More Christmas Pictures

Lincoln got to be Baby Jesus in the live nativity scene this year w/ all the McMahan boys being wisemen - ha. priceless

Our Little String Bean

For those of you who have either held our little bundle or keep up with his pictures (the very few I take at least - ha, yeah right), you know he's gonna have Jason's body! The poor thing has no hips or but and the skinniest little legs. To days' doctor's appointment in fact confirmed that we have us a little "string bean". The nurse came in to measure him and goes, "WOW - he's LONG!" And then the doc came in for the weight check and said he's on the low end of the percentage scale, but that he's fine and healthy (thanks to a check up and many wet diapers!). We just have us a mini Jason...tall and skinny :)
It's funny when the dc asks "Is he having frequent wet diapers?" Holy crap the kid's a freaking fountain!!! Anyway, then the terrible part - his shots. Poor thing turned a shade of angry red I had yet to see until today. But he's been asleep ever since. He'll get some yummy tylenol when he wakes up (our kid LOVES medicine!). Our doctors awesome...he was a missionary kid who grew up in Africa, has 5 kids, and takes them on mission trips when he goes. That's what we wanna eventually do w/ Lincoln and I'm excited our doctor can be supportive of that and help us with the process of making sure Lincolns safe and healthy when we do it. God's blessings are everywhere, aren't they?

Holding My Breath Again

Just when I thinks things are getting better with breastfeeding, I realize Lincoln has taken me for a ride on the rollercoaster from hell - the one where you get nauseated only to scream for delight, than thinking it's almost over only to realize that you re headed back up again - then down - then spiraling into a tailspin for the ground. The good news is that I like rollercoasters, but even this one's a bit much for me.

Christmas was GREAT! We had a wonderful time down in Crossett and then up here with my family on Christmas Day. Jason's gift was a hit - another suit. For those of you that know him, you re rolling your eyes saying "Doesn't he have like 50 of those??" Well, yes he does, but this is one he's been eying since I met him and it went on SALE! Couldn't pass it up and he loved it. He's gotta remain the best dressed coach in NWA. :)

As for Lincoln, he did awesome being passed around and hugged constantly...he loved it. But he is being quite the stubborn little fellow with this whole breastfeeding adventure! He just hasn't figured out how determined and strong-willed his mamma is. One thing's for sure: we have us one STRONG-WILLED baby!! But as Jason said, there never was a great leader who wasn't strong willed. If anyone out there has ever had great success breastfeeding only to one day have your child SCREAMING at the boob and refusing to eat from you - I'd LOVE to hear your story and how it ended up!

Also on a side note - don't go see Marley & Me. It was precious but SO not worth it in the end. I'm still recovering. It doesn't help when you have a son AND a lab who loves that son. Terrible.

Big Sigh of Relief...Let's All Take One Together!

Lincoln fed perfectly through the night, but I think it was due to the fact that he was 1/2 asleep - or maybe 9/10ths asleep to be exact. So just when I began thinking we were out of the woods, I wake him up for his breakfast, start guiding him toward the boob and "WAH! WHA!" at the top of his lungs....ugh. Totally frustrated. So I got out the pumped milk and the syringe (I'm stubborn too, and the rascals not getting a bottle!), a few squirts in his mouth, and the sucker latched on immediately and had ZERO feeding problems the rest of the day!!! My mom watched him today while I worked and I made sure not to leave a bottle so we could re-establish the breastfeeding, and he had an AMAZING DAY!! He has been awake and happy and smiling and then taken all his naps right on cue! And he hasn't cried AT ALL today! It's the craziest thing! I think that formula just finally got out of his system. I think we'll stick to the breastmilk for now! I will say that I got very nervous yesterday b/c I will be SO SAD when the breastfeeding days are

over! It's just such an amazing special time and moments I will always cherish. So I'm glad we still have this little bonding experience together. :)

PS. Jason's mom sent this pic of Jason when he was born...resemblance?????

