16 Month Lincoln!!

I seriously can't believe how fast time is flying! It feels like just yesterday I was holding my tiny (but big) baby in my arms and now as I hold him he feels like he is half my size!! He is such a sweet little guy and I love spending all of my time with him. It is hard to keep up with all the new things that he does because it seems like everyday he is learning new things and trying new things. His vocabulary and way of communicating develops and increases everyday...just a couple days ago we were going to go on a walk and Dave asked him if he wanted to go outside and Linc quickly replied, "ouside". We looked at each other in shock and Dave asked him again and the same response, "ouside"! We were both so proud of him and kept asking him like the rest of the walk.

Something else he just started doing this past week is JUMPING!! Crazy little boy just goes around the house all day jumping, he squats down and then pops up super fast. You can even count 1,2,3 jump and he will squat down on 2, 3 and pop up on jump! He of course doesn't always actually jump, but he often gets up a little and sometimes just one foot. Although the other night Dave was holding his hands and they were both jumping and then after several times jumping together Dave let go of his hands and I counted for him and he jumped, a really big jump...got some pretty good air, and then fell on his bottom and back. I think he was so shocked and scared that he started to cry a little, but we picked him up and clapped for him and told him he did a good big jump! He keeps jumping everyday and I love watching it.

He tip-toes around and I think my favorite part of that is seeing his little calf muscles...ADORABLE!! Some other things that he has been doing for a while, but I always forget to blog about:

           -when he has a poopy diaper and I say, "let's go change your diaper" he quickly runs to the gate by the stairs and waits there until I get there. Then he hurries up the stairs because he is so excited to get his diaper changed.

         
           -Lincoln loves to brush his teeth, take a bath, comb his hair, put lotion on, sweep, mop, read, run, play hide and seek, palm any kind of ball, bounce the big basketball and exercise ball. Lincoln learns tons from being with us and watching what we do and how we do it. If you ask him if he wants to take a bath he says "bah" and goes to the bathroom or when I grab one of his towel and ask him if he wants to take a bath he gets really happy and grabs his towel. When I tell him its time to brush his teeth or if he sees one of us brush our teeth he knows exactly what to do. I brush his teeth first and then of course he spends all the time we let him brushing his teeth. My favorite is that he now brushes his tongue too! I would normally do that part for him and tell him "okay let's brush your tongue" and he sticks it out and lets me brush it, but now he sticks it out on his own and brushes it by himself...he is a total PRO!!

          He loves being in the bathroom when Dave gets ready in the morning and knows the routine. He always asks for the brush and even when we are not in the bathroom and he hears Dave spray his hair he stops what he is doing, looks at me, grabs his hair and says "ah" as he looks toward the bathroom. He knows exactly what is going on! He wants to put lotion on when we do, but still doesn't really understand how...we are working on it. Lincoln is a great cleaner...I'm raising him right that's for sure! He sweeps around his high chair after he eats and sometimes first thing in the morning, he grabs the swiffer mop and mops the kitchen. The other day there was a mess on the dining room floor and Dave was wiping it up with a paper towel and Linc saw him, grabbed an extra towel and started wiping in the exact way Dave was. Such a sweetheart always helping us out. He continues to love to read and reads several times a day. He likes to hide, whether it is under a blanket that he puts on his own head or runs behind something or to another room behind the wall. He stands there quietly and then runs to you when he gets found.

          If anyone knows Linc then they sure know that his favorite toy is a ball. He loves to palm the ball, lift it up and then bring it together to his other hand with a slap. I really don't know where he picked it up from, but he has been doing that for several months now. He also loves throwing overhand and chucking things with a side throw (kind of like he is throwing river rocks). He actually has a really good arm for a 16 month old and let me tell you he throws hard!

