Complete and Utter Chaos

Did I get your attention? I know I am the worst blogger ever...the complete and utter chaos obviously describes me. Well, not too much has changed with our family. Our day to day lives are still pretty much the same. Ryan and I are still working full time, which means we don't get to see each other a lot. We usually only have a couple days a week that we really get to spend quality time together, which can be really hard. I miss spending time with him, and I'm sure Lincoln would like to spend time with both of us together more often.

I am going to go back a couple months and update you on a couple of the big events that have happened. Two months ago (as of today actually) my adorable little, emphasis on the little, niece Estee Louise Welch was born. She was 6 lb 1 oz, and was 19 inches.

These were taken when she was a little over a week old and super tiny. She is now starting to become a little chunkster, but is still just as adorable. Unfortunately, I don't have any more recent pictures.

Last month Lincoln turned two. I sometimes see glimpses of those notorious terrible twos. He has been throwing more tantrums lately, but he has also been becoming more familiar with time outs because Ryan and I don't give in to the tantrums. He is still behind on talking. He doesn't say very much, which makes communicating very difficult sometimes. I know if he really wanted to he could talk, he is just stubborn. He gets that from both Mom and Dad. Lincoln is still a ball of energy. He is so fearless...climbing and jumping off of everything and he runs nonstop. Luckily, Ryan and I have made sure that he is one tough kid, so anytime he falls or hits himself, he usually just walks up to us, has us kiss the spot he hit and goes back to playing, without shedding a single tear.

Lincoln has a little truck that he rides around in our living room. Something funny that he has started doing recently is he will either set up his little toy people in front of it and then run them over, or he will grab one of his stuffed toys, like Spongebob or Elmo, and he will drive off with them and then tip the truck with both of them on it. He is so silly.

One of his favorite things to do right now is color. We actually got him an art easel for his birthday and he colors on it all the time.

This is his latest masterpiece

Last month we also got Lincoln's 2 year pictures, and our family pictures taken. They were taken by Jamie Lewis Photography and we love them so much. We are still trying to decide which pictures to order. It is so hard to decide. Here are our favorites.

Love his blue eyes

This one is my favorite

Kisses for Momma

Hugs for Daddy

He is so photogenic

Such a boy, playing with the rocks

My two favorite family pictures

This is typical, crazy Lincoln


Love him


This is the face of mischief

He loves to swing

I think that is all for now...I impressed even myself with the length of this. It took a lot of motivation to actually post something. I have more I want to post, but alas, it is late. Maybe tomorrow...we'll see what happens.

Yes we are still alive!

Lincoln eating popcorn at Grandma and Grandpa Griffin's house

I know, it has been ages since I have written anything on here. I'm sure everyone is wondering what is going on with us. We keep ourselves busy.

Lincoln is 19 months now. He is a little ball of energy. He just goes and goes and goes all day long. He keeps me occupied. He gets into everything. Right now he loves hiding. He will hide in cupboards,

behind his laundry basket

and under blankets. He also just recently has loved playing with keys. He tries to "unlock" everything. I decided to give him a couple of his own keys on a key chain when I had to take my keys away from him and he threw a fit. He jumps off anything and everything, he bounces his balls all around the house. He is just very much a boy.

He tired himself out

Eating cake at Yohann's birthday

He is so funny too. He has picked up patting us on the back while giving us hugs. He gives us massive amounts of kisses for no reason. But they are the sweetest, slobbery kisses you could ever get.

He cheeses every time we take a picture of him.

He just makes us laugh. This is one of videos that we took of him being silly. He is pretending to blow his nose because Ryan and I were sick and were blowing our noses a lot. (You might have to turn it up pretty loud to actually hear him).

So Lincoln still isn't really talking. He has some words that he says. He says "up", "dog" - after which he will pretend he is barking, "cheese", "shoe"...that may be all his words currently, but we are working on it. He will pick up the phone and walk around babbling like he is having conversations with people, with laughing and all. He has mastered some sign language, so he can at least communicate a little. He signs please, thank you, more(though not so much anymore), eat, all done, and he shakes his head yes.

