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.

I'm alive!

I know, I know, everyone probably thought I was dead. It has been quite some time and I figured I should probably update everyone with the goings on of our family. I will apologize now for the lengthiness of this post.

Well Ashley is married now...and has been for over a month. She was absolutely beautiful and I'm so glad I got to be there. I am so happy for her, but only wish that we could be closer. I miss you.

Ashley and Zac (Welch) in front of the
Manti Temple

There isn't really anything going on with Ryan and I (as always), but Lincoln is 10 months now and is so big and so smart. At his 9 month appointment he was 22 lb 12 oz (about 90th percentile), and 30 inches tall (about 95th percentile). So yeah, he is still quite a big boy. He is very active and loves to climb up the stairs. He will do it any chance he gets and is very quick. Not only does he climb off our bed, but also off our couch now. I can tell he is going to love climbing. He is finally holding his own bottle all the time now (except when he is falling asleep) which makes things a lot easier for us. He still eats a lot though, although he is eating table food now so that saves us a little on the formula. We just can't wait until he is one and we can give him real milk.

We went camping again over Father's Day weekend and went back out on Grandma and Poppa Dempsey's boat. Lincoln was a little more awake and is getting better with the ever restraining life jacket.

He loved to have the wind in his face.

He also got to touch a fish when we went fishing.

The following weekend we went to Port Huron to visit my family. We got to go to the beach. I forgot how much I miss the beach! Lincoln got to go swimming for the first time. He did not like it at first because the water was cold, but after you got used to the water it was actually very refreshing and he had fun. We bought him a little inner tube with leg holes in it so he could just sit there and we would pull him along. He really liked it. When Lincoln was done playing in the lake we took him up to my parents and they watched him while Ryan and I relaxed in the water. It was so nice.

Lincoln also really loves dogs. Ryan's parents have a small dog and Lincoln chases it around terrorizing it. My parents have a boxer, much bigger than small. However, Lincoln was not afraid. He still went right up to her and was touching her and playing with her. When Gia kissed him with her big tongue Lincoln didn't even care. In fact, he thought it was funny, and when Gia was done kissing him, Lincoln licked her back.

Lincoln staring down Gia

We also got to see fireworks when we were in Port Huron. Fireworks are so much better off a lake! Lincoln absolutely loved them and was not afraid at all...as you can see

While we were at my parents house Lincoln took a couple of steps too! How exciting! He was holding on to me and I stepped away and he took a couple steps. Then he took a couple of steps to Michela right after that. It won't be long. He is standing by himself more and more and walks along anything and everything. He is growing up so fast. I really can't believe that he is going to be 1 year old next month! Crazyiness! It does not seem like it has been that long, but look how big my little boy is getting...

Leavin' on a Jet Plane

So, Ashley is getting married on Saturday! I am so excited to go out and see her and meet my soon to be brother-in-law. This will be Lincoln's first plane ride. I just hope that he does okay on the plane. I think he might sleep most of the time, since the flight is during his normal bed time.

Lincoln is now 9 months old. He is getting teeth number 5 and 6. They are coming in by twos...makes it go a lot faster. He also went on his first boat ride this past weekend. We went camping with Ryan's parents. He absolutely hated the life jacket, but once we actually started going faster he seemed to like it. I can't wait until it's warmer out and we can take him swimming.

Lincoln is one smart kid too. He is a really fast learner. He learned how to climb on our bed (it is really close to the ground) and when he first learned how to climb on the bed he would try to get off head first, well every time he would try to get down we would turn him around and put his legs first. Just this weekend he started doing it himself. It only took him about 2 weeks to get it.

Cutest Baby?

Is Lincoln the cutest baby? We sure think so! The other day we entered Lincoln into a cutest baby contest. The winner will be on the cover of a magazine and appear on Good Morning America. That would be pretty sweet. We are hoping to be at least one of the 8 semi-finalists. We would go on an all expense paid trip to New York...round trip airfare, ground transportation, 3-night stay at a hotel, and $200 spending cash for food, a gift card for The Childcare's Place, as well as a photo shoot.

Here is the picture we entered

In other exciting news, my sister Ashley just got engaged at the beginning of this week. I am so excited for her. I have never met her now fiance Zac, but he seems like a perfect match for her. Now to wait for the wedding...I can't wait. I love weddings, and family weddings are even better.

