21 Months and 29 Weeks

At 21 months, Lincoln has lots of things he loves. He loves Mommy and Daddy, sometimes one more than the other! He loves Elmo (and his gang) and Mickey (and his gang), sometimes one more than the other! He loves Cinnamon cake and wapples, chicken strips and french fries, carrots and peas, yogurt and strawberries, milk and water, granola bars and m&ms, hot dogs and rice, and bananas and apples. He loves to PLAY, PLAY, PLAY!!! He's not getting much bigger, but he's learning new things and saying new things each day. There's no way I can count the words he says right now. He's definitely had a language explosion. Sometimes he tells me whole sentences. The other day, he said: Momma, noman cup pill water blanket and Linky. That meant the snowman cup spilled water on the blanket and on him. I investigated this incident, and it was in fact true. Each time we get out of the car, he says: new gaaaaage go up and down and Daddy go up and down. This means our new garage door goes up and down and Daddy goes up and down (the attic ladder). So Smart!!!! Secrets and bad words are no longer safe now that he's such a talker.

Linc still loves his books! Ally gave him this Mickey book, and it's become a favorite. He keeps his favorites out on the table in the playroom, but keeps the other (million or so) books nearby in bins.

He really enjoys trucks, especially Chuck the Truck that Aunt Marte gave him for Christmas. It talks and drives around so he can chase it!

It's hard to wait on it to drive itself, so sometimes Lincoln gets impatient. He often pushes it along until it speeds off on it's own!
He's really such a helper . . . and by that I mean in the middle of everything we do!!!! Laundry - helping load the washer. Organizing - unpacking everything just put away. Fixing the vacuum - hammering away! On the plus side, he'll put almost anything away, carry anything for you, and follow most clean up instructions.

Bathtime is still a favorite! Each night when we brush his teeth, he grabs the baby fingernail clippers and asks me to cut his fingernails. I know, weird!!! I do one or two each night to satisfy him and keep them short. I never thought this task would turn out to be the easy one!!!! We like to play and sing in the tub, and he wants to give himself the bath. We often fight over the washcloth these days. I'm slowly letting him soap himself up, but I like to assist! After months of screaming on Daddy's bedtime nights, he's come to love Daddy's nights. Now he'll pick Daddy over Mommy any night. I like to listen to them on the monitor saying "love you" to each family member . . . they go on and on to extended family members even!

While being totally cute, sweet, smart and helpful, Lincoln is also very determined. He was determined to help Daddy organize the boxes in the attic today. Not such a toddler thing to do, but he just knew he needed to be on the ladder. We tried to compromise with a step stool, but it just wasn't the same. Here he is trying to convince Daddy to let him up . . .

Linc's a totally fun kid, and I can't wait for the things he'll come up with in the next month. I know he'll have so many things to teach Baby Beau! Speaking of Baby Beau, he's growing right along. I read that he's over 15 inches long and weighs over three pounds. He's been getting on my nerves lately . . . literally! I've been having some back and leg pain from him sitting on a nerve, but I can usually work it out. I'm feeling ok, though I get tired and lots of pains because I can't slow down. I know I'm not supposed to haul boxes around, shop all day, or cook all day, but I hate not being able to do things! My back is killing me most nights, sleep is elusive at this point, and I have that crazy restless leg syndrome right now. These complaints are all worth it because we'll get to meet Beau in just over 70 days!!!