It really is just amazing how much kids learn in such a short amount of time and even from one day to the next. Lincoln is starting to climb on more and more things. He continues to be a very daring eater and is usually in a silly mood. He has the sweetest laugh, especially when he is busting up! I love when he cuddles, he will just walk over to me and climb on my lap and put his head on my shoulder and wrap his arms around me and just lay there...I even love it when it is the middle of the night. I look at him everyday with amazement and am so proud to be his mommy.

***I am always forgetting things these days...could it be because I'm 29 weeks pregnant! Another thing that Lincoln does is take "big steps". When I say "Lincoln, take a big step" or "take big steps" he will stretch his leg out as far as it will go and take a really big step! I can't say it enough, but it is truly amazing the things that he learns and comprehends. Dave said the other day, "at least we know he isn't learning any of these things from t.v." and it is true, he doesn't learn things from television...he learns it from us and other people around him....and of course from his own experimenting and experience! He is one smart little guy...  

My Sweet Linc

 

Lincoln is such a crazy guy! He has completely enjoyed my business buckets and molds. He loves taking them down and putting the big blue bucket on his head...he always makes me laugh!

So I think it is pretty funny how Lincoln interprets what we say or do. My favorite thing Linc does is make his "big smiles" face when we ask him to smile big. Is that how we look when we smile big? He actually has started doing it now whenever he sees me pull out the camera or even just sometimes when he wants to give me a big Lincoln smile! He is such a cutie.

It's just another silly thing that Lincoln does...bends over in half to grab things or just to look. He also thinks its funny when I do it back. 

Lately Lincoln has been doing this new thing where he will try to get things off the bottom of his foot, like paper or flat toys. He will hold on to something, lift his foot up and reach and grab whatever it is off of his foot. Today I did it while he was doing it and he thought it was so funny...he just laughed at me. I guess I would laugh too if I saw someone with a big belly lifting their leg doing somewhat of a pilates/cheer move.

Earlier today, I was working at the dining table finishing up some of my impressions and Linc was playing in the living room. All of a sudden it got really quiet so I took a little peek to see what Lincoln was doing...He was laying just like the picture shows relaxing. I quickly got the camera and took a picture, he was just so sweet laying there on the bean bag cuddled up with the pillow. After I snapped the picture he looked up at me and then started playing again, but not before giving me big hugs (he even makes the "big hugs" squeezing sound like he is using all of his might)! 

Dave made Lincoln some awesome wood blocks about a month ago and Lincoln loves playing with them. Yesterday and today were fun filled block days. He sits by the block bin and will stack and sort and play with them for long periods of time. I can tell he is trying to build something in particular because he will try out different blocks and if it's not the right one he will take it off of his structure and get a different shape. He is so lucky to have such an awesome dad! I didn't get a picture of it, but Dave even make a little wooden man that is about 8 inches or so tall so that Lincoln can have "daddy" to play with when he is at school. I'll have to get a picture of it up here soon, it is true talent to cut out a man shape from wood!

First Impressions-Business

Well I have been working on this for about a month! So I figure it is time to actually blog about starting my own business. For those who don't know...I have started a new home business doing ceramic clay hand and foot impressions. I remember getting Lincoln's impressions done when he was one month old and I fell in love! What better way to remember those tiny hands and feet.

So how did I get started? Well, when we first moved out here to Nebraska I was looking for a job and then 2 months after moving here we found out baby #2 was on its way! I hated leaving Linc for the few months I worked after having him and enjoy spending everyday with him...how would I ever leave 2 little guys! So I prayed and got to thinking of what I could do during this time while Dave is in law school.  The idea just popped into my mind one day while I was sitting quietly at our dining room table and I knew it was the answer I was looking for.

I talked to Dave first to see what he thought and he was fully supportive of me starting this new adventure. Next I talked to my mom...the person I have to thank for making this even happen...who fully supports any idea I have (crazy or not)!  Then I got to work...I received my training package 4 weeks ago and to date I have had 4 families come in with 4 more scheduled later this week. I will say that these are not paying customers...I asked friends to come in so that I could get practice on all different ages of kids. I have been really satisfied with how the impressions are turning out and can't wait to get the first batch fired, glazed and completely finished.