It's been a while

Okay, so it's been like a month since I wrote on here. I am like the worst at keeping things updated. I'm actually surprised at how well I was doing.

Well, Chicago was great. We had so much fun.

Ryan and me playing with the cow eyes we dissected
at the Museum of Science and Industry

We saw lots of cool stuff, and Blue Man Group was awesome. If anyone ever gets the chance, I would definitely recommend seeing them. The place where we saw them was really small too, so it was really intimate.

On the second day, after seeing kids at the museums all day, I started missing Lincoln, so we had to call Ryan's parents so I could talk to him. Marge said the whole time I was talking to him he was smiling. I really missed him and was happy to see him when we got home, even though he was sleeping.

So Lincoln is a little explorer now. He is pulling himself up on anything and everything. Falling doesn't stop him either, he just gets back up and tries again. When he falls we try not to "notice" it unless he is really hurt. We don't want him thinking every time he falls we are going to come running. He had been doing his "army crawl" for a couple months where he would sometimes crawl with one leg, sometimes just pull himself along with his arms. On Sunday he started actually crawling. He is still pulling himself along sometimes, but he is actually trying to crawl now. I don't think it will be too long before he tries to walk. He is so fearless. He already tries to let go of things while standing, usually resulting in falling on his butt. Good thing he has a good cushion.

Let's see...what else? He absolutely loves getting baths. He splashes and plays with his bath toys and we can pour water over his head and get his face wet and he doesn't even care.

We actually gave him his first shower, but he didn't like it nearly as much. I can't wait until summer when we can take him to the lake and he can play in the water and go "swimming".

He went in a swing for the first time and he loves that too. He is so cute. We actually push him too, not tiny little pushes where he barely moves, and he just smiles and laughs. He is learning how to use his voice more, and lately he has been doing this thing where he growls. It is so funny. We call him "monster baby".

He loves eating his baby food. We haven't found anything he doesn't like yet, and it seems to me that he likes vegetables more than fruit. He is not picky though...hopefully he stays that way. He is eating finger foods now too. He loves the little puffs, and he has even tried some table food. He is growing up so fast. At his last appointment he weighed 20 lb 9 oz, and he was 29 1/2 inches long. He is a big boy...still in about the 90th percentile for weight, and over the 97th percentile for height.

I don't think there is anything else I wanted to mention. Not too much has been happening with Ryan and me. Other than things that happen with Lincoln, we lead pretty boring lives. (Sorry this is a long post).

Almost time...

I am six months old...

...and so cute!!!

Well, it is almost vacation time. Ryan and I are going to Chicago in 9 days!! So excited. We are leaving Lincoln with Grandma and Grandpa Dempsey so we can fully enjoy it. It will be nice to have some alone time together too. We are going to have so much fun.

I was right in my last post, Lincoln did have two teeth coming in. I still don't think they are all the way in, but they are so cute. They are his two front, bottom teeth. He is eating all kinds of baby food. So far he hasn't had anything he doesn't like...but we haven't tried everything yet. I think he might even like the vegetables more than the fruit.

As you can see in this video, he is really close to crawling as well. He is pretty mobile. He is a good scooter. Now we have to really clean the floors and start babyproofing. Scary!

So last week we went and got a dishwasher. It had gotten to the point where I could just not keep up with the dishes (mostly because I am lazy). We were planning on just getting a small dishwasher...one of those half size ones, but it turned out they had a full size movable one that was less expensive. So we lucked out. Another step to a cleaner house.

Changes

Ewan is here!! My new nephew Ewan was born on Monday, February 9. He weighed 7 lb 10 oz and was 21 inches long. He is such a cutie though. He doesn't really look a lot like Yohann, so I'm excited to see what he will look like when he gets a little older. Yohann is still adjusting to being a big brother. I still don't think he quite understands, and I think it will probably take a little adjusting for him.

Lincoln's "big boy" car seat was a success! I am so happy. He likes it so much more. He hardly ever even makes a peep. He is always just looking around and playing with his toys. The only downside to the new car seat is now anytime we go somewhere and he is asleep in the seat we have to wake him up, rather than just taking the whole seat with us. A small sacrifice to make to be able to sit up front with Ryan again.

