Month 13-15

13 months (Oct. 25-Nov. 25)
We hit another milestone. Yeah it's not one for Lincoln, this one is for me. Lincoln had his first night away from me. He had a spend the night party with my parents on Friday, November 13, 2015. They said he was great and they had lots of fun. He gave us lots of hugs in the morning! I was nervous that he would wake up in the middle of the night, even though that's not a common thing. I also worried that it would be a terrible experience, but it turned out to be great. We went to Athens and had dinner and played games at some of our friend's house. Jeremy had his first days away from Lincoln a month ago when we went to the beach. I was sad but I wasn't as sad as I was the night we moved him into his own room. Now that was really sad. My parents don't have a camera or anything so I couldn't watch him either, but we made it through.

I like the saying, "You get what you get and you don't pitch a fit." Well a 1 year old doesn't really understand that yet so trying to help him understand that the veggies on his tray are part of his dinner has been quite a challenge. He loves fruit and will eat fruit all day, every day, if we'd let him. However, I do feel as if he should have some other things going through his body. Throwing his food on the floor isn't what I prefer but a fit is also something I don't prefer. Removal from the situation has been our game plan, but we've seen him pitch a fit or two when he wants something he can't have or when he is taken away from the situation- splashing in the dog's water bowl, taking things off of the nightstands/tables and throwing them, taking breakable things out of the cabinets, putting peas in little holes in his activity seat... Sometimes his fits occur due to simple tasks like when I take off his diaper or try to put clothes on him and he'd rather be down on the ground running around. I've even ended up with food on my clothes because of mealtime fits. Most people believe he's always happy, but I'll be honest, we do have meltdowns.

He's walking all over the place now and even has a little run too. Walking in the grass/leaves/sand is a little challenging though. Walking in shoes doesn't bother him, but he had to get confident in his shoes since he practiced more without shoes/socks since it was warm. He's becoming more and more independent. When we give him his dirty clothes, he can put them in his hamper.

He's still a ham and charmer for the camera and for people that talk to him out in public.

14 months (Nov. 25-Dec. 25)
Motor skills: Since he loves balls, we have practiced on a few "life" skills this month. I showed him how he can shoot a ball in his clothes hamper. He proved to be rather good at it, that is until he got into the hamper! We've been learning to kick the ball too now that we are comfortable walking around. He even put it in the wood hole by the outside fireplace one day. I was trying to dribble the soccer ball another day and then he tried to mimic me by moving his feet rather quickly. He's gotten a lot better with walking on the grass. That was rather difficult for a while. His throw is getting better and better too. I always have to be on the lookout because I'd rather not be hit with a ball. Coming inside seems to be one of the hardest things. He loves being outside and we've had some great weather recently so he thinks we need to spend all day outside. He still thinks he's a big kid. He watches his cousins play and thinks he can do everything they can. We continue to stretch him out so he remains flexible! :) However, due to his flexibility, sometimes he brings his feet up to his face and he loves to pull his socks off in his crib or in his carseat if he doesn't have shoes on his feet.

Verbal/Social: He's become a little shy out in public when people try to talk to him. He will smile, but he will also hide his head in my shoulder or between my legs. While out in public he just stares at everything and doesn't say many things. While reading books, he points out every round thing and says, "ball". He's gotten really good at saying "da-da" too. He seems to know what lots of words are but doesn't say them. He follows quite a few commands and recognizes things. One of this favorite activities is brushing his teeth and even just asking him if he wants to brush his teeth will cause him to touch his teeth. There are some days he thinks one nap will be enough, but I'm still forcing two naps for my sanity! He loves to stand in his crib and walk back and forth. He even got really good at pulling down the camera so we've had to move it a few times and still have to fix it here and there. When we talk to him through the camera, he stares right at it but the follows directions "sit down" and "lay down" for the most part.

Other stuff:
It's been fun to see his personality develop. He loves sitting in my lap and reading. There are days I put the books on his shelf more than a dozen times because he will pull them off as he looks for the ones he wants. I've rearranged them so many of his favorites are on the bottom shelf. It's so precious to have him bring me a book, turn around/sit in my lap, and then sit there as I read the book. I love how he interacts with the books now as he points out the balls, makes sounds of the animals, and touches things in the touch/feel books. He has even gotten to go to a few live nativities and pet some animals. He isn't too fond on petting real live animals but he loves to watch them from a distance. He went to a basketball game recently (at my old school) and did great sitting in my lap.

He's still in 12 month clothes but he is continuing to grow as a crazy rate. There are times I look at him and just see his belly poking out over his jeans. I can't help but laugh. We've gotten to go do a few photo shoots at Providence with the photography class. It's fun to see him surrounded by a small group of high school paparazzi. The weather's been nice lately (warm enough for short sleeves and shorts!) so we've taken quite a few walks/runs and trips to the park. He doesn't always do much at the park, but he's getting more comfortable. He likes the slides and some of the sit on/moving things.

Those top teeth have been a beast. When we went for his 12 month appointment Dr. Sara said there weren't any signs of the teeth so we knew we had a little bit longer before he got them. At the beginning and towards the middle of the 14th month, his drool became excessive. Thanksgiving pictures were quite humorous because his shirt was soaking wet. We wore multiple bibs during the day during this time and often changed clothes a few times just so he wouldn't be so wet. I finally started seeing the teeth coming down in his gums near the middle of December. I first felt them poke through the surface on December 18th. They might have come through a day or so earlier but he wouldn't let me touch them. A few days that week (17th and 20th), he SCREAMED and SCREAMED. I tried orajel, his cold teethers, food, milk, cuddling, and trying to get his mind off of it, but I realized the were probably just hurting too badly. He finally calmed down each time after we left the house (went out in public) or maybe the orajel finally kicked in.

On the 18th, I made some macaroni and cheese. I gave him some to eat and then I walked away while Jeremy was finishing making dinner. I came back to see that almost the entire box of macaroni was gone. He thought I put away some for later, and kept giving it to L because he kept grunting as if he wanted more. I just shook my head and knew we'd probably have a little constipated boy the next few days! Speaking of that, we've had some bad poops recently. It's either those teeth or the crazy holiday foods that are causing that!

Month 12-13

He's still growing and changing so often, I decided I would continue writing down things so I can go back if I ever need a date of when something happened.

We went to his one year appointment on September 29th. He weighed 20 pounds 11 ounces (17th%) and was 29 1/2 (39th%) inches tall. He's finally on the charts again. Although we've (mainly me) been concerned about his weight this past year, we now can see more of how much he's eating and know it's nutritional value so it's been a little easier to encourage weight gain the past few months. When looking at the social and other developmental areas, I got to put a check mark on all the items listed on the 12 month sheet. I think I had to mark "not yet" or "no" on one of the 9 month ones because I didn't really know he was supposed to be drinking out of a sippy cup at that point! Dr. Sara was impressed he knew so many words. There were lots of things on that list that he could do that I didn't even think about. He can see something inside of something else (like a container/glass...) and try to get to it. He has been really good about picking things up with his pincers too no matter the size or texture. Although sometimes the slimy things are a little harder for him, he doesn't give up (because he loves food). I take that back, he doesn't like to chew and chew on meat so he sort of gives up on it and will spit it out sometimes. He loves to take things in and out of containers/boxes/bags now. He even helps me put his toys and blocks back in the container where they go which is nice.

