Happy Birthday, Lincoln!

Our little guy turned two today!
We had a great day today...much better than yesterday (especially for poor Linc). I'll post about it later, but for now I just couldn't go to bed without posting something really quick about my baby turning two! We love you so much, little monkey!

It was a matter of time, I guess...

We (and other people) have made comments about being surprised that Linc hasn't ever needed a trip to the E.R. or stitches. We almost made it two years (his b-day is tomorrow). I was at a house of a girl that I just met today (visiting teaching) this morning. Us ladies were chatting in the family room right at the top of the stairs, and the boys were playing downstairs. Apparently Lincoln made claim on 5-year-old Jax's Buzz Lightyear toy, and then he made a break for it up the stairs. There was a little-kid struggle for possession of the toy and Jax pushed Lincoln to get it away. Unfortunately the section of the stairs (which I had even checked to make sure were carpeted) that they were on didn't have a wall on one side of them, so Lincoln fell about 5 feet to the cement below. Right when I heard the thud (before the screaming came) I knew what had happened and I went running. Within the 3 seconds it took me to get to him he was covered in blood. Those head wounds sure do spurt. It was all over his face and matting his hair. Luckily the two ladies that I was with were calm and helped me get him quickly cleaned up. I'm ashamed to say that I was kind of freaking out inside (I am quite proud of how calm I've stayed in other emergent situations). Luckily Jen (whose house I was at) was very reassuring to both Linc and I, and she took a good look at the source of the wound and calmly told me to take him in to get some stitches. Luckily I know a great surgeon (finally, a perk to having a medical resident spouse) - and I was able to get a hold of Mark. I took the boys right down to the hospital where Mark was working and Mark was able to stitch him up. And I didn't even have to feel dumb about asking if the doctor could try to shave as little hair as possible (with his birthday being tomorrow & stuff).

Anyway, Lincoln was surprisingly calm by the time we got to the hospital. Here he is sitting in the chair waiting for Mark to get his supplies together.

A quick shot of the wound which, unfortunately, does it no justice. The wound was a whole flap - so you could see the skull.

This is Mark irrigating the wound. I obviously have no pictures of Mark numbing Linc's head or doing the stitches since I had to hold Lincoln down the whole time (that sucked). At least I knew that the physician taking care of my baby really does love him as much as I do and was taking good care of him...he even gave Linc the latex glove balloon that he's holding :)

Five stitches (and sucker, rice krispie treat and two matchbox cars) later...
Well, Linc - your first "real" injury is documented. I'm glad that it wasn't worse, but we're so sorry that it happened, little guy. We love you so much.

October Wrap-Up

Time for the mish-mash of pics & clips that I like which didn't make it into another post in October...starting with this one from a beautiful bouquet of flowers that Mark brought home for me. Pretty, huh? I love Gerber daisies and Sunflowers, so these colored sunflowers kind of captured the both of best worlds!

Noah had been anticipating Toy Story & Toy Story 2 being re-released in theaters (in 3D) for months. So, attending that double feature kicked off our month oh, so appropriately (referencing our Halloween costumes). We had planned on wearing our costumes to the movie, but decided to go for this toned-down version of shirts & wings (this picture is from right after the movies ended).

Everyone that knows Lincoln knows that he's a very active little guy. However, not everyone sees his sweet, sensitive side. He often comes up (unsolicited) to hug me, give me slobbery kisses, and tell me that he loves me...or because he wants to cuddle with me. So, even though this clip is staged...I just had to capture the cute little way that he says "I wuv woo!" (I love you):


A huge thanks to my friend Shauna that mailed this Incredibles costume to Noah to play dress up in! He loves it, and yes - he struck this pose all on his own for the camera.

Just because I want to include the way Lincoln says new words that he's learning during this vocabulary explosion at this age, here's a 9 second clip showing: "cocoa" and "pumpkin"


I'm loving that the boys are starting to play and wrestle more together. I don't remember exactly what the game was during this picture, but I still like the picture.

