Great Photography Deal for a Donation.

Want awesome pictures at a great price?

Well, you are in luck! Lindsey Watson (our photographer) is offering a stellar deal on her stellar pictures in exchange for donations to her sister's family in order to bring home the little girl they are in the process of adopting from Ethiopia!

Go HERE to read about the deal and don't hesitate to leave a comment or question on mine or Lindsey's blog! Lindsey is booking most of her sessions in Central Arkansas but she is also planning to be in NWA on Saturday June 12th! This is a GREAT deal, so book NOW! Don't wait!!

In Ethiopia,

*1 in every 6 children die before their 5th Birthday
*44% of Ethiopia's population is under 15 years old
*Ethiopian median age is 17.8
*1.5 million are infected with AIDS!

Your contribution will give life to a little girl in Ethiopia!

Smiling.

Lincoln started smiling when he was about 3.5 weeks old. They were few and far between happening about once every other day. However, since that time, his smiles have picked up often and now occur several times a day. And are very interactive. He will just stare at my face while I am talking to him and I am smiling and then after a couple of seconds he will smile back! So fun!! On Monday morning, I was able to capture a couple of those smiles.

Gotta love it!!

Road Trip.

We are gonna do WHAT?

Are you serious?

Ok, but that sounds kinda crazy!!

Yes, this past weekend Lincoln took his first road trip to none other than the center of the state to visit all his g-parents. The normal three hour trek took us four and a half hours but that's to be expected with traveling with a newborn, huh? We had to stop during the trip so Lincoln could eat! He slept on and off throughout the trip down there, then would wake up for a little bit, then cry a little bit and go back to sleep. Our car was packed down! It was quite crazy! Lincoln had, umm...4 bags, while Cory and I shared one! Ha! We also took our beloved swing because no, we don't leave home without it! We also took some other fun gadgets and toys that were given to us to leave at Papa and Gigi's for Lincoln and his cousins to enjoy next time they are all there! Plus, we have no room for those extra goodies here! Friday night we enjoyed "boy's night" watching March Madness with Lincoln, Cory, Papa (my dad) and Pappaw (Cory's dad). Oh, and me too! My mom was due in late that evening from being gone a week on business to Mexico City!

On Saturday, Cory enjoyed a round of golf while me, mom, dad and Lincoln went shopping!! Aww, {Big Sigh!} I was able to get out and go shopping! First time to go for real shopping since Lincoln was born! It was a beautiful thing. We went to our favorite -- Babies R Us and then to shop for Lincoln an Easter outfit. And boy, just let me tell you -- we found a super cute one that I can't wait to see him in! Saturday evening Cory had his fantasy baseball draft which is the main reason that we took our trip! The rest of the weekend we relaxed and enjoyed our visit! On Sunday, Mimi (Cory's mom) came into town to kiss those sweet cheeks and see Lincoln -- O, and us, of course!

We headed home Sunday afternoon! We fed Lincoln before we left this time and he slept the next 2.5 hours until we stopped to feed him again. Then after he ate we hit the road for our last hour and he slept the entire time then too. Needless to say, the trip home was much better than going for Mr. Lincoln. I think he was warn our from all the hugs and kisses from all his grandparents!

CEC.

So much to say....

This morning when I went in to get Lincoln, I swear he looks so big all of the sudden and feels it too (I weighed him today and he weighs 9 lb. 12 oz. with a diaper on!) After I fed him his morning bottle I layed him on the couch and he had so much to tell me about what all he has seen recently. (Sorry for the poor quality. We have an awesome video camera I just don't know how to use it quite yet! I'm sure turning a light on would have helped. And I struggled figuring out how to upload it BUT next time I will be a lot better at it!)




As you can see, Lincoln is wearing his Razorback bib from Aunt Z in honor of March Madness. I love how my maternity leave is during March Madness!! Lincoln and I have had some fun mother/son bonding moments watching all the games. Cory and I even filled out our brackets for an our annual challenge. I usually win but this year I am not off to a great start. Did you fill out a bracket? How are you doing??

*For some reason it won't put the "comment' link up. I put "allow" but its just not there! If anyone has any insight into how to fix that please leave me a comment on another post so I can fix it. Thanks! I'm guessing it has something to do with the video??

