Third Time's a Charm

It's a GIRL!!!! I still can't believe it. I still just keep repeating it to myself. I still get excited when I think about buying dresses, bows, and tights with ruffles on the bottom!

I can't ever tell what the ultra sound pictures are supposed to be, but I figure I should post them.

I really thought it was going to be a boy, but I would have these fleeting thoughts like, "you know it just might be a girl." All of my symptoms have been different, but I have always heard, each pregnancy is different. With my boys, I was never nauseous, but I was feeling pretty seasick for 15 weeks with this one. I have also had headaches almost every day and heartburn after certain foods, which I never had with the boys. The one different thing that has been nice is that my skin has looked fabulous! My due date is Jan 16th, but I will go in a week early for my third and final c-section.

Surprise Visitors

Lincoln was bummed to leave New Jersey, so I told him some surprise visitors were coming to our house later that month. He threw around a ton of guesses, but was still very surprised to see Grandma and Papa at the airport. I video tapped his reaction, while I was driving. He started kicking his feet and put his hands to his mouth when he saw Papa. It was so cute!

It had been Christmas since we saw them last, so Drake was a little shy in the beginning. Lincoln talked and talked the whole way back to the house. It didn't take Drake very long to warm up, because I had a Young Women's meeting I had to go to that night, and Dave's flight was delayed. Grandma and Papa got to put the boys down for bed that night.

Dave didn't get in until 2 am, so the next day we took it easy. Thursday, we went to the Aviation Museum and IKEA. The boys always like going to the "airport museum" and it was fun to show Papa around. We even got to try out the inflatable slide/raft.

Our bed needed to be replaced, so it was great to have Grandma and Papa at IKEA to watch kids while we tried out different mattresses and checked out. While standing in the check-out line, I looked over and the boys were like billy goats: climbing all over the boxes and outdoor furniture. It is so nice not to sink into the middle of the bed now!

Friday was our day at the US National White water Center. This is such an amazing place, and it's only 10 minutes from our house! Olympic athletes come to train here and they do time trial events also. Lincoln had been counting down the days until he weighed 45 pounds: even weight to ride on the zip lines. This was a great way to motivate him to eat his dinner! Grandma, Papa, and Dave joined Lincoln on the zip lines.

 Drake was so ticked he couldn't go on the zip lines, so he made up his own rope's course.

 Lincoln also got to try out rock climbing. I am so impressed at how brave he was to try new things!

After lunch and climbing on some rocks, we were excited to go on our "War Canoe."

 Turns out it was more like a scenic ride. We were hoping for some water guns or something!

After a whole day in the sun, we were exhausted; however, we still found some energy to go eat BBQ with my mom and dad! We celebrated Papa's birthday the next day, and not much else as the weather was horrible. On their last day, Papa, Dave, and my dad all drove in the truck to pick up a huge lathe. This was a 3 person job, so I'm glad the 3 dudes could do that together. I can't wait to see the beautiful things Dave will create with that lathe, even though it makes it a little tricky walking in the garage!!

We are incredibly lucky to have such wonderful family and to live during these modern times, where we can travel across the country quickly. We are already counting down the days until we see our surprise visitors again!

Mother's Day-Present

One of my favorite things about Mother's Day and Father's Day, is hearing the Primary kids sing songs for everyone at church. Lincoln did not disappoint this year. He was the most energetic and enthusiastic singer up there. We had many "compliments" on his singing. One woman told me, "I bet he is work, huh?" Dave made me a nice dinner and installed some shelves in our 2nd pantry (it was the best gift!). I tried to have a nice shot of me and the kids, but we ended up with only a funny one.

The kids and I met a couple other families new to our town. They both have 4 year old boys, which has been such a blessing! We threw a Memorial Day party and invited our new friends. Just like most other boys, Drake loves to hang out with the big boys.