I have my business cards and little displays ready to go so this coming week I will be busy going to doctor's offices, boutiques and other places trying to get them to allow me to place some business cards there. My mom has been a great help and is already finding people for me to do impressions on when we go to Memphis in May. Maybe when we go to Utah I can make it another business trip and do some impressions when we go out at the end of this year.

I am very excited and I know that this will be a very successful business and I am grateful to be able to do something that I enjoy that can support my family. If you get a chance check out my business blog:

www.makingfirstimpressions.blogspot.com

and if you haven't done so already, like my page on facebook: making first impressions

Lincoln's Latest...

**Pictures are from our recent family pictures April 2012**

Oh how I love my little baby boy! I am such a proud mother and may be biased when I say this, but he is so smart, such a sweetheart and oh so very handsome!! He always keeps me busy, whether he is wanting to play ball (which of course is his favorite thing to do), sing or dance, read books, play with blocks, clean, help me with whatever I am doing or just lay down and cuddle.

I can't believe how fast time flies...he is already 15 months and is growing so much each day! I think one of my favorite things is how well he communicates his wants and needs. He has a pretty good vocabulary, wether it is the actual word or his own word for different things we can understand it all. Not to mention how fast he learns new words or signs. Just today, Dave came home for an afternoon walk and asked Lincoln if he wanted a popsicle, to which Linc responded "pop"...Dave used that and taught Linc that it was called a "pop-pop". Now Linc will say "pop-pop". He can identify most of his own body parts and ours! He loves to sing and dance. There are certain songs that he will do some actions to: row row row your boat, if you're happy and you know it, I'm a little teapot, trot trot trot (from library toddler time), and a couple more that I can't think of right now. If we are playing downstairs and he wants music on he will come over to me and start moving his arm as if he were leading the music to let me know he wants music on.

He loves to wrestle with his daddy and even tackles him. He laughs and smiles all the time! We have been blessed with such a friendly and easy going little guy. Everyone loves him when we go to the stores...I don't think there has been one time where someone hasn't come up to him or commented about him in passing. He is so good at spotting balls, basketball courts/hoops, and balloons all over the house, stores and around town.

He is still a very good eater...although his appetite is very different from day to day. Some days he will eat like a teenage boy and then other days he will eat like he is on a diet (this includes days where he just wants fruits and veggies). Overall, he has a great appetite and isn't afraid to try new foods...including jalepenos!!

He loves reading and flipping through books. He will often times bring me books so that we can sit and read them together. He enjoys stacking the wooden blocks Dave made for him and putting together and taking apart the lego mega blocks. He claps for himself and looks to others to clap for him too when he does something good or has mastered a new thing, like put the magnets on his magnet board the correct way or puts his legos together or of course if he makes a basket.

Lincoln is definitely an outdoors guy. He loves going to the park and walking all over the place, exploring new things. When we go on family walks he hangs out in his stroller and keeps his eyes open for anything new and exciting or for animals like squirrels, dogs or birds. He likes to play at the park on the play structures and isn't afraid of the big kids. He enjoys the slide and the swings.

He can go up the stairs like a big boy holding onto the rail and when he wants to give his mom a heart attack he even attempts it going down! He has just recently started climbing on the crib rails....which tells me it is a perfect time to transition to his toddler bed. He is definitely a climber, but is for the most part a cautious climber.

He has the sweetest sad face and the cutest "smile" face. He loves dancing and I love when I look back to his car seat and catch him rocking back and forth to the beat of the song. He is definitely a people person
and love to be around and with people, but has his time that he needs just by himself.

