Andrew and Lauren

My cousin Andrew and his fiance  Lauren are getting married in Nov and they asked me to take their engagement photos. I eagerly said yes and I really had a blast even when my tri-pod broke and my camera with my brand new lens went crashing to the concrete floor. I am so grateful for the chance to share in their joy and extremely  faltered that they asked me.

Andrew and Lauren, I am so proud of the two of you. Marriage is not easy, but it is worth all the work that goes into it. As long as you stick together you will never be alone. I love that you laugh and pray together. Keep God in your heart and laughter in your home and you will have a long happy life. All the best to the two of you. Thank you for believing in me and letting me be at least a small part of your day. I hope you enjoy the photographs. They were taken with love.

My favorite....

8 months

It is now month 8 of this amazing adventure, and we are still learning something new about each other everyday.  Lincoln is so close to crawling. Currently he is doing this funny downward dog sort of pose. I am very nervous about his new found transportation, because with him just rolling around everywhere he is already into everything.  As of yesterday he has started to pull himself up on things. I am so glad Jarrod and I both got to see it at the same time. So it begins, our house will never be safe again... 

We are still up to our ears in dog hair. I am now vacuuming everyday, and Lincoln thinks it is amazing. I guess he likes the noise.  Frankie on the other hand hates it and goes and hides whenever I get the vacuum out of the closet. Doing this everyday seems to be making very little difference, and now that Linc is so mobile he is getting into places that I can't get with the vacuum. He is still covered head to toe in dog hair. No matter what I do. 

We have been spending a lot of time outside. The weather has been beautiful and I thought we could both use the vitamin D. Just recently Jarrod has set up a swing in the back yard for Lincoln, and I must say he is in love. The minute we step outside it's like he knows what we are going to do and he gets this huge smile on his face. I love to see the excitement on his face. When I see that sweet smile all I can think of is "today is the best day of my life". 

I have truly picked the right man to share this adventure with. My heart smiles when he walks through the door and cannot wait to see Lincoln's smile and everyday he says "I have waited all day to see that". Lincoln seems to think the same thing. The minute Jarrod comes in he gets so excited he cannot sit still.  I am so in love and so blessed to have such a wonderful little family. 

Found his Giggle

7 months ago, Lincoln's first cry was high on my list as one of the most beautiful sounds I have ever heard. I thought this until I heard his sweet giggle. Yes my little boy has finally found his giggle, and I must say that it is magical. We have tried everything for months to get him to laugh. From jumping around looking like fools to making crazy obscene sounds. What did it take you ask to get him to laugh out loud? Well, it was our dog Frankie doing her potty dance. When Frankie needs to go outside to do her business she dances for us to let us know. It consists of her bouncing around trying to get her tail. Lincoln thought it was hilarious, and his cackle stopped both Jarrod and I in our tracks. It was perfect!!! Since then we are still doing all the silly things to get him to laugh more. He's a pretty serious fellow and is very stingy with his laughter, but every once in a while we hit his funny bone and he lets loose. 

Now that I am a stay at home mom I have decided to try my hand in making Linc's baby food. So far we are doing pretty good. I had no idea how easy and cheaper it was going to be. They charge an arm and leg for carrots... I thought it was pretty amazing that I can spend 4 dollars on a months worth of food compared to 1.50 a pop.  Another plus is that  there are no preservatives which I think are going to end up killing us all off. That's just my opinion.  We started with the buttery goodness of butternut squash. This was something I had never tried and I must say that it is wonderful. The list of foods are not long, but so far Lincoln is loving them, and I am having fun giving them funny names. Let's see there is zuccinsquash for zucchini and butternut squash and bloody apples. I kinda sliced my finger open while cutting the apples so they will forever be known as bloody apples. ( I got rid of all the bloody ones. I would never feed him something contaminated like that. Just in case you were worried) I have no doubt that he is going to be a great eater, just like his mama. Look out peas you're next :)

Now that spring time is here and it is beautiful outside we plan on spending a lot more time outside. Jarrod is hanging Lincoln's swing in the back yard, and we are talking about adding a covered patio to the back of the house. I'm sure we will end up living out there.  As of lately we have also been spending a lot of time at the dog park with our sweet fat Frankie. We both get much needed exercise.   Thanks to our good friends Irene and Kenneth they get us up and out of the house to enjoy some time with them and the local pups. Lincoln is always a hit, with the humans and canines alike. The dogs love him, and I really think he loves the attention from them too. He just giggles and watches them play. 

