NiNE mOnths!

Oh my how our little guy is growing! Each day his personality shines through a little more. As I'm writing this he is snacking away....with each bite he grins and "mmmmm's"....I must admit it's difficult to focus when you have such a cutie babbling away next to you. :)

Linc was officially nine months on Friday (the 14th). Each month I check out BabyCenter's Milestone Chart just to make sure he's meeting all his developmental milestones. The chart is broken into three categories for each month of the first year.

So for nine months:

Child's Age

Mastered Skills (most kids can do)

Emerging Skills (half of kids can do)

Advanced Skills (a few kids can do)

9 months

Stands while holding onto something Jabbers or combines syllables Understands object permanence

Cruises while holding onto furniture Drinks from a sippy cup Eats with fingers Bangs objects together

Plays patty-cake and peek-a-boo Says "mama" or "dada" to the correct parent

According to this chart we are right on track! First column: Check. He's been jabbering for quite a while now and hiding my phone under the pillow and pretending it disappeared no longer works (its his favorite teether). Second column: Check. He's cruising all over the house for at least a month now and is beginning to let go of things and stay standing. He hasn't necessarily shown any signs of taking steps from there and I haven't focused much on trying to get him to either. I'm excited for him to walk, but I won't mind if he takes his time...he's moving too fast as it is! Next on the list is drinking from a sippy cup. We introduced his 'sippy' at six months. It was more of a teething toy until about eight months when he really got the hang of it. My only hangup now is he will only drink water from it....if I try milk (warm or cold) he's not interested....hmmmm?? Moving along to eating with his fingers. Recently, he would much rather feed himself and is rarely interested in baby food 'mush'. Try feeding him a mashed up banana or pureed green beans, not happening. Slice them up and let him dive in, he'll eat it all! His favorite foods right now appear to be bananas, potatoes and avocados. Third column: half-check? quarter-check? I'm skipping over patty-cake...I'm not sure I even know how to play. He loves peek-a-boo, though (Still reminds me of Up All Night every time). He says 'mama' and 'dada' all the time, but I'm not so sure it counts....sometimes it's to me or my husband, sometimes to the wall, and occasionally to a strange old man behind us at the store (awkward). He's gettin' there :)

A couple other new things he's been up to....
He's begun to understand "no".
He's waving....his little arm flails up and down and his whole body moves with him. So adorable!
He counts to ten in french and can do the worm.


We were out of town on the 14th and my husband has been working late this week so we haven't had a chance to go out for nine month pictures yet, but here's one from this week...Sporting his green gDiaper, which I adore!


Oh, I just love that cute little bum!!


We've been cloth diapering for a while now and it's going great! I remember when I first heard that people still used cloth diapers I thought it was the weirdest thing....Well, now I'm proud to be one of those "weird-o's". Not only are we saving money and doing a little more to help reduce waste, but look at that heiny!! I will definitely be filling you all in on this soon!

Long Overdue Post....

It's been almost 2 months since I have even logged into Blogger, let alone post! I'm not sure how this happened. Shortly after my last visit I worked my last day at the dentist office and was getting everything in line to go back to school. It was only six weeks ago, but so much has taken place since then. I can't wait to get into all of that with you in the next few posts, but for now I just want to fill you in on the happenings of my little man.....that's why I started this thing in the first place, huh ;)

Before Lincoln arrived I would spend hours on Pinterest 'pinning' all the things I was going to do; I'm sure many of you have done or are doing this :) Something I've seen many variations of are weekly/monthly/yearly photos. I found my perfect version and pinned it right to Linc's board. I'm sure you all know how that turned out. I had wonderful intentions, but my weekly photographs of Lincoln in the same position and place didn't quite turn out and soon had been revised to monthly. I decided to take one "professional" shot of Linc on the 14th of each month. Coming from a family of photographers means I've learned (and continue to learn) little tidbits here and there which means I will hopefully never have to hire an actual photographer. Here are August's:

 8 months!!!

