A look back at our Christmas holiday . . . I left for Newport the Monday before Christmas. Mom, Dad, Allyson and I did some last minute shopping in Little Rock and began our week-long parade of food! We went to Allyson's favorite restaurant, El Puente, in Newport, and it didn't disappoint. On Tuesday morning we awoke to ice storms scattered through the state of Arkansas. After the all clear from the highway department, we headed down to Dumas. Auntie was waiting for us with a great dinner of duck and dressing, chicken and dumplings, okra, potatoes, and rolls. Does that sound like a southern Christmas meal or what?!?! I also requested banana pudding for dessert and it was super! We opened a few gifts and did lots of visiting then decided to get rested for the next day's activities. We headed out to Memama and Poppa's at lunch on Wednesday and waited for Kevin to meet up with us. (Of course I got to taste-test the apple pie for Christmas Eve!) Finally Kevin arrived and Baby Lincoln really got busy wiggling. Many of my family members got to feel a kick or two . . . and one of them was kind of creeped out! Allyson isn't sure she likes the feel of the baby kicking, but she kept reaching to feel again. Christmas Eve brought lots of good food at Julia Ann's house, and we opened lots of fun presents including Baby Lincoln's Razorback goodies. We headed back to Newport after dinner so we could wake up on Christmas morning at home. Dad's designated job on Christmas Day was cooking, but we managed to open lots of presents before he had to get started. Kevin is already making plans for my new mini-spring form pans: he requested little cookie cakes and brownie cakes. His favorite gifts were for Baby Lincoln, who really racked up the Razorback items. Kevin received his very own diaper bag (very man-ly with a Hog on it) and lots of stuff to put in it. Dad was in charge of pancakes (with grape jelly of course) and other breakfast staples, followed by the Freeman Christmas Lunch of cheese dip, finishing up the evening with hamburgers (my other pregnancy craving). All in all, mom and baby had a yummy day! Allyson came back to Dallas with us on Friday night, and we had lots of fun. We watched a few movies, shopped, slept in and had dinner with Eric and Samantha at Mi Cocina. I put her on a plane home yesterday afternoon happy that we got to spend so much time together. She's warming up to the baby and loves to watch Kevin obsess over my belly.

Unfortunately, I managed to take a pretty bad cold in the midst of the holiday. After spending hours researching different remedies on the internet, I called my doctor. I have been through all the symptoms over the past five days: sore throat, coughing, congestion, stuffiness, and now ear troubles. I'm confident there are no symptoms left for me to have, so this must be almost over! Everyone took such good care of me while I have been sick. I have to say I was very cautious regarding cold remedies, and it probably drove a few people crazy. Most cough suppressants, expectorants, decongestants, zinc cough drop therapies, liquids and pills are considered unsafe during pregnancy. I ready studies from all over the world on many different species and generally freaked myself out about drugs! Sometimes there's too much information available on the internet . . . anyway, Dr. Milstein to the rescue and I'm on the safest road to recovery.

Baby Lincoln has not slowed down at all. He's been keeping us entertained with lots of kicking and a repeat of the hiccups. His activity patterns have changed a bit. He does some serious dancing in the mornings, naps a bit, then wakes up for lunch. After another nap, he resumes dancing and kicking in the evening when we settle down. Kevin still loves to feel him kick, and I still love to watch the two of them. I never take for granted how amazing it is, and I love to share that with Kevin.

I hope you all had a wonderful holiday. My camera didn't come out of my purse even once, so I'll have to rely on others for photos. Perhaps Dad or Sarah will send me a few to post.

Happy New Year!

The Life of Lincoln

What's Lincoln been up to lately? Well, he's been one busy little boy! The book says he's up to 2 pounds now. (I'll spare all of you a picture of what they've given me as a comparison - - a 2 pound chuck roast! The picture wasn't as cute as fruit!) As he gets bigger, his movements get much more consistent and forceful. He's still most active when I'm at work, plugging away at my desk. He keeps me entertained during those long days. Speaking of long days, my last day of work was Friday and I don't return until Jan 5. I know, I know, we're really spoiled! I'm going to enjoy lots of time with family and friends, sleep as much as possible (which won't be much) and get ready for the new year.

