Lincoln Update 22-26 Months

He has grown so fast! At around 22 months he was doing a lot with similarities: he would show me his word cards and then go and find the actual object. He just did this with his ball card...showed it to me and then held up the actual ball. He also did this with the keys card and then went to find his keys and brought those to show too. Lately Lincoln has really been using the word "mama" in reference to me and points to me a lot and will say mama. Now if I'm doing something else he will be sure to say "mama" and then talk to me to make sure I know he is talking to me. We were playing a CD and one of the songs was B-I-N-G-O and he came over to me and said "mama O", which is one of his favorite letters. He recognizes it everywhere! Another song also says stuff like touch your toes, stand up tall, march in place and he will repeat those the best he can, but it also says jumping jacks which he can say really well! I'm so happy that he picks words and phrases out and attempts to say them.

I guess a big thing that happened around 22 months was me going back to work part-time. Lincoln started going to a daycare called La Petite Academy. I researched many places and really liked this one. It has been great! At first he didn't like it because it was really the first time that he was without me for long periods, but after a few days he was just fine and now looks forward to school.

We moved to our new place mid-October and Linc not only graduated from his crib to his toddler bed, but he graduated to his own floor of the house! The basement floor is his domain. He has his bedroom (biggest in the house) and his play room. He likes it, but doesn't always want to play down there unless we are there with him. Linc really likes leap frog Amazing Alphabet and Numberland. He is quickly learning all of his letters and numbers 1-10. By the time he turned 2 he was able to identify about half of them and would spot them all over the city as we drove or in stores. Now he can tell you every single letter of the alphabet, numbers 1-10 and can count from 1-10 (for the most part)!

He has been really into cooking and loves the play kitchen. For Christmas Grandma and Grandpa Perez got him a little play grill and he loves it! he plays with it every day and is always cooking for us and shares all the food. Sometimes he even just carries the food around with him. When he is at places that have the play kitchens he always plays with the food and cookware.

Goodness I feel like there is so much to say about Lincoln, he has seriously grown so fast and so much! He continues to be a really good eater and loves chickens and dippings. He generally eats his vegetables first, but loves candy!

Some of his favorite things to watch: bananas in pajamas continue to be a favorite, winnie the pooh, spongebob, and his more recent favorite Cars!! He can watch that movie over and over and over and he can spot Lightning McQueen in any store. He also calls any red car Lightning McQueen.

Lincoln is very polite and will always say please and thank you/gracias. He is so polite that it is hard to say no. He always asks for things like "mama, more cars please", "dada more candy please". His language has definitely blossomed! He is really good at asking and telling. I ask him what he did at school and he will tell me a few things. One day I asked him what he did in nursery at church and he said sunbeams, I asked him if he sang the song and he said "yesh". I actually peeked in on them through the little peep hole and saw that they did sing sunbeams so I was very impressed. We love how he says no and purses out his lips.

He loves talking on the phone and has several of his own phones that he uses. The funny part is that when he talks on his phone he will pace back and forth like Dave does when he is talking on the phone. His favorite person to skype with is "Rah-Rah".

He loves to read...especially with dad! He has a set of 4 books that he reads right now before bed and he has them all memorized to the point where he and Dave read them together. He will ask for each of them by name and will be sad if he doesn't get all 4 and of course he gets them because there is nothing better than a child who loves to read! Goodnight Moon, Five Little Pumpkins (he does the voices like Dave), Go Go Bobo Opposites and Shapes. I have seen him at school sitting listening to books and when we read to him here at home he just loves it.

We went to Memphis for Christmas and Linc got to hang out with his cousins. They loved playing the Wii and dancing. Linc has loved dancing since he was a little guy and has learned many new moves as well as creates some of his own. I think his favorite parts about the trip were seeing the big house with the lights and music and hanging out with grandpa and exploring the woods with dad. For several weeks after we got back Linc would ask for Grandpa and the "agua luz", which were part of the big lights display.