Lincoln loves to give big hugs and will squeeze you as tight as his little arms can squeeze. He loves giving kisses and is such a gentle little guy when he gives kisses to babies. He was standing over a little baby a while back and he kept trying to bend over to kiss his head. After several tries he was able to get into the right position to give the little baby a kiss. He even shares his toys with the little babies, which he will hopefully do with his little brother when the time comes.

He loves to cuddle...especially when we are talking on the phone. He will come up to us and reach up and then just rest his head on our shoulder. One of my favorite things is when we go on walks and Dave has him on his shoulders and Linc will hug Dave's head and lay his head down on Dave's head...it is sooo sweet!

One of the newest things Linc has done is finally notice my belly. He has "used" it before as a pillow and whenever I carry him as a seat, but at the store the other day he actually noticed it...well sort of...and called it a ball! Now we call it mommy's ball and he will touch it when I ask where is mommy's ball. I have tried to put his hand on my belly to feel where the baby is kicking, but the little guy doesn't sit still long enough...or ever for that matter!

Linc is pretty good at repeating sounds or words as best he can. We were listening to a cow toy the other day and each time to cow mooed Lincoln would try to moo too! If you have been on the phone while I am holding him I'm sure you have heard him say bye-bye. One of his favorite things to say right now is "dada" and I'm pretty sure it's because that is his favorite person too! Lincoln loves it when dad is home and hardly ever wants to come to mom, but that is perfectly fine because he gets plenty of time with me everyday.

Pregnancy update...

Top: 21 weeks/22 weeks    Bottom: 24 weeks/26 weeks

Well, the belly continues to grow! I have just started feeling this week that my belly is finally getting in the way of me bending over to get things or just getting in the way. I can't really complain though since I am having another very easy pregnancy and to date I have only gained about 15 pounds! Things have been going well...although it is getting a bit more difficult to pick up little Linc.

I was at the store with Linc on Saturday and he was reaching through the cart and saying ball...looking at my tummy...I said that's mommy's ball and he started patting my belly and saying ball. I think that was the first time he noticed my belly. He hasn't mentioned it since so we will see.

I posted a few pictures, but I think the angle of the bottom two pictures make me look bigger than I actually am...who know!

Happy Easter 2012

  We had a wonderful Easter! We started the morning by watching Linc discover his Easter basket...he absolutely loved it! He spotted the ball right away and went right to it and started taking everything out so he could get to the ball. He played with all the other things too and also tried to get candy from my basket. He played with his toys for a while before having to get ready for church.

After church I got right to cooking. I decided to host some friends for an Easter dinner and it was a success...with tons of food left over. I really can never cook for the right amount of people, I always cook way too much! The menu included: ham, potatoes, corn, carrots, rolls, salad, mandarin jello fluff, carrot cake cheesecake and banana cream pie! It was really good, which is lucky since most of the recipes were new. It was good food and good company. Linc just wandered around the entire time and played with Kalvin.

After dinner we went to Tyler and Kelly's for a little Easter egg hunt. Linc was not really interested in finding the eggs, but was very happy to be wandering outside. He just walked all over the place and picked up sticks...crazy little guy. He had fun doing what he was doing so that is all that matters. Next year I am sure he will enjoy it more, but he did get the full Easter experience.

Saturday Law Lunch

Today we ate lunch with Dave at the law school before he went off to study. It was a beautiful day so we sat outside in the courtyard, which was nice because it was kind of blocked off. Dave and Linc enjoyed playing and tackling each other. Linc would run to Dave and then give him big hugs...it was sooo sweet! At one point Linc climbed on Dave and just laid on his chest. I just had to take a picture. Dave loves playing with Lincoln and Linc loves playing with his daddy!

Couch nap....

