little man

I bought this cute hat on sale at Gap last year and it still doesn't quite fit Lincoln real well yet but it's close enough that it looks cute at least in a picture!  He wore this outfit (minus the hat, I was lucky that he even kept it on long enough for these pictures!) to church last week.  I thought he looked adorable (I may be a bit partial) but Tyler thought he looked to "preppy."  Tyler finally agreed to letting him dress like this while he's little and then no more.  If you know Tyler, then you know how he dresses and it's the opposite of preppy :)

I got a Cannon Rebel this past summer and am still trying to figure it all out.  I spent a little while Sunday afternoon experimenting with it and this is what I got...

Opening up the wipes container for the 1000th time...

(this one is my fav.)

(this one was grainy but he's so cute I just HAD to include it!)

sensory tub [oatmeal]

I'm so excited that Lincoln is finally getting to the age where we can do planned learning activities during the day.  The teacher in me finds this UBBER exciting!  My friend Julie has blogged here about doing an activity with her son Ori called a "Sensory Tub."  I think she found the idea at "I Can Teach My Child," which has tons of great ideas of learning activities to do with your kiddos.

 I have been meaning to do a sensory tub with Lincoln for quite awhile now since he's seemed ready for something like that. So today we finally did it.  "I Can Teach My Child" defines a sensory tub as, "simply a tool for children to learn about the world around them using their sense of touch. It allows children to explore different textures."  I decided to start with oatmeal and since we've been trying to work on learning animal sounds I decided to put Lincoln's animals in the tub. 

 "What is this?"

He wasn't quite sure what to do with it at first

Checking out the oatmeal...

"This looks like something I should eat...nom, nom, nom."

 I worked with him a little on the animals and their sounds but he was more interested in filling things up with the oatmeal and spreading it all over the floor! 

Notice how he's dumping the oatmeal out onto the floor here? :)

An Oatmeal mess!  It wasn't hard to clean up though just a quick sweep and voila! a clean floor!

Poor rooster didn't get to enjoy the oatmeal for very long.

The tub kept Lincoln busy for almost an hour and then he was getting bored with it and started wanting to dump it all out and carry the tub around so we put it away and listened to "Old McDonald" a few times.  Lincoln had fun dancing to the music!  I can't wait to try some other kinds of sensory tubs!

[wipe]out

No, don't worry nobody faceplanted into the ground or anything like that.....sorry if you were looking forward to a funny video about an actual wipeout.  [wipe]out is just my attempt at a clever title to this blog post (you'll understand more when you watch the video), which speaking of blog posts, this is my 250th post!  Now talk about a HUGE milestone.  I was starting to feel like a pretty big loser lately since I've literally accomplished NOTHING in the last month but at least I can say that in the month of November I accomplished hitting my 250th post.  (If you can't tell, I'm being extremely saracastic). 

But all joking aside, I have had a very hard month or couple of months in all I guess.  I've been pretty much laid up on the couch for multiple reasons and have had to try to entertain my VERY active toddler with anything and everything I can think of that didn't involve me getting up very much.  My amazing hubby, though through it all has been so great to me and completely steps up and takes on my everyday tasks [laundry, cooking (well sometimes, we had a LOT of take out), cleaning, dishes, diapers, nose wiping and everything else that I just couldn't do] and held me when I just needed comfort.  He is so strong and has such a solid faith.  I would like to say I have an unwavering faith in all circumstances as well but I fail miserably in comparison.  He keeps me grounded and when I'm asking the "what ifs" and the "whys" he's there to remind me that God's plan is not our own.  I'm so thankful to be married to him.  :)

It's been awhile since Lincoln has gotten into the diaper bag and emptied it (he used to do this a LOT) and so when he found it and started taking everything out, I figured, eh why not?  It'll keep him busy for at least 20 minutes.  Well what I thought would be 20 minutes almost turned into an hour of fun for him.  He found the wipes that I keep in my diaper bag and figured out how to open them.  At this point I usually would've stopped him and we would've put it all away and found something new to play with but since I wasn't feeling well I just let him proceed to take almost all the wipes out and lay them on the kitchen floor.  Good thing I like couponing and almost all of the wipes that I get are basically free because he completely emptied all the wipes.  After he had about half of them out of the container, he then got the brilliant idea to pick one up at a time and throw it away in the kitchen trash can.  He's just recently discovered it and he LOVES throwing everything away.....we better be careful or he'll throw away something valuable (our friends, Justin and Lesley found that their sweet daughter Jordan had thrown away a $50 bill once while we were over there for supper!)

