Worst first-time mom ever

I haven't read a single parenting book. I don't have a photo of me every month of my pregnancy (in fact, I think I have like 4 total). I haven't started an official baby book, or arranged any photos into a photo album yet. I don't make home made baby food. I am so MIA with blogging that it's ridiculous. But maybe the most sacrilegious thing of all: I just barely finished our first born's nursery 7 months in! Gasp. It honestly kind of disturbs even me!

But, it's officially finished now. And our little man LOVES it. He has honestly made me tear up a couple of times with how excited he gets every time we take him in "Lincoln's room". Throughout the process we would show him each new thing, and he'd always stare at whatever was new, smile and do his excited arms. "Look Lincoln. Mommy finished your comforter!"  Bounce, bounce, smile, smile, crazy arms.  "Look Lincoln. Do you like your airplane?" Bounce, bounce, smile, smile, crazy arms.  "Of course you had to have a mirror, Lincoln. Do you love it?  Who's that baby?"  Bounce, bounce, smile, smile, crazy arms, flirty head cock. :) Sweetest thing ever.

So, without further adieu, Lincoln's "Oh the Places You'll Go" travel themed nursery:

 

I think he'll sleep there for the first time tonight. Mommy and Daddy need some SLEEP. We'll see who cries more...Lincoln or me. :)

Water baby, meet aquarium

Our little man is quite the water baby. He loves washing his hands because it means he gets to play in the water. He loves showering with Daddy because it means he can stare up at the water coming out of the faucet.  He loves it when we drive in the rain.

No surprise that he enjoyed the aquarium (once he woke up. He promptly fell asleep the second we left the car, and let me and Brian take a preview tour of the whole aquarium before deciding to rejoin us). Although, he was more impressed with the bubbles and trickles than he was the animals and fish.

Note to self: next time you are taking your child somewhere neat for the first time, take your camera. At least 3 photos from our phone turned out, I guess.

And one last note to self: don't go to the aquarium on opening Saturday unless you are fond of people. Apparently I'm not. :)  Can we say CLAUSTRAPHOBIA?!

 

 

Saturday at Scheels

What to do on a cold Saturday?  Mommy is like a caged animal who needs out of the house, and Lincoln is beginning to think that Walmart is the only place that exists outside of "Lincoln's House".  Doooo dooooo do dooooooooooo... Daddy to the rescue! He suggests we check out Scheels, and it did not disappoint. I don't think Lincoln could've enjoyed anything more. Well, ok... maybe the zoo, where the animals would be moving. But it sure beat Walmart.





Grinned at the bears forever.



Decided movement and lights was the only thing better than the bears.



Learned that cougars are awesome.

Reminded mom and dad not to ever let him encounter a real grizzly.

Met his namesake and learned a little about why he's our Mr. Lincoln.

 

All in all, successful Saturday at Scheels! (And you all thought I was losing my writing touch...then I pull a cheap alliteration like that out of my hat, and whala. I'm back. :)).

Life After Lincoln

Travel magazines and cruise brochures get thrown into the recycle bin unread, our idea of a good night's sleep is when we're up at 5 a.m instead of 2 a.m for a first feeding, poopies and burps are celebrated with alarming intensity and feeling, every photo we've taken in the past 6 months (phone, video camera, camera or otherwise) is of one (and only one) subject, and there's a new sheriff in town who's in charge of... pretty much everything.  Life has changed since August 22nd, and most of it has been for the better. But then there's this blog...

I used to blog about anything and everything. Insignificant minutia of all kinds was featured: from squirrels attacking my car, to my love for Costco. It's all here. You can imagine my alarm when I realized the other day that another change in our lives is that I haven't blogged about the most important thing that's ever happened to us. So I'm here to change that. A very inadequate and incomplete summary of Life After Lincoln.

Mr. Lincoln Alexander is born: August 22, 2013, 1:45 a.m
Healthy, adorable and BIG (8 lbs 1 oz). We loved our time at the hospital (after the epidural, I should clarify)...the three of us got to know each other, and spent lots of special bonding time falling in love. I'll always cherish the memories.

Lincoln is blessed: October 13, 2013
Great day with lots of family, and a special, moving blessing from Daddy.

Lincoln gets his first shots: October 22, 2013
He drained the oral shot no one is supposed to like, and cried when he was poked only until Mommy picked him up. Cute little champ. Mommy and Daddy held it together too.

Lincoln's first Halloween
Mommy's little baby bear couldn't be anything else. He was juuuuuuuuuuuust right, and loved Mamie's annual party.

We all move into Lincoln's House: November 8th-13th, 2014
Talk about awesome! We are still moving in and unpacking 3 months later, haven't even started decorating and still have oh-so-much to do (like a never-ending list). But we are already loving our new neighborhood and home-sweet-home. Perfect for us.

Lincoln's first Thanksgiving
Sheer deliciousness at Mamie and Papa's.

Lincoln's first Christmas Eve
While visiting family on Christmas Eve, Lincoln was finally old enough that Mommy was ok with his cousins scrubbing up and holding him. Londyn and Britt loved getting up close and personal with their cousin for the first time.