This month has really flown by, as they all do. I wake up every morning looking forward to the time we get to spend together. Track season is almost over so daddy will get to spend more time with the both of us. I love to see the excitement on Lincoln's face when his daddy walks through the door at the end of the day.  We both can't wait for the summer when daddy is home for a few months. It's going to be a blast

Half Birthday

We have finally reached the half birthday mark. This month has been full of milestones. He is rolling everywhere and is completely fascinated with his feet. He will work and work until just ONE sock is off so he can get at his toes. It is so sweet at he only wants one off. The minute I put him down he has his feet in his face. I love that even in his pajamas he is still looking for them, and is still a little confused that at night his feet disappear and he can't get booties off.

Along with his feet his is also obsessed with his tongue. Half of our little photo shoot was like the picture above. All tongue and slobber. I have done my weight in laundry with all the bibs he goes thru. I'm told that with all the spit and snot a tooth should be coming soon. Nothing yet, but his gums are really white and tender. To bad all your teeth don't come in all at once. It would make the next 18 months so much easier. ;)  

We have started eating. Well sort of, Lincoln is tolerating the baby oatmeal. It took about a week and a half for him to stop spitting it out at me. We tried the Rice cereal first and he gagged through the whole experience. I tasted it and I don't blame him. I kinda gagged too. I don't know if it was the taste or the fact that it was my breast milk... either way it was totally weird.

As of this week he has started to sit up. It is still just a few minutes at a time when the round butt hits him and he falls and flips onto his stomach, then he looks at me and I know he's thinking " what the hell just happened?". I love that things are really starting to click. He has a new interest in his toys. I guess they look brand new at this upright angle.

Lincoln's personality is finally coming out, and so far he is awesome... He has such a sweet disposition and always has a smile on his face. He is a little controlling with me sometimes. He does not like me to talk when I am breastfeeding him. Silly boy

 I am completely amazed on how fast the time is going. Pre Lincoln, 6 months would have taken forever. Post Lincoln, I blinked and it was over. Is this how adventure is going to go? I pray everyday that I am able to do my duty as his mother to guide him to become the man he is meant to be, with a warm compassionate loving heart.

5 Months

 It's amazing how much can happen in just one month. Mostly good things, but unfortunately some bad. We got to enjoy Lincoln's first Christmas and New Years. First one down and many more to come. Here are some highlights from the holidays.

 Our sweet boy has hit some major milestones this month.We have officially become mobile. He's rolling all over the place.  He ended up on our wood floors the other day and started freaking out. 

He is talking up a storm. I absolutely love to hear his babbling conversations. I would love to know what he is thinking. 

He has found his feet and is totally fascinated. It is making diaper changing a challenge. 

The biggest milestone has been that he is sleeping all night in his own room. Yes I said all night. Which is amazing for mommy and daddy. It's crazy how much more productive I am with at least 6 hours of straight sleep. I still really miss him in the room, and still check the video monitor at least 5 times a night. We are currently working on taking naps in his own bed, instead of in mommy's arms. 

Next month we introduce foods..... stay tuned... this is going to be fun

A Slap in the face + Answered Prayer = Unexpected Blessing

Sometimes it's weird when your prayers are answered. I have prayed and prayed for a way to stay home with Lincoln. Well God heard me and answered. I did not think it would be by getting me fired, but what can you do. Not like you can argue with God. When he wants you to go one way, sometimes he has a way for forcing you in that direction. Even if you are kicking and screaming. The Lord does work in mysterious ways.

Today was my last day at a job that I have loved for more than 9 years.  6 months shy of my 10 year anniversary a mistake sealed my fate. I have no hard feelings for the HR people and managers that made the decision. They were just doing their job. So I'd like to send a BIG thank you to the hospital system that I spent most of my waking hours at for giving me the opportunity to be a stay at home mom. I just wish I could have left on my own terms not theirs.  It's a decision I have been thinking about, but would have never had the cojones to make such a big change on my own.

Oh well, I'll just add it to my big book of life experiences and move on.  I had the opportunity  to meet some really wonderful people and work along side some amazing docs, nurses, techs, and pa's. The list can really go on forever. It's really bitter sweet because on one hand in an odd way I did ask for this. I will not get my going away party or be sent off with well wishes. I will not be recognized for all the good work I did. I will only be remembered for the one big goof up.

I am not going to let this break me. If anything I will be stronger and more cautious of the decisions I make. There are many great people that got fired before they went on to be amazing. Walt Disney was let go because he was not creative enough and JK Rowling was fired because she spent her days thinking about a wizard boy.

So I am not going to think of myself as a total failure. The best is yet to come. Y'all just wait and see.