17 Months

There are so many things to say about Lincoln at 17 months. He's totally funny, sweet, lovey, smart, silly, and a little rotten. He is learning so many things I can't keep up! I love that he mimics the words, gestures and sounds that we make. I love that he enjoys his books. I love that he always wants to give Mommy a hug and kiss. I love that he comes home from school with a new trick almost every day. I'm not so crazy about the recent fits and dramatic whines that have become so frequent lately. I'm not so crazy about the word "mine" that he's picked up. I'm not so crazy about the sleep troubles we just had. I'm sure each phase will be full of things that I love and things that I'm not so crazy about. Thank goodness there are so many things to love! Here's what I can think of about Lincoln at 17 months:

Weight - 23 1/2 lbs - still not a hefty kid

Height - no clue

Sleep - We recently went through our first rough patch of sleeping, and it was brutal! All of a sudden, Lincoln would scream bloody murder when one of us left the room at bedtime or if he awoke during the night. It was serious! The first few days I went back in to comfort him until he fell asleep. That didn't seem like the best habit to get into, so after several days of LONG crying spells (from Linc and Mommy), he decided he can go to sleep on his own again without a whimper! I'm so glad we got our awesome little sleeper back.

Fave Foods - strawberries, guacamole, cheese quesadillas, hot dogs (Hebrew National Kosher!), bananas, frozen yogurt, cheese, Teddy Grahams, corn flakes

Least Fave Foods - macaroni and cheese (or any kind of pasta), bread, green beans

New Words - all gone, no more, hoot (like the owl), door, key, shower, bracelet, home, wawa (wash hands)

Party Tricks - he's awesome at sign language these days and can do milk, more, momma, dada, baby, kiss, cereal, eat, drink, ball, friend, sleep, and bath. He loves to sing Row Row Row Your Boat, do the Itsy Bitsy Spider, Head Shoulders Knees and Toes, and The Wheels on the Bus. When asked what Daddy says, Linc shakes his head and says "no no no." When asked what Mommy says, he smiles and says "tee tee." (What? I'm pregnant and do that a lot now!) He likes to play chase (crawling or running) and have me crawl or run after him. He drops everything and comes running when he sees a camera, gets SUPER close, and yells "cheese!"

I'm sure I'll think of so many more cool things, but this will do for now. What did we do before we had this little monster around for entertainment? He's way better than tv!

Evening Performance

We got quite a concert while preparing for bed this evening. Lincoln only had a couple of songs left in him by the time we got the camera. Enjoy!

Gym Rat

Given all the energy Lincoln has these days, we decided to check out gymnastics class. He loved it!!! There were 7 kids in our class, and they all squealed and screamed the whole time! First we jumped on the trampoline. He got the hang of it pretty quickly.

Next up - jumping in the pit!

Having fun with new buddy, Patrick. These two were fast friends and had a great time together.

Lincoln got strapped in and did a bit of flying, too!

The bars were super fun. Daddy was trying to help him get across, but Linc thought it was too funny!

Little monkey was hanging like a pro!
Whew! That was fun! We'll definitely be back every Saturday for another gymnastics class. We also got to practice forward rolls and head stands on the floor. Daddy chased Linc around for the whole hour, and everyone was exhausted. We all celebrated with a LONG nap!

. . . And Baby Makes Four!

Since Lincoln's learning so much and doing so many cool things, we decided he needs someone to share all these neat things with. Yep, we're having another baby! Oh my goodness, this one is so much different already. I discovered I was pregnant at 1 day, I swear. I started out nauseous but constantly starving and exhausted but unable to sleep. Hmmmm . . . those aren't good combinations, are they? At 11 weeks, the nausea has gone away thankfully. I'm still on and off about sleeping, and I cherish the nights when it comes in long stretches. The baby should arrive a couple of weeks before Lincoln's 2nd birthday in March 2011. If you know Kevin, you know it took a little convincing to go for another kid. I kept assuring him it would be smarter to get all the craziness of adding a baby to your nice cozy family sooner rather than later. (I mean, does he want to carry around a newborn at Linc's 110 degree baseball practices in 5 years? I think not!) So here we are . . . with none of the difficulties of last time. My body has been much more receptive of the baby with this pregnancy, and we haven't had any of the issues we had before. I'm so thankful that we can give Lincoln a brother or sister. Speaking of Lincoln . . . he's not really interested in the "baby" idea right now. So far the only way it has affected him is that he can't bounce on my belly anymore.

(This should explain my decrease in posts lately. I'm just so tired! It's getting better, so I'll try to keep it up. Stay tuned for awesome gymnastics pics soon!)

