Lincoln's first Christmas

Unfortunately I started a draft post and it magically disappeared. the thoughts i had right after the events were probably so much better because of the freshness...but now I'll just reflect on the Christmas holiday.

our morning started with cousin Leah
waking us up around 8. baby Lincoln did not want to wake up. I coaxed him awake with some kisses, and telling him Santa had come and filled his stocking! he had no idea what we were saying to him, but I hope he understood the excitement. I tried to get him to crawl out of the sewing room we were sleeping in, into the living room where Santa had brought the goods. He took forever, and im sure it was so hard for the nieces to be patient. Lincoln was darling, peering into his stocking and pulling out his new bath toys one by one. he received books, cars, an elephant popper, as well as lots of other exciting toys. but his most favorite thing to unwrap was new clothes!! oddly enough. he'd pull them out of the bag and throw his hands up, holding the item over his head.
he's had a lot of fun playing with his aunts and uncles and cousins. it's a loud house with lots of trouble to get into. it's been snowing straight since we've been here, so we've hardly left the house!
our one adventure outing was going to jump zone. they had a family deal, so all of us went and jumped on trampolines, threw ourselves into ball pits, played dodgeball, and slam dunked basketballs. it was super fun and exhausting!
We took pictures all weekend with the real camera, so maybe I'll upload soon!

we have real life stuff going on the next couple days and then it's more Christmas vacation in ca. dentist, pediatrician, getting snow tires.

oh ya, and kalobs family dog passed away on Christmas Eve. fare thee well buttercup. a couple tears were shed. I pictured her deciding to be a reindeer in another life.

Family of sickies

We all have colds :( I hope we all get better before Christmas

I staid up wrapping gifts and stuffing Lincoln's lil stocking til almost 4 am. we didn't want to spend money on Christmas wrapping paper since I have a large stash of other types. so pinks, blues, birthday papers it is! it ends up in the trash anyways, it's what's on the inside that counts!
I can't wait to see my nieces, lincs grown up quite a bit since they last saw him.

Happy holidays!

we are getting ready for Christmas! I love gift giving! we had two crazy expenditures recently so my Christmas shopping choices had to be very thoughtful as not to waste money.
Kalob gave me lasik eye surgery. and I gave him my beautiful passat, so he could trade it in along with our old Honda so we could get a better car for his job. we have never bought a new car before, so it was pretty exciting. it took 3 days of negotiations cuz kalob was playing hard ball. he kept relating it to alarms sales. "hard take aways" and how to leave a long pause, get them on their toes for you. needless to say, he got us a good deal!
Lincoln met Santa Claus today. He wasn't sure what was going on. he's so hard to crack sometimes. i was expecting tears, but he just stared at us.
I'm so looking forward to Christmas morning. I just imagine him in his Pjs reaching into his stocking. eating paper. Playing with his cousins!
he has been super naughty and unfortunately it's super cute. we don't have a tv stand right now, so he likes to stand up and bang on it. also he likes to shake the rails of his crib. And spit his food!
He is almost ten months now! he crawled through tunnels today at Gymboree. he loves bubbles. stands up on everything and cruising, but still not brave enough to take steps alone. he can roll his hands now. he loves music, lights, cell phones, computers....lots of things he's not supposed to touch. Right now we've been working on him saying Ho Ho Ho! he might get it down in time.

The gateway playday

Lincoln is having so much fun learning, and we are enjoying every second. we decided he deserved a play day for all the car seat time he's had lately, so off to the gateway children's museum we went!

He was learning to walk on a push car and then kalob decided to put him on it and push him! Yeah, it ended badly, dads never know their strength. Took a turn too hard and linc rolled off! luckily, he bounced back quickly. he sat on the horse, drove a big car, he played with the air tubes w/ balls, and played music. I hope we make time to go more often as a family. I think it's just as fun for us as him.

Where have we been?

