And me too!

When my husband saw the pile of pictures I was choosing from to scan, (for my last post about Evan) he saw one of my baby pictures.  And he said Lincoln looks even more like me.

I'm glad to know that I didn't just pass on my scowl:

But Lincoln got my smile too!

Little Evan

My mother-in-law said yesterday that Lincoln looks a lot like my brother.  And it's true!  Here are some of Evan's baby/toddler pictures.  They even looked alike at this age.  Isn't my baby brother so cute?  This is what I grew up with!

Sew darling!

As you might guess from some of the blogs I follow, I've been into sewing lately.  My mom taught me to sew when I was a little girl; together we made blankets, quilts, a stuffed animal (I think it was a bunny?), clothes and other things.  I'm so glad she took the time to impart this useful skill.  I borrowed her sewing machine a few weeks ago, and I've still got it.  Thankfully she doesn't need it anytime soon, because I've been enjoying playing around and seeing what I can make from the scraps of material and old clothing we have.  We had a bag set aside to take to a thrift store, but at the last minute I realized that some of the shirts could be refashioned into new things.  It's a satisfying sense of accomplishment to be able to create a useful item, especially when it only takes a day to make!

Here's a scarf I put together from two shirts:

I LOVE the accessories which accompany colder weather.  Scarves in particular!  Every year as fall approaches I practically go crazy over all the wonderful colors and textures in the stores.  But it's just not practical right now for me to be buying anything superfluous.  I feel incredibly empowered by solving this problem without spending a penny.

The day has come....

when Lincoln will no longer stay put.  Set him down in the middle of the living room, and within 20 seconds there's no telling where he'll be.  This means it takes a little more work to keep him safe, but it also makes play time even more fun!  Watching him explore the house on his own is amazing.  I'll try to post a video soon!

Curls

I have naturally curly hair.  Sometimes I blow dry it straight to look a little different.  (Remember, I'm the girl that craves change!)  But I think I started doing that when I looked at pictures of me and didn't like what I saw.  Why is it so hard to photograph curls?  It took me a while to realize that, in real life, they look pretty!  (My mom's been telling me that all my life.)  I think they look best when I pull them back and make a pile ontop of my head, like so:

Sometimes it takes us a while to appreciate our blessings!

Goodbye Grandma Wilma

My father's mother passed away recently.  She was a kind woman with a great deal of pride and love for her children.  We are glad she can rest in peace, in a place free from pain and sickness.  'Til we meet again, Grandma Wilma. 

Happy to be here

I crave change.  I haven't determined whether this is a product of my military-brat upbringing or if it's simply my personality, (doesn't everything whittle down to the nature v. nurture debate?) but regardless of its origins, this twitch of mine often manifests itself in a desire to move.  I moved every year the first 4 years of my college career.

This past June marked the first time in my young adult life that I truly wanted to renew a lease.  In fact, I was adverse to the idea of living anywhere other than here: in our lovely three bedroom, two bath apartment.  Reasons for my uncharacteristic approval of status quo extend beyond the fact that this place is drop-dead gorgeous.  (I mean, yes, I could keep it cleaner and decorate it better, but I'm very proud of the fact that we live in a place that took my breath away when we viewed it for the first time).  But, in all honesty, even an apartment like this could get boring. I think the real culprit here is my child.  Lincoln, let me tell you, is changing.  He is changing so quickly and so sneakily that it's all we can do to keep up.  It turns out that parenthood has provided a cure to my anxious, will'o'the wisp nature.  Oh, how we've racked up the milestones!  It probably seems dull and obvious to people without children, but once you've deposited a tiny, raw human being onto this planet-- every little metamorphosis it makes seems like a miraculous, earth-shattering event that begs for detailed documentation and cooed-over celebration.

"Did he just raise his left eyebrow?  Because I swear he used to only be able to lift the right!  And have you noticed how he reaches for a toy when you hand it to him?  WAIT- stop everything!  My baby sucked his toe!"

With this kind of excitement going on, no wonder I'm too busy to browse the rental listings.  Since my last post, Lincoln has gone nuts over walking (with help), surfaced two teeth, clapped (as of today) and somehow instantly knew that he was supposed to lift the flaps in his new "Where is Baby's Belly Button?" book. I still take videos of my handsome little star.  And I'm going to share!  Luckily, the few people who do read my blog (mostly) have an interest in my son and so hopefully these videos will be amusing.  I know it's really cool for the great grandparents living in California to catch a glimpse of Lincoln's life.  Hopefully someday he'll be able to meet them!

I think it's cute how he just takes a bite out of a baby cheese puff as if he's been doing it all his life.  The eating-is-serious-business-and-I-love-it noises, he has been doing all his life.  I try unsuccessfully to show his teeth, but at least you see him using them! 





And here Lincoln is pulling himself up onto furniture.  I think it's safe to say that he'll be walking soon!  See what I mean?  Life is happening so FAST!

Birthdays

It just occurred to me that all of Lincoln's grandparents have birthdays in August and September.  The g-mas in August, and the g-pas the next month.  But I only got around to writing a Happy Bday post to my dad!  My apologies to the rest of you.  Happy Belated Bday on my blog!

Tyler turned a quarter of a century last weekend.  He's feeling pretty old.  (I think any age beginning with twenty is fantastically young.  Although when I turn the dreaded 29, I don't think I'll be so sure.)

Anyway, I made the papa and his boy matching t-shirts as a birthday present.  At this summer's family reunion, we learned a great trick to bleaching designs into t-shirts, and I've been wanting to customize some for my boys.  This was the perfect opportunity!

Tyler's says "Linc'd" and Linc's says... well, "Linc."