Anyways, this video is over 3 minutes and I'm probably the only one who thinks is just so cute to watch it for that long.  He does the same thing for the whole 3 minutes just fyi :)  Oh and notice that he has one shoe on?  That's by his choice....as he finds his shoes (they are never in the same spot) he brings it to me to put on him.  In the video he had only found one the his shoes :)




I hope you all have had a great Thanksgiving full of family, friends, food and fun!  As much as we really wanted to be back with our families for Thanksgiving we are extremely grateful for the people God has put in our lives.  They invited us "strays" into their home for Thanksgiving and we had so much fun! 

Not being able to see family this week has made me that much more excited for Christmas!!!  We all will be back for a week and then Wichita bound for New Year's Eve and Lincoln and I get to stay until January 11!!!  (wow I said "and" a lot in that sentence)  Might as well get our money's worth out of those expensive plane tickets, right? 

Oh and on a very much side note, I'm getting the crafting itch.  I have a couple ideas of things I want to do and IF I end up doing them I'll make sure and blog about it :)  Can't decide if I'm starting to want a sewing machine or not?  Will it get used enough to justify the cost?  Will I have the patience to learn?  Will I overcome my fear of sewing my finger again like I did in Home Ec class in 7th grade?  I'll keep ya posted.....

baby sign language

It's amazing the things that Lincoln is learning these days.  We've been working on sign language for a LONG time and it finally just "clicked" with him this last week.  While Grandma was here I just started asking him to do the 4 signs that we had been working on and he did them without any helpful hints from me!  It blew me away and now he's got it down and does it all the time.  It's so helpful now to be able to communicate with him if even in just a couple ways.  I can now ask him when he is all done eating or if he wants more.  And now we can start working on manners with please and thank you!  Until he starts saying more words this is going to be so helpful! 

I was starting to wonder if he was ever going to catch on to it, since I've heard of other babies learning sign language a lot earlier on but he just wanted to do it all in his own timing.  Just another reminder to me, not to push him to do things he's not ready to do. 

I tried for awhile to get a video of him doing the sign language but he just kept walking up to the camera and wanting to see it and touch it so we opted for the high chair to keep him contained :) 



Then right after he finished the sign language video he started actually saying "buh bye!"  So I was able to catch that on video too!



Here is a good website that gives pictures of sign language with the words that they mean. 

Baby Sign Language

monkey see, monkey do

We're starting to see first hand how the whole "monkey see, monkey do" thing is really true.  Both the good and the bad sides of it.  Tonight Tyler was reading Lincoln a book and using a very animated tone to tell the story.  (He didn't know I started video taping him, hehe) and then after he was done reading the book, Lincoln took the book and started flipping through the book himself and was using his most animated voice to tell the story!  He wanted tell the story just like Daddy did!  Here are the two videos of "Daddy-Lincoln story hour" :)


Tyler reading the book to Lincoln:




Lincoln reading the book to Tyler:
(Lincoln got distracted by the cool music on the TV half way through)

miracles come in small packages

November is Prematurity Awareness Month and today (17th) is Prematurity Awareness Day.  So I thought I would do a quick blog post about my little preemie.  I just love him so much and am so thankful for all the advancements in technology and how much they can do for babies that are born early.  Although Lincoln was born pretty early (at 31 weeks, or 2 months early) it could've been a lot worse.  He very well could've been born that day my water broke at 24 weeks.  He would've weighed around 1 and 1/2 lbs.  I'm thankful he was able to "bake" a little longer and get a little stronger. 

Sorry this one is fuzzy, I copied it but it's my very favorite.  This was the first time I saw Lincoln after he was born.  My hand shows you just a little of just how bloated my body got.

Catching some rays for his jaundice

The nurses called him a crazy man because he would get into all these funny sleeping positions, actually turned from his tummy to back once and kept scooting out from under the straps and to the top of the isolet.  Even back then he had SO much energy!

