A Little Hint

Lincoln was sick Monday and I stayed home with him, and of course, by Monday night I was coughing up unrecognizable junk, struggling for breath, and feeling like my head just might explode. So Tuesday was my day to stay home sick (Lincoln was better) and I took him to his little pre-pre-school (as I call it) so I could try to get better.
And here we are all the way to Wednesday...NOT BETTER. In fact, not only am I not better, but I don't even feel any different than I did Monday night. So I'm thinking a doctor's call is in order. Anyway, sick + pregnant is not the best combination.
But it means I get bored being at home and have time to write more pointless blog post like this one. Lucky you.
In the midst of my struggle for air through my poor clogged nose this morning, I did feel the baby kick! That was always one of my favorite feelings with Lincoln (as long as he avoided the ole ribcage). And here's for the title of this getting-more-boring-by-the-letter post: I think we're get pretty darn close to deciding on a name for the new little man. I personally LOVE this name and it's been a matter of letting Jason have it swirl through his mind. I've been very careful not to start calling him by this name when we refer to the baby because I don't wanna push anything on him. But here lately, he's been calling the baby by this name...he said he really likes it, but we haven't officially decided. So I'm not going to tell you the name yet until we are FOR SURE, but the little guy's initials could be: NJM. And I'll even throw in one more hint: it's not Norman Julius McMahan.
And there you have it.

Here Comes the Water

I used to pride myself last pregnancy (1st mistake) about how I never let my hormones get the best of me. You know...the tendency for pregnant women to burst into tears when they can't find what they're looking for at Walmart (wasn't me) or rumors about how someone can accidental look at a pregnant women in a different way (not even a wrong way!) and she'd instantly release the flood gates (also not me). Yes. For some reason I escaped the wrath of the Hormone Fairy Demon-ess when I carried Lincoln.
But ladies and gentlemen (if there are gentlemen who read the blogs??) - I'm afraid she has found me. There's actually quite a few examples, but here's the latest (10 minutes ago, to be exact...eyes still red).
I have been having trouble getting the right contact prescription and had a run-in w/ my last optometrist (I'll save you the ridiculous details of how they attempted insurance fraud with me), and after countless times of letting him try to get it right - and failing, mind you - I was told by many close friends and family to see an Optomologist instead (medical eye doctor).
So I made the appointment some time back, and today was the day. I was so excited, even in the midst of stying home for day #2 from being sick. Excited because I was actually going to get contacts that fit and didn't hurt my eyes. Excited to not have to wear my glasses 80% of the time (when I don't bear through the contacts) since they are not conducive to my current lifestyle (i.e. working out, Lincoln grabbing for them, not being able to wear sunglasses, etc...).
Understated, I.Was.Pumped.
First prick to my bubble, I arrive and the receptionist says, "The doctor thinks you should just see an optometrist...is that okay?"
No. They have not been able to figure out my eyes. I want the doc.
So then I feel utterly stupid when the doctor agrees to go ahead and see me because I know the whole time in his head, he is thinking "This is a ridiculous waste of my time" after he's probably uttered mean things to the staff about how stupid that little girl is for insisting on an Optomologist.
THEN, he checks my eyes and goes..."Honey - you're pregnant. You just honestly don't need to do anything right now. I can fit you for contacts but you're just gong to be unsatisfied with me and I see that was your problem with the last guy cause your prescription will change."
But you don't understand! I can't keep wearing my glasses! They give me headaches and i can't just not wear them - everything looks like blobs!
Then he looked at me in a fatherly tone (and slightly arrogant) and said "You're pregnant - YOU'RE PREGNANT...you don't need to do all that stuff...YOU'RE PREGNANT."
Really?
Then he followed it up with, "I'm the expert, but if you really want contacts now, I can get someone in here to fit them, but YOU'RE PREGNANT.
So if I say yes - I NEED contacts!!! Then I'm not following expert advice???
Instantly my eyes started welling with tears because I could not understand why he wasn't being helpful. I felt like he was holding a grudge that I wanted to see him instead of an Optometrist.
He then checked my eyes for dryness and said I have really bad tear ducts for my age.
I was on the verge of showing him otherwise.
I wanted so badly to insist he fit me for some contacts, but I was about to burst into tears (thank goodness I was sick because it looked like I had emerging cold symptoms - I think), so I tried to keep speaking to a minimal to keep from exposing my wavering voice.
So I paid him my money and walked out with a broken spirit, no contacts, and what seemed like - perfectly fine working tear ducts.
And I cried all the way home.
And was reminded yet again, that I'M PREGNANT.

