Sweet November

Ah, sweet November. The month of my birth. I am often disgruntled about being born in November. Although I suppose it is much better then not being born at all. There are no leaves, no sun, no snow. It is usually grey and raining and cold. But, not this year. This year November was full of light and love.

I happened to turn 30 this year. I don't know how the hell that happened...but it did. And my husband and mother, along with some help from my friends, threw me the best surprise party ever!! I did have a feeling something was up...but I didn't realize a party of that magnitude was in store. It was a wonderful time with all of my favorite people. I smiled for a week!!

I am extremely lucky with friends. I have many, many friends and all of them came out to celebrate my special day. I love them all so dearly and couldn't imagine life without them.

And as far as mother's go, I do have the very best. She has been with me threw thick and threw thin and she is one of my absolute best friends!

And my hubby, my rock, my wonderful Fred. I love this man so completely that I can't image growing old with anyone else.

Now, of course I don't have the month of November all to myself. We also celebrated Fred's mother's 70 birthday and his sister Dawn's 50th birthday. And of course there was Lincoln's first Thanksgiving! 

We celebrated Thanksgiving with Fred's family this year (we rotate each year) and Lincoln had a great time snuggling up with his cousin's Richie and Gentry. They absolutely adore him!! I mean, seriously, I've never seen a 6 and 8 year old so excited to hold a baby!

And of course what would a first Thanksgiving be without an adorable Thanksgiving outfit!!!

Halloween

In late September we got together with some friends and did a family photo swap. I am really happy with how our family photos turned out. It is incredible how much Lincoln has changed in 3 1/2 short months. He is holding his head up high and can push up onto his forearms (something I thought he'd take much longer to do). He sits well assisted and is babbling up a storm! He is the light of our lives.

We finally seem to be settling in as a family of three. It was a huge adjustment for us at first, especially when I went back to work. But, we seem to have the hang of it now and life is pretty good.

I read a research article that stated that families with clearly defined roles (aka stay-at-home mom and bread-winner dad) actually have less conflict. Normally I would have balked at the insinuation that this 1950's model of a family breeds less conflict, but after having a baby I can totally understand this.  Everyone's roles in this instance are clearly defined. The mother and father both know what is and is not expected of them. When you both work and both take 50% of the child-rearing responsibility there is going to be times when one parent feels the other is not pulling their weight. Trying to keep everything so balanced is incredibly hard! Not that I would change our way of living for anything...I feel a great desire to work and use my degree to its potential and I want a partner that takes 50% of the child-caring responsibility. But, I do have to nod my head to those who choose a more traditional lifestyle that in some ways it may lend itself to less conflict and more structure and predictability at home.

This Halloween was fun, as it was Lincoln's first but in some ways it was a bit of a bummer too. I was really looking forward to Zoo Boo with our friends and their children but it just didn't work out. We arrived and Lincoln was not in a good mood. Add to that the 40 degree temps and wind and he was just not having it. I was really disappointed but I learned that you can't make a small child cooperate if they are uncomfortable. So, we headed home. I regret not getting at least one photo of him with his little buddies...but it just wasn't in the cards.

However, we did have a ton of fun dressing Linc in various Halloween inspired outfits! Here he is in his skeleton sleeper with his Zombie-killing father :)  They are so cute together...my boys.

Fred wanted transformers on the pumpkin this year and since last year I choose the pattern we went for it. I know next year Lincoln might have his own ideas about what to put on the pumpkin. But one good thing about them being this little is its hard for them to protest about...oh being put inside the pumpkin :)

Halloween itself fell on a weekday this year (I hate that) so we tried to stick to our tradition of visiting Richie and Gentry and the Newmans. Below is Gentry (Gumball Machine) with her friend the cute little pirate wench. 

Richie (Roadkill) absolutely adores Lincoln.

Then we visited the Newmans and Linc got to chill with the littlest Newman, Cain- who also happened to be a pirate. Aren't they soooo adorable together!?!

And of course Miss Emma wanted to hold the baby. I think she adores him too!

And here he is, my little pirate. The cutest damn pirate I ever saw!!!

