Conversations With Lincoln

This last week or so Lincoln has started to sound more like a little teenager more than ever before.  Here are just a few of the conversations from this week.  As you can see, there is a little trend with his new found "cool" words.  I have no idea where he came up with these from.

Typically Lincoln will watch a TV show or two upstairs in our bedroom before he goes to bed.  He knows if his show is over then it's bedtime.  A couple nights ago I was downstairs working on somethings when his show ended.
Lincoln: "Mom, come turn off the TV upstairs."
Me: "Okay, I'm coming."
Lincoln: "Okay, but I'm just coming downstairs to hang out with you for a little while."
**********************

After picking Lincoln up from school one day we stopped in to pick up some take out from Pei Wei (yummy!) Since I called in the order a head of time and knew it was ready, I decided that I would leave the boys in the car really quick while I ran inside.  (Don't judge me.  I was like 10 feet from them, the air was on, the car was locked and I watched them the entire time.) Anyway, when I got back to the car I knew Logan was crying.
Me: "You guys okay?  I see Logan was crying. Lincoln were you okay?"
Lincoln: "Yes, I was just chillin in the car but Logan was crying."
***********************

While Ricky was gone on his motorcycle trip we cherished the few minutes in the evenings that we got to talk with him on the phone. The boys faces would light up and a huge smile would come to their face when they heard their daddy's voice.
Ricky: "Lincoln bud, how you doing?"
Lincoln: "Good. I'm just hangin with Mom and Logan."

115

 There is no doubt summer is upon us. Yesterday's temperature...115 degrees.  It isn't the most fun time of the year to be outside but we always manage to get through it.  I forget it's that hot until I go outside. Thank goodness for fabulous air conditioners, flip flops, sunglasses, hats, Schwan's Home Delivery, malls and other fun indoor places. Here are a few things that have kept us busy and cool this last week.

Lincoln loves Chuck E Cheeses so we spent an evening there last week.  Logan just like to run around and be in the birthday area with the characters.  

We took a tour yesterday or Cerreta's Chocolate Factory.  There chocolate is SO good but I wasn't all that impressed with the tour.  There wasn't much for us to actually see. 

 Lincoln was able to watch trays of chocolate on a conveyor belt so he was pretty happy with that. 

The best part...picking out his treats when we were done. 

 Logan picked out jelly beans and managed to bite a hole through the plastic bag while he was holding it.   Next thing I know there were jelly beans all over the floor.  Lincoln quickly picked them up and threw them away.  He was a good helper and earned a sticker for his nice chart. 

Logan picked out hats for the boys to wear. 

 He has quite the little sense of humor.  He thought he was so clever when he got a laugh from his brother by doing this. 

 

 Evenings around here are beautiful. It cools down and makes for the perfect time for walks. 

Lots of baths to stay clean and cool. We tried some new bathtub markers this time. 

Our Family

Our situation isn't the most traditional but it works for us.  Ricky was in court reporting school and I was already established in my career when we decided to have kids. We knew we definitely wanted one of us to stay home and given the situation, it made sense for me to continue working and Ricky became a stay at home dad once Lincoln came along. I've always had flexibility with my job and started working from home consistently about four years ago. I love working from home.  I had to learn how to do it successfully over the years but it really is a great blessing.  I can eat lunch with the boys, help put them down for naps if needed.  I'm here when Logan is sleeping if Ricky needs to go pick up Lincoln  or run an errand.  It provides a great deal of flexibility. I also have no commute and little prep time so I have more time with my family.
Because of our situation, it allows our family to be together A LOT. I know a lot of couples that would struggle if they spent as much time together as Ricky and I do.  I know a lot of women who essentially have the lifestyle of a single mom because their husbands are working so much out of the home. Not that it's anyone persons fault if that's the case but it's just what they've grown used to.
This week with Ricky gone I've done a lot of thinking and it's been very eye opening for me. I miss him.  Funny enough...I need him. (It's funny because I consider myself a very independent person.) Ricky and I have been apart before. I think the longest was for 12 days. I'm enjoying my time off work and with the boys.  We've done a lot of fun activities, accomplished some projects and had great one on one time but it's just not the same as when daddy's around.
What I realized this time though is that even though we sometimes want and need a short break from each other or the boys, our situation is really a blessing.  We love spending our time together as a family.  We love being able to support each other in raising our children together.  I love that neither of us have to miss out on important milestones in the boys' lives.  I always love some time to myself; I think it's important for both Ricky and me to have that.  Everyone needs that alone time but when given the option/chance, I want to spend my time with Ricky. I hope one day our boys will appreciate the fact that we are able to be around as much as we are.  I feel lucky. I'm blessed in many ways and I am grateful for my family.

I took this of the boys right before Ricky left on his ride. 

Ricky sent this from Mt. Rushmore today. 

And He's Off!

Today Ricky left for a ten day motorcycle ride through Colorado, South Dakota, Idaho, Wyoming and Utah.  He will be spending for first three days on the road with our neighbor, Jon.  He will then meet up with his friends from California, the Rizzo brothers. It's been an annual tradition for Ricky to go on the Rizzo brothers ride.  After all, they call him the brother from another mother!  They are Ricky's closest friends and he really is just like another part of the family.  Ricky is excited to finally get out on his bike and just ride. It's hard for him to get away sometimes so I'm happy that he can take this break and go.
We will miss him but I've got some fun stuff planned for me and the boys!

