9 months

Last Saturday marked 9 months that we've been "experiencing" parenthood, and as you can probably tell from recent pictures our tiny "preemie" is no more. We now have a little boy who is full of smiles, big wet kisses, and lots of energy. It seems like everyday we wake up and Lincoln is learning new things and blowing us away. People have told us, "Just wait, he will be all grown up before you know it!" While we believed everyone, I don't think we ever fully accepted the fact that our little 2lb 14ouncer would actually grow up so fast.

Lincoln (9 months) & his buddy Malachi (4 months)

On our way to a Labor Day pool party

Lincoln & Malachi - Already planning their shenanigans

Playing "roll the ball"

Ummm...Lincoln...

So...tonight when I came home from working with the Jr. High group at church April told me a funny story I thought you might get a laugh out of. Apparently Lincoln is getting a little more mobile, as well as more comfortable at attempting to play with our dog Belle. While Lincoln was playing on his own on a blanket in the living room, April went into the kitchen for something. When she came back into the living room, she saw that Lincoln had managed to move himself off the blanket and April said something she never thought she'd say, "Lincoln don't eat the rug!" Yes, you read that correctly, our soon-to-be 9 month old was laying on the ground trying to eat the corner of our living room rug. Are we not feeding him enough or something?

As I mentioned earlier, Lincoln is also starting to try and play with our 2 year old Boston Terrier. The amazing thing to us is that our dog, Belle, has been completely gentle (well except for the time yesterday when she attempted to jump over him but landed a few inches short :-). If Belle is playing with a dog toy near Lincoln, you can pretty much guarantee that Lincoln will be doing everything possible to grab onto the other end of the toy. In fact, after the whole rug eating "incident" Lincoln also attempted to chew on one of Belle's toys. Trust me, I realize it's totally gross but I don't think we're going to be able to stop the two of them from playing with eachother, especially as Lincoln gets older.

Getting older is also something that we're realizing we're not going to be able to stop him from doing. A few weeks ago we attended a reunion for all of the preemies from the NICU at John Muir Walnut Creek. It was a lot of fun to catch up with our nurses and doctors and to see other babies that were born around the same time as Lincoln...but it just reminded us of how fast he is growing. We're so thankful that God has grown our little boy from the tiny baby he was during his time in the NICU.

Since our last update we also had the chance to spend time with one of my sisters, some nieces, and a nephew who were visiting some relatives in the area. Lincoln had a great time playing with cousins Megan, Molly, and Luke, and Aunt Jodi.

We also had time to hang out in Modesto and play with Grandma and Grandpa (aka April's parents).

It's been quite a busy summer, and Lincoln is growing and changing before our eyes. We are trying to savor every moment. Before we know it we'll be running after Lincoln. "No Lincoln you can't eat that. Leave the dog alone. Wait...where's Lincoln?"

Rock Star

A few days ago we were getting ready to go somewhere and decided to try and give Lincoln his first rockstar hairdo. He doesn't exactly have a ton of hair, but he rocked the faux-hawk for the day and it was worth a few pictures.

Busy times

As I'm sure many of you would agree, this summer is blazing by! April, Lincoln, and I have been extremely busy over the past couple of weeks...but as always we've been having a lot of fun too! To give you a glimpse of what we've been up to recently, here are a few pictures and videos. We hope you are having a great summer and finding ways to spend time with the people who matter most to you.

A quick trip to Sausalito to have dinner with some relatives who were stopping

through California on their way from Colorado to Oregon
April and Lincoln joined me and some high school students for a day trip to Santa Cruz last week. Lincoln experienced the beach and ocean for the first time!

Lincoln sitting in his shade tent...enjoying the ocean view

Lincoln turned eight months old this past week. Thanks to Mommy for the cool cake:-)
Lincoln learned to sit up on his own. He also got another visit from a nurse who keeps an eye on his developmental progress. Lincoln is doing great and is in the 50th percentile (on the preemie height/weight chart) in all categories. He's even ahead in some developmental and social areas! He is catching up quick!

We've learned that Lincoln is a very social little boy. He refuses to miss out on the action and loves it when we have people over to our house. This past Friday night he wanted to help me play cards. Here he is trying to help me make my next move.

