A Favorite of Linc's

Lincoln absolutely LOVES his dad! He enjoys when Dave takes him to the store, has him down in the garage, lets him hang out when he is grilling or just playing around in the house. This past Saturday Dave was studying at the library for a good chunk of the day. When he got home he took Linc to the park. It was probably around 5:30pm so I bundled Linc up and as I was getting him ready we were having fun putting on mommy's beanie and Lincky's beanie. He ended up with mine and kept it on so that is the one he used for the park trip...


Dave requested a ball for Linc to take so he picked his basketball, which as you can tell Linc loved.


Lincoln loves basketball and even though he is too small to make it in the big hoop he still looks up and it and wonders if he can make the shot...one day he will!


Lincoln loved spending some time at the park with his dad. He walked around everywhere, on the grass, in the snow, in the woodsy part of the park, on the court and where ever else he could manage to go.


He had such a good time he didn't want to leave, even though his poor little face was cold and red. Good thing daddy resisted the sad face/cry and brought him home, they were both cold and in the end really happy!

Happy Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day was a great day! Dave and I planned out dinner the week before so that I could go shopping for all the yummy delicious food. He wanted to make me breakfast, but I politely declined and told him that I wanted to make HIM breakfast. I know his mornings are busy enough having to get ready for school and all. I wanted it to be simple, yet festive so I started thinking. I know Dave is not a big breakfast person so I decided to do cinnamon rolls, fresh fruit, and fresh squeezed orange juice. I wanted it to be a little more special than just that so I thought about making heart shaped cinnamon rolls!I remember seeing some different kind on Pinterest and they looked really cute. Luckily, the way I did them turned out and they were absolutely perfect and delicious!

I used our red place mats and of course our china to make it feel like more than just a typical breakfast. We were all happy and so were our tummy's. Linc loves fruit, so he ate all of his plus some more and almost all of his cinnamon roll and juice. He had a good appetite that morning!


We drove Dave to school after breakfast, which Linc loves doing! He gets sad when daddy drives himself and always clings to Dave's leg. It is the saddest cutest thing ever! Linc got a monkey stuffed animal from us that he enjoys wrestling, hugging, kissing and dragging around. He even likes to talk to him...

My wonderful husband had flowers delivered to me and they were beautiful. It was full of all kinds of gorgeous flowers. They looked so pretty next to my wonderful surprise from him that he had been working on so hard. I have to say Dave's craftsmanship and woodworking skills are amazing. There are actually more blocks than would fit on the hutch so they aren't all pictured. I love my gift and we will have it for years and years!


Dave came home earlier than usual and he played with Linc for a little bit before starting the grill. The menu for the night: bacon wrapped filet mignon, balsamic roasted asparagus, herb roasted potatoes, and sparkling cider. For dessert I made a raspberry swirled cheesecake with fresh raspberry sauce to go on top. Everything was delicious!!


The meat was so tender and so so good. It was marinated and grilled to perfection...even Linc had a hard time looking at the meat on the fork while he and Dave took a picture, he wanted to grab it and eat it right up. The veggies were nicely roasted and the cheesecake topped it all off. I have to say it was way better than going out.

Crafty Creativity

So since we have moved to Nebraska the crafting bug bit me!I picked up sewing again, learned to crochet, started doing some simple wood projects and now with my Cricut Expression I have really started to get into projects. And of course let's add Pinterest in there too! How addicting is that website? It made my list of to do projects way longer than if should be!

I am wanting to get more organized with Lincoln's toys to make sure his brain is getting all the appropriate developmental toys and tools necessary. I know that probably sounds crazy, but I am such an advocate for teaching children...especially from the ages of 0-5!! We are already trying the bilingual thing, and that has its days. I am now getting to the point where I am organizing his toys and labeling them. This way he can associate the item with the word (in English and Spanish) as well as the picture. I have not yet put the actual pictures on the bins, but I'm getting there.

I'm also working on some bean bags that are in about 10 different colors so that we can continue working on colors. I also have some water bottles that I filled with water and food coloring...and since his favorite books right now are mainly the color books I'm going to go with what he likes!