Sweet friends.

Today I got a surprise visit by our sweet friends -- the Andersons! They live up north in the great state of Nebraska and they were driving through to spend some time with their family in central AR so they stopped in for a pit stop and to meet Lincoln. I love this family to pieces. I have known them for at least ten years and Cory has known them a little longer. They have been a huge influence in our lives and in our marriage. And now, with our own little one I know they will be a great help and resource to us as we raise our son. Their kids are simply a joy and by far some of the most well behaved and fun children I have ever met! (Well, besides my perfect nieces and nephew!) I always enjoy seeing them and today was no exception! Christina held Lincoln while Brantley and Cerra looked on with great interest. At one point Brantley proclaimed "I think he likes me!" So cute. Cerra was extremely interested in Lincoln and stared at him until the moment they left. I cannot say enough sweet things about this precious family! Thank you Andersons for coming by to visit and meet Lincoln! He says he can't wait till he gets older and can play with you all!

Here is a snapshot of the crew with Lincoln.

And, on a VERY fun note -- go HERE to read about the Anderson's VERY EXCITING NEWS!!! What a blessed little girl to join this family!

Whatever works.

Our child LOVES to lay on the changing table. I mean he LOVES it. We cannot figure it out. He would lay there all day if we let him. He lays there and stares at the wall for 20-30 minutes at a time and just coos and babbles at it while kicking his legs. So....I did what any good new mom would do to keep her newborn entertained.. I strapped him in, gave him his pacifier and let him enjoy his time there. While I, sit in the comfy nursery chair, having conversations with him through his babble while I read a book or blog about this hysterical moment.

O the joys of motherhood.

And Lincoln still has not forsaken his first love -- the swing.

Whatever works.

One Month Old.

Happy one month birthday, Lincoln!

(I can hardly believe that we have all survived to blog about it.) :)

This morning at 2:30 a.m. when I was feeding Lincoln I was thinking over the past month. I just started laughing out loud. I'm sure Lincoln, who was half-asleep, was wondering what in the world his mom was laughing at. I was laughing at us. Me and Cory. The hilarious moment the first night home where Lincoln was in the swing around 11:30 p.m. in the door of the dining room screaming and nothing we did pacified him. We just looked at each other like "what in the world have we gotten ourselves into!" I immediately went to wake up my mom, although Cory was insistent we shouldn't bother her! {Like, Lincoln screaming bloody murder wasn't already "bothering" her sleep.} Mom of course helped us calm him down and from that point forward gave us a life lesson in handling a newborn in a little over week. Thank you, Gigi for helping us out. Oddly enough, Lincoln now loves his swing and would live and sleep there 24/7 if we let him. I continued to laugh out loud at other moments of Lincoln peeing on us and the wall, learning how to swaddle him with the pacifier in his mouth [which is an art form] so we could get some sleep and attempting to understand what each cry "means." (Still not sure about that.)

In that moment at 2:30 a.m. this morning I just looked at Lincoln and apologized through my laughing. I tried to explain to him that this is our first rodeo and we appreciate him hanging with us while we figure all this out. Bless his heart -- he has been our little guinea pig. But what a great sport he has been.

What a difference a month makes. Cory and I both feel SO much more confident in our skills and abilities in being parents. I know we have so many more skills to conquer but we are encouraged by the confidence we have gained in this month.

One Month Stats.

• He weighs a little over 9 lbs and is pretty close to 21 inches long.
• He eats every three hours (formula and breastmilk).
• He sleeps a solid 4-5 hours span each night, and other 3.5 after that that.
• He loves his routine
• He is extremely sweet and loves to cuddle
• He loves laying on the changing table and staring at the wall
• He LOVES LOVES LOVES the swing.
• He enjoys the real bath much more than the sponge bath
• He HATES having a wet or dirty
• He hates it when you stop the bottle to burp him
• He loves laying on his stomach across our lap facing outwards
• He loves to look around when people are talking
• He loves anything that lights up, especially the light projector we put in his crib
• He needs to be swaddled, have his pacifier, his lovie and music on in order to sleep well

I'm sure some of you remember this awesome picture that Lindsey took of me when I was pregnant with Lincoln.