Lincoln is a really good big brother. He loves to share with Oliver and now that Oliver sits and plays Linc always brings him toys. He does try to climb on him and sit on him sometimes, but luckily I'm never too far away! He is so lovable all the time. He will go up to Oliver and kiss him on the head or sometimes he will take out his pacifier, give him a kiss and then put his pacifier back in. When Oliver is in his jumper Linc is right there playing with him, sometimes sitting on the side of the jumper.

He always has his stuffed animal friends with him. At night they all sleep with him and he knows each of them by name. In the morning he will collect them all and make is way up the stairs holding 3 or 4 big stuffed animals. Since he has gotten into cars he now carries around a few little cars and trucks too!

He is very good at identifying and recall. Every time he sees the netflix logo he says bananas because he knows that's how we watch bananas in pajamas. He can also tell us who's phone is beeping and we can be playing and he will hear a phone and say mama phone or dada phone. He loves dadas phone because it has lots of home videos that he likes to watch over and over and over. Oh, which reminds me: Linc had a winter concert at his school and his class sang Jingle Bells, which he sang pretty well. At grandma's house over Christmas he would find little jingle things and sing his song and we even got it on dad's phone!! Some of the songs he now sings are: Jesus wants me for a sunbeam, follow the prophet, popcorn popping (with the hand moves), eensy weensy spider, wheels on the bus, once there was a snowman, I am a child of God, twinkle twinkle. He also directs music and moves his arm pretty similar to the music director. Oh and lets not forget the music on the radio: he loves his songs!! Gangnam Style is one of his favorites and he can watch that video for hours if we let him. He even calls the guy in yellow Uncle Jon. He likes to bob his head to the music and will sing pieces of some songs (Taylor swift Trouble he likes the e-e-e parts, another song that says eh-eh-ooh).

Linc loves to wear hats, especially dad's baseball caps. We got him one of his own that is a little big, but he looks so cute in it! I also got him a little table and chairs, which he loves to sit at. He has really gotten into coloring so he does a lot of coloring at his table.

Now that Oliver sits in the high chair Lincoln sits with us at the big table using his bumbo as a booster seat. I think he actually started wanting to sit at the big table before Oliver used the high chair. He has gotten really good at turning on the tv and dvd player and will sometimes disappear downstairs and then I will hear a movie on and realize that he got bored of being upstairs and went downstairs to watch a movie and play.

He likes to play outside and go to the park. He likes the slides and playing tag/hide and seek. He also likes playing at the mall play place and riding in the little car machines, especially the bus. He got to go to Chuck E. Cheese's for his birthday and he loved it!

He is a very big helper and loves helping with cleanup, sweeping, mopping, taking his diaper to the trash, or any trash to the trash, putting dishes in the sink, vacuuming.

He loves scooter rides with dad in our backyard and collecting sticks, rocks, and leaves. He likes stickers brushing his teeth, even more now that he has a lightning mcqueen toothbrush and spongebob toothpaste.

Some more things I want to remember:
-when we pull in to the church parking lot he says "church, yeah!"
-when we get home he always says "coat off, shoes off"
-he can identify supersaver, target, walmart, sams club and knows that area of town they are in. I think he knows the town better than Dave!
-He loves car carts and knows that super saver has a kid cookie for him whenever we go. 
-when we pull into our driveway he says, "mama, look, home...yeah!"
-when we are in the car he will say "mama ba-bye, kincon ba-bye, bah-ber ba-bye", when I ask where they are all going he says, "kincon school, bahber school, dadda school, mama works"

Oliver's 1st Month UPDATE

 Oliver has been adjusting really well! I realize that he really loves to be held and cuddled. He is super alert and has a very strong neck just like his brother Lincoln when he was his age.

 Lincoln had a picture similar to this one on the love sac with the star blanket so I had to get one of Oliver too! I even caught a smile in one of them!!

