The sky turned black

I grew up in NC, so I remember practicing for tornado warnings. We had to go in the cafeteria, crouch down and put our arms over our heads. I also remember hurricane hugo ripping through and taking down tons of trees in our area. Those are the reasons I was freaking out a couple nights ago when I could feel the thunder through the walls, I could see the lightning getting closer and the rain coming down in sheets. Sure enough we had a tornado warning, so Dave went into action mode. He found the flashlights, moved furniture around and spread blankets on the ground. I brought Lincoln downstairs with us, and we had a little slumber party until the warning was over.

The next day, Lincoln was taking a nap, when the sky turned black. The thunder started up again, so I checked the weather. Dang if I didn't have to wake Lincoln up again and take him downstairs because of another tornado warning. This time the tornado was only 9 miles away. Poor Dave was watching the sky from the 4th floor of his glass office building! I was just glad last night, we were tornado warning free and didn't have to wake up Lincoln.

Baking with a 2 year old

I should have known, really I should have learned my lesson last week. I thought it would be so fun for our family night to take Lincoln to a pumpkin patch. I had these images in my head that he would run through the field, giggling and excited to pick his own pumpkin. Dang if there wasn't a playground in the parking lot, so Lincoln was not interested at all. I thought he would enjoy scooping out the pumpkin to carve it, but again, he wasn't interested.

One week later, I think, "Oh, it will be so fun to make and decorate Halloween cookies with Lincoln." I have lots of cookie cutters and even bought food coloring for the project. Lincoln didn't care about anything but eating the cookie dough. Seriously, he probably ate a pound of it yesterday. I only used cookie cutters for a dozen cookies, then gave up and dropped the rest of the dough on the cookie sheet. I was still determined and had Lincoln help frost them later. After every cookie we frosted, he swirled his tongue across the beautiful cookie. Needless to say, only half of the cookies got frosted. I even gave up taking pictures of the whole process. We are going to wait another year to do some of the holiday stuff I thought he was ready for!

Starting off ok, even though he did have to taste the flour when I first spread it out.

Now the eating begins and doesn't stop until I put the camera down.

Anxiously awaiting to eat more...the gross streaky stuff on the door is stuck in the glass, and I can't clean it.

Fall Fun

Sometimes I feel bad that Dave is working and Lincoln and I are out playing during the day. We have been enjoying this Fall weather and have taken advantage of lots of activities that go on during this time of year. I really do love Fall: I would love it even more if I knew Winter wasn't about to come!

Last week, the 2 of us joined some other ladies from church for a mountain adventure. First we stopped to get apples at Levering Orchards. The people were so friendly: they told us what certain apples were good for and let us sample what ever kind we wanted. I wish I had Barry's (my BIL) photography skills and his camera, because there were some great photo opps. I promise, I didn't dress him in overalls on purpose, but I'm glad he had them on!



Next, we went drove up the Blue Ridge Parkway to Mabry Mill. I would have been happy just to drive on the parkway, because it was GORGEOUS this time of year! The trees are at their peak Fall colors right now. This mill is so picturesque. I felt like I transported into a different time period. Lincoln liked looking at the ducks and climbing in the wagon with his buddy Denzil.




One night we went to "Dark in the Park." A large band played at Bethabara park, while kids ran around in their Halloween costumes. They also had hayrides for the kids and ice cream; however, Lincoln enjoyed playing on the train tracks. He kept saying, "Train coming." Lincoln broke in his skeleton costume, so it's all ready for the big night.



Dave has still been working hard on his woodworking project, so Lincoln and I visited mom and dad. We took the little guy to Tweetsie Railroad, for the third time this year. This time was great, because we were some of the first people in the park. It was a little chilly, so I guess most people were sleeping in. Because Lincoln was the only one on some of the rides, I could tell the workers to stop the ride if he got upset. So this time, Lincoln tried out 3 new rides! He rode 2 different airplane rides and a boat ride all by himself. After he got off, he was beaming with pride. What a big boy!

Embarrassing Moments

Have you ever felt embarrassed for your child? I have had a few of those moments over the past couple days.

Last Tuesday: I took Lincoln to music and movement class at the library. My child was the only one spinning in circles while the other children were doing hand motions to "Wheels on the Bus" and "Itsy Bitsy Spider." He would spin so much until he would fall into the other kids. My child was the one sprinting around the room during the limbo song, while the other kids danced around calmly with their moms.

Last night: I smelled something really nasty right when Lincoln walked into the kitchen, where I was finishing up dishes. I was confused because the smell was coming not only from his bum, but also his hands. Then I felt really embarrassed (and grossed out) when he stuck those fingers into his mouth! He shivered like he had just eaten a lemon, but then...he did it again!

This afternoon: My 2 year old loves you tube videos, not cartoons, but videos of helicopters, trains, monster trucks, airplanes, etc. We watched a new video with F 14's today. When the first plane zoomed by Lincoln said, "Oh my gosh, fast airplane." The rest of the video he kept repeating "Dudes, or WOW." How does such a young guy get such a thrill out of those videos?

Myrtle Beach

Mom has been craving the beach for the past year, so she treated Lincoln and me to a few days at Myrtle Beach in South Carolina. Dad couldn't go because this is a really busy time at work, and Dave needed to stay at home and work on a woodworking project he has to get done in a couple weeks. We missed the guys, but we still had fun without them!

The weather was perfect...not too hot but still warm enough to sit out in your bathing suit and go swimming in the ocean. The resort we stayed at had lots of activities to do, even an indoor waterpark. I'm impressed with how well Lincoln did just playing in the sand. We spent most of our time down at the beach. Of course, all the snacks and juiceboxes helped.

While we were at the beach, Lincoln called me Julie twice. Because I didn't pay attention to him, he stopped calling me Julie, but now he calls me mom instead of momma. He has been randomly yelling MOM lately. I don't know, he's a weird dude. He behaved very well when we went out to eat; it may have been the Wonderpets I played for him on the dvd player. Please don't judge me, I just wanted to eat my seafood in peace, because I rarely get to enjoy seafood (Dave hates it!). Plus, we were outside, where it didn't bother anyone else. I'm still thinking about the delicious shecrab soup I had.

When we got back home, we went to the Dixie Classic Fair in Winston. It was actually a really big fair, with lots to see. Lincoln really liked seeing a pig race (They raced around a track for an oreo.), and he LOVED all the tractors. Dave ate a huge gyro and is still talking about how good it was. I'm glad he was able to take a break and join us at the fair.

Sleep Update

I have very few pictures of Lincoln sleeping, because I feel like I am racing towards the bed to get myself to sleep after he goes down. This is not a complaint, only a update. I am thankful for my Aunt Cheryl for her wonderful advice that has helped get Lincoln out of bed with us. Lincoln can successfully fall asleep in his bed and stay asleep for 8-9 hours. I sit outside of his bedroom until he falls asleep, with 2 baby gates in his doorway so he can't crawl out. Some nights it only takes 10 minutes for him to go down, and some nights I have to warn him that Daddy will have to come sit by his doorway if he doesn't stay in bed. I talk with Lincoln during the stay about staying in bed all night, and we say a prayer together before he falls asleep, asking that Lincoln will not be scared and will stay in his bed all night.

I am also doing a rewards system for him. If he sleeps in his bed all night he gets a sticker in the morning. When he gets 5 stickers he gets to go out for french fries or a milkshake. I wasn't sure he would grasp the concept, but we often hear him say, "5 stickers, french fries milkshake." We just enjoyed a strawberry milkshake from Chick-fil-A on Friday!