chasing a baby, plus one "strike a pose" moment

Yesterday after church, there was literally one cloud in the sky.  It was gorgeous outside, so before we went upstairs to put a cranky baby down for a nap, we let Lincoln run around (which, for me meant walking two steps behind him in case he tripped on cement, stopping him from eating branches off the bushes, and helping him step off the curbs).

And this last picture is just for you.  Yeah, you.  I have no idea why I struck such a "pose," but there it is. 'Tis struck.

The scenic route home

When we were in Idaho for Easter (found here), we drove by this little gem of a house, and yes, those are skis, built as a fence and tunnel towards their front door.  I have only one assumption and question (besides the obvious w h y ): my assumption is that a woman does not live in this home; my question is, if my assumption is incorrect, what kind of woman is she?

I'm not sure if I'm impressed or concerned for the ski-shrine residents.  But to each his (or her?) own.

playing lifeguard

Thank goodness the weather is beginning to warm up again, I'm so sick of our white apartment walls I could spend a day splashing paint all over them (is it insane I actually considered that a few months ago?)!

The parks in Utah usually have lots of dogs, which means throughout our walk Lincoln is either barking like a dog (because he can see one), or running up to pet one.  I'll say it again - I so wish we were able to own a dog!

Last summer we took regular Sunday walks around the park, so we thought it was a good tradition to continue...although much of our time was devoted to grabbing Lincoln right before he walked into the pond, it was a marvelous little outing, and so much more fun than last year already!

Not to brag but...

I got 8 hours of (somewhat interrupted) sleep last night.  

And we slept in until 8:00 a.m.  

Perhaps I am bragging because I won't be needing corrector 

and two heavy shades of concealer 

to cover dark, sleep deprived, under-eye circles today.

So I'm celebrating, because in my book
this only happens

once a year.    

Lincoln's going through a phase

where he pretends he's talking on the phone.  It doesn't always have to be a phone (he uses Sophie the giraffe, a hair brush, etc), but he holds it to his ear, laughing and chattering while walking around.

The funny thing is that we rarely talk on our phones, so this little copycat action has shown me that  Lincoln still notices the seemingly insignificant things.  Lincoln's mimic has reminded me how important parents are in emotionally shaping their children, and how responsible I am for who he becomes.

It feels overwhelming at times because I know I'll make mistakes, but I'm learning!  The love I have for this little boy is enough to carry me through feelings of parental insecurity, make me a better person, and apparently, talk on the phone less!

baby kisses

This is how Lincoln is currently giving kisses.

Anytime Tyce and I kiss, Lincoln runs over and wants one, too!

Aren't baby kisses the best!?  I think so.

an answer to a hysterical prayer

About the same time Rachel left, Tyce also left for some library time.  I put Lincoln down for a nap and got excited to have a little alone time.  I walked into our bedroom to kick off my shoes and relax, just in time to see water pouring from the bathroom toilet, located at the end of our walk-in closet.  I ripped off the top of the tank and plunged my hands into the water (bracelets and all) to try and make it stop, totally frantic since the bathroom floor was already submerged.

I know the basics about stopping toilet overflows, but nothing was working.  Still, water pouring out of the bowl, now so deep it was almost to my ankles and running into our attached closet.  By this time I'm hysterical: I call Tyce, he doesn't answer; I try a few other tricks, even attempting to force the rubber stopper where (I think) it should go; I use a few choice four letter words...and then I start praying.

Typically, when I picture a fervent prayer, I imagine someone getting down on their knees and passionately asking for a solution, tenderly asking Heavenly Father for their help.  My prayer did not go this way.  I was ankle-deep in toilet water, watching as my shoes and clothes began to soak, water creeping closer and closer to my bedroom carpet, and still - water pouring from the toilet bowl.  Instead, (while still maniacally looking for some magic solution) I hysterically started yelling "HEAVENLY FATHER!  HELP!  OH MY GOSH, PLEASE!  NO, NO, OH MY GOSH, OH MY GOSH, HEAVENLY FATHER, PLEEEASE!"

and then I saw it.

Right next to the toilet on the tile, a little silver knob attached to a water line going into the wall.  I'd seen it so many times I'd stopped noticing it was there!  With one quick turn to the right, the water turned off, the toilet water stopped pouring, and I was left standing in a pond that was once my closet.

After dragging everything out of my closet, explaining to the downstairs neighbors why water was leaking from their ceiling, strapping Lincoln in his highchair with snacks, using every towel we owned to soak up the water, then sanitizing, scrubbing, mopping (and repeating), we had a more organized and very clean closet and bathroom!  All in a day's work...right?

exotic fish, giant lizards, and a growing boy (oh my!)

