One, two....TEN!

Since Lincoln was born it sure seems the months have passed by quicker than ever.... As much I beg time to slow down, there is nothing I enjoy more than watching the new things my little man learns each day. He is now ten months! His monthly checkup was last week and I'm stoked to tell you he gained 19 oz. over the past month.....we're back on the charts, folks! He weighed in at 16lbs 13oz.

Here is this months milestone chart from Babycenter:

Child's Age

Mastered Skills (most kids can do)

Emerging Skills (half of kids can do)

Advanced Skills (a few kids can do)

10 months

Waves goodbye Picks things up with pincer grasp Crawls well, with belly off the ground

Says "mama" or "dada" to the correct parent Indicates wants with gestures

Stands alone for a couple of seconds Puts objects into a container

He's 'meeting' all these goals....with a few exceptions, of course. He's not necessarily waving goodbye, he just waves sporadically, unless you want him to :). And if by 'container' they mean mouth, then he's got that down, too. No, I'm not just talking his mouth (because everything goes in there), he wants to put things in everyones mouth! His items of choice are his wooden blocks. He loves to carry one over in his mouth and transfer it to you, dripping slobber (and occasional banana mush) included.

He still randomaly says 'mama' and 'dada' to anyone and everyone, but he is finally saying 'mama' when I pick him up in the morning. Oh my goodness, this makes waking up such a joy (insert small tear).

10 month Lincoln, everyone. :)

A few other new things this precious boy is up to:
- Turning the page at story time....whether momma is done reading or not. I love watching him turn through the pages, he turns with a bright big smile with each new picture.
- Giving kisses and hugs. Again, not on command, but randomly he comes at us with a big open mouthed smile and lays it on us.
- He also took his first step! This was so exciting, yet terrifying at the same time. One second he's holding onto the couch playing and the next he turns toward us, lets go and takes two falling steps in my direction. I got so excited/emotional I think I scared him :)/:(..... I'm excited for a new chapter in his life, it's just crazy this moment has already arrived. This means a whole new kind of baby proofing, huh? That must be the reason I teared up.

I am so thankful to my husband for convincing me it was OK to follow my heart and stay home with my baby for a few more months. It has honestly been the best decision I have ever made. Never have I felt such pure joy and happiness. Never have I known the capacity for love my heart held. And never have I found such cuteness in a 'poop face'. 
I pray the next two months crawl by. I'm not ready for this fairytale to be over.

Snap, snap....click, click

Growing up I heard those sounds nearly evaryday of my life.....My dad was constantly behind the camera taking our picture. Whether we liked it or not, whether we agreed to smile or insisted on pouting he was going to capture the moment. I used to get so irriatated....Why the heck could he not just put the camera down, who cares that we just crossed the Mexican border or got an A on a math test?? Well, he did......and he knew down the road we would too. Now that I have Lincoln, I completely understand. My dad gave me a great camera and I find myself constantly snapping away. I'm definitley not a professional photographer and half of the photos aren't neccesarily pretty, but I'm determined to nab every last moment I can and save them forever.

So, here are just a few of those photos from the past month.

The weather has been so beautiful the past few weeks. We've taken every oppurtunity to get out and about. Thanks to our neighbor, Barry, we finally have a somewhat decent family photo (for once it's my husband in sweats and not me!).

September 23, 2012. Introducing Lincoln to OU football.

 

 

October 15th, 2012. Pizza pie!

October 1st, 2012. Pancakes!

Lincoln now has 7 teeth!! I've seen near two year olds with less teeth! I've been pretty hesitant feeding him a big vairety of foods due to his previous tummy trouble, but our doctor told me to go ahead and jump in (with a few exceptions, of course)....and because he didn't gain much weight over the past few months he even encouraged bulking up his calories. The words from his mouth were "add some butter and sour cream to those mashed potatos".
Paula Deen style everything?.... I can do that!
So, we added plain pancakes and waffles with butter and he even tried a little pizza! Although certain "someones" have been trying to give him pizza for months! ;)

October 5th, 2012.

This is just one of my favorite outfits and thanks to the overnight dip in weather not long ago he had a chance to wear it before he was too big!
Don't those elbow patches just make ya grin and say 'awww'?

Last Sunday's dinner was spent at Poppa-T and Shanny's house (my husband's grandparents). Linc played with two of his cousins, Amelia (20 mos.) and Abigail (almost 3) and as you can imagine, dinner was more than entertaining. I am so thankful for all the 'grands' and 'greatgrands' he has in his life. 






We spent an afternoon at the pumpkin patch...It was everyones first trip to one! He may be too young to really enjoy anything and was certianly only interested in trying to eat the pumpkins and hay, but I'm still so happy we took the time to go.


October 14th, 2012. Pumpkin patch wagon ride :)

I love my sweet little family. Thank you, Lord, for blessing me with such an amazing husband and happy baby boy.

We Rock.

I love rocking my sweet little guy.

Whether it's for 2 minutes or 20 minutes, it's one of the best parts of my day. Those are the times I clear my mind of everything else going on and just smile and sing to the most precious gift God has given me.

It's hard to believe all the books and women that advised me NOT to rock my baby to sleep. I remember a friend coming over when I was putting Linc to bed.... she said to me, "Do you always rock him to sleep? My husband wouldn't let me do that....you know they become dependent on you rocking them, right?"

I just gave her a smile and said "I'm okay with that".

I mean, I get it. If I spent an hour before bedtime rocking him completely to sleep every night since birth then he might expect that every night. But, telling me not to hold my little guy close and help soothe him for a few minutes before I lay him down? Why not? And, in the future, if he needs me to rock him longer occasionally, I sure won't mind doing so. Some nights I've even gone in when he's already asleep and held him for a while before I go to bed.

Our bedtime routine goes something like this....It's our version of "Leading baby to sleep"....I can't remember which book this was in, but we've used this method for the past 6-7 months and bedtime has been rahter peacful :)
To wind him down we take him into the nursery and dim the lights. We change his diaper and clothes, followed with a warm bottle and bedtime story. Next, we turn on the sound machine, turn off the remaining lights and sing him a song (or three) while rocking him. By this time his eyes start getting heavier and he gets a little squirmy (meaning put me down so I can sleep!). The first 4 months(ish) we waited until he was completly asleep to lay him down, but since then he's been pretty much awake when he goes down. We never had to let him cry it out for half an hour... not even fifteen minutes (I honestly have no idea how people do this!). And he isn't dependent on us rocking him every night, in fact, some nights he just wants us to put him down so he can flop on his belly and pass out.

So, what wackadoo know-it-all convinced all these women that rocking their baby would make them so dependent? Please, tell me why I would want to just lie him down and leave....I mean, I know Big Brother is on, but with TiVo, YouTube, etc....who needs to rush? Maybe I'm missing something, but I don't get it.

Here's what I think. Don't believe everything you read in books and don't listen to all the advice from other moms.  Spend every moment with your precious little baby and soak up every moment that you're able to just hold them. Do what feels right to you.

As for me and my house....we shall rock!