A Visit to the Dentist

Today I took Lincoln for his very first dental appointment. I decided to take him to our dentist's office in Allen. They call the first visit a "Happy Visit" with the goal of getting them acquainted to the sounds, instruments, people, etc. Lincoln did fantastic, much better than I anticipated, and I thought he'd do pretty good. The hygienist counted his teeth with the little mirror and scraper, she cleaned and polished them with the real tool, not a toothbrush and then she flossed his teeth. Finally, the dentist came in for a look too. He said his teeth look great, with nice spacing and shape. He was quick to notice a slight overbite thanks to Lincoln's finger sucking, but said overall, his teeth look great!

Some of Lincoln's favorite parts....

1. Bubble gum flavored tooth polish

2. The water sprayer and Mr. Thirsty (the spit sucker)

3. Riding up and down in the chair

Cleaning his pearly whites

Sucking spit with Mr. Thirsty



He looks so grown up in the chair

Counting his teeth---20 to be exact

We don't have to go back for another year, hopefully visit number 2 will be just as easy!

It's Potty Time for Me

Two weeks ago, we took a weekend and started potty training. We're happy to announce we've been diaper free since January 23rd. It's funny how proud a Mom can be over something so disgusting. He did great right from the start. He just gets it and it has practically been a non-issue ever since.

Now a few more weeks and we'll think about moving out of his crib into his new twin bed. He can easily climb out and has shown us he can, but he is still content to lie in what he lovingly refers to as "my crib".

Cha-cha-cha changes........

Preschool

I registered Lincoln for preschool! He will start this September and will be going from 9:30 - 2:00 on Tuesdays and Thursdays. I initially planned to send him just one day per week since he is only two. My Mom pointed out that he will turn 3 the week school starts, so even though he will be in the 2 year old class, he will be three. Which means, he's been home with me for three years and that now is a good time for him to spread his little wings. He gets plenty of social interaction at church each week and through a couple of playgroups we are a part of, so I think school will feel like a natural addition.

He will be going to FBC Allen's Discovery Days. I just happen to be a Discovery Days' alumni! That's not the reason we chose this program, it's just a fun coincidence!


On a side note, Lincoln hit his head while playing under his new twin bed and said to me, "Oh Marce, I guess I made a bad choice". Who said kids aren't listening?

More milestones

I haven't posted one of these in quite sometime. When Lincoln first started talking, every word was new and a triumph. At this point, I couldn't begin to imagine that he would know some of the words that he knows and some of the things he comes up with blow my mind. Here are just a few of the things we can check off his list. I wish I could take credit for all this, but Lincoln is just a little sponge. He usually shows us he knows something new before we even think to ask.

Knows all his colors, including the crazy ones like silver, peach, and gray.

Knows all his shapes, including crazy ones like oval, octagon, diamond.

He has known all his letters since the summer, but he also knows the sounds letters make. Every time we drive by the QT gas station Lincoln says "Q says quah and T says tuh".

He's been counting to 20 for quite sometime. The other day he counted to 50. If he gets going too fast, he skips a few, but he definitely gets the concept of counting.

We'll continue to work on opposites, which thing doesn't belong, and answering "who, what why when and where" questions while we are reading. He's not a huge fan of singing, I wish he would sing. He is like his Daddy in this respect, he likes listening. So we'll continue to work on singing.

Looking forward to what 2010 will bring.

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.

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!

Brought to you by the letter of the day

So, out of the blue Lincoln has been saying his letters. So far he can identify A E O S T M. The only color he knows his purple. If I hold up something purple, he says "urple". I'm giving up posting about his new words because there are too many to count. I have them logged in a journal. But here are a few of his best words.

Bunny

Fish

Chocolate

Burrr-when he's cold

Ice

Bubbles

Water

Diaper "iaper"

Rocks

This time last year...

Hunting Easter Eggs

Meeting the Easter Bunny

My Easter Sunday Best

Boy how time flies. This was Lincoln at about 6 1/2 months last year. My little baby is looking more and more like a little boy each day.

Chatterbox

Lincoln has really started talking in the last week or so. Being the independent little boy that he is, he is rarely interested in repeating what we want him to say. Here are a few words he said over the weekend unsolicited.

1. Peanut Butter
2. Jacket
3. A bird
4. Animal
5. Flower

We have also taught him to put his hand over his face and groan when we say "Longhorns". The next trick is to say "Lame" and roll his eyes when someone says "Tech". Gotta love it!