Oliver hangs out in his swing, usually on the table so crazy Linc won't get him! He doesn't mind his swing, but he prefers to be held for sure.

 Oliver's birth day gift took some time to get here. We got him a build a dinosaur, which is tradition in our family...well something from build-a-bear. Lincoln enjoyed opening it for him.

To celebrate Oliver's first week I did his first impression! I love his little hands and feet. He is the youngest I've done so far and they came out pretty good...I can't wait to finish it!

 Oliver is becoming quite the sleeper...not just during the day, but isn't waking up too much at night. I definitely appreciate that. It could be because he is in our bed and loves to sleep with mommy and daddy.

 Oliver had his first zoo trip already and slept through the whole thing! It's okay though because we documented it for him so he can remember what he saw...or didn't see.

 He wasn't as impressed with the bear as much his big brother was...maybe another time.

 My sweet little cuddly baby sleeps so comfy in my arms. I have been trying to spend time with both Oliver and Lincoln. Trying to find the balance between both has been a challenge that any mom of two has to learn, I wonder what it will be like with #3!

Oliver had his 2 week check-up and is gaining twice as much as expected...way to go! He was also born with tears, which doesn't normally happen. The consequence of that is plugged tear ducts. He had a really bad one in his right eye, but we got it all taken care of. He still has a little plug once in a while on his left, but nothing to worry about.

Linc loves playing with all of his old toys and sharing them with his new baby brother. Oliver smiles a lot in his sleep! It's one of my favorite things because I will be holding him and look over and there he is smiling.

 Oliver lost his umbilical cord pretty early, but had his first real bath around 3 weeks. He didn't really like it and cried almost the entire time...good thing Linc was near us to bring him his pacifier!

After his bath, he was so relaxed and just laid on the couch calmly. His hair fluffed out nicely once it dried.

We took another trip to the zoo for clown day...Oliver was awake for some of it, but on the walk home he fell asleep. I had to take a picture because of how he was sitting with his arm on his leg and his hand on his face...such a cutie!

 I can't believe how fast the first month went by! Oliver is really growing and he is growing fast! He has already gained about 4 pounds since birth (11 pounds 7 ounces) and has already grown half an inch (21.5 inches) People always think he is older that one month because of his size and I always get compliments on his awesome hair (faux hawk). Many people wonder if I actually style his hair and I tell them he styles it all on his own!

He had a wonderful first month of life and continues to enjoy and explore this world. I like the picture above because he is looking at Linc like "hey who is this little guy holding me".

Mini Mr. Fix It

 Linc loves the scooter! Each time we come home and the scooter is in the garage, it will be the first thing he goes to.

 He also loves helping Dave fix it and has become really good with tools. He finds screws on his toys or on anything and will point to it and then point to where he knows I keep a screwdriver upstairs. He is a smart little guy.

Dave and Linc take a break sometimes and head to the gardens. Linc loves looking at the fishes and running around of course.

Finshing: Dad and Linc

 Dave took Linc fishing the first week Oliver was home to give him some special dad time. They went fishing at a lake here in Lincoln.

 Dave said he had fun fishing for about a half an hour and then was over the whole fishing thing, but still wanted to play.

A half an hour was all they needed though because they caught like 3 fish in the first 15 minutes in the special cove that they found. Dave let Linc reel the fish in and Linc was really good at spinning the string to bring them in. Apparently, Linc enjoyed grabbing the worms and tried to put them in his mouth. He also enjoyed doing some cool spin moves on the beach and of course throwing rocks into the lake. They had a fun time for sure!

Oliver's First Days Home

The day we got home Linc took some time to get to know his new brother...he really took a liking to him and gave him plenty of kisses. He also missed his old car seat so he took some time to sit in it. It looks like he is screaming for someone to get Oliver off of him, but it's his big smiles!

The next few days were pretty good, but we had some rough moments with Linc and Oliver...let's just say Linc gave Oliver a few love taps. I never left them alone, but Linc has some quick hands and a once he made Oliver cry...he has such a sad face and it made me feel so bad! Things have been way better and Linc for the most part just gives him hugs and kisses (although sometimes he will want to try to pick him up on his own).

