Linc's Adventure

Kids.  They're crazy.  They take years off my life...

I go to book club one night a month and that's pretty much my only adult social time.  I cherish it.  Sometimes we treat ourselves and our group meets at a restaurant, rather than at one of our houses.  Yeah, we keep it fresh.  This month we met at a restaurant and it was a gorgeous evening so we sat on the outdoor patio and there was live music.  It was lovely and I had a delicious glass of red wine.  Shortly after catching up with the ladies, and two sips into my wine, my cell phone vibrated.  I saw it was Chris calling.  I answered and immediately heard Lincoln wailing in the background.  Chris had a strained voice and quickly explained that he thought Lincoln knocked his tooth out.  My heart sank.  I was certain everything would be fine but my heart ached because I wasn't there to rock my baby and tell him it would be OK.  I jumped up from the table, quickly explained the situation to the ladies, and ran to my car.  Luckily, I was only two miles from home.  

When I walked in the door Linc was upset and wanted me to hold him.  Ava was crying.  Chris explained what happened.  Apparently, Linc fell in the kitchen.  Chris didn't see exactly how he fell as he was locking the front door or something.  We looked at Linc's tooth and it was still attached, just pushed up and back.  Then our friend, who happens to be a dentist, called my cell phone.  I'd forgotten that I was at book club with his wife and she called him when I was darting home.  Hooray for awesome friends!  He was at home putting his four kids to bed but suggested that I bring Linc over so he could look at his tooth.  

Now it's somewhere around 8:30 p.m. and Linc and I were making our way over to our friend's house.  Linc was a champ and let Dr. Fuller look in his mouth and try to push his tooth back into place.  Unfortunately, his tooth wouldn't budge so Dr. Fuller decided that we needed to get an x-ray immediately.  So, he called his wife home early from book club so he could take us to the office.  It was quite the adventure.  

Now it's somewhere around 9:30 p.m. and Linc is exhausted but being such a good boy and we're at the dentist's office.  The x-ray didn't show any bone damage so we scheduled a follow-up appointment, gave many many thanks to Dr. Fuller and drove home.  

Ava wanted to wait up for us because she was so worried about Linc so she and Chris greeted us when we got home.  As I filled them in on our adventure, Chris rocked Linc and the poor baby passed out.  Chris felt awful.  Just terrible.  He was so upset that he couldn't prevent the whole thing from happening.  Honestly, I'm surprised it took this long for it to happen!  Linc is crazy.  It's a wonder he hasn't broken a bone or lost an eye yet.

It's been a couple weeks and Linc's doing great!  It hasn't slowed him down at all.  We're keeping him on a soft diet per the dentist's orders.  Thankfully, Linc is a good eater so it hasn't been a problem.  We're glad it was just a tooth and not something more serious.  Regardless, I'm sure this incident still took a couple years off our lives.  Kids.  They're crazy.

Next month I'm going to encase the kids in a bubble before I leave for my book club meeting.

       

Linc's tooth - the morning after...

A picture that Linc drew of his "broken tooth" and "tears" on his cheeks...

 This picture was taken about a week after and his tooth looks much better...

Follow-up appointment at the dentist's office...

 Thank-you card that Linc made for the dentist (with a lot of help from Mom and Honey, mostly Honey)...

Interview with Ava

Interview with Ava

January 18, 2011

What do you like to eat for breakfast?

Hmm, granola bar.

What are you afraid of?

Monsters.

What are you good at?

Ummm, playing games on my Leapster.

What movie do you like to watch?

Berenstain Bears.

What is your favorite holiday and why?

Christmas because then I get to make a snowman if the snow sticks.

What is something Mommy always says to you?

You love me.

What is something Daddy always says to you?

Eat all your food.

What makes Mommy happy?

If I eat all my lunch.

What makes Daddy happy?

If I eat all my dinner.

How does Mommy make you laugh?

Being silly.

How does Daddy make you laugh?

By doing funny things like being silly.

What does Mommy do when you’re not around?

I don’t really know…take care of my brother.

What does Daddy do when you’re not around?

School work.

What is Mommy really good at?

My animal game that I got from Sam and Samantha. Sam and Samantha?! HAHAHAHA! Sam and Tyler.

