Lincoln is 3 Years Old!

There is so much to say about Lincoln at 3 years old; he's the silliest, smartest, sweetest and bossiest little guy. I am forever amazed at the things he tells me, and how much of the world he already understands. I love to listen to him talk - that's lucky for me because he never stops! He has so much excitement about everything, and his little voice really reflects his joy. Of course he's three and that means sometimes his emotions get a little out of control, but there are lot more highs to enjoy than lows to mourn. Linc has also grown into a super big brother this year. Even though Beau sometimes steals his stuff, breaks up his puzzles, and hides his pillow and blanket, Linc loves really loves Beau and usually wants to include him in all activities. The warmer weather is great for this outside-loving boy. Baseball, bubbles, soccer, riding the tricycle or just going for a neighborhood walk are his favorite things to do.

A little over a month ago, Linc moved up to 3 year old Preschool, and he loves it! Each day he tells us what letter and number they studied, all the words from the lesson, what kind of art project he completed, and what new songs he learned. Each time we pull up to the grocery store, restaurant, swimming lessons, or any building, he immediately shouts out the letters on the sign. He especially loves "L" of course, and there are only a few letters that he doesn't recognize. He is becoming more adventurous with food, and Mommy loves that. His newest favorite thing to eat is a sandwich! I know that seems crazy, but he just didn't like mixing flavors. He's always loved turkey, ham, cheese and bread, but he wanted them separately on the plate. Two weeks ago, I put a turkey sandwich on his plate at lunch and waited anxiously. He said (in super squeal), "Mommy! Look at that silly sandwich you made me! It looks yummy, like a baloney sandwich that Goofy loves!" Speaking of sandwiches, Linc and Daddy have been bonding over ice cream sandwiches lately, thanks to a picture of Elmo eating an ice cream sandwich in a silly book. Before he will eat any new food (or even lots of old favorites), we have to call Bubbles to get his opinion. Linc mastered an important skill at swimming a couple of weeks ago and was rewarded with a ribbon and Slurpee coupon so off we went to redeem our treat. Before he would take a slurp, we called Bubbles to check. Luckily Bubbles said Slurpees are yummy.
Lincoln's "First Annual (or semi-annual if I remember on September 30) Favorites Quiz" results are in. I asked him about his favorite things and loved his answers. I know it will be fun to see how his answers evolve as he grows.
Favorite color: red
Favorite friend: Will and Lindsey
Favorite snack: Vanilla Wafers
Favorite fruit: strawberries and blueberries
Favorite song: Hark! The Herald Angels Sing
Favorite dinner: hot dog in hot dog bread (bun)
Favorite book: Sesame Street pop up book
Favorite letter: L for Lincoln, lion, lollipop and Lindsey
Favorite tv show/movie: Mickey Mouse Clubhouse
Favorite animal: elephant
Favorite Brother: Beau
Who do you love to play baseball with? Daddy
What makes you happy? Mommy
What sweet answers to this funny quiz!
We have had so much fun celebrating birthdays this month. Lincoln had so many birthday parties that he got confused about how old he was. He had a big friend and family birthday party last Saturday, a Mi Cocina birthday party on Thursday, a Preschool birthday party on Friday afternoon, and a birthday dinner party (at Nico's-his pick!) on Friday night. He asked me this morning if he was going to be four today because he already turned three at his earlier party . . . perhaps we should cut down on the parties! Between Beau, Linc, and Minnie having birthdays within two weeks of each other (sorry we couldn't be together for Bubble's birthday on the 29th), we have consumed 3 cakes and 8 dozen cupcakes this month! Should Stein's Bakery give me a Reward Card or what?!?!
Happy 3rd Birthday Lincoln! What an amazing 3 years we have had. I told Linc this morning that I first met him 3 years ago today and became his Mommy. He looked at me funny and said, "No, you always been my Mommy." So true!

Chillin' Outside

After all of the birthday party madness, we're loving to relax and play outside in the nice weather. Beau loves to be independent and play in the grass. He walks up and down the sidewalk and picks weeds all evening! Happy boy!