I think all this will be a continual project, but as we do more I will post...I have some really cool ideas that Dave is going to be helping me with. Yup, he loves projects too!

For Valentine's day I made a conversation heart decor piece. It turned out really cute and I have it up on the wall. The picture is of the almost complete project, but you get the idea. I will be taking another picture of it before I take it off my wall.

Our law school friend just had a baby recently so I decided to make them both tutu skirts (big sis/lil sis). It was my first time making them and had no clue how, but thanks to Pinterest I found one I liked, picked out the colors and an hour later they were complete!! Trust me, these are probably the simplest things to make...especially if you don't know how or don't want to sew.

I have been trying to beautify our home as well as insulate the windows because of the extreme cold. I made curtains for the kitchen and living room, although the living room ones are only half done because I ran out of fabric and am waiting for a good sale at Joann's. I don't think I buy anything full price anymore.

Dave has been hard at work in his free time, which is very little, making things for me and Linc. He made Linc a bunch of wood blocks...every kid needs wood blocks! He also made me a bunch of Valentine's Day wood blocks to decorate our home with. It was such a wonderful gift! I did have to help with the vinyl lettering since he doesn't know how to use my machine, but it was all his idea. (Pictures posted under Valentine's day posting)

I have my never ending To Do list that includes projects and household tasks that I need to get done. My next kind of big project is a menu board. This will definitely make my life easier and a bit more organized. I'll post the completed project, hopefully by the end of the month!

A Leafy Walk to Monkey Trouble

As previously mentioned, Linc loves to get out of the house and take a walk. It was a particularly nice day and the snow had melted so we went to enjoy the fresh air. I love when we first get outside. Linc gets so excited he just doesn't know which way to go so he just starts walking and he walks fast! He found a pile of leaves as he explored and walked right in the middle. He started to grab some leaves and was throwing them and just having fun. When I finally managed to get him away from there we continued down the block. We saw lots of things including a dog, which he loved. He will tell you there is a dog by making his barking sound. This is why I try to always have my camera on me:





Some days Linc thinks he is a lot older than he really is, like this particular day when he tried to read his dad's ABA Lawyer magazine. He was really quiet so I went to check on him. I think the magazine entertained him for about 15 minutes and he didn't rip it or bite it...just flipped through the pages.


Lincoln's newest impressive move: folding his arms for prayers! I have been trying and trying to get Linc to fold his arms. He would stiffen up his arms each time, so I just let it go. Then this past week when we were saying our breakfast prayers I peeked up at him and his arms were folded and his head was down! I was amazed and totally shocked!! I kept peeking up at him and he would do it off and on. At lunch I asked him to fold his arms and he did it! Ever since he will do it when we ask. I guess our example has paid off and we are so proud of our little guy...so reverent (and even if his arms aren't folded the entire time, he stays quiet for prayers).


Strong man Linc...he brought me this bin with his blocks so that I could open it for him. Sometimes he will come up to me and grab my hand or pants (or shirt if I am sitting on the ground) and pull me over to where he wants me to go, but this time he brought the toys to me!


Lincoln has become somewhat of a messy eater, although it is more when he is finished and doesn't want any more. He will throw his food down on the floor or squeeze it at tight as he can and then of course it gets all over his face and his hair! I don't mind cleaning up the mess and actually sometimes I think he throws it down on purpose so that when he gets out of his highchair he will have a snack. It's not unusual for me to take Linc out of his chair and for him to go straight to the food and start eating it...fun times! This is the inspiration for what will soon be my new wall quote that will go right above his highchair: We no longer make messes, we make memories...


Lincoln got a special package in the mail from his grandparents Wayt. It was a Valentine's day surprise. One of the things was a monkey that has velcro on its hands so it can give hugs...we now velcro it around Linc so he is constantly getting monkey hugs. He usually will just pull it off and carry him around, but he does give the little guy kisses!