What is Daddy really good at?

Doing funny stuff and fixing things.

What is Mommy’s favorite food?

Soup.

What is Daddy’s favorite food?

Bread.

What is Lincoln’s favorite food?

Baby food? HAHAHAHA! Umm…Are you typing, “Umm”? Hehe. Ummmmmmmm Hmmmmm oatmeal!!

What makes you proud of Mommy?

When you give me a surprise.

What makes you proud of Daddy?

When he gives me treats like ice cream.

What do you do with Mommy?

Take walks with Louis.

What do you do with Daddy?

Play with him.

How are Mommy & Daddy the same?

You sing the same song.

How are Mommy & Daddy different?

Because you take care of me and Daddy takes care of Lincoln.

How do you know Mommy loves you?

Because she has a heart.

How do you know Daddy loves you?

Because he always says that sometimes.

Where is Mommy’s favorite place to go?

Target. Banana.

Where is Daddy’s favorite place to go?

To work.

What is one thing you would change about Mommy?

You take care of Lincoln and Daddy takes care of me.

What is one thing you would change about Daddy?

He’ll take care of Lincoln forever.

What do you want to be when you grow up?

A Mom who has babies.

What are your favorite books?

Berenstain Bears.

When Honey & Papa babysit where do you think Mommy and Daddy are?

At a restaurant out eating.

What is Daddy’s job?

Going to work and getting money for us to live.

What is Mommy’s job?

To take care of us.

What does your brother do to annoy you?

I keep telling him to get off the couch when I’m making something on the couch but he keeps going on it and yelling. Yelling. That’s funny. Haha.

What does your brother do to show you that he loves you?

Plays with me a lot.

Who is our President?

Uncle Bama.

What is the President’s job?

To tell us what is going on in the world.

If you were a Mommy, what would you let your children do that I don’t?

Let them have dessert when they didn’t have lunch.

If Mommy were a cartoon character, which one would she be?

Poopies. HAHAHAHA! HAHAHAHA! That is so funny. The Berenstain Bears’ Mom.

If Daddy were a cartoon character, which one would he be?

A Dad. A Dad Berenstain Bear.

How old do you have to be to drive a car?

Seven.

What do you think Santa is doing during the summer?

Sleeping.

If you could plan the perfect day what would you do?

I would go to the park and stay there for the whole day.

If you were a superhero what would your special power be?

Magic.

If you could only eat one thing for the rest of your life what would it be?

Macaroni and chicken nuggets.

Who is your favorite princess and why?

Ariel because she’s beautiful.

Would you rather be able to talk to animals or fly?

Do both.

What is the hardest thing about being a kid?

That I can’t do what I want.

What do you love most about your family?

That they love me and I love them.

What is the best gift you’ve ever received?

A loofah.

What message do you have for your adult self?

AVA! Your name is Ava!!

D-O-N-E

It's official. Chris is d-o-n-e with his MBA. Three years in the making and it's done.  I am so so so relieved.  I am also so so so proud of us.  I'm thrilled that we survived this and with flying colors I might add (3.8 GPA, baby!).  Sure, it was tough.  Sure, we struggled emotionally, physically and mentally.  Sure, it was almost unbearably stressful.  Sure, it tested our relationship and our relationship to those around us.  But it is done and we survived.  We're stronger and smarter and more wrinkled.  Really, I cannot express well enough just how relieved I am.  I've dreamt about this blog post for a long time and the moment is finally here and I'm just rambling because I'm giddy and relieved.  Not only was Chris focused on his degree these past three years but we also decided to have another baby (Lincoln) and I got laid off from my job.  We kept our chins up (most of the time anyway) and made the best of a seemingly rotten situation.  We worked as a team.  We sacrificed A LOT over the past few years.  I'm so glad it's over.  I'm still not certain I understand how Chris stayed focused.  I'm also baffled by how well he functioned with such limited sleep and so much stress.  He's truly an inspiration to me!  He somehow managed to get a lot out of school while still being an attentive husband and father.  Linc is too little to understand the impact all of this has made on our family but Ava gets it.  Ava is thrilled to have so much time with Daddy!  Have I mentioned how relieved I am?  Have I mentioned how proud I am?  *Sigh*  While we do deserve a pat on our backs I should also thank YOU because we have an awesome support network.  Without the love, support and encouragement from our friends and family I'm not sure we would have made it through in one piece.  Sounds dramatic, I know.  But it is.  It is dramatic.  It was a little traumatic too.  I needed those "vent" sessions on the phone with my brothers, those uplifting visits from my sister-in-law and those many dinners and adult conversations with my parents in order to survive in one piece...without professional intervention or medication.  We're so thankful it hurts.  I'm relieved too.  And proud.

