let's talk about this hair

25/52

  Let's talk about this boy's hair shall we? Because when anyone sees him, the 'do' always comes up. And to answer a common question: no we don't style it this way, his hair is au naturel. My mom has nick-named him the chia pet, which is probably a hand-me-down nickname from when my brothers and I were babies because all three of us had the same hair. And although it would be nice to put the chia-hair gene on his daddy's side, it's hard to do with this kind of evidence.

Yes, I really did get some height to that hair huh? And this is why I can't have bangs. If my hair isn't long enough to weigh itself down, the "chia" tendencies come back. Just ask Ryan.

6 months

ok. blogging has been last on my to do list lately. If you sat and asked me what I've been up to lately my brain would have trouble recalling. It's this motherhood amnesia thing, I don't remember anything that happened prior to Lincoln's last nap.

here's a few things I can recall:

Last Friday night felt like Christmas to me. You'll laugh after you hear why.
I've had this HUGE honey-to-do list that Ryan has been sweeping under the rug--- He knows what I want done so I feel like I shouldn't have to keep asking him. I never want to nag, but I wouldn't have to if he just did the things I asked the first time I asked right? HA! I rarely bring it up because after a long work week and church meetings/activities, I really do want him to do the things he wants to do. And if playing this Call of Duty game is what he wants to do....sigh..... so be it.

But this past Friday night we made a huge dent in the list. We've had a dresser standing in our doorway for MONTHS that we've needed to carry upstairs to our room. And we've had a mirror leaning against the wall that has been glaring at me every day since we moved in almost 10 months ago! So there we were, on a Friday night, trying our best to quietly carry a 6foot dresser up stairs, tip toeing past sleeping Lincoln. And while Ryan was softly hammering the mirror up, and I was opening boxes with our new yellow bar stools, I got this feeling like it was Christmas Eve-- or at least a taste of what our future Christmas Eves would feel like. Except instead of softly hammering up mirrors and pictures and opening boxes of stools, we would quietly assemble our kids' bikes and put presents under the tree. I asked Ryan if he felt like it was Christmas Eve, he said no. The Christmas Eve vibe was completely demolished by my Grinch.

Onto our 6 month old: we had our checkup last week. 19lb 8oz! 90% in height and weight. And to sum everything up the doctor said, He looks healthy, is doing great, and has really cool hair. Come on doc, tell us something we don't know. :)

Side bar on these pictures- I've been taking monthly pictures of Lincoln to put a little collage of his first year and it has become a bit of a wrestling match trying to get him to lay still on the bed long enough to get a shot. He flips over and starts darting to the edge. I'm constantly flipping him over, grabbing an ankle, and dragging him back to the middle. The days are long gone where he would just lay patiently as I took as many pictures as my new-motherly-heart pleased. Doh!

remembering 9/11

We went to Healing Field Park in Tempe, AZ to remember those innocent lives that were taken. A flag was displayed for each of those innocent lives. We made our way threw rows of flags, reading the names and short bios attached to each flag. A wonderful tribute to remember those lost as an actual individual, a person with a name and a family. Our love and prayers go out to all. God Bless.

beach bums cont.

We soaked up every last bit of our vacation. Our last morning, we headed to the beach right after Lincoln woke up to squeeze in a morning walk before heading home. It was a beautiful morning, one where you take a step outside, close your eyes, and take in a deep breath of fresh air smelling the morning dew. We took a stroll along the beach and out onto the pier.  I loved that foggy misty morning, probably because it's not a common occurrence in Arizona. And not to be one of those people who complains about the weather, but I'm really very extremely ready for cooler weather.

 

Tonight we got a taste of Arizona's monsoon season. There was a dust storm followed by rain with a whole lot of wind. Weather like this calls for piling in the car, stopping for an ice cream cone, and then driving up the mountain to catch a view of it all.

5 years, an imperfectly perfect trip, and the man in the speedo

Last Friday was our 5 year anniversary. Has it been that long? Ya, I can't believe it either. That past 4 anniversaries, we've always planned a really fun getaway--going some place new with a full agenda of sites and activities to do.
1 Year- volunteered in Africa for a month
2 Year- Island Park- 4 wheeler rides though the back woods to Yellowstone and fishing
3 Year- Moab, river rafting and, of course, seeing all the parks
4 Year- Grand Canyon, Montezuma's Castle, and Wupatki National Monument

We've been so blessed and fortunate to have these amazing trips and for the memories that went with them. Every year I get so excited to plan our trip and this year, being our fifth, I thought this trip needed to be EXTRA special. It was, just not in the way I original thought. With Lincoln crashing coming on our anniversary trip, we knew our traveling options would be limited. And even though we've been to San Diego --- what feels like a million times-- we decided it would be an easier trip for Lincoln's sake.

