We're going to the zoo, zoo, zoo....

Our Dallas zoo membership has gotten a good amount of use this summer. I love the zoo and I am thankful to have a kiddo now so I have a great excuse to go!

My best friend from childhood, Casey and her son, Wyatt joined us for a fun (hot) day at the zoo.

The new butterfly exhibit is pretty cool. There are gorgeous flowers and butterflies flying around. The butterfly bench was a great place for a photo shoot.
Lincoln and Wyatt

We decided to ride the monorail and Wyatt was pretty entertaining with Lincoln's hat. This boy is quite humorous.

The monorail is a great ride to see some of the animals up close but not right before lunch with two little hot and sweaty boys.....they were a M-E-S-S! Don't let this picture fool you, it was before it all started.

Lions, tigers, and bears, oh my! It is pretty hot!

Lincoln loved the big fish tank. Some of those fish were bigger than him!

Summer is not summer without trips to the zoo. I hope more visits are coming soon!

9 months

This past month as shown the most change (I think) in Lincoln. So here are the new things about Stinkin' Lincoln!

• The biggest change is Lincoln is on the move! He started crawling on Father's Day and hasn't stopped since! He went from rocking on fours to crawling on all fours, no army crawl and no scooting, just real crawling! He is pretty quick too.
• He has two bottom teeth. They poked through and grew out a bit then stopped so they are not fully in but you can certainly see them (and feel them!) No top teeth yet.
• Lincoln's sleeping schedule is the same but his naps are very predictable. He naps great at home or other people's houses as long as he has a bed and a quiet room but will not nap in public, he is much too social! If he falls asleep in the car, I can not transfer him to his bed because he wakes up for good (and cranky!) Lincoln is very pleasant if he wakes up on his own but he is a grumpy bear if you wake him up.
• Lincoln is still eating the same but we have added another meal of baby food in addition to what he was already eating. He eats A LOT! We are weaning him off Simply Thick which has meant a few more spit up episodes but he is doing great. I am hoping we are totally off Simply Thick by August.
• I don't have any stats yet because we go to his checkup on Thursday but I know he weighs 17 lbs. We went to the cardiologist a couple of weeks ago and we were thankful to learn that the hole in his heart has closed on its own! We have been released from that dr!
• Lincoln's personality has not changed too much. He is still very social and very giggly. But he has started to show his temper a little. If he wants something or you take away something, he will arch his back and scream. It is a lovely sight to see!
• Lincoln is wearing a size 3 diaper and mostly 6-9 or 9 month clothes.
• Lincoln has experienced the pool many times. He was not a fan the first couple of times but now he LOVES it! We have spent many afternoons in his little pool and at my parents' pool to help us cool off this summer.
• Lincoln is no longer the baby cousin. Isaac Jolly has claimed that role, he is one cutie (I will post pics soon!)

Lincoln is very fun right now and I am wondering if he will be cruising the furniture by next month!

His monthly pictures are getting a little harder since he became mobile, so there are not many pictures!

Off he goes!

I took Lincoln to JCP for pictures and I was very pleased with how well he did. If you look closely you can see his front teeth.

Some of our summer activities are soon to follow!

A Kansas style-wedding

Last week, we drove to Kansas for Shane's brother, Dustin's wedding. It was a quick trip yet still resulted in many pictures.

Lincoln was able to get a little country for a little bit.
Meeting Cookie the Goat

Pappy (Shane's dad) found this car for Lincoln....country and Nascar, anything come to mind?!

Celebrated Father's Day a few days early

I don't have too many wedding pictures since I was videotaping and wrangling a wiggly, almost 9 month old!

Mother of the Groom and Groom

A quick (not so good) family picture.....the wedding started at 8:15 (about an hour past Lincoln's bedtime) so he was not in bed until almost 10:00, he was a little difficult!

The Bride

It was a quick trip, packed with visiting family. We are happy to be home for awhile to get some much needed house organizing to do! If you want to see us, then you need to come to us!