So here's what Lincoln has in his bag of tricks these days:

He gets the hiccups! Seriously, it's so funny that he's hiccuping in there and he jerks every few seconds. It lasted about 10 minutes last time and made me laugh so much.

He has serious karate kicks! Kevin got to feel one again last night, and it always shocks him. Lincoln does a lot of swimming around in there and usually has mild kicks, but sometimes he really gets me. I know not to take it for granted because before long we won't be together every minute.

He plays a kicking game with me! So I got a swift kick the other night, and I decided to fight back. I gave him a quick poke above my belly button. A few seconds later he responded right back with another kick! We played our little game for a bit while I made dinner, and I laughed and laughed. I'll try to keep this game limited to pre-birth, as I don't really want my kid to be the kicking, poking bully taught by Mommy!

Hope you're all ready for the holiday. We're off to Babies R Us this afternoon and maybe a bit more Christmas shopping. But first, Lincoln is asking for pancakes with grape jelly for breakfast this morning. I'm sure I can make that happen for the little fella!!

What's in a name?

There are many things to consider when naming a child, as I've come to learn. Nicknames, alliteration, pronunciation, initials, meaning and origin, and most importantly people you already know with that name! Fortunately we've found a name that passes each test, and we're excited to announce we no longer need to refer to our bundle of joy as Baby Boy Kuhlman. From here on we'll call him Lincoln Kevin Kuhlman. That's right . . . Lincoln. My mom called to say she learned of a baby boy with a name that was stuck in her head, and she was passing it on to us with no pressure. We mulled it over for a bit, and it was just what we needed. We practiced the in trouble voice (Lincoln Kuhlman, get in here now!), the stadium announcer (Starting at quarterback/pitcher, Lincoln Kuhlman), the friends greeting (What's up, Linc!) and the potential girlfriend call (Hi Mrs. Kuhlman, is Lincoln there?). Lincoln fit perfectly!

Just in case you're wondering: Lincoln is of Latin origin and means lithe, or characterized by flexibility and grace.

So let us know what you think . . .

Pretzel Mania!

It's that time of year again at our house . . . Pretzel Time! For those of you who don't know, I make chocolate dipped pretzels with sprinkles for Richard's corporate gift baskets (although they are WAY more than baskets). Kathy does an amazing job putting together 50 baskets of all things chocolate each holiday season, and my pretzels are one of the stars. How does one make 50 bags of these lovely treats?

Two days off work

+

5 cases of pretzels

+

25 blocks of chocolate

-

a bit of sanity

x

a slight backache

=

50 bags of dipped pretzels

Luckily I was able to take time off work, and luckily I had a little helper this year (and no, I don't mean Kevin). The pretzels looked cute and the bags turned out great. It took endless hours to dip and 5 more hours to bag, so I listed to a lot of Sirius or XM (whatever) 90s on 9! Note: Nelson, Gin Blossoms and Alanis Morrisette are constantly in the rotation on 90s on 9. You'd think with an entire decade of songs from every genre they could have a few less repeats!! Anyway, the music was helpful and helped me not go crazy. Baby and Mom danced to our favorite songs and sang a lot, too! Sitting worked out for the bagging portion, which took longer than I had planned . . . I spent too much time making sure each sprinkled pretzel faced outward to maximize the holiday effect. I know, I know, people are just going to eat them not stare at the bag, but I couldn't help it. Included are a few photos of the work in progress, although we forgot to begin documenting the progress until the end! Merry Christmas!

24 weeks and counting . . .

Since my last post was all about holiday spirit, I thought I'd add one all about Baby Boy Kuhlman. I know you're getting tired of me referring to him as Baby Boy Kuhlman, and I'm working on it! There is a lot to think about when choosing a name, and Kevin is giving me more than I bargained for. Each name I suggest has a counter because he always knows someone weird with that name. For example - Ross is out because a kid named Ross ate dog food in 5th grade. Do you all understand what I have to work with!!! We've narrowed the list to four and are practicing with one each day. Allyson has dubbed him "Little Tyke" so feel free to use that for now.

