22 Months

What can I say about a 22 month old that another Mom hasn't already said? Life is full of ups and downs for a kid this age. The ups are so high and the downs are so low. I'm just trying to remember the funny moments when things aren't so funny. Lincoln has so much personality that I think he can't get it all out. He talks constantly, and everyone we meet comments on how much he talks. He is very observant and always tells me what's going on. He noticed a couple of cats in a house while on a recent walk and said, "Kitties in the window, Momma." He constantly tells me something Elmo said in one of his movies like, "Dinosaurs eat the leaves." He loves to roar especially!!!! Many nights he'll sit in his bed and talk for half an hour before he falls asleep. One night I heard him say "Donald Duck has a lion and says roar. Donald Duck lost his lion." We still love to sing along with our Sesame Street CD player. He's very serious about the order in which the songs are played and the page that goes along with it. Don't mess with the CD player!!!

Eating is hit or miss as usual. We'll have a good week of consistent eating then he'll feel crummy and not want much of anything. I always cheer when the scale is above 25 pounds! Even though he's not gaining any weight, he's definitely doing some growing. More and more clothes are culled from the closet and tossed in the "Beau basket." This past week he was really into fruits and carrots . . . the other stuff was just ok, but I couldn't serve enough of those two things.

Excuse the picture quality below, but it was too cute not to share. Linc struck this funny pose before heading out the door the other day to blow bubbles. He was singing the Bubble Song and did a little booty shake! He makes up lots of songs and they are sooooo sweet!

I came in from a walk to find this kid in my living rom! Elmo accessories were strewn all over the room and he was taking a break! Don't mess with Elmo around here . . . he's pretty much the most important guy ever! Elmo stickers, CDs, movies, books, blocks, cups, shirts, socks - you name it, we've got it!

Even when we have to leave gymnastics early because someone's throwing a fit, I still love the little guy to pieces. He is amazingly smart and funny. I love that he's soaking up every word I say and trying to use it correctly. I know there are a lot more ups than downs, and I'll enjoy every second!

Weekend Update

Guess who came to visit this weekend . . . Bubbles and Minnie!!! We haven't seen them since Christmas, and we were so excited. There was lots of chatting to do. Lincoln really impressed them with his language skills. He would tell them so many things, and I would translate the words they didn't understand. We always take advantage of Bubbles while he's here and give him a list of things to "help" us with. A leaky potty was on the agenda this time. He got right to work with Linc and Pops standing by. Of course, he got us all taken care of! We all took a break to make the trip to Euless to North Main Barbque, and WOW was it good! Kevin had seen it featured on the Food Network so we had to check it out. All you can eat for just 12 bucks, and it was a marvelous spread. If you're in the area, check it out.

I'm not sure he needed an assistant, but Lincoln was more than happy to help. He didn't want to miss a minute of this exciting project. Lincoln was also able to help Daddy and Bubbles upgrade the Daddy Room tv. He LOVED pressing the buttons, turning it on and off and getting right in the middle of course.

I won't say Linc was on his best behavior all weekend, but he was definitely entertaining. He managed a few complete meltdowns, which are becoming more frequent lately. I keep reading that this is totally normal. I'm not sure I like this totally normal occurance, but we're doing our best to handle each outburst appropriately. Other than the fits, Lincoln is having more fun than ever and keeping us laughing by singing us songs, telling us lots of stories, and dancing like a silly kid.

Super Fun

If you aren't in Dallas right now, you may not be suffering Super Bowl Fever like we are. It's all anyone can talk about, and there's so much Super Bowl stuff going on all around town. We spent this afternoon at the official NFL Super Bowl Experience at the Convention Center. Allegedly they had 800,000 square feet of fun . . . and we walked all 800,000 square feet at least once! Whew - I'm exhausted!

Linc was excited about his armband. He kept calling it his sticker.

The real Lombardi Trophy was on display.

They had a cool shopping area too. Lincoln got a football (to share with Beau, of course), and Daddy got a couple of things too.

We took full advantage of the kids area where Linc could play lots of games. He threw the ball right in the hole! (I'm such a cheerleader off to the side!)

He made a few kicks!