He was definitely unhappy while getting his shots this time. He had to get quite a few- one in each arm and each leg as well as have a little blood drawn. The whole way home I could hear him sniffling in the back seat. For a week+ he was a little whiny and needy but we just had some cuddle time so that was fine with me.

Object Permanence:
I've loved watching this develop over the last year. Monday, October 5th, while leaving my parent's house he started grunting in the direction of the building/trees. I took him in that direction and he didn't seem to be satisfied with the things I was showing him and momma said, "Oh I know what he wants!" During the day, they walked around in the yard and found a ball over in that area and he was looking for it. She got the ball and he was so excited.


Another poop story:
He seems to love to go while he's eating breakfast. My goodness it's ridiculous because he usually wakes up with a messy diaper too! After he was finished eating, I picked him up to wash his hands and as I moved him towards the sink I noticed poop on my arm! I shouted so Jeremy would come to my aide. He helped as I pulled off the diaper and he rinsed Lincoln off as I prepared a bath for him. I felt like I was smelling poop the entire day. Another day he had quite a few messy diapers. We've been feeding him more solid foods, but Cindy gave him some guacamole the day before so maybe that was the reason. We've given him some Gerber ravioli as well as pancakes too. Those didn't seem to mess him up. A few days after that I thought I'd let him air out for a few minutes before his bath, but that sure was a bad idea. He pooped all in his bumbo. I again called for Jeremy's aide. We rinsed him off and then threw him in the tub. You'd think I wouldn't make a mistake like this at 13 months.

Fun activities of the month:
We went to Pensacola, FL to the beach (Jeremy didn't go with us). The crew consisted of the Robinson family, momma, two of the Rosburys, and us. We had lots of fun playing in the sand/water, exploring a fort, eating out, visiting a zoo, and NOT sleeping in the hotel crib. October brings fall break, but it also brings lots of farm activities which means fun with friends. He's finally enjoying hayrides now that he's been on quite a few (one at Caleb's party last month, Burt's Pumpkin Patch, A Child's World with Patton's class * his favorite, and Corn Dawgs *with family). The time with friends has been so refreshing because they are friends we LOVE but don't see often and the time with family has been great because it was good quality time not just in short bursts. Although I've always said summer is my favorite time of the year, I do love fall for all the fun activities. He's done so well with all the changes in his schedule as we've been on the go too. Car naps, stroller/beach naps, missed naps, and evening naps have all helped us make it through the month. I'm thankful for such a flexible boy who just rolls with the punches.


We have a timeline of some new skills:
1.) nodding yes (October 1, 2015)
2.) walking across a room/from person to person/from furniture to furniture (October 2, 2015)- 40 steps on October 5
3.) putting the shapes in the correct hole after rotating them in his hand as needed (cylinder in circle hole...) October 4-7
4.) repeatedly climbing up lots of stairs unassisted/with me watching from behind- October 6-- we just haven't been around stairs much for him to do this so he might have been able to do this earlier
5.) walking with occasional falls--he looks like a zombie with his hands out in front of him (October 12)
6.) stands up from squatting position or from sitting down without holding onto anything; can rotate and switch directions while walking (October 16)

7.) walking independently all the time (October 19) and doesn't mind shoes... just doesn't like rain to keep him inside

I wonder what next month will bring.

Month 11-12

Motor Development: Over the past few months, I've pulled out the crayons a few times. One time he did a great job at actually drawing. Another time he did a great job at pulling the crayons out of the crayon tub and placing them all around him. When I pulled them out on September 10th (about 11 1/2 months), he decided to take them out, pour them out around him and then placed them back in tub. I was pretty impressed with him! He's done that with his shape blocks for a while, but it was as if he was cleaning up his crayons.

He is a speed crawler and can escape any situation if needed. Each day we practice walking too. At the beginning of the month he could take 1-2 steps. As the month progressed, he started to gain more and more balance. Some days he would resist standing up (when trying to have him walk) and instead he would let his legs be loose so he would automatically sit down and then he'd begin to crawl because he knows that gets him places faster. Those same days he would pull up and cruise around everything. One day he even tried to stand up from the sitting position without holding onto anything. This was quite humorous to watch though, but he soon realized that he was in the middle of the room without some support. One day we were in the living room and he kept trying to crawl away so he could go play in Maverick's water bowl. I chased him over there a few times but then decided to block the path. He just tried to crawl over me. Then he made eye contact with a power cable in the bedroom and tried to trick me into thinking he really needed to go get that. I finally let him go and he started going down the hallway and then reversed his direction so he was headed towards the water bowl again. He was laughing so hard as I came after him! By his birthday he could take about 6-8 steps on his own before face planting or sitting down. He's gained a lot of confidence through the month in terms of walking. We've definitely had to steer him away from hazardous situations more and more lately as well as do a little more baby proofing of the house. Although the stairs just lead to the attic, he finds it to be entertaining to pull up on the steps.

The arm and leg movements for swimming have gotten more and more solid over the last few months too. He loves swimming and gets so excited to be in the water. The water has been getting a little cooler the past few weeks, but he still wanted to dive out of my arms to get in the water. Many days, I made him wait for me to get used to the water because I wasn't about to dive in! Now we are going to have to start back with the swimming classes since the water is too cold to swim outside.

He loves to push buttons on things to see what they will do (garage door opener, baby monitor, lights/fans). He's finds it fun to hide things under the couch and close doors too. Everything seems to be a game to him which is so much fun. We laugh and laugh during the day. He even loves climbing on and over animals, people and things in his way. I've tried to teach him to be careful around Maverick, but he hasn't learned that skill yet. Jolly, the Robinson's cat, love to play with him and they chase after toys together.

He's become great at feeding himself (bananas are by far his favorite food and he even pitched a fit one day when I wouldn't let him have it before his veggies).

Cognitive Development: He seems to know exactly what I'm talking about when I talk about a toy or object. When I talk about something around he will look right at it or go over to it. He will grunt towards something if he wants it and it's out of reach. It's quite amazing at how much he's grown. He also shows he knows what he wants when toys are present and who he wants when people are around. There even seems to be some evidence of how he cares about people. He snuggles, hugs, kisses, and head nuzzles. It's the sweetest thing in the world to see him do these things to other people he loves too. He is down to using his pacifier just when he's in the bed and I have him take it out and throw it in the bed once I pick him up. It's too cute!

Language Development: He says things all the time, especially when he thinks he by himself. I don't always understand what he's saying, but he sure does talk. Although many of his words have the "ba" sound, he does say things that sound like words we just said out loud. There are more times than I can count where I've heard myself or someone ask, "Did he just say ____?" He still loves to shake his head in the no motion. One day I asked him if he wanted to go to Hobby Lobby in the middle of the month and he shook his head. Since then I've asked him lots of different questions and I get a shake of the head as his answer. We asked him if he was one and if it was his birthday too and he shook his head. Right now it's funny, but I know there will come a day when he says "No!" to me after I ask him to do something and that will not be so funny. We've heard him say ball, book, ma-ma/mum, more (very southern), mam-ma, pam-pa, da-da, hey/hello, owl, bye, up, da (or something that sounds like dog while other times he will say a two syllable word that sounds like maverick). There are other things he says but they sound alike so I only know what he wants based on the context (balloon, bottle, and banana). He can even make an owl sound. There are probably about 12 words he says repeatedly but other sounds just happen to come out and they sure sound like a word/phrase.

