he's done jumping! Standing up, pulling up, rolling around, and scooting backwards are the main floor activities. He is constantly flipping over to a different position or direction. We can't take our eyes off him for a second. While doing his other favorite activities, Lincoln keeps up a steady banter. He sings and talks nonstop. I told his teachers he's like his mom and dad that way! He still only has one real word - Mama - but says ba ba in a variety of ways. We're working on Dada.

He was singing me a lovely ba ba ba ba song in this picture.

Riding around in the push-car is another favorite activity. You'd think he would tire of driving around our house, but no. I guess he finds something new to check out over and over and over and over . . . .


He must be the happiest kid on earth. I know he has made us the happiest parents on earth.

Guys Afternoon

Watching football sure is hard work! Good thing the Razorbacks won today . . . now if only the Cowboys can do the same tomorrow!

3 Day Visit

We stopped by the Breast Cancer 3 Day walk to support Megan (Kevin's cousin) and cheer her on. She looked great, was in good spirits and didn't appear to be in pain. That's saying A LOT for having walked 35 miles. Think on the bright side . . . only 25 miles to go! I remember how difficult Day 2 is, and I'm so proud of Megan for continuing.

Did I mention the drool?

Seriously?!?!

Sure enough, little tooth #2 is poking through!

Drool much?

If my motherly intuition is working today, I'm guessing that we're working on another tooth. Are they supposed to come so quickly after each other? It seems like he just got one! He was fine all day, we played and went for a stroll in his little car this afternoon. I had noticed all the incredible amounts of drool pouring from his mouth but just kept wiping the puddles. (As you can see in the picture, it's dripping off his chin and soaking through his shirt!) During his supper he got a little fussy and tired. He ate all of his applesauce and oatmeal and most of the milk, but he just seemed a little off. When I lifted him from the high chair, I knew he had a fever. Don't panic - it was only 100.4! This sudden onset of drool and low-grade fever happened right before his last tooth came in, so I'm guessing that's culprit. Say a prayer that he's not in too much pain!

My newest trick is . . .

. . . pulling up! I was sitting on the floor and decided I wanted to get something out of my toy basket. You see, Mom puts my toy basket on top of the ottoman so I had to figure out a way to get that awesome toy. If I really stretch, I can get my fingers curled around the edge and then it's no problem to stand! Whew, I'm glad I figured that out. I've taken a crash or two because I think I don't have to hold on while I stand up. Mom keeps telling me that sometimes babies should hold on, but I know better. Love, Lincoln

Monkey Business

I hope everyone had a Happy Halloween . . . we sure did. For Lincoln's first Halloween, we thought he should be a monkey. (We often think he makes monkey poses and refer to him as our little monkey.) Samantha and Eric found the CUTEST monkey costume and that sealed the deal. He seemed to enjoy himself during all of the Halloween festivities. Here's what all we did:

We made monkey sounds! Eee-eee-eee-eee-ooo-ooo-ooo-ooo!

We posed next to the pumpkins. (Dad still didn't let us touch one!)

We went trick or treating at Scott and Marte's. They had really great treats at their house! (He looks a little worried in this pic!)

We stopped by Eric and Samantha's for treats too. (I think he's trying to convince them he needed some candy.)

We handed out candy to trick or treaters at our house. This seemed to be the most confusing for Lincoln. I thought his eyes might fall out because he was looking so hard at everything!

One more exciting thing happened on Halloween: Lincoln learned to go from his tummy to sitting up. Seriously, he does something new every single day!