Lincoln has been trying out the new Cars scooter that Auntie gave him for his 3rd birthday. Scooter-ing is a learned skill, and we're working on it. He loves the idea though! He's determined, so he'll be scooting down the sidewalk in no time!

Lincoln's 3rd Birthday Party - Food and Friends

No birthday party is complete without yummy food! Of course we had delicious Stein's cupcakes and a little birthday cake. To give us lots of energy to bounce and climb on the truck, we also snacked on Blazin Hot Salsa, 3 Alarm Queso, Little Smokies, Pretzel Matchsticks, Smokin Cheese Sandwiches, Hot Tamales, and Dalmatian Cookies. I couldn't let anyone go hungry!

Lincoln and Erin took a cupcake break!
Cooper was loving the cupcakes too! He is the cutest thing with a facefullof red icing! By the way, I might have learned a lesson about red icing . . . perhaps I should remember for future birthday parties that colored icing presents plenty of messy issues!

I brought out Linc's little cake so we could all sing "Happy Birthday". He didn't jump up right away to blow out his candles. Cooper couldn't stand the suspense and helped his buddy out!

So many of our friends and family were on hand to help celebrate. I think everyone held a baby (either theirs or someone else's!), and all had a good time.

The grown ups had a shaded section to relax and converse, but they were overtaken by kids before too long!

I think the kids had a blast jumping in the bounce house, climbing on the truck and spraying the hose. Linc has the most fun friends ever!

Thank you to everyone for coming to celebrate Lincoln's 3rd birthday! Team Kuhlman and Team Freeman put together an awesome party, and I think our guests had a great time. Wonderful weather, yummy food, great entertainment, fun friends . . . as Linc told me after the party, "Best Birthday Ever!!"

Lincoln's 3rd Birthday Party - The Action

The party guests arrived to a fire truck bounce house, and everyone was jumping like crazy! So thankful for a nice warm late-March afternoon. About twenty minutes into the jumping, a real fire truck came up the street with lights flashing and sirens blaring! So fun! Everyone bailed out of the bounce house the see the cool fire truck!

Checking out the inside of the fire truck was super cool!

It wasn't long before we took a ride around the neighborhood on the fire truck. Linc declinded, but Minnie, Pops, Scooter, the Eoffs and the Brosnahans were happy to take a ride! So fun!

After the firetruck finished his rounds, the kids all took turns with the hose! Some kids were happy to just hold the hose and spray (Lincoln!), and some kids were happy to be the target of the spray (Cooper!). I think everyone had fun!

Linc's 3rd Birthday Party Prep

We began preparing for Linc's 3rd birthday party a few weeks ago, but the Kuhlmans and Freemans were all hands on deck early Saturday morning. Linc was sporting his Mickey pjs and fire hat while blocking off the street for the upcoming fire truck.

Bubbles held the cone in place while Linc and Pops unrolled the warning tape. So fun! I wonder what our neighbors thought of Linc's outfit! Don't worry - I was outside helping in my pjs too! Sorry neighbors!
The bounce house arrived early just after lunch, and Linc and Beau needed to try it out. They were both satisfied and had lots of fun jumping before mean old Mommy made them take naps!

Beau was thrilled to be involved in a big kid activity. He couldn't jump, but loved when we bounced him around.

Even Minnie joined in the bouncing fun! Lincoln thought it was so funny that his Minnie could jump!

Big Boy Bed!!!

With much trepidation (from Mommy) and much excitement (from Lincoln) we transitioned from crib to big boy bed on Friday night. A really smart Mom of four (Hayley, I'm talking about you!) once told me to keep them in cribs as long as you could. I took that advice seriously! The first time Lincoln crawled out of his crib back in August, I immediately put up the crib tent. He was thrilled about it and has never expressed any desire to remove the tent. (Perhaps because he doesn't know that other kids sleep in beds and not cribs!) I ordered the guard rail that goes with his crib, and it arrived on Friday. Kevin had the front of the crib removed before I could blink! Those boys were so excited!

