8 months and growing

It's hard to believe that Lincoln is 8 months old. He brings such a wonderful joy to all of us and we simply cannot love him anymore than we already do. Each and every day, he is showered with hugs and kisses and love from all of us. His smile lights up a room and when he flashes those amazing dark brown eyes, my heart melts. 

I want to remember each and every face that he makes and so, I've worked to capture all of them on camera. He isn't often upset, but when he is, his face sure lets us know (and his angry cry too!). He's still sweet, even when he's mad! 

At 8 months old: 

* Finally has started rolling over more (after a LOT of work on my part during this week home with him)

* Loves to stand and hold onto things, mostly to watch the cars go by out the window

* When he lays on his back, he lifts his legs and slams his heels into the ground, HARD. This is how he "moves" around.

* Still enjoys his Johnny Jumper, being pushed in the swing, going for walks and playing with toys. 

* Balls are his favorite toys. He has quite the arm, and is a lefty (video HERE though it's a little old)

* Eats baby food, stage 2 but only really likes the fruit. Anything else gets a pretty nasty face.

* "real food" we have tried includes Puffs, Yogurt Melts and crackers. He's still trying to figure out how to get them to the back of his mouth. I've tried cheese recently but he spits that out immediately. 

* Ice cream gives him a runny nose and a cough so we stopped offering it on our regular DQ outings

* Still nurses like a champ, 5 times/day

* Naps 3 times/day (AM, PM and early evening) for about 1-3 hours, going to bed in his cradle next to our bed. 

* Sleeps overnight well. 

* Likes his nuk. Sort of. Took us until baby #3 to buy one of those nuk tether things because let's face it, squatting to pick up a nuk after the 50th time it's fallen from his mouth is downright challenging at his weight!

* Enjoys being in the pool for short bouts (gets a little chilly) and has just as much fun sitting on the edge splashing his toes. 

* Doesn't mind sitting in the grass (I thought the feeling of grass would bother him). 

* Puts everything into his mouth; but spits out the food......*sigh*

* Had his first surgery: ear tubes yesterday and was a champ! 

* Has 2 teeth and a 3rd one currently making its debut

* Wears mostly 12 month clothes and size 3 diapers

* Weight: 22 lbs 13 oz 

* Height: 28.5 inches

Oh...and he still spits up. All. Day. Long... :) 

We have a ball player

This spring, Regan asked to sign up for softball. 

"oh brother!" (was our first thought). 

You see, the last time she played, she did more playing in the dirt than playing ball. 

And she struck out. Every. Single. Time. 

It was a long season. She wanted to quit (we don't quit), she got hit by several (coach) pitches and was scared of the ball. So really, our "oh brother!" thoughts were well deserved. 

But, like any other good parent, we supported her request and signed her up. 

Heavens this has been a completely different experience for her!

She hits the ball, plays hard and loves the sport! 

Click HERE to watch her in action. 

I think the take-away lesson is two-fold: 

sometimes kids are too young for a sport (6 was too young for Regan to play coach pitch)

if at first you don't succeed, give it another try

I think we have a ball player on our hands and we are so proud of her!

Moments

Over and over again I have mentioned how much the girls love Lincoln. And by love, I mean love him. 

Constantly, they are arguing over his attention, begging to be the one to hold him, play with him, push him in the stroller or swing.... you get the picture. Lately, they plea to be the one to feed him. 

And this week, Sidney was quick to ask for breakfast on most mornings (which usually followed with some cries by Regan and then her classic "then I get to do lunch AND dinner"). Oh the drama of girls. 

She is so adorable as she feeds him. 

Bite after bite. 

And this face is worth the price of that argument. 

She does the classic mouth open as she places the food in his mouth. 

Oh how I love these precious family moments!

Lincoln's ear tubes

We knew it was coming, and with 6 infections in just over 4 months plus constant fluid, we opted to have tubes surgically placed for Lincoln. Thankfully once we made the decision, it was only a week to wait and I happened to have this entire week off work. 

This morning, we rose early in the morning (5am to be exact) and were headed to the hospital before 6am. Lincoln was a champ, going the morning without nursing or eating breakfast. He was a bit unhappy, but who could blame him, he was super hungry. We pulled out our A game to keep him happy: songs, dancing, peek-a-boo and silly faces to name a few. 

We waited as the parade of staff entered the room and one by one, went through their specific narrative about his upcoming procedures. Forms were signed, consents were given and Lincoln was weighed, changed and ready to roll. I went back into the OR with him as they sedated him using a strawberry flavored mask as they put him to sleep. Teary, I left him in the capable hands of the very caring staff and walked back to meet Ryan. We waited and waited and I watched the clock. Let's just say it was the longest 15 minutes! 