Even Thought It's Ice and Not Snow - I'll Take It

There's nothing more fun than waking up in the morning and the news announcing that your school district has cancelled school for the day!!! Since I work in the schools, I still get to enjoy this underrated pleasure in life. :)
It's extra special for me, because my mother was coming to watch Lincoln today and tomorrow so I can go back to work (I say that with the most disgusting grumble). And now I get to WORK FROM HOME - :). And if this treacherous blizzard and horrific ice storm can sustain just a few more days, my maternity leave just got extended to January (with the exception of a little work here and there but no big deal).
Jason and I skipped church yesterday (yes - no excuses) and went Christmas shopping since it was the only day we were going to have a chance to do it before all the madness begins. It was a blast! We went to Pinnacle and I wore a light coat (purple light pea coat that's one of my new favorites now!) and my rainbows which was a perfect ensemble..until about 6:00 - holy crap how crazy is the weather when the temp drops 30 degrees in an hour!!!! By the way, I'm more obsessed (I say more b/c I've always had a slight obsession) with coats this season...I can't stop buying them or asking for them (Christmas...birthday), so if you out there who are dying to get me a gift for the holidays need any ideas, now you know. :)

Lincoln's doing great - he has started holding his head up on his own and it's pretty phenomenal. Maybe hes on track with this milestone, but I feel like he's a little early for this accomplishment??? Maybe not though. Nonetheless, it's pretty cool! Now a not-so-cool thing is that this week he has been having trouble breastfeeding all the sudden! It's like the milk isn't coming out fast enough for him and he gets frustrated and quits trying. Impatient little fellow. Well, he usually always gets over it, except for the last feeding we just did! He ended up getting SOOOO worked up and I eventually had to pour some pumped milk in a bottle. I only did a little though, and he ate that and then I put him back on the boobie and he ate the rest of his feeding just fine. Anyway this makes me SOOO nervous cause I DON'T WANT TO DO FORMULA!!!!! I know you guys know this, but I am a HUGE breastmilk advocate cause it' the perfect nutrition and the absolute best for your baby. I'm okay with formula every now and then, but not as his main source of food. It increases his risks for allergies and doesn't provide the same sort of protection breastmilk does. Did you know breastfed babies have proven fewer illnesses all throughout life than non-breastfed babies??? Anyway, hope today as a fluke :)

Life Just Doesn't Get More Precious

Lincoln's first smile caught on camera!!! How precious is this!! And it definitely wasn't a "gas smile"...ha. I can't tell you ho many times a day I go and stare at this picture cause it would be embarrassing!
So most of you know I started back work this week. Thankfully Jason's parents and my mom are keeping him these days before Christmas break, so the transition isn't all that bad...now January will be rough when we have to drop him off at his sitter! These past 2 days Jason's parents have been here and they have been wonderful!!! They cooked dinner for us and fixed our garage (it's been broken forever and we've had to park out on driveway). And if that wasn't enough, they even cleaned our entire garage out - and let em tell ya, THAT was a task!!!!!!!! So thanks guys for pending time w/ Lincoln and being so great!!
Just in case you are all there in suspense (ha), my talented husband has continued to lead the Panthers in an undefeated season...he's a stud, I know. And he has great help, to0. :) Tomorrow's another championship game in another tourney...I don't have my doubts.
Lincoln has been fun all smiling and playing this week- so precious and exciting!!! His only downfall is the hungry fella likes to wake up frequently for some milk - it's worth it, but man its exhausting!!! Tonight we're gonna try an experiment of giving him one bottle of formula right before bed and see if he sleeps longer. I'm not a huge formula advocate exclusively cause breastmilk is just so much better for the sucker, but we're gonna try one at night since it lasts longer in the tummy. We'll see how it goes. I will have to say I have LOVED breastfeeding and those moments!! Thanks to all of you who gave the advice early to "just make it through the first 2 weeks and it's wonderful!" SO true.

Birthday Photos

Yeah 2 posts in about 30 minutes...Might should have opted for the nap cause the little man is STILL sleeping. Oh well. I thought I would post some pics from my birthday...it was a wonderful night! I have the sweetest husband and he really set out to make the day special - from morning till that night. :) He gave me shoes, extra sleep, lots of help with the little man, a surprise visit at lunch, and a fabulous date that night. We went to dinner and then saw "4 Christmases" - SO funny. I wanna see it again...highly recommend it.

before the date (notice Papi in the left corner)

the babysitter :)