Linc and Beau spent a few joyful moments playing in the tent on the floor. At one point, Linc looked at me really seriously and said, "Mommy, I think we need to give Beau the tent for his bed. He needs it." Don't worry . . . I'm going to keep that close by for Beau's first attempt at climbing out!
We ran into some complications with the guard rail . . . it didn't fit the bed. It was the same company, same collection, same name, same everything except the mounting holes didn't match up! Off to Babies R Us to get the generic, fits all beds, guard rail. Linc was so proud to pose for pictures with his big boy bed! He wanted to practice getting in and out a million times.

What a big boy Linc has been about his big boy bed! We explained that he has to stay laying down in his bed until Mommy comes to get him in the morning. (We probably told him a million times!) On Saturday morning he was so good but finally couldn't stand it any longer . . . at 8:00 am he called out, "Mommy, it's not nighttime anymore. It's daytime! Come get me!" I ran in to give him a big hug, and we made Mickey Mouse shaped pancakes to celebrate his big success! He has continued to stay in the bed and is so excited and proud to be big. I prayed hard for a good transition, and I am so thankful we are all on the same page. I totally cried when he was practicing laying in his bed on Friday evening, and I totally cried when I gave him a kiss and hug on Friday night, and I totally cried when I rescued him on Saturday morning . . . only three cries for such a momentous life-changing moment? I know, I'm getting so much tougher these days! It is still shocking after four days to see the rail instead of crib, but I'm getting used to is. Life is all about change, and I'm glad we're excited about that right now. Way to go, Linc!

Beau is 1 Year Old!

Happy 1st Birthday to Beau! From an unexpected scary start in the NICU, Beau has grown into an off the charts - totally awesome - super cool little one year old! We are were so blessed when Beau joined our family, but we didn't know what we were in for . . . a lot of smiles, a lot of giggles, a lot of messes, and a few overly dramatic meltdowns (from all of us at different times!). Here are Beau's stats.

Weight - 23 lbs 11 oz - 70% He's definitely not hurting in the weight department, and he's usually a pretty ambitious eater. We started the month switching to all cup and all whole milk, and that was a little distressing to poor Beau (P.S. It was way more than a little distressing!) Our meals were interrupted by the fits of a child wanting formula in a bottle. Whew! I'm glad we're past that. Beau's favorite foods are chicken, turkey, biscuits, carrots, green beans, vanilla wafers, strawberries and bananas. Daddy introduced Beau to Ritz crackers this week, and he is obsessed!

Height - 30 in - 50% We're definitely into 12 month pants and pjs now. He's got a long torso and grows out of onesies pretty quickly. Daddy decided he's supposed to wear tshirts only from now on because it makes him look like a big boy!

Cute stuff - Beau is sooooo smiley! I usually get a super cute cheese when I ask. He is a really good player, but he does like someone (Linc, Mommy or Daddy) to be near while he's playing. I think he's lonely when no one is around. Peek a boo is still a favorite game, and he has learned to cover his own face then lift the blanket to smile!

Walking - I wasn't really prepared for him to be walking so well at 12 months. For a few weeks he would toddle around taking a few steps at the most. Last weekend marked the end of crawling. The morning of his birthday party, Beau decided he could walk anywhere and everywhere and now chases us all around the house!

Even though he's totally mobile, he still loves to have Mommy carry him. I'm building some serious muscle lugging him around. I do get to enjoy how huggy he can be, and I always enjoy a little Beau-snuggling!

What an amazing year! Beau is just the best little thing ever. We have had so much fun watching him grow and go through so many baby stages. I think we were a little less crazy this time (lucky Beau!) because we had been through this before with Lincoln. Happy 1st Birthday Beau!

