Lincoln: 8 months

Well, our little man is on to the next month. We are all having so much fun with him! Changes are happening so quickly!

The biggest news of 8 months is...Lincoln started sleeping though the night!!!!!  It first happened on May 14 and he's been going strong since. I had almost forgotten what full night's sleep felt like. What a difference! Lincoln is also seriously trying to stand up on his own. You can just see the determination on his face as he pulls up to something and then slowly lets go- an experiment of sorts- gravity inevitably takes hold and he falls to his bottom, but he's back up seconds later to try again.  More than once, he has managed to stand for a few seconds- evidence that all that practicing is paying off!

Ayla is still Lincoln's favorite person and toy. (I'm not sure if he can distinguish between the two.) He loves being pushed on the swing by her.

And adores playing games with her.  Ayla was putting the ball on his feet and Lincoln would try to kick it away.  He just couldn't get enough...

...that is, until she started to almost lay on the ball. Then he got angry. Their playing can very quickly go from smiles to tears and Ayla is trying to remember that Linc is still a baby and can't play as rough as her. I now see why second children are tougher- they have no choice!

This was another game Ayla invented. She would hide in the laundry basket and Lincoln would look for her, at which point she'd pop out and yell "surprise!"

Without a doubt, their favorite time together is in the bathtub. We just started bathing them together now that Lincoln has had enough practice sitting up. They would stay in until the water turned ice cold if I let them. And wow is there splashing! Ayla knows better than to splash too much, but Lincoln thinks it is the best game since peek-a-boo. He smacks his hands in the water until his face is dripping (then looks at me- also covered in water- and blinks his eyes as if to say 'what happend? why is my face all wet?') Then he blinks away the water and goes right back to splashing.

Lincoln has also started to pick up his own food. We have only done baby puffs, toast, and cheese at this point, but he loves trying to stuff them in his mouth. About 30% of the food actually makes it to its destination.

When he's not trying to feed himself, he is extremely impatient waiting for food. If he is sitting in the high chair he wants to be eating. If food is not headed for his mouth, expect some very frustrated cries. Eating is no joke to this kid. I need to make him a shirt that says "I want food, and I want it now!" It's kinda his mantra.

Strike that, I should make two shirts.  The second one would read "Sitting still = Not an option". Changing Lincoln's diaper is like waging an all out war. You better bring the big guns, because he is not going to sit still for you. In fact, he is going to be agitated upset annoyed mad FURIOUS if you try to do one of the following:
1. change a wet diaper
2. change a dirty diaper
3. take off dirty clothes
4. put on clean clothes
5. put on lotion
6. hold him when he sees something fun to play with
7. anything else that requires he sits/lays still for more than 1.5 seconds
When I get over my own frustration of trying to complete one of the above tasks, it is actually funny to see. He is going to be one very active little boy.

Lincoln: 7 months

He's off and on the move! Lincoln started crawling almost as soon as he turned seven months. He began with the army crawl and favored it for several weeks. Let me tell you, this photo session was VERY difficult. He did not want to sit still- not for a more than a few seconds. So the majority of what I took looked like those pictures you see of New York, with the cars whizzing by.  You could tell it was a baby, but the details were just a blur of movement. We resorted to holding plastic forks...

...and hats

...and just plain holding onto Lincoln.

(*note* I realized way later that I forgot the 'u' in the word squash on the chalkboard)
The last few days before he turned 8 months he tried his hand at the traditional type crawl (although he still goes back and forth between the two.)

This was his first time crawling outside, and he was not a fan of the grass on his feet.

Linc has also really turned up the babbling dial.  He's saying "yaya, mama, baba" and lots of garbled up sounds in between. When I go in his room for our middle of the night feeding (yes, he's still not sleeping throught the night) he often says "mama" and gives me a soft pat on my back...maybe it is his way of saying 'I'm sorry for waking you up'.
When he is snoozing- he chooses to sleep on his stomach- something that Ayla never did (and still doesn't do) Ayla must take after Daddy, and Lincoln after me in that department.