I'm happy to announce that Kevin finally got a swift kick from Baby Boy Kuhlman, and it was very timely. The evening of the infamous Christmas Decorating (overdoing it) we hadn't had any movement and panic set in. Around 11:00 that evening I was just about ready to hit the emergency room, but Kevin was trying to calm me down. I laid down and put Kevin's hand on my belly and BAM! Kevin jumped off the bed and yelled, and I was so excited on so many levels. I loved getting to be a part of them finally meeting each other, and I was so relived that my worries were unfounded. I certainly slept well that evening! Since then Baby has been a little shy when Kevin's hand is near, but he's cooperated a few times with follow up kicks for his Daddy.

He's still most active near lunch and dinner, so we're assuming he'll be a foodie like Mom and Dad. He did lots of jumping this evening when I tried a new pork tenderloin marinade. I'm assuming he liked it!

On the Mom front: I've hit the stage of not sleeping. The book cited racing thoughts, leg cramps (serious charlie horses!) and frequently bathroom trips as reasons for my lack of sleep, and I second all of these. It's amazing how accurate that book is! I'd like to add to the list two cats that need to sleep ON me, a husband who has a very consistent snore and a tendency to hog the body pillow, and my already general light sleeping. Ah, the joys of motherhood. I'm finally ready to post a belly pic! Kevin took this one on Friday night after dinner, just as we were getting settled in with a nice warm fire. I didn't plan the red shirt to match the decor . . . but it is a nice touch! My belly seems extremely big, but I guess that's ok. I've learned that I'm carrying high and out front, which definitely doesn't lend to concealing. Kevin is still obsessed with everything belly and assures me it's getting bigger each day. Until next time . . .

In the spirit . . .

Ok, so I'm one of THOSE people! You know the ones who go totally crazy with everything Christmas. I only have one strict rule . . . Christmas season begins on the Sunday after Thanksgiving . . . period! My parents left on Sunday morning, and we got started right away. Kevin helped me get the boxes of decorations out of the garage, Eddie and Emmitt inspected and smelled each item to make sure it was safe, and I dug in. It was truly a perfect day for decorating - the weather turned cold, I had stew in the oven (smelling sooooo good), and football was blaring on tv. Our first order of business was the tree, but of course we ran into some difficulty. Richard and Kathy to the rescue with the extra tree piece we couldn't locate (it was in their garage) and heavy lifting. Once the tree was assembled, I began lighting and fluffing. My ladder was in use because Eddie needed a nap on the top step, so I used a chair instead. The ornaments didn't take too long, and the tree turned out great. Kevin keeps using the word "obnoxious" to describe our tree, but I think "outstanding" works much better! I managed to find decorations for the desk (nutcrackers), entry way (vase with holiday spray), dining room (sparkle trees for centerpices), and kitchen table (ornaments napkin holders and shiny stars). There may be a few more items scattered throughout the house (I just don't want to make you all crazy imagining it all), but I'll stop there. The house is ready for Christmas! I've been enjoying holiday music in the car and at work, the three (sad, right?) gifts I've purchased are wrapped, holiday socks are available for each day, and Christmas cookies are already baking. Kevin is playing along well this year, although he is never a fan of holiday socks. It might help that he's the cookie test-taster!

One side note: pregnant ladies should NOT work so hard decorating for the holidays. Specifically, they should avoid boxes, ladders and stepping on chairs for 6 hours straight. I ended up in so much pain Sunday evening and Monday. I try not to be such a wimp and leave work for no reason, but I had to come home and rest Monday afternoon. I felt much better after 4 hours of couch time. Gazing at my beautiful tree might have helped my aching back . . . not sure! I'm happy to report I'm fine now and have resumed all regular activities. Baby Kuhlman was pretty worn out and didn't do much for a day or two, but he's resumed his regular activities as well. We've all learned our lesson about overdoing it, and we'll have lots of help to put away all of these fabulous decorations after the holidays.