Lincoln: 22 Months of Sweetness!

Lincoln has blossomed so much in these last few weeks. I'm not sure if it was the holidays with lots of company around or just this stage of toddlerhood. He is becoming much more verbal and surprising us every day with new words, funny actions, and a goofy personality. I wonder where he got that from! ;)

My favorite things to make him say in his funny little voice are:
- Aww, man!
- Oh, boy!
- Cool, dude!
- Alright!
- Otay!
- I did it!

I've been trying to get him to perform on camera, but he just says "cheeeeeeeese" whenever he sees my phone pointed towards him. Also, I have no idea where he learned to say "cheese" for photos!

He smothers me with hugs and kisses at random. We were watching a movie the other morning (translated as Mama needed a few more snoozies, so the TV watched my kid while I took a cat nap) and he would randomly lean over and kiss me on the mouth. It was the sweetest little surprise. Sometimes he'll even give a forceful hug around the neck (and shake), but I think he's just figuring out his strength ;) ALL boy.

My favorite things as of late are his cheek kisses. If I point to my cheek he'll give THE biggest kiss. Lip kiss requests are usually denied and if I'm lucky he'll offer his forehead. 😝

Runner up to my favorite thing is blowing kisses. My monkey performs for me at the grocery store! I'll whisper to him to blow a kiss and he gladly does it. Sometimes he get shy, but most of the time he's happy to show off to the grandmas and grandpas that ooh and ahh over him. I always try to slow down my grocery cart rampage for the other shoppers and let them say hello to Lincoln. He loves the interaction and I can feel the joy from the seasoned parents we encounter.

Lincoln is also in the habit of saying "bye bye" and "nigh nigh" to EVERYTHING in the room as we head upstairs for bed. He loves walking around and waving goodbye and turning off the lights. The lights drive me batty, but he loves that power. He is only tall enough to reach a few switches, but he asks to help turn them on and off as we enter every room. And there's also the elevator buttons! Can't forget those ;)

Sleep is still a struggle. Surprise! And we're currently on a nap strike. Lame. But the other night he slept from 8:30 PM until 4 AM! For the first time in his entire life. The bad news was that I was so worried about not hearing him that I was up every hour or so. Also, he wasn't waking and asking to nurse, so the girls were extremely full of milk and I had to pump to relieve some of the pressure. Maybe this is stage one of weaning! I'm not going to count on him sleeping this well (hahaha. I'll take what I can get!) every night, but I'll welcome the surprise!

Lincoln's imagination is so fun to watch. He'll pretend to smell things, make his animals talk and move, and pretend to eat something and say "num num!". He's currently obsessed with stickers and coloring on my couches. It's like he has a sixth sense when it comes to finding lost pens. 😑 I'm a little OCD, so seeing him cover my floor in stickers makes me a little crazy. But he's happy and it only takes me a second to clean it up. As long as he's safe and having fun, I let it slide. Like when he reaches into the top drawer and scatters umpteen measuring cups all over the house. It may require a few more dishes for me, but he's learning and discovering.

I was visiting my parents a few months ago and I got frustrated with something Lincoln did (probably dumping out a bowl of goldfish (or other Destructor shenanigans). My dad observed that everything Lincoln did was a science experiment. That really opened my eyes to the world of little boys and humbled me. A lot! It completely changed my perspective. Lincoln wasn't trying to make a mess, he was discovering gravity. I'm so grateful for that simple comment because it makes me relax as a mom. Yes, there are more spills and things for me to clean, but that's part of being a kid!

He loves apples and grapes and oranges. This kid would eat a dozen oranges a day if I let him. He's still super tall and very skinny, but he's perfect. Some days I feel like he's constantly eating and other days it's a struggle to get him to graze on his meals. I'm not positive how tall he is exactly, but he's catching up to my 5'3 very quickly!

Thomas and I stand back and stare in awe that we are raising a real person. He will one day be a husband and a father. It's a wonderful responsibility, but also very intimidating. Each day we try to make sure Lincoln is heard, loved, understood, and respected. It's so easy to write off the feelings of a toddler, but I'm trying to teach myself to stop and listen. I often crouch down and ask him to show me what he needs (because the babble gives me ZERO clues!). A good friend reminded me that we need to listen to them all the time right now so they'll come to us later.

I love this little man so, so much. My heart just explodes. I am so blessed to be able to stay home with him and watch him grow into the funniest little boy. I've never known a love like this! I can't believe he's mine!

Infertility has been really tough on us lately, but I am so thankful I have a living, breathing child that I can snuggle on all day long. The journey is tough, but having this little guy around lights up our lives. We can't wait to see him be a big brother, but we're soaking in as much of him as we can these days!

Love,
The Grahams