9 months

Whoa - time flies! Lincoln is 9 months old today, and it seems unbelievable! How we have made this far is amazing, and I know Lincoln is teaching me more than I'm teaching him! Here are the details about Lincoln at 9 months:

Weight: 19 pounds (25th percentile) Dr K wants us to work on his weight. He eats everything we give him, so we just need to give him more. I'm working on finger foods, but he prefers me shoveling baby food in his mouth with a spoon. So far he can feed himself sweet potato fries, Cheerios, Puffs, steamed carrots, and chunked pears. Remember the banana incident . . . well it happened again with pineapple! I'll stay away from that one for a while. He enjoyed the taste of chocolate cake I gave him this evening! I wonder where he gets that!

Height: 28 inches (50th percentile) Solid in the height department. He's kind of long waisted with short legs, but I have hope that he'll take after his Daddy!

Sleep: work in progress! He sleeps at night like a champ and always has (knock on wood). Bedtime at 8:00 and up at 7:00. Napping is another story as I haven't figured out how to successfully execute the naptime routine. His teachers tell me the naps will be scheduled and mandatory (taught!) in the 1 year old room, so I guess we'll wait until then to lay down the law.

Lincoln is VERY curious about everything, and nothing escapes his notice. If something catches his eye, he takes off to inspect it. There is a white spot on the brick of the fireplace that drives him crazy! He tries so hard to get it! Our only real word is Mama, and he is selective about saying it. It usually only comes out when he needs something, and I'm sure that will never change! We're working on Dada and Bye-Bye, and he waves occasionally.

We stack blocks a lot! Well, mostly I stack them and he knocks them over! He likes to empty ANY container of all its contents. Every toy box/basket is bare at the end of a play session!
Lincoln's quite the cruiser and can walk around our living room with ease. There's always an ottoman, couch or chair to hold on to. He has taken a real interest in the computer and makes Skype-ing a challenge. He's obsessed with the mouse and wants to click it just like Mommy and Daddy.

He's quite the singer, so he's trying out an instrument or two! His favorite is the drum (popcorn tin), but he'll try anything. The new activity table from Nana even has a piano feature!

The laughs are constant from Lincoln, and I love it! He thinks everything is so funny and can laugh so hard. Silly faces and noises, peekaboo, throwing (him throwing toys and us throwing him up in the air), and tickling get the biggest laughs. He claps for himself often and cheers and kicks his feet when he thinks he's done something great. I love to start Pat-A-Cake or Itsy Bitsy Spider and watch him clap with me. So smart!

What a wonderful 9 months! Being pregnant for 9 months was one thing, but actually having a baby for 9 months is another. Life is truly a miracle from God, and I believe that now more than ever. I love watching every moment!

Packing Helper

Lincoln and I are heading to Arkansas for a few days. He was so thoughtful and helped me pack for the trip!

Apparently it wasn't as fun as he hoped it would be - he dove out of the suitcase after just a few minutes!

Testing

Lincoln has been testing out his new toys! My mom overheard lots of banging and I explained that it was Linc beating up the basketball goal. She said he should be a toy-tester . . . you know to see if it would hold up to rigorous wear and tear! Mattel or Fisher Price, let us know if you're interested.
Nana pushed Lincoln around in the new tricycle/car.

Dad helped Linc score a few goals. He'd still rather chew on the basketballs for now!
Hard at work at the new activity table. Lincoln has had so much fun playing with all the new toys!

Christmas Eve Fun

Because of the weather, not everyone could make it to Christmas Eve this year. Representing at the Kuhlman Family Christmas Eve celebration were Richard, Kathy, Kevin, Monica, Lincoln, Lans, Kathy, Brandon, Preston, Carolyn, Megan, Ryan, Katie, Julie, Jon and Ava. We missed Larry Mc, Marian, Larry K, Joanne, Chris, Ron, Charla and Mason, but the roads were too treacherous to travel. We kept up the Christmas traditions and added a few new ones. Of course, we all posed by the tree for a family pic. The babies added so much fun to all the festivities. Lincoln and Ava got to play together, and we all had fun catching up.

During dinner, Lincoln and Nana entertained themselves with a napkin! Who needs toys when there are napkins to play with!

