Wednesday, March 23, 2011

WALKING!!!!

Holy cow!!! It's official....Lincoln has taken his first "real" steps. On Monday night while we were eating dinner he just let go of his high chair and took 4-5 steps to the ottoman! It was sooo awesome to watch! He had such a look of pure determination on his face! Of course we just sat there staring in awe, so there are no pictures or videos! As soon as he reached the ottoman he just laughed and giggled...then proceeded to roll around in the floor clapping his hands and laughing. He got the biggest kick out of it...and out of us telling him what a good job he'd done. Sweet Sweet Sweet!! And for the record...he did it again tonight. He walked from me to Anthony holding a Baby Einstein video (Thanks Laura!) while we were playing in the living room.

I guess I should also mention that as hard as it is to believe, we've mailed our birthday invitations! I can NOT believe my baby is almost a year old! It's so cliche, but time really DOES fly! I mean really...just yesterday he was just a tiny blob laying around all day just eating and sleeping. Now he doesn't even sit down long enough to do anything! :)

What a crazy, unbelievable, precious, time consuming, scary, worrisome, fabulous, awe inspiring, blessed year it has been. We've attended many birthday parties lately, all our friends are turning one also! We can't wait to share this precious day with our closest friends and family. I just love that boy to pieces! I wish he could stay little forever cause I just love to hug and squeeze and kiss on him...but it's not to be. There will be many, many more stages and ages that I wish would last forever. And I'm sure there will be plenty that I can't wait to pass through quickly! 

Here's hoping the next year is as wonderful as this year was!! Gosh how I love my family!


Lincoln with my beloved Kyle! I've had this wonderful bear since I turned 16! He's been on EVERY trip I've ever taken (yes, even the honeymoon!) and he's even been in the mail! (Thanks for that one, Aunt Sheila!) This bear should have a passport...for it would be peppered with stamps!

Sunday, March 6, 2011

Oh the Things you can Do!

We've been so busy! What a ridiculous couple of weeks it's been. And so much going on!
   
Remember this? Old deck on its way out. 

 New deck on it's way in!! See how much bigger?! 

Anthony has finished the deck! There is a beautiful brown tin roof, a very lovely staircase leading to the backyard right beside Anthony's Japanese maple tree. It's about 300 square feet in all. I can't WAIT to get some furniture up there to finish it off! Ant wants to make a table out of wood and then top it with ceramic tile. We have some good friends who have a table like this and he just loves it. I think it will be very nice! We'll need to find some chairs..and I want something soft and "loungey" out there too so I can read a book outside while Lincoln plays. What a great place that will be this summer! We have grand plans to put up pretty lights of some kind, and maybe a fan to move the air. The next thing, and most important thing, that needs to happen is the gate at the top of the stairs. Gotta keep that beautiful boy safe!!


Speaking of the boy...he's officially 11 months old! RIDICULOUS! Last week he weighed 22 lbs., 12 ozs. He seems to have leveled off with the weight. I think it's a combination of getting taller and moving so much. He's still nursing at least twice a day with one bottle at Denise's. Sometimes he nurses three times a day, but not always. I think we're coming to the end of nursing. We've started to take milk in a sippy cup. He's not drinking much from the bottles that I send with him during the day. He's eating so much more table food. He loves potato soup, and almost all noodles. He's still not a big fan of meats. We've tried chicken, turkey, hamburger, bacon...none of it with much success. He really likes fruit and can eat a whole fruit cup by himself! Pears, peaches, and applesauce seem to be among his favorites. He likes baby food bananas, but doesn't like real bananas. Go figure. All our other baby friends eat whole bananas by themselves, so maybe we just need more practice. 

Lincoln took his first steps last week! He's not walking, really. He took a few steps from Anthony to me. And what a precious moment it was! He looked so proud of himself. Of course we made a big to-do over it and he thought that was hilarious. He's not interested in walking much, he crawls very fast! I've decided not to rush it, he's into everything as it is. I'm sure walking will bring with it a whole new level of sneakiness! I'm not sure we're ready for that....

All our baby friends are turning one!! I can't believe it. I met so many of these girls in lamaze when we were only 32-33 weeks pregnant. All those babies still inside our tummies and now they're growing up so fast! 
Left to Right:
Back row: Casey & Liam, Me & Lincoln, Shannon & Sarah, Ellee & Samantha, Jennifer (JennJenn) & Carter
Front row: Natalie & Madeline, Lynette & Kyra, Elizabeth & Harrison, Teresa & Layla

We were in lamaze with Teresa, Ellee, and Shannon. These other girls and their fabulous babies became our friends through the bf support group and baby massage. It's such a wonderful thing the hospital is doing with these classes. There were quite a few times when I didn't know what I would've done without this group of wonderful mommies to go to. Our lactation consultants reallllly got us through so much, and these girls are available to me any time day or night. They're like our extended family now! I call Samantha Lincoln's girlfriend. They're only 2 days apart! Who knows what could happen! *wink* This picture was taken at Sarah's 1st birthday play date in January 2011. 

Out of our group our now (gasp) one year old babies are: Carter, Sarah, and Madeline. Liam & Kyra share a St. Patty's Day birthday and then I think It goes Lincoln, Samantha, Layla, then Harrison. Some of our other baby friends are not pictured here.

On April 16 we will host a Birthday Play Date X 6!! We will be celebrating the April birthdays together. It just doesn't make any sense to have a party every weekend. Not that I'm complaining about birthday parties and cake, Anthony is getting tired of losing me for several hours every Saturday for partying! :)
So together we will celebrate Lincoln, Samantha, Layla, Harrison, Rudy, and Alan. We're going to do a Spring/Easter theme that will be boy and girl friendly. We're going to use chicks and bunnies and sweet springy colors. Ellee is taking a cake decorating class and she's going to make and decorate cupcakes for us! How fun! Anna (Alan's mom) is trying to channel her inner crafter and she's in charge of decorations. There will be food, for babies and adults, punch, cupcakes, and games. What a grand time to be had by all! I really love these girls and their babies. We've been through so much together and I truly hope we continue to be good friends. My boy will need lots of play dates as he gets older, too. He LOVES to spend time with these guys. You should just see them all together. Lincoln notices every baby he sees. It's so great to see them all playing together and having fun. Pictures will follow all parties!!! :)

Here are just a few pics of what we've been up to...

Lincoln's first Valentine's Day gift...a squishy cup to pour in the bathtub, a fun star that squirts water and spins with lights for the bathtub and some super cute new giraffe shoes!


Mommy-baby love after bathtime.


I took some pictures on his 11 month birthday. These are some of my favorites, along with the big one at the top of the blog!




The first flower of spring.