He came back to us and was fit to be tied. Madder than we've ever seen him. I recognized his sobs down the hallway and Ryan said "he never cries, I didn't recognize it"; such a true statement. It took me a very long time to calm  him down as he woke up from his sedation and oriented himself (Ryan had to leave during this point to race home and bring the girls to "take your kid to work day", only to be detoured along the way due to the President's visit!). 

Eventually, after getting a bottle and some well needed snuggles, Lincoln was his happy self and we were back on the road to home. He did great and the surgeon said he had a lot of fluid behind his ears (right worse than left). We're really hoping these tubes have a positive effect and he will get back on track with his speech. Love you little Lincoln!  

Toothless

A very exciting day has come for our sweet Sidney. She lost her very first tooth! Not too long ago she first showed us that wiggly thing, actually claiming to have TWO wiggly things. We reminded her that it's ok to eat (and swim and play and sleep) with a loose tooth. Then we reminded her that although it would bleed, it wouldn't really hurt when she lost her tooth. (Five year olds can be such nervous little beings and Sid is no different). So she wiggled. And wiggled. And wiggled. She had a dental cleaning this past week where her dentist informed me that she did, in fact, have two loose teeth! Going on to say her guess is the second will be about 3 weeks behind the first. However, she warned us it could pop out this week, or be another YEAR! So we weren't really expecting a visit from the tooth fairy this week! I got a big surprise last weekend when Ryan was out of town golfing. The girls piled in my bed to sleep and at 4am, Sidney taps my shoulder giving me a toothless grin and showing me her tooth laying in her tiny 5 year old hand. She was beaming with excitement! She asked if she should put the tooth under her pillow...um, not at 4am sweetie! She was so proud that she went to wake Regan and share her news, thankfully I stopped her before she tapped her shoulder too! 

Congratulations Sidney! 

We are so proud of you! 

Summer time

 There hasn't been a cloud in the sky lately. And for this I am thankful!

 

And I think these guys are a bit happy about it too. 

We've been spending hours and hours outside and in the pool. After a long MN winter and an even longer (and terrible) MN spring, we are longing for fresh air and fun in the sun. 

Yesterday Kari and her 3 kiddos joined us for some fun. I didn't get many pictures of the day, because frankly, I was too busy chatting and swimming to stop for a pictures.

But there seemed to be some happy WET kids!

Well, maybe one wasn't so happy! 

Actually, this picture is deceiving. Lincoln loves the pool. He just doesn't like to be splashed (as he was here). Not to worry, a quick towel dry off and he was happy as can be again.

Regan is a fish. She swims like crazy and now has one heck of a tan and some blonde hair. She keeps her eye on the pool and helps us watch all the kids (not that I rely on her yet, but I do believe some day she would make a great lifeguard). 

I'm working with Lincoln on his swimming skills too. He's yet to be put underwater, and I'm not certain this is the year to do it; but he's comfortable in the water and enjoys splashing away!

YEA for summer!!

Magic carpet

The girls have been at Foss swim school learning how to swim for quite some time. During their time there, they have had the opportunity to play on something called a magic carpet. It's a specially designed piece of foam, made out of EVA closed cell. The instructors sure know how to have a good time with the magic carpet: piling the kids on it, making obstacle courses, flipping kids, using it as a boat, and the list goes on. 

With a pool in our back yard, the girls wanted one of their own. 

Big time. 

The daddy of this family wanted one too. 

After talking to the staff, we learned where they bought it from. Too bad that company only sells to swim schools. We tried pretending we were a school, that didn't work. And so I hunted and hunted and hunted online. But I struggled to find a mat large enough for what we wanted to use it for. There were companies that sold them in smaller dimensions. But frankly, the fun of it is getting on with a friend or two. 

 

And then I finally came across a website that would cut it to our dimensions. Though we couldn't pick out a fun color, we figured gray would suffice. 

Let's just say in the 2 days that we've had the magic carpet, it's been played on, layed on and jumped on more than a hundred times. 

It doesn't sink and is so much fun! I'm certain it will provide hours and hours and hours of playtime for our family! 

We love it!!

Our chaos

I've mentioned in previous posts just how chaotic our life is these days. And when I loaded up my car last Thursday morning, I had to laugh. It was the perfect picture of our crazy life. 

With activities, sports, field trips, doctor's appointments and 2 working parents, we are B.U.S.Y.

This is what my car looked like that Thursday morning (and really most mornings)..... 

There's Sidney's blue backpack on the floor, filled with her swim suit, field trip shoes (aka: sandals turned tennis shoes) and other trinkets she feels a need to bring with her on her day at school. 