While we were in Idaho for Easter (found here), we took a detour on our way home from church to stop at [Tyce's brother] Britton's house.  He owns two dogs, a six foot iguana, a chameleon, and an amazing amount of beautiful salt water fish.  We showed Lincoln his house (or mini-zoo) a few months ago, and it's really fun to compare Lincoln's responses (and physical expressions) to all of the animals and fish (see?!), all because he's a few months older!

Wisdom Teeth Only

My sister Rachel came to visit last week, and showed me her emerging wisdom teeth.  I immediately made her call my mom, made an appointment for her to have them removed while she was with me (part of my plan to make her stay longer), and bought extra popsicles for the next few days.  Everything went very smoothly and I'm not jealous at all (yeah right) that her face didn't swell one bit from the surgery!

I will say this: my sister is a very cheerful and humorous person when she's high from anesthesia.  As she sat in the car with bandages around her face to hold the ice packs against her cheeks, waving to whoever happened to look her way, I asked where my mom's credit card was (to pay for the medication).  Rachel kept telling me about fish, saying "Nemo!  Hahah, I just love Nemo!  I'm not crying because I love Nemo!"  Finally, I figured out that my mom's card was the one with Finding Nemo characters on it.  The entire day was like playing the game Clue!

The next day, after I fed both Lincoln and Rachel a similar fruit smoothie for breakfast and tucked them both in for a midday nap, I heard Rachel yell, "WHAT!? Hi!  Ohh, hahhaha, hi!" so I assumed she got a phone call.  Then I realized her phone was right next to my computer.  Oh the joys of percocets!

P.S.  Did I mention the above picture is from day #2 post-surgery?!  Personally, I looked similar to a chipmunk, but here's Rachel, "not even ready for the day" and looking better than when I try to look that effortlessly pretty.  No fair, Rach.  No fair.

parks, slides, and grass. forever and always.

Late Monday evening we decided to get out of the house and show Tyce the park that Lincoln and I have been favoring recently.  It's only a few blocks from our apartment, so when Lincoln gets the wiggles, this is where head.  There are always rogue bark pieces floating around at home afterwards, and my hair looks like it made out with a balloon for the rest of the day, but it's worth it.

 I'm pretty sure we impressed Tyce with our little park find.  Who knew finding a hidden park would give me such pride?  But there I was, so excited that I'm high-fiving Lincoln as we slide down yet another red plastic bumpy slide.  The parks are where it's at when you have a one year old!

Easter Day, backyard style

For Easter we went to Tyce's parent's house in Idaho.  After church, we had an Easter egg hunt for Lincoln (right here), blew lots of bubbles, attempted to take a family picture facing the sun, played with the dogs, and swung Lincoln in the baby swing.

Eventually we made our way inside to put Lincoln down for a nap and eat Easter dinner, finished by a walk to the park, then we packed up and were homeward bound (with leftovers, yesss)!

Our Easter went a little something like this...

and then laughed remembering this Jim Gaffigan skit about the silliness of holiday traditions (although Lincoln would disagree, he loved his Easter egg hunt)!

This was when

I still used tanning beds, before I'd ever worn lipstick, when I'd have a mental breakdown if I couldn't fit into my smallest pair of jeans at all times, took a lot more time doing hair/makeup, when I didn't talk to my mom on a regular basis, and before I knew I'd met the man I would marry (although I had a pretty good feeling about it).

This was when Tyson kept a gnarly beard for the entire winter season, when he got to snowboard at least twice a week, when he worked the graveyard shift, when every Zumiez employee in Utah knew him as their former boss (hello discounts), and when he owned more hats than I could count.

This was when we listened to Jay-Z's "The BluePrint 3" on repeat, didn't think we wanted a baby for a few more years, hadn't said "I love you" yet, before we had permanent bags under our eyes from a consistant lack of sleep, and weren't even close to how happy we are now!

One last Happy First Birthday to Lincoln!

A few weeks ago (talk about posting procrastination) we had a birthday party for Lincoln at Sugar House Park.  We invited close friends and family, and enjoyed the nice weather with some barbequed kabobs, pasta, fruit and drinks.  Our friends, Devin and Stephanie, made Lincoln his "One Cent" cake which was delicious (and looked perfect)!

We're completely aware that having a one year old's birthday party is usually more of an excuse to get together with friends than actually for the baby (since how much can they really comprehend), but we're so glad we did it!  I can't believe Lincoln is actually a year old!