Lincoln's first Christmas
He loved grabbing and pulling the paper, and he's still cruising around in his little red car.

Lincoln's first New Years
We had a party with Mamie, Papa, Aunt Meggie, Uncle Daniel and Cousin Emmy. Yummy snacks, games and visiting at Lincoln's house. After everyone left, Mommy and Daddy couldn't help but say, "Holy Hannah" when they looked back at 2013. New job, cross country move, first baby and new house. What a year!

Lincoln's first solid foods
It took him a couple times to eat the rice cereal, but then he loved it. Peas were never his favorite, but he ate them. Carrots were next, and he was in heaven. Now he's onto green beans and loving them. Anything food, and this kid seems to be in.

Lincoln's first word?: January 30, 2014
Mommy was a little slow getting the bottle at Aunt Meggie's house, and when she laid Lincoln on the floor to mix it, he whimpered and said, "Bah Bah".  Aunt Meg and Mommy couldn't believe their ears. He repeated the performance last night when Daddy was making his bottle, so we're beginning to wonder if he really does know what he's saying.


Life is busy. Life is different. And we wouldn't go back to life before Lincoln for anything.

Hopefully from here on out I'll keep up a bit better. There are so many things about day to day life worth remembering these days. So when little munchkin allows, I'll post about all his adorableness. You'll be so sick of hearing about him, it won't even be funny. Until then... :)

Introducing Emmy Taylor W.

Remember that baby that my sister was supposed to have 4 days before I had Lincoln?  Well... she arrived one week early, and she could not be any more adorable!

She's a teeny, tiny thing at 6 lbs. 7oz, and only 17 3/4 inches long, has gorgeous dark brown hair, and is an absolute sweetie.  We are already in love with our newest little niece.

 

 

Luckily, Lincoln has decided not to follow in his cousin's footsteps and come a week early. We were holding our breath because my doctor, who we love, was out of town until today. Lincoln's apparently a good boy who minds his mommy and enjoys his chocolate shakes. (I've been pep talking him about staying put, and promising him a daily supply of his favorite treat if he just stays in there 'til his due date. I've also explained that the ice cream ends for a looooong time when he comes out. He seems to get it.) We made it through the week, and are now officially due in 6 days. Crazy. Wish us luck! We can't believe it.

Here's my 38 week belly shot.

By Jove... I think we've done it!

We are finally hitting the point where the majority of house decisions have been made and we are able to get a little more excited about the whole thing each time we inspect the building progress (HALLELUJAH! All that's left design-wise is the cabinets... then the electrical... then the landscaping...ok... still seems like a lot). It's such a nice feeling after all the stress of finding the perfect location, and then the stress of deciding on floor plans, and colors, and windows and... grout (really? There are different grouts? Oh, only about 500! And I get to make the decision in 5 seconds flat. Awesome!). Don't even get me started on the stucco decision process... oh the stucco (won't even get into how many different shades of poop green a normal looking sample of brown stucco can look like once it's on a house and not a swatch).

ANYWAY, point being... we are starting to enjoy the whole process a bit more the last few days as some of the big decisions wind down. :)  We really feel like we've found the right place for us, and feel really blessed because we admittedly had some crazy criteria:

*Numero uno our list: we wanted our own little neck of the woods.  As weird as it sounds, coming back from 5 years alone in D.C. I knew that we needed somewhere where we would be close enough to family and friends to get together easily and often, but still have our own space... our own ward... our own retreat. With sisters, friends and cousins all building like crazy, I didn't think it would happen (goodness, that could come across wrong! If you are a relative or friend who's recently built, you know I love you to pieces and love being around you, right? You get me and my odd quirks. I'm weird about my space... and just weird. So no offense taken? :)). CHECK.  Our little neighborhood is the perfect haven, full of strangers, but still close enough to all our loved ones that we can enjoy them often. 

*I didn't want to live in my old stomping grounds. I wanted a fresh location and adventure. CHECK. (Not sure I even knew Bluffdale existed when I was growing up. :))

*Brian needed a short commute. CHECK. (Although, anything seems short compared to the hour and a half in D.C.). 

*We wanted it to have people having kiddos. CHECK. We've already met a few girls who are pregnant too... I think it will be baby land. And there was a good mix of older people too. You know how at home Brian and I felt on our Holland America Cruise? Loved it, and will love having older people around.

*We needed it to just feel right, and after weeks and weeks of looking, and checking out lots of awesome locations, were starting to doubt that could happen. But, CHECK. Something finally felt like it was just... it.

*Last, but not least, we needed it to be chuck full of BYU graduates and fans.  Ha ha ha... ok, that was NOT a criteria, but it was pretty awesome to get called over to our neighbor's house the last time we were visiting the lot, and get introduced to all of our surrounding neighbors (seriously...a dessert party with like 20 people), all of which were connected to BYU in some way and sporting BYU grill covers. We're moving to Cougar Nation! :) (Not cool that I was in my pjs/lounge clothes, with absolutely no makeup on, rocking the 'I'm 8 months pregnant and starting to be really uncomfortable' look. Alas. Great first impression.)