When he's awake... well let's just say he. is. into. everything. Especially if it involves Ayla.  Most of the time she doesn't mind sharing her space and toys...

...but there has been more than one occasion of tears from a certain someone when her little brother touches her things/ knocks down her block tower/ tears her drawing/ tries to eat her snack/ or pulls her hair. A girl can only take so much, right?
The rest of the time, she is hugging him, bringing him toys, finding his paci, showing him books, or tickling his little tummy. It's a pretty amazing thing to see. And he loves it most of the time.

But it can get to this in a hurry. Lincoln wants to get away, and Ayla wants to keep holding on.

Part of this seventh month went very fast, but one part seemed to take forever.  Both Lincoln and Ayla had the most drawn out, longest cold I've ever witnessed.  In fact, it is still going now.  Just when one would seem to be on the mend, the other would get sick.  We must have had at least 4 different strains in our house because from beginning to end it's been about 2 months of runny noses, coughing and sneezing.  I started to think maybe they had allergies, but then Jeff and I both had a run in with it. We went to the park one beautiful Sunday afternoon and even though he wasn't feeling good, he still took everything in with a smile on his face!

Watching Daddy play volleyball.

Ayla spent her time playing in the sand with her friend Raven.

As we head into the eighth month, I have a feeling this little boy will start practicing standing on his own very soon. He pulled up for the first time right before eight months and he is one determined guy. Lincoln is also eating a ton! Between feedings, he downs four meals a day, plus the occasional snack... He needs fuel for all the energy he's burning as he explores the house and everything in it.

Where is Lincoln?

There he is!

I've been keeping a list of the nicknames Ayla comes up for Lincoln. So far she likes calling him..

Lincaroo
Linky-Lou
Mr. Wiggle Worm
Linky
Bud-Bud
My brother (If someone holds Lincoln, she makes sure to tell them "that is my brother and you can't take him home.)

Speaking of Ayla, here's a sweet picture of my lovely assistant.

 If only I could get Lincoln to sit so pretty- hat and all.

 

Lincoln: 6 months

Half a year already! Our little baby boy is growing so fast that is sometimes brings tears to my eyes.  I would almost have to take a picture every day to document all the changes.

Lincoln loves anything Ayla is doing. When she is playing with a toy, he wants it. If she is watching something he wants to see it. In the picture above she is sitting right next to him. See how he is just gazing at her with a giant smile on his face? Ayla was my helper during this photo session.  She was the only thing that kept him happy. (He had a cold and was in the mood to cuddle.)  She also tried to keep him from wiggling away as I snapped a picture.

This month Lincoln has gone from laying to sitting on his own.

 That transitioned into some serious baby push ups (with better form than I could muster).

Then a few days later he started getting up on his knees and rocking back and forth. I almost expected to look over and see him crawling across the floor hours later, but alas, we have more time.

Another major change Lincoln has gone through involves his eating.  Last month he fell in love with food.  He couldn't get enough cereal, carrots and sweet potatoes.

Then a switch flipped and he started fake coughing when I'd feed him.  I had no idea babies could fake anything. Where was that little detail in the baby books I read?  As soon as food hits his mouth he sticks out his tongue and makes this weak coughing sound.  When that doesn't work and he sees another spoon full of food coming at him, this kid closes his lips and just looks at me.  The message is clear- "I do not want that stuff." Oh, sure, I've tried to make him laugh in hopes of slipping a little food into his open mouth.  He has even learned to smile and laugh with his lips firmly.planted. shut. (update* before I had a chance to publish this, Lincoln decided to change his mind about eating. He now enjoys most of what I give him, but will still "cough" with avocados and peas.)  However, he is apparently NOT picky when it comes to trying to eat the camera....

 

Lincoln might be even more stubborn than Ayla.  And she is very stubborn. I have only myself to blame.  Jeff doesn't have a stubborn bone in his body.  Me? I think all of my 206 bones are stubborn. (I did a little research for that tidbit of information.) I love seeing his personality really start to take shape.  Ayla likes to tell him "Lincoln! You have such a temper!" She's correct. He's a stubborn baby, with a serious temper...but 95% of the time he has a grin on his face.  I'll take that 5% if it means I get to look at this sweet smile the rest of the day.