Even though he still isn't talking he is so smart. He picks up things really fast. One of the most recent things that he has done is the "Itsy Bitsy Spider" song. I have been singing it to him since he was little (it would calm him down), and when he started going to Nursery at church last month they started singing it with the kids. Well Lincoln has a toy that sings the song too. One day I was on the computer and he was playing with this toy and listening to the song over and over. I looked over at him and he was doing all the motions to the song. It was so cute. I didn't even realize that he knew the motions. I was so proud of him. We just kept doing it over and over. Now we do it while we are changing his diaper so he is distracted and doesn't move all over the place.

We were really bad about giving Lincoln a sippy cup, we pretty much always just gave him a bottle, but we just decided that we needed to break him of it. One day, in the middle of the day, I just decided it was time and we switched over. It was at a time where he usually gets cranky and that was kind of rough, but after that we didn't really have any problems. He did really well. He switched right over and it only took him a couple days to be comfortable with it.

He is still one of the happiest kids I know. He smiles, waves, and flirts with just about everyone he sees. He is so friendly.

Here he is with Chuck E. Cheese. He thought he was awesome and was trying to give him kisses and follow him around. He even hugged his legs.

As for Ryan and I, still not much going on with us. We stay the same for the most part, just busy working. One big thing that I am doing now is couponing. I have been caught up in the world of coupon clipping and deal finding and I love it. I get such a thrill out of it. It is like my hobby now. I started out with one little accordion check filer, then had to upgrade to two, now I have moved on up to a binder. I even had to buy an even bigger binder the other day. In fact, I just bought 12 packs of diapers, 2 body washes, 1 lotion, 2 diaper creams, and two containers of wipes for just under $3o. Very exciting for me!

At the beginning of the year Ashley and Zac moved to Michigan. They ended up living with us, in our basement, for just over a month. It was nice to have them here and help them out. Lincoln loved it too. He got really comfortable with them and loved having more people to play with him. Soon I am going to be an aunt again. Ashley is pregnant and due sometime in August. I am really excited for her to have a baby! It is crazy that my little sister is having a baby, but very exciting at the same time. Ashley and Zac just moved back to Port Huron, as it was too hard for Zac to find a job here in Lansing. He is currently working for a catering company and Ash is working as my dad's secretary.

Coming up soon for us...Ryan and I get a day alone soon. We are going to Toledo to see Wicked next Thursday! I cannot even tell you how thrilled I am! I have been wanting to see this for forever. I didn't realize Toledo was so close. It is only about 2 hours away. We are still trying to decide when to take our two weeks vacation. Right now there isn't really a reason to take it, but it would be nice to have a break. I just can't wait until the weather stays nice. We had about a week of really nice weather to tease us, and now I'm itching to just be able to get out with Lincoln.

Well, congratulations if you made it to the bottom of this post. I know it is a long one. Hopefully I will be able to get back into blogging. I feel bad that I haven't been documenting Lincoln growing up. I haven't even been writing it in my journal. I am terrible! Here is to doing better.

Growing, growing, growing

Well, Lincoln is growing up fast. He weighs 24 lb 5.5 oz (95th percentile), and is 33 inches tall (97th percentile). We went to the doctor last week and he got some more shots. I thought this time it would be worse than before since he understands a little more, but it actually wasn't bad. I think he cried less overall.

Lincoln is getting another 2 teeth. They are actually almost all the way in now. Two molars!! He has really been awesome about teething. They never seem to bother him all that much. The only bad teeth so far seemed to have been the first two, which came in at the same time.

I am trying to teach Lincoln where his eyes, nose, and mouth are. He gets in the right area. Every time I ask him where his eyes are he covers his mouth. He is so cute. We will get there soon I think. We've also been trying to teach him "more" in sign language for quite some time now, since he doesn't talk and when he wants something right now he kind of just yells, but not a real yell. Since he was about 6 months old he has been growling at people. It is hilarious. Especially when someone hears it for the first time. It is always a surprise to them. Well, Lincoln has a new sound now. It kind of sounds like he is gasping for air! It was kind of scary the first time we heard it, but then we realized he was doing it on purpose. He is so funny.

