Picture Day Results

This is Libby's 1st year of pre-school picture. She is almost 4 yrs. old and very cute!
This is her class picture for 2008-09

Saturday Sleigh Ride

Our drivers.....Prince & Amos....
Us again with Lincoln not looking
More sleigh riders
Chris, Jenn, Joseph, & Emma...
All of us on the sleigh ride
Lincoln thrilled to be on the tractor
Driving the tractor on the snowy day at the farm
Mackenzie going for a swing
Tim & Lincoln going for a swing
Swinging on the swing
Libby coming down the slide
Lincoln navigating in his snow boots and snow suit.

FAT LIP

Libby was exhausted tonight, fell asleep before bedtime. We had our 10th storm of the year starting at noon, so the office closed because the roads were getting pretty bad and she played hard all afternoon, and obviously she wore herself out.
During the play Lincoln fell on his face and his bottom teeth went into his lip...not through but have made his lip pretty black & blue & fat.
We thought it might be the end of the sookie....but no, Lincoln still sucks away at it like his lip isn't huge...he is pretty determined about what he wants.

Valentine's Party

Libby posing for her Tiny Treasures Valentine Party
A wink for the camera
Bearbear wore a matching red sweater to her party. She is actually wearing pants that are almost jeans....she hasn't worn jeans for over a year....she is very particular about what she wears and right now it has to stretch and have not buttons. I put them on her and didn't say anything, neither did she. I pretended they were just regular stretchy pants...I'm not sure to this day if she realizes she wore them, I won't be the one to tell her or make a big deal about it, cause if I do, she fuss and want them off. We'll see how it goes when I try to put them on her again.

Our Valentine's

This was the best pic I could get, Libby had to go pee and Lincoln was so tired he wouldn't give up his sookie...
This is when I took the sookie and he wants it back, and Libby ran away to go to the bathroom....that's what you get when you take the picture after church instead of before.

It's Time!

Now the Lincoln is 18 months the semi-serious training begins. He has been on the potty randomly in the past 2 months, but now he will have a potty time everyday. When Libby was 18 months I put her in underwear for 1/2 of a day. She wasn't ready, which made a lot of work for me. But when she turned 2 she was more frequent with the potty but I had to wait until Lincoln was born to go full force. She was fully trained 3 weeks after he was born at 2 yrs. 3 months, which I was happy with. I am aiming high, hoping to have Lincoln trained by 2, but he sees Libby on the potty all the time and wants to do everything she does, so we'll see.
For now, he'll just sit on the potty point at all the characters on the seat and wipe his bum.
I never used a little potty, because some research shows that kids don't like the transition from the little potty to the big potty...and, I didn't want to clean poop and pee out of a little dish, I would just rather flush.
Second, I never used pull-ups during the day. When we went full force after Lincoln was born, it was straight into underwear...why...because for 2 years you've told them to pee and poop in the diaper...then you switch to a "pull-up" fancy name for diaper and tell them they are no longer allowed to pee & poop in what feels to them like a diaper. That's what made sense and worked for me and she was fully trained in 4 days with barely any accidents.
Also you make it fun by going to the store to buy big girl/boy underwear which inspires them to use the potty...I think it helped.

Deep Thought

Libby was out cold on the couch in deep thought while she slept...I wonder what she was thinking....she thinks "Eggo's" and "Waffles" are 2 different things. She has "Eggo's" at Kendra's house, because she says Kendra doesn't know how to make waffles. But we only have "Waffles" at our house, no Eggo's....maybe she was sorting that out in her head.

18 Month Check Up

Well Lincoln had his 18 month check up and needles on Friday, Feb. 13th.
He weighed in at 24 lbs. 10 oz. and 33 inches long. He is maintaining his growth in the 75% for his height and 50% for his weight.
He has gained 2 lbls 10 oz. and 2 inches from his 1 year old appointment.
He didn't cry much about the needles but later in the day his legs were a bit sore.

Lincoln Sleeping

Lincoln sleeping...cute, peaceful, not into anything...ahhh!

Marni's Bday!

The cake Libby picked out....she wanted her name & Lincoln's name written on it as well
Libby blowing out the candles
Lincoln having a turn blowing out the candles
Opening cards
Mommy with two kiddos

Tips of the Week/Month

I've always cooked hamburger in the microwave....but since I took a class in January about cooking tips & hints for meals....I now cook it in a silicone strainer in a pie plate in the microwave.
Why....because before my hamburger would cook in its own fat, then I would drain it off....now the fat drips off and meat is ready to use.....or not....next picture
Then you put about a pound in a ziplock bag and freeze the meat. Now I have precooked meat ready to use for tacos, nachos, spaghetti sauce...anything....it saves you a step, when you are in a hurry, just a bit of prep time when you come home from the grocery store with the meat.
This is another good tip, Cash and Carry sells frozen onions, red peppers & green peppers. Pretty cheap, like $5 for a big huge bag. Splilt the bags into 2 ziplock bags and keep them in the freezer....now I have chopped peppers and onions at my finger tips...I hate cutting onions, now I don't, I just grab a handful.

Other Random Tips

-Buy boneless meat, better bang for you buck.
-If something is too salty add a raw potato and it will suck up the salt.
-The cheaper the meat the slower you need to cook it.
-During winter months you are better off using frozen vegetables over fresh.
(because fresh is approx. a week old by the time it gets to our table.)
-You can partially cook potatoes and freeze them to use later.
-Pasta keeps 4-5 days in the fridge. Rinse in cold water and is won't stick, freezes well.
-Leftover whipping cream...put on wax paper and into a bag...freeze...pull out when needed, thawed for 15mins.
-Brown Rice
1 cup rice to 2 cup of water
-Whtie Rice
1 cup rice to 1 1/2 cup of water
-Splenda is great for reducing calories. You can use 1/2 sugar 1/2 splenda in recipes.

Boys will be Boys!

Lincoln and Jay were up to no good while we were having our life group tonight.
They were really quiet until Lincoln came out of his bedroom with white all over his face....first we thought is was shaving cream....I took him to the bathroom and washed it off only to realize it was bum cream....then Jay came out of the bedroom...COVERED in the same cream! No one but those two boys actually knows what took place, but it sure looks like they were trying to shave at at 2 1/2 and 1 1/2 years old....it was hilarious!!
Lincoln burst into tears after the fact, not really understanding what had happened
Jay also burst into tears when they cleaned him up and removed his cream filled sweat shirt.
Maybe they were really crying because they never got to finish their shaving job....LOL, we'll never know I guess.

Bowling Pics

Cheering her ball on...
Tim helping Lincoln throw a ball
Lincoln watching his ball go towards the pins
Lincoln all over the thing the balls come flying up...surprising....he didn't get his fingers crunched
Posing
Libby throwing a ball
Posing after a big knock down....
Showing how she glows
Tim & Lincoln
Having a cheesie snack

Bowling

Bowling yesterday....Lincoln was trouble from the get-go.
Libby loved it. They had the lights off and black lights, so she was excited she was glowing.
She got the hang of bowling really quickly.

Fun on the Floor

Spaghetti face...
After the tub, he has to put on a show
Then they gave a beating to Grampy
Lincoln is pretty rough
And neither of them let up, unless you get off the floor