In other news: 
Sleep- We are blessed with a great sleeper. We know #2 (when that day comes) will probably be the opposite so we are enjoying the extra rest now. L still takes two naps a day. He usually wakes up between 7:45-8:15 and then will go back down around 10. Then after playing and eating a while he will go down for a second nap around 1:30 or 2. By 6:30 he is a little whiny and we give him a bath so he's in bed by 7:15 most nights. That gives him at least 12 hours of sleep at night. We started taking a class at church one night a week so he doesn't get in bed until around 8:30 or 9 on Wednesday, but so far he's been good in the nursery (FINALLY!) during the class so we will continue to take him.

Teeth- The lower right central incisor poked its way through on September 18th. We now have two teeth! He hasn't been one of those babies that put everything in his mouth. I've loved that, but I just hope he doesn't go through the oral fixation stage when he's 10. While teething he's been generally happy. So far he just drools a lot more for a few days leading up to the tooth poking through and takes some long naps.

Poop- There are two stories from this month. After returning from Caleb's b-day party (where Jana's mom gave L his first bite of ice cream), Jeremy decided to give L a bath. He decided to go poop in the tub. Yep. That was our first experience with that. Then one morning I went into his room because it was almost 8 and I wanted to make sure he was good. When I went in there, I noticed poop coming out of the diaper! I got a wipe and got it off before he smeared it all over the bed without realizing it. 

Firsts- He had his first bite(s) of ice cream at Caleb's birthday party. Jana's mom gave it to him but he sure did enjoy it and said "more" so she had to give him another. At the party he even got to go on a hayride and sit on a horse (about which he wasn't pleased). While working on party decorations, Patton and L were playing in Patton's room. I heard him cry out so I went in there and Patton said he fell and hit the bed. He got his first scab on his head but it went away just in time for his birthday! Oh and we finally went up to size 3 diapers and he's currently wearing a lot of 12 month clothes! Yay for our growing boy!! :)

Favorites-
Food: bananas
Song: "Good, Good Father" (goes to sleep with this playing a lot), "The Wheels on the Bus", and "Old McDonald had a Farm"
Book: Mirror Me!, I Love you Through and Through, and Where's Love Biscuit?"
Nursery Rhyme: "There were 10 in the Bed" and "Humpty Dumpty"
Toys: throwing/chasing balls and balloons, finger puppets, and taking the head off and laughing at his wooden stacking Hape toys--giraffe and the other creature
Activities: swimming or playing with his toys/with people around
Time of day: bath time or meal time

Month 10-11

July 27: He went to get his first passport picture taken. He loves to wave so he kept moving his arms around and the man couldn't get one without his arms in it. It ended up being an awful picture! Jeremy thinks it's humorous. They said it will be here within 21 days. Wow. 

July 28: He finally took a Puff off his tray and put it in his own mouth. This was a day of adventure because I went to get ready and left him playing in the living room. When I returned, he was on his belly the tile hearth with his head hanging off the side looking at the hardwood! Yikes!

July 30: No need for toys when clumps of dog hair will do! (Or a salsa cup from Moes)

July 31: The stairs too?! Oh yeah. He found them. We went to the pediatrician for another weight check after our experiment of packing him full of food all the time. We've spent a month of feeding him all kinds of food and he's taking to it like a champ. He gained two pounds and is now up to 16 lbs 9 oz. we have finally doubled his birth weight and may be in a percentile now. He's up to 28 inches too. The cheeks and rolls are coming next. 

August 1-8: He is pulling up on everything he can. Even if he can't reach the top, it doesn't stop him from trying. He's hilarious to watch as he tries to sit back down from the standing position. You can see he's trying to be careful but sometimes he decides he will remain standing because it's a long way down. I've been trying to teach him to do some more tricks. We are currently working on blowing kisses and doing a fish face. He can give high fives and kisses on the cheek but doesn't really know what he's doing. He's been swimming lots lately (with Mam-ma and Ci-Ci) while I've been helping Jeremy out at PCA. Bath time has been getting better and better. By that I mean he LOVES bath time and would like to have bath time multiple times during the day. He gets so sad when we have to get out of the tub. While in the tub, he plays hard with all his toys. He loves his red turtle still and now loves a little yellow squirt toy that is a bear. Often he drops them over the side of his small tub and tries to look over the edge to find it. The dropping things is a common occurrence these days. He likes to have someone else pick up what he purposefully drops. Since I taught him to throw, he likes to toss other toys that seem circular (his rounded blocks/Legos). He finally loves puffs now too- no more gagging on them like he did and no more breaking them up like I had to do originally. Instead he grunts and sort of begs for more when they are near. He is still so much of a people person. If we leave the room he will follow us because he wants to be near someone else while he plays or have someone there with which to play. We've had a time with the church nursery though which is crazy. His nap times seems to always fall during the services and he's such a people person that he doesn't want to miss out on what everyone else is doing. We've gotten multiple texts asking for us to come to the nursery since we started taking him and that often makes me sad because I want them to love him. Sometimes they say he cries because some other baby started crying. Us swaddling him or telling them how he loves music helps, but since we've tried different services he has been around a lot of new faces and isn't used to them yet. Maybe it's also because he'd rather be eating or napping when we take him, but either way I hope we find something that makes it a little easier. 

Sunday, August 9: I finally felt a little tooth poking through his gum! He's been drooling up a storm the past week so it totally makes sense. He hasn't been too fussy or needy though so that's a plus right?!

August 10-16: It seemed like a busy week. Jeremy was pretty busy with work again since it was the first week with students. During the days while I was at PCA, L got to hang out, play, swim, and go to the park/see a waterfall with Mam-ma and CiCi. On my birthday, I asked him if he wanted to go to the park and walk or go out in the neighborhood, and I promise you what came out of his mouth truly sounded like the word "park" so off we went to the park. That day we even go to see family race in Pam-pa's new zorbe track (kind of like a blown up, person-sized hamster ball) and went to Menchies to celebrate with some froyo. We went to the Bone's house to play on Friday. We played with Emmy a while as Hudson slept. We even we to Miriam's house to help set up for the boy's birthday party and he played with Jolly, their kitten, more than he played with Patton! They batted at his finger puppet and chased balloons around the living room and seemed to enjoy each other's company. The birthday party carnival was a hit. Of all the games the duck pond seemed to be a favorite (pool+water+rubber ducks=lots of fun.... until he tired to climb in!).

