Fall Fun and My Crazy 3 Year Old

There are always so many fun activities to do during Fall. This year we have already been to a Fall Festival, where Lincoln got to go on a hayride, jump on a trampoline, and play outside with tons of kids; we have talked about monsters and pumpkins at preschool; we went to a corn maze; and we still have to go to a pumpkin patch to pick out some pumpkins for carving and we still have Halloween to look forward to. Mom bought us a groupon for the corn maze, which included some other activities. Here is Lincoln riding "Susie Q." Dave took this picture, he was riding on "Bessie." I'm bummed I didn't have the camera to take a picture of both of them.

I know most people think their kids are funny, but at night, Dave and I will recap all the different things Lincoln says and laugh! He is so entertaining. Here are some recent ones...

Dave asked Lincoln if he wanted another little brother (this is not a hint at anything, I'm not pregnant, and will not be for a while...probably). Of course, Lincoln said yes. When Dave asked him what the baby's name should be, Lincoln decided on "Fooie Baby."

We go to church for 3 hours on Sunday. Kids Lincoln's age attend nursery for 2 of those hours. After church we had a "family night" where we were talking about different stories from the Bible. He did something naughty and went to his room for a time out. All of the church talk paid off: when Dave went in to talk to him, Lincoln immediately said, "I'm sorry, cause Jesus love me and I love him. Daddy is special Jesus. Are you?" I think he knew that if he threw the J word around, he wouldn't get in trouble.

Lincoln waves nd says hello to everyone while we are out. Lately, when we see someone the pattern goes: first a wave, then a "Haaay", then a "What is that his name." It doesn't matter if it's a girl or a boy.

My mom gave Lincoln a catalog of toys to look at in the car. Now all Lincoln talks about is this Santa train. We told him we didn't have money, and that he needed to ask Santa. Lincoln's reply was, "Buuuut Mooom, I've got monies in my pocket."

He doesn't quite get the meaning of some words. He will randomly say "I promise" or "Is that cool" or "A lot."

I have to include this next one, because it really made me laugh! Please don't continue reading, if you are offended by private parts talk.

On Friday morning, I was doing dishes, while Lincoln was eating breakfast at the table. He said, "Mom, I love my business." (Business is our word for the male private part.) I asked him what he said, and again he repeated it. I walked towards the table so I could see him and asked, "Why." He said, "Because I can do this...bingadingadong (he was playing his business like a guitar)."

Every night, I say special prayers for that child! Drake is my sensitive, sweet boy. He is growing so fast. At his last Dr's appointment he weighed over 16 pounds and was 26 inches long. He loves to eat rice cereal with pears or apple, so he is going to get even chubbier. I start to tear up when I think about how lucky I am to have him! He really is just the sweetest baby.

Serious Faces

Utah

The 4 Shinsels were in the car by 4am in order to get to the airport on time. Lincoln was so excited about the trip, he didn't fall asleep until after 10pm. We thought for sure he would sleep in the car...nope. Then we thought for sure he would fall asleep on the airplane...kinda. He drifted off as we were descending. I carried him and his car seat off the plane, so he only got a 15 minute nap. It turns out that's all he needed. He was so thrilled to see first Uncle Reed and almost Aunt Chelsea, Deanne, and the whole gang staying at Jeff and Jen's house. Grandma and Papa Shinsel drove the RV down from Oregon and had it parked outside the house. Barry, Amy, and Mya drove in from Provo. Corey drove his motorcycle over (Lincoln still thinks every motorcycle he hears is Corey's). Friday was nice, because we didn't have any plans. We ate dinner and just hung out in Kaysville.

The wedding was at 8:20am, so we needed to be inside the Temple by 7:50am. I could pick out Chelsea's family members, because they all look so similar! It was fun to finally meet her side of the family. The wedding ceremony was lovely, Chelsea was lovely...the whole day was lovely. The weather was perfect! Jeff brought up Lincoln and Drake, since they were part of the wedding party. It was a little of a struggle to convince Lincoln that suspenders are cool, but once he had them on, he worked them.

After pictures we had a delicious lunch at the Joseph Smith Memorial Building, which used to be The Utah Hotel. I forgot how gorgeous that building is!

Saturday afternoon we had a little downtime before the reception at Heritage Park in Salt Lake City. Lincoln just loved playing at Will's house. They played so well together, like they had never been apart.

Even though we were far from home, Reed had quite a few people come to the reception. It was fun to have a little Hickory reunion. Chelsea's family did a great job decorating and baking for the reception. Dave and Lincoln enjoyed the ice cream sundae bar! Chelsea and Reed had the newlywed glow: they are such a great match for each other. Of course they played the ukulele and sang together at the reception.

On Sunday, my little man turned 3! I'm still having a hard time believing that I am the mother of a 3 year old. Lincoln was so excited for his combined birthday party with Will (They were born 3 days apart.). The Sherwins were so kind to let us party at their beautiful house in Alpine. It was another gorgeous day, so the kids had fun playing outside. I thought there was going to be some drama with opening presents, but the boys were happy with what they got. The drama happened when the helium balloons popped.

The weekend went by too fast. It is always hard to leave such good friends and of course our family. We are so appreciative of all the people who gave us a place to stay, fed us, watched our kids, drove us around and entertained us. We are thrilled to have Chelsea as a part of our family!

Behind

I'm behind in my blogging, but I needed to write these things down before I forget them. Things that a mother wants to remember...

Drake giggled for the first time 2 weeks ago. He was looking at himself in the mirror and thought he was pretty funny. He also rolled over from his back to his tummy for the first time yesterday. He has been trying pretty hard for the past week, and he finally did it! Drake loves to chew on his fingers, the more he can shove in, the better. He also likes to chew on burp clothes, actually he just likes to chew on anything. My shoulders are soaked from his slobber after holding him.

Lincoln is doing a great job at throwing fits when he doesn't get his way. I don't understand why he continues to put on such spectacles, because I never give in to what he wants. Maybe he just thinks ONE day she will give in! I was so proud of myself because I didn't raise my voice at all one day, while he was throwing a fit in the car. I just started to sing. Then Lincoln started yelling, "STOP SINGING" over and over. I told him I would stop singing if he would stop crying. He immediately stopped (I have a pretty terrible singing voice.). Lincoln is very sweet when he isn't throwing fits. Today he told me he was going to use his screwdriver to turn me into a princess. You say when buddy! It still makes me melt when out of nowhere Lincoln tells me he loves me. I am a lucky momma.