Big Brover

(Lincoln at Sean's birthday party a couple weeks ago. These are his best buddies.)

Lincoln is doing really well adjusting to being a "big brover." He loves to hold Drake and stroke his head. Link is ready for Drake to be playing, he will say, "baby brover, wook at dis toy, wook." I took Lincoln out to get donuts the other night, to have some alone time with him. As soon as we got to the car he pointed to Drakes car seat and said, "baby brover sits there." He said it twice. I am glad that he considers Drake a part of the family.

PBS has been a staple lately. We all know this tv network tends to be on the liberal side. While we were at the park, some landscapers were trimming the trees. Lincoln screamed out, "Noooooo, stop hurting my trees!" As soon as I told Dave (who is pretty conservative) he told me no more Sesame Street. He also said he was going to buy Lincoln an ax!

Mom and Maxine took Lincoln to a cool park last Wednesday. It was great to just hang out at home and hold Drake all day. It has been wonderful having Grandma stay with us. I'm very thankful for Papa, who has been away from her this long. She has been Lincoln's constant playmate and a huge help around the house. I would feel like a jerk asking her to vacuum or clean my kitchen floor, but I know she loves it!

Feeling Good

I can't believe how good I feel! I have been off pain meds for 2 days, and today I haven't even had to take a nap. I was feeling so good, we went on an adventure with Grandma today.

I sat on the side of the pool, while Grandma took Lincoln for a swim.

It took me a while to get a mid-air shot, but I did it!

Drake was there too, he slept the whole time.

I am not going to lie, I wanted a girl BUT I am so in love with this little boy. He is the best baby! Dave and I are amazed that we don't have to do much to make him happy. He smiles all the time and only gets upset when he has to get his bottom cleaned. I took him to the dr's today and he is now past his birth weight at 7lbs 10 oz, which is fantastic. The nurse was impressed.

Baby Brother

Lincoln got a baby brother on Wednesday at 12:56pm. Drake weighed 7 lbs 6 oz and was 20.5 inches long. Everyone told me the second c-section would be better, and they were right! I have been feeling so much better. I will write more details when I get this computer charged and when I am off my pain killers. Who knows what kind of details I would include if I started typing right now...yikes!

Drake has been such a fantastic, mellow baby. He smiles a ton in his sleep and loves to look at lights when he is awake. It is amazing how much you can love a little one, even though he has only be around 5 days!

Lucky Children

Lincoln is one lucky boy, because my parents took him to Tweetsie Railroad (an amusement park) to see Thomas the Tank Engine. I am one lucky girl, because I had a very relaxing Saturday at Rock Barn Spa (a little piece of heaven).

Mom and Dad, who celebrated their 34th anniversary that day, came home exhausted from the crowds and standing in line. I came home with freshly painted toe-nails!

My cousin Donna and her 4 kids stayed in Hickory the night before Tweetsie and joined them at the park the next day. It was so nice to see her and her adorable family (I'm not just saying this because you read my blog Donna!). Dad took her 3 older kids on some of the bigger rides. I love their faces of pure joy and horror in this picture (they are the 3 starting from the left).

Camping...kinda

Lincoln was counting down the days until he got to go camping with his Dad and Dave E. Because Dave had to work and drive up to Hickory, we decided it would be easier to "camp" at the Edwards backyard. They recently set up a fire pit, so we knew there would be a place to roast marshmallows. I came over and enjoyed some s'mores and then spent the night inside with Rachel. Besides the marshmallows, some highlights of the night for Lincoln were:

watching the campfire

catching fireflies

watching Curious George in the tent

wearing Dave's headlamp

sleeping right beside/on top of Dave during the night

We all enjoyed a big breakfast in the morning: Lincoln woke up at 6:15am from the sunlight. Thanks so much Dave and Rachel for the fun times!

Proof Dave was there...I blinded him with the flash
Watching a movie in the tent
The excitement is obvious about the campfire

There is walking space!

We are all moved in our new place, and there is walking space now! I am grateful 7 men from the ward plus my dad showed up to help on Saturday morning. Lincoln stayed at a friend's house that morning, so that I could help direct where everything went. Dave picked up the uhaul truck in the pouring rain on Friday night and loaded/dropped off a good amount that night. We worked hard all day Saturday, and Sunday we had to finish cleaning out the house. I have to dote on Dave a little, because he worked so hard Friday-Sunday, so that I wouldn't have to. He did get upset with me when I tried to lift Lincoln's wooden toy box and dropped it on my foot. I know, I shouldn't have even tried. It has been my personal nightmare to stare at things I can't move or organize. I also have to give props to my dad, who came down and helped Saturday and Sunday.

We drove up Sunday night to drop some things off at our storage unit/aka my parent's basement. Dave was looking forward to taking a bath in their claw foot tub and working in the shop with some new tools. He went into the garage to load a new chuck on his lathe, looked down and saw a copperhead snake by his foot. Dad could tell something was wrong when Dave asked him to come downstairs, so he booked it as fast as he could. It took them a good 20 minutes to find it, shoot it with bbs, and eventually chop it up (gross I know). The poor guys were so tired, but couldn't go to sleep with all the adrenaline they had.

We had a nice relaxing Memorial Day: Lincoln and I spent some time with the Edwards. Actually, Lincoln didn't want to leave their house. I told him he could spend the night, but I was going to go, and he didn't care one bit: he was going to let me walk to the car without him. That stinker! I bet he would have cared a couple hours later.

Lincoln went with me to my dr's appointment on Tuesday, because mom has been out of town. He was very well behaved and liked it when the dr told him I had a train in my belly. Lincoln started running around the room choo-chooing. I was surprised to learn that the baby has turned head down (I was told at this point, it probably wouldn't) and my body is preparing to have this baby naturally. I wouldn't mind if he/she showed up before the 15th, as I am starting to get uncomfortable.

We have a lot of fun things planned over the next couple weeks...one thing Lincoln is looking forward to is camping with his dad and Dave E. We have read a couple books about camping, he is excited to roast marshmellows. I can't wait to see pictures!