August 17-25: A few days he was so exhausted from playing so hard that he cried during his entire bath and he LOVES bath time. It made me so sad to see him cry so much that it made me question whether or not he was okay. He's all over the place these days. He's cruising around, pulling up on everything he can find and he climbs on and over everything. During Bible study one day Kellie said, "This is exhausting" as she followed him around. Each day is an adventure because if there is something or someone on which he can climb, he will do it. One day he got inside of his block tub/table and then got onto the couch. Another day he tried to walk up me and then had his foot down my shirt and then grabbed the fireplace tools and knocked them over. Due to his sense of adventure and no fear there are times he does end up with scratches and bumps on his head from hitting his head on the bookshelf while pulling up or from pulling things over on him. We've never had anything serious though, just a few dings. Some days I think he honestly thinks he's a dog. His tongue is always hanging out, he pants like Maverick, splashes in his water bowl, but now he finds enjoyment in laying on Maverick's bed. Maverick doesn't mind him rolling around on him or anything though which is a blessing. We've had two good weeks in the nursery at church too, so maybe we are turning over a new leaf. He cried when we dropped him off but then he was fine. We are taking a class for the next few months at the church on Wednesday nights so I hope he will be good for that time too. It's during his bedtime so we will see how he does with staying up late. Much of our free time is spent preparing for the big birthday party. After naps we rush here and there collecting supplies for the daily craft. Everything's coming together quite well and I feel less stressed than I did previously. Wednesday's have been our day to go to the park or go on a run recently too. We make ourselves get up and get going on those days and are a little lazier on our Friday mornings (as I'm working Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday from 9-3 at Jeremy's school). We've loved getting texts, videos, and pictures during the day while we are swamped with tech stuff. Jeremy has been so busy with school lately that he's missed some evenings with us, but we are thankful for FaceTime and our Dropcam that allows him to see and talk to L during our night routines. We have a good schedule each day. He gets up around 7:45-8, eats, plays, goes down for a nap around 10, wakes up and eats, plays, goes back down around 2 or 3, wakes up, eats a snack, plays, eats dinner around 5:30, plays a little, takes a bath, and then goes to bed around 7. It's not set in stone because we do stay busy, however we do know he gets pretty ill if he doesn't have two naps these days. There are times where he will flop his feet around as he pitches a fit if he wants something because he's so tired. Other times he just does a little grunt over and over to let us know what he wants. I forgot to say this earlier, but he is clapping lots now and can say "ball" (anything round- and he will throw it),"book" (sounds a lot like ball though), "mum", "da-da", "pam-pa", "uh-huh", "bye", and something that sounds just like "I love you". I'm still convinced those were his first words. He still loves bananas and other fruit. He'd also rather drink from a grown up cup than a sippy cup. Nothing's changed about him being a people person either which is going to continue to be interesting. He loves being outside but doesn't really like the grass. He loves his little finger puppets and stacking toys and gets so excited when he sees them. He'd be fine without toys too because he loves chords, cables, chargers, earbuds, Maverick's hair clumps and door stoppers. Phew... I can't believe he's 11 months old. Time flies (also the theme of the b-day party).

Month 9-10

DEVELOPMENT/PLAY/ADVENTURES
We had his 9 month appointment and he's right on target developmentally. The only thing he isn't doing is drinking from a sippy cup and that's my fault because I haven't even given him one. Oh well. He getting better and better at crawling since he started right before he turned 9 months. I didn't think he would crawl at all because he's always insisting to stand up but he proved me wrong! However, it doesn't get better than this...Maverick isn't allowed on the carpet, only hardwoods and tile. Right when L learned to crawl he would stay on the carpet and wouldn't go on the hardwoods or tile. They are too funny characters. Maverick has always inched his paws onto the carpet and stops (most of the time). Lincoln would place his hands on the hardwood and tile and stop. He didn't like the texture and it hurts his knees. Although he has become a little more brave as the month has gone on. He will follow us around the house now and it's cute to hear him coming. I think our little trip to Jekyll the first week of July helped. While there he saw Hudson (11 months) crawling everywhere/pulling up on everything/took a few steps so I think that encouraged him a little. Although L is a little timid around other babies (he didn't seem to care when Hudson tried to tackle him) he doesn't mind climbing all over us. He is certainly his daddy's son because he is enthralled with gadgets. He seems to find every chord around (and he just wants to shake it in the air). 

Since he's on the move now, we definitely have a different mindset. Quiet used to mean he was asleep or just content. Now, it could mean he's into something. He's curious but hasn't done anything crazy yet. One day he got stuck between the diaper pail, wall, and dresser and started whining. All he had to do was back up but when he looked to his right or left to start backing up he would hit his head on the diaper pail or wall. Another day he crawled between the chair and his toys, then he decided to sprawl out behind/under the edge of the chair. That same day he pulled up on his toy basket and fell over onto the side of the bookshelf and had his arm between the basket and the bookshelf. Bath time also provides some adventures for him as he throws the turtle toy out of the tub, leans over to get it and gets his arm caught between the baby tub and the tub. His little whine is always his way to let me know he's done something crazy! He loves to look at the bottom of the ottoman too where the screws are located on the metal leg. Although he's never gotten anything caught, he does like to push the ottoman forward so he can get a better look at the base of it. 

He definitely knows what he wants too. He had a Lego that he was tapping on the hearth and the block got away from him. This did not make him happy because it rolled out of his reach. In order to get it he kept trying to throw his leg up to help him climb up on the hearth. Finally, he got up there and got his block but he was right on the edge so I made sure to be close by. Not but a few seconds after I stopped recording him climbing he started to go off the edge but I was there to catch him. Climbing is a favorite. He loves to climb on people and loves it even more when I make him do a flip! He even loves to scoot close to the edge of the bed because he is fearless! Stepping up on the bumper pad on the crib is becoming fun for him too. Can I say, "Time to lower the bed?!" He is a HOOT!

When trying to put him down he will stiffen up his legs so that he stands up instead of sitting. He will then start "walking" while you hold his arms. He loves to go fast though and it's more like running. When he learns to walk without a hand for assistance, I'm sure he will from from the beginning! 

Our little curious boy never stops. Every time I make a tower with his shape blocks he knocks it over within 5 seconds. He's getting really good at throwing a ball and will throw it with either hand. I have been counting to see if he will release it on the count of 3 and sometimes he will. He moves his hand back and forth and then lets go. It's quite impressive. Not only does he play ball with me but he loves to throw it and then crawl to it and throw it again. A while back Cindy did a fake cough around him and now he seems to do that more and more to get people to laugh. He will wave at anything and everything to see if it will wave back. He loves to see the reactions of people when he waves too because he just beams with joy. One night he tickled my foot. I don't know if it was on purpose or what but I jumped and he found it to be the funniest thing all day. He laughed for a solid 3 minutes about tickling me. We've been to the pool a lot so he's been practicing his swimming skills. I haven't had him kick as much as he used to, instead now he's getting really good with moving his arms. There are days he's not as happy when he gets in the pool because he's tired or because he wants to be held and swim, but other days he shows his love for the water.

Since we've been at the pool lots, he's had lots of time with his cousins and the animals in the pool. We've seen quite a few frogs and grasshoppers and L has taken to loving such things. One day Micah held a frog so L could pet it. I had to get Miriam to hold him because I was afraid the frog would jump on me. I didn't want him to be afraid of frogs but I surely didn't want the frog on me! Miriam let him hold and pet it so I'm glad she was there to help out! While I'm on the subject of animals, a grasshopper jumped right in front of us one day while we were swimming. I jumped back which scared L. I wanted to make sure he wasn't scared so we went up to it again. Even though I can't stand things like this since I was in 3rd grade (pet chameleon escaped in our house), I want to make sure L doesn't get my fear. He ended up grabbing the grasshopper and enjoyed holding it. Later it even hopped on his float and rode around with him before he grabbed it again!