Lincoln is one of the most energetic kids I know. He is always running around the house, climbing on things, "talking"/yelling, and of course he has the most energy at 7 AM, when Ryan and I just want to lay in bed. We constantly have to move the computer mouse and keyboard because he has an obsession with them and won't leave them alone. He still loves balls too. He actually got a blow up ball pit for his room for his birthday from Aunt Mandy/Uncle Jerry/Jackson, and just carries the balls all over the house upstairs. He is rocking the whole walking thing. He is still a little off balance at times, and tends to look like he is waddling, but he does great nonetheless. Sometimes he even tries to run. That never works out very well.

A few weeks ago we got our friend Jamie to take Lincoln's one year pictures. They were actually the first pictures of him we got taken, sadly, but from the ones I have seen Jamie did an awesome job. I am very happy. I can't wait for them.

Many pictures to come soon, including from Lincoln's birthday party. Sorry about how sporadically I wrote this post.

Hallelujah!!

Lincoln is finally sleeping in his own bed again!! About 3 months ago Lincoln's sleep schedule really got messed up for some reason. He had been sleeping between 10-12 hours a night, but then all of a sudden he pretty much decided he didn't want to anymore. He wouldn't go to sleep until late, sometimes as late as 11 PM to 12 AM, and then would usually wake up about an hour after we put him down. We would get him, give him a bottle, he would drink about one ounce and then pass out on our bed. He would usually let us put him back in his bed, but then would wake up like 3 hours later...usually around 3:00 or 4:00 AM!! So we would do the same thing, get him, give him a bottle and he would fall asleep, but this time when we tried to put him back in his crib he would wake up as soon as we tried to move him. So when this would happen we would just leave him in the bed with us (because we were so tired) until we woke up in the morning...which for Lincoln would be between 6:00 and 7:00 AM.

Well, a couple weeks ago we decided we were tired of Lincoln sleeping with us. He rolls around like crazy and takes up the same amount of the bed as Ryan and I combined! So we decided to try the whole letting him scream it out approach. We had been avoiding this as a courtesy to our neighbors we share a wall with. What it came down to is we didn't want to disturb them late at night. Well, we decided to throw that out the window. The first night when we put him down he did the whole trying to wake up an hour or two after being put down and we just let him scream it out until he fell asleep. To our surprise he only went about 45 minutes. The next night was not so nice. He went for about 2 1/2 hours!!! Now, this was not constant screaming. It definitely started out as full blown, full lung screaming, but he would fall asleep and then wake up and realize he was still alone and then start screaming again. So, it was on and off screaming for about 2 1/2 hours!! But we stood our ground. We did not go get him from his bed. The next night we were out late, so he didn't get to bed until later, but then ended up sleeping through the night. The next day he only went about 30 minutes. And then the next day he slept through the night. The next couple days after that he may have woken up, but didn't last very long after having woken up. It ended up taking less than a week for him to get trained into putting himself back to sleep.

He still falls asleep on our bed and then we move him. We still do not put him in his bed to fall asleep on his own. Baby steps right? However, a couple days ago he woke up when I tried to put him in his bed. I gave him one chance to try again, but then when he did the same thing I decided to put him in his bed and let him cry himself to sleep. I think he was out in under 10 minutes! We are so happy to have our bed back. So now Lincoln goes to bed around 9:00 or 9:30, sometimes even as early as 8:00 or 8:30, and then sleeps until somewhere between 7:00 and 8:00 AM. It is nice to have our nights back, especially since Ryan and I work a lot of opposites and that is sometimes the only time we get with each other.

Here's to hoping he doesn't revert back to not sleeping well again.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LINCOLN!!!

Well, Lincoln is one year old today!! It is hard to believe. Time goes by so fast. We are having his first birthday party on Saturday. It will be a lot of fun to see him open his presents and eat his cake. I also finally came to terms with the fact that is was time to give him his first haircut before his birthday, so he didn't look like a hooligan. It was getting to the point where it was almost in his eyes. So I decided to trim it myself. Bad idea!! He moved around way too much and pretty much made me destroy his hair. Luckily it was not beyond repair, but Ryan had to shave it off. So sad...I loved his hair. Even when it was unruly. He is still too stinkin' adorable though!


A year in the life of Lincoln...