Since normally when I pull out the camera I tell the boys to say "cheese" - Lincoln does it on his own now. Of course he doesn't understand the difference between a snapshot and a video clip, but I thought it was cute. I like his "aaah" after taking a drink too.

Halloween Night

Finally the long awaited Halloween night arrived. Time to trick-or-treat! Claire invited a bunch of our friends to meet at her house to go together in our neighborhood (we live across the street from each other). So, the kids played in the backyard together until everyone was there and ready.

Here is Noah (Zurg) with Zoey (Sleeping Beauty).

I had to get one of just Zoey in her princess costume that Claire made. She looked so pretty!

Ezra.

Most of the kids together before leaving to trick-or-treat.

The first door. Lincoln, Noah & Michael were the first three kiddos to the door, but the others were right behind them. Soon the porch was full, and when they answered their door Lincoln made a break for it and ran into the house and down the hall! (He's not exactly shy) It took a bit for Mark to get past all the trick-or-treaters to chase after Linc - I'm glad that we knew who the people were that live there at least!

Just a trick-or-treating clip. I got a kick out of watching Noah try to pick up candy with those gloves on though...and when Lincoln would say "day-doo" (thank you) after getting his candy.


*sorry for the crummy video quality* In this clip: Mark took Linc up to this door and the gentleman held out his treat basket and asked what he wanted. Lincoln paused and pointed at the candy basket (like, "uh...the candy"). The man asked if Linc wanted a Butterfinger to which Lincoln enthusiastically shouted "Yeahh!" (not that he knows what they are, but I think he caught onto that pretty much everything he was getting that night would be yummy).


After catching on to the routine of things, the boys weren't too keen with having Mark hold their hands for a picture...they loved having the freedom to run from house to house with us (the parents) in tow.

After trick-or-treating.

Then it was back to Claire's house for a yummy curry dish and some dessert - thanks, Ann (Claire's mom)!
We had a great Halloween season. And, no, I haven't planned out what we'll dress up for next year yet :)

Pumpkin Carving

Hurray! It's time to carve our pumpkins! While we got things together to carve pumpkins Lincoln ran around and crunched in the leaves (and threw them in the air obviously). It was a gorgeous warm autumn day with the sun shining, but still that enjoyable fall-crispness in the air. Perfection.


Noah loves wearing his fall hat.

Lincoln hanging out in the swing with some hot cocoa.

Lincoln helping carve "his" pumpkin.

Takin' a peek.

Mark's dad grew this white pumpkin...isn't it cool?

Noah helping carve "his" pumpkin.

And, of course, Lincoln had to snatch some pumpkin from the scraps and take a taste. Blech.

My boys being boys. Eeeew.

Noah and Daddy after finishing Noah's pumpkin.
And, I should mention, Noah was very specific about the way that his pumpkin should be carved...triangle eyes, round nose, and where his teeth should be.

Halloween Playgroup

Just a few pictures from our playgroup's Halloween party. Noah & Linc exploring new toys.

Anna (who came with us since I was babysitting) as a cute little monkey.

Zoey.

Jess with Lucy (the ducky) and Dominic (the monkey).

Linc giving a good "cheeeese"!

Raggedy Andy & Raggedy Ann.

Anna & Noah (wearing what is currently his plastered on "picture smile"...gotta love it).
Thanks for hosting, Caroline!

Halloween Costumes

As I've mentioned before - the Toy Story movies are huge (understatement) at our house! Noah loves the shows, the characters, the toys...everything affiliated with Toy Story or Toy Story 2. Naturally, Lincoln has picked up on the frenzy and loves Buzz Lightyear too. So, it was only fitting that our family all dressed up as characters from Toy Story 2 this year! For those of you who have managed to remain unfamiliar with this show, this is a picture of Jessie, Buzz, and Woody (for a frame of reference). I'll include a picture of the villan in a moment.