 This little guy is really enjoying trying to feed himself lately! He still loves avacado and has really taken to green beans, carrots and bananas. We have a hard time convincing him to eat anything meat related. Surely, once he's had his first medium-rare tenderloin or fried chicken leg he'll change his mind. :)
 He's been pulling himself up for over a month now, but has recently started to let go and stand without assistance for a few seconds at a time. He's also starting to master his 'walker'. Everyone keeps reminding me how close he is to walking on his own....how has this all happened so fast? I'm not ready, bubba, slow down!

 He's so happy and loving! No stranger is denied a charming smile, he absolutely loves to chat and has recently started to try giving kisses (awww....doesn't it just melt your heart?). His blue eyes are so bright and beautiful. They are most definitely an attention grabber....especially since he never closes them! I wonder sometimes if he is having a staring contest with an imaginary baby friend!

We are quickly approaching nine months.....Time, I need you to stand still every now and again.  

Restaurant Possible

Let’s start this post by traveling back in time a few years to “Pre-baby”. My husband and I went out to eat for around 50% of our meals….I love to cook, but let’s be honest it’s pretty nice to have someone else do all the work for you. I never necessarily minded families with kids/babies, but I did always wonder… How do you keep them calm the whole time?? Man, what do you do if they start crying?? Of course, there was always the mom that carried on as if their baby wasn’t screaming their head off or the dad that didn’t hesitate to harshly discipline their children in public, but I certainly didn’t see us adopting either of these methods.

Throughout my pregnancy there was an overwhelming fear every time we went out….

“Oh my gosh. I’m doomed to eat at home for the next 5 years.”

Well, we hit the 7 month milestone and while our pocketbook occasionally screams “better eat at home” we manage to survive a few lunch and dinner outings with friends and family. While the majority of these go on without a glitch, I still find myself sweating the entire meal just waiting for something to go wrong. Yes, I realize this may seem ridiculous….let me share the first of our experiences that led me to enter this state of panic at the mere mention of a family dinner.

Linc was about 7 weeks when we were asked to go out for the first time (when he wasn’t eating well and before he had been prescribed any meds). Regardless of our hesitation we loaded up and prayed for the best. Our plan (yes, we had a plan…do you not know me??) was to keep him in the car seat, eat quickly and hope he stayed asleep. Fail proof, right? Ha. What were thinking? No family allows you to get away without holding your precious new baby!! And who wants to say “No, you can’t hold him right now, he may cry”? Fifteen minutes after getting seated my little Linc was being passed back my way to be calmed down. I felt like the worst new mom in existence. That dinner consisted of no more than 3 bites of salad and maybe a half sip of my water. Needless to say my husband got an earful of, “we are never going back out to eat again” on the drive home.

I was traumatized. Ramen Noodles & Spaghetti here we come. 

It took about a month before our next attempt. Though much smoother, Linc and I still made our rounds outside when he became sleepy and my meal had to be sent home in a box. Luckily, each time out became easier.  I understand now that even if I go in with a plan there will always be that chance of chaos when I have my little one with me. I just try my best to be prepared. Prepared for everyone to try and give him the food I really don’t want him to have. Prepared for those little hands to find their way into my salad dressing and right back to my face. And especially prepared to suck it up when things don’t go just right. After all, whether I get to enjoy every bit of that delicious burger I’d waited all day for or if I have to scarf it down on the ride home….spending time with our families is always worth it.

I know now that it’s not always as easy as taking your baby outside when they cry either. When you have mothers, sisters, friends, etc. telling you they aren’t bothering anyone and insist you stay at the table it’s pretty difficult to go against them. My mom put it this way, “No one cares that he is fussy, Cait. Every baby cries. All we care about is getting to spend time with you guys and loving on Lincoln.”  Every baby cries. Duh. I have to remind myself of this each time we go out. For some reason I had convinced myself that if Lincoln cries in public people will think I’m a bad mother. Why I’ve allowed myself to think this way is beyond me, but I’m starting to recognize just how ridiculous it is. So next time you see me out at Chili’s and I have pit stains….remind me that every baby cries and tell me to chill out. J

And if you’re one to get annoyed and give the evil eye to those who have an upset little one at the table next to you….Go ahead and start sitting in the bar from now on or go eat after 8:00pm. Problem solved. You’re welcome. 

