Wednesday, March 19, 2014

I have a toddler.

I's official. My little tiny is now a toddler. He is a little man that loves to pull everything out of any drawer or cabinet he can open. His words consist of "dadada", "mumumum", "dawwwww" (dog), "crk cr" (cracker), and "woof". He reaches and says "eh, eh, eh, eh" when we wants something or someone.


He absolutely loves the book, "Brown, bear, brown, bear". He will find that book out of a stack and hand it to us to read to him.


He has this silly, high pitched laugh that is reserved only for when he sees a dog. 


He can point to his nose, ears, and mouth (sometimes) and understands way more than I give him credit for. 



6 month appointment


waiting to meet cousin Wyatt


9 month appointment


first time at an indoor pool was scary.

He took a couple of steps around Christmas, but started walking to people around 13 months and now at nearly 15 months has it mastered.

I was/am not prepared for life with child. There are so many unexpected things that pop up. Some obvious, some silly, and some emotional. Amongst all the normal day to day routines, here are some things that have occurred recently that I didn't I expect:

1. Losing a household item such as keys, makeup remover, makeup brush, etc. and finding myself thinking, "hm, I wonder if Lincoln got a hold of this and if so, where would he put it..." I search the bathtub, all bottom drawers in our house, and small unknown pockets of space in the bottom of the highchair. I find the lost item. It's a new one for me.


2. A Saturday where Grandpa and Grandma Kline took Lincoln for the afternoon and evening. Nic's dad voiced to us that he had no idea what they would do with a toddler that can't yet ride on motorcycles, tractors, hit a ball, or climb a tree. While grandpa wasn't sure what to do, Lincoln knew just what to do, what to play with, how to eat, and run around outside. However, for us, the day left Nic and I paralyzed. A whole day without our little and we, surprisingly, were lost. We missed him. Of course, whenever I am away at work or run an errand while Nic stays home with him, I miss him. But, but this was different, it was a sadness and an emptiness that was uncomfortable. Nic and I were together without him. We talked about doing this and that and kept repeating the phrase, "but we could just do that with Lincoln, he would like that." Lincoln showed grandpa and grandma what to do and left us high and dry.




3. I boarded a plane with just Lincoln a few weeks ago. As a family we had a rough morning, getting 2 of 3 ready for a flight and a 10 day trip. Lincoln was not in the best mood and neither was I. I about lost it on the way to the airport. This is crazy, I thought, no way is this going to be good. The 3 of us waited together at the airport for my delayed flight and then came the moment of separation. Unexpectedly hard for me. I fought back tears the whole trip, the friendly and patience security guard noticing my juggling act, the kindness of fellow passengers, the nervous and rude passengers that were irritated getting stuck sitting in the back with the kids. All of it made me fight back these unknown tears. Lincoln did amazing for the most part, I was mess. Seeing Nic's text to my family letting them know I was on my way and "the bigger my family gets, the more I have to miss when they leave" made me lose it. That trip I physically felt the prayers, I felt earthly and heavenly love. I knew I was not alone. A flood of unexpected emotion.  

I know there are many more stories to come, probably most of which I won't have the words to describe them.





We are beyond blessed to have this toddler around.











Wednesday, March 12, 2014

here we go again

We found out last November that we are expecting our 2nd child. This is how we feel. :)



Due date is July 12th, and we can't wait to meet this new member of our family. On Feb. 13th, we had our sonogram to find out if baby #2 is a boy or girl. Nic told me in the waiting room that he wanted to wait to find out over a home cooked dinner the following day, Valentines Day.

Our unborn child is a...


We can't wait to meet you and introduce you to your older brother, Lincoln. We pray you two grow to have an amazing relationship, centered on your Creator.

Saturday, March 8, 2014

lincoln turns one!

we celebrated lincoln turning one last december!

we are thankful for so much. this little soul is a sponge and it is a blessing to watch him grow up. motherhood is anything but easy, but it is a joy to have a front row seat to meeting, knowing, and loving this little boy. 

this little just gets more and more active. he is an explorer. here are shots of 10 month old lincoln.






and, 11 month old lincoln. loves loves loves to clap.  





and finally, our 1 year old. 








lincoln working on his balance, thinking about walking...


One wobbly step left.


one twisted step right.


and, boom, hits the ground.


life with lincoln keeps getting better and better. 


Wednesday, March 5, 2014

"A new life blooms" Baby Girl Shower

I am thankful for the gift of new life, both physical and spiritual. This shower was thrown for a dear friend that I learn from constantly. She is full of wisdom and love for people. I love watching her as a new mommy, the way she loves her little girl is beautiful and sacrificial.

I know this shower was ages ago (August), but here are some photos of "A new life blooms" baby shower for her little girl.

The invitations were engineered by husband, Nic. He has an amazing ability to think technically and creatively. We constructed a paper flower onto a piece of card stock. Upon receipt, the paper flower is closed, then you pull the stem and the paper flower opens. This took me back to one of my first memories of Nic, instead of buying me real flowers, he would often make me paper flowers. I learned to inspect the flower carefully as he would always hide a message in the flower (i.e. the stem unraveled into a note or there was a secret message written or taped on the back). Who doesn't need a paper flower in their life?



If this mom to be weren't an amazing business woman or an incredible baker, she'd be a florist. So, of course, no pressure to find beautiful flowers. Luckily, we have an amazing market downtown with just the place for fresh and reasonably priced flowers. I picked those up the morning of and they were scattered throughout. Seeing these photos makes me long for spring time.





We gathered outside, ate, drank, and watched the soon to be mom open up all the wonderful gifts.







Congratulations!!