Check out how intently he's listening to the directions of this guy. The directions were to run over to the lockers, put on the jersey and run back to the orange mat. Serious stuff!
The jersey was a little big . . . and hard to run in!!!
We had a new snack - they were handing out bags of Doritos so Linc sampled a few. He liked Cool Ranch best! Also, he needed to try on the 3D glasses like Daddy. So cool!
This was as close as we're getting to the real Super Bowl, but it was lots of fun. My only gripe: the Dallas Convention Center has escalators EVERYWHERE, and Lincoln always wants to ride them. He was constantly running off toward one yelling "up and down". Also, I realize now that wide horizontal stripes might not be the best look for an 8 month pregnant lady . . . my mirror didn't clue me in on that before I left the house. Ah, live and learn!!

Professional Stacker

OK, I know Mom's brag a lot about the awesome things their kids can do, but seriously check out how high Lincoln can stack blocks!!!!! His stacking skills must be way off the charts! I promise I didn't assist him. I just marveled at his coolness! He brought them in one by one from the playroom and added them to the stack. When he concentrates, he sticks his little tounge out! Too cute!

And what's the point of stacking blocks if you don't love knocking them down?!?!

Maybe this means he'll be a famous architect when he grows up . . . or a super cute brick layer at the very least!

Birthday Party Fun

We helped our friend Alexis celebrate her 2nd birthday this weekend . . . with a super cool petting zoo! The animals were a bit much for Linc, but he was happy to discuss them from a short distance away. I would ask if he wanted to go see the animals, and he'd say "no see the animals Mommy". We had plenty of fun on the swingset, pushing the mower, sliding down the slide and having a few snacks.

The birthday girl loved the animals!

Mommy and Lincoln shared a piece of cake . . . Linc really enjoyed both the cake and icing. Usually I get to hog the icing because he just likes the cake, but I guess I'll have to share both now. (Baby Beau made it in this picture - see my giant belly sticking out on the right!)

Linc made a new friend over the frisbee game. They talked about the colors and traded frisbees back and forth.
We all had lots of fun on a nice Saturday morning. Linc made it to the early gymnastics class before the party, so we had a busy morning. Luckily we just chilled for most of the afternoon . . . naps, a walk, tons of books and of course a little Elmo and Abby.

Baby Hugs

Lincoln was practicing hugging Baby Beau! (Ok, really he was just sitting on Mommy as usual.) Beau is going to recognize Linc right away because he gets to hear him talk (and whine and cry and giggle and oh so many other things) very often and very closely.

Addicted!

Lincoln got to enjoy a few Cheetos with dinner recently, and he was hooked! I would only put one on the plate and cut it in a couple of pieces, and he would keep yelling "more, more"! The only problem . . . he didn't like the mess on his hands. He kept telling me "yucky hands" and "Momma, wipe the hands" while he was eating. Such a funny kid!

Such a Chatterbox

Lincoln is such a talker! I recorded him over the monitor when he woke up this morning. I had gotten up early to make him waffles and got to hear this little conversation. First he says that he bumped his head, then he says that he bumped his elbow. (I'm not sure that he did because he says these things a lot, even when he's not bumping things!) I can't quite understand the next part, then he starts in with "No Daddy do it and Momma do it". The usual!!!!!! The sound quality isn't the best because I recorded this with my phone and the fan was pretty loud through the monitor. It was fun to hear his morning thoughts!

Sweet Sunday

After church this morning, we went to have pizza with our friends the Brosnahans. Linc loved hanging with the girls and loved the games at the pizza place, but he didn't love the pizza! I was prepared that he wasn't going to do much eating, and I was right. The bread sticks were ok, but that was as adventurous as he would get! I don't know who's kid this is because Kev and I both LOVE pizza. Maybe he'll grow into it . . .

After lunch and a nap, we busted out the tunnel. What a cutie!!!!!

I was lucky enough to get some sweet cuddling this evening. Linc climbed up on my lap (with Elmo and Abby in tow) and just played. What a few precious moments to cherish . . . usually I'm being climbed on and roughed up! Not the most delicate, my Lincoln!

Fun-Filled Saturday

What a busy Saturday! We started off the day with a Cinnamon roll and a little Mickey Mouse and snuggling - can't beat that! Gymnastics was next, and Lincoln was ready for the fun. Doesn't he look like the biggest kid! He was definitely ready to hit the door when we stopped for a pic. (I know, he's wearing shorts and a t shirt in January! It's indoors people!!!!)