One more thing to add to the list of gifts . . . we're up to old cell phones, tv remotes, measuring cups and napkins.

White Christmas!

Seriously . . . it happened! Lincoln's first Christmas was filled with snow! It started snowing Christmas Eve morning after the temperature hit 75 degrees the previous day. We headed out to The Marriott at Solana to meet up with the Kuhlmans and drove carefully through a blizzard! (I know you all think I'm exaggerating, but it was snowing so hard with really heavy winds. The weathergirl told me it was a blizzard by Texas standards, so I'm going with blizzard.) Lincoln really enjoyed watching it snow.

The view from our balcony. See -- I told you it was a blizzard!
It hadn't all melted when we got home on Christmas Day. The roads were yucky but not too icy. Our sidewalk was another story . . .

Of course, I made Lincoln check it out! He was cautiously curious . . . it was really cold!

Kitchen Tool or Toy . . .

. . . is there really a difference? Lincoln loves his measuring cups and is eager to chew on them, throw them, and bang them together every night while we're making dinner. He has learned that he can pick one up in each hand and really make some noise! Whatever makes him happy, right?

He laughs when he throws them!
Daddy was coming around the corner, and Nosy Linky had to check out the situation. Nothing gets by him

Another item to add to the stocking - measuring cups!

Early Christmas Fun

We're spending Christmas in Dallas this year, so my parents came for an early Christmas celebration. Lincoln was excited to play and show off his super crawling skills, and they were excited to give him lots of hugs and kisses. As usual, he impressed them with how big he is! Linc got to open presents and had so much fun. I know he's going to love playing with his new toys.

Here he is opening his first present of the night. He would wad up the paper and tear it into pieces. Sometimes the toy caught his eye, and sometimes the paper was too interesting!

Aunt Ally is an expert present opener so she coached Lincoln on the best way to get into them!
Linc and Minnie watching more presents being opened. He loved the Sock Monkey and held onto it for a long time. (Well, a long time for an 8 month old!) It definitely passed the "chew test."

One of the best gifts: curly ribbon bows! I think I'll fill his stocking with these instead of presents.

"Whoa!" With lots of supervision, Lincoln got to ride his horsey.

We all had a great time playing with the new toys and catching up since last month's visit. We'll be at Solana for Christmas Eve with the Kuhlman Clan, and I know Lincoln will enjoy all the festivities. After that I'm taking Linc to Arkansas to see the rest of the group. Merry Christmas!

Evolution of Bathtime

Way back when . . . Lincoln's first baths were no fun! We went with the sponge bath for a while, and we were all ready to move on to a better bath situation.

The dishpan worked well for a LONG time, though Kevin was sure he was too big for it. Lincoln began to enjoy kicking the water around and bathtime wasn't so horrible.
The next step in bathing was the reclining tub, and it was easier on everyone. I held onto this for way too long, but my back thanked me each time . . . knowing what was coming next!

We finally graduated to the big tub at 8 1/2 months! Lincoln was a bit confused and not too excited at first, but then he got interested in the rubber ducky and decided it would be ok. It is much easier to maneuver with all this space, and I'm sure he'll soon be splashing around like crazy. I'm thinking of getting a hose to attach to the faucet. My crystal ball shows me images of Lincoln playing in the dirt, covering himself in food, and other assorted messes. On second thought, maybe a pressure washer is a better option . . .

Holiday Wishes

So I'm a little behind on my Christmas wrapping . . . I just bring in bags from shopping and dump them in front of the tree because I don't have time to wrap them. Well, that's about to change! Tonight while Lincoln sleeps, Little Elf Mommy is going to wrap gifts. I'll try to post a picture when I'm all done.

Notice that Lincoln is about to bolt! It's pretty difficult to get him in a good picture since he's determined to be crawling all the time! I used to call out his name and he'd look right at me with a big grin. Now I call out his name and he dives over to me! This doesn't always make great pictures!

Pictures from The Gaylord Texan

Lincoln posed next to a lovely reindeer! He didn't seem to notice her . . . which was good considering what happened when he noticed he was sitting with Santa moments earlier!