January 2012-A New Year

January was a busy month! It definitely flew by that is for sure. Lincoln has been busy learning, exploring and trying new things. He is growing everyday, both physically and mentally. Some days I am shocked at the new things he has learned either from us or on his own.


Linc has the best sense of humor...he loves to laugh and is always making silly faces or noises.


He loves taking walks on warmer days and by warmer I mean like 30 degrees or above.


One day it was really nice and Dave came home for lunch. We went to a park and played a little frisbee golf...I am horrible! We also walked around and let Linc play on the playground. He found a few friends to play with and enjoyed his time so much that he did not really want to leave. One of the little boys (who was 3 1/2) wanted to play tag with Linc. He looked at Linc and said "come and get me" and then slowly started running away. Linc caught on quickly and started chasing after the little boy. It was fun for the boy and Linc, but especially entertaining for the parents to watch.



He absolutely loves his books! He will spend, probably a couple hours total throughout the day pulling out the books and flipping the pages. He even brings me some to read to him. Right now his favorites are the ones that are books about colors and the ones that are touch and feel books. He enjoys all the pictures and when he sees a dog or food he makes his noise/word for those things.



On a trip to the library, Linc was helping me pick out some books. He saw a girl (probably around 7 or 8) who was sitting by the reading carpet and rocking on a rocker. He grabbed one of his books, walked over to her and held it out to her. She asked if he wanted her to read it to him and grabbed it from his hand. Linc took a seat on the carpet in front of her and sat and listened to her read the book. It was the cutest thing I have ever seen!

Linc has been doing this super cute thing where if you ask him, "Linc can you smile?" he will give you the cutest smile and sometimes a silly smile. Here are some of those times...






Lincoln is pretty safe when it comes to exploring. He loves to climb on the couch and I love the way he gets down...I think its just because he is so small and when he climbs down he stretches his legs and points his toes so that he can safely feel the floor. He tends to test things out and not jump right into them, but there was one time that he reached over the side of the couch and took a tumble...it happens right. He didn't get hurt, just scared.



Some of you might remember when Linc was sick this past month, it only lasted a few days and wasn't too bad, but it was still sad. We came home from the store and I put him in the living room. I put on his your baby can read dvd and a few minutes later Dave found him on the couch lying on some pillows. He just stayed there and didn't really move. It was really cute and really sad.



Linc is a lovable and cuddly little guy. To this day he still loves giving kisses...even to his toys. He will randomly come up to us and give kisses, he gives them on your head, mouth or anywhere on your face really. As his mom, I never mind getting a wet kiss from him.


He has enjoyed playing with his new basketball hoop that his grandparents Wayt got him. Not only does he love to put all of his balls in the hoop, but he puts all of his toys in there too! He is now very familiar with the ball and hoop and when we went to a law school activity with Dave he found a big ball and tried to put that one in the hoop, but both Linc and mommy were to short for that. He just picked it up, carried it all over, rolled it around, bounced it up and down and by the end of the night he was red in the face and breathing heavy from such a hard workout!


Here are just a few cool things Linc has learned that impress us:
*He can identify his head, ears, mouth, nose, feet, and toes.
*He can tell us when he is hungry or wants to go to bed.
*He can make his own dog sound that he will do if he sees a stuffed animal, picture or actual dog.
*When asked, he will go find his toothbrush and brush his teeth.
*He sometimes will grab his coat and bring it to me if he wants to go outside.
*He will fold his arms for prayers and if you ask him to fold his arms he will do it.
*When he is in his crib at bedtime and he is jumping around I will ask him to lay down and he will quickly obey.
*He is not afraid to try new foods. The other day he ate some of his parents' cucumber with chili and lime and kept wanting more!
*If I ask him to get things (such as:shoes, books, blocks, toothbrush, ball, and a few others) he will go and get them, even if they are in the other room.

There is so much that Linc does or is learning to do. It is hard to keep up. We are so grateful to have such a pleasant and wonderful son and are very excited for his little brother or sister that is on the way! That is going to keep me super busy, trying to blog about two kids when I barely have the time to blog about one! Well, it has to be done!!