visiting phoenix

Oh this was such a great trip. SUCH a great trip. This will likely take more than one post. FYI.

This was the first time I left Izzie alone besides Linc's birth. This is the first time I drove to Sac and flew with a baby by myself! First time I visited Morgan in Phoenix. First time I got to see and hold tiny baby Margo. Oh Margo! So sweet and so little.

I dropped Izzie off at JaNae's about 11:30 am on Thursday and me and Linc headed to Sacramento. We had one stop to feed Linc some peaches, overall it was a smooth ride. Once at the airport, I parked and pumped in the parking lot for the flight. Linc is just too temperamental/ginormica to nurse on the airplane. Kudos for those of you who can do that. Linc is like 20 pounds and four hundred inches long and it just would be hard without using the lap of my neighbor. Awkward.

I checked the carseat and just carried Linc in a ring sling, which was both good and bad. Great to keep him occupied, as he is happiest on my hip. Less heavy than carrying him in the carseat. But also tricky because I couldn't just set him down to deal with security or run to the bathroom. We were delayed about 45 minutes so I ended up just putting him down on the airport carpet on a blanket to roll around and play. He is a heavy little sucker. I was super nervous about the flight because it is two hours. Doesn't seem long, but all my tricks for Isabelle don't apply to him yet. He doesn't eat snacks. He doesn't like stickers. He won't watch any movies. Toys, patty cake, and milk were pretty much all I had up my sleeve. And lots of prayer.

Besides him almost rolling off of the seat while I buckled my seat belt, the flight was great. He slept for a while, woke up and played, realized he was still tired, and went back to sleep until we landed. HALLELUJAH GLORY AMEN. Such a relief. We collected our shiz from baggage claim and when he was buckled in his car seat and I was waiting on the curb for JR I felt like shouting I DID IT I DID IT I WIN EVERYTHING! So maybe not a big deal but it was stressful for me. I am the queen of stress planning.

If I can tell you one thing about Phoenix, it is that it is roasting scorchy death hot. Redding is hot, but it cools down into the 70's and 80's at night. Phoenix? Not so much. Still 100 degrees at ten pm. JR drove me to their cute little apartment right in Scottsdale where Morgan was waiting with baby Margo and Theo the pup.

As soon as she opened the door we swapped babies and I cried because I love all the babies and I scooped that little margo right onto my shoulder. She is so soft and she smells so good and she has neck rolls. See.

PS expect mostly iphone pictures. 

Our plans for the weekend were very simple. Feed our babies. Feed ourselves. Venture out of the house once per day. Do you know how tricky it is to leave the house with two babies on two very different schedules? We did it though because we are awesome. High five to us! 

Aaaaand it was too hot to wear my hair down. Ever.

Margo was ready to go. 

She looks a lot like Morgan's baby pictures. And she has lots of dark hair!

Are they so cute or what! This was three frames before Lincoln tried to grab Margo's eyeball.

And this guy:

Normally such a great sleeper, Lincoln took this opportunity to remind me what it was like to NOT sleep. Up multiple times a night, not crying or upset just like awake and ready to party. I think he realized he wasn't at home and he didn't want to miss anything. HILARIOUS. He could see me from his bed and he would like at me like "hey THERE you are, come get me!" As soon as we got back home he slept normally again. Silly Lincoln.

learning to swim

It is so hot here, you really can't be outside for long unless you are in the pool. Izzie's swim lessons started last week and she loves/hates them. She love seeing her friends. She loves being at Grandma's house. She does not like swimming with the teacher and she especially does not like going under water.

her little bffs

This was the first day... maybe her happiest day. Now she knows what is coming and she says NO MOM I ALL DONE. Awesome.

Ah, that's more like it.

She is really good at kicking, at holding the pool noodle, blowing bubbles, and getting rings off the step. She has room to improve in the holding breath category, she can't quite figure it out yet but she will! It helps if I get in with her and swim before and after teacher time, she gets less upset. 

Over two weeks she got SO much better at holding her breath and not snorting water through her nose, but for awhile we had her wearing nose plugs. So cute/sad at the same time. 

Oh I love this picture. Isabelle is so much happier after her turn is over. I all done mom, I all done! 

Just for fun... same pink swimsuit, same instuctor... Izzie a year younger!

happy birthday to me.

It is my birth month! Did you know?!

I had such a great birthday this year. (Last Monday, hi, I'm behind) I just wasn't feeling too birthday ish at the beginning of the month but my family and friends are so good to me and they made it wonderful. I love parties! Mom set out all these hilarious old photos of me- I'll have to post a couple because it turns out Isabelle looks kind of like me!

We were up early so Jazz took us to the donut corner for a breakfast treat. If you live in Redding and haven't been to the donut corner, you are seriously missing out. The hole-in-the-walls are the best places to eat. Open 4 am to 2 pm.

Soon after my cute sister in law and nieces surprised me with MORE donuts! They know what I like!

Then we did our makeup while Linc napped. 

Jazz showed up at lunch with flowers and balloons, how sweet is that. Later we had swim lessons and then a big family dinner at Moms.