Lincoln and the ER

Friday night started out the weekend rather uneventfully. We ordered a pizza and settled in for a night of College Hoops. Riding the Ags solid first round win over BYU, we ate our pizza on a blanket in front of the TV and Lincoln sat with us. This is the highchair we use. We took it off the chair and sat in on the blanket. After dinner, we sat it back on the kitchen chair, but forgot to strap it in. The next morning, Lincoln ate breakfast in his highchair. When he finished, I took the tray off and was wiping it down. He started rocking back and forth and then suddenly fell face first, still attached to the highchair. He started screaming and was bleeding everywhere. We decided to go to the ER, just in case. (I couldn't get Natasha Richardson and her skiing accident out of my mind). After a 90 min wait, the doctor said other than a busted lip and torn frenulum, he was fine. His little nose was bleeding and puffy, but he'll be just fine. Luckily, it looks like it won't affect his budding modeling career. I'm joking, sort of!

I don't have a picture to share, because once we got home from the ER, he went right to sleep and once he woke up, the swelling was much better. We headed to my parents to watch the Ags play UCONN and we got killed. I guess there is always next year.

Here are a few more random pictures of our Lincoln.

Playing at the park with his lady friend Audrey.

He grabbed this out of our recycle box and ran into our bedroom. Nothing is coming out Mom!

Stat Time

We took Lincoln in for his 18 month well-baby visit today after hitting the 1.5 year mark on Saturday. Here are his most up-to-date stats.

Weight: 27.5 lbs 75%
Height: 34.5 in 94%
Head Cir 18.75 in 44%

It cracks me up to think in a room full of 100 18 month old boys, he would be taller than 94 of them. That is unfathomable to me, considering I am usually the shortest one in a room and was not only the shortest kid in my class, but in the grade below as well. He is definitely a growing boy and is exceeding milestones right and left. He got his last vaccine and doesn't have any more until age 4. We've braved the cold/flu season and passed with flying colors. Other than a mild cold that lasted a day or two and his first ear infection, Lincoln has been operating at 100%. Funny enough...Ryan and I each had a cold and we've each had 2 rounds of the stomach bug since last November, but Lincoln bypassed them all. I'm so thankful to have a healthy baby.

Current Favorite Foods - eggs and broccoli

As we head into the next 6 months leading up to his 2nd birthday...did I just type that...it is not possible...he should become more coordinated with running, kicking and throwing. His scribbling will "have more purpose" whatever that means. She said to work on color, number and letter recognition, using a spoon. My eyes glazed over as she talked about toddler beds, dental visits and potty training. TOO SOON!

We did have a breakthrough at church. We've gone 2 weeks without getting paged b/c of crying and last week he didn't cry when I dropped him off or get emotional when we picked him up. His teacher said he did great. Hooray!

A story for the grandparents...Lincoln has a brown blanket that he loves, but he has always slept with a blue one as well. He calls the brown one "night night" and the blue one "baby blue".

One more proud Mommy moment...today at the doctor, we were looking at the aquarium in the lobby and Lincoln pointed to the large yellow fish and said "Yellow". Then, as a follow-up, when we were playing outside after dinner tonight he walked over to Ryan with a mouthful of dirt. So funny. I doubt geniuses eat dirt! Here's to another healthy and happy 6 months.

18 months

Today Ryan and I took Lincoln for his 18th month pictures. We took him monthly for the first year. He hasn't been in 6 months. Lincoln turns 18months on Saturday. His half-birthday is his Grandpa Blake's birthday and his lady friend, Audrey's birthday. Here are some of his best shots. As a side note, taking pictures is not Lincoln's favorite thing to do with his free time, he would rather jump of the props, roll off the picture platform, take off his shoes or flop flat on his back. At least we managed to get some good ones! He is such a joy. Maybe we'll hold off on the modeling for now!

Ryan said this one looks feminine...you be the judge!



Climbing

Check out my sweet Topsiders!

Thanks, Memer and Gigi

The Blake Family

I love this shot of our little family.

Here are some of Lincoln's new words/sounds.

• Hole
• Done
• Abby
• Juice
• Bath
• Gorilla--sort of--it has about 8 syllables
• Cow "moo"
• Snake "sssss"
• Duck "bak bak"
• Bee "bzzz"
• Elephant - just raises his hand like a trunk
• Lion "raaahh" he whispers this one
• Sheep "baa baa"

16 months

Lincoln is 16 months old today. He woke up in a great mood and as I was changing his diaper, I handed him a metal A&M decal that we have decorating his room. I said Lincoln, "we love the Aggies". He looked right at me and said Aggies as plain as day! Whoop!

