Give me an F, give me an L, give me a O...

I cant believe it is nearly 3 weeks later and I am just blogging about our trip to Florida! It was my Gram's 80th birthday so we took a deep breath and drove the 730 miles down on Friday, stayed two days, and drove 730 miles back on Monday. And, even though we were really dreading the travel aspect, the boys did amazingly well! Well enough that we'd definitely do it again. Thank goodness for good experiences!

We had a BLAST on the trip. Seriously. We hadnt been to Florida for two years and it was a long overdue trip. It is great that we're living close enough that it is feasible for us to drive now!

The trip included partying with family, running errands as a family, a huge birthday lunch, family hang-out time, a family outing (and DATE for us - THANK YOU MELISSA!) to see SAK comedy club, a nice walk on the beach, another family party, and getting to see some friends! Can you tell we had a jam-packed fabulous weekend? Well, we did :)

And now.... some pictures, of course!

*Note Lincoln's face... he was sooooooo not thrilled that I plopped him down in the sand. :)

The Birthday Girl! + my adorable second cousin!

*Note the sweet faces Mason makes now-a-days when you ask him to smile. Family pictures should be fun this year!*

Simple joys

I try to keep Lincoln's blanket as 'bed only' (like Mason's "woobie"), but occasionally he manages to reeeeeeach between the crib slats and snatch it. And as much as I want to take it and put it back... he just looks too cute as he is SO elated he managed to get it! That face = joy.

the ZOO!

Mason (& Lincoln) had their first trip to the Zoo in July when Kailyn came to visit! Mason walked in 100 degree weather from 10-2 and still managed to not fall asleep in the car on the way home... and Lincoln stayed awake the entire time until we got into the car. Way to keep running, kids! We had a blast checking out the Gibbons, Lorikeets, Meerkats, Elephants, Zebras, etc etc etc. The Nashville Zoo has a cool Lorikeet exhibit where the birds land on you and eat nectar from little cups. Lincoln DID NOT like that birds were landing on me - apparently he thought I was being attacked! Mason had one bird land on him and he wigged out a little bit :) Maybe in a few years!

Here are a few pictures...

Surviving the heat...

Lorikeet Adventures

Lovin' the lake

Let it be known, I am not a lake swimmer. Yuck. However, the state park nearby has a swimming area where they've dumped sand and we had a grand time swimming there (for free!) this summer! They have a beach area and a nice grassy hill. We discovered it when going to use a free paddle boat ride (who knew they had paddle boats?) - and immediately planned a return trip to check out the swimming. We went back and went on the paddle boats again and went swimming a few times! We'll definitely be going back next year!

Funny Tid Bits To Share

Have you seen this? I appreciate a good laugh!

The Colbert Report	Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
Yahweh or No Way? - Mormons & God's Poll Numbers
www.colbertnation.com
Colbert Report Full Episodes Political Humor & Satire Blog Video Archive

And following the DC area Earthquake this photo really tickled me:

"Thanks to all of you for your kind words of support,

as we look to recover from the devastation of today's quake!"

MSPI update

Mostly for my record keeping, Lincoln has been doing great on yogurt and has had some small amounts of soy (in cooked/baked foods) and so far so good. He even had some tidbits of cheese yesterday with no noticeable reaction. Wahoo! We're on our way... last foods to try will be ice cream and straight milk. Here's to hoping we're in the clear!

Lincoln: 1 year old!!

Our Baby Bumble Bee

{Lincoln's favorite song is "Baby Bumble Bee". Although I am not a big party planner (besides planning the menu), I thought it'd be fun to do his birthday party with that theme - hence all the black/yellow!}

(wall word, year of pictures, bumble bees on the wall!)

About Lincoln... has the sweetest face, a darling smile, and is a very happy boy. He loves to play, rough and tumble with his brother, and do dare-devil stunts (he currently loves to climb onto Mason's toddler bed and then jump off... ah!). When the boys play we hold our breath because we think Lincoln is going to get hurt... but there he is, pinned down or bowled over, and he just looks up and smiles and laughs. He loves to be held (most of the time) and is a Momma's boy. He is still a big eater and is in the stage where he thinks it is funny to throw food on the floor. He has had small amounts of yogurt 4 times now and is handling it great (a million thumbs up!). Next up will be small bits of cheese. He is now off the million dollar Alimentum formula and is drinking Rice Milk (for now until we get him onto reg milk). He is also into throwing things into the toilet (yuck!) and is SO fast at opening that lid and chucking it in. He walks like a pro now-a-days and is walking 95+% of the time. He is still "squawk-a-mole-ee" - Mr. Vocal! He waves bye bye (and is starting to say bye-bye), is beginning to blow kisses, and still refuses to clap his hands. He does great when I cut his hair with clippers but hates to hold still when I get him dressed. He LOVES his Daddy and lights up and runs for the door as soon as he gets home. We had his 1st year appointment and he is 19 lb 13 oz and 30 1/4 inches. The doc said he seems more flexible than the average kid... random, right?

{Bumblee Cup Cakes!

Not pictured is our 'black/yellow' table with lemon drops, butterscotch candies, reisen chocolates, and mini oreos. Golden yellow punch, and black/yellow plates and napkins.... I had great intentions to take lots of pictures, whoops!)

{black/yellow party hat smash cake.... milk and soy free :) }

We love you Lincoln!!! We are so blessed to have you in our family!