First of all...our family's Halloween photo! I love it. Lyndsey from Seenbox Photography ran a killer deal and did these (as well as regular family pics for Christmas cards) for just $20 including the edited digital images (which is a must when you print 180 of them). Can't beat that price & she was great to work with too. Also, since lots of people asked...we got Noah's costume from ksl.com classifieds last year, Linc's was a hand-me-down from Noah, and Mark's & mine are handmade. I picked up my wig and hat on clearance after Halloween last year, and I bought my white shirt second hand and sewed everything on to it. I found Mark's hat online, and we had the bandanna leftover from Noah's 2nd birthday party (cowboy theme). A hu-uge thanks to my friend Claire for her help making Woody's vest, and for making my sweet chaps! We got a lot of use out of these costumes this year, and it was fun to wear them altogether...

Since the other picture didn't include our villan...here is a picture of the Evil Emperor Zurg. Noah has been really into "bad guys" lately, so this worked out nicely. And, as a side-note, Lincoln and Noah love to act out the scene from Toy Story 2 (spin off of Star Wars, of course) where Buzz says, "You killed my father"...Zurg says, "...I am your father"...and Buzz says "Noooooo!"

Noah as Zurg.

I love the way Lincoln is looking up at me in this picture. I'm guessing that he was likely more intrigued with my hat & wig than whatever it was that I had to say at that moment though...

Time to pull out the laser guns.


Woody and Buzz.

Even as a bad guy...I think he's pretty darn cute.

"Well aren't you the sweetest space toy I've ever met?" (Jessie, Toy Story 2)

Pumpkin Patch

Almost 4 weeks ago our playgroup went to Pack Farms pumpkin patch. It was such a fun little place to go with kids...besides a big pumpkin patch to wander through, it also had a full sized corn maze (which we didn't venture into) and a kid-sized maze made of hay bales. My boys just ran wild and had a great time.


One of the first things that the boys wanted to do was run up these stairs and across the bridge that overlooks the kids' maze. Here's my sweet Noah stopping for a quick photo.

And Lincoln running up the stairs with reckless abandon.

This little gal (Anna) may look familiar - she makes cameo appearances in photos with my boys often since I babysit her a few days a week. Here she is with her mama Kate.

I'll admit it - I was the weird mom that ran around the maze chasing the kids like a crazy person. It was worth it though when Noah would squeal with delight as I popped out from around the corner. Here's a quick picture that I snapped of Zoey and Noah before they ran away...just goading me to chase them.

Not the best quality photo ever, but I took it as I jumped out from behind a hay bale. I loved how Lincoln would just shriek with delight.

My friend Jessica with her kiddos, Lucy & Dominic.

I was even able to get a couple quick shots of myself with my two little guys.


Those of you that know Lincoln are aware that he will try to eat just about anything - food, but also...dirt, liquid soap, bubble solution, lotion (yes, he'll just pump it right into his mouth). So, it hardly surprised me when he tried taking bites out of the pumpkins at the pumpkin patch. In fact, the first time that he tried it (with a giant pumpkin out in the patch) I didn't even think enough of it to snap a picture. So, the next time that I did it I did get a quick picture before taking the pumpkin away.

Here Noah and Zoey are trying to lift one of the pumpkins in the patch.

Lincoln trying to lift a big ol' heavy pumpkin.

I asked Noah to let me take a picture of him in the pumpkin patch and he struck this pose:

Pulling the boys around in a cart.

Due to the convenient location my mom was able to meet up with us, as well as did my good friend (of nearly 20 years) Allison and her son Isaac. Noah & Isaac are little buddies, so it was fun to watch them run around together.

Allison & Isaac.

Noah was fully supportive of me taking his picture in front of this cool tractor.

I wanted to try and get a "brothers" picture, but I couldn't get them to look at me. Noah was too interested in looking at his pumpkin, and Linc was too interested in trying to get a bite out of his.

