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.