Here's how we celebrated...  

THANK YOU.  

TWO

This is what two looks like on Lincoln...

I cannot believe my baby is already two years old!  I have so many "It feels like yesterday..." memories.  

He's such a cool dude.  He's 100% two-year-old.  He lives in the moment which is both exciting and frustrating.  For instance, he loves school but he does not like to be dropped off or picked up.  Go figure.    When I pick him up he yells, "No!  I play!"  It's frustrating to get him out of the house or to change locations in general.  At home he doesn't want to leave his toys to get into the car so he usually has a mini-fit every time we leave the house.  Then he doesn't like to leave a store when we're done shopping so that also takes some coaxing.  We do a lot of explaining and talking and that's also frustrating because it's so time consuming.  I know it is a phase and I know it will pass soon enough.  I've at least learned that much about parenting so far ;-)  

Lincoln has a selective attention span.  He'll sit for as long as you let him when it comes to painting, coloring or gluing but he can barely make it through the first three pages of a book.  There are exceptions though as he has a couple favorite books that he'll let you read over and over again.  He's still obsessed with "Cars" and all things Mac, Mater and Lightning.  He entertains himself very well.

He also has selective listening skills.  Lincoln listens really well 90% of the time but the other 10% of the time is REALLY bad.  He usually saves those moments for public outings.  He has almost reduced me to tears on several occasions while out shopping.  I'm more of a fan of online shopping now than ever before!    

Lincoln looks up to his sister and they usually play really well together.  Every now and then I catch some sweet moments between them that melt my heart.  The other day I caught them both sitting on Ava's bed sharing a bowl of popcorn and they were just chit chatting.  I've also caught them cuddled up together sharing a book.  He'll sit for a book with Ava presumably because he loves the attention from her.  They also like to play, "Night Night" where Lincoln pretends to be the baby and Ava is the Mommy putting him down for a nap.  He willingly lays down and she covers him with a blanket and rubs his back.  They play "Cafe" too...

The two-year doctor check-up went well except for the part that actually included the doctor.  Lincoln screamed through his painless physical.  His pediatrician thinks that he must have remembered his previous visit that included a strep and flu test :-(  Anyway, he's a healthy two-year-old!  He weighs 29 lbs 8 oz (68%) and he's 35.5" tall (79%).

  

Getting to know Lincoln.

When Ava was in school last year, Lincoln was still taking two naps a day so I didn't get any one-on-one time with him. This year, he's only napping once a day and Ava is in school four mornings a week so Lincoln and I have been getting to know each other better. Turns out, he's a lot different without the influence of his sister.

Unfortunately, because we've both been sick for the past week and a half we haven't been up to anything too exciting. He's supposed to be taking swim lessons but we're going to have to reschedule those because he missed the first two classes. I'm really looking forward to swimming with him!

We've been running errands together, going to the playground, reading and playing together. He's funny. He likes to be funny. He's sensitive. He's brave. He's strong and strong-willed. He doesn't usually listen very well. He loves trucks and speed bumps. He's very busy. He misses his sister.

To know Lincoln is to love Lincoln.

I'm so lucky to be able to spend this time with him.

Uh Oh Spaghetti-O

My camera broke! *gasp* I know. I know. *shaking head* It's awful. Like, it's a goner. Like, we need to buy a new one. We can't just walk into Best Buy and purchase any ol' camera, no, we have to research cameras and then order one. So this could take a while. Thankfully, I have my trusty cell phone camera and it will have to do until we purchase a new fancy shmancy point-and-shoot camera. Also, I have my Nikon. It's funny because I was feeling guilty about not taking enough photos of the kids with my Nikon. I guess this little hiatus is just what I needed.