Then we have Regan's pink and brown back pack on the floor. Inside is a lunch, packed the night before including a beverage, all in a cooler style lunch bag because there is no fridge for her to use. She also has a small water bottle in her bag for use throughout her day. Alongside her backpack is her red/white water bottle so she has some cold water for golf clinic, which the summer staff will walk her to/from and ensure she arrives and returns safely to her summer programming. I sensed her softball game would be cancelled due to the downpour or we would've had yet another bag filled with her softball gear and a picnic dinner for all of us to share.

Next is Lincoln's diaper bag. He was off to see the ENT that morning. Inside were a few toys, his breakfast (and a spoon!) that he choose not to eat and I would later feed him while we waited to be called for the doctor. A change of clothes that I'm sure is much to small for him and loads of diapers and wipes. 

I packed my own lunch in that green cooler on the seat. Not exactly healthy on this particular day (oatmeal and some strawberries) as the fridge was running thin and we really needed to get to the grocery store. Thankfully there's a pretty decent cafeteria at the hospital where I can pick up something if needed. I tossed my purse in for good measure, not that there's much in there other than 3 bottles of hand sanitizer, some hair bands for the girls, stray earrings and hopefully my wallet. 

Lincoln's black bag of breast milk, packed with frozen ice packs for his drop off at school later in the day sits in the pile somewhere too.

And my cleaned pump supplies are in another bag. Thank goodness I was able to get another pump this time around so I can leave one in my office and one at home and only lug around a small bag of supplies each day. 

Lastly, I somehow managed to make myself breakfast; though I couldn't eat it on this day because I was driving through one heck of a storm to get to St. Paul for Lincoln's doctor. I think I finally ate it sometime around lunch....so much for that healthy oatmeal and strawberries. 

Ahh, so there you have it. This is what chaos looks like. But we manage. And we love it.  

The middle

Being the middle child has got to be tough. You're not the baby and you aren't the biggest. So you aren't the one everyone thinks is cute and cuddly. And you aren't the one who gets to do big-kid things. But it's a good thing Sidney is so stinking cute and pretty darn mature (most of the time). She's surviving being "the middle", and doing quite well.

This summer, she's been able to go on field trips daily with her summer program (she attends 3 days/week and it just happens to be that all the trips are on her 3 days!). She thinks it's soooo cool to ride the bus, sit with friends and explore all that these cities have to offer... with her friends!

Last weekend, one of her awesome friends invited her along to see a movie. Now this was a first in her book. Not going to the movie, we do that frequently. But going with a friend (and her dad). Boy was she excited! Too bad they also invited Regan, that rained on Sidney's sweet parade. Alas, they had fun.

This middle thing has her teetering between not understanding this big world yet and yet trying to keep up with all that Regan does. Sid makes statements that continue to make us laugh like "what are we doing tomorrow tonight?...wait, that doesn't make sense." and  "I can't swim with a loose tooth"; her very first tooth is just starting to wiggle and she swore it would fall out in the pool. 

And then she is sweet and peaceful as she asks me to sit and rock with her before bedtime (ooooh, does that warm my heart). Too bad she gets sassy and mad and you can practically see the steam coming out of her ears when she storms off, upset that she sassed too far and is being sent to cool off.

Oh our sweet Sid, you are rocking this whole middle child thing and there's no one else we'd rather have as our middle. We love you!

Bath time

Lincoln loves bath time. He is growing like a weed and is starting to do a little standing (mostly with some support but he's safe alone for a few seconds to snap a cute picture). He likes to watch the water fill the tub, but I usually put him in long before it's filled because he adores to splash in the running water.

 

I have this picture without the diaper, but it's just not okay to post on a blog, so you get the G rated version instead.

Those legs are something else, and picture it without a diaper covering most of it...it's a beauty!

 I'm convinced he will be like Regan and skip the whole crawling stage, moving straight to walking.

He is mesmerized by the flowing water. And when I turn it off, I expect him to cry, but he just looks at me like "what happened?" And by then, I'm finished scrubbing him down and rinsing him clean so we move on to a few toys or I scoop him out to move back into the chaos of our sweet family.

Father's day

I get the pleasure of spending my days with these crazy fools.

(I love that Lincoln has the look of "what is wrong with these people?!")

 

Ryan's Father's Day started off with begging by the girls for him to open presents (actually it started with a text from his golfing buddies saying they were cancelling golf for the day). I tried waiting until everyone was dressed for present time, but that wasn't happening. They were dying for him to open all the gifts they have been working on, along with a few we purchased from the store.

One gift in particular was a photo book that I created (via Shutterfly) with loads and loads of pictures with just Ryan and his kiddos. I snuck in time on the computer while he was busy watching sports on TV each night and managed to get that thing finished just in time. We all love to flip through it and looking back at the last 8 years of fatherhood.

not to mention a lot of new pictures of this cutie, who waited patiently in his chair at breakfast while daddy opened presents.



