Surprises

Everything about having kids is a surprise. Being a parent is nothing like I anticipated, it's better in every way. Here are a few of my biggest surprises along the way.

1. How easy my pregnancy was

2. How quickly the maternal instinct set in

3. How intensely I love Lincoln

4. How much I love being home with Lincoln

5. How hilarious he can be.

Today, Lincoln was singing, as only he can, the theme to Elmo's World. The last line is "That's Elmo's world!". He is what I overheard.

La, la, la, la Elmo's world, Elmo loves goldfish, crayons too, That's Elmo's world.

Long pause, big grin and then he said this...

No, that's Lincoln's world.

Seriously...does that make him a narcissist?!? This kid cracks me up. Equally surprising is what Lincoln had for lunch. Spicy chicken corn chowder...who knew kids liked soup?

A conversation with Lincoln

Did I mention that Lincoln is a talker? We can actually have conversations with each other. These usually occur a the kitchen table. Here is one we had while Lincoln was eating lunch.

Lincoln: tapping his fork on the table

Me: turned to look at him

Lincoln: kept tapping

Me: took the fork away without saying a word

Lincoln: said "time out"

Me: "time out?"

Lincoln: "yes mommy, time out"

Me: trying so hard not to laugh, but cracked a smile anyway

Lincoln: seeing me smile says "I'm crazy"

Yes Lincoln, you are crazy!

Do Your Eyes Light Up?

A few years ago, I heard someone quoting Maya Angelo. To summarize, she says one of the greatest gifts you can give your child is for you eyes to light up when they walk into a room. For some reason, this really stuck with me. I go into Lincoln's room every morning with a big smile and a hug and try to "light up" when I see him. Most of the time, it's easy to do and comes naturally. I would never want him to see disappointment, anger or boredom in my eyes.

Now that he's a bit older, I love it when others light up when the see him. Of course family members do this, but my friends Megan and Angi are so good at this and always acknowledge him when they see him. Lincoln just beams!

So...do your eyes light up when you see your children?!?

(PS--this works great with husbands, too)

2 year visit

Lincoln had his 2 year visit yesterday. Here are his stats.

Height 36in 90%

Weight 30 lb 71%

He actually weighed in a pound lighter than our scale at home. If I can brag a bit (the grandparents love this stuff), she said to start working on numbers, letters and colors and I was proud to say he can recognize all his letters, numbers up to 10 and all his colors (he's recently added silver:), and his shapes. He counted to twenty in the car today, blows me away. We're so proud of him, and get tickeled hearing him counting in bed.

A New Addition

Here is the newest addition to our backyard! My Dad came up with the idea to get Lincoln a wooden swing set for his birthday. He did the research and found this one. So with a little help from some other family members, and after anxiously awaiting approval from our HOA, and a good 8-10 hours of labor, we finished. While my Dad and Ryan did the vast majority of the work, Uncle Dillon and Aunt Maria, Uncle John and I helped a bit too. It looks great and Lincoln loves it. Here are a few shots of him in action for the first time.

Ta da

Swinging

Rope ladder

Swinging like "an airplane"

Sliding down

Our little boy quickly figured out how to climb the rock wall, fence the rope ladder and slide, face first down the slide. We hope to add a little sand at the bottom for a sandbox and look forward to many years of active play!

Under Construction!

What a fun weekend....we had the best time visiting with friends, family, eating, and hanging out with Lincoln. He had his second birthday party with cousins and a few friends. Ryan's grandparents came as did Ryan's brother Dillon and his wife Maria. My parents and sister Holly were also at the party. Here are a few fun shots of the day, of course, there are many more for his scrapbook. We are so lucky to have so many friends and family members who love Lincoln and play an important role in his life!

The table

Eating a cupcake

Blowing out the candle

My girls, Audrey and Ella

Lincoln and Brenden

Every construction worker needs a break!

Bouncing with cousins and friends

Cousin Cason!!!

Thanks Cason and Uncle John!

Auntie Holly, Uncle Brian and Lincoln

Great Grandparents, Uncle Dillon and Aunt Maria

Thanks Uncle Dillon and Aunt Maria
"Wow, a black truck"--Lincoln

Driving in the backyard

With my new tractor

Celebrating my real birthday at the Rainforest Cafe

He picked the duck legs

Watching the gorillas, not the camera!

Lincoln also got another fantastic thing, once it's assembled, I'll post some pictures! Happy birthday Lincoln, we love you so much!

Creeping Up!

Lincoln's second birthday is 3 days away...how is this possible? Here are a few of my favorites shots of him along the way!

Newborn

The day after we brought him home.




6 months

7 months


9 months

10 months

Prepare yourself for a reflective birthday post:) Coming Monday!

Self-esteem much?

There are lots of things I wish for Lincoln, but a healthy dose of self-confidence certainly tops the list. Today, I let him buckle his own carseat belt and he looked up at me and said...

"Super Lincoln, really super!"