Father's Day

Happy father’s day da-da

Lincoln is extremely blessed to have so many wonderful men in his life. Not only does he have an amazing dad, this little guy has three grandfathers (Papa John, Grandpa H and Papa Mike) and four great grandfathers (Pawpaw, Papa T, Paw and Grandpa R). Wowza. I can spend every last minute of my time loving, nurturing and teaching him, but there are those things that he will need to learn from all these men. Luckily for Linc, he has more than a few great men to look up to.

This is Cameron’s first Father’s Day…well, I guess you could kind of count last year…..anyway...Unfortunately, we didn't have a chance to see everyone, but we have several get togethers and trips lined up for that. Otherwise, it was an awesome weekend :) Last night we had a family cookout at my sisters for my dad. It is SO fun to have the cousins together! Seriously, the entire night we just watched them interact, amazed by the way their sweet personalities connected. Lincoln seems to be the most vocal of the group. He is easily entertained, but easily bored….and not afraid to tell ya so. Gatlin has his vocal spells and seems happy and content with whatever is in front of him (if one of the others snatches his toy, he simply turns his attention to another). Kyle is the quiet one, but you can tell she’s always plotting her next move. She is so sweet and loves those little boys. Without being prompted she would stop what she was doing, walk over and hug them. She wasn’t so sure about sharing her Bumbo, though….what is it with those things? Watching these three grow up together is going to be such a blast!

And my dad….well, he was in absolute Heaven. Almost all his kids and grandkids in one place…I heard him say a few time that’s the only gift he needed. That’s the kind of man he is. All he needs is his family and he’s the happiest man on the planet…(and his camera, of course).

For lunch Lincoln had some awesome bonding time with his Paw. When it comes to my baby, I feel like my heart melts a hundred times a day. This was one of those moments. His paw is such an affectionate, loving, positive man. He’s always got a smile on and you can’t help but want to hug him at least five times before leaving.

Cameron’s Father’s Day I kept pretty low-key. I tried my best to let him sleep in all weekend. This morning we had sausage rolls and after church we went to the park for a walk and photo session. I made baked chicken, sweet potatoes and bacon-wrapped asparagus for dinner and the remainder of the night will be devoted to the Thunder game. I am more than grateful to have such a wonderful husband and fantastic father for Lincoln.

Linc's favorite place to be

Cameron- You are the absolute light of Lincoln and I’s world. I’m not sure whose eyes brighten up more when you come home after work. You have such an amazingly kind heart, strong work ethic and your Bill Cosby impression and original lullabies always have us laughing. Lincoln and I love you so much and are more proud of you every day. 

SiX months...

LINCOLN: SIX MONTHS

Our little man has been up to so much over the past month! He has grown out of almost all his 0-3month clothing and though he's clearly not to a chubby phase, he has the cutest belly that just plops over the top of his pants...I find myself a little jealous, my belly falls over my pants sometimes and it's definitely not cute. He's really found his voice the past few weeks. He babbles nonstop and has even started throwing around some 'da-da-da's'. I love peeking in on him when he wakes up; there he'll lie just talking away to his very best friends...his toes :) He is our sweet, squirmy, lovable little Linc and he continues to change so much from day to day. 

A month ago he was bringing himself to all fours rocking back and forth as if he was about to take off. He has now definitely started to take off, but it resembles more of a military crawl right now. Put either his Sophie or little car in front of him and he will find a way to it. Because he's such a go-getter, we decided to sell the coffee table and invest in a few play mats. Now open: Lincoln Land!

At five months we tried avocado, which he loved! Since then we have also tried carrots, green beans, peas and sweet potato. The sweet potatoes were an instant favorite, while the carrots took a few tries. The green beans and peas....well, he had the same reaction to both: 

The next month will be a big one! This evening we are taking Lincoln for his first swim, tomorrow is Father's Day and in a few weeks he'll experience his first fireworks show. This month I have a feeling he will master the crawl...which means I better get moving on the whole baby-proofing stuff! We'll be working on sitting up and might possibly have a tooth appear. 