My favorite story from the month is when he pulled the baby monitor off his crib. He always looked at it there but when he was able to reach it, he went for it. I sent Jeremy a text on day telling him to watch it. The scene looked like it came from a horror film. He pulled the camera down and had his face in it. Then you see a big hand and then the face of his monkey! It was wild! 

FOOD:
Here are some more firsts with food.... I know. I know. I said I wouldn't do this anymore but these are some fun stories.

July 5: I was at my parent's house for lunch and I turned around for a second. When I looked back at my mom who was holding Lincoln, there was something different. He was eating watermelon. He loved it, but by love I mean he loved to suck out the juice/water and then spit out the rest. I don't think he swallowed much of it at all instead he became like a hamster/chipmunk. We wouldn't hear him at all but his cheeks had little pieces of watermelon in them. Right now we are on a little non-diet experiment where we give him food all the time. Bad mom? Sure. You can call me that if you want, but we are just trying to get some weight on this boy. He's still little and so maybe eating constantly (I assure you it's within reason) will help him get some meat on his bones or maybe one roll before he's grown. Our pediatrician went to a conference recently and said there's new research out about food allergies, especially peanut butter. She said it's actually okay to give it to babies earlier than they thought, so guess what?! My mom decided to give him peanut butter too. He liked it. Jeremy likes to make his own peanut butter so I'm sure that will be done soon which is probably better than the kind she gave him. Side note: I'm a peanut butter snob because I ate peanut butter sandwiches (no jelly) for 5+ years for my lunch and I do not like Peter Pan. I am a Creamy Jiff kind of girl, but now I'm okay with the All Natural Jiff. Either way, she gave him Peter Pan and he didn't refuse it. Instead he kept licking her finger! L isn't like other babies who constantly have things in their mouths. He'd rather play with his feet. Due to this, we may have come to a tough stage because he doesn't want things with texture, namely food, in his mouth. He loves his pacifier, but he acts as if he will gag if we give him anything but pureed food/rice cereal or milk. He acted as if he would die when we gave him a Puff. Oh, he makes the biggest deal about things (and I hate to say that's a trait of mine)!

July 6: Since we had the fun food test yesterday, we kept watching for any signs of allergic reactions today. However, that didn't keep Jeremy from giving him something. We ate at Costco and Jeremy gave him a little sliver of his BBQ from his sandwich. L didn't make a scene and he didn't spit it out either!

July 7: My mom gave him a little more watermelon after we swam but little did we know that he was packing it away again. On my way home, I heard him cough a little bit. When I got him out of the car the little piece of watermelon was sitting on his onesie. Phew.

July 9: He's always made it seem like he's dying when I give him anything green (green beans, peas, asparagus) so most of the time he eats these on a spoon with rice cereal. He's already picky and wants those warm too! To add to the drama, tonight I gave him a little chicken/rice jar with his veggies. We haven't done any other meat other than that piece of BBQ so you can imagine the fun. He finally ate a little of it if it was warm, mixed with veggies and rice cereal. Since he didn't LOVE those things, I decided to give him some fruit. Jeremy picked up some baby food with pieces in it so we could try them out. I picked out the one with apples and blueberries thinking he would like it. It was as if I was making him eat the worst thing in the world. He gagged. He acted like he was going to throw up. He shook his head. He shivered (that's usually his thing when he eats veggies). He coughed. It was just like what he has been eating for breakfast but with tiny bits in it and it made him go crazy! He is a mess and was a mess after this meal! We may go "normal" tomorrow, if I can even remember what that is.

At the end of the month he was good with all kinds of food with bits. He likes bananas and guacamole too. 

I can't imagine going back to school. I'm thankful for the opportunity to stay home with him right now. 

Month 8-9

                   
Wednesday, May 27: School's out for summer! The official last day was the 21st, but due to planning days this was the first official day. For the foreseeable future, L will have his mum home with him. That's right, his mum didn't sign her contract this year. We started the summer off with a bang. L decided he would fight taking a nap all morning, but finally went down and slept for 2 hours. Then he fought it the rest of the day but crashed hard around 7. He's in a good bedtime routine now. We will have to work on his morning routine now since he doesn't have to wake up so early. He's still a great sleeper (11-12 hours), but there are nights where he cries out because he lost his pacifier.

Thursday, May 28: L had a weight check. He's up to 14 pounds 2 1/2 ounces. He's still growing on his own little curve. Now that's he's eating more solids we are thinking he might start growing even more. The pediatrician said he seems like he's getting enough food during the day after I told her how much he eats during the day.

Friday, May 29: We went to the pool again. L played in his exersaucer a while before getting in the pool. The water is still a little chilly because of the rain. However, Mam-ma got a baby pool so we got in it and played a little. We can't wait until the water gets a little warmer so we can splash around a little more. We celebrated Jeremy's birthday with his family that night for dinner.

Saturday, May 30: L got the hang of waving. He waved at things all day. He's waved a few times before but today he really mastered it!

Sunday, May 31: Micah got a kitty and L loved it. He even tried to pick it up by grabbing her ear and back. She didn't make a sound!

Tuesday, June 2: Family swim- First time on a big moonwalk slide.

Wednesday, June 3: First time eating fruit-pears. Play date with Hudson.

Thursday, June 4: First time eating bananas.

June 6-13: We had so much fun on our beach trip to Indian Pass/ Cape San Blas with the McIver/Morris/McBryar family. Here are some of the highlights for L: first time walking in the sand and water (he loves it-unlike his daddy); first time eating peaches and sweet potatoes (I'm no longer recording the first foods thing!); first time pulling up on people/climbing around; rocks back and forth on his hands and knees and is close to crawling; he's getting good at scooting and trying to lift himself up by his hands when he's sitting down; he loves waving at everything and everyone; he loves to smile for the camera; Jonathan and Kristi's dog brought a toy to him so he could throw it but L didn't throw it for the dog (I then decided I needed to teach him to throw!); we went out to eat one night and he sat in his carseat so quietly the whole time; swam in the pool

Sunday, June 14: We practiced throwing a ball today and he got pretty good.

Monday, June 15: We went to the park and helped out with the group run for the cross country team (we made sure no one was left behind)! We went to the pool (Jana, Caleb, Miriam, and Patton joined us). That evening we went to the park and took some pictures.

Tuesday, June 16: Family swim

Wednesday, June 17: We practiced crawling and he is making progress. He knows rolling and lunging towards something will help him reach it! He mostly rolls or stretches himself out to get things though.

Thursday, June 18: We went to Bible study in the morning and he was playing with some toys, one of which was an activity board with all kinds of switches and locks. I thought about the board being propped up but didn't think he would pull it over.... well he did. While pulling on one of the handles, the board came tumbling down on him but he still didn't let go! He cried and had a little mark on his knee from where it fell on top of him. The craziest thing though was that he went to sleep in my arms during Bible study (with other people around)!!!!! After Bible study we went to lunch and then took a nap before going to meet the Dillard's at Menchies. Then our little night owl stayed out two hours past his bedtime (His bad parents made him go to trivia). WHAT A DAY!