Lincoln Four Months

My, my how the time flies. Our little, scrawny preemie-sized boy is now a healthy, thriving, smiley four month old. At his four month check up Lincoln was almost 25 inches and a solid 14 pounds which lands him almost exactly in the 50th percentile for height and weight. He's come a long way in four months and we are so thrilled!

So, what is our little man up to? Well he's holding his head solidly on his own (as you can see) except for when he's tired and decides to go for a head butt!!! He is also starting to use his ab muscles a lot and pull himself into a seated position...and then he tumbles sideways (usually while giggling). I have no doubt in a month or two he'll be sitting all on his own. He is starting to grab things (and usually puts whatever he grabs right into his mouth) and he seems to know his name already.

Lincoln is quite the little ham. He is famous for jutting out his lower lip...just to see/hear you go "awwww" and then he cracks a big grin as if to say "gotcha!" He studies people very intently and watches everyones lips as they talk and facial expressions for social ques. His doctor says the way he studies everything is similar to what most 9 month olds do...so he says this is a sign of intelligence. We knew he was smart from the day he was born. And I'm not just saying this because I'm his mom (or maybe I am) but from the second he was born he was so aware and alert and looked curiously at everything. I've seen a lot of newborns and half the time their all swimmy eyes and not really "there." My mom said I was the same way when I was born and the nurses all commented on how alert I was. That's MY boy!!

But its not all roses and puppies. Lincoln still suffers from reflux and is still on meds. Its possible he'll need them for the entire first year or longer. He spits up a lot due to the reflux and fights tooth and nail about taking naps. Generally he cries, screams or fusses for up to a whole hour before finally giving in (or passing out) to take a nap. He usually sleeps 7-8 hours straight at night now (which is good) but some nights its super hard to get him down at all. Its as if he realizes when he's asleep he misses what's going on. He has a temper on him and when he's had it with something he screams a super-sonic scream that makes me want to put his ass in the crib and leave him there lol!. Although I never actually do that. But, I do have to say that most of the time he is pretty pleasant and easy-going.

He ran his first fever last week, which broke my heart, and was up crying every 2 hours. That was brutal. I tell ya, when you get used to them sleeping through the night and all of a sudden they don't- its like a slap in the face back to the newborn days! But, luckily it only lasted one night. He is suffering from an ear infection right now in his right ear and is on his first round of antibiotics- poor guy!!! We will be starting to try to spoon-feed him soon and in a few weeks he'll be on to eating his first solids- squash, sweet potatoes and carrots!!! I bet he is going to LOVE that!

Fall is busy around these parts...

The end of summer through the end of the year is full of birthdays in our families and friend groups. It all starts mid August with my adorable friend Courtney's birthday. She turned 30 this year...exactly 3 months ahead of me on August 15th. Here she is below with her awesome boyfriend. 

 

Next up, we helped celebrate my friend Lori's boyfriend's children's birthdays on the same day we celebrated Fred turning 40....I tell ya, its a busy fall!

Here is my girl Brittani below with Mr. Lincoln. I think she likes him :)

And below is the Birthday Girl Megan with Brits boyfriend Brian and Lincoln.  

Then it was on to Bucca De Beppos for Fred's 40th Birthday celebration with his family. It was a great night and Fred really enjoyed and appreciated everybody coming out. Although I do have to say we were a bit disappointed in the food.

The following day Fred's birthday "weekend" continued with a BBQ at his mother's house where Lincoln got to play with his cousins, Richie and Gentry- he clearly adores them just like we do :)

Next up! Amelie Jo kicks off the October birthday celebrations by turning 4 years old. She is not a fan of having of having her photo taken but I manage to get a few candid shots of this beauty anyway. She is absolutely breath-taking.

And as an extra special surprise one of my favorite people, my cousin Andy, and his wife came into town with their new baby girl- Sophia! Sophia was born only 4 days before Lincoln. I know, once these three get back to town, she and Linc will become fast friends.

Here is Linc and Sophie...getting acquainted :)

This girl has the most beautiful porcelain, fair skin and very light blue eyes and full lips. We do make some good looking kids in our family, I must say :)

We also had to acknowledge our sitter and close friend Nicole's birthday on October 11th...she is so great with Lincoln and has agreed to help us watch him until next July and we couldn't be more grateful. She is such a great friend.

