Sunset Cruise

On Sunday night while we were in Costa Rica, the entire wedding group (approx. 80 people) went on a sunset catamaran cruise. It was a little stressful with a walking toddler and only ropes on the edge of the boat, but it was naptime so Lincoln spent most of the time in the ergo.

He did love the nets at the front of the boat though. Kept under close supervision my many many adults.

What's down there buddy?

The catamaran was a lot of fun (and an open bar!) turned into one of the scariest moments of my life though when Lincoln choked on some food and started to turn blue. Luckily grandma smacked and squeezed it out of him in a manner of seconds and two nurses were standing by just in case. It shook both of us up quite a bit- enough that even the bride brought me a drink to calm my nerves. Learn the infant Heimlich! You never know when you will need it!

Hi handsome!

The sunset was beautiful and Lincoln was sleeping peacefully in my arms.

I love vacation!

Water Baby

From the minute we got to the resort in Costa Rica, Lincoln was running towards the water. He went swimming in his clothes more than a few times. Luckily, the pool was very kid friendly and had a completely shaded kid pool as well as shallow sections in the sun.

Lincoln even had a little friend, Kinley, that he played with every day.

Having Gramma and Papa in Costa Rica with us was WONDERFUL! Thank you thank you thank you for coming! It was nice to have an two extra pairs of hands to watch L in the water (or grab a beer).

The Flamingo Beach resort was right across from the beach so we got to see beautiful Pacific sunsets each evening.

 Just having an afternoon beer with the guys!

 I love my little family as much as I love L's tiny sunglasses! When is our next vacation?

Gramma and Papa, you're invited too!

First Annual LincFest

We celebrated Lincoln's first birthday the weekend after his birthday. I had so much fun planning it! I wanted our little rockstar's day to be lots of fun. I made his invite from a picture that my sister in law took and then added the text and printed them for 10 cents each!

I made a lot of the decorations with my Cricut machine and scrapbooking supplies. Lincoln did not partake in the Lincfest Stout, but many of the attendees enjoyed it. :)

We had several of Lincoln's friends over as well as a few neighbors and Lincoln's Mimi and great mimi were there too!

Lincoln loved his cake and once we showed him out to get a bite out and he put it in his mouth, he didn't move his hand away from his mouth. He just kept shoving and shoving!

His car was a big hit with all his friends, too!

He did a good job with his cake. I didn't even think about the fact that I didn't put a bib on him or cover the floor. He didn't make too big of a mess. He never took a nap that afternoon before his party but I'm sure the sugar kept him going cause he wasn't too crabby surprisingly.

Hard to believe our little rockstar is one already. The time went by so fast and now we have a full blow toddler!

Thanks for coming to my party, Mimi!

Lincoln's Birthday Present

I pulled this guy out of my neighbor's trash when Lincoln was 5 or 6 months old. I took Stella for a walk before work, saw it and on my way out of the neighborhood, tossed it in the back of my car. My neighbor saw me do it and said, "Oh good, I was hoping someone would take it!"

So it wasn't weird. Ok, a little weird.

Fast forward 6 months and I finally pulled it out of the corner of the basement. Scrubbed it down, taped off the wheels and steering wheel and then put a layer of primer on it. I used spray paint designed for plastic. I used an entire can of primer on the coupe.

After the primer, I spray the center of the car with white spray paint. After it drieed, I taped off the racing stripes. I used one piece of tape to space the stripes, then two more for the stripes themselves. Then I removed the center stripe.

Next, I painted the blue. I probably should have painted the seat next, but I was excited to get the blue on.

After the blue, I tape off the bottom and spray painted it with some leftover silver paint. I had used it to paint some hinges in the master bathroom. Next, I used Zinser primer (not designed for plastic, but a very adhesive primer so I figured it would work) to paint the interior. I painted the roof, the inside of the doors and the trunk.

 I forgot to take a picture of the next part, but I taped off the seat and dashboard and painted it with black spray paint.

 Next, I peeled off the stripes so I could work on the license plate and grill. I made a stencil for the "ABE 01" part and used stickers for the virginia and JAN 14 part. Once I took off the stripes, I noticed my tape didn't do the best job so I went back over the stripes with the zinser primer and a foam brush. I added a few details with my paint pens - a red stripe around the interior and a silver grill design and silver hubcaps.

I probably spent about $40 on tape and spray paint. I know a new one isn't much more, but little man LOVES it!

He and his lady friend can fit in it together! This was at the end of his birthday party- can you tell he is TIRED?

He hasn't quite gotten the hang of pushing with his feet, but he stands on the seat and lets Glenn or I push him. He loves crawling in it and putting toys in the trunk.

Happy Birthday, Lincoln!

Happy Birthday Lincoln

Dear Lincoln,
You're one year old! I can hardly believe it. This year has gone by so fast! As I look back at your pictures I took every week, it seems crazy that you have gone to 7 little pounds barely as long as Stella to a climbing, vivacious toddler. Toddler? Where did my baby go?

You have an opinion and you want to explore so much.  I love to watch your little mind figure things out. You love to open and close doors and cabinets. Take things out of drawers and put them back in (sometimes). Mostly you just take everything out! You will rarely sit still to read a book,  you would rather be off exploring and playing. You give the best hugs (you rest your head right on Daddy's shoulder) and you have the most infectious laugh. I love to tickle your chest and neck because you have a laugh that just makes me smile. It doesn't matter what kind of day I'm having, that makes it better.

I'm excited for this year and listen to your language develop. Right now, you use a lot of grunting, moaning and throwing to express your desires. You love to play with your blocks and knock them down when I stack them up. You are a bubbly happy guy at home, but sometimes when we take you to a friends house, it takes you a bit to warm up. You sit back and observe the situation for a bit. You are shy at first, but then you warm up and you are your usual self. 

We've gotten to have a little home vacation right around your birthday this year. You went to daycare on your birthday, but then we had two snow days and no work for mommy or daddy! Such a difference from last year when it was 65 degrees the day we brought you home from the hospital.

You have 6 teeth still and after your fussiness at Christmas, I thought those molars would have popped through, but not yet! I don't know how big you are because the snow storm closed everything down- including the doctor's office. We have to wait a few more weeks for your appointment.

You had your first (cup)cake on your birthday and you loved it! I hope you enjoy your cake this weekend at your birthday party. We are having a Rockstar party for you and I know you won't remember it, but it is also a party for your Daddy and me. We survived the first year! 

Raising a baby is hard work. You were worth every tear, but I won't lie, there were lots of tears. Tears of fear that we weren't doing a good job, tears of joy when you walked and smiled and laughed for the first time. There were tears when I was worried cause you were sick. I hate to admit it, but sometimes there were tears of anger cause you wouldn't sleep or because being a mom is a demanding job. It was a transition to go from just Mommy and Daddy to the caretakers, foodmaker, butt-wipers, comforters, worriers and all-around make-sure-you-are-safe-and-happy-people. It's hard work.

We love you to the moon and back, Bubba. I'm so excited to see what your second year has in store for us!

Love, Mama