A Very Merry Day

I can't believe it's been 365 days since we celebrated Lincoln's very first Christmas. It's incredible all the changes that have happened since last year. This year was WILD, with Lincoln at the center of the excitement. Christmas is a very special time for our family. It's packed with traditions and routines and "must do's" that don't waver from year to year. As usual, we enjoyed the Christmas Eve service, then went back to my parents for a yummy spread that always includes 'lil smokies, a cheese ball, sweets, and apple cider among other things. After waking up at our house and takings some pictures of Lincoln, we headed to my parents (a five minute drive) to open gifts. Here are a few of my favorite pictures of the day.

Ornaments

Christmas Morning, checking out what Santa brought.

Elmo slippers. He loved them!



My new wooden train from Santa. Big hit!

This picture captures the day best. A whirlwind of lights, sounds, fun and excitement, with Lincoln in the center of it all. Merry Christmas, Lincoln. You're still our favorite gift!

Do you call a boy "diva" a DIVO?

We got a call on Monday that Belk Department Store wanted Lincoln in their Spring Catalog, so Lincoln and I braved the cold fog yesterday and headed downtown. This was Lincoln's first shoot. The protocol is they have the kid and then a back-up in case the kid has a meltdown, clothes don't fit, etc. When we got there, there were 6 kids there for the 830 timeslot, different ages and sizes. Lincoln was to represent the 18month boys. He was dressed in a little white polo, red plaid shorts and man sandals. He has a HUGE rug burn on his nose, so he got a little touch up and they said they could photoshop the rest. He didn't like the makeup and teared-up. I took him back where the lights and cameras were, but the second I put in down, he cried. A real boo-hoo, mamamamama kind of cry. He didn't bounce back (they gave him maybe 30 seconds to snap out of it), so they let the other little boy try, but he cried even harder. So, they shot the little girl and said they could edit someone else in later if needed. So, after about 30 seconds of "work" we left with a pretty hefty check. Let's just say I'm in the wrong business:)

As a side note, Lincoln is usually pretty chumby with strangers or at least warms up really fast. There was a lot of chaos going on, people talking, lots of noise, people walking in and out, lots of lights, etc. It was also a little early, so I'm blaming those things. It couldn't be Lincoln:) Nonetheless, it was an experience and we were back in McKinney before 10am. If he gets another chance, we'll probably try it again. Might as well pad his college fund.

A Day with Santa

Last year, Ryan Lincoln and I went to see the Northpark Santa with my best friend Shannon, her husband Mark and their son Brenden. We made a day of it and had a ball. The boys were so cooperative! This year, was another story. The 6 of us went to IHOP for breakfast and then headed to Willow Bend to meet the big guy. Lincoln was not a big fan of Santa, though as soon as he wiggled out of his lap, he turned to smile and wave bye bye to Santa. Lincoln has a lifesized singing Santa in his room, that he lovingly refers to as "Ho Ho Ho". I thought he'd be less skiddish around the real thing...not so much. Here is a shot of Lincoln and "Ho Ho Ho".

Santa and Lincoln

Under the snow machine in the Polar Express display.

Snow!


Two of the cutest kids ever! Brenden is 3 months older.


Marcy Lincoln and Ryan in our sweet Christmas sweaters!
This was intended to be a joke, seriously!

As a side note, we only sent out a handful of Christmas cards to the grandparents, and a few out of town friends. I hope you are enjoying this Christmas season and are finding plenty of reasons to celebrate!

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!

Christmas Galore

We love Christmas around the Blake house! We usually put the tree up Thanksgiving weekend, but I couldn't wait that long...so the weekend before, we put the tree up, sans ornaments so Lincoln could get used to it. He was so excited to see the tree and he would sit and stare at it. Once the ornaments went up, he proceeded to look at it without incident. Now, the "admiring from afar" has worn off and he pulls an ornament off usually once a day. We've only lost a few thanks to his gentle touch. All in all, he has done significantly better than we anticipated. I can already see him falling in love with the lights, sounds and festivities of Christmas...now if he could only grasp the true meaning of Christmas....then again, he's only 15 months old!

This was our first tree as a married couple. It's now our secondary tree in the sitting room. It's mainly red and white.

Our mantle, with real garland this year and it smells divine. I also got our stockings embroidered with our names this year.

Our pride and joy. This is our newest addition. Nine spectacular feet of Christmas glory. This baby has 1200+ lights and 3500+ tips. It is a Fraiser Fir, though artificial, looks very convincing. Now, we just need more ornaments to fill her up!

Merry, Merry Christmas!

What's the Deal?

Black Friday...this was my third attempt at Black Friday shopping. This year we went to Target, Old Navy and Lowe's for poinsettias. We left around 730 and were home by 9ish. However, Thanksgiving morning I headed to CVS and hit the jackpot. This is a picture of what I got completely free (about $85). Diapers, makeup, razors, even 2 pairs of earbuds for my IPOD. And to top it all off, I accumulated an extra $25 to spend in CVS extra bucks! Hooray for free stuff!

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:)