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.

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.

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.

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!

Four Months...lots of pictures and a video

So Lincoln is about 4 1/2 months now...I'm a little behind. Monday he had his four month check-up (that's what I was waiting for), including shots. He actually did much better with the shots this time around. The first shot he just sat there, the second one it took him a second to realize what was going on, and then he started crying. When he get the third one he started screaming, but it didn't last nearly as long as the time before. So Lincoln weighs 18 lb 3 oz and is 27 inches long. He is in the 97th percentile for both height and weight! I'm so glad I have such a big, healthy boy.

We are pretty sure he is teething, so he always has something in his mouth...including coffee tables

As I said in the last post he has started sitting (but still has some balance issues...he is top heavy). My boppy helps to balance him.

He is finally sleeping through the night, and has been for a little while now. One night he even slept for 11 hours from 9 pm to 8 am! I am definitely loving that. It is so much easier to handle. I am such a lightweight now. I often go to bed at 10:30 or 11. Sometimes I feel bad though because the nighttime is often the only time Ryan and I have to spend together, and then I go and pass out. Sorry Ryan!

Lincoln has also discovered his feet. When we lay him down he almost immediately throws his feet up in the air and starts grabbing them. Ryan said yesterday he was trying to eat them.

Something else he does that I think is cute, sometimes when I kiss Lincoln on the cheek he will turn and put his wide open mouth on my cheek, returning the kiss. It is so cute. I just love him so much and love watching all the new things he does.

We are trying to get him to hold his own bottle

Playing with mom

The cutest little boy...what can I say, I'm a little biased


Lincoln has started laughing more. He has the cutest laugh...enjoy!

Baby Milestones

Hanging out with Grandma

Sunday we blessed Lincoln at church. I wanted to wait until Ashley got home, that is why it took so long. Then Monday was Lincoln's two month birthday. He has been changing a lot lately. He is a pretty happy baby. He smiles a lot, and I love it when he coos. I'm just waiting for that first laugh. There are sometimes when I think he gets close. He is starting to be able to sit still for longer periods of time and kind of entertain himself, which is good. Next we just have to wait for him to be able to grasp stuff so he can play with things and not have to be held so much. He also kicks his legs like crazy and if you hold him up on your lap he jumps now. He loves jumping. It is amazing how fast he is growing. I look back at pictures from a month ago and he has already changed so much.

He is such a happy baby...I love his smile

Two months old!!!


I put him in the tub and he immediately put his arms up over the sides...just relaxing.