Travels and Transitions

We've kept ourselves very busy this month.  Lots of activities and changes for us.  Here is a quick rundown of what we've been up to.

• Lincoln turned 18 months old on May 10th.  He transitioned to the Wee School (comes before preschool) at his daycare.  It's for 18 months to 3 year olds.   He gets to play outside at the park and on the big kids toys.  Now at school he sleeps on a little mat for nap time with no blanket, teddy bear or pacifier instead of in his own crib. 
• He also got his first big scrap and scab on and under his nose because he climbed through the window of a plastic toy house and fell on his face. He loves to climb so I figured it was just a matter of time before he ended up with scraps and bruises.  Hopefully we won't have any stitches or broken bones for a while.  He has complained about it and the scab has finally come off but it's prolonged his 18 month old pictures. 
• He has transitioned into the nursery at church and seems to be adjusting well.  He likes the animal cookies they give at snack time and loves all the new toys.  I think having him in daycare has really helped him in adjusting to nursery.
• While at school a few weeks ago, Lincoln's teacher told us that he was in his crib, pulled an empty crib next to his, and crawled from his crib over the top into the other kids crib.  Luckily he didn't fall and the other kid wasn't there that day so he wasn't in his crib.  Of course this took place while Lincoln was supposed to be napping so when his teacher went to check on him she freaked out that he was such a good climber that he would scape a full size crib successfully.  Needless to say we were also worried that he would try it again and not be so lucky and perhaps fall.  Over the weekend we started Lincoln's bedroom transformation.  He is now sleeping in toddler bed and we're changing the theme of his room to Disney's Cars.  He seems to love cars and was SO excited to have a big boy bed with cars on it. 
• Ricky and I celebrated our 6th wedding anniversary, which also happen to fall on Mother's day this year.  We spent the day before getting pampered at a spa, which was really nice.  I got a facial, hair cut and color and Ricky got a message.  We then spent the next week in Las Vegas.   Thanks to Aunt Natalee, Grandma & Grandpa Tutu, we got to go without Lincoln.  It was the longest that I had been away from him but at the same time it was really nice to just be able to spend that time alone with Ricky.  We saw several shows, the Body Exhibit (which I highly recommend that everyone see) and enjoyed shopping and dining together.  We even got to spend some time soaking up the sun at the pool!  
• We've tried to spend our Saturday's and evenings out exploring.  We've gone on walks, played with sidewalk chalk, gone to the parks, Lincoln's gone on Grandpa's tractor up at the property, and we've taken some drives to near by cities.  Last Saturday we went to Rexburg to see Michaela and meet her finance Jared.  We spent the day visiting and getting to know him.  It was a really nice day and we can't wait til August to see them again on their wedding.  On Memorial day we went to Twin Falls which is where the Shashone Water Falls are at.  They were beautiful and we didn't expect something like that to be in the middle of Idaho.  There is also a famous bridge, that's a few minutes from the falls, that was build by Rick's ancestors so we saw that too.  I was surprised that Lincoln was so fascinated and interested in both the falls and the bridge.  He kept pointing and them as if to make sure we were seeing it too.  
• Aunt Natalee moved to Washington DC for the summer so we miss her.  Luckily there have been plenty of other visitors to keep us company.  Rick's brother Ryan, his wife and their kids came to visit over the weekend and next week Rick's sister Nancee and her daughter Erica are coming.  Erica and Lincoln are only two months apart so it'll be fun for them to play together.  
• The pregnancy seems to be progressing normally.  I've been able to feel the baby move a few times and we should find out in a few weeks if we're having a boy or girl.   If I had to guess I would say girl but we'll wait and see.  I was hoping that the sickness would go away after the first trimester but I haven't been so lucky.  It isn't as bad a it was but it is definitely still there.  

Here are a few pictures from the last few weeks.

This was at a local arcade place like a Chuck E Cheeses.  Lincoln loves rides and loves tractors so this was a good place for him.

Lincoln picked me a flower.  

This was in the Twin Falls Mall.  They had a little quarter arcade and Lincoln was so good at the games that he earned 250 tickets in using just $3.00.  He loves turning in tickets for prizes. This time he got a big bounce ball and a sucker.  He couldn't have been prouder of himself for winning prizes.  Doesn't he look like suck a big kid already!?!?

This is the canyon that the Shoshone Falls leads to.  It was so beautiful it looked like a backdrop for movie.  

Lincoln's been playing with his shadow.  This day he was trying to show me his shadow and he would wave at it.  Super cute!