Friday, June 19: First time seeing and petting Mam-ma's new donkeys; first time seeing cows up close; first time picking blueberries and riding the gator on the farm; went to dinner with the Robinsons and L showed off his new trick of bending his tongue into a cool shape (It's not where you roll your tongue. Instead it's kind of like a U but it's flat on the bottom and it and it goes from the front of the mouth to the back). Oh he makes us laugh.

Sunday, June 21: First time celebrating Father's Day (O'Charley's and pool/cookout); got his daddy a picture frame and put pictures of him in his Batman costume holding the letters D-A-D and an Amazon giftcard. He also wore a shirt that said "I'm your Father's Day present. Mum says you're welcome."

Monday, June 22: He's making weird motions with his tongue where he keeps sticking it out; he may be teething and feel something weird on his bottom gums but I can't feel anything yet. He got even better at throwing a ball today.

Tuesday, June 23: We went to the pool for family swim; he's been taking extra long afternoon naps the past two weeks and must be growing! I've been wondering if his exhaustion is why he's been a little whiny the past week and a half. He hasn't LOVED being at the pool lately which makes me sad. Although he practices his kicking and skills he learned in his swimming class, most of the time he just wants me to hold him. Is it an age thing or not I don't know, but we already know he doesn't like missing out on things so who knows how long he will be attached to my hip. Don't get me wrong I love him and would snuggle with him all day long, but I don't want him to stop being okay going to others. He's such a happy, smiley baby and I am afraid that will stop.

Wednesday, June 24: The eve before L's 9 month birthday, he decided to crawl! I've been practicing with him for a few weeks now. At the beach he would get up on his hands and knees and rock back and forth, but then he would flip over or hop to get whatever I put in front of him. Then when we got home we worked for a week and a half on reaching to get a toy. He would get really close, but made up his own little frog hop crawl. He would get on his hands and knees and act like he was about to crawl. He would move one knee and then lunge forward and spread out. If he couldn't reach the toy then he would get back up on his hands and knees and do it all over again. He would add in a roll too here and there. It was hilarious. I recorded the progression of it all because I knew he would be crawling soon and we would forget how he learned. At one point today he was playing in his room and I went to our bedroom. He's been really needy lately and wants me to be with him/holding him at all times. Well I was thankful for a minute to breathe and so I was doing some household chores and then heard him cry out. I went toward his room and heard his voice louder than I should... he was all the way to the door near the hallway. I knew he might have crawled, but I didn't know if it was a mix between the roll/lunge/hop/scoot or actually a crawl. Later on I saw him inch forward a little but then he decided to roll over. While running his bath, I had him laying on the bedroom floor but then I went out to get him and he was almost all the way across the room and was coming to the bathroom! Jeremy got home a few minutes later and so I told him L needed to show him something. I pulled out my phone and started recording it and off he went. Watch out world/house we have a crawler! Gone are the days of laying him on the bed. Gone are the days of leaving doors open. Hello days of following him everywhere. Hello days of baby-proofing (with pillows and getting rid of furniture).

Month 7-8

Please forgive me for the short and sweet summary of the month. It was a CRAZY month at school. I will be better next month!

May 1: First time eating peas.... He didn't like them AT all!

May 7: L and I took a trip to Costco to get a few things for a wedding shower. On the way home, I heard a little grunting and put my car in park at a red light to give him the pacifier. A few minutes later the noise stopped and I just smelled something stinky! When I got home he was asleep so I let him sleep in his carseat in his room for a little bit. He woke up crying, but as I picked him up I felt something wet on my arm. I looked down and saw the poop coming out of the diaper and on my arm so I did what any person would do. ha... I held him away from my body and went to the laundry room to the sink. I sat him there and I took off his clothes. I got a few wipes and tried to get him clean but then decided it would be best to just give him a bath. I didn't want to get his little tub dirty so I just turned on the faucet but quickly realized one important part of the plan was missing: The washcloth. Yet again, I did what every person would do (riiiiight).... I used my hand to make sure all of it was off instead of picking the wet boy up and taking him to the drawer to get a washcloth. After he was clean and clothed I kept trying to figure out why the smell was still lingering and soon realized the carseat had some goodies in it as well. I then got to clean the carseat and the smell finally went away.

May 9: L's first time at a 5k to support Mum. 

May 10: First Mother's Day as a mother. He gave me a sweet card and a big picture frame with a collage of all my favorite pictures of him. We also had baby dedication at church that night. Many family members came and then some of us went to dinner afterwards. 

May 12: First time eating carrots... Mam-ma fed them to him. At first he didn't know what to think about them. She alternated the rice cereal and the carrots, but then by the end of the day he was just eating the carrots and he liked these much better than the peas.

May 14: First time eating squash... Miriam fed them to him. He gobbled them down.

May 11 and 14: Daddy had events at Grace and Mum had a concert and awards program at school so Grandpa Gary came over. The first time, he took L to visit some friends but they weren't home. The second evening they played and walked around outside.

May 15: First time eating green beans...Ci-Ci fed them to him. He gagged a few times but then he was good.

May 20 and 21: L got to go over to Daphne's for part of the day because Miriam had to go to Micah's school for an awards program and end of the year party. Since he wouldn't like to sit through all that stuff, Daphne agreed to take him for a little bit. On the first day Miriam dropped him off and made a comment about how much fun he would have and he said, "uh uh." The next day it happened again. Daphne asked him something about staying there and he said, "uh uh." Even though he made noises to sound like he wasn't happy about being there, he had lots of fun. The first day Reece was there too, so he had lots of friends with which to play!

May 20: We went out on a date for our anniversary and cousin Tiffany came over to watch and play with L.

May 22: Ci-Ci had a friend in town and couldn't keep L during the day so Mam-Ma volunteered instead. However, she had an appointment during the day so Pam-pa came over to keep him for a little bit. This was his first time keeping L. He got to play with him, feed him, change his diaper, and put him down for a nap!

May 23: First time running at the park with Mum. We met the cross country kids there and were the sweepers to make sure no one got left behind. He also got to go to his first graduation party (at the Kindig's house). Scott met me at the door and immediately took him from me! That night we went to P.F. Changs with Kellie and J.P. and L got to sit in a booster seat for the first time. He kept twisting around but he did great! This was his second trip to the restaurant but his first time outside of his carseat. I even gave him a crayon to see if he would draw on the kids menu- no such luck though. At the end of the meal the waiter brought a fortune cookie for L and said, "I couldn't tell how old he was." No teeth yet.... so that means no fortune cookie or proverb for him this time. We were out until around 9 though and was amazing! He loves being in public. When most people keep their tired or whiny child away from public places, we don't shy away because he loves to look around.

May 25: First Memorial Day parade and other festivities with the family. He loved the parade and even made it into the background of a picture in the newspaper. He got to go to Sonny's for the first time, since that is another tradition. Then he got to go swimming in the newly opened pool at Mam-ma and Pam-pa's house. He wasn't too thrilled with the chilly water though. The excitement of the day caused him to be awake most of the day with a 10 minute cat nap here and there. 