Round table/diet coke. Only my mom serves pizza on fine china. Best birthday dinner EVERRRR. I miss diet coke .really a lot

Linc likes to be on my hip most of his life. PS those are trick candles because my mom is trixy.

Mom made these crowns for us, they were a huge hit.

We finished the evening watching The Bachelorette in our jammies. 

It really was a great birthday. Everyone was so thoughtful and gave such me great gifts! So when I was in Sacramento waiting for baby Linc to be born, JaNae and her girls came down for the day and we went to fairy tale town and played, remember? Well that evening we walked arden fair for awhile together and we stopped in Brighton for a minute and I found a really cute bow ring that I totally loved, but they didn't have my size... well she remembered the ring and when she was on vacation in Maui she found another Brighton and she and Sabrina bought it for me! Can you believe how awesome that is? Now when I wear the ring it reminds me of that fun day we spent together just before I went into labor that night. Such a great memory. Jazz bought be a beautiful new watch, which is kind of funny because the day before my birthday, my regular watch broke. Whaaaat are the chances! Anyway, I could list all my gifts but it would be embarrassing because they are all so great and it would take all day. Thanks everyone for a super special day! Exclamation Point!

insta-update vol 4

This should be a post about my birthday but I'm too tired and I still have to pack (TO SNUGGLE MARGO) and so this is my best blog effort. Enjoy.

 

asleep with her balloon/gwammas birthday

 

haircut/stripey

 

carstache/ handsome

 

bday dinner/ locked out

 

6 months!/ hating swim lessons

 

safety first/ stay puft

Lincoln Michael 6 Months

A very, merry un-birthday to our sweet and jolly baby Lincoln. A half year!

To say it goes by quickly is an understatement. It flies, especially with the second one- there is less time to sit and ponder the moment because your toddler might pee on the carpet while you are distracted. This has been an awesome month of milestones for Linc- maybe the most exciting for mom and dad is that he has slept through the night an handful of times and is now doing it almost consistently. GLORIOUS. I can't believe how amazing it is to sleep through the night already- its a game changer for sure. Last night he slept from 8:30 to 7:30, waking once for teething gel and a paci and that was it. So amazing, I'm so thankful he is a good sleeper. So, so thankful. Did I mention the thankfulness???

Linc loves his food. He eats solids three times a day- usually about 3-4 ounces at each meal. I've been making his food like I did for Iz and it's working out great. He loves sweet potatoes, peas, and if all else fails give the kid applesauce. He can eat that anytime, day or night, and prefers most of his food chilly cold, not warm. He is still nursing and I'm very proud to still be making milk for him at 6 months. Doesn't seem like that long but it's not super easy! People that tell you breastfeeding is so easy and convenient and carefree are just delusional.

He is over 18 pounds and who knows how long. In size 6-9 month onesies, 12 month pajamas, and 6-9 month regular clothes. He is just really tall, he grows out of his pajamas so fast. And his thighs! Stuff dreams are made up. Thick and chunky and so bite-able. He loves the patty-cake games, the ride on the leg game, all the games that jostle him around make him giggle. He also loves to be tossed gently in the air. (Gentlyyyy! name that movie.) He likes to play with his feet and chew on his hands. His hair is growing in too- light brown and super straight and fluffy.

This baby loves to be included. He hates when I leave the room without him. He hates when Izzie isn't around- he is always looking for her. He really likes chewing on anything he can fit in his mouth because of ALL THE TEETHING that is happening. July 9th his 5th and 6th tooth popped through. That is six teeth in just over a month. 6 teeth, five weeks. Overachiever alert! We've been giving him infant tylenol which he usually hacks back up because it is disgusting, hyland's teething tablets have helped and also good ol' orajel. As a result he hasn't been too fussy, just wants to be held on my hip a lot.

And he moves! He can roll back to front and front to back now so he just has free reign over the carpet but he dislikes being on his front for very long before he hollers for some help.  I had a hard time taking his 6 month crib pictures because he just wants to roll around/sit up/dive away from me.

Isabelle is such a great big sister. She calls him "wink-inn michael" or just "baby wink." She gets so excited when he wakes up and she can hear him, she has to run right in there and take off his blankets and say good morning to him. She pets his head and talks to him and gives him toys. Though the other day Izzie said, "Wink ate my barbie crown! in his mouf!" And I about had a heart attack. We turned the room upside down looking for it and finally found it, HUGE PHEW. And then we had a nice long chat about only giving Lincoln baby toys even though sharing is great. Love this baby, can't imagine our family without his round little face and big huge smile. xo.

We couldn't get fox to sit still. 

Best picture ever. Rollllllls.

You can tell who has been out in the sun.

Linc says talk to the hand.

Could really be his "mini-me."

insta-update vol 3

 

spaghetti night/ chunky cheeks

 

carpet cleaning/ afternoon nap

 

red white and shark

 

date night pottery/ cousin singing time

 

linc sleeping on me take 13908234/ bringing me flowers from the yard

yikes.