Nursery First

As Lincoln gets older, he gets louder and less cooperative! Is that surprising to anyone about a toddler? We've always kept him out with us in big church, only taking him out when he got noisy or upset. Since he was getting more rambunctious, we decided to try out the nursery this week. We all marched in and told the lady we were ready to play! I put a sticker on Lincoln's back (seriously!) with his name, our names, allergy information and where we'd be. (I was a little concerned about this sticker business at first, but it makes perfect sense.) Of course he began to cry as we ran off, but I yelled back that he'd be fine because he's used to school! I'm sure the lady was thrilled at that point. We were able to spy on him a few time through a series of strategically placed windows. Guess what - he was eating Goldfish in a circle with his new friends and enjoying a book. Perfect! When we went to retrieve Lincoln, we had to turn in our "claim ticket" that matched his sticker. Too funny! I'm glad to know we can send him to have fun in the nursery. It makes it much easier to pay attention!

It didn't take long for him to make a mess when we got home. This is just the beginning of Tornado Lincoln! He's getting so good at posing for pictures, isn't he?

What's in that cup?

What's the worst thing you can do to Lincoln? Give him juice! I know he doesn't like it, but I occasionally give him a taste. He eats lots of veggies and fruits (seriously he almost ate a whole carton of strawberries today!), so I know he's getting the good stuff. Juice definitely isn't a necessity, but I think he might want to get used to the taste eventually. Well not today! I gave him diluted apple juice in his favorite cup (to ease the burden) and here's the reaction:

Oh, well. Milk and water will just have to do!

Yummy Frosty!

Lincoln got a taste of his first Wendy's Frosty recently . . . and it was yummy! It has been so incredibly hot, and we needed some cold treats. Of course, he wanted to be in charge of the spoon!

I didn't think that was the best idea since he had on such a cute little outfit. I wrangled the spoon away and quickly shoved in another bite of Frosty! Yum!
OK, the outfit just needed to go. Why risk getting chocolate on the cute green dinosaur?!?!

Finally we had to brush our teeth after our sweet treat. Since it's supposed to continue to be over 100 degrees for the next few weeks, we may need another Frosty to keep us cool!

Little Drummer

Does anyone have a spare set of earplugs? We've been encouraging Lincoln's love of drumming, but it's getting pretty loud! Turn the volume all the way up to get a taste of what we're living with!

Cheering

After every basket Lincoln makes, he claps and cheers for himself . . . and looks around the room to make sure every person is clapping and cheering too. He definitely doesn't suffer from any self-esteem issues!

Sometimes he's so excited he just can't stand it. He squats down and squeals so loud. Just look at this excitement!

Kitchen Helper

Bless this wooden creation that is making cooking a breeze at the Kuhlman's. We finally got Lincoln's tower in after months of back-order and reorder . . . and it was worth the wait! He loves standing at the counter to "help" me with dinner. He gets a few bowls, spoons and other stuff to play with while I cook. It's a life-saver because he's really been wanting me to hold him while I cook. That's uncomfortable and a bit dangerous!

The mixing bowl found a new use today - a hat! Isn't this the cutest thing? He just kept smiling that precious, innocent smile at me!

If you don't have one of these, get one ASAP! It says Ages 3 and up, but whatever! He's tall enough to reach the counter on the highest setting, and it has lots of lower settings. We'll use this forever!

Bath Activities

Part of the evening routine is brushing our teeth, and boy is it fun. We have the yummiest Elmo toothpaste that Lincoln loves. First he sucks all the toothpaste from the bristles. Then he brushes his teeth and gums. Priorities, right? He's multitasking by brushing and bathing at the same time!

After he's done brushing, he has to take a drink or two! Anything will work as a cup: shovel, boat, bucket, etc.

Who knew getting ready for bed was so fun?!?!

New 'Do!

Showing off his new cute haircut in the bath . . . doesn't it look nice and cleaned up? It was kind of wild!

He was pointing and saying "Night-night"! There is no messing around at bedtime. Once he's got his pjs on, it's time for a book and bed!
(Don't you just love that physique! His belly was full from a big dinner - chicken, rice, carrots, macaroni and cheese and strawberry yogurt. Seriously I thought he would never quit eating! I think he's like a camel with water. He eats like crazy for a few days then goes on strike for the next few days. Sigh . . . )

First Haircut!

August 1st was a big day for Lincoln because he got his first real haircut! I've trimmed it a little around the neck before, but he needed a more professional style than Mommy could manage. We went to Cool Cuts and had a great experience. Linc got to sit in the cool taxi car, though he didn't actually sit. He decided to stand the whole time! Daddy read books to keep him distracted while Ms. Nicole worked her magic.

It got a little ugly once, but only for a few minutes. Lincoln didn't like the spray bottle!Back to the books and a quick drink. After making all the animal sounds, we're almost done.
Not so bad, huh? We all survived and will definitely go back to see Ms. Nicole. She was super fast and gave lots of hugs.

I'll have to post a picture of the new look tomorrow. Trust me . . . it looks too cute!