Sleepy boy

Holding my sweet little bundle

Sorry this one is fuzzy too, it's a picture of a picture that was taken by Unruh Photography.  They came and took complimentary pictures for us while in the NICU.  

Another taken by Unruh Photography

 

Finally in his big boy bed and out of the isolet!  

My little NICU Grad!

Here are a couple videos from Lincoln in the NICU.  These were all in the first couple days after he was born.

Today I'm giving my preemie some extra hugs and thanking God for blessing me with such a little miracle.  I'm thinking of and praying for all those mommies and daddies who are basically living at the NICU right now, sitting by their babies, praying for them and dreaming of the day that they get to bring them home. 

I found some cute and clever little preemie items at It's a Preemie Thing and really wish I would've known about this website when Lincoln was born!  The onesies are just adorable!!

 

 

I wish I would've had a sign like this to put on Lincoln's carseat.  I was AMAZED at how many people just don't think about it and just touch your baby everywhere you go!!  Thankfully he never got sick but it sure worried me.

An update from the Linc man

Hey everyone, it's Lincoln.  Mommy hasn't been feeling very well so I'm going to tell you all a little about all the time I've had with Daddy lately. 

When Daddy reads me books I like to sit on his chest right in front of his face. 

For some reason Daddy scoots me over to the side, he says something like he needs to see the book in order to read, sheesh.  Oh and my favorite thing to wear is just my diaper and my sock and shoes.  I bring my shoes to mommy after she takes them off and hold them in front of her face until she puts them on for me. 

I got a little distracted by daddy's eye and decided it was more fun to pick on him

Notice that bump on my head?  I had a little too much milk to drink the other night and couldn't walk straight.  The corner of the wall just jumped out right in front of me! 

I got to play in the back of Daddy's truck after he got home from work the other day

I could've played out there for hours

I like to walk with my arms outstretched like this when I want you to pick me up......I know how to get what I want :)

Daddy you need to put your mouth like this to make a funny face

I sure do love spending time with my Dad!

Some other updates about our family (well mostly about me because that's who most people care about anyway, right?)
-We keep going to this same place called Rockpoint Church every Sunday morning.  I really like it because I get to hang out with the pretty ladies and other little kids and play with toys, hear a story from this thing called the Bible and make crafts!  I don't know where mommy and daddy go while I'm there but I know they always come back and get me.  I hear people singing, so maybe they go and sing and maybe they also hear about the Bible and make crafts.  :)

-I've made some really cool friends.  There are these boys that we get to see quite a bit that I LOVE to hang out with.  They can do really cool things like run, wrestle, jump, tackle each other and play games like kick ball.  I try to keep up with them but I'm just a little too slow still.  I'm working on it though.  Then there are a couple really cute girls who give me lots of attention.  I like it that they carry me everywhere to keep up with everyone else and play with me!

-I got to have my first ever SUCKER!  The Dr. gave it to me after he checked my tongue.  He said it looks fine and that I did a good job so I got a treat.  It was the best sucker ever.  I made a mess and drooled all over but I don't care, it was SO worth it! 

- My ear hurt really bad for a couple days but don't worry, mommy took me to the Dr. and then she gave me this yummy stuff to drink everyday and it was like magic!  My ear stopped hurting!

Well I'm getting sleepy and mommy keeps saying something about me going down for a nap so I guess that's all I have time for, for now.  goodnight!
-

Orphan Sunday

Today is Orphan Sunday and I've been reading and watching tons of "Gotcha Day" stories and videos that are completely tugging on my heart strings.

Just before watching those videos Tyler and I were talking about how Lincoln was getting his "snotty nose" on everything before we could get it wiped, which led to us talking about how we shouldn't ever own "cloth fabric furniture" and leather is so much easier to clean up.  Our couches are a fake leather and we have a leather recliner (which I always complain about because it's so cold).  Again, today I was complaining about how I don't like to sit in it because it's so cold and Tyler told me to just put a blanket over it and I was (yet again) complaining about how inconvenient that was and just how we should get rid of it.  And my ever so loving husband, put things in perspective for me pretty quickly.  Wow, Marie, how can you complain about something so insignificant when there are millions of children with absolutely nothing.  Let's just say I put myself back in check.

