Why?

So, I've been neglecting our blog...

There has been so much going on in the past... almost 3 MONTHS that I have wanted to post... but, have not! So, to get things done I will post what I can when I can... even if it's just one video or one picture. At least it's better than nothing!!!

Let's start with a little trim...



A few hoops with the new basketball goal...



Here's Lincoln getting on to the dogs... something he learned from his Grammy!




Now on to some photos...


Memorial weekend at the lake!


Playing in the rain... such fun!


Getting some practice in driving the boat.



Cool calculator!


A stroll in the park... one of many that we take when the weather is nice!!!



Hey, look at that... I got everything from when Lincoln was 13 months old done in one post!! It only took me several months to get around to doing it and all day to finish it!!

Dakota

This past Thursday, October 15, our beloved cat... Dakota, passed away. It was very unexpected. She was only 6 years old and had been healthy (as far as we knew). The vet seemed to think that it was probably a heart issue. Regardless of what happened, I hope that she passed peacefully and without pain. I found her in the early morning. She was lying in her bed. So, it does look like she passed in her sleep.

Lincoln loves the cats. Dakota never did fully warm up to him. I mean, she wasn't going to let him get too close. Not that I blamed her... he gets so excited that he would just scare her!! But, she would come check on him and seemed concerned anytime he would get hurt and really cry. Lincoln was with me when I found Dakota. At first he wanted to play with her... but, he soon could tell that something was wrong. There were tears in his eyes. I know that he didn't really understand what had happened. But, he knew that mommy was sad.

Dakota was the first pet Brad and I got as a married couple. She was out first "baby." She became part of the family the Christmas after we had been married. I can't believe I'm going to share this story... but, what the heck! We were spending Christmas with my mom's side of the family at one of my aunts house. They always have a lot of animals around... cats, dogs, horses, rabbits... I think they even had a donkey once. A litter of kittens had recently been born and Dakota was the runt of the litter. There she was, this tiny little thing... cuddled up underneath this vent trying to stay warm. So, I started to play with her. And, as the night went on I became more and more attached... or, if I'm to be honest... the more and more I drank the more and more I became attached. I wanted to take her home. I don't think Brad was too happy with the idea of having a cat. Specially, since we weren't suppose to have pets in the apartment. But, when it came time to leave... Dakota left with us. Yes, Brad caved in... really, I don't think he wanted to cause a scene... because, I may already cried a little. But, she was ours. She was a great cat. Perfect personality. She could be feisty and ornery... playful, lazy, sweet and lovable. Perfect....

I remember when she was younger and it was still just her (we didn't have Jersey yet, our other cat) she would jump up on the bed during the wee hours of the morning and bite me on the neck. I mean, really bite... that was her way of telling me to get up and feed her! She would do that or knock things over to try and get my attention. Once we got Jersey, Dakota would just start picking on her... which would irritate me and cause me to get up and lock her out of the bedroom. I always gave her a few pieces of food before I slammed the door in her face! I didn't really slam the door... but, giving her food after she picked on Jersey obviously wasn't a good idea!!!

When Dakota was younger she would nap in the bathroom sinks. She would also follow me around after I got home from work until I would sit down... so, she could jump up on my lap and get some loving! Dakota loved to play with the laser pointer (hadn't done that in awhile). She would play with other toys also... until she got tired. Then she'd lay down and swat at the toy... haha, lazy cat! She traveled well in the car... unlike our other cat. And, Dakota loved to eat! You had to fight her off if you were eating fish. And, you couldn't leave pans out on the stove that were used to cook meat in because she would lick them clean!! Dakota loved to go outside also. As soon as she would get outside she would rub herself on the patio floor. On occasion, I would find her INSIDE the turtle's tank... or sitting on top of the hamster's tank... keeping a close eye on the critter!

We have so many good memories.

I still can't believe she's gone. She is the reason I will always have cats in my life....

I wanted to add more photos... but, most of the ones of the cats are on the other computer. So, this will have to do.... We love you and miss you sweet girl!!

I promise he's not drunk....

He did this about a dozen times before I finally went and got the camera. Then, another half dozen times AFTER I stopped filming!!

Crazy boy!!!!!!!!!!

"stay"cation

A few weeks ago we had our very first family staycation! Here is a little glimpse back to what we did....

We started out going to Lake Limestone to spend the weekend at a friend's lake house. We had a good time hanging out with friends, swimming in the lake, enjoying good food and playing games!


We left from there and headed to Austin. This is were Brad is working for now. This was Lincoln's first stay in a hotel. He did really well! His absolute favorite things where to run down the halls and push the buttons on the elevator. Seriously, he was SOOOOO excited... every time!! I tried to get video of him walking down the hall... but, of course, it doesn't quite capture the pure joy he really must have felt!!




So, while Brad was working Lincoln and I hung out and explored downtown Austin. We took walks in the mornings while the weather was still bearable. We checked out the Children's Museum. I wasn't too impressed with it... definitely better for older kids (but even still...). On Monday mornings they were opened just to little ones. We didn't make it there to check it out though. But, they did have a section for little ones available at all times.
This is the girl that tried to take the paintbrush out of Lincoln's hand. Seriously?!?! Who taught her manners????
We never made it to any story times. It seemed like they ALL fell around the times when Lincoln was napping. And, for those two weeks... Lincoln was actually napping at his normal times consistently (can't say that now!).

We went to Hobby Lobby and bought some art supplies. So, we did some coloring. Lincoln loved playing in the kitchen. There were all sorts of pots and pans. And, a colander that he seemed to think was a chair!
We met Brad for lunch most of the time. And, look what we found...
Like the plunger we found for Lincoln? It is just the right size!!!