Walking Mess Maker

Beau is all of a sudden the best little walker around! Want to know the secret to getting him to walk? Yummy snacks, of course! Bubbles brought a few bags of Scooby Snacks for the boys on Saturday morning, and that was just IT for Beau. (BTW-Scooby Snacks are just dog bone shaped graham crackers, if anyone is interested in bribing Beau to do something!) Beau traveled anywhere for a Scooby Snack and was in love with Bubbles the whole day. Well he was in love with Bubbles until Lincoln got the Lucky Charms . . . new snacks! Linc didn't want to share and walked through the house trying to keep away from Beau, but little man kept up the pace and followed along.

Beau was determined that he could walk anywhere Linc could. Honestly, we've lost him a couple of times since the weekend. He just walks off to check out another room. I have to be on my toes, or he'll get into too much mischief!
Speaking of mischief, Beau entertained himself in the pantry while I made dinner tonight. I'm glad he found something to do I guess.

Apparently the pre-dinner mess was just a warm up. While I was cleaning up the dinner dishes, Beau got into the refrigerator and pulled out the berries . . . hungry for a snack maybe? He totally loved smushing the berries on the ground while I ran for the camera (phone).

To say that he is into EVERYTHING is an understatement. Luckily I have lots of Clorox wipes.

Beau's First Birthday Party!

Time flies when you're having fun, and we've flown through Beau's first year in record time. Beau's first birthday party was Saturday with friends and family helping us celebrating our amazing Big Beau! He's just the cutest thing ever!

Nana made us the cutest "Wanted" poster for Beau's western themed party.
The birthday banner was too cute as well.

I tried to think of all western themed foods to serve, then added in a few of our faves too! Smores on a Stick, Fire-Roasted Salsa, Sausage Wagonwheels, Chuckwagon Cinnaminis, and Moo-Cupcakes. (I added queso later because no party is complete without queso!) I also had Cow Tails, which we all decided is the WORST candy EVER! I bought out the supply at CVS pharmacy, and I might advise them to not carry it ever again.

Beau and I checked out the food table, and he was bummed it wasn't time for a cupcake yet.

Daddy and Beau greeted our guests, and Beau showed everyone how cool the balloons were.

Lincoln helped Beau blow out his candle, then Beau dove into his cupcake. Like his brother, he wasn't a fan of the icing but loved the cake. Who's kids are these? Seriously, the icing is the best part! Stein's made the cutest cow-print cupcakes that were so yummy!

Beau enjoyed his birthday gifts, and Linc was happy to help him with the unwrapping part!

Linc was so excited about the gifts, he decided to become one! What's in this big Happy Birthday gift bag?

Beau's Best/Worst Nightmare gift ever . . . it's Lincoln! Linc was very nice to give Beau a xylophone for his gift.

After popping out of a gift bag, Beau got a birthday squeeze from the best big brother in the world!

I got a few interesting questions from Linc after the party, regarding the Beau birthday status.

Linc: Mommy, Beau's birthday party day over?

Mommy: Yes, Beau's birthday party is over.

Linc: So the Beau's birthday toys are not Beau's anymore. They can be mine?

Mommy: No, sweetie. The toys are still for Beau, but he's really nice and will share the toys with you.

Linc: Ok, but I don't want him to play with them, ok?

We had a wonderful party with our family and friends who love Beau so much. Beau decided on the morning of his party that he would just walk! He has walked EVERYWHERE since Saturday morning. I think I can credit Bubbles for the inspiration for Beau's walking revelation because he brought a bag of Scooby snacks (dog bone shaped graham crackers) that Beau was completely obsessed with. He would walk anywhere to get a Scooby snack! It was a super fun party for our super great Beau.

Playing Together

I don't think I post very many pictures of the boys playing together. I guess that's because I'm usually the referee instead of the cameramom. Is that referee job going to be over soon? . . . I think not! We did catch a couple of cute pics over the last few days. Lincoln got to play with Play Dough after his nap, and Beau was most excited to join in the fun. He was only allowed to play with the empty Play Dough containers, but he didn't feel slighted in the least. As long as they both respect each other's boundaries (which they don't), they play well together.