Well, soon after this picture I read a little blurb in a magazine giving suggestions on creative ways to take month-by-month pictures of your newborn. The idea was to take their picture each month with blocks spelling out the month. I thought this would be a perfect idea to go with this initial picture. So, here is his one month picture.

Lincoln, happy one month birthday! We have had a blast starting our journey into parenthood with you. You are a such a sweet boy who we love to cuddle with and hug. You have started smiling more and more each day and we are anticipating the day when you give us your first good "gummy" smile! We are overwhelmed with love for you and look forward to seeing what all you learn to do in your next month.

M and D.

Our little man.

Here is what we have been up to the last couple of weeks.....

Our little family! (Looking quite sleep deprived!) Lol.

Love my little boy!

2 weeks old.

He stretches like this often and we just think it is funny!

My first bath!

Three weeks old.

I kiss this sweet face at least 100 times a day! Do you blame me??

I want to be a Monkey Wrangler when I grow up.

My big ONE month birthday is this Thursday!!!! I hope my mommy makes me a cake to go with all that milk she has been feeding me!

Motherhood.

Lincoln is three weeks old today! Yikes! Where did the time go? O I know -- holding my sweet baby, changing many diapers, feeding him, loving on him, and watching him swing in his swing (which he LOVES). The last three weeks of my life have been the most precious, wonderful, challenging and exciting weeks of my life. Lincoln is a laid-back, cuddly and content baby who loves to look around and see what is going on.

We have had some struggles with the nursing which is where most of our energy has been spent over the last three weeks. After a week of being home from the hospital, I decided to go meet with a lactation specialist because I had a feeling that something was not quite right. Lincoln was eating every 2 to 2.5 hours for 45 minutes to 55 minutes each time! However, he was not producing the right amount of dirty diapers and I could tell he was not gaining weight. When I met with the lactation lady, she too was stumped. She weighed Lincoln before I fed him and then 20 minutes later. In that amount of time, he had eaten about 0.5 of an ounce (which is not great). She indicated that he must be a "slow eater." Gee thanks for the great advice, I think I figured that much out myself!! We continued for another week with nursing but I had a bad feeling about what his weight gain would be at his 2 week appointment.

And I was right.

At his 2 week appointment he was 8 ounces less than his birth weight!! I was devastated! I felt terrible for him. We had a long conversation with Dr. A and decided that the best choice for us at this point was to supplement with formula and come back in 5 days. In this 5 day period Lincoln gained 9 ounces! (Three-fourth of a ounce to one ounce a day is average!) So he basically doubled what he should have been gaining with a formula supplement!! Needless to say -- it was evident that he was not getting what he needed from the nursing.

I researched a couple of theories on my own and have a feeling that my milk may not have an adequate amount of fat in it. I have pumped and the quantity of my milk is sufficient -- so it must be the quality. Lincoln was extremely unhappy after nursing but a different baby after the formula. It was baffling and still is. I have struggled with this whole process because I dearly wanted the nursing to work out! However, after many tears from both me and Lincoln -- I decided that nursing was not going to work for us. Lincoln needs nutrition and my milk alone is not enough. So, we have decided that I am going to continue to pump and bottle feed him breast milk along with formula. I will continue to do this until the river runs dry :) This allows him to get nutrients from the breast milk but gain the fat from formula.

Our wonderful neighbors bought an electronic baby scale to use with their son who was born four weeks early and have let us borrow it. So, we have daily weigh ins to see how he is doing!! He has continued to gain an ounce a day since our appointment earlier this week. So, he weighs about 8.7 now!

And on a FANTASTIC note -- Lincoln is a champ at sleeping at night. Since he was 5 days old, he has been sleeping from about 10:30 p.m.-4:00 a.m without waking up!! And after a feeding around 4:00 a.m. he goes back to bed till about 7:00 a.m.! We are SOO blessed with a great night time sleeper! He struggles with taking good naps but we are working on that! I think the feeding situation has also helped him take better naps now that he has fuller tummy!

I have spent sometime "mourning" the loss of the nursing but feel confident that this new system is right for Lincoln and us. Motherhood is magical and my heart has been swept away by Lincoln Miles but it also comes with challenging moments that stretch you in all new directions. However, I wouldn't trade a moment of the past three weeks for the world!!

I'll post later with some updated pics of our little man.