Lincoln: 7 Months

You turned 7 months on April 11th. We are loving your sweet & feisty spirit, little boy! The theme of the last month was, "Thank goodness you're cute!" As in, you were not letting Mama sleep. Praying we're on to better days --errr, nights!

Your pictures this month are just the sweetest.

{You just want to be held - all the time} 

{"Don't take my elephant."} 

Here's what you've been up to this month:
-You want to stand -all the time. Those legs are always so stiff!
-Miss Jannah came to visit all the way from Washington DC. She was so happy to meet you!
-You sat up unassisted for the first time on April 2 and have only had a couple of wobbly tumbles to the ground.
-You lost your title as baby of the family on Daddy's side. We welcomed sweet baby Elsie to the family this month!
-On March 15 you had your first taste of egg yolk and weren't too sure about it! We've tried a few more times, and you're starting to warm up to it.
-You and Mama took a little drive to Canandaigua to meet friends for lunch. You were quite the little ladies man!
-Your first Easter was a hit! We went to Wickham Farms for a fun afternoon with cousins on Saturday. Then on Sunday we went to church, opened Easter baskets and had a full afternoon of egg hunting and family at Grandpa & Nana's house, followed by more fun at Grammie & Grampa's house.
-Nana and Pa came for a whole week to visit at the end of March. You love them so much -and look so much like your Pa!
-Aunt Kiki helped us with our first successful back carry! You loved being able to look over my shoulder at all that was going on around us.
-To celebrate ringing in 7 months, you spent the night in your nursery and only woke up once to eat. Woo hoo!

Here are a few pictures from our fun month:

You sure are one of the best things about our little family. So much joy in the midst of so much busy. Thank you for making us slow down and snuggle every now and then!

Lincoln: 6 Months

I'm going to stop apologizing for being late on posting these! The pictures are surprisingly taken on your monthly birthday, so what am I really even apologizing for, right?

We've been so busy this winter / spring! We're ready for a slow down when Daddy is done with his first busy season -just in time to have lots of outdoor family time when the springlike weather decides to show up.

Here are your stats this month:
You turned 6 months on March 11th
Length - 27 inches
Weight - 17 pounds 1 ounces

Here is a recap of your first 6 months in pictures, Lincoln, and my have you grown!

You and your 6 month pictures didn't quite cooperate -just kidding! You're a ham and love that camera!

Here's what you've been up to this month:

-Well, I thought you would be sleeping in your own room and yet here we another month bigger and still in the co-sleeper. There's always next month!

-You are sitting up assisted. Yay!

-You love sitting in your laundry basket to play with all your toys (pic below). It has really helped you learn to sit up and get the weight off of that big noggin we love so much.

-We started practicing baby sign language -"milkie" and "all done."

-Songs we've been singing: Itsy Bitsy Spider, Honey Bunch Song, This is the Day (we love the updated version from our favorite Boombox Kids) and Amazing Grace.

-We survived the 4 months sleep regression that lasted until almost 6 months! You're back to sleeping between 9 & 10 hours at night! Woo hoo!!!

-Your first Valentine's Day was super cute in coordinating ocean life v-day shirts designed and made by our friend Audrey at Gracie J Designs. I'm loving coordinating these sweet boys!

Here are a few more pictures from your month:

{My sweet Valentines!}

{Blurry, but sweet selfie with mama and daddy}

{Bubba teaching you how to color while mama cooks -a typical weeknight}

{All smiles!}

{Having fun in your basket -thanks Nana for the great idea!}

We can't believe we've made it halfway through your first year! It's flying by little boy and we are soaking it all up!

Mama

Bills Family Christmas 2015

We had so much fun celebrating with Josh's family the weekend before Christmas. We cherish setting time apart to enjoy our family and reflect on the birth of our Savior. Here are some pictures of our time together!

{Fletcher hanging out} 

 {The beauty of celebrating early is that Starbucks is open!}

{Lincoln loves his big cousins} 

{Christmas carols with Aunt Kissy}

{There are so many of us and so many gifts!!! We are indeed blessed.}

{My two itty bitty guys}

{Lincoln's cute Rudolph hat from Aunt Anna}

{Sweet Audrey Girl}

{This kid.}

{Sweet boys. May they be the best of friends throughout this life.}

Lincoln: 3 Months

I feel like a completely broken record, but these months just keep going by so fast! At the end of month 3 we were in a serious transition phase as a family. I had just gone back to work, Josh started his new job as an auditor with The Bonadio Group and was a week shy of finishing grad school! All wonderful changes, but so much change to manage. That being said, it was a really fun month and 45 days later I'm trying to catch up!

We don't go back to the doctor until 4 months, but I estimate that you weigh 14-14.5 pounds.

How cute can you be???

Here are some things you have been up to this month:

-Mama went back to work half days on November 16 when you were 9 weeks old. You're spending the day with Nana, Dayton and a myriad of other little friends! Daddy drops you and brother off and mama picks you both up. We miss you so much during the day, but you're in the BEST hands.

-You nurse before you leave in the mornings and then you eat 16 - 18 oz while I'm working and then usually eat 2-3 times before bed.

-You go to sleep around 9:00 and get up around 5:45-6:00.

-You've started playing with a couple of toys. We're just waiting for you to start reaching for them!

-You experienced your first Thanksgiving, and it was a first for all of us. We celebrated at your Unca, Aunt Minda, Graham, Claire and Conner's house.

-We're pretty terrible at doing tummy time, but mama spends so much time wearing you (and occasionally daddy) in either the Tula, wrap or ring sling that we know you're working those core muscles.

-You're mama is over the moon for the cute honest company diapers we're using on you. My favorites right now are the plaid and sled dog. They have sled dog pattern diapers. Seriously!
-On December 8, you sat in your Bumbo chair for a few minutes. We're not sure how you felt about it, but you didn't cry!

Here are pictures of what you've been up to this month!

 

We love you so much little stinker!

Mama

Fourth of July

We really had such a wonderful Fourth of July this year! We want to introduce a love and appreciation for our country and all the history that still makes this nation great as early as possible. For a toddler, that basically means cheering at a parade in our sweet little town. It's close enough to walk over with the wagon and meet friends.

Boys are so fun and parades are made for them! Fire trucks, loud cars, drums and bands! What more could they want?!?

Before the parade, we cheered Josh across the finish line of the July 4th Race (10K) along with Mr. Brad and a couple other friends from church. Dax and I "raced" to Starbucks and then to find the finish line before Daddy crossed.

In the afternoon, we really just relaxed, grilled and enjoyed strawberry short cake. All-in-all, a very American weekend.

Here are our favorite pictures from a very fun day!

We are so proud of Daddy and all his hard work -Rochester Marathon, here he comes!

Mr. Brad and Daddy, great running buddies.

Cutest little fan.

Ready for the parade to start.

Our favorites! Look at that chunky baby face all -if we could only take off the Boston hat.

Serious parade patrons.

 In awe of all the truckies.

Seriously. This is our life.

Cheering for the fire trucks! 

Waiting for the trucks to make "beep beep" noises.

Go, go, go.

Hooray, truckies!

Best we could do. Toddlers are the most fun to photograph.

He thinks he's part of their family.

Serious dance moves. I cried tears of laughter.

His white boy moves.

Serious white boy moves.

They really think suckers are only for drumming. This is an awesome mama win!!!

We can't handle his cuteness.

Three sweet babes -toddlers don't do pictures on purpose. Ever.

Love these sweet friends and so thankful they live in our little town!

Walking home withe a hungry boy in the wagon.

Nom. Nom. Nom.

"Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn't pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same." Ronald Reagan