 

Sidney brought this paper home from daycare about her dad. Oh boy did we laugh....

Just look at question #10....



Ryan admitted "I have never baked anything in my life!" She claims she couldn't think of anything else. But I think she must feel like he is baking with us when he is standing around the kitchen waiting for our creations to be finished :)

 

Let's take one more look at this crew, aren't they the most adorable things ever!?

Happy Father's Day Ryan!

Although you didn't get your round of golf in the morning (rain, wind and trees down didn't help), we're sure glad to have spent the ENTIRE day with you!

Hush little baby

On many nights, I am exhausted. After spending 15 hours at full speed with a husband and 3 children, I crash. And often times, it is on the couch, after the girls are in bed, but before Lincoln gets laid down for the night. 

I love my snuggle baby and his peaceful arms, with hands wrapped around my sweatshirt and head softly laying against the crook of my arm. He is so sweet that it's easy to fall fast asleep cradling him.

 

Thanks Ryan for snapping our picture :) 

2nd grade wrap up

With June, comes the end of the school year. And boy are we ready for summer around here!! Regan has worked her tail off in 2nd grade, and earned herself some fun this summer. We are beyond proud of her accomplishments, and will take this post to brag a little about our sweet 8 year old. 

Who by the way, has grown taller by the minute lately! Here she is back in September...

During the "awards" rally, we were able to really see all that she has accomplished this year; and boy are we impressed! 

She improved her MAP testing scores to some pretty high ranks (numbers that mean nothing to most of us). 

She ran the mile in 10:23 minutes and earned National Fitness overall in phy ed class

Her art teacher entered a piece of her artwork to the Bloomington Art Show

Her music teacher invited her to try out for the Angelica Choir (we're still waiting to hear if she made it)

Her amazing homeroom teacher sent home a hand-written letter to each student at the end of the year, and reading it made me tear up. He talked about how she is a sponge in class and how he could always count on her to partner up with any student: the ones who caught on, or the ones who needed help. She took his letter to heart too, and it is now pinned in her bulletin board in her room. Talk about making an impression on a young child. 

I'm telling you, this girl loves to read. So yesterday, after the last bell rang for the school year, it was no surprise that she hopped in the pool with a book. And read. And read. And read. 

Today I pulled out a sheet she was sent home with yesterday (3rd grade high frequency words) just to see what we should work on for the summer.

She breezed through that sucker no problem, reminding me that she does in fact, LOVE to read! 

Here's a little interview we had:
Favorite color: Neon pink
Favorite singer: Taylor Swift
What do you want to be when you grow up: Art teacher
Favorite restaurant: Rain Forest Cafe
Favorite food: Buttered noodles
Favorite sport you play/ed this year: Ice skating
Favorite thing to do with Sidney: Play Barbies
Favorite thing to do with Lincoln: Play with his toys
Summer goals: "to eat as much candy as possible", on a more serious note "read everyday"

She suckered me into buying her a donut as we celebrate the end of 2nd grade.
Congratulations kiddo, we are so proud of you! 

Lincoln's first swim

We took Lincoln for his first swim last weekend. 

First he splashed from my lap on the 'boat'. We floated around the pool and he watched the girls splish splash.

But then we put him in his own floaty and pushed him around. The girls fought over being in control; I seriously love how much they love him! And they are so stinkin' excited for him to experience everything that they already enjoy doing. Regularly, I hear "mom!, this will be the first time that Lincoln ______" fill in the blank. It melts my heart to know that they get it. That at 5 and 8 years old, they gain happiness watching Lincoln feel happy. This is so incredible.

Gosh he's a cutie! I sense a lot of pool time ahead of us this summer.

Later he was changed out of his wet suit, and sat down on the deck watching Ryan grill dinner. We laughed because he looked so small surrounded by the massive deck...when in reality, he's anything but small!

Year-end celebrations

Regan is wrapping up her time in second grade. We are so thankful for her wonderful teachers this year, she has grown exponentially. It truly is amazing. As we wrap up the year, I was able to get myself into her class and help out with the final party. 

My "station" was the teacher gift. Thank goodness we have an amazing group of moms who organize all these parties so I just have to show up and follow instructions for the activity. 

Each student wrote out a statement of thanks for their teacher. 

And then added some fun finger stamps. Regan's teacher happens to love tennis so she included a bunch of thumb print tennis balls on her note of thanks. 

And what is second grade without a BFF!? These two have their girl-drama/challenges, but at the end of the day, they are always good friends. 

I think all these kids adore that teacher in the middle. He may appear young, but his ability to teach is amazing!

 I snuck away from my craft station to watch Regan in a game of "walk while hoola hooping" relay. Yea that seems like an impossible task!

And we rounded out the morning with a picnic on the lawn, complete with dad!

We love you Regan!

Happy end of second grade!