Getting better every day...

Just some of the pictures from our latest baby group!! There's Lynette and Baby Kyra (in the back, in purple), Samantha is trying to hold Lincoln's hand :), Madline is wearing the pink fishy dress and that's Sarah Paige's head there in the foreground. They were just talking to each other and rolling all over the place. I can't tell you how relieved I felt to get back together with all those girls! They're like my lifeline, my source of energy when it comes to all things mommy. We're all so open and honest, nothing's off limits. It's wonderful. It was a breath of fresh air after my first week back to work. I have missed them SOO much. It's so much to adjust to, work, leaving Lincoln behind, missing baby massage. 

Here's Jenn loving on Lincoln!! Baby Carter was acting like the king of the room with his boppies holding him up!!! And that's Sarah Paige in the foreground again!! She's so long! Man I miss these girls! It's so incredibly sweet of them to start coming to the support group at the 5:00 time so all us mommies who had to go back to work can still get together with all our new friends and playmates. It's so important to have a mommy outlet - this is mine.

Oh I LOVE this picture!! Mom and I went to spend some time with Ma-maw not too long ago. It was such a great day for all of us! Anthony had a continuing ed class in Asheville so Mom went with us all and we meet Ma-maw at the mall and did a little shopping and had lunch. It was so sweet to spend some time with her, and to let her munch on my Lincoln. I think this is just a fabulous picture taken at the end of an equally fabulous day!! Love it!

That silly Zane came to see Lincoln the other day. Leslie and Zane dropped off Anthony's (late) birthday present and he just had to snuggle the baby! He was a total mess from daycare, or hanging out with Kaleb, who knows. But he was sweet. He wanted to play with all of Lincoln's toys and he just couldn't understand why Lincoln couldn't just get up and play with him!

Oh my goodness.....my heart just melts at this. My sweet, sweet boy, fresh and clean out of the tub. Anthony was there to help us and we just loved and snuggled. He loves a bath. He just kicks and squeals and talks. It's terribly cute. There aren't many things better than a squeaky clean baby.

I have to admit I teared up a little here. I was in the bedroom getting my pajamas on while Anthony got Lincoln ready for bed. They were in the nursery for a very long time and I went to peek in on them and this is what I found: Anthony reading a book to the babies. Even Lile was in on the fun. My heart skidded to a stop and my eyes welled up. It's just one of those sweet moments in time you wish you could freeze and just play over and over again when you have a bad day. What  sweet sound...to hear the man of your dreams reading a silly book to the baby you've always prayed for. Oh, my eyes are even getting a little misty as I type this. What a beautiful family God has blessed me with! It's incredible the love we share and the bonds we're growing.

Would you just look at this?! Do you see this?! YES!!! That's MY Lincoln, sitting. ALONE! IN THE FLOOR!! By HIMSELF!!! He can now sit and play alone. Can you believe it?! This was one week before he turned 5 months old! And he's been working on it since we went to the beach in early August. He can lean over and grab a toy and play with it. He still falls over of course, and he sometimes pushes back because he wants to stand up instead. But this is huge. Goodness, this just flies right by.

This is what our deck used to look like. (Well, it used to have a railing there on the end too, I just didn't snap a picture until Anthony had already knocked it off!) 

Then it looked like this:

That's right....it's gone. So we're in the process of rebuilding something YET again! But it's dreadfully fun! I love watching Anthony out those doors making our house beautiful. I also have to giggle at all the times he makes up his mind...and then changes it!

This is what it looks like out our double kitchen doors as of yesterday, September 4, 2010:

Yep....a whole new structure is rising up! The deck is growing from 16x16 to 16x20. And we're going to cover almost all of it, leaving 4 feet uncovered so I can catch some rays :) and we can use the grill up there.  He spent all day Saturday working with his dad, and he's off tomorrow, Labor Day, and plans to work most of the day as well. Although, he's promised to take Lincoln and me to see the butterfly exhibit at the Catawba Science Center before it's gone! It gets better every day.

We also put up Lincoln's very first swing!

It's hanging in the tree right outside the door, under the living room windows. It's so sweet to walk by and catch a glimpse of the swing in the yard. Even when it's empty it holds the promise of so many sweet moments. He just loves it! He smiles and just cackles.

Oh my gosh, couldn't you just eat him?! He's had fun in there today and yesterday. I figure it will become a favorite past time for all of us as the days continue to be cool and fresh like this weekend.

While Anthony was outside yesterday, I was busy inside. I cleaned the house and even managed to rustle up some fall decorations since the weather was so inspiring! Here's my dining room table, all decked out for fall! I love those pilgrims! Can't wait to hang my leaf garland when it gets a little cooler. It's my favorite time of the year. I'm already trying to figure out something for Lincoln for Halloween. Stay tuned for updates!