I took the kids strawberry picking the day after Memorial Day. A friend told me how beautiful the strawberries were and you can just grab them by the handful. I was hesitant to take both boys by myself, but decided the strawberries were worth it. Let me brag for 2 sentences please. My boys were wonderful! They followed all the rules; didn't run in between the paths; didn't grab the green strawberries; and stayed right by me. I wanted to yell to the other people there, "See my children. Do you see that they are following rules?" We picked a couple boxes full and then got to play on all the fun playground equipment on the farm.

This has been the craziest summer: we have had non-stop rain! Our pool membership is barely getting used, but we did sneak in some swim lessons for Lincoln. He actually did really well, and is comfortable putting his face under the water if he has goggles. He was also very brave and jumped off the diving board a couple times.

We celebrated Drake's 2nd birthday at Tweetsie Railroad. My parents also met us there. Luckily, we had nice weather, and the boys had a great time. It didnt' really surprise me Drake wanted to go on the bigger rides that Lincoln rode on. He even went on the Cyclone, where he was squeezed between my mom and Dave. I remember Maxine and I went on a ride like this at the fair. We screamed/laughed the whole time! Drake was just kind of stone faced.

Drake enjoyed opening presents and being sung to. I made him a doggy cake, which I have no pictures of. I also don't have any picture of Dave and the boys on Father's Day. I guess that was Dave's present this year! I did make him a yummy peach pie though.

I love fireworks, but Dave is not a huge fan. I decided to take Lincoln with me to watch the fireworks at our downtown, July 4th celebration. We played on the playground, danced to a live band, shared a cupcake and watched the fireworks in the rain. It was such a fun mommy/son date.

Unfortunately, Dave was swamped with work, so my parents drove the kids and I up to New Jersey for a little family reunion. We left at 3 a.m., hoping the kids would sleep in the car. They were too excited about the road trip, and being in a cool rental van, that their little eyes were wide open, even in the dark. Instead of sleeping, they watched Max and Ruby. We made a stop at Roadside America, a place with tons of model trains. My mom would visit there when she was a little girl, and I have lots of memories of stopping there as well.

 

 

Reed, Chelsea, my uncle's family, my grandma and parents had a fantastic trip. The weather was great: we went swimming in the lake everyday. Drake has no fear of the water, and would jump right in from the dock. My cousins loved playing with the boys. Lincoln was in heaven when he got to spend the night at Graham's house twice. It is always hard to leave family, but it was so nice to get home to Dave.

 Tons of pictures to come!

Iron Man for a Day

Lincoln has an Iron Man coloring and activity book. One page asked, "If you could be Iron Man for a day, what would you do?" I transcribed Lincoln's response.

     If I were both Lincoln Punch and Iron Man, I would go to my cousin's house in Tennessee. I would destroy my bad guys, they look different. They look like swords. But they are REAL swords! And my angry ball can help me fight that sword bad guy, and I have a real sword. We discrievement [Link's own word he made up, Dave and I think that he means disagreement, may be?] him and he gets all wrinkled and then what's next is he fights again with me.

We went swimming earlier this week, and I asked Lincoln to change into his swimsuit. He did. We came home and I asked him to change out of his wet swimsuit. He did. He came back downstairs and said, "I gotta tell you something funny mom. I swimmed in my undies!" He was so excited for the chance to go swimming, he forgot to take them off. I loved how he told me. He was half chuckling and half telling me!

On Friday, Drake was not feeling well. I put on a tv show for him to see if that would make him happy. Lincoln asked what I was doing, since we don't watch tv in the morning. I told him Drake wasn't feeling well, and I was going to see if the tv would make him be less grumpy. Lincoln responded, "Mom, when we are sick, we go to the doctor, we don't watch a show." I thought about it for a few minutes. Packed the kids up and went to the doctor. Drake had an ear infection and a very red throat. Thanks for the tip Lincoln!

Lincoln had his first T ball game this week. All the little ones looked so cute in their uniforms. Go Wildcats!!