Some Evidence

Evidence that, yes, I am still alive and well (as I sat here and realized it's been over a week since my last post!) and that Lincoln really is "doing" all I claim he is. So here's some proof in pictures (cause he's just so darn cute):

Him and Bruce Wayne have become quite good buds. He's the only dog in recent pictures cause he's the only kind soul that doesn't take off running when they see Lincoln headed their way - God bless you, Mr.Wayne.

His 2 new favorite toys: (1) pale of Jenga blocks (2) my linen bin full of all my socks

So here's one of his "latest"...he takes out all of the jenga blocks, and then puts them all back in the pale! He also does this with random items on the tables - he'll take them down, throw them on the floor, then go pick it all up and put it back on the table (then repeat the process 5-10 times).
He signs "more" (though sometimes his sign language for this resembles more of a clap) anytime he wants more food. Dad has an orange here - a treat they share and one of his favorites.

He waves "bye-bye" on cue and when others wave. And sometimes he'll even say "B-B-" when he does it. Can't wave hello though...

He claps when you say "Yeah!!" or when others are clapping - even the others happen to be on TV. He cheered Roger Federer on today and clapped every time a touchdown was scored at the football game Friday night - no joke. He's got this one DOWN. He can free-stand for about 10 seconds with perfect balance. He then just sits down (doesn't fall down anymore) and we swear the guy could walk but he's simply not interested.

Then just some irresistibles of the cutie: He loves his rocking chair. He can get out of it on his own and we're working on him being able to climb in it...

Now this precious face is when daddy was fixing him a late dinner of tacos and wouldn't fix Lincoln a plate...and he knew daddy wasn't fixing him anything.

So he joined Papi (right corner) in begging for a bite (he doesn't eat tacos yet).
He gave me this pitiful look when daddy wouldn't share. Then he broke out the big guns.But don't worry - he got over it (when daddy shared his orange).

So there's some proof of our little one's accomplishments...just a little over 10 months old. :)

8 Days and Counting

That's the number of days we've had the Beagle back AND he's managed to not dig out of our backyard - not even try. I'm starting to wonder if it really is Benny or if I randomly stole another dog that belongs to someone else. He's had a bad cough and I took him to the vet yesterday (who gave him meds for kennel cough) and asked the vet about Benny's weight. You see, when he left, he was pushing 50lbs (which is considerably overweight) and when he returned we gasped b/c he was SO SKINNY. But the vet looked at him, than at me (almost in a scolding, grandpa kind of way) and said "Don't you be lettin' this beagle gain anymore weight! He's in perfect rabbit-hunting condition and he needs not gain a single pound more - his vacation did him some good!"
So thanks to the scolding and feeling like I foster obesity in my house, I am now trying to get used to the skinny Benny. Again - maybe he's not really my Beagle...? The question keeps beckoning me...
Tonight is the first Bentonville football game, which rumor has it, is quite the experience. Bethany Cole and I are headed over after school to meet up with our husbands and Jennifer Power (aka. Hausser) and her husband to have dinner before the game. So i=I guess it's officially time for me to put away the maroon (wipe a tear) and bust out the Black & Gold. :)
Oh, and we can now add waving and somewhat saying "Bye-Bye" to Lincoln's smart list. Yes. He did this all night long...Mickey Mouse was on TV at one point saying "Bye...see you next time" and Lincoln waved good=bye to Mickey Mouse - twice (yes, we rewinded it just to see whether it was a fluke).
So I'm sure many of you are off to celebrate this glorious 3-day holiday in style and excitement. Us? Fixing up our house. Labor on Labor Day...sounds appropriate. Or are we missing the point?

