It's times like these that I'm so glad I keep my camera close by! I was feeding Lincoln tonight and between bites I went to warm up some more food for him, I thought he had enough to hold him over, but he started crying. I was in the kitchen saying "just a minute Lincoln...", then all of a sudden he stopped crying and I heard Riley talking to him. I peeked out over the counter and saw Riley feeding him because he was still hungry. (They didn't notice I was videotaping) If you listen closely you can hear her saying "Open wide", "Here's a pea" and "Chew, chew Lincoln. Chew, chew!". How sweet. Such a loving and sweet sister Lincoln has. (By the way, just ignore her gagging him with the spoon at the end :)).

I've been trying to get Lincoln saying "Dada" (his first word--darn :)) on video for a while now, and I finally got it (actually on accident) at dinner this evening. He's starting to eat mostly table food now and is learning to feed himself, he's such a messy eater.

He's now also saying baba (bye bye???) and Mama!

Here's also a picture of his two teeth. I'm so surprised that he still only has 2 teeth, I think that he's going to be the kid that has just a couple of teeth and then the rest come in all at once!

Today Riley climbed out of her crib for the first time ever...it's time for a big girl bed I'm afraid. I've been dreading this day more than I dreaded potty training. We'll be setting the bed up tonight and I hope and pray she goes to sleep at night. Now I just need to buy a comforter for it. Ah...so many cute choices. She will be threatened to go back in the crib if she gets out...we'll see. Wish us luck. :) It may be a long night...

Riley and Evan finger painting!

I have to admit I got a little bit jealous of Ty being in New Jersey because when he wasn't working and during the weekend he spent the whole time in New York City visiting sites, eating at expensive restaurants, seeing a Broadway play, shopping and so much more while I was stuck at home being mom and dad! Don't get me wrong, I'm so glad he was able to experience that because he hasn't traveled much, I just wish I were there with him!!

Ty's flight from Detroit to Kzoo had gotten cancelled so he and his coworkers rented a car so they could get home earlier. Man, was I glad. I saw him and jumped into his arms to welcome him home. The kids were excited to see him too and acted like he had never left. Once he got settled in again I broke the news to him that I never once took out the trash. If you know me at all, I HATE taking out the trash (he knows it too)...so he came home to this out our slider door:


I thought he was going to kill me :). How hillbilly-ish does that look? I'm sure people think we're crazy because trash was piling up outside our door. Oh how I hate taking out the trash, thankfully my wonderful husband took care of it first thing :).

After that we went out for a nice dinner and came home, put the kids to bed then he told me he had gotten me something. I was so excited, I love surprises!!! I had to close my eyes and hold out my hands. This is what he got me:


Not 1, but 2 Coach PURSES. WHOOO HOOO!! I was so excited and really needed a new one! Then we and cuddled on the couch the rest of the night!! All in all, we're so thankfully that he's home. I really realized how much easier he makes my life and how much I truly miss him when he's gone.

Just in case Daddy is checking the blog while he's gone :):

Tomorrow morning, at 6 am, Ty will be getting on a flight and taking off to New Jersey for work for 2 WEEKS! OMG! To say I'm totally stressing about the whole situation is an understatement! Being at home with an active 2-year-old and an extremely fussy, sick 9 month old is going to make for a long couple of weeks. I guess I'll know what it's like being a single stay-at-home mom for a couple weeks. Not only am I going to miss all of his help and getting a break every once in a while, but mostly I'm going to miss his company and the safety and comfort I feel when he's home! (Not to mention being without him on Vday is going to be such a bummer) In the 3.5 years we've been married, I've never spent a night without him! This will be a big change!

Thank goodness for wonderful friends who have offered to give me a break and keep me company on the long days ahead! But, we'll make it and as soon as Lincoln starts feeling better we'll get out and about and on with our regular routine. We've already got lots of fun stuff lined up while Daddy is gone.

What's back you ask? Lincoln's ear infections!! Oh, so frustrating! This past week Lincoln acted like he was getting a cold (he was congested and had a runny nose--at the same time), then Friday he woke up in the middle of the night, which he never does unless he's sick, I nursed him and he felt like he had a fever. He went back to sleep, so I just let him sleep. Saturday he acted like he didn't feel well so I called the Urgent Care in Kzoo and took him in on Sunday morning. Sure enough, they confirmed my suspicions: he had another ear infection and a fever of about 101. They gave me a script for Augmentin and sent us on our way. Poor Lincoln just didn't feel well at all and when he was awake he cried for hours! I felt so bad for him. He also hadn't been eating baby food a whole lot.

I put him to bed at 7:30 last night and the whole night he kept moving around and whining in his sleep. He finally woke up at 12am and when I picked him up I could tell he was burning up! I gave him some Tylenol and took his temp (underarm) and it was close to 104! I knew a rectal temp. would be even higher because it's more accurate. I called the ER to ask them if I should bring him in and they advised me to. So, Lincoln and I were at the ER from about 12:30 until 4 am. They gave him some stuff to get his fever down and that's about it. He slept through most of it--he was so tired and just laid there, limp, in my arms!

His fever is down this morning, but now he's throwing up everything he ingests (food, medicine, etc.) We've got a follow-up appt. tomorrow morning at his doctor's office. I plan on having him seen again at another ENT (I didn't like the previous one we visited) and if they think that he needs tubes in his ears we're going to just going to go through with it. I feel like there is no reason for my little guy to go through all of this when it could be prevented. So, if you think of it, throw up a prayer for Lincoln that he feels better!

Last weekend we took Riley sledding. I hate to say it but it was the first time she's played in the snow this whole year--it's hard because it has either been way too cold to go outside or Ty hasn't been home to take her. It's not the easiest thing for me to do by myself because I don't want to take Lincoln out in the cold and we actually have to go somewhere to "sled" because our backyard is a pond! I really didn't think Riley would have very much fun because it was so cold and she couldn't move very well in all the layers, but to my surprise, she had a blast and wasn't happy when it was over! Her and Ty built a fort, made snow angels, and made a snowman! Lincoln and I sat in the car, stayed warm and took pictures :).