Lincoln is 20 months!

Look at those lashes!

Lincoln turned 20 months and rocked his birthday at the hospital.  We have come to realize that our little boy is a puker and when he gets sick, he gets really sick.  He lost almost 15% of his body weight in about three days so our pediatrician sent us to Children's for monitoring.  We eventually were able to orally rehydrate him with the help of Zofran (a prescription anti-nausea).  Declan joined us on the eight hour adventure and was a champ of a brother - barely making a fuss and full of smiles for his sad and sick big brother.  We have a syringe that Brian and I know we have to use when he starts to throw up and just make him take the 10mL of pedialyte every 15 minutes so he doesn't get that sick again.

Back to the birthday boy and his big milestones!  Lincoln continues to woo all that he comes across with his killer blue eyes and long eyelashes and his shy smile.  He does play shy a lot more now and will often close his eyes when he is really shy - I think he thinks he disappears when he does that :)  But once he warms up, watch out because he is silly, happy, and loves to entertain.  We have found that Lincoln has a great sense of humor and will often do things he knows are funny just for a laugh.  He also laughs out loud at various tv shows (he doesn't watch a lot, but he does watch some - mom of 2 under 2 here!), and he will reenact parts of shows that he knows.

Lincoln's speech is coming along.  I would say that he is still a little behind his peers, but he gets his needs across so well.  He uses baby signs, makes up his own signs, and uses words that he knows how to say.  I would guess his spoken word count is above 20 and has said about 35 words with some words only being spoken once.  He does say phrases like "I do" and can put three signs together to make a request (more apples please).  I am not too worried about his speech - I have tried to take a deep breath about it - but it is something I continue to watch (and worry just a little!).


 Lincoln continues to be an early riser but an excellent napper and self-soother at bedtime.  We put him in his crib wide awake and he will put himself to sleep with no fuss.  He sleeps for 10 hours exactly at night and then for 2 hours during the day - sometimes more.  When he is sick, I still give him a morning nap but usually he just has his one afternoon nap.  Mama and Declan get to snuggle then too and have some quiet time together.

Lincoln likes to eat!  He has his common foods that he has always eaten but then surprises us with things he likes.  He is now eating cold cut turkey, whole pears, cooked carrots, and loves pretzel sticks.  I offer him healthy food at each meal, and he will sometimes eat it all and sometimes not touch a food for days and then on the third day eat it all up.  I have come to realize he will eat what his body needs and what he wants, and all I can do if offer a rainbow of food at each meal!

Lincoln is the sweetest big brother and truly loves Declan.  I can tell that it often takes everything Lincoln has to not hug Declan too tightly or hold his hand too much.  He loves to sit next to Declan on the couch, bring him toys, and kiss his head.  One of his favorite things is to lay with Declan in Declan's crib and have Declan touch his hair.  Linc doesn't realize that I am actually moving Declan's hand to touch his hair :)  Declan sleeps until about 8am, and the minute we hear him stir Lincoln is running to the stairs.  I like to think that Linc wants to be the first one that Declan sees each morning.

Lincoln is such a busy boy which makes me a very busy mom.  The winter has been tough being stuck inside so I have been trying my best to engage him in different activities as well as leave the house each day.  The teacher in me came out this week when I brought the water table indoors and filled it with rice.  Linc has loved scooping and pouring the rice and making a big mess.  I love teaching him new things - colors, counting, self-help skills - and I can only hope that I am making a little bit of an impact in his childhood as well as making his childhood as special as mine was!

I say it every month, but I mean it every month.  We are truly lucky parents.  

I love you, Lincoln Alan.