Month 6-7

Sunday, March 29: We've finally mastered sitting up!

Monday, March 30: We went and saw Uncle Curtis and Aunt Hilda. Uncle Curtis isn't doing well and they said he may not live much longer. L was so sweet the whole time and made Aunt Hilda smile.

Friday, April 3-10: Jeremy had spring break and got to have some fun time with L.

Friday, April 3: We had to go to the funeral home after school for Uncle Curtis' viewing while CiCi kept L. Once we got back, we picked up L, CiCi and Jeff and went to dinner to celebrate CiCi's birthday. It was a late night for all of us.

Saturday, April 4: Jeremy went to the funeral and we stayed home to rest, but went to see the rest of the family for the meal afterwards. L brightened people's moods with his smile.

Sunday, April 5: We celebrated L's first Easter. Lincoln got a little stuffed bunny and a book about the Easter story from Grandmother Margie. We went up to Banks County for a family lunch and egg hunt too. We collected 37 eggs in the cool Easter basket Aunt Miriam gave us. 

April 6-9: We took an introduction to the water at Swim Atlanta. I was both excited and nervous before doing the class because it was something new. We looked into lots of different classes since we wanted him to still remember what it was like to be in the womb. After looking at the calendar we decided to go with this one. Six months is the youngest age they take so we jumped on it and got the last spot in the class of five. Only one parent could be in the water each day. I had a meeting Tuesday so I had to pass ally knowledge onto Jeremy do he could do it. We loved every moment of the class though. Since we jumped on the opportunity early, L was the youngest one (the next youngest was 14 months). Coach Patricia guided us through different activities and would take the little ones who were crying. One activity was where we had a rubber duck and we had toss it out in front of us. I could only move closer to the duck with L kicked his legs or moved his arms. We sang "The Wheels on the Bus" and had different motions do go along with the various parts of the song. L's favorite part was the "swish, swish, swish" part where I moved him from side to side in the water. We also recited "Humpty Dumpty" as the kids sat on the wall. When we got to the part "had a great fall" the kids leaned forward and fell into the pool. We caught them and let them dunk their face in the water. Another activity was where they held onto a rail in the pool and then they kicked off the wall and floated on their back to the other side. Once they got to the other side they flipped over and kicked their way back. One of L's least favorite activities was floating around on the boogie board and practicing kicking. He didn't like this because he had to be on his stomach, which is his least favorite place.

Saturday, April 11: We planned a date tonight because wanted to go see the movie Cinderella. Mam-ma kept L while we ate at the Cheesecake Factory and watched the movie.

April 13-17: My spring break. We made a week of all the fun.

Monday, April 13: We had to move our 6th month appointment due to one of our swim classes so I took him over my spring break. He weighed in at 12 pounds 13 ounces and is now 26 3/4 inches long. Since he is still very small weight wise our pediatrician suggested that we test him for a few things. First they attached a little urine bag to him for a while to check his iron levels. Then the nurse put a little tourniquet on his arm to see which arm had the easiest access to a vein so she could take some blood. An office lady held his feet while I held his arms. The nurse then poked him with a needle and he SCREAMED!!!!! She took two little viles of blood. This was by far the worst thing I've had to sit through since having him. He was so upset. I didn't cry while she did it but I just wanted to grab him up. When she was finished, she said I could pick him up and love on him. He was so sad. After that we waited a while longer and then he got his normal shots (one in both legs and the oral). The rest of the evening, he was pitiful.... The results came back from the bloodwork a few days later and everything was normal. YAY!

Tuesday, April 14: We went to the Sandy Creek Nature Center and looked at all the animals as well as enjoyed time and lunch with Jana/Caleb.

Thursday, April 15: We went to the outlets in Dawsonville to meet Katherine and the girls for the first time.

Saturday, April 18: Grandpa Gary asked if we wanted to go on a date, so we took him up on the offer and went out to Tin Lizzy's while he and L had fun playing. He enjoyed spending time with L and even swaddled him with his clothes on!

Saturday, April 25: We went out to celebrate a friend's birthday and so he got to stay with CiCi for the evening. She had lots of fun trying to swaddle him and videoed the whole experience.

Month 5-6

I can't believe my little boy is already 6 months old! Where has time gone?

Fine motor skill development:

*He is a HOOT! I've watched him countless times as he switches his paci from hand to hand and takes it out of his mouth. He can put it back in his mouth too but sometimes he doesn't want to let go! Many times his elbows are straight so his arm is out in front of him as he waves his pacifier around. His wrists don't always rotate either which causes a problem when he has the pacifier close to his mouth.

*He is really good at pulling hair and Jeremy gets excited when the hair is too short to pull! I got my hair cut thinking it would help a little bit, but alas it hasn't. He opens and closes his hand quite a bit and if something is in arms reach, he will go after it and grab it. The grip is excellent though. I ask him to hold things all the time now. We are practicing holding onto his clothes and then dropping them into the dirty clothes basket. 6 months isn't too early to teach someone that right?!

*He loves holding onto his feet more and more as well as pull them up to his mouth. There are times when his little toes go into his mouth too so it's a good thing they are stay clean!

*If his pacifier isn't around, the fist loves to go right into his mouth. One morning Jeremy heard a loud sucking noise from the bathroom and he walked out to see L sucking his thumb on our bed! (March 11) We are trying to discourage the thumb sucking though so have been offering alternatives but somehow the thumb will creep back. Other times he's content with clamping down on his finger, Jeremy's hand or even my shoulder. Source of it all.... teeth?! I'm sure they are coming soon.

*When we are holding him, he always bends over and tries to get down. Where does he think he needs to go? What does he think he's going to do once he's down? I don't know, but he is quite a bender. He can arch his back, strain his neck muscles as if he's trying to do crunches or sit up.

*He's so much more happy now when he's on his stomach. It took many months, but he doesn't cry as often now when he's on it. Instead, he just rolls over so he's on his side or back. At least he has a solution.

Sleep:
He still loves to sleep and takes 2-3 naps during the day, but he still wakes up about once or twice a night and has for about 2 months now. He was doing so well from the time he was born, but it was like a switch was flipped. In our research we found that babies transition into sleeping as an adult would in terms of going through different sleep cycles. This attributes to the 4 month sleep regression some babies experience. All it takes is a paci to help him go back to sleep though so at least it's a simple fix. His naps during the day vary from 30-45 minutes to a good hour or two (sometimes more depending on how much he played or how much time he spent watching everyone else do things).

Adventures in public:

*One night at dinner, two women (older mom and daughter) stopped by our table and talked about how fast babies grow up and how boys are the best. It was super sweet how the just thought he was cute but then they made me sad because I know he's growing up so quickly! 

*Another night at dinner, a man asked if he could throw a ball yet. I laughed and said no. Then he said, "It's never too early."--- he must have been a coach!