A Piece of History

This past weekend we decided to take a short trip to Sacramento to check out a museum which is hosting an exhibit about Abraham Lincoln. Since the weather was great...we also took had a picnic lunch on the grass in front of the State Capitol. Here's a quick funny story - While we were eating lunch, April and I noticed a lot of news trucks parked around the capitol building...we joked about how it would be interesting if a state budget was actually passed (long overdue) while we were there. After eating lunch we walked inside, looked around a little bit, and guess what we found out? While we were eating lunch the state assembly passed a budget! We even sorta got stuck in the middle of a bunch of news reporters who were waiting to hear from the governor. We didn't wait around to see the governor's news conference...but it was still kind fun to be in the right place at the right time.

The Abraham Lincoln exhibit at the California Museum was great! We had the opportunity to see a lot of historical documents from Lincoln's political career (i.e. The Gettysburg Address, The Emancipation Proclamation, etc.). It was really neat to stand and read everything...realizing that we were reading Lincoln's actual words...written by his hands. Isn't history is awesome!? One of the most interesting parts of the exhibits was a small display case containing some personal items (eyeglasses, pocket knife, etc.) found in Lincoln's pockets on the night he was shot at Ford's theatre. Very cool, and for us it was fun to take our Lincoln there. Obviously he has no idea what it's all about. He won't understand any of it for several years...but regardless, it's exciting to think about the ways we will be able to expose Lincoln to parts of history as he grows up.

Speaking of growth...I know I've probably said this a million times on the blog, but we are having a blast watching him discover new things - he recently discovered that he likes sweet potato baby food (I've got to say that I think it tastes pretty good too), he learned he has ears, that he can play with his fingers (he loves to intertwine them and then pull them apart), and that he can make different sounds with his mouth. Those are just a few examples of how he's quickly changing and learning, but most importantly... God is using Lincoln to remind us on a daily basis of how awesome He is - that he could create such a complex and amazing little thing (Lincoln). Sometimes when I am playing with Lincoln, I wonder if God is sitting in heaven and watching us...smiling and laughing with joy...knowing how awesome his creation is.

A Great Week!

This past week Jeremy took 11 students and 2 other leaders to Tennessee for CHIC (a gathering of 5,000+ high school students from Covenant churches all across the country). They had a great week (feel free to read all about it on their blog csmchic09experience.blogspot.com).

While Jeremy was away, Lincoln and I went to Modesto to enjoy some time with family and friends. We had a great time meeting friends for lunch, family for dinner, other mommies at the park, and a cousin from Oregon! And we definitely enjoyed the pool time at Jim & Robyn's, because it was hot, hot, hot!
This week was probably the highlight of Belle's year! She got to play with Roxy and Kota as much as she wanted... or as much as they would tollerate... Belle has LOTS of energy. And she got to go swimming and rafting. What more could a dog ask for?!?

Lincoln loves his new toy. This is his new camera face... but really he was having fun.

Friends and the Fourth

We went to the Arnold's Annual July 3rd Party. No that isn't a typo... every year we get together the day before Independance Day and kick off the celebration with a BBQ, swimming, and fireworks.

We had a blast letting the boys (Lincoln and his buddy Malachi...who belongs to Jim and Robyn) have thier first dip in the pool. Lincoln liked the water at first, but was a bit cranky and ready for a nap. On the other hand Belle absoultely loved the water. At first she was hesitant about getting in the pool, but once she learned she could stand on the step she had a blast.

It is so much fun to get together as the boys get older and start to interact. Right now it is more fun for us to torture them than it is for them to play... but we know they will love growing up together (they better like each other!!!). Malachi celebrated his two month mark on the 4th; only 5 months seperates them! We joke about them going to prom together and being each other's wingman... time is already flying by and those scarry days will be here before we know it!!!

Today Lincoln turned 7 months old! We made the cake as usual, and then spent the day lounging around for a lazy Sunday (those are few and far between, so we really enjoyed it). Lincoln is becoming more and more aware of Belle and she is venturing closer to him. We hope they grow up to be best buds too... we always call her his puppy. And after watching Marley & Me again today we were reminded of how special these times are.

A little game of peek-a-boo.