It really disturbed Noah that Lincoln was trying to eat a pumpkin. I had to reassure him that even though it may not taste very good to eat pumpkin rind, that it wouldn't hurt Lincoln. I took this picture right after that & get a kick out of their expressions...Noah's concern/disgust with the bite-marks in the pumpkin, and Lincoln's look of confusion about why the pumpkin is not as yummy as he would've thought it would be.

The boys with Grandma (my mom).
We had a great time. Perhaps we just might make Pack Farms an annual tradition.

Michael's Buckaroo Birthday

About a month ago my friend's son (Michael) had a Buckaroo-Birthday-Bash (say that 5 times fast) for his fifth birthday! Here is a picture of me with my two little buckaroos before leaving for the party (Lincoln was not happy about being held still to take a picture, but at least we got one shot without him screaming)...
Then again...let's include a more accurate depiction of the moment. Me trying to bounce Linc and talk through my teeth ("Lincoln it's ok, one good picture and I'll put you down...Noah look up, we can't see you under your hat..."), while still smiling for the camera. *sigh* The things we do to document "the moment". I'm pretty sure if you click on this picture to see it larger, you can see all the way down Linc's throat - the kid sure knows how to protest.

We weren't the only one's dressed up for the party though! Nope. There were other kids and adults with cowboy hats and bandannas. Even the dog, Tilly, was reluctantly wearing her wild west gear. It's fun to have a friend that enjoys getting as "in to" kids' birthday parties as I do. I love it!



My favorite part of the party were these hobby horses that my very talented friend Claire just whipped up that day for the party. How cute are they?!

Of course the horses were a huge hit with the kids. Here are a couple shots of Noah taking a ride on his horse. Yeee-haw!


Michael. Drew. Noah.

And Claire's mom was in town from Colorado. She provided delicious grub for the party! Here are Owen & Erin diggin' in to their food on a couple of hay bales.

The birthday boy breakin' open the pinata.

And then it was time for smores!

Noah was really excited to roast his own marshmallows and kept showing it to Ryan (Michael's dad) for approval that it was done.

Alicia with her buckaroos - Ruby & Owen.

Present opening time.

And last, but certainly not least, cake time! How cute is this cake?! Claire always decorates such beautiful cakes, it's always fun to see how they turn out.
Happy 5th birthday, Michael! And thanks for inviting us to your party!

A Flower For Mom

I'm going to jump back into blogging with this quick post. I just had to document a cute little moment from a couple of weeks ago. Mark was outside in our yard with Noah and they noticed the last little flower of the season that was still in bloom. Noah insisted that he needed to pick it and bring it to mom. So, he plucked it and brought it into me with the sweetest little face ever and told me that he loved me. It simply melted my heart and I couldn't forget to document that tender little moment. I love that sweet little guy.

Welcome to the family, little guy!

I ripped this picture off of my brother's blog because I just had to brag really quickly about my cute new nephew! My brother & his wife just had their second child, Ezra Grant, on the 16th. He's such a cute little peanut and I can't wait to meet him in a few weeks (they live out of state right now)!

Congratulations, you guys! He's beautiful & I'm sure that Audrey will be such a wonderful big sister to him too. We love you!

A Different Perspective

Last week the four of us went out for dinner. As we were leaving, Noah yanked his hand out of mine and bolted toward the busy parking lot. I grabbed his wrist just in time, and then proceeded to lecture him with the, "How many times have I told you..." kind of things. Of course I'm grateful that nothing happened, but I still felt frustrated and angry. Since that adrenaline was pumping I had Mark take things over. He asked Noah why he did that, and Noah said it was because he saw a piece of candy in the parking lot. So, Mark went on to explain why we can't run out into a parking lot or street, how especially at night cars can't see someone little like him, what would happen if a car hit him, etc. etc. etc. Finally, to be sure that Noah had understood their little conversation, Mark asked Noah, "So, Noah - why was it that mom got angry?" There was a long, thoughtful pause and then Noah responded with full sincerity, "Because she didn't see the candy".

Aaaah, the perspective & priorities of a three year old.