Even though Lincoln isn't even two yet I feel like we've entered a completely different stage of raising a toddler. As of March not much had changed for him compared to a few months before, but suddenly he has grown up a ton and become less of a baby and more of a kid. Right around the time we left for Florida he stopped nursing. Pregnancy caused my milk to decrease a lot, especially the longer I was pregnant. Eventually he was only wanting to nurse at nap time and bed time. Then we started rocking in the rocking chair to sleep and nursing just sort of fizzled out. By the time we got here he had not nursed for about 3 weeks, and we never really looked back. Since we got here he has also started sleeping all the way through the night without even the slightest trouble. This was a big deal for us since up until we left he still woke up at least once. Now, he never wakes up. I'm so glad that we got all of this sleep stuff worked out long before we have another arrival. Otherwise I would have been panicking at this point.
Lincoln has also turned into quite a helper. He loves to help do dishes, put laundry in the washer or dryer or away in the drawers. He will help clean up his toys. Although, usually he will dump out the bin again about 5 minutes later. He likes to help use the vacuum and pretends to use the dirt devil vacuum too. He will get rags to wipe up water or other things he spilled as well. It's been so funny to realize all of the things he observes during the day. But along with this he has also figured out that chairs make him taller and he has learned to scoot chairs up to the kitchen table or counters so that he can reach what he wants. I never would have expected how much that one thing would change everything about life at home. He definitely gets himself into way too much trouble. And just like every other home with a toddler--silence is never a good thing!
Before we moved the weather started to get really nice in Utah and Lincoln discovered how awesome the world was outside. There were two families that lived down the street with us that also had younger kids and he loved to be outside with them and play with all sorts of toys. He would go up to the door and point and ask to go outside. Sometimes we could, but we were also still having some really cold days mixed in with those nice days and he learned quickly that being outside when it was cold and windy wasn't nearly as much fun. Around this time he also discovered bubbles. HE LOVES BUBBLES! In nursery class they would turn on a bubble machine at the end of the hour and he went crazy! It was hilarious.
He also loves to dance. Any song that's on either on the computer or on TV he instantly starts dancing. And if he really wants to get into it he will grab my hand and pull me up to dance with him.
Finally, Lincoln has also started talking. Before we left he started to get a lot better at understanding us, which was major progress at that point. He just wasn't really getting the whole talking thing earlier on. Now he understands even more of what we say, but he also says several words.
His first official word that was tied to an object was 'shoes'. He also now says mama, dada, ball, light, no, stop, nana (food), uh-oh, and hot. A few weeks ago we were kind of driving around to explore the area and also find Best Buy when we decided to go into Target. In the car Sean and I had been talking about how since we had been here the realization of our responsibilities for Lincoln and our family seemed so much heavier than before because literally no one here that is our age is either married or has any kids. We stick out like sore thumbs! When we pulled up to Target Lincoln immediately saw the big red balls cemented to the ground in front and as Sean got him out of his car seat he wiggled right to the ground and started running with his finger in the air pointing and yelling "ball, ball, ball". That moment was so priceless to me because we both kind of looked at each other and smiled and all I could think was that all these other people have no idea what kind of perfect happiness they are missing out on. Having a toddler is hard. Lincoln is very opinionated, and he will usually have a small tantrum if he doesn't get what he wants. And believe me, he makes more messes than I ever thought was humanly possible. He is 'strong willed' and a 'hand full' and probably all those other cliche things people say in regards to having a kid that challenges your patience. But it goes without saying that he bring more joy to our family than just Sean and I could bring to each other. We are getting more and more excited to have this second little boy join our family for so many different reasons. I'm excited to have a cute, cuddly little baby again and we are both so excited to have two babies that can form a bond with each other as well. I am quickly becoming even more out numbered here at home, but I love my boys and wouldn't have it any other way! :)
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