Nana and Pops showed Lincoln the Texas-themed Christmas decor. I'm not a Longhorn fan, but this was very appropriate!
Lively Lincoln was ready to hop out of the sleigh! He kept lurching forward and laughing so I kept close just in case.
We enjoyed a yummy lunch next to the "Riverwalk" and had lots of fun. Lincoln left a few Cheerios behind for the next guests.

We really wore Lincoln out, but he had such a great time. Next year he'll be able to enjoy more of the activities they offer. (I know I'm ready to decorate a gingerbread house in the bakery and have storytime with Mrs. Claus.)

Best Santa Visit Ever!!!!

Nana and Pops took us to the Gaylord Texan (massive resort hotel nearby for those of you not in Dallas) on Saturday to tour the Christmas exhibit. Of course our first stop was to see Santa! In light of the NorthPark debacle, I was anxious and not sure we would see Santa this year. I'm happy to report that Lincoln officially sat on Santa's lap though I'm not sure he asked for any cool gifts. Santa was totally great-looking and the line moved very quickly. We only waited about 10 minutes . . . which was great because neither Lincoln or Kevin has any patience for lines! I uploaded these pictures from my cell phone, so the quality is not great. (Don't worry though because we have 10 5x7s in magnificent quality!)

Lincoln politely looked at the camera and puckered up when I handed him to Santa! It seemed like he was going to be a real pro!

After the first photo, Lincoln turned around to see who was holding him. Santa kindly looked back at him, and Lincoln froze! Uh-oh!Lincoln: "Daddy!!!!!! Come get me!!!!!!"

Mommy: "No wait! Get a picture of this face!"
It was a classic Santa moment, and I'm so glad we found a great Santa. I'm posting some amazing pictures of the Gaylord later today. Check back soon!

Shopping and Santa

Lincoln, Nana and I finally found time for a trip to NorthPark on Friday morning. We had a bit of shopping to do of course, and we definitely wanted to see Santa! We started out at Macy's and Nordstrom's and made a few purchases. I posted Lincoln up in front of a mirror and watched him entertain himself. He REALLY likes to smile and laugh at himself! I guess he thinks he's as cute as I do!

During our shopping we walked by The Trains, so we had to go through to show Lincoln how amazing the display is. He got his own hat that he actually wore for awhile.

There were so many awesome trains to see, and the detail of the cityscapes was incredible. Each time a train would come by, Linc would whip his head around to see it. Also causing quite a bit of whiplash were all the other kids running around. He had to check out everyone!

We had a great time at The Trains at NorthPark!

Where are the Santa pictures, you ask? We arrived at 11:45 am and the earliest available Santa visit was after 5:30 pm! Needless to say, we won't be visiting that Santa. Perhaps one of his friends at another mall will be less busy! Anyone know a Santa that makes house calls?

What a Change!

When we brought Lincoln home from the hospital, I was terrified. I thought he was too small for his infant seat and that it wouldn't safely protect him. He looked so tiny sitting in there! Here's a picture of the day we brought him home:

As you can see below, I don't have that fear anymore! Now I'm worrying how we'll squeeze him into the seat for another four months! I can't wait for him to be big enough for a big boy car seat, and I'm sure he'll appreciate the extra room. Last weekend he fell asleep on the way home from an afternoon of shopping. He had so much fun playing in the stroller and checking things out in the store that he wore himself out. He looked a little squished but slept happily!

So busy!

I remember reading a post from my friend Elizabeth Watson a few months ago about how Rhett moves so quickly from plaything to plaything. I thought we had a long time before Lincoln would be like that, but that time has come. I snapped a few shots while he was playing tonight, and he was constantly moving to the next thing. These were all taken within 2 minutes!

Trying to crawl over me to get to the fireplace - he finally went around me (kind of). Have I mentioned that Lincoln is like a bulldozer and just plows through whatever is in his way?

Enjoying the nativity scene again. I wonder how long we can keep that out? Easter? Labor Day? Next Christmas?
Lincoln is a pretty good car seat rider. Sometimes he has meltdowns about being trapped there, but overall he's ok with it. He stopped to check it out after throwing around a few of the animals.

Off again . . . this time he's headed to the toy basket to throw everything out. It's really a fun game for me to fill it back up so he can throw it all out again!

Lincoln was looking super cute in his "Daddy pants" tonight. I got them at Gap to match Kevin's, so we call them Daddy pants.