Snow?!?!

This morning a funny thing happened . . . it snowed in Dallas! As I nursed Lincoln the weatherman said it was snowing west of us, but that we should expect rain. Thirty minutes later, we opened the garage door to lots of snow. I didn't get a shot of Lincoln in the snow because he was buckled in his car seat and headed to Kevin's car. I love snow and hope Lincoln will have many chances to enjoy it too. Perhaps next time it won't be so early in the morning when we're hurrying out the door! Come on weatherman, hook us up!

(I know my Colorado and Minnesota readers think this is nothing, but in Dallas we appreciate every flake! You girls remember living in the South!)

8 months

Lincoln is 8 months old, and what a big kid he is! He's gets in to everything! He decided to go through the mail and help us look at the paper. As you can see he's constantly on the move. He loves to pick things up and throw them. He loves to examine things with his hands (not always his mouth!). He squeals with delight at each new item he checks out.

It seems that he is getting on a better nap schedule lately. If he can get a good (1 hour) nap in the morning, he's happy and playful until the afternoon when he'll take another good (1.5 hour) nap. We've been struggling for 8 months with naps, so I hope we're on the right track. I've read tons of books and articles about napping, but I seem to only read "what not to do." Perhaps he decided to take matters into his own hands and stop torturing me!

His stats are pretty much the same as a 7 months. He's not gaining weight because he's so busy crawling, but I think he's just the right size. He still gives lots of hugs, enjoys playing peekaboo, and likes riding in the shopping cart or the stroller for shopping. This is sure to be a fun holiday season with lots of excitement and love. Happy 8 month birthday, Lincoln!

Little Crawler

We have quite the little crawler these days! Lincoln was crawling a little before Thanksgiving, but he has really gotten the hang of it. I know he loves the freedom because he won't stay anywhere I put him. He's determined to crawl somewhere . . . even if he just turns around and crawls back to me. We've had a few bumped heads and noses, but he's not been slowed down by it. He gives a good cry then remembers what he was crawling to and takes off again. Once he thought he was alone in the living room and began crawling to Kevin's voice in the next room. Life will never be the same for any of us! Here's a short video from this weekend.

Put a lid on it!

Lincoln rarely leaves the house without a hat, so I have accumulated quite a variety. He has a ski hat, a fleece hat, two toboggans, a wool hat, a beanie, and a monkey hat. For one thing, I want his ears covered so he doesn't get another ear infection. For another thing, he is especially cute when he wears a hat. We wore out the pumpkin hat during October, and now I'm getting ready to debut his December hat. Stay tuned for a very merry photo soon!

Giving Thanks

Having fun at Thanksgiving dinner

On the move . . .

I am thankful for so many things this year. Of course I'm thankful for my family, my friends, my job, and my home . . . but most of all I'm thankful for every single little inch of Lincoln. He is pure joy! Here are some of the not so obvious things I'm thankful for:

Cheerios! Lincoln is enjoying Cheerios each day, and I love it. He likes to play with them and eat them, and I love anything that multitasks!

Old MacDonald! I sing a million verses of Old MacDonald, and I'm so thankful for all the animals I can include in my song and that Old MacDonald has such a wide variety on his farm.

Diaper Genie Elite! What an odor-keeper!

Christmas China! I'm thankful that we can celebrate the holiday at each meal now that I'm officially allowed to bust out the Christmas China.


Medela! The best $300 I ever spent was on the Medela breast pump . . . thank you for making a product that keeps on going and going and going.

Clorox! I'm sure Kevin is more thankful for germ-killers than I am, but the Clorox got a workout during our Thanksgiving prep. Who knew preparing a turkey was so germy?

I hope evereyone's Thanksgiving was great!

Hey Pops!

"Hey Pops! I'm gonna need to check out this hat you're wearing. Is it as good to chew as it looks? Let me have a bite, but don't tell my Daddy. He doesn't let me chew on hats!"

Where's my baby?

Each day is a new adventure for Lincoln: he sees something new, figures something out, tastes something different, and finds humor in something silly. It is truly amazing to see the world through a child's eyes. He is getting better and better at crawling and can get to any toy in the room. I don't think he sits still for even a minute because he's so busy rolling, scooting and crawling to the next thing. We started clapping and saying "Yay" every time he sat up yesterday, and he really picked up on that. Now he claps for himself when he gets upright! Of course we join in too. What a fun time! While I love that he's learning and growing so much, I sometimes hold him like a baby for a second (that's all he'll give me!). How did he get so big with so much personality in such a short amout of time? I could never have imagined he would grow up so fast. I am taking in every moment and will enjoy what's to come.

Big Teeth!

It takes a lot of chewing . . .

. . . to grow such big teeth!

Sweet Lincoln

(check out that hair standing straight up - no, it's not static!)

Lincoln and I do LOTS of cuddling, playing, tickling, climbing and hugging every day, but we never have pictures to prove it. Daddy has been taking an interest in the super-cool camera, so he took a few shots this evening. Sweet Lincoln was climbing all over me (as usual), but stopped to look cute just for Daddy!

Speaking of "Sweet Lincoln", his teachers inquired as to how we play at home. "Do you play pretty rough and wrestle with Lincoln at home?" she asked. I was baffled by this question and assured her that we played in a perfectly normal manner. "Well," she said, "Lincoln has pushed a few kids over and plays kind of rough." WHAT?!?! He's the bully of Infant Room F?!?! I first laughed then was embarrassed and asked if there was something I should do about this. She calmed me down and said it's probably just a phase and that some kids are just rough. Since this conversation I've noticed how he dives at me, climbs on me, pulls up on me, kicks me, grabs at me, rolls over on me . . . you get the picture. I guess I'm glad he's not the wimp of Infant Room F, right?

Ants in my . . .

Lincoln is so squirmy and squiggly that I'd say there are ants in his pants, but he won't be still long enough for me to get pants on him! Seriously, diapering is getting difficult! He is determined not to be on his back for even one second and flips over the second I lay him down. Not content to lay on his tummy, he pops up to sitting and examines everything on the changing table. I don't think this is the only post I'll have about the lack of cooperation around here!