Lincoln's love of books has not diminished, and I can often get him to interact with Beau by suggesting he help Beau with a book. Beau is loving photo books right now, and Linc was happy to tell Beau about the people in the pictures.
Lincoln and Beau play together as well as any 1 and 3 year olds, I'm sure. I love to sneak out of the room and watch them interact. Lincoln can be so encouraging and proud when Beau does a "big boy" thing, and then he can be so aggravated when Beau doesn't go along with his plan. Referee Hat back on . . .

Little Sliders

When the weather is nice, we hit up the playground after church on Sundays. Lincoln loves to play with Elise, Alexis and Emily, and Beau and his buddy Lewis just chill watching the action. Well, Beau is just about out of the chill/watching stage. He was lunging for the slide like crazy, and we just couldn't say no. Linc was so excited to slide with Beau and promised to hold him tight.

Ummmm, maybe Beau was rethinking his decision to slide with Lincoln's choke hold about halfway down. I texted this pic to Pops, and he said it looked like Beau was praying. Maybe so!!!! Full disclosure - Beau was all smiles for the first three slides, but by the time Mommy got her phone out to take pictures he was done with Lincoln's tight squeeze.
Lincoln loved it, and I know Beau will grow to love it too. Our church has a cool playground, and each Sunday Lincoln is sure to know if the weather (cold or raining) will prevent him from enjoying a few slides.

Elmo Came to Town!

We made our second annual visit to Elmo Live on Sunday. This year's theme was Making Music, and there were lots of songs by Elmo and the gang. We posed with a few props before the big event began. We also spent 15 minutes at the souvenir stand agonizing over the many choices. Linc finally decided on a plastic Elmo holding a wand with a blinking star on the top. He had a death grip on that thing the entire show!

We had great seats, although Linc sat on my lap the entire time because the Grandma in front of him was tall. I loved it . . . when do I ever get a completely still almost 3 year old to hug for over an hour???? Never!
During the break we burned some energy with hopscotch. We had to visit the potty several times. Each time one of the characters left the stage, Linc would ask where they went. When he asked about Big Bird, I answered that I thought he went to potty and would be right back. Immediately, Lincoln needed to go to the potty. I tried to assure him that Big Bird was going to a nest potty and not the one that little boys use, but he needed to find out for himself. We checked a few times with no luck.

It was a super fun Sunday afternoon! Beau got some one on one attention from Nana and Pops, and Linc got Mommy and Daddy all to himself. Daddy and Linc sang all the way to the car . . . well, Lincoln is still singing!

Thanks for coming to visit, Elmo! Lincoln says that Beau will be big enough to go next year, so be sure to come back!

Baseball Practice

Saturday was Lincoln's first baseball practice, and he was so me-cited (that's how he says excited!). He and Daddy listened to Coach Justin's instructions and had lots of fun. After a warm up of stretching and running drills, they practiced fielding, throwing, and running the bases. The funniest thing in the world is watching a 3 year old trying to run the bases. There's no concept of how to run in a straight line toward four bases markers on an invisible line! These boys were all over the place! There are four kids in our class, and they all figured out the base-running concept after a few tries because Coach Justin would run them and have the boys chase him.

Batting practice was super fun. Linc got in the hang of tapping the bat, raising it up high, and resting it on his shoulder before swinging. He connected a few times, sending the ball right at Coach Justin.
What a fun practice! He's asked a million times if he can go back to baseball practice, so I think he's sold! I love that he and Daddy have a special thing to do together. Beau and I watched from the sidelines, and Beau was crazy squirming. He wanted in on the action so badly. Before I know it, we'll be spending millions of hours at the baseball complex. Good thing Mommy loves baseball too! Daddy, Pops and Bubbles are ready to be catchers . . . the boys are lucky to have so many guys willing to sacrifice life and limb to help them practice! (Well, hopefully not life or limb. Maybe just a few hard bruises!)