Here are some pics of our recent adventures...all taken with my cell phone...

Linc and fish...

This is Ava's balloon animal. While waiting in line for said balloon animal I rattled off the list of possible balloon sculptures to Ava - princess wand, princess crown, princess bracelet, etc. - and she still chose a DOG. Surprise.

She chose a pink butterfly with glitter for her face paint though. Progress, I guess.

I love love love love this picture! He's giving me a kiss...

Lincoln had his 18-month well-check appointment with the Pediatrician. He's a healthy boy! He weighed in at 26.5 lbs (56%) and he's 34" tall (90%) and his head circumference is 19.25" (80%). He's on track developmentally, too. He did great with the doctor this time - no tears! At home we're working on some slight behavior issues like hitting and throwing food. He's sleeping like a champ, though, he is a light sleeper. We finally omitted his morning nap! He's down to a 1.5 hour - 3 hour afternoon nap.

4 Years, 2 Months

In case I haven’t said it before, boys and girls are very different by nature. I can’t say it enough. We had a busy and fun weekend and one of the things we did was attend Ava’s pre-school Carnival. At the Carnival I met a woman who has an older son and daughter and I think we could have talked all day about the many differences between boys and girls. One of the first things she said was, “Oh my goodness, the drama with my daughter! And the moods! Ugh.” I couldn’t have agreed with her more. While we agree that our daughters are easier in the sense that they’re polite and considerate and inquisitive where our sons are active and hungry and loud we also agreed that our daughters are challenging in the sense that they’re moody and dramatic where our sons are carefree and easy-going. It was nice to know that I’m not the only one who is concerned about a bi-polar four-year-old.

Aside from Ava’s moods, she’s wonderful! We couldn’t ask for more. She’s my buddy and I truly enjoy her company (when she’s not in a mood). She challenges my intellect every day and I love that! She’s doing a much better job with Lincoln; she actually enjoys his company these days and they have a few different games that they play together. It’s much less stressful for me. They still have their moments but those are totally manageable now. Ava is also my big helper as she doesn't like a messy house. She cleans her room and she helps me fold laundry without ever being asked. She says, "I don't even understand. It's all just messy!"

This is a picture of the washcloths that she folded by herself. I can't get over what a great job she does. They go in our closet just like this and I smile every time I see them...

Ava has a lot of interests! In fact, at dinner last night she told us, “I’m going to be a fire truck driver!” Then she thought for a minute and said, “Well, I also want to be an astronaut.” Finally, she concluded, “Gosh, I have a lot of interests! I want to do everything!” She still enjoys working on projects and reading, of course! Recently, she has been asking me to teach her how to read. Still, I think her favorite activity is working in the garden. Whenever we’re out and about, Ava can’t resist the urge to pick flowers that she sees. Every couple of days I have to clean the wilted flowers out of my car. Painting is also a favorite activity for her. This is a picture of a painting that she did last night. She told us that it's the inside of her body and that red is her blood, yellow = bones, green = ribs and blue = veins.

When she's not painting the inside of her body she's usually painting flowers, I promise!

Ava has two goals in life right now; she wants to be a ballerina and she wants a dog, desperately. We’re working on the ballerina thing and she’ll be taking ballet this summer. As for the dog…I desperately want her to have a dog too. However, we must wait until the time is right. I don’t think our family feels complete without a pup so I’m convinced that it’s harder on me than it is on her...she doesn’t know that though. She has a stuffed dog that she carries with her on all our errands and she has two little dog figurines that follow her around the house all day.

They even Skype with Ninny...

Ava also requests to be referred to as "Spot" on occasion. She pretends to be a dog on a regular basis. Boy does this confuse Lincoln!

THE END.

17 Months

Linc is awesome. He’s all boy! Except when he gets hurt and screams like a girl and runs to his Mommy. Oh no, never mind, that still makes him a boy ☺

I can’t believe how much he has changed over the course of a couple weeks! The baby is totally and officially gone; we have a little boy in our house now. I don’t even know how to put his personality into words…he’s just so cool. If he were a dog I would describe him as having a strong ball drive. He would be a Retriever, no doubt. He loves water, he’s eager to please, he loves to play with his toys and he’s always game for a belly rub.

