18 months

We are now at another major milestone with Lincoln. Eighteen months. Oh my goodness how did that go so fast? Seriously, he will always be our little (er, I guess he was never really that little) baby boy. Nothing will ever change that. In fact, I talked with an elderly patient of mine recently who was describing her family to me. She went on to talk about her children and when she got to the last of her bunch, she chuckled and said "you know, the last one always is our baby boy". Isn't that the truth? I still think of Lincoln as this little guy who graced our lives and made this family complete. 

Oh boy has he grown. Over the last 18 months, we have laughed (and cried) with the tremendous amount of love he brings to us. He's a handful, that is for sure. But all 4 of us are so grateful for his silly antics, his constant giggles, and heck, even his screams! 

I'm determined to make him a good husband someday :) he loves to help out around the house, like my little shadow as we go about our days. 

He unloads the dishwasher....

He does the laundry...  

He loves to help cook (but dislikes the dress up part)...

And much prefers to snack while we cook

The kid has moves too! A family friend laughed at the recent dance class, as Lincoln raced around to all the studios to get his groove on. She commented "his future wife is going to love you if he learns to dance". Too bad Ryan's response when I told him that Lincoln wants tap shoes: "not happening". End of that conversation. 

He snuggles with me and hands over flowers with the cutest smile on the block. Oh this boy melts my heart.

But let's be real....he has some qualities from his daddy too 😘

At 18 months, he is keeping us on our toes and exploring his surroundings. In fast motion!

* he eats.....fruit. I swear he would eat only fruit if we let him. Given the choice of a cookie or fruit, hands down he will choose fruit. 

* he adores his sisters, and this week, he has a thing for Sidney. Thankfully that preference switches regularly so neither ever feels left out. 

* his hair is getting longer and more curly. We can't bear to cut it because the humidity makes some ultra curls and it's just too much sweetness! So for now, it stays. Besides, he's working on his hockey hair :) 

* he loves to be outside. Every minute of every day. It's where he would stay if we had nothing else on the agenda. Playing in dirt, in the sand, pushing his truck, sitting in his car, whatever we are doing, just take it outside. 

* he babbles a lot. But only has a few words in his vocabulary. It seems to be growing, and through signs and pointing, he gets his needs met with minimal screaming. We went through a long week where he screamed for everything. Boy, that was no fun at all! Thankfully we got that under control and he now tries to tell us what he wants before screaming. Don't get me wrong, there's still some screaming, but not every time he opens his mouth!
* sleep isn't his forte, but since his tubes, it's definitely better. He still naps like a champ, sometimes 3-4 hours!
* he wears 18-24 mo clothes and size 3-4 diapers (we're in transition now).
* although he still faces backwards in the car, it won't be long and we will have to turn him around. He dislikes car rides and it's becoming a challenge.
* he still likes his blanket and pacifier, and I'm starting to wonder if we need to get rid of the paci. :( He doesn't use it at all during the school day, not even nap! How they get those kids to behave so well at school just blows our minds. The benefit of peers I guess.
* he has the biggest brown eyes on the planet, I swear. I love when little old ladies comment on his big eyes and adorable curls. One lady recently said "well if that doesn't get you, his bouncy cheeks sure will!". You got it; he's simply adorable!
* official stats coming tomorrow.....

slow down sweet baby boy, and never stop snuggling!