Linc still really loves gymnastics. They jump on the trampoline, walk the balance beams, swing on the bars, practice forward rolls and run down the tumble track. This week they even had a bounce house for fun! Lincoln was pretty intimidated at first and wouldn't go in . . . then he saw there were balls in there. He darted in through the tunnel and bounced right back out seconds later carrying a ball from inside! He didn't want to jump - he just wanted a ball!

After lunch and a nap, we headed to a baby shower for Kevin and Veronica. They are expecting their own little bundle of joy in about 5 weeks, so Linc had to show them what to look forward to! He sampled their snacks and checked out the doggie for a bit. He made a new friend, Tyler, who had a cool robot book. Before long, Tyler pulled out his fancy Nintendo (do they still call them Nintendos these days?), and Lincoln was totally amazed!

He sat paralyzed while Tyler played and explained about the game. Where do we get one of these???? I began explaining early in the afternoon that we were going to a shower, but Linc was very confused. He said "shower? water?" I changed my story and said we were going to a party, and that made much more sense. Lincoln helped me pick out some of his favorite books at the store to give Baby Whitener. I hope they enjoy them like we do. Thanks for inviting us!

What a fun and happy Saturday! We also did lots of playing with Lego Abby and Lego Elmo and our construction set. Baby Beau really racked up today too. He got a crib, dresser, chest, and mattress. Apparently there was a big sale going on - we took full advantage! (Linc tested out the new crib in the store and said it passed!) We'll be excited for our new furniture to arrive soon, along with our precious baby boy to go with it! It was a busy day!

Still a Little Book Worm

Although Lincoln has really been enjoying playing with toys lately, he always goes back to his books. We buy a lot of books! I think each time we go to the store, we get a new one! I'm sure if there's one thing it's ok to be overindulgent on, it's books!!! Besides, all our favorite stores have a great selection of Elmo and Mickey Mouse books. Our latest Mickey book came with little figurines of all the characters, and Linc really loves that! (I'll admit that Chip (of Chip and Dale) is hiding from us right now, but he'll turn up!) He stands them all up and rearranges them over and over.

He's memorized the little Sesame Street set from when he was a baby, but he still loves them. These used to be bedtime books, but we've graduated to nursery rhymes. His favorite rhymes are Humpty Dumpty, Hey Diddle Diddle and Sing a Song of Sixpence.
Linc is great at identifying objects and pictures, so he practices a lot using his books. I'll never be able to count the words he knows. He surprises me all the time by identifying something new or using a word in a new way.

I'm re-reading Pride and Prejudice for the millionth time right now, along with What to Expect Toddler version. Kevin's reading the latest D Magazine. I hope Lincoln will continue his love of reading and help pass it along to Baby Beau!

New Obession!

We've discovered a new favorite around here . . . Elmo and Abby Lego sets! Lincoln is constantly shouting about them! He has trouble putting them together, but knows each piece to hand me to get them just right. Here they are just posing, and he's trying to get his arm around them!

Apparently Elmo and Linc were having a serious conversation! He talks to them a lot!

Apparently Elmo got cold, so Linc shared his blanket!

He tries to give them drinks of his water too, and even makes the drinking sound! So thoughtful to share . . . now if he'll share with his little brother one of these days, we'll be set!

Windy!

Pops and Lincoln found themselves outside on a windy day . . . such a cute face!!!

Woooooo Pig Soooie

Somebody was ready to cheer on the Hogs in the Sugar Bowl . . . too bad it started right about bedtime! Don't they know little fans have to tuck in early??? Linc got to cheer for a few minutes then had to head off for the bath and bed. I'm sure he's Calling the Hogs in his sleep!

'Later Up and Down

I wonder how many times I heard this phrase today: 'Later Up and Down. We went to the Galleria to try a new pizza place (two thumbs up, by the way!), and Linc was totally enthralled by the escalators as usual. We had to turn his chair around during lunch so he couldn't see the escalator by Luciano's.. He was going crazy to get down and ride it! It's usually just Lincoln and Mommy at the mall, and I'm not brave enough to take the escalator with the stroller. Today Daddy was with us, so we had an extra hand. They rode up and down while I shopped a bit. Linc had a super time . . . plus we all took a cookie break! How much better can life get for a toddler?!?!