So we have been transitioning from 2 naps to 1 nap and I will admit some days are more difficult than others, but for the most part Linc is doing really well. The other day I totally thought it was going to be a 2 nap day so I put Linc down in his crib...after about 20 minutes I realized it wasn't going to be. I brought him down from his room and we played for about a half an hour. I needed to talk to my mom about something so I called her and Linc laid down right by me on the floor. I moved him up to the couch and he crawled on top of a pillow. I started lightly scratching his back and he stayed perfectly still. Seriously, he would not move at all! It was almost like he was thinking 'if i move she will stop so I better be completely still'. I kept scratching his back and checking his eyes, which he kept wide open. After about 30 minutes I noticed his eyes starting to slowly close and then eventually close completely. I kept scratching his back just to make sure he was asleep and soon enough I left him on the couch. It was so sweet...and a memory I will always cherish.

Linc's First Easter Egg Coloring...

On Friday we went to Kelly's house and colored some Easter eggs...I wasn't sure if Linc was going to do any since he is only 15 months, but he ended up dying an egg and enjoyed it! Of course he wanted to grab the container with the dye, but I gave him an egg and asked him to put it in the bowl, which he did...along with his hand. He held it in there and pulled the egg out a couple times and then he dropped it in and left it. I wrote his name on the egg before we dyed it so he had a little surprise once we took it out. He enjoyed it, but was satisfied with dying one egg...next year we will do some more.

Busy Crafting Weekend

This is just some of what I have been doing this past week. The temple and I am a child of God block I made for my primary girl that got baptized. I am so proud of how they turned out...I painted and sanded them all by myself!

I finally finished the growth chart, I just need to hang it up some place. We decided that we will measure our kids every 6 months...I'll show an updated pic when I hang it and mark Linc's measurements on it. Dave and I are even going to put our height on there, too.

The last one (Christ quote) I just finished yesterday. I have been wanted to do something with that saying on it and when I went down to the basement and found the piece of wood I thought...perfect!! I like the way it turned out.

The other thing I did this past week was sew myself a skirt! It is the skirt I used for our Easter pictures. I get the CD back sometime in the next couple days so I will post pictures from that later.

I have been really busy with projects and other things...including starting my own business! I have enjoyed my time here in Nebraska and have been keeping myself plenty busy when I am not with Lincoln (because of naps and sleeping time), which makes time go by sooo fast! I can't believe I am already 26 weeks pregnant...time sure is flying by. More on my new business and pregnancy later. It's already 1am, Dave should be home from the library soon and I need to get to bed...

Lincoln Children's Museum

 Today we decided to go to the children's museum...we have a membership and Dave wanted to go with us for the first time so we planned for today. It was really neat and Linc had fun, although he was tired. Next time I'll take him in the morning instead of the early evening. They had plenty for the kids to do...there was a section for the farm stuff and they  had this cool apple tree that you could stick the apples on it and then when it says time to harvest the magnets turn off and all the apples fall from the trees...pretty cool! Dave and Linc went inside the tractor that simulated corn husking or something like that.

 Lincoln of course loved the Huskers area that had an area for football and another area for volleyball...the two biggest sports out here. Linc wasn't a big fan of the helmet, but we got a good shot of him. He enjoyed the volleyball since it was a bit bouncy.

 We went for a ride into space and let Linc navigate through the space shuttle. There was even a little space guy picture spot, which I thought was cute.

 They have a specific place for ages 0-3 where there are tons of sensory motor development toys and exploring areas. Linc was a bit hesitant to walk over the plexi-glass, but he did it. He loves going up and down the stairs like a big person and will do it whenever he gets the chance!

I think the favorite of the day was the fire truck and police motorcycle area. My two guys saved the day! It was fun and there is so much more that we didn't get pictures of...not to mention the water area that will open for summer! Linc and I will have plenty more visits to the museum and the zoo (which opens next Saturday), so stay tuned for plenty more pictures...