We met up with Jeromy, Anna, and Ian today for lunch after church. This is Lincoln's first time seeing him in about 5 weeks. He was a little excited, if you couldn't tell. He wanted to eat him!

HA! What a sweet Ian smile!

Now that is a lap-full of babies!!!! Is it time for #2 yet?!?!

Oh those sweet boys! We had a lovely time. Hopefully we're going to see them again next weekend, yay! And I'm doubly hoping that our long-lost friend, Gary, will be with us! He still hasn't met either one of these fellows...it's high time he did!!

Now that I've run out of pictures from the last week and a half I guess it's time to get down to what you all really want to know. Lincoln spent the week with Denise this week....the family friend who's offered to keep him for me so I don't have to send him back to daycare. We talked on the phone tonight after her "trial run" and she's officially decided to take the job!! WOOT WOOT!!! Hooray!! No more daycare for Lincoln!!! She had a good time this week, and he was an extra good baby. It sealed the deal for Anthony when she told us he had been fussy one afternoon, so she took him outside and they sat and watched the humming birds. Now that's something you just can't do at daycare. He's been to the middle school to pick up her oldest daughter and he's come to my school several times this week when Denise had to pick her kids up for dentist appointments and piano lessons. He even went with her to her grandmother's house to give her a bath. She said he was fabulous and very well behaved. Tonight she said she just thought she'd cry if I had to take him back to the daycare. 

See, it turns out that she and her husband, David, had been talking about her getting a job since all the kids were in school and he's traveling like every other week. Problem was she needed a job where she could leave by 2:30 to pick up her girl from the middle school. Where was she going to find that? So while I was desperately praying for a solution to the daycare problem, they were praying to find a job to help ends meet around their house. Isn't God good?! We just "happened" to find each other and answer both prayers! 

This week at work it's like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders. I'm not constantly rushing to the computer to see the webcam to see if the girls are taking care of my baby. I wasn't worried about whether he was getting interaction and attention. I can't even put into words how different my heart feels knowing that he's with someone who will love him and care for him. When his needs are met, my needs are met. And when Mommy's happy, everyone's happy! It just keeps getting better.....every day.

We've decided on a payment plan that makes us all happy and we've even shuffled some toys her way so they can play with familiar things during the day. He seems happy, he's eating well, and is taking great naps! That goes to show he feels safe and secure, that's all I need to know. Here's hoping for a great relationship with family members, and new friends. I just know this is going to be wonderful for everyone. Of course I'd still love to be at home. That's where my heart is. But Anthony and I are already  making plans for how it would work to stay home next time. It's going to happen, we just have to figure out the lay of the land so to speak. So glad he's willing to help me make that sacrifice for our babies. Gosh, he's pretty great!

Love you all...

Craziness

What a crazy time we've had lately. I finally got my new PINK DELL computer!! I also found some time to upload some pictures to this new laptop....So lately we've had TONS of stuff going on and we've been realllly busy. 

Anna and Baby Ian came to stay a few days with us and we tried to take some pictures of these boys....this is what we ended up with!! Lincoln was soooo tired he couldn't stand himself. We wanted cute cloth diaper pictures...but it just didn't happen. Some days are just like that!

We've been to the beach!!! Virginia Beach. Lincoln has officially put his toes in the Atlantic.

 We had a very great time. We spent two mornings on the beach with our sweet beach shade. We spent one morning at the pool in the hotel, that was sadly an indoor pool. We thought the pool next door to our hotel's parking garage was huge and beautiful and ours....only to find out it belonged to the hotel across the way. How disappointing! The indoor pool was so cold we wouldn't even put the baby in. No sun to warm it up, or warm us up. It just wasn't a very good time. However, we went tot the Virginia Aquarium.

It was so nice. They have tons of fish and sharks, and sting rays and such. There is a walk-through tunnel in one of the huge tanks and Lincoln couldn't get enough of it! He loved it....he just looked and looked and looked. 

We also visited Nauticus.

 It's like a science center that's all about the ocean, water, and the Navy. We watched a video about the tides, played with ropes and knots and explored a battleship. 

We even got to board a small schooner, the Virginia. It was all very nice. That was a nice way to spend the super hot afternoons after we'd cleaned up from the morning at the beach. 