Right after he was born


1 month


2 months


3 months - at Thanksgiving with Great-Grandma Amy


4 months - Christmas Eve with Jackson


5 months


6 month stud


7 months


8 months


9 months - my matching boys


10 months


11 months


1 YEAR!!

Well, it has been a couple of weeks since I have updated everyone. I am warning you now, this is going to be a little long.

My brother Eric is home from his mission. He was not supposed to come back until next month, but hurt his knee and had to come home for surgery. It is good to have him home though. It was nice to be able to actually talk to him...since I am the worst sister and didn't write him very much while he was on his mission. I can't wait to actually see him again.

On a sadder note, Ryan's grandma passed away two weeks ago. She had lung cancer and was in a lot of pain. So at least she is not hurting now. It was very sad, but it makes me feel better to know that we will be able to see her again some day. It was hard for me too since I don't have any more grandmas and she was my grandma too for the past five years. We had gone to see her the previous Saturday, since the doctors knew she didn't have a lot of time left. She was really lethargic and didn't really acknowledge anyone when they were talking to her. She got to see Lincoln and Jackson (her two great-grandsons) and that actually made her wake up and happy. When we were there she was holding Lincoln's hand and talking to him. She really loved them. It was nice to be able to see her happy, in spite of the pain, before she died.

Lincoln is walking!! He no longer has to be coaxed along, or have his hands held, he went from finally pulling himself up from the floor last Tuesday, to walking around everywhere on Thursday. He just decided it was time I guess. He still crawls a lot of the time though because he can get around faster. He is active in just about every way too. He climbs everything. He loves to be moving in any way. He loves to swing, go down the slides, be thrown in the air, spun around, and even went on a trampoline not too long ago, and loved it. He is such a boy!! He is getting yet two more teeth. He still doesn't really say anything but "da-da" over and over again, but he definitely understands a lot. He knows what "no" means and hates it when we say it to him (usually over and over because he likes to test us). He usually starts to pout and cry when we tell him no. He still has the saddest, cutest pout and my heart melts almost every time he does it.

Some new things Lincoln does now...Ryan taught him how to shoot a basket in his little basketball hoop (but as a result now he likes to throw anything and everything), he pushes his cars around the floor, he loves to look at books, he can give people high-five, he can clap and will do it when asked, he dances to any kind of music...even opening and closing credits to shows or movies. Speaking of which, he knows and loves the theme song to Spongebob. He can be in the other room and if he hears it he will speed crawl (soon to be running) into the room just to watch the TV. That song, as well as "Show Me What I'm Looking For" by Carolina Liar are his favorite songs. They can usually even calm him down if he is crying. He is getting to be such a big boy!!

Fun Times at the Zoo

Last week we were able to go to the zoo a couple of times. Wednesday we went to the Potter Park Zoo for the Free Zoo Days. Lincoln and I went with Grandma Dempsey, Mandy, and Jackson. It was nice. The admission and parking was free and there was face painting (which Lincoln wouldn't tolerate), and free popsicles and snacks throughout the Zoo. Lincoln didn't look at many of the animals. He was a little tired. The weather wasn't the greatest either, so a lot of the animals weren't even out, but it was still fun to go spend the time with family.

Lincoln and Jackson petting the goats.

Lincoln got a tattoo on his hand, both boys pet the goats (above) and they even went on a pony ride. Lincoln's pony's name was Big Red. I thought that was very fitting, given Lincoln's red hair. He loved the pony ride. He couldn't stop touching his mane. It took a while for him to even look up for a picture. The boys loved the zoo...Jackson a little more than Lincoln, of course.

Lincoln riding the pony

Saturday we went to the Detroit Zoo. Lincoln was a little more alert this time. He actually looked at some of the animals. He loved the zebras and giraffes, and he was mezmerized by the gorillas. He even got a toy snake at the gift shop. He was so excited when we gave it to him.

He loved it when he got to play with the animal statues

We got to see a polar bear playing over the water tunnel

I got to feed a giraffe. That was pretty cool. Their tongues are so long. Unfortunately we didn't get a good picture of it because I fed it too fast.

This is when I was feeding the giraffe. I'm on the left of this picture

Lincoln and me after a long day at the zoo. It was a lot of fun.