Hooray for the proudest member of the Fightin' Texas Aggie Class of 2030.

Snippity snip

Lincoln got his first haircut on Sunday. It was actually more of a trim around the ears and a little off the back. Gone are the sideburns and pseudo-mullet. He did not cooperate and was not fond of the buzzing and snipping.

15 month Well-Baby Visit

This is for the grandparents and great-grandparents who care about stuff like this...the rest of you can let the eye glazing begin!

Height - 32.5 inches (85%)

Weight - 24.4 lbs (46%)

The verdict to this point is tall and skinny...I wonder where he gets it...hummmm

The doctor said he was growing at a steady pace and exceeding all his milestones. He has about 20+ words right now and about 12 signs. He is still cutting all four molars, but that isn't having a real impact at this point. He got 2 shots, cried his little eyes out this time, but made a quick recovery.

Dr. Smith said he will probably avoid all the ear-infection mess I was plagued with as a child since he's been ear-infection free up to this point. Hooray! We are so thankful for Lincoln's good health.

What we will be working on...

1. Coloring - and not eating the crayons

2. More body parts

3. Using a spoon

We've tried all of these and will keep plugging away. We go back in 3 months for his 18month visit. Stay tuned!

Sicky

It's another milestone to record. Lincoln had and survived his very first illness, a honest to goodness cold. We have been so blessed to have such a healthy baby. Other than cradle cap and a concern that he wasn't gaining weight at the right speed (which by the way is not any concern considering he is around 26 lbs now), he hasn't been sick at all. He managed to avoid the colds we had last winter and he dodged the stomach bug Ryan and I both had in November. Yippee for his super-human immune system! We go for his 15 month well-baby visit next week, so I'll have some hieght and weight stats to report then.

In other news, Lincoln has taken to biting when he doesn't get his way. Me: "No you may not have any candy". Lincoln: frown, bite on the shoulder. Me: "No you may not take the ornaments off the tree" Lincoln: sad eyes, and a bite on the knee. And for those of you who are thinking, bite him back, he'll learn. We are not taking that approach-- at least not yet:)

New tricks

For those family members who like to be kept in the loop, here is what's going on with Lincoln right now. Here is an update on some of Lincoln's new words, signs and tricks.



New signs: Light, Cracker, Love, Please


Words: Apple, Hot

Tricks: Throws his hands up when Ryan says "touchdown"
He's getting pretty good at using a spoon

In the last few days or so, he has really become obsessed with reading books. He will bring a book to us, sit in our laps and then have us read it over and over.

All four of his molars are breaking through! Poor little guy has been so good considering it must hurt to be teething 4 teeth at once!

What's Your Sign?

We have been working with Lincoln to learn a few signs. He has several that he uses regularly and does them spontaneously when he needs or wants something. It is really cute to watch and neat to know that he can communicate with us. Here are his signs:

• More
• Water
• Milk
• Eat
• Bib
• All done

He also combines them to say "more water" or "more millk". Here are the ones we're working on now:

• Love
• Cracker
• Please
• Thank you

Here is an update of his "words". Some are clearer than others, but he's really trying and it's super cute to hear.

• Mama
• Dada
• Bye Bye
• Night night
• Banana
• Puppy

Happy 1st Birthday, Lincoln

We celebrated Lincoln's first birthday with a bang. We played up the carnival theme and dined on hot dogs and chips, caramel corn, caramel apples and lemonade. The kids bounced in a bounce house and we took some pictures behind a photo board. Lincoln had his own jumbo chocolate cupcake and seemed to enjoy it, but was curious as to why everyone wanted to watch him eat it. He got a little messy, but enjoyed it. The rest of us enjoyed a chocolate fudge cake with raspberry filling courtesy of The Cake Stand in McKinney. It was delish!

Cupcake, mmm mmm mmm!

Presents! This should tide me over until Christmas

Nana and Pawpaw Blake
Memer and Gigi
Auntie Holly
Great Grandpa and Great Grandma Fast
Aunt Jan and Uncle Bob
Cousin Nicole
Uncle John
Cousin Cason
Uncle Joe and Aunt Judy
Aleen and Bob
My BFF Brenden and Mrs. Shannon
My Girlfriend Audrey and her sister Ella
Mr. John and Mrs. Angi
Miss Kaycie (my babysitter)
Miss Jen (Paparazzi)

We really want to thanks our family and friends for coming to the party, some drove 6 hours. It was so special to have everyone together to celebrate the special day. Thank You!