 Ricky spent weeks packing - trying to figure out how to get everything in a tank bag and tail bag. 

 Jon rides a Harley and doesn't use protective gear - quick the opposite from Ricky so they look like a mismatched pair of riders. 

And then they were off! 

Sharky Brush

Logan recently took pictures so that his adorable little face could be on the packaging for the Sharky training toothbrush/teether by Live-Right.  These shots are before the graphic artist gets to them and he of course will fix the background, lighting and possibly even the color of his shirt!  Here are a few of my favorites...
(PS - this product is available on Amazon.  There is also a Baby Banana Brush and banana teether available too.)

 This one makes me laugh every time I see it.  Where did that face come from?  It's as if he saw a shark in real life. This one will not be used in the advertising. =)

 Lincoln was feeling a little left out so we snapped a few of the brothers...

 The classic tackle and then Logan was done. 

We can't wait to see the finished packaging!

It's Summer Time!

Things I love about summer:
flip flops...

 water fun...

 and cold yummy treats...

I'm not going to lie...it is hot! We've made it to the hundreds the last couple of weeks. Summer is so fun though.  I love everything about it! There is just this feeling that comes along with summer. It makes we want to travel, work on projects, clean the house and just have fun!

Logan Goes to Nursery

Since Logan turned 18 months old a few weeks ago he now can finally go to nursery at church!  He's been going to nursery with me (since I'm the 2 year old nursery leader) but it will be nice for him to be in his own class with the younger and smaller kids.  He seemed to like it the first couple of weeks but didn't do so well last week.  He is very different than Lincoln was at this age so it's a new experience for us. Lincoln was happy to be away from us and didn't even say bye when we dropped him off.  He was happy to be with the other kids and play with the new toys.  Logan...not so much. 
I was always a little bit jealous of kids that wanted to be with their parents. Lincoln was so independent that sometimes I thought the grass was greener on the other side.  I thought it would be so nice that your child loved you SO much that they didn't want to leave.  Be careful what you wish for.  Now that we have Logan, who has a much more clingy personality, I don't know that it's necessarily better.  It comes with it's challenges too.  Logan will cry for about 2-3 minutes when we drop him off but then he seems to get over it pretty quickly.  Last week I took him out early because I could hear him crying from down the hall.  He does really well with a babysitter and at the gym daycare so I'm sure a few more weeks of getting used to nursery and he'll be fine.  
It's pretty fascinating to me that at such a young age, being raised the same way, that my boys are different. They have a lot in common too. They are definitely born with their own personalities and it's our job to guide them and help them develop that. I love them both so much and I'm thankful for what they bring to our family. 


My sweet baby boy is growing up. This was before church on May 29, the first Sunday in his nursery class.

Conversations With Lincoln

Sometime last month as Lincoln and I walked downstairs early one morning, we rounded the corner to the playroom and Lincoln jumped back as you would if you were startled and then he blurted out, "Ahh, brown wall, you scared me!"
Later at some point in that week he told me his brown wall was beautiful.
****************************
While we were up at Tutu's house last month there were tons of hilarious things that Lincoln said. I tried to capture a few of them.  One day I was in the bathroom getting ready for the day.  Lincoln was in the sitting area of the bathroom looking into the mirror while this conversation took place.
(see picture of mirror below)
Lincoln: "Okay, talk to me!"
Me: "Who are you talking to?"
Lincoln: "The mirror."
Me: "The mirror is going to talk to you?" (I said in a slightly surprised yet sarcastic voice.)
Lincoln: "Yes."
Me: "What does it say?"
Lincoln: (In a small high pitched voice) "Let me out of here!"

*************************
The day that we went to the Pocatello Zoo we first went to out to lunch.  On our way from lunch to the zoo we saw a life size stuffed gorilla standing on the sidewalk that was holding a sign advertising a local business.  We were stopped at a red light and could see this gorilla right outside our window.
Lincoln: "Are we there yet?"
Me: "Where?"
Lincoln: "At the zoo."
Me: "Do you see animals?"
Lincoln: "Yes."
Ricky: "What kind?"
Lincoln: "Gorillas."
*************************
Over memorial day weekend we hung out at the house cleaning, doing projects and playing with water in the backyard. We were all in the backyard with the water table when Lincoln ran inside to go potty. We were making our way back inside when Lincoln came running out.
Lincoln: (in a concerned voice) "Um, Mom, Dad."
Us: "What?"
Lincoln: "I think I need to go back to the pee pipe doctor. (This is what we call the urologist.)
Us: "Why?"
Lincoln: "So he can make my pee pipe lots lots bigger like daddy's!"
Needless to say Ricky and I instantly started busted up laughing.  What else do you do!?  I immediately went and wrote the conversation down while Ricky tried to explain to Lincoln that pee pipe doctors are for fixing owies and that only time will help what he's asking for.  Who knew we would have that conversation with our three year old.
**************************
We are realizing now more than ever that kids are like parrots.  They repeat what they hear.  I'm grateful that Lincoln has so many positive experiences at school but he's picked up a few bad habits here and there too...like when he told Ricky and I that we were getting on his nerves.  You can guarantee that we had a long follow up conversation with him about that one.