Shoshone Falls.  

This is a statue of the man who build the Perrine bridge.  Ira Burton Perrine is Rick's great aunt's grandfather...hopefully that wasn't too confusing.  

Lincoln helped daddy build his new big boy Cars bed. 

We checked on Lincoln a couple hours after we put him to bed and this is how we found him.  

This is how he was in the morning after his first night in his toddler bed.  Surprisingly, he only fell out once. Luckily we lined the floor around his bed with extra pillows to soften the fall.  He seems to love his new bed.  Good thing he's transitioning well because the new baby will need his old crib in November!

By the way...

We're expecting a second baby!  I'm now 14 weeks along and baby seems healthy.  We've been to the doctor a couple of times and we've been able to hear the heartbeat twice.  Lincoln and the new baby will be exactly two years apart.  We are really excited that they will be close in age. 

Lincoln did the cutest thing the other day.  He is in the stage where he likes belly buttons.  So we've tried to explain to Lincoln that mommy has a baby in her tummy.  One morning after talking to him about the baby, he slightly lifted up my shirt, placed his eye on my belly button trying to see the baby.  He was a little confused as to why he couldn't see the baby.  I think he understands what we are saying - he just doesn't quite know what it all means.  He will be a great big brother!

By the way - I've been much more sick this time than I was with Lincoln.  With Lincoln I craved protein (steak, ribs, hamburgers) but this time around it's been all salt and sugar.  I know - it doesn't sound healthy but it's what I can keep down.  Maybe this drastic difference in diet means we're having a girl!?!  Well, we have to wait six more weeks to find out.  Can't wait!

Fun Times

The last couple of weeks we've had a few fun adventures.  We went to the the Spring Fair, saw the Monster truck show, Ricky and Lincoln went to the rodeo and the girls had a night out at a dinner theater.  I bet you didn't think there was that much to do in Pocatello, huh?  If there is something fun to do in town, we will scout it out.  We had a nice Easter and Lincoln got his first Easter basket.  Roo and Annie came up for the weekend which gave us an excuse to play the train game! Here are a few pictures from the last couple of weeks.

Lincoln on our way to see the Monster trucks.  That outfit (minus the crocs) is the most Idaho looking outfit he has so we thought we would try to blend in.

Since Lincoln is now almost 35 inches, Ricky got him a new basketball hoop.  He has to practice now for the NBA - check out his form!

For girls night out Sandy (my mother-in-law) Natalee (my sister-in-law) and Anne (my sister-in-law) went to a dinner theater and saw the play Grease.  It was cute and I think Danny Zuco had a crush on Annie.  The girl who played Sandy is on the left.

The train game!!  Ricky won this time.

Grandma and Grandpa Tutu got Lincoln a little Easter egg cake that had his name on it.  We let him have at it and this is what we got.  He actually was cleaner with it than I thought.  You have to admit this kid is adorable!

How Many Red Envelopes Will You Send?

RED ENVELOPE DAY

What: 
Get red envelopes or postcards and mail them on March 31st to the White House

When: 
March 31st, 2009

President Barack Obama
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Ave NW

Washington , D.C. 20500

On the back, write the following message.
This envelope represents one child who died because of an abortion.
It is empty because the life that was taken is now unable to offer anything to the world.
We will mail the envelopes out March 31st, 2009 (or before).

http://www.redenvelopeproject.org/

http://www.redenvelopeday.com/

Road Trip!!

Last week we took a road trip back to California.  We wanted to go to Disneyland, see family and get out of the cold.  (The getting out of the cold part didn't go so well since it was cold in CA - not Idaho cold - but cold for California.) We took a couple days to drive down with an overnight stay in Vegas.  We thought it would be fun for Lincoln to see all of the lights and big hotels, and it was.  Thanks to Wyatt for getting us into the Shark Reef at the Mandalay Bay! He gave us a great tour. Lincoln loves sharks so it was the perfect tourist attraction for us.  We saw the water at the Bellagio, played in the arcade at New York New York, went to the M&M store and ate In & Out!!  

