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).