Lincoln's sleeping habits are still a mystery to me. He takes 3 great naps during the day. Needing little to no help getting to sleep.   Night is a different story. Sometimes he wakes up twice a night, sometimes three times. *sigh* A full night's sleep still eludes us.

6 month stats
Length- 50%
Weight- 10%
Head circumference- 50%

 More 6 month pictures:

Daddy, Lincoln and Ayla playing together. 

Tasting feet!

Enjoying views from the window.

Morning smiles!

Red, Yellow, Blue and Everything In Between

Two days before Easter (while Lincoln was napping), Ayla and I colored our Easter eggs.  She had been excited for this holiday for over a month.  Every few days she would ask me, "How many more days until it's Easter?" After a early egg hunt at a farm with Aunt RheRhe she was even more inspired. I hid eggs for her in the backyard, in the playroom, the kitchen, and her bedroom... many, many times.  When I was busy with Lincoln or cooking dinner and could not hide eggs, Ayla hid them for herself.  When my mom (Netta) came to visit, they took turns hiding eggs- all while wearing bunny ears of course. Needless to say, our little girl was ready to color some REAL eggs! The picture below was taken at the end of February... 32 days before Easter.  Can you guess what is in the bucket? It was our fourth hunt of the day!

This was the first year that Ayla could do most everything by herself.  After changing into her paint shirt, she helped me to measure out the vinegar and water. Then she dropped in the colored tablets, ooohing as they fizzled and filled the bowl with beautiful colors.

Soon we had a complete rainbow.

We tried using a spoon and the little egg dipper that came in the box, but her preferred method was using her fingers.

I let Ayla have complete control over which colors we used, how long to keep them sitting in the dye, and how much glitter went on each egg. Oh, the glitter! It was by far her favorite part, but that glitter got all over everything. I even found it speckled on Lincoln's cheeks. (He had been the honorary 'spoon holder' once he got up from his nap.)

Easter eggs complete! Only a few were harmed/dropped/cracked in the process...we had them for lunch.

That is one happy girl. She knew Easter was only two days away.

And You Can Quote Me (4)

 Ayla has us laughing again with her most recent conversations.  She has really enjoyed telling stories- some lasting over 15 minutes so I try to remember as much as possible. I need to start recording them!

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After having a cold.
Ayla: "Mommy, I feel better!"
Mommy: "Hallelujah!"
Ayla: "Why did you say that?"
Mommy: "Because I'm happy you're feeling better."
Ayla: "What do you say when you're sad? Sad-elujah?"

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After eating goldfish shaped toast for breakfast.
"My left ear hurts a little. I think some of my fish bread got lost and didn't go in my belly. I think it went in my ear and now it's hurting."

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Looking at her hands after a bath.
Ayla: "What are those?"
Mommy: "Those are wrinkles from the water."
Ayla: "Hmm...how should I get these wrinkles off my fingers?"

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Riding a swing
"Whenever I'm in trouble I get sad. But now I'm happy!!! Wheeee!!

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At the park
Ayla: "Why are those two girls laughing?"
Mommy: "I'm not sure."
Ayla: "I think because they love each other."

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Talking about family
"My whole family is very sweet. Like RheRhe and JaJa. But things like monsters are bad and scary. The bad monster store (Halloween) you took me to was very scary, but now we are in a good nice place. (Looks around) I really like this house. It's not scary."

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Telling stories... Lots of stories!

"A little squirrel found a magic wand in a tree. Then he turned Lincoln into a bat!"

"A witch came and took all the beds out of our house.  She tried to fit them on that tree, but nope, it was too tall.  Then she tried to put in on the car, but it was too big, then she tried to fit them on my lap but it was too small. But then, she had an idea! She put the beds back in our house and it was just right. Everything was back to how it was supposed to be! The End."

"My sock is missing. I think two little fairies took it. A boy fairy and a girl fairy. They took the sock and blew it all the way to Jackson's house. Now the sock is sad because it is missing his mommy."

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