Babysitting the Kiddos.

Michael went to San Francisco for a work trip and at the end of the week Staci went to join him for a weekend vacation and we got to play with their kids while they were gone.  It was a blast to spend more time with them and play.  

 Lincoln and I took the Amtrak train from Charlottesville to BWI and it was so fun!  Lincoln loved the train.  It had tons of space and gorgeous views.  I loved it!

 Staci picked us up and then we dropped her off at the airport 5 minutes from the train.  I drove the kids home and we played at the house for the rest of the trip.  We got up there on Thursday and Brett came up on Friday after school in the car.  

 We did tons of puzzles, played hide and seek, watched some movies, and played for hours.  I loved getting to do Candace's hair, she is so sweet!!

 Of course the kids loved playing Lincoln's animal app games on the iPad.  

 These two cracked me up!  We played play-doh for quite a while.  

 Love her. 

 Brett and I were really intimidated by taking all the kids to church so on Sunday we went down to the DC temple and visited the visitor center and walked up to the doors.  The kids were so sweet and so excited about seeing the temple.  Jackson was so interested in the details of the temple.  Super sweet!

1. Jackson.

2. Nick.

3. Candace.

Set, Go!

Lincoln loves a game we call, "Set go!"  It's when he goes under the covers on the bed and he says set go, and we pull the covers down.  He loves it and we love him.  

1. Set, go.

2. Great daddy.

3. Cute lincoln.

60* Day

It was really warm yesterday and I loved it!  It was such a treat to have a warm day in February.  We started the morning by going to reading time at the library...

 After reading time we went to the park, it was so beautiful!

 In the afternoon I went for a run with my friend, Sara.  Our kids played on the soccer field and we all loved the warmth.

Lincoln started to get the hang of the soccer ball and loved to kick it.  

1. warmth!

2. got to walk home with brett.

3. lincoln climbed on a tractor at the park and loved it.

"Gankie"

Lincoln is obsessed with his blanket and I have been wanting to buy another one of the same blanket just as a safe backup, but I can't find it anywhere!  So, I decided to make it for him with my limited sewing skills.

 I cut out the checker board pattern and stitched them together and it wasn't that hard to pull the whole thing together.  His old one was so hammered!  The softness had worn down a lot and I was so happy when he chose my blanket over his old one and plopped down on the stairs with my blanket.

 While I was working I figured Lincoln's future cousin Kyle would want one too, so I made one for him.  Can't wait to meet the little guy!

This video shows the deepness of Lincoln's love for his "gankie".  

1. Gankie.

2. Cuddle time.

3. Darling Lincoln.

The Boys

I love these boys.  Everyday when Brett gets home it's a party.

Ready...Set....Go!

1. Boys.

2. Mr. McShades

3. Blanket time!

Lincoln turns 2!

For Lincoln's birthday we went up to the Michael Mellors to enjoy a fun weekend with them.  It was so fun to be with them.  Brett and Lincoln went up on Saturday and I came up after my lesson on Sunday.  On Monday morning we went to Pump It Up and Lincoln and the kids LOVED it!  

 We were jumping on this one for a LONG time...

 The men playing in the playroom...

 Tuesday was Lincoln's birthday!  I can't believe we have a two year old.  He is so darling and we LOVE him so much!!!

 It was raining pretty hard but we decided to go to the DC Zoo anyway.  We hadn't been before but it was so fun!  It was free to get in and it was fun to go downtown DC...

 Lincoln loved the squirrels in the small mammals house...

 Monkey...

 Tigers...

 Seals...

 Otters...

 And a Panda!

 He was pretty tired after the zoo and fell asleep on the way home....

 He loved his birthday present!  A fun new shopping cart!

It was a great day!  We love our two year old boy!  Some fun things Lincoln does right now:

LOVES cheese, raisins, goldfish, juice, cinnamon toast crunch, and bananas and knows how to ask for them.

Plays with his toys in the morning until mom and dad finally wake up.

LOVES his blankie.

Loves reading stories.

Knows his shapes and some colors.

Loves playing with his toys.

Sleeps from 7-7 every night, sometimes longer.

Loves when daddy comes home and yells daddy!

Loves when he is allowed to watch the Backyardigans or Harry the Bunny.

Every time we go to a store I get a compliment either about how cute he is or how pleasant he is, sometimes both. :)

Loves the park and playing for hours on the playground.

He is the best boy ever and I love him so much!

I love this boy with all my heart and I can't imagine loving another child as much as I love him.  He is my buddy and my best little friend.  I am so grateful to have such a beautiful, happy, pleasant boy.  I couldn't ask for a better blessing besides Lincoln and Brett.  So grateful that I have been blessed with such an incredible life.

1. Lincoln.

2. Fun weekend with the Michael Mellors

3. Two fantastic years of being parents.