The next morning we headed the rest of the way down to Anaheim. We stopped and saw a couple of friends and then checked into the Disneyland Hotel.  We met my family at the Cheesecake factory at the new Garden Walk in Anaheim.  It was fun to visit with everyone, especially with Vance and Caden!  We spent the next couple of days at the Disneyland Resort.  Some friends met us for dinner in Downtown Disney.  Lincoln had so much fun in Disneyland.  His favorite ride is still the carousel although I took him on Dumbo for the first time and I think that ties it for favorite ride.  He loved moving us up and down.  I on the other hand am not so fond of that ride but I wanted him to go on it.  He got so excited when we saw the characters.  He really likes Pluto.  Right when it was our turn to take a picture with him he practically dove out of my hands to give Pluto a kiss right on his nose.  We thought it was so cute that he did that without us even saying anything.  To my surprise, that is exactly how he greeted Mickey as well.  Just too cute!  

Thursday was our errands day.  We spent a couple hours at my mom's house so that we could visit and so Lincoln could play with his cousins.  We headed down to Temecula to see Rick's brother Barratt but not before seeing the tax man, going to Michael's and Target and giving Lincoln some time to play at Chuck E Cheese's.  We spent Friday and the San Diego Zoo.  I was surprised how many animals we saw.  Last time we went there I wasn't very impressed.  Lincoln got most excited about the rhinos.  If I had to guess why it's because they look most like dinosaurs.  We also really liked the giraffes and the polar bears. Friday evening was movie night at Barratt's house and then we started our drive home Saturday morning.  Lincoln was such a great little traveler.  We have a portable DVD player in the truck so of course that really helps.  

It was a fun trip and we made a lot of great family memories.  My only regret is that it was so short.  We didn't have time to visit everyone that we wanted to or do everything we wanted to do. Luckily we will be back in August for Michaela's wedding so hopefully we will have more time then.  I tried to limit the pictures down to my favorites but still there a quite a few!

We stayed at the Luxor and Lincoln liked the little statues.

Ricky promised Lincoln we would see the water and listed to the pretty music.  Unfortunately it was only an 8 minute show but it was still really pretty.

Welcome to Disneyland!

Lincoln loves Mickey!

Caden, Vance and Lincoln

Lincoln's favorite puppy!

Like father like son - of course he loves the Star Wars show.

Our room at the Disneyland Hotel overlooked the swimming pool.

The swimming pool was too cold so Lincoln made the best of it in the hut tub!

No fear - this is on the sky buckets at the zoo and Lincoln wasn't the least bit scared.

Last week he learned to growl like a lion so here he is making a lion noise. 

Lincoln got to pet some goats, sheep and pigs at the petting zoo.

My Big Greek Wedding

Congratulations to my brother Asa and his girlfriend Theresa who got engaged a couple weeks ago.  Asa proposed to her while they were in a gondola ride over the water. (You can see the gondolas in the picture going under the bridge.)  I thought it was a cute and well thought out proposal. They will be married in Greece next fall.  We are excited to have Theresa in the family! 

February Update

It doesn't seem that I am able to update the blog more than once a month right now so I'm just posting another monthly update.   February has been a bit of a roller coaster.  We've had a lot of fun but we've also been sick too.  Lincoln was sick for about 10 days with a pretty bad cold.  He's also gotten two more molars in which caused him to be a bit irritable.  

Our weekends have been filled up with little adventures like going sledding, going to the park (in a snow suit because it's still dang cold here) and going up to Grandma and Grandpa's new house - which is still under construction. Rick, Natalee and I have become "Ticket to Ride" fanatics. have been playing about five nights a week.  It has become our routine for after Lincoln goes to bed. If you haven't played the train game, Ticket to Ride, I would highly recommend it.  I've also gotten into online scrapbooking.  I've always been a scrapbooker but I've switched to an online program. It is so much faster and cheaper.  Costco will print 3 12x12 pages for $5.00.  I could never make three pages for five bucks before.  The other thing I really like about it is that there aren't any supplies to get out or put away and there's no paper mess all over the floor.  With Lincoln around, online scrapping is so much more convenient!  Anyway, not much more going on with us.  Just staying busy and trying to stay warm.

Ricky and Lincoln sledding from the top of the hill.  I couldn't believe how fast they went. 

Lincoln loves sledding!  The faster he goes, the bigger the smile!

I love this pondering face.  I wish I knew what he was thinking.

Since it was sunny and about 40 degrees we decided to spend sometime at the park.

It's not so easy to play with the toys when you have huge snow gloves on!

Lincoln's first attempt at a snow angel. 

Another Wedding

My little sister, Michaela, is engaged!!  Jared proposed to her a couple weeks ago down in Arizona (where he lives) while she was visiting.  I have only met him once but he seems like a nice enough guy.  She seems very happy and excited!