To mellow out the perfection and keep us grounded, there are some downers... the big HOA fee, which we swore we'd never do... the 120 days from start to finish dragging out way past that (looks like we're looking at mid-November to move in)... interest rates climbing... making cabinet decisions... and did I mention the stucco? :)  But all in all, I think, by Jove, we've done it! Or rather, been led to it... the perfect spot for us.  (Keep your fingers crossed that I haven't spoken too soon...or jinxed us...)

Now, after all the blabber (sorry... I don't journal these days, so some of these turn into a record for me...)... some photos of the framing. It's coming right along! (And so is baby Lincoln! Look at that tummy!)

Happy 24th of July!

We celebrated the 24th by eating so much delicious BBQ that I thought I was going to pop, and then lighting off fireworks in the front yard. Tons of fun.

We also realized that baby Linc is scheduled to arrive in ONE MONTH!!!! Aughhhhhhhhh! (That's a shriek of excitement and sheer terror... all rolled into one.)  We can't believe it, but thought it deserved a belly shot to document the day.

Hope you all enjoyed your Pioneer Day!

Well, Mr. Lincoln Alexander...

there are some things you should know. First, Mommy and Daddy sincerely apologize for the trendiness of Alexander that is about to commence, and promise that we had you named long before the royal baby madness. :) We named you after the city where the three of us got our start--good ole Alexandria, VA--and since we love it, and have already embroidered your name on your quilt... you are stuck as one of the masses. :) 

That's right... embroidered your name on the quilt. Mommy said it, and Mommy doesn't sew (which you probably guessed after hearing her growl, shriek and do everything but throw a sewing machine across the room while working on her little sewing projects for weeks and weeks). But you are oh-so-loved, and Mommy wanted you to have something made by her, just for you. So here they are; your little quilt, receiving blanket, and burp cloths (the cute decorative corners and name band on the quilt might or might not have come about to disguise major sewing mistakes, but you didn't hear that from me). 

 

Much love baby boy. We'll see you in a month!

It might just be a hole in the ground...

but it's our hole!

So excited. It's finally started...

Tummy Travels

I never realized how much my tummy gets around! (Hm...weird way to begin any kind of conversation, but hear me out...)  Last night Brian and I were chatting about the fun places Little Boy L has already been in his 28 short weeks of existence, and we came up with a fairly decent list: South Carolina; Washington DC; Virginia; Chesapeake Bay, MD; Salt Lake City; and the additions of the past two weekends, Disneyland, Newport Beach, Lagoon and Yuba Lake. World traveler already. Just the way we like 'em.  :)

Our 5th Anniversary celebration in Disneyland was a whirlwind of fun, exhaustion and yummy food. We spent the day (the whole day... 8:30-10:45) Saturday in Disneyland and California Adventure, riding every ride I was allowed to go on, and catching 2 amazing night shows (Fantasmic and World of Color). By mid-day, Baby L was asleep, and we didn't feel him get feisty again for a couple of days. Wore him right out (and his mommy too!).  Talk about FUN! We spent an hour or two off our feet that afternoon enjoying the incredible atmosphere of the Blue Bayou Restaurant, which was a definite highlight (isn't Pirates always a highlight?). But mostly we just ran around like two crazy kids.

Sunday was beach day, and Newport was beautiful.  We enjoyed the drive down in our awesome rental car (although, finding a parking spot was NOT fun... we ended up lucking out and getting the perfect one in the end, but we were beginning to wonder), laying on the sand, walking the boardwalk and just relaxing the day away.

Monday we were back at Disney early, where I FINALLY talked Brian into walking on to some of the big kid rides (Indy, Matterhorn and Splash Mountain).  He did them all within the first hour (reluctantly, but seriously...one of us had to do it. Once I convinced him it was either him or me, he decided to get on board). Awesome!  Then we re-rode some of our favorites, introduced Baby to Mickey, enjoyed a yummy lunch and played the day away until we had to head to the airport at 4.  Awesome weekend, and awesome way to celebrate 5 years. Love my boy... boys. :)

This past weekend, we were at it again. Friday was Brian's work Lagoon day. His company had the whole park rented out, so it was fun to stroll in the zero crowds park, enjoy lunch, meet his co-workers, run into one of my best friends and her adorable family, enjoy a couple of rides and win Baby a stuffed ginger fox playing ski ball (okay, so technically I was 10 points short, but the worker took pity on the pregnant lady and bestowed a gift).

Straight from Lagoon, it was off to Yuba Lake to meet my parents for a fun weekend of camping, relaxing in the shade, scenic walks, playing games, eating yummy food and enjoying the lake.  It was lovely.

Needless to say, Baby L and I are exhausted, and plan on spending the day with our feet up. Oh-so-worth it, though, to get our summer started with such a bang!

Here's to lots more tummy and post-tummy travels!

(Oh, and as always, all our favorite photos from Disneyland and Yuba Lake are being stored on facebook ).