Happy Cinco de Montho!

Happy Cinco de Montho... ok I'm cheesy... just a little play on words since Lincoln turned 5 months old on Cinco de Mayo. We can't believe he is 5 months old!

To update you on Lincoln's latest tricks... he has discovered that he can touch things and he is enjoying exploring new textures. We just started giving him toys to play with on his own. As you can see he has already advanced to reading. Seriously we did not stage this picture! I put the book in his lap (open to that page) and he held it in both hands and starred intently at the pictures. This book kept him entertained for half an hour! And of course kept me (April) entertained as well as I watched him discover.

Also, Lincoln had previously only been saying vowel sounds, but just stepped it up and combined vowel and consonant sounds (as in "agaa"). Thinking of this brings something to mind that several people have said recently. Yes, I know most parents don't really track these sorts of things. We celebrate even the smallest accomplishments in Lincoln's development. And on a day like today, his five month mark, I am reminded why. Lincoln has come so far from those first days in the hospital. It amazes us to see the drastic change from that itty bitty little baby laying in an isolette to a happy, healthy, growing boy. And I know we will be amazed when he walks for the first time, goes to school, and graduates. He is right on track in his size and development (according to his due date)... and he has never been behind.

We don't celebrate the small things because we didn't think he could do it - we celebrate the small things because we are amazed at God's creation and His plan for growth and development. How incredible is it to discover you have hands! To touch and feel something for the first time... to hear a sound you actually made... to realize that when you do something it has an affect.

Having Lincoln in the NICU for 8 weeks changed our outlook on life. Why not celebrate the small things as if they are an accomplishment worth our notice? Getting excited about the little things today makes life more joyful... and why not share that joy with all of you! I'm glad you get to come on this journey with us and hope that you, too, will be amazed and excited at this moment in your life, not the one that was or the one that will be soon. And maybe in some ways all that we have been through and are going through will rub off on you too.

So today find a small accomplishment and celebrate it... compliment someone on a good job they have done, or pat yourself on the back for marking a couple things off your task list, or treat yourself to icecream for making it through another day... after all you lived for 86,400 seconds today and that seems pretty great to me!