Linc talks a lot but he’s still speaking Lincolnese and he’s unaware that everyone else in the house is speaking a different language. He tells some elaborate stories, too! His vocabulary has exploded and it’s adorable. My favorite words that he says are: “hi”, “baby”, “people” and “mommy.” Every time he says “hi” it’s in a soft sweet voice and it’s usually accompanied by a full arm wave. I like “mommy” too because he used to only say “mama” so “mommy” is new and it sounds so delightful. His newest word is “Ninny”! Here's a video of me trying to get him to say all his words. Also, this is the very first time he said "Ninny" so I apologize for my overly excited tone.



I think his favorite activities include eating, playing with his sister, bath time and playing with his cars. His obsession with cars kinda makes my heart heavy because it’s just another representation that he’s a little boy. It’s bittersweet. He’s that boy you see out and about who always has a Thomas Train or a Match Box Car in his hand. Sigh…

He’s starting to pay more attention to the textures of different foods. For instance, he doesn’t care for rice anymore. Also, softer breads/cakes (i.e. angel food cake) get spit out or thrown across the room as well. Everything else makes it into his belly in two seconds.

Linc has some trouble listening sometimes; he’s so focused on what he wants that he sometimes forgets that he hears Mommy’s voice in the background telling him that it’s not a good idea. Oh well, he’s learning. On the other hand, he’s a great listener! He understands everything you say to him. He enjoys helping out and putting trash in the trashcan, closing open doors and cleaning up his toys. He still has trouble sitting through an entire book. He has sat with me for up to three books before but he usually looses interest after the 2nd page of the first book. Also, he loves to be chased! Here's a video of me chasing Lincoln, again, I apologize for my overly excited Momminess...it happens!

THE END.

All over the place...

This post is going to be all over the place. Really? What's new?

It's been an interesting week with the threat of the dreaded stomach bug...dun dun dun dun. Unfortunately, 24 hours ago it became a reality for Lincoln and Ava :-( Linc has had it the worse, especially considering that it has been thrown in there with teething. Ava got sick once at 4 a.m. and handled it like a champ. I'm experiencing a severe case of cabin fever.

Here are pictures from this week, in no particular order.

I'm thinking of changing her name to Martha. The little darling enjoys setting the table every night while I prepare dinner. She thinks of everything - coasters, place mats, cloth napkins, candles, flowers, etc. I've noticed that the longer it takes to get dinner ready the more "stuff" appears on our table. Tonight she was already having a tea party before I started dinner. You can't really see, but her pink poodle is in one chair and her polar bear is in the other chair and they're enjoying tea, salad and strawberry shortcake with Ava. The empty Cool Whip container and empty boxes are from Linc's cabinet in the kitchen. I forgot to ask her their purpose...

On a very cool side note - Auntie Carrie got this totally gnarly tea set for Ava. It's made by Green Toys. Check out the website - I think you'll find some great gift ideas there.

Just when you think Linc's Roomba fetish can't get any stranger... Get this... Roomba was doing his thing tonight in the kitchen while Linc was closely observing its every move. Lincoln kept trying to confiscate Roomba's "virtual wall" which is a no-no because that's what keeps Roomba contained in the kitchen and prevents it from running rampant downstairs. After several attempts to convince Lincoln to leave the virtual wall alone, I spotted him putting it inside his toy school bus. He then drove the virtual wall, blinking as if in distress, around the corner and docked his bus on Roomba's docking station. Then he sat back on his cushioned bottom and just looked at his work. Honestly, it pained me to put the virtual wall back in its rightful position.

This is Roomba docked...

And this is how Lincoln docked his school bus with the captive virtual wall...

I haven't posted any of Ava's art work lately. She painted both of these rainbows. I penciled in a guide for her to follow with the rainbow on the left - sort of like a paint by numbers idea. The rainbow on the right was her freehand. I love both.

The sick boy...

The freshly bathed and camera trained boy...

Ava's bath art. This is a picture of Mommy, complete with earrings, because I wear earrings all the time...