 Linc loves to hold Oliver so these are some pics of my 3 boys just hanging out. I love the way Oliver is looking up at daddy.

 Linc loves his little brother!

 Big kisses from big brother to little brother.

 Dave trying to get them situated.

Lincoln holding his little brother's hand while Oliver lets out a big yawn. Oliver enjoyed his first few days in the world and adjusted quickly to his new situation...as did Linc.

Welcome OLIVER FRANKLIN WAYT!!!

Things have definitely been busy since Oliver was born...here I am 8 weeks later getting to this post! We are all settled and getting back to our routine (new routines now with the two boys) and things are wonderful. So here is the Oliver story:

On Thursday July 5th I picked my mom up from the airport around 3, we stopped at the store and then went home. We had dinner and I finally packed my hospital bag...yes that's right, I packed right before heading out to the hospital! There was no being ready ahead of schedule with this little guy (the car seat had been pulled out of storage and cleaned like two days prior). My mom had just enough time to say hello and spend a couple hours with Linc before we left her with him to head out. We checked into the hospital at 8pm and they right away started monitoring and checking me. I was told that I would be given a small pill at about 9:30pm and then again in several hours. Apparently, my contractions were so strong and consistent that I didn't need the second dose and they started my pitocin around 2:30pm. I remember them calling my doctor in the middle of the night to let him know what was going on...he is amazing! The night carried on without any problems and around 11:50am it was time to push!! Things were going really well, except that Oliver did not want to turn face down...no matter how much the doctor tried he was set on coming out into the world face up ready to see everything and meet everyone! Because of the way that he was positioned it took a lot longer for him to come out and ultimately Dr. Martin had to help with the forceps. Eventually the little guy was born and all was well!! 

The name we finally decided on: 

                 Oliver Franklin Wayt (to be called Oliver or Ollie). 

Oliver's birth stats: 

                 July 6, 2012  12:51pm

                 7lbs 13oz.     21 inches

 It was a really neat experience because as soon as he came out (and Dave cut the cord) they put a blanket on my belly and laid him right on there and cleaned him off a little while he was laying on me. It was a sweet experience. They left him there for about 20 minutes and then they took him and weighed/measured and cleaned him some more after which they gave him right back to me.

 After the tiring labor the sight of him brought tears to my eyes...I was so happy to have my precious baby in my arms, happy and healthy. He has loved to cuddle since the first moment and is so alert and curious about everything!

 My mom and Lincoln showed up and boy when Lincoln saw his daddy he was so happy, he ran straight to him! Of course he loves giving his brother big kisses and we snapped a quick family photo with the new little brother.

 

We enjoyed our hospital stay and I have to agree with everyone else who has delivered at Bryan LGH that it is the best hospital experience ever! All of the nurses and doctors were wonderful and the food was delicious!! Oh and Dave's favorite part was the guest hospitality room with tons of free snacks, foods, soda, juices, ice cream and more!

 Oliver was such a good baby and continues to be really good, especially at night. I think bath picture earlier is the only time I have seen his hair down like that, the norm is standing straight up so that he looks like he is sporting a faux hawk...which everyone comments on all the time because they love it and cannot believe how much hair he has.

 We had to take some pictures of us enjoying the room and of course the food! We enjoyed holding Oliver and having him cuddle with us.

 Linc and my mom came to visit us each day we were there and he loved the trips he would take with dad to the snack room. He would pick out what he wanted and bring it back to the room. Of course he had big smiles for daddy.

 When it was time to go home we got Oliver dressed in his Huskers onesie. We have to get him showing his husker pride if he is going to live here in Nebraska!

We were all ready to go in our Husker gear. We got Oliver in his car seat and of course before leaving Linc had to try out the baby bassinet...crazy big brother!

Happy 4th of July!!