*I haven't had the desire to use a bathroom changing table yet, so we've made do with changing him in the car. The biggest challenge yet was changing him in Jeremy's car. When you have a car instead of an SUV, things are a little bit more snug. Let's just say, if you were around us you would have looked at us with eyebrows raised. I had the changing pad in my lap and knew it was going to be a stinky diaper. As I changed him, I held my breath until I couldn't do it any more. Then we rolled down the windows, but it was raining so that didn't last too long. Next, Jeremy rubbed some chapstick on my upper lip (like he did when he dissected the opossum) so I wouldn't have to smell it. It really was like I was dissecting something because that was a messy diaper! He finds things like that humorous though so we can't help but laugh with him. He laughs all the time and half the time I don't even have a clue what's so funny.

Stories from the month:

My students ask me every day after lunch to tell them a story. It awfully hard to tell them a story every day because I don't feel like there are funny or interesting things that happen to us that often. I had lots right when I got back to school because I hadn't seen them. I've told them all the diaper stories and other funny things that have happened. Here are some from this month.

Jeremy loves to toss L in the air. One night he was doing that to get some sweet laughs out of our happy boy but then decided to let L sit on his shoulders. We commented on whether or not we thought he could see over Jeremy's head since he's still so little but I said he could. Right after that we heard a noise that signified spit up... Yep, it was all in Jeremy's hair. When Jeremy pulled L up over his head he got the spit up all over L's pants.

He "held" the hand of my friend's baby and even put his arm around her with a smile on his face. He is just too much.

Firsts:

Tuesday, March 3: first time eating rice cereal (This rice cereal stuff has given us some STINKY diapers where quite a few of us almost threw up)

Thursday, March 5 (5 1/2 months): I picked him up from Miriam's and she told me that her and Micah heard him say his first words. She then told me that Micah had his head in her lap and L was sitting there too. L looked at Micah and said, "I love you!" Miriam and Micah looked at each other and asked if the other heard what he said and they both did! Jeremy and I heard him babble something that sound just like "I love you" too but about a week before this incident and had the same reaction. All for of us will believe these were his first words! 

Monday, March 9: I picked him up from Miriam's and took him back to the school to meet some students who stayed after school as well as see some of the teachers. He stared at a few of the students, which was funny, but what was the best was that he giggled the first time he saw Mr. Padgett! 

Tuesday, March 10: I got a text from my mom that said she heard him say "I love you" when she was changing his diaper.

Wednesday, March 18: Patton's class went on a field trip to the fire station so L got to go too. People said he was so well behaved. There was a video and he sat there and watched it quietly. Miriam told them he's not used to having screen time! 

Month 4-5

Between month 4 and month 5 has been a fun one.

He's definitely hitting some major milestones. We catch him rolling over here and there but since he doesn't really like tummy time. Although I will say it's something he doesn't really mean to do and it's harder to catch since it may only happen once a day and never twice in a row. Most often he will do a stomach to back roll because he doesn't like being on his stomach. When he's on his back he is content so he feels no pressure to roll anywhere! It's been fun to watch the progression of his roll as he perfects it. When he was 3 1/2 months old and rolled it seemed to be by accident. Now you can tell he's trying to get off his stomach! 

This month he has also been noticing things a lot more. Since his head control is so good, he loves to follow people everywhere they go. He actually pays attention to Maverick too and will turn away from the bad breath. Sometimes he will even "pet" Maverick. Maverick seems to want more and more attention from the grandmothers when they stay at the house during the day. He thinks everyone wants his paws in his/her lap and feels as if he needs to be in the action all day! 

Stinky gas fills the room these days but he doesn't have many crying episodes where we have to give him gas drops which is nice progress (even though it stinks). When I say stinky, I mean stinky! It could clear a room! 

This month he has been rubbing his head, holding onto his feet, and clasping his hands together more than ever. He loves his feet and so diaper changes are a little harder because he doesn't want to let go of them! We put a toy on his car seat that you can pull. He's gotten really good at pulling it down and watching it vibrate as it goes back up. When on his back, he even strains as if he's about to sit up. He's pretty strong too and we often hear comments about that. You can see the definition in his legs where his little muscles are, but the muscles continue to get stronger because he loves to stand. Sometimes I will be holding him and he tries to go from the laying down position to the standing up position in one fluid movement while holding onto my hands.

February 6 was national frozen yogurt day so I had to celebrate with free Menchies. I asked Miriam and she said they could join my sidekick and me. A few friends from school went too because we were going to the school play that evening. While standing in line we chatted to pass the time, then one of my friends turned to me and asked me if I knew the girl (a few years old) peering into the carseat. I thought it was just one of the boys but somehow we attracted a little girl from the line (a few families up). She came back time and time again, but the best was when she leaned over and said, "I love this baby!" How many times will I get to experience something like this?

He drools all the time these days too and Jeremy's been the receiver of a face full of drool many times as he holds Lincoln above his head. It's hilarious, but I'm currently waiting for the drool or even spit up to land in Jeremy's mouth! Gross! It's gotten on his lips before but not quite in his mouth yet. We've both been spit up on and drooled on lots though. I have to wait to get ready in the morning so as not to ruin my outfit! 

For Valentine's Day/ President's Day weekend (February 13-16), our family went to Saint Simons. I rode down with Momma and Daddy (and Corrine) and Jeremy came later after work. Our sweet boy was so good. He got a little fussy when he was hungry and didn't really want to eat in the car but we made do. Our first night we went to Barbara Jeans. While Miriam was holding him some ladies came by and made comments to their friends like, "he will smile at you if you smile at him!" They were impressed with him being so little but so alert! The next day we headed to the beach even though it was a bit chilly. I carried him and soon realized my mistake so I went back to get the stroller. He did not care for the wind at all!!! I even forgot his pacifier the first time so he showed his dislike for the cold wind fairly quick! Once we put him in the mobile baby fortress (formally known as a stroller), he was fine. During the trip we went to Fort Frederica, the Saint Simons pier, the Sea Turtle center, driftwood beach, and even watched Jeremy climb the lighthouse. He his his first outings in his baby wearing carrier and even fell asleep! He was great out at restaurants which made us proud. We were thankful for the fun family time but made the long trek home Monday and headed straight to the hospital to meet Reece, the new addition to the Dillard family (with a short stop in Milledgeville to eat lunch at Josh Cade's work). Although we had to trade off seeing Reece because babies weren't allowed in the room, he did get to meet her a few days later. One day Jeremy was taking some pictures of here and he did NOT like it at all and just looked at him with confusion as if he were asking, "Why aren't you taking pictures of me?" 

He has such a fun personality. I love to make him laugh, babble, say "ooooo", and smile. I even love hearing the stories from the day from Miriam, Momma, and Cindy because he is so different for every person. At Miriam's, he loves to be held and he doesn't want to play on his play mat or in his bumbo. Momma and Cindy say he loves those things and he even seems to have his own nap routine with each person. My students ask for a Lincoln story everyday after lunch because they love hearing about the funny things that have happened.

The good and bad... He doesn't poop everyday like he used to and so we've had a few big, smelly ones this month! 

He had another weight check this month and was up to 11 lbs 3.5 ounces. He's still itty bitty (below the 2%), but he's growing. We were told that we could even start him on cereal. We had a two week window where he was battling with 4 month sleep regression. He woke up 1-3 times during the night. I'm glad it didn't last very long though. After our trip to the beach he realized waking up all the time wasn't the best idea!

Here are some more pictures from this month. 

 He has a stripe on the back of his head where he lost some of his hair!