Ryan and I had stayed at a hotel a block away from the beach last summer and it was the PERFECT location. With a short walk to the beach and grocery story, we hardly had to drive our entire trip. Naturally, we decided we should stay there again because it would be easy to go back and forth for Lincoln's naps.I took over tracking down the hotel and booking it for the weekend and that's where the first problem crept it's way into our perfect 5 year anniversary trip. I thought I had found it, but ended up booking a different place that was farther from the beach. Oops! It's okay....a short drive to and from the beach was totally do-able.

We arrived late Friday night and when we opened the door to our room, I'm pretty sure Ryan and I paused a few moments...neither of us wanted to step inside. Turns out there was no AC (next problem) and there was glass slit windows with one single fan to bring in cooler air. Luckily we brought an additional small fan for Lincoln (blessing). We got hit with a gust of hot musty smell (problem)... there is NO way THIS is the place we are spending our five year anniversary. Thank GOODNESS Lincoln had his own travel bed (blessing). Too bad his travel crib wasn't big enough for all three of us because I really didn't like the idea of laying on that bed (problem). I seriously laid a towel down on the bed and tried to touch the bare minimum.

We put Lincoln right to bed and quietly cursed the loud obnoxious people walking the streets. With the windows open, we could hear EVERYTHING (problem) and Lincoln kept waking up to the noise. The mother in me wanted to yell out the window to them, "I KNOW IT'S LABOR DAY WEEKEND, BUT CAN YOU GO BE LOUD AND OBNOXIOUS SOMEWHERE ELSE?! WE HAVE A SLEEPING BABY UP HERE!!!" We decided we would stay the night and find another place the following morning. Getting a refund was out of the question, we couldn't care less, but finding another place Labor Day weekend that was close to the beach, had vacancy and didn't cost an arm, a leg, and Lincoln's college tuition? Impossible. (Problem). Take a deep breath. We had worse conditions when we stayed in Africa, we can stay here for two more nights.

Our second night, after putting Lincoln down for bed, I started having a pitty-party with how the trip was turning out and feeling limited with celebrating with a baby who HAS to be in bed at 7pm. As I was riding my "high-horse" and complaining to Ryan, without hesitation he helped me off the "horse" and pointed out all the blessings we had right there at that moment. He showed me things that have made this trip imperfectly perfect. He's such a wise one and I felt so stupid for being so caught up on trivial things. That night went from a drag to the best anniversary trip ever. Here's my mental picture of our night I'll never forget:

My wonderful husband and I laying on the bed watching Netflix off Ryan's phone, eating a bag of cinnamon popcorn, a fan propping our door open to bring in the cool air, a teeny tiny view of the most beautiful sunset, and our precious baby sound asleep, who adjusted quickly to the cars, music, and loud people outside. We have Lincoln, Lincoln has us, and Ryan and I have each other. I was so grateful. It wasn't about where we went, it wasn't about what we did, or how fancy our hotel room was -- or lack there of. It was enjoying the blessings of my family and my husband who has always seen the good in everything. It was being grateful for the past year we have had and celebrating the next year to come.

I'm so grateful for him, for his love for me and our son, his dedication, his hard work, his closeness to God, his desire to protect and provide for our family, his patience with me and knowing me better than I know myself. He sees the good in all things and brings out the good in me. Thank you Ryan for making this trip my absolute favorite. I love you!

Oh, and thank you to the man in the speedo for adding an imperfection to what would have been a perfect 5 Year anniversary photo. It's quite appropriate and fitting actually. :)

beach bums

To narrow down my favorite things of being a mother would be completely impossible. The list goes on and on. Right now, at the top of my list, is watching Lincoln discover the world. Everything he sees or feels he's intrigued by. Can we invent something that tells us what babies are thinking? Because when he saw the ocean for the first time and just stared, and stared, and stared, I wanted so badly to know what was going on in that head of his. Who knows, he could have seen the water and was worried it was bath time. He preferred staying in our arms, hanging on tightly because the cold water and sand on his feet just wasn't his thing yet. Sooner or later I know he will want to run off and not let us hold him. So while he feels safe in our arms he can cling those chubby hands to us as much as he pleases. 

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