In other random news, I'm fairly certain that Lincoln thinks that he's my only child and that he's the only person who deserves my affection. Can you say j-e-a-l-o-u-s? He has a fit if Ava sits with me or if Chris hugs me. As sweet as this is, I feel sorry for Ava and I find myself feeling guilty trying to spread my love equally.

Also, Lincoln is a walking fool. I'd say we're at a 50/50 split right now between walking and crawling. It's so darn cute! He just loves to walk and turn and run and stand up. He still looks like Frankenstein when he's cruising but he's starting to get more comfortable finally.

The countdown has begun! Chris has 294 days left of school...

Linc Walks

Finally! I got some footage!

Updates-R-Us

For a split second I forgot how to create a new blog post…it’s been THAT long. I don’t know how this happened. It might be a record. Let’s hope it never happens again!

Truth is, we’re busy. Surprise. We’re competing with Thanksgiving, Linc’s Birthday, Chris’ Birthday and Christmas! I’m certain that I’ve forgotten a good majority of what I wanted to blog about…here goes my best shot!

Thanksgiving was wonderful in Myrtle Beach this year. It was lovely to catch up with family members from afar. The kids had a blast. Ava loves the holidays and her family so she was beside herself. She was a big fan of Myrtle Beach and she did a phenomenal job traveling. Honestly, I don’t think that she could have been any better. We were so relieved! The minute we arrived to the condo in MB Ava selected her bedroom, which was originally planned to be Kyle and Lindsey’s room. Luckily, Joan and Andy had an extra room in their condo only several levels below and Kyle and Lindsey were happy to stay there. Five minutes after bringing our belongings up from the car Ava was moving into her room. She neatly lined her books up on the bookshelf and carefully placed her shoes in a row under her dresser. She’s amazing.

Lincoln also seemed to like the beach, however, he was irritable the whole time. He didn’t sleep. He had a cold and the croup cough. That was grueling on Chris and me but we survived. After we returned home we discovered a new tiny little tooth in his mouth so we’re assuming that the tiny little tooth was the culprit. Because Linc didn’t sleep at night he ended up falling asleep in random places during the day.

Here are some pictures from our Thanksgiving adventures (in no particular order)…

It took Linc some time but he eventually warmed up to Uncle Scott and then they were best buds...

Chad and Ava at the Aquarium...

The siblings...

The men...

I took Linc for a walk on the beach and then found Daddy and Ava on a "date" at a nearby Starbucks...

View from our condo...

See? He passed out on the floor in the middle of all the chaos...

Meet Lucy, Ava's Build-a-Bear! This is the perfect age for Build-a-Bear! Ava was totally into it. She picked out everything - the bear, the clothes and the name. Isn't she darling...

Feeding the ducks with Ninny...

The family outside the Aquarium...

Ninny and Ava inside the Aquarium... Ava was confused as to why there was a sword in the stone. I remember being confused by that too when I was a youngster.

Lounging in Ava's room...

We went to the mall on Black Friday - not sure what I was thinking - and they had this Bungy Jumping contraption set up. Ava didn't hesitate when Ninny asked her if she wanted to do it. I was shocked. Here's a video of her...in her dress...bungy jumping.

In other news, Lincoln is a year old now. I was informed, via a Babycenter email update, that Linc is no longer considered a “baby” rather he is a “toddler” now. I doubt that I’m the only Mom who chooses to ignore this tidbit. I’m having a heck of a time dealing with the fact that my kids are growing up. I hope I can pull it together in the next fifteen years so that I’m not one of those Moms in mourning at my kid’s high school graduation. Seriously, though. He made out very well at his one-year check up. He weighs 22 lbs (40th %) and he’s 32” tall (96th %). His head circumference is 47 cm, which is the 68th percentile. He’s a healthy boy and so far he’s right on track developmentally. I’ve been making a conscious effort to introduce new foods/textures into his diet and the only food that he has turned down is oatmeal. He eats everything from cheerios and cottage cheese to Curried Spinach and Pea soup and Scrambled Tofu! Linc is working on learning how to fall asleep on his own. Up until now he’s been rocked to sleep but we want to break the habit before he gets much older and wiser. He does very well at naptime but bedtime is a different story. Hopefully it’ll work itself out soon. Here is a picture from the one-year photo shoot we did…