Lengthy Lincoln Update

Lincoln is quite the character. He has really come into his own during the past couple of months. When I think of him as a total package, I envision a defiant teddy bear…that should give you a good idea.

In Lincoln’s world the word “No” is just a heads up that you better hurry and do what you set out to do before being stopped by the parental authorities. I’m sorry to confess that Lincoln almost always wins. The proof is on the wrangled blinds, disorganized kitchen cabinets and the fingerprinted stereo receiver.

He has a thing for closed doors too; he spends much of his time closing doors around the house – the entertainment center door, the pantry door and he constantly closes himself in the dark bathroom.

Lincoln is a button pusher, hence the fingerprinted stereo receiver. His ultimate button pushing admiration comes in the form of the remote control. He’s gotten his sticky little paws on the remote a couple of times and I practically have to squabble him to the ground in a head lock just to get it back and then I have to listen to him yell at me for 2 minutes after the fact. Defiant. Thankfully, Santa is bringing a big toy remote for Christmas!

Lincoln is finally starting to recognize and mimic the sign language that we’ve been using since his arrival. I’m sure it comes as a surprise to no one that the sign he’s using first is “more.”

I see him as a teddy bear as well because he’s so stinkin’ cuddly. He still snuggles on anything soft – pillows, blankets, stuffed animals, a stranger’s fleece sweatshirt, etc. He loves to cuddle! He likes to rock in the recliner with us and it isn’t uncommon for him to initiate a hug. I have to be careful where I step while cooking dinner or cleaning because he’s known to sneak up and snuggle a leg or even a foot. Speaking of cooking dinner, Lincoln likes to loiter in the kitchen during this time as well. He frequents the dishwasher and the oven because he likes to babble with the other baby (aka his own reflection). I’ve even seen him plant a big wet one on the baby – our appliances are covered in more saliva now than they were when we had a dog!

Somehow, of all the animal sounds that I practice with Lincoln, he seems to have favored “dog” and “monkey.” The other night we caught him in his high chair at the dinner table saying, “Dog. Woof, woof. Dog. Woof, woof.” He points to any animal in a book and repeats this mantra. We obviously have some work do to. Lincoln has also learned a few new tricks during the unfortunate cold sickness that we’ve recently shared. He loves it when I blow my nose and he mimics the sound every time. He can point to my nose and his own nose when asked (although, he rarely cooperates when asked). If I ask, “Does baby have a cough?” then he’ll cough.

Lincoln loves to listen to me sing and I have no idea why and if you’ve heard me before then you’re also shaking your head right now. His favorite tune for me to sing is, “The Wheels on the Bus.” I resort to this melody whenever the going gets tough – i.e. during a diaper change when Lincoln is much more interested in flipping over and practicing his precise drop kicks or during mealtime when he’s more interested in beating his personal best in the spit contest. The singing has been working well but I know that soon I’ll have to find another trick up my sleeve.

The most recent, and my favorite, thing that Lincoln does is his whisper. When I whisper in his ear he attempts to echo me in the most precious whisper. I guess I think it’s so precious because any other time he verbally communicates he uses his outside-in-the-mountains-of-Montana voice.

I don’t know, this might also be a favorite of mine – he gives kisses! He’s not overly enthused about it in this video, which makes it all the funnier, but it was just before naptime so what do you expect?

He’s going to be a year old soon and I don’t want to talk about it.