We had to sleep in the same room with the baby...of course. That's just not so enjoyable! He makes so much noise at night time. It's so funny! I wonder why he makes so much noise while sleeping?! He grunts, wollers the bed, and sometimes fusses. He also had his very own bed to play on and for changing diapers and such. I thought we requested a king room, but the double queen ended up being wonderful so we could leave all the diapering stuff out all the time. It was beach front and I got to sit in the bed each morning and watch the dolphins jump while I nursed the baby. It makes for a great way to start the day!!  The drive wasn't too bad. We stopped several times on the way there and on the way home. We got the baby out so he could nurse and be out of his car seat for a while. It took longer to get there, but he was a little happier that way. He sure hated going in his car seat after that!

Most recently...and most painfully I have gone back to work. Yuck. There really are no words. I knew it would be hard, really I did. I just didn't think that handing my child to someone else to care for during the day would rip my heart out. They don't love him the way I do. And at daycare he will get every sickness coming and going. I dropped him off at daycare with Anthony the first day he went. It was Wednesday, the 18th. I have to say it's the hardest thing I've ever done, to turn and walk away from my baby....my love...my sweet, sweet boy. I had a terrible day at work and cried allll day. Every time someone mentioned him I cried again. The next day was easier because I didn't have to take him to daycare, Anthony drops him off on his way to work. Not to say it was easy to see him go, but it was infinitely easier than actually having to leave him there. I called a couple times a way to check on him. They didn't feed him at the right times, he didn't sleep well...they didn't follow my schedule. It was a train wreck. Every day something else went wrong and I just couldn't stand it. There are webcams in every room so I can watch what goes on all day....and no one holds him unless they're feeding him a bottle. He rotates from the exersaucer to the floor to the swing....to the exersaucer, to the floor, to the swing. I started coming home every day and begging Anthony to just stay home. He held me and petted me and said he thought I could be strong. Then the next day he didn't sleep well....and I begged again. The latest breakdown came on Tuesday of this week. The day before the kids came back...

It's just one thing after another...and I realized they've been heating his bottles because they were starting to melt on the bottom. I specifically told them NOT to heat them, he eats them straight out of the fridge. Anyway, it was like the straw that broke the camel's back. I just broke down again. I was a disaster when Anthony got home and spent my whole evening promising to clip coupons, shop at Aldi, use ALL cloth diapers, sell my breastmilk....just so I could stay home with him. It was another terrible day. Anthony said he wants to give it at least one more week. He's afraid if I made the decision to go back to work..then walk away a few days in that I'm shooting myself in the foot and won't be able to get my job back next year. I'm willing to take that risk, he's not willing to let me.

SO I've asked a distant cousin to keep Lincoln. I think if he were by himself with just one person he would get the interaction I think he needs. He wouldn't get all those nasty germs from sick kids. It would make me feel a million times better, I think. She wants to try a week trial run next week, so we'll see how it goes. I'll keep you posted!

AND...as if that's not enough craziness: Lincoln got his first tooth today!!! It's officially up through his gums! What a big boy! He's growing up WAYYY to fast. He's still mostly on breastmilk, but he's getting cereal at home once a day. I can start fruits and veggies....I'm just not ready to let him yet! I don't want him to grow up so fast. I know I can't hold him back, but it just seems like it's flying by! The last time we went to the doctor he weighed 17 pounds, 14 ounces. He had a fever before he started daycare last week so I took him to get checked out...just teething I guess. Anyway...tomorrow is support group with the baby girls! I'm so excited to see them all again. It's been a while! We'll weigh him again, I'm sure he's passed the 18 pound mark by  now! 

He'll be 5 months old next week!! He's rolling allll over the floor...he is starting to sit up by himself, too! I think today he sat by himself for almost 3 minutes! It's crazy! I put him in the middle of the bed yesterday and he rolled off!! It didn't take 5 seconds, and there he was...bonk!...in the floor screaming at me! I just turned my back for a second....bless his heart! I know mommies do silly stuff....I guess I can count that as one of mine. I felt so terrible! 

I'm still trying to get over feeling like I had a baby so I can go to work and support him. It's so silly to only see him for 4 hours a day. Why do we do this to ourselves?! Why can't all mommies just stay home and raise their babies? I'll keep you posted, but I'm guessing I'm going to stay at work. I just hope Denise just LOVES this baby and wants to love him as much as I do! 

Meltdown

Ok...I know it's been officially forever!!!! But our computer just kinda crashed and I've been waiting and waiting to get this new one! It's finally here and I promise I'll update you all on the goings on soon. I've gotta get some pics loaded onto this new laptop and then I'll post them!  Sorry, Aunt Sheila...I know I let you down!!