Lincoln is also finally cutting his first tooth! That first day I realized it was the worst. I didn't know why he was so cranky, but nothing would soothe him. I finally stuck my finger in his mouth and ran it along his gums, and sure enough, there was a tooth. I am actually wondering if it is a couple teeth coming in at once. It is that, or a really big tooth. However, every time I try to look in Lincoln's mouth he freaks out, so I still haven't been able to tell.

We also started him on baby food. Sweet potatoes were his first food. He LOVED them. He was so cute. He just kept lunging for the bowl, smiling, and making noises. My mom was here this week to help out Joel and Michela, so she watched Lincoln a couple of times and bought him some finger food treats and fed him some bananas as well. He is loving the baby food. We went ahead and bought him his first high chair since he is going to be eating more. My dad also came into town yesterday, so today he fed him some ice cream to see how he would like it. We figured it would feel good on his gums. I don't even have to tell you that he loved that.

With Grandma at the hospital

A couple other changes with us...Ryan and I both just got promotions at work. For any of you who don't know, we both work at the movie theatre. Ryan is now the head of the projection booth. He will now be making his own schedule, which is one of the best things. I got promoted to the manager of HR. I will be doing interviews and hiring, among other things. I have never done an interview before, so it should be interesting.

One of Lincoln's new favorite toys

Well, everyone knows it is tax season. My dad did our taxes and we knew we were going to be getting more back than last year because of Lincoln being born, but we were pleasantly surprised to find out we are getting much more than we thought. I love tax season! Ryan and I already have plans to go to Chicago (without Lincoln). We have been planning this for a little while now. We are going for 3 days, staying in a King Suite right in the middle of town (it is pretty cheap since it is not a peak period), seeing all the museums, some good restaurants, and even Blue Man Group! We are so excited. We are definitely ready for a vacation.

So we bought Lincoln's new car seat. We'll see how he likes it. Hopefully it will help him tolerate the car more. I have plans to put it in the car today, so I'll let you know what happens. This, of course, means we will have to put him in his stroller when we go somewhere instead of the car seat. We went to the mall with him though and sat him up in his stroller and he LOVED it. He just sat there, looking around, and didn't make a peep. So I think it will work out just fine. Ryan and I are planning to start jogging/running together as soon as it gets warmer. So we are also planning on buying a jogging stroller so Lincoln can come with us, naturally. Hopefully we actually follow through with this goal. We are pretty determined though.

Lincoln has been eating rice cereal for quite some time now. He is really starting to do well with keeping it in his mouth and actually eating it. So I decided that we are going to start feeding him some baby food next week. He loves the cereal, so I know he will love the fruit and veggies. It is going to be fun to see his reactions. I can't wait.

I can't believe Lincoln is almost six months old!! Time really flies. It doesn't feel like it has been that long already. In four days there will be another addition to my family. Joel and Michela are having their 2nd baby on Monday at 7 am! I am so excited to meet this little bundle of joy.

Movin' Baby

Lincoln with Grandpa Dempsey

So Lincoln is 5 months old now. He is a very happy baby. He is almost always smiling or laughing. In fact, just the other day Ryan had him on his lap and they were watching Spongebob, and Lincoln was actually laughing at the show. He would look at the TV and laugh and then look at me and smile like he was trying to get my approval. It was so cute. Unfortunately we did not get it on video. Lincoln does really well with other people too. Pretty much anyone can hold him and he doesn't care. He is still the same happy baby. We are hoping that he will stay that way. We don't want a super clingy baby, we want him to be comfortable around other people when we have to leave him somewhere.

He is very strong and always looking around. He is very aware of what is going on. He is getting so big. We have decided that we have to get him a new car seat. He already fits in there pretty snugly and his feet already almost reach past the end of the seat. He hates being in his car seat, but I think if he is sitting up in the car seat he will not hate it as much.

He is so close to sitting up by himself. Most of the time he can do it, but then he gets excited and throws himself backward. So unless he is on the bed we have to have him sit in his Boppy to support him. Last Friday Lincoln finally rolled over from his back to his front, then Monday he rolled from his stomach to his back. He is now rolling back and forth like crazy. We have been trying to do better with feeding him cereal (we have been a little lazy). He loves it! He gets so excited when I go to feed him. He just smiles when I put the cereal in his mouth and he always tries to grab the bowl and the spoon.

Last week was Lincoln's cousin Jackson's first birthday. Time really flies. He had a big birthday party and everything.

Now in less than two weeks Lincoln will have another cousin. We are so excited!