Vance Family Fun!: 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!