Happy Father's Day

I am a lucky gal to have such as a great dad. My dad has always been there for me during every stage of life. He was a very hands on dad when we were babies to going to all sporting events during high school. I am sure my dad was not thrilled to attend all the dance recitals or drill team performances but he never complained and always (appeared!) to be happy with it. My dad is one of the funniest people I know. Sometimes it is "old man" humor but sometimes it is stitch popping humorous (really I popped one of my c-section stitches and I know it was because of him!) My dad has been my rock during some of my darkest days (I remember the minute we found out about Lincoln's condition, my dad was on his phone cancelling his business trip and telling work that he was out for the week because he needed to be there instead) and my encourager and cheerleader.He has taught all of his children valuable lessons from being money smart to how to an upstanding person in this crazy society. But most importantly, he and my mom have shown me what it means to have a Christ-centered marriage to put God first and all others next. Thanks for everything!

My dad is an excellent Grandaddy. I think he loves his grandchildren more than us. He loves all of his grandchildren and will brag on each whenever he gets the chance!

Having a chat with Lincoln, probably telling him that he needed to jump out of that joint.
At Cadillac Ranch with all the kiddos

I have blessed to be able to watch Shane change into a great father as well. Since the day that Lincoln was born, Shane's whole world has changed and his perspective as well. I was able to watch Shane defend his child (and wife) during those dark days in the beginning and he was my rock during that month when we were back and forth to the hospital. Shane is a hard worker ad would do whatever needed to be done to provide for his family. Lincoln thinks his daddy is the funniest person there is and enjoys hanging out with him. I can't wait for Lincoln to get older and watch as their relationship develop and grow. I know Shane is anxious for the day of baseball games and going fishing but I know he enjoys these baby days. Thank for being a great daddy to Lincoln!

I love this picture because you can see where Shane's main focus turned to (please excuse my puffy self!)

A little daddy/son time in the hospital

Watching the games

I hope you all enjoyed your Father's Day! I hope to post pictures from our crazy week soon!

Cousins are so fun!

Lincoln and I (with my parents) made the trek to Amarillo this last week to spend with the my sis, her hubby and (most importantly) the kiddos. We had a fun week of celebrating Eli's birthday, going to Cadillac Ranch, eating at yummy places (including Sharky's), going swimming, watching Phoebe sing and dance for us but mostly loving on each other.

Eli and Phoebe are great cousins who LOVE on Baby Wincon!

We had a great time and I can't wait until another cousin, Baby Isaac, joins the clan very soon!

Another first for Lincoln

When Lincoln was in the NICU, I was advised to keep Lincoln out of daycare for as long as possible. I was able to keep him home with wonderful family members (my MIL, my parents and my aunt Amy) rotate weeks and he stayed home through February. I was also instructed to not put him in a public day care (if possible) so I looked for a home daycare. My good friend, Melissa, sent me to her sitter, Jennifer. Lincoln started with Jennifer in March and finished the school year with her. All I can say about is.....she is wonderful! She took excellent care of him (emailed me almost daily to let me know how he was doing) and took great care of his new momma who had never left him with anyone besides family. We are sad that Lincoln won't be returning to her (she is very close to our old house but out of the way from Red Oak!) We are happy that we had the experience with her and we know that Lincoln will be missed.

Jennifer and Lincoln the last day he was with her.

All the kiddos that Jennifer keeps.....Lincoln had loads of friends to "watch after" him.

Here is one outtake from the photo session....with that many kids you know some were crying!

If you live in the Lewisville/ Flower Mound area and need a home daycare, I HIGHLY recommmend her!

***Thanks again for everything, Jennifer! You will be missed!**

Beans, beans the magical fruit...

You can finish the song yourself. We had some yummy BBQ in honor of my brother's 30th bday which included some baked beans. Lincoln loved them!

He really enjoys his food (much like his cousin Phoebe).

Mmmmmm!

Eating and smearing beans everywhere can wear a little boy out!

Hope your summer has started out great like ours! I started mine with a pedicure with a great friend then headed to Canton on Saturday. I love having no set schedule.