I don't know what God had planned for our family but I do know adoption will play a part.  I don't know the timing but I do know it'll be His perfect timing.  I don't know how God will choose to complete our family but I know our hearts are wide open.  I don't know what our future holds but I do know who holds our future.  I don't know the names of those children who are alone and hurting but I know my heart breaks for them.

I read this family's story today and watched their video here.

Here are some verses that "Ordinary Hero" compiled about how God's heart bleeds for the orphan.

JAMES 1:22-27 (NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION)

 ²² Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. ²³Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror ²⁴ and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. ²⁵ But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it—not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do.
 ²⁶ Those who consider themselves religious and yet do not keep a tight rein on their tongues deceive themselves, and their religion is worthless. ²⁷ Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.


Deuteronomy 10:18
He defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow, and loves the foreigner residing among you, giving them food and clothing.


Deuteronomy 24:17
Do not deprive the foreigner or the fatherless of justice


Deuteronomy 10:18
He defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow, and loves the foreigner residing among you, giving them food and clothing.

JOB 29:11-13 (NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION)

¹¹ Whoever heard me spoke well of me,
   and those who saw me commended me, ¹² because I rescued the poor who cried for help,
   and the fatherless who had none to assist them. ¹³ The one who was dying blessed me;
   I made the widow’s heart sing.


Psalm 10:14
But you, God, see the trouble of the afflicted; you consider their grief and take it in hand. The victims commit themselves to you; you are the helper of the fatherless.

PSALM 68:5-6 (NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION)

⁵ A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows,
   is God in his holy dwelling. ⁶ God sets the lonely in families

PSALM 82:3-4 (NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION)

³ Defend the weak and the fatherless;
   uphold the cause of the poor and the oppressed. ⁴ Rescue the weak and the needy;
   deliver them from the hand of the wicked.


Psalm 146:9
The LORD watches over the foreigner and sustains the fatherless and the widow


Isaiah 1:17
Learn to do right; seek justice. Defend the oppressed. Take up the cause of the fatherless; plead the case of the widow.


John 14:18
I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.

trick or treat {a little late}

So I just now realized that I never "blogged" about Halloween.  We have a new small group that we've joined from church that meets late Sunday afternoon and so we brought snacks and appetizers for a yummy supper, got the kiddos dressed up in their costumes and the dad's went trick or treating with the kids and us mom's stayed at the house to hand out candy.  (ok, so I wanted to experience Lincoln's first time trick or treating so I took him to the first 3 houses or so and took pictures :)

I see a sock monkey but where's Lincoln?

There he is!

Sock Monkey and the Statue of Liberty

Sock Monkey and his mommy

Lincoln had a BLAST trick or treating....even though he had no idea what was going on, he loved watching all the other kids running from house to house

All the kiddos in their costumes

Some of the kids running through the neighborhood

The Blood-Shot Eyeballs I made for a snack for our group....Tyler's Aunt Marta gave me this awesome idea and I think they turned out pretty good!

Sadly, Lincoln's parents didn't let him have any candy.  He didn't really show too much interest in it so we didn't really bother and he was already hyper enough that he didn't need any extra sugar!  I know, we're no fun, huh? :)

toy box / coffee table

We owe a huge "thanks you" to Grandma Hunni for giving us this awesome new toy box!  Both mommy and Lincoln love this new toy box.  It doubles as our coffee table in the living room and then can hide all Lincoln's toys at the end of the day!  Also, this little man LOVES to be put inside it and will just play and play and play.  (Don't worry the top can't fall down on him, though he did pull it down on himself and got scared)  He can't get in or out by himself so it's kinda nice when mommy is making supper or just needs to keep Lincoln contained for a few minutes :)

"hmmmm, do I want mommy to lift me outta here or should I keep playing?"

daddy's little helper

Tyler has been putting together new furniture and hanging stuff on the walls, so as long as all the small pieces aren't laying around, Lincoln is right in there helping daddy and handing him "tools."  It was the cutest thing to watch him focus on what Tyler was doing and handing him things. 

"I really want to climb this ladder and help daddy up there"

Then he thought mommy needed some help putting the lens cap back on the camera...

He better continue to like helping out around then house, he's gonna have to do lots of extra chores to help pay for braces some day! :)