Baby Dedication

Yesterday we had Lincoln's Baby Dedication at church and dedicated him to the Lord. We made a promise as a family to love him and bring him up in a Christian household. It was such a sweet family moment. My parents and Anthony's parents were there to support us. My grandparents and Leslie & Zane came, too. It was so nice to be together and know our families were behind us and supporting us and loving us and Lincoln. We played a sweet video after the dedication of Lincoln's short tiny life. Anthony chose the song "I Want to be Just Like You" by Phillips, Craig & Dean. If you haven't heard it and you have a son...it's VERY powerful. What a moving message it carries and it's so sweet. Many tears were wiped away. 

We managed to snap some pictures of Lincoln & Zane. We haven't had any made together since we were still in the hospital. Aren't they sweet?!

Lately, Lincoln has been doing a lot of helping! He's been helping with the laundry....

Helping in the kitchen.....

And helping take care of the dog...

He's such a good boy!!

Anna and Baby Ian are supposed to come visit us this week...I think we're going to have our first baby sleepover!!!! 

Father's Day and Such

I know it's long past but it's been busy around here! For Father's Day Lincoln and I had a plan. We were trying to think of something super great..seeing as how for Mother's Day Daddy and Lincoln got me diamond earrings. For all those in the "know" Anthony and I have a really cute fish pond behind the house. It's got 8 beautiful fish in it, including one VERY large koi. Beside this pond is the largest pompas grass you have ever seen. Almost as tall as our two story house!

 Needless to say it's quite an eyesore and Anthony and I both hate it. We've been wanting to remove it for the whole time we've lived here, but were really afraid that it was going to be a huge undertaking and we didn't even know where to start! Thankfully I talked to our great friend, Erin, about getting it out. See...Lincoln wanted to buy Daddy a Japanese Maple tree for the pond. And we needed to put the tree right where the pompas grass was. We didn't want to buy a gift that came with work along with it and I didn't want to say "Here's your tree...now dig out the pompas!" So Erin GRACIOUSLY volunteered to help with Operation Father's Day and remove the pompas for us! 

Father's Day morning Lincoln and I gave Anthony his beautiful Red Dragon Japanese Maple tree.

 He was so excited! He's wanted one forever. Then you could almost see his thoughts going to the pompas and how it would have to be taken out. The look of sheer relief when I said Erin was coming to remove it was priceless!! We also gave him a big pop-up shade for when we go camping or to the beach. We've already used it at our neighbor's pool! 

Erin came over the next day and we (she) attacked the giant grass. It wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be - though I wasn't the one wielding the shovel!! Needless to say, we got it out and got the tree planted in its place. It was very symbolic to plant a tree for Baby Lincoln's first year of life. As we watch the tree grow we'll always remember it was for Anthony's first Father's Day. It is sooo pretty! It looks so good. It was the perfect finishing touch to our fish pond. 

Here are my beautiful boys by their tree!


Lincoln is rolling over allll the time now! He always turns over his left arm but yesterday he rolled over his right arm! We're rolling from back to front..he chose to do it the hard way first! This is what we now see as soon as we lay him down. 

He won't stay on his back now. And he doesn't want to be on his tummy, so he lets us know as soon as he's flipped by screaming at the top of his lungs! I'm thankful he's not rolling over in his sleep yet. I'm afraid we would have to get up like 10 times a night just to flip him over! We're still sleeping through the night. Most nights he's in bed from 9:00-8:30. It's WONDERFUL! Although, I am well aware that not all babies do this and that he won't do this forever. Anna...your day will come! Ian will sleep 6 or 7 hours at  a time before you know it! Hang in there.


We had some 4th of July fun. We took Lincoln to Valdese to see his first fireworks show! He only jumped at the first two big booms then spent the rest of the time in awe of the show! He was relaxed and just talked to the sky while we watched. We met up with Kelly and all the kids, and Anthony's aunt, uncle, and cousins. 

Elise LOVES Baby Lincoln and had to get in the picture! 


We also had a cookout at Anthony's mom's house. Collin and Melissa and Faith and Corbin always come. They're like family, anyway! We played cornhole and ate some yummies.

I can't tell you how many pictures we have like this through the years! :)

Lincoln and I also went to visit Anna and Ian. We spent the day putting some of Ian's toys together so Lincoln could play with them and chatting about babies. Ian eats ALL the time...so that's how Anna spends her day! Man, I remember those days! Lincoln is going about 4 hours between feedings during the day. Sometimes he'll go longer, it just depends on what he's doing. 

Our boys in their Chicco car seats! We may have to switch soon. Anna's goes up to 30 pounds and I'm certain Lincoln will get there before Ian does!!!!


We're always busy it seems. Anthony just started tearing the deck off. We're going to rebuild it bigger! Then we're going to replace the table we lost 3 years ago to a wind storm. I can't wait to have it covered over so we can sit outside no matter what the weather! 

Here we go again!