Lincster....buddy.....buds.....bubba....little man-

You have brought an unimaginable amount of joy into our lives. You captivate us with your bright eyes and beautiful, big smile. I can't wait for the excitement you have in store for us this month. <3 

Hush Little Lincoln...

One of my favorite times is singing to Lincoln before lying him down. Old worship songs, corny commercial jingles and anything by Ray Lamontagne are the usual. I find myself venturing out to lullabies lately, however. Particularly, ‘Hush Little Baby’. I remember mom always singing it to us and each night the words would be completely different. That’s what I love, it never has to be the same.

I’d like to share with you tonight’s version:

Hush Little Lincoln
Don’t say a word
Mama’s gonna buy you a mockingbird
and if that mockingbird don’t sing
Mama’s gonna buy you a diamond ring
and if that diamond turns to brass
Mama’s gonna buy you a looking glass
and if that looking glass should break
Mama’s gonna buy you a T-bone steak
and if that steak has too much bone
Mama’s gonna buy you the Thunderdome
and when that arena gets boring and old
Mama’s gonna buy you a grill of gold
and if that grill makes your breath stinky
Mama’s gonna buy you a rainbow slinky

Occasionally, my husband joins in and we alternate verses. A few things “Daddy’s gonna buy”? A set of golf clubs and a Can-O-Farts. 

Gee....How had I never thought of Can-o-farts before??

Five Months

Guess who is behind on her blog? Yep, that'd be me. Here is a little update on Linc. :)

Five new somethings about our little guy:

1  Lincoln has been making many new friends. We are so blessed to have found such an amazing woman to watch him while we work. She often sends us updates or pictures during the week to let us know how he’s doing.

2 At his last appointment he weighed 12lbs 10oz and 25 inches. Long & lean! We had been going in for weight checks every week for about a month. Our doctor would have a goal weight each week and always Lincoln would fall short….At one point our goal was simply to get Lincoln back on the growth chart. It was decided if by his four month check-up he wasn’t gaining more they would need to do blood work. By that appointment (16 days later) he had gained 13oz! We are now on the growth chart people….barely, but we’re on there!

3. We have now introduced baby guacamole (avocado+formula)! He loves it!! The rice cereal was a challenge and while he was getting the hang of eating, you could tell he didn't necessarily care for the taste. I wish you could see this boy when he notices the glob of green mush in front of him….he almost nose dives out of his chair for the spoon!

4. He has a few new favorite things. He recently found his feet which instantly became two more things to try and eat....and he also has a new play mat that speaks with an English accent….Heck, I think I enjoy it as much as he does!

5. He sure seems to be thinking about crawling and is on the verge of sitting up! Ok, he only sits for about 10-15 seconds before toppling over and from his belly he’ll find his way to his hands and knees, from there he will rock back and forth a few times and flop back to his belly….we truly find it thoroughly entertaining.

Five somethings that haven’t changed:

1. We are still wearing 0-3 months in anything that doesn’t have feet. He’s gaining weight, but we’re still waiting on his “chubby baby” phase.

2. He’s still Billy Blanks in a white baby boy body. I swear it’s why he doesn’t gain quickly….the boy looks like he is working out all day long….kicking his feet, rolling all over the place, mini pushups….He must think he’s starring in his own baby workout DVD.

3. He still looks just like his daddy. Occasionally, I get a pity “I think he looks like you”, but 95% of the time that boy is  a mirror image of Cameron when he was a baby...and, no worries, I accept that J

4. We’re still up at least once a night. He eats and is back to sleep in about 20 minutes...usually.  A few nights we find ourselves with a smiling, cooing little boy at 2am. And, of course, every now and then we have those nights he wakes to eat twice or just doesn’t want to be left alone until he’s completely asleep. Those nights are crazy tough, but we’ve decided against the ‘cry-it-out stuff’ for now. I've already had another mom tells me it’s spoiling him….’to each their own’ right?

5. Those bright blue eyes and that big toothless grin still light up our world. It’s hard to even remember what life was like before him. Ok, I take that back…..those were the days of sleeping until noon on Saturdays and having extra in the bank, but how boring was that? ;) This little guy has us on our toes on a daily basis. I love sleep, but I sure love waking up to this face way more.