One Year Old!!!

He's one year old!! Really? How did that happen? It seems like not that long ago that he was born, but at the same time, a lot of things have happened since then. We bought our first house, moved to Korea and little brother will be here in just 12 or so weeks. Despite all the typical challenges children bring, Lincoln really has been a joy. He is always so quick to smile and is such a little charmer even for non-Koreans. He just loves other people .

I haven't really given a whole lot of thought to his personality previously, but since living near another kid his age (his friend Maddy), it's interesting to see where they are the same and where they are different. Maddy and Lincoln took their first steps at about the same time. Maddy is already practically running, but has lots of wipe outs (although she doesn't seem to mind). Lincoln plays it safe and is careful and deliberate with each step. Both Maddy and Lincoln love to empty out their diaper bags but definitely have different styles. Maddy grabs whatever she can and then throws it across the room behind her as soon as it is in her hand. Lincoln pulls each item out one by one and carefully inspects it, will chew on it for a second and then set it aside. Maybe none of this is indicative of what he will be like in the future, but he is in general quite a mild-mannered (except at church and when he's tired and hungry), pleasant little baby boy. We just love him. Matt asked me if I would miss him if we were apart for a few weeks. I miss him when I leave him with Matt while I take Lucy on a walk. We haven't had a babysitter since Christmastime cause we don't really know anyone well enough here. Anyway, he has become our everything. I'm sure that'll change when little brother gets here but we are so glad he is a part of our lives.

Anyway, here are his stats and latest hobbies:

Height: 29.75 in (25th Percentile)

Weight: 23 lbs 7 oz (50th Percentile)

Hobby #1: If I don't get him up right away in the morning or from his nap, it is almost a guarantee that his binky and at least one sock will be thrown overboard. (Note the blue binky by the blue tile. And yes... he has slept in the Pack n Play for an entire year now. What a deprived child.)

Hobby #2: Lincoln will NOT let me spoon feed him anything even if it is something that he likes. I have to trick him and wait till he opens up for a bite of his finger food and then quickly slip in a spoonful of whatever. He always picks food up with his left hand. He may be a south paw like his dad, uncle Nick and aunt Jenny. His favorite of all finger foods are peas. He'll pinch them and make them pop out of their skins before he eats them. In fact, he pinches all his food. He thinks it's really funny when a peach or banana pops out of his pinch and he definitely likes to crumble his crackers. I've been giving him small pieces of chicken and he'll pinch them so hard his arm will start to shake. He is always a little disappointed that chicken doesn't crumble or pop out of his hand.

Hobby #3: He LOVES the bath. Lately he has been putting the rubber ducky's head in his mouth and leaving it there for the duration of his bath. So funny! I think my mouth would get tired.

Hobby #4: As I said before, he takes careful and deliberate steps but he has been choosing to walk a lot more lately. (Note: TURN DOWN OR MUTE THE VOLUME FOR THIS VIDEO!! Matt gets a little crazy with the squeaky rubber chicken.)

Hobby #5: He loves chasing me or Lucy and lets out some big belly laughs. Videos like this make you realize that you do some pretty crazy things to get your kid to laugh. I even toned it down A LOT for the video so as to avoid embarrassing myself, but I'm still a little embarrassed.