The weekend that we were in Austin we went to Horseshoe Bay... for a mini-staycation within a staycation. We ate some really great home cookin at this little place... can't think of the name. I'm sure Brad remembers. Anyways... Brad played some tennis. We hung out at the pool...
went for walks... checked out the birds...
and the Andy Roddick tennis court.
Then, we headed back to downtown Austin for another week. We then went by my parent's house to pick up the cats (they had been taking care of them). AND, after ALL that... headed back home!!!

Ah, home....

We have tons more pictures. So, go check them out here! They are under 12 months old. There's a cute one of Lincoln trying on daddy's shoes... one with the capital building in the background... and one of Lincoln eating some of daddy's soup (which I really like for some reason).

Enjoy!!

When it rains... it POURS!!!

This has been a hard week....

Last Sunday Lincoln started to run a fever. He ran a fever off and on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday. My mom came up to help love on my baby boy on Tuesday so I could go and get some groceries. See, we had returned home on Sunday after being out of town for two weeks (I'll post about that later)... so, we had no food in the house and I had ran out of left over pizza from Sunday night. Anyways, I wasn't too worried about the fever because I knew it was just his body fighting off a virus. When his fever wasn't high he was still moving around, playing and interacting with me. And, even when his fever was high he didn't seem that bad... just wanted some extra lovin and cuddling! But, when Wednesday came and he was still running a fever I decided to take him to the pedi just to make sure there wasn't something more going on. Went to the pedi and she said it was more than likely a virus and that his fever would break today (Wednesday) or tomorrow... and that a rash might appear. We tested for the flu just to make sure... no flu. She also said that his throat was raw but, not like strep. Well, she was right (I guess that's why she's the doctor). Wednesday night we were fever free and no fever on Thursday. And, the rash did appear! And, by the way... Lincoln hated the pedi visit. Screamed his head off. It made me cry. And, if you ask me, that's why his throat was red!

So, I thought... yea! We made it... my little guy will start to feel better now!! Um, that morning (Thursday... the day his fever broke... the day he was suppose to get some relief) he had one small bout of diarrhea. He fell and hit his cheek... which left a lovely bruise. He fell again and hit the space under his nose... which left a mark that made him look like Hitler. And then... the worst... he burnt three of his precious little fingers. I was holding him and went to turn off the baby steamer. Before I knew it he had lunged forward and stuck his hand in the steam. It was the most awful thing. He was in so much pain and nothing I was doing seemed to help. I was useless and I just felt horrible!!!!!!!!!!!!! He was screaming like I've never heard him scream before... it was killing me... it was awful, awful... horrible!

He finally calmed down. We continued to put aloe vera on his fingers... which he now thought was funny. Go figure. And, it was time for a nap. After nap Lincoln fell and hit his other cheek... left a mark And, later on... he fell and hit his ear... which left a rug burn. If you've lost count... that's four falls and four marks... and, let's not forget the burnt fingers... and the diarrhea... all in ONE day! Could it get any worse???

Yes.

Brad came home that night. Lincoln was irritable and cranky. I couldn't really blame him. He had had a rough day. He has been more irritable since his fever broke than when he was running the actual fever!

Friday... no falls. Better disposition. But, still irritable and cranky in the evening.

This morning, Saturday (no, it's not over) I got this brilliant idea to let Lincoln try eggs. He seemed to like them. He ate eggs, broccoli, potatoes and fruit. I went to put him to sleep for his nap a little later. And, as he was drifting off to sleep in my arms... he started to throw up. He threw up every last bit of what he had eaten that morning. It didn't seem to bother him quite as much as I thought it would or as much as it bothered me! We both had to strip and get cleaned up. Brad got to clean up the carpet. Once cleaned up... Lincoln got to sleep.

No more eggs for Lincoln!

The rest of the day went much smoother. No fever, no falls with bumps and bruises, no burns, no diarrhea, and no more vomiting. We even made it out of the house to run a few errands. The irritability and crankiness has subsided considerably. And, it's night time... he's asleep.

Tomorrow starts a new week.

Randomness....

We went to Whole Foods (downtown Austin) yesterday to eat dinner and do some shopping.

I was looking for the coconut oil. This guy asked if he could help. Sure, why not... so, I told him what I was looking for and he pointed the way. I asked which he thought was the best for cooking. Blah, blah blah... skip to the end... after I said thank you he said... "do you know that margarine is one molecule away from being a plastic and flies won't land on it?!"

Hm, no... I didn't know that.....

Ewww!

Sewing... who knew!

I decided that I wanted to chart Lincoln's growth over the years. I didn't want to mark it on the wall... well, because when you move you can't take the wall with you! I searched online for a chart to buy. They were either cheap and ugly or expensive and not as ugly, but not cute enough to spend THAT kind of money.

So, I thought I could make a growth chart. But, I don't sew. I asked my mom pretty please! I didn't really think the whole thing through... had an idea, just went with it and made changes as we went along... which, I don't think my mom appreciated!!

But, we got it done. Well, my mom got the sewing part done. I have to say... it looks fabulous!! I don't have pictures of it yet because it's not all decorated. I still need to mark off the inches, stencil Lincoln's name and sew on a few buttons here and there for color. The fabric that makes up the chart is alternating squares of tan and brown... except, they aren't perfect squares. The edges that meet are cut at an angle and have a tad of fringe. If that makes sense?! Each year we will make a hand print. I'm planning on using shades of green, orange and blue for the hands and buttons. Lincoln's first year hand print is green!! So cute!!!

Anyways, the reason for this post is to a) say thanks to my mom... who is awesome!! And, b) to show this video of Lincoln watching my mom sew. Apparently, sewing is hilarious!!!