Lincoln: 17 Months

Dear Lincoln,

You turned 17 months on the 1st, and are quickly leaving babyhood behind! I had a few things to update you on, so I decided it was time for a post... here we go:

~You are still growing into a tall & lean little boy- good thing we're wearing shorts now b/c all your pants are too short! This has also helped you reach further on the kitchen counter and climb more- which means mommy has to watch you even more carefully!

~Your appetite has dropped considerable and you really only eat 2 meals a day, and pick at your food the rest of the time. Even favorites like chicken nuggets are sometimes rejected. Part of this is because you now insist on feeding youself, usually with a fork. You "uhuhuh" at the silverware drawer until someone gets you a fork. You won't let us help you even though you only get about 25% of your food in your mouth. But there are some things you'll still scarf down- one day you ate a tootsie roll while I wasn't looking- including the wrapper!

~Speaking of eating things you shouldn't (like candy wrappers), I had my first call to Poison Control for you. You got an Advil bottle open and I found you sucking the "candy-coating" off of them. No harm done, but mommy learned a lesson about making SURE the top is all the way on and secure, and out of reach! You also love to eat lotion- you get ahold of the baby lotion, or any of mommy's lotions, or even the sunscreen lotion, open it with your front teeth, then suck it out! I know it smells good, but it doesn't always taste good too!

~We have started brushing your teeth and it's your favorite part of the day! You yell "teef!!" and brush them with your finger. Whenever we go by the bathroom you run in and yell "teef!!" and try to reach your toothbrush. And you just giggle when we are brushing- like it tickles! Then you get to do it yourself! I was dreading starting this, but you make it fun. Your fascination with your teeth already has me calling you our little dentist!

~Chatter chatter chatter- your noisiness is starting to sound like words! You so want to communicate with us and are learning new words everyday. You're even starting to put words together, like "mk pefs" (milk please),"uv oo" (love you), "dada hum" (daddy's home), "air are" (there you are!). And when you don't know the words, you just chatter at us in Linc-language and look at us like we should understand! And you understand so much! We can give you a full sentence of instructions and you can do each step. Life gets easier when we all understand each other!

~You are learning a lot too. You know all the parts of the face and love to point them out. You love to sing Old McDonald, which is not surprising since it's also one of your sister's favorites and she's always singing it! And you're learning how to play together and share- very important social skills for a little brother! It's so fun to see you guys run off and play "doggies" under the table, or "nite nite" on the couch, covering each other up, giving kisses, etc. Squabbles definitely still happen, but peace is becoming more frequent too! We have had one majoy discipline issue- you've started biting, mostly to your sister, but also a couple of times to kids at the gym nursery. We just continue to firmly and gently teach you that biting is not acceptable, and we hope you'll learn soon!

You continue to be a sweet mixture of all-boy energy, and sweet cuddly love, and I hope you don't ever lose either side! You reach up at us to be picked up to share a kiss and hug, then want back down to continue your running and playing. We continue to be so thankful for our sweet, healthy boy, and pray for the Lord's guidance concerning you!

I love you, Mommy