Everywhere! we arrived home last night to a dark house and a putrid smell. I'm so surprised that our neighbors hadn't called the police out to check for dead bodies. we remembered to carry out all the trash, and I had done the dishes, but there was one grimey pan soaking in the sink. and that caused the foul odor. not the nicest smell to come home to after 3 weeks away. we've had a candle lit since.
our vacation is finally over. Kalob worked so hard to help his mom out giving the living room a face lift. he's a good boy. he patched, scraped popcorn, sanded and repainted the ceiling. He textured and painted the walls. He also put up wainscoting. I am really impressed. I even used the air nailer. it looked so good when he finished, I hope his mom was pleased. He also put up mud in his grandmas bathroom too!
I was able to visit good friends and family. I colored Kierstens hair a tad, "melted" the ends a lil bit. that means from dark to light. Lincoln was able to play with his cousins CharLeigh and lil Adam too. he rode the train at the valley plaza and loved it!
we travel so much it's crazy. we drove to logan, for Lincoln's first rash, to see his pediatrician before we left so from logan to Bakersfield is 12 hours. The next day we RVed to magalia, ca which was 8 hours. then back to bako. then to LA to Disney. Then back to bako for a bit. then back to LA and bako again. then 10 hours home! but we stopped in Vegas for some fun.
kalob decided I should get to see a cirque Du soleil show- Mystere ! it was a beautiful show but I was nervous the whole time being alone. wondering if Lincoln was needing his mommy or crying. Of course, he was a good boy.
the hotel brought in a crib that looked like a hospital cage, and lincoln thought it was fun to play in, not sleep in. who wouldnt want to sleep in the fluffy king bed. when you book last minute on Priceline you get to choose from the nicest rooms they have left for the night for cheap, so we ended up in a suite! With 2 bathrooms, one for him and one for me I guess.
I swapped Lincoln so kalob could go gamble. He won a whopping 17 dollars! Im married to a winner.
So that was the trip. and we plan to do it again after Christmas. kalobs brother Andrew will hopefully be coming to ca, and We Want To See Him! (Uncle Andy, if you read this, make it happen)

Disneyland!!

Lincoln is such a lucky boy. he's not even 9 months yet, and he's been to Disney world and! Disneyland. and I must say, this trip was sooo much fun! him being just a couple months older, he was so expressive and delighted. also he was willing to sit/sleep in the stroller. the weather was beautiful and I honestly want to go back right now!
his grandma, Kiersten, and us 3 went together. we went to California adventure too!
His favorite rides were its a small world and the buzz lightyear one.

great great grandma Lucille's

I need to correct myself. gg grandma is 89. she was one spunky lady. I quite liked her a lot. she seemed as spry as ever. I played a couple rounds of Go Fish with her(along with some other family members) and anytime we had to steal one of her cards she would say " Shame on You!" It's crazy to see where all the personality traits spawn from. it was really neat to see all the generations together. Lucille, Kathy, Audrey, and kiersten. too bad Lincoln wasn't a girl, that would have made for a cool genealogy photo. we did take some family photos so plan on seeing those some time soon.
The RV trip will be a funny memory. Hope everyone had a great thanksgiving. I know we did.

DIY days

I've been inspired by all the house shows I've been watching at night when linc goes to bed. we have been trying to make our place more homey, little touches here and there. so I made some up cycled sweater pillows for the couches. I put up contact paper in the bathroom shelf. kalob made a bar like I posted before. we tried putting up curtains today with these wire things from ikea, since we can't touch the ceiling. the house has blinds but they seem so outdated and un imaginative. the wire wouldn't hold their weight so I was pretty dang disappointed, especially since we bought them for all 3 rooms, and it was a spice of color desperately needed.

we are getting ready to head to California for thanksgiving. we are RVing up north for 3 days to celebrate with Kalobs great grandma whom I've never met. Lincoln either ;) I'm a little nervous. a 93 year old and an 8 month old. Lincoln isn't necessarily bad,,,but he does like exploring. And banging. touching everything with his pointy finger. occasionally hitting and biting. He doesn't like to sit on anyone's lap and be still. it's getting harder to travel with him, cuz he gets bored. needless to say, I don't know if this is the greatest idea, but I'll go along with it and hope it's enjoyable.

Beanie baby

Lincoln is eating 100% better! moms- buy Sassy spoons, they are bent at an angle for lil hands and mouths to feed themselves and they have tiny cross hatched holes for the food to stick into which in turn is easier for babes to actually get more food to their bellies.
He loves eating now in his high chair.