I told Lincoln that daddy's favorite baseball team is the Atlanta Braves and that Gigi's favorite team is the Pittsburgh Pirates. He asked me what my favorite team was, and told him I didn't know. He told me his favorite team was the Wildcats.

Rainy Days

We have been getting so much rain lately, so we have had to come up with ways to have fun inside.

Playing Super Heroes:


This is a game that we play quite a bit at our house. Lincoln was concerned Drake didn't have a cape like him. So a few scissor cuts and some glue gun, and we took care of Drake.

 

Drake was concerned we didn't have a cape for Bear Bear. A few scissor cuts, and some glue gun, and we took care of Bear Bear.

Play Dates:

We have met more friends Lincoln age, which makes me a happy woman and Lincoln a happy little guy! We have been having play dates once a week, and Lincoln was excited his new friend Danny was also on his t-ball team (t-ball keeps getting cancelled bc of the rain.).

Our old friends from Winston Salem came up from South Carolina for a visit. Mason is still a sweetie, and his little sister is adorable.

Dress Up:

Much like super heroes, but a little different. We had a family photo shoot one night, while dressing up. The boys even got Dave to dress up.

MOPS:

Thank goodness for MOPS. The local fire fighters came for a visit on Friday to teach the kids fire safety. They get dressed up in all their gear and tell the kids, "Fire fighters LOVE hugs." This is so the kids won't be scared of them dressed in all that equipment. The kids also got to practice stop, drop, cover your eyes and roll.

 

Hair Cuts:

Ok, we only did this once, but I did want to note it. Dave finally agreed to cut off Drake's baby mullet. Lincoln also got a trim. I swear he has the most beautiful hair! Can you tell Drake is doing his "cheeeeeese" face?

Blooming

I love this time of year when everything is in bloom! Yes the pollen is slightly annoying, but the blooming wildflowers on my hill make me so happy.

The boys are blossoming as well: wasn't that transition flawless...

Drake is talking more and more. He chatters to himself a ton. Man I wish I knew what he was saying!   Dave told the boys he was going to get on an airplane for work one morning. After every nap, or in the morning when drake woke up he would ask," dada airplane?" When I would say yes he would pout.

Speaking of Drake crying (another smooth transition),  he was having a fit about wanting to use a huge spoon to eat yogurt and I wouldn't let him. I set him on the couch, while I took a potty break. As I was walking back in the room, I heard Lincoln singing " you are my sunshine, my only sunshine." He was sitting right beside Drake on the couch, singing the song I sing every night to Drake. So sweet!

Drake put his doggie night, night. Then he decided he would rest too...for about 2 seconds.

Lincoln's teacher suggested I add more structured activities in our day, since he isn't in preschool. He loves to do work books, craft projects and mazes. I'm hoping this structure will make him a little more reverent during his Sunday School class.

Here's Lincoln working on some egg carton flowers.

Easter

Thursday: Dave took Lincoln to our town's flashlight Easter egg hunt. He wanted to spend some time with him before he flew out to Corey's wedding. Tristan and his mom were also there!

Good Friday: The boys and I met up with our MOPS group for a fun play date. The kids got to play outside on the swing set, decorate cookies, egg hunt, and dye eggs.

 

Saturday: Thank goodness for parents that live close by! We took the kids to the zoo, and it was a beautiful day. The boys and I loved watching the chimpanzees play. I told Lincoln they were "ground and pounding" just like he and Drake do. The boys were starting to get tired, so dad went down some stairs to get some ice cream for them. Lincoln followed him and got stung by a bee. His poor hand was so swollen, red and blotchy. We left after a visit to the first aid station!

 

Easter Sunday: The weather outside was not so beautiful, so I took pictures of the kiddos inside. After church, the boys found their Easter baskets, and we made dinner for the missionaries. All of the fun things we did are great, but we did make sure that Lincoln understood the real reason we celebrate Easter. As much as a 4 year old can "get it", I think he did. I am so undeniable thankful for the sacrifice that our Savior made for each of us.