April 2012 Conference Weekend

Conference weekend was wonderful as usual! I always love the talks, especially the ones about parenthood and children. Linc woke me up Saturday morning so we got right to it...continuing our spring conference tradition I made omelets and smoothies. Linc ate his entire omelet and drank his whole smoothie! We also enjoyed all of ours. We enjoyed conference and got some things done while we listened. After second session we went to get tacos from the taco truck (which is our new Nebraska tradition since Dave doesn't go out to dinner). They were soooo good! I think the last time we had them was last conference and let's just say that was too long! Dave enjoyed his Priesthood session and ended up staying until like almost midnight talking with some of the guys from our ward...was I worried, YES! He wasn't answering his phone and I kept hoping that he wasn't hurt.

Sunday morning I got up and right away started making my delicious raspberry sweet rolls...oh how I love those delicious rolls. I also cut up some fruit to munch on throughout the day. Dave took Linc on a short walk (it was pretty hot) and then they played for a little in the back yard. We enjoyed our rolls and watched conference. Linc was up for the whole morning session! We debated keeping him up until the second session started, but he didn't make it. Dave put him down to take his nap half way through the session breaks. I was already starting to cook. Dave found a bunch of recipes that he wanted to try so we did...somehow they were mostly all fried, except the mozzarella sticks, which we baked. We had: fried zucchini, onion rings, fried green beans, mozza sticks, and jalapeno poppers. We made them all from scratch and boy were they delicious! We kept going back and forth on which was our favorite...I don't know if we ever came to a final decision. When Linc got up from his nap he enjoyed some of the delicious food, too. Dave even gave him a jalapeno popper, which he loved...he didn't react to the spice at all! That must be from my side...hehe.

That evening, I went to one of my primary girl's baptism. She was so happy that people were there to support her and I am so glad I went. Dave stayed home with Linc so that he could put him to sleep...although when I got back he was wide awake! The first thing Dave says to me is "Linc took two baths today." I had already given him one and apparently Dave gave him another after I left. I seriously could not stop laughing when Dave told me what happened. So...I guess Linc was crying in his crib (or just standing and blabbering, I can't remember) so Dave goes up to see what is going on. What he finds next is not for those with a weak stomach.

Somehow (I still blame the way the diaper was put on...Dave says Linc reached inside his diaper, which has never happened) Lincoln's poopy pebbles from him diaper escaped and he had thrown them around, smeared them on his crib, sheet, and blanket, and thrown some on the floor. The way Dave made it sound would have meant that Linc had like 20 pounds or more to throw around, but we all know Dave can get exaggerate a bit when telling crazy stories like this. Apparently, it got everywhere and Dave had to clean it all up! I just laughed and said "april fools", to which he asked if it was really poop. I continued to laugh and said yes it was, but it was Linc's first April fools trick that he played on his daddy!!! Something like that could only happen to Dave...oh and Dave tried to get me with a couple things, but to his disappointment they did not work!

Let's just say, it was a conference weekend to remember!!

A night on the town...

So, last Friday night we went downtown to this place that makes homemade ice cream. It was delicious! We both had ours on a homemade waffle cone, which was Linc's favorite part of all! Dave got a chocolate flavor and peach pie and I had a toffee flavor and vanilla. Linc of course had it all! We found this weird statue guy outside so I had the guys sit by him and take a picture. Linc wasn't too sure about him, but he took the picture anyway.

After that we walked around downtown for a bit ( I guess to try to make us feel better about eating all that ice cream). It was a nice evening. Before heading back to the car we went to the train depot that has a bunch of train cars lined up. We snagged some belly pics and then some fun pics of Linc...we were asking him to smile and the above is the result. He is such a sweetie pie!!

It was a fun night and a great way to end Dave's spring break...he actually didn't have much of a break since he pretty much studied the entire week!

Husker Baseball

Dave and Linc went to their first Husker baseball game! They have actually been to two games so far this season. I was able to get some things done or rest while the boys were out so it worked well for all of us! They had plenty of fun. Linc of course doesn't actually watch the game, but enjoys playing and running around the entire time. They have these cool huge baseballs in front of the stadium and Linc really liked them...when we all go we will get some pics of him sitting on top of the baseball!