4 Months...10 Months...All at ONCE

Lincoln turned 10 months old Saturday and I turned the corner in my pregnancy, away from the dim, grim, exhausting, nauseating corner known as the first trimester. Yep - officially out of that mess again and entering the blissful trimester #2!
My 4-month doc appointment was short and sweet, delivered awesome imagines of the the new little baby (which is still 100% all boy, by the way), and gave the peace of mind that God is watching carefully over his little development. I must say, this pregnancy is FLYING by (no complaints here) and sometimes I have to remind myself that I actually have another being growing in my belly. I'm sure by the end of this trimester, though, I won't need reminding given that I'll be half the size of a waddling barn. :)
And in Lincoln news, in the past couple of weeks, he has learned to clap anytime someone says the word "YEA!!!" in an excited tone, signs "more" consistently every time he wants, well, more, and knows what "NO" means and will shake his head when he hears this word (the cutest thing ever). It's so amazing to us to watch his language development!
He has now graduated to expert crawler/cruiser and we think it's a matter of time before his first little steps take stride. In the past few days, he'll be standing, holding furniture, and then he'll let go and balance himself. He then looks at us, while balancing, with a huge grin on his face. Sometimes he'll even clap because he's so proud of himself, but this usually results in him falling down. Oops.
I've always become more relaxed on what I will feed him. I am giving him more solids instead of the straight pureed veggies and fruit. That's my developmental step.
So happy 10-months sweet Lincoln. I can't wait for you and your baby brother to meet!

The Prodigal Son

Three weeks ago Jason and I drove by the Animal Shelter here in town and I said "You know, I should just call them again - even though it's been 3 months, and see if they ever found a beagle on the side of the road...just for closure." Jason then responded with "I sure would like to find that Benny before we move." To that response I gently told him Benny was gone and I just didn't think there was much hope for that.
That was 3 weeks or so ago.
Today I drove by the shelter again and it reminded me I never did call. So I looked the number up on my navigation system on my phone and, though I felt entirely stupid for even calling - I called just to check.
Surprisingly they said they actually have a dog that somewhat matched his description. I then re-explained that he doesn't really look like a Beagle and gave some more specifics about him (trying to save myself the pointless trip). Then I said "The dog's been missing since Mother's Day." I got a sympathetic "Oh - this dog was just brought in the other day...but you can come look if you want?"
What the heck. I was in the area, so I stopped by. No high hopes. Zero expectations. Feeling quite ridiculous to even be going, to be honest.
The worker leads me back to the cage, I peek in (kind of nervously for some reason)...and folks, I met eyes with MY beagle that I had assumed gone forever. That's right - it was Benny. My eyes welled up with tears and I looked up at the worker and exclaimed, "That's my dog!!!!"
He was 15lbs lighter, unbridled in his behaviors and the pound said he was brought in a few days ago, covered in fleas and ticks, found wandering the streets. I asked what street, and sure enough, it was the street I lived on when I first brought him home as a puppy - clear on the other side of town.
So after all this time, our prodigal beagle whom we loved to hate, has returned. we're now again a family 5, going on 6. :)
We might have terrible luck with dogs getting out, but we sure have amazing luck with finding them!

Funny Story

Funny thing happened last night...but as always, I must share the back story:
My husband started his new job in Bentonville last week and since then, has been meeting teachers and coaches and others in the community on a continual basis (he's Mr. Social). He'll come home telling me about some interesting people he has met, most of which he really enjoys thus far, but there has been this one couple that he has talked about MANY times over the past week. The wife is a volleyball coach and her husband coaches track. She's 5 months pregnant (one month ahead of me) and he keeps telling me how he really thinks I would like her and how he can see them being some of our good friends while at Bentonville.
Last night Bentonville played Siloam in volleyball (big rivals apparently) and Lincoln and I drove out o watch and hang out with Jason.
While we were watching, Jason pointed out (from behind) the volleyball coach he had been talking about and then found her husband from across the way and did the same. He really wanted me to meet both of them.
So after the game, a very familiar girl ran over to me saying, "You're Jason's wife???!"
Yes. This girl Jason's so desperately wanted me to meet cause he thinks we could be good friends is in fact an old friend of mine from Ft. Smith - Jennifer Hauser (well, Power now that she's married).
We both died out laughing because we had both been hearing about the other for the past week but had no clue we already knew each other!
By the way - Jason's face during this exchange was priceless. :)
So yes, Jason, we can be friends with them. Small world, but super excited to already have a friend there.