 We had a big two day celebration planned this year! We started out on the 3rd with an evening at a lake that held the annual Uncle Sam Jam in Lincoln. Linc was all smiles!! We weren't sure what to expect, but certainly were not disappointed at the end of the day.

 We started the afternoon off with a little bit of giant basketball, which of course Linc loved! Daddy of course helped him make some shots, but he had fun throwing it up there on his own.

 Some ring toss was next....Linc enjoyed throwing them around and I got a ring around the Linc-o! Pretty cool giant sized games for the little kids.
Of course since it was a park Linc had to get some swinging action with daddy pushing. Fun times for the guys...

We had our first family canoe experience, which was really fun! Linc was a bit nervous at first, but after a bit he just enjoyed the ride. It was so cute to look back and see Linc sitting on the floor holding onto the bar in front of him and also standing up by daddy's legs holding a paddle. We had a fun time on the water.

Linc and dad played a game of who knows what, but Linc got to push buttons and that was all he cared about.

I stood in line for Linc to get a balloon animal Dave and Linc kept exploring around and playing the carnival games. The clown lady is actually someone we see quite frequently around town now and she remembers Linc each time. Linc got a monkey in a tree for his balloon and it actually lasted a long time considering we were outside the whole day. 

Of course we couldn't let the day go by without playing a bit of frisbee golf. We each got a free frisbee and played 9 holes. Linc was in the stroller for the first half and although he enjoyed it it was much more fun when we took him out of the stroller. He ran around all over and enjoyed his freedom. He would grab the frisbee and then run wild while yelling...he had a wonderful time and so did we!

 After some fun frisbee we were debating whether we should go home and come back for fireworks or just stay and find a place to sit. We decided it wasn't worth it to go home and come back so we found a good spot and hung out for a bit. Linc quickly got bored of the blanket and started to walk around. Dave decided to take him to the lake shore and they hung out there for a good hour and a half! Dave showed Linc how to skip rocks and Linc tried his best. He was really good at throwing the rocks in the lake, but he still has plenty of time to get the skill perfected...although I have to say that he did get about two rocks to skip!! Good job buddy!!!

 I loved watching them together and Linc just sit relaxed by the lake. He was pretty muddy after, but totally worth it! He kept reaching for more rocks and we kept piling them around him after he would clear the area by his sides. It was a great way to pass the time...

 After all the fun rock skipping we sat down and waited for the fireworks to start. It was seriously the best show we have seen! Linc kept saying "more" after each one. We LOVED it!! After the show we got out of there pretty quickly and made it home to put Linc to bed only to get ready for day 2.

The next morning we got up and got ready for a ward breakfast at the park. We opened our gifts, which were pretty simple this year. Linc got an outfit and some little toys and Dave and I each got tumbler cups. We had fun at the breakfast and after food we went to the playground while all the kids played. Eventually Linc had enough and as he was walking towards Dave he makes the motion for all done and then just falls to his knees and starts whining. He was done! We took him home for his nap and we got ready for the afternoon.

 Dave and Linc took a break in the day to do some work on the scooter...Linc loves helping his dad down in the garage and does amazing with his tools! He looks just like a mini Dave.

For our afternoon fun we went to Seward County for the big celebration, but not without making a stop at Sonic for some happy hour slushes! We walked around and watched the parade...apparently Linc thought he could hail a taxi or a fire engine, maybe next time buddy. He hopped on the big tractor to try to drive it himself...that didn't work so he tried pushing it. Then Dave and I joined in for a family picture. After that we went home and boy were we exhausted!! It was sooo hot and we were sooo drained. Our 4th of July dinner included ribs, corn, beans and good drinks! After dinner we hung out with Linc for a bit and then put him to bed. We were so exhausted that we decided to stay in for the night. Dave and I relaxed on the couch and watched some TV while listening to all the fireworks that went on all night. It was a very successful 4th of July...can't wait for next year when we get to celebrate with our two little boys!!