Next up is my friend Brittani's birthday at the end of October- the day before my father's birthday and the start of the November birthday marathon. There are 10 birthdays between November 2nd and December 2nd in our families...so its a busy month! And right before Christmas too...

I am super excited to goo to Zoo Boo at the Detroit Zoo with our friends and to celebrate my upcoming 30th birthday. It is so surreal to be turning 30- but I'm ready for it. I hear that most women love their 30's...I guess I'll have to see...but then again any birthday is certainly better then the alternative!

Lincoln Three Months

Our little man is three months old and life is so incredible now. Watching him grow and learn is my greatest joy these days. And watching his face light up with a smile when he sees me, make my heart melt. He is doing very good considering he got off to a rough start in life. He has grown to the 50th percentile in length and the 25th percentile in weight (when he was born he was in the 5th and 2nd respectively). He is cognitively on-par or a bit advanced. He recognizes people, places and responds to talking with coos and changes in facial expressions. He "talks" on and on sometimes and I know he can't wait to communicate with us. He tracks objects easily and is already anticipating sequences of events and studies everything around him. He is incredibly alert and aware.

He is a little behind in his physical development though - which is not a surprise because he started off small. He is starting to hold his head steady but throws it back every now and then and he can sit up assisted, but not for too long. He does hold some weight on his legs but screams through tummy-time so he is way off from being able to lift his chest off the floor. I think he'll be delayed in sitting unassisted and he may be delayed in crawling and even walking...but from what I hear...that might not be a bad thing :)

His cousin Lorenzo didn't sit unassisted until 7 months and walked around 15 months and is one of the smartest little boys in his pre-school. I'm really trying to just relax about it all. We do everything we are supposed to. We "exercise" him daily and read to him and point out objects and name them. We make different sounds and expose him to different textures. We try to give him tummy time...even making the ground more interesting with a colorful playmat and it just doesn't work. After three minutes of screaming I cave and snuggle him...its so hard for me to let him cry like that. I know some say at one point they need to "cry it out" but I'm just not sure I can do it...especially when he's still so young.

So, we're trying to let him develop as he is and not compare him to other babies. I see parents do this all the time- bragging about why their child is superior to others and making justifications for where they're lacking. Why? All children develop differently and at different rates- so what does it matter? At the end of the day most of them end up walking and talking eventually and doing just fine. We're all ordinary in some ways and extraordinary in others...why isn't it ok for our children to be the same way?

As you can see I went a little crazy on the photos for this milestone. I just couldn't help it and Lincoln was being so cooperative. We got so many adorable shots and of course each "look:" of his makes me laugh so I posted them all!

Our life is certainly very different now then it used to be. We are lucky to get 8 hours of sleep and "couple" time is pretty non-existent during the week...both because of Lincoln and my husbands work schedule. Going out is a lot harder...although we've been lucky to have many baby-sitting offers so I would say we still each individually go out a much as we used to with friends...but a little less as a couple. Our marriage is different. We share a connection and bond through Lincoln that is so special, but there is a downside too. Our attention is definitely more on him then each other and at times that can be hard. We have to make a very great effort now to have time to talk and hold each other and work on our marriage...where as before we had all the time in the world and it was so easy.

The little guy is expensive (at least right now) and that can be hard. He is pretty happy most of the time and started sleeping through the night around 12 weeks. But he hates to nap during the day and spends a lot of the evening screaming before he finally gives up and goes to sleep. His reflux is better but still there and he spits up a lot and ruins my outfit at least two days a week lol!. But I have to say, even with all the hard-ships he is the single greatest thing we have done in our lives. We love him so unconditionally and completely that it is beyond overwhelming. I used to look at other people and their kids and think "aw that's cute" but I didn't really know...you can't until you experience it with your own. Now I look at him in utter amazement and think "we did that." I would do absolutely anything for him and he is our entire world. Its about the best feeling in the world.

And of course we have to see where our lives take us in the next year or so...but at this point I want another baby badly. My husband is a bit more on the fence about it...so we'll wait the appropriate amount of time and make that decision then. But, I can tell you one thing- this feeling I have and the way I feel about myself as a mother- I only want more of it. I mean I would never have more then two kids for many personal reasons...but I'm definitely leaning more towards two then one at this point. We'll see what the future holds :)