Dear Lincoln,

Hello handsome! :)

So you've picked up a funny word. You say uh-oh. It's adorable! Last night we were putting the older kids to sleep. Well you crawled into Olivia's room and were being very distracting. You Dad called me to come and get you. As soon as I rounded the corner and you saw me you very clearly let out a big, "uh oh!" It was adorable! We all laughed hysterically including you!

You had a rough night last night and tonight doesn't seem to be looking good either. I don't know if your teething or constipated or what but you are up crying in your crib right now even though you were asleep for 30 minutes tops. :( You also fought your afternoon nap! I don't know what's going on but I hope it ends soon. I went to bed last night at 10:30 because I was so tired then you had me up all night you little stinker! ;)

I love you so much! Tonight I pulled out a pair of 12 month sleeper pjs and thought they would be huge on you. To my great surprise they fit you pretty perfectly! Maybe you got a growth spurt! I sure think you look bigger!

I hope you fall asleep soon and sleep all night!

Love,
Mom

Dear Lincoln,

While we were in the hospital I signed up for surveys to come every month about your development. It's super easy to do. I just fill out a bunch of yes and no questions about what you can do and can't do then I send it off. Well to be honest, the past couple months I have been cursing myself for signing up. I don't send out my mail and it's a pain to get stamps and go to the post officer. Really I was probably just being lazy! ;) I thought it was useless anyways because my baby is perfect! (You really are!)

Well then I got the phone call. The phone call from this mysterious place I had been sending these surveys to. They told me you were behind. That you couldn't crawl on all fours or pull yourself up to standing and you couldn't put yourself in a sitting position. They were concerned. Now I'm normally a pretty relaxed mom but they made me paranoid. What if something was wrong! They said if you hadn't accomplished these things by 11 months, we would have to bring you in for an evaluation! Now, I was nervous! Well, you must have known you were on a time crunch, because not even a week after the dreaded phone call, you can do both of those things! I am so proud of you! You crawl all over the place now and get into lots of trouble! ;) Yesterday you pulled yourself up to standing and I was so proud! Last night as I laid you down for bed I hadn't even left the room and you were already standing. This was a problem since we hadn't lowered your crib yet. I didn't see the reason why to why you couldn't stand up or crawl out. So 9 o'clock last night we lowered your crib! And this morning when I went in to get you, you were standing! :)

I can't even tell you how happy I am that you are doing these things! I thought you were never ever going to! ;)

I love you my growing boy!

Love,
Mom

Dear Lincoln,

You've been getting semi close to crawling lately. Pretty much every time I've been putting you on the floor I put you straight on your tummy. I'm a horrible Mom when it comes to tummy time. I don't put my babies on their tummies super often. But I think this is probably why you don't crawl yet. So I've been doing better and I've been seeing improvements. :) Well Monday Dad and I sat on the floor with you, teasingly putting toys just out of reach, hoping you would crawl. You got pretty dang close! Dad said, "I bet he does it before I go back to work!" This was Monday the 18th. Come today we knew it was crunch time! Lucky for us, you did crawl! It wasn't like a classic army crawl, it was a very awkward full body roll kind of thing. But you moved forward! Daddy had the idea to tempt you into crawling with food. So you crawled to string cheese! I was so proud! We got a second crawl on video but you were pretty done at that point! :)

You are such a sweet baby! You are just so content and happy all the time! I love you so much! I am so glad you crawled while Daddy was home! He didn't want to miss it!

Love,
Mom

Dear Lincoln,

You have a new skill, you can clap your hands. You clap all the time. I actually taught you to clap! Every month we get these survey things I signed up for when we first had you. They measure your development to make sure you don't get behind. Well when I got your 7 month one, it mentioned you should be clapping. So I practiced with you for a minute and now you clap all the time! It's so stinking adorable! I love watching you clap with your big grin on your face! It melts my heart every time!

You are such a good baby my boy! I mean, you are just so sweet and amazing! Today we went out to Steinaker lake and you just sat in the sand playing with toys for an hour or so! You were just so sweet sitting there watching us play, laughing at us! And of course, clapping your hands! ;) We also put your feet in the water and you loved it! :) You giggled and smiled the whole time!

You are so handsome and adorable and I just love you Lincoln! You truly are so perfect!

Love,
Mom

Dear Lincoln,

I don't know if you know this but you are 7 months old! I can hardly believe you are just 5 short months from being a whole year! It's going to fly by for sure!

You are so dang adorable my son! You talk all the time. I mean all the time! Unless you are sleeping, you are always  making some sort of cooing noise or growling noise. You also have started giggling and smiling all the time! I stinking love it!

Just this past week you have started to experience stranger danger. Before you usually preferred me but it wasn't a full on cry fit if someone else held you. Now, if anyone but your Dad and I hold you, you have a melt down. There are tears and screaming and leaning towards us. It's not super convenient but to be honest, I sort of love it! I have never had a child really prefer me so this is pretty much amazing! Your Dad got his first hair cut since November and you didn't recognize him for a couple hours. Any time he held you or looked at you, you would cry! It was hilarious and sad. Your Daddy worked very hard to get you to realize who he was!

Dad has started to call you Binkers. I really hate it! I hope it doesn't stick! It all started because Olivia calls you Bincoln. Lincoln with a b. It's not that she can't say Lincoln, because she can. I guess in her mind she has Bently and Bincoln. So  now Olivia and Bently call you Binocln and Dad calls you Binkers. I still call you Lincoln. It's such an adorable name and I LOVE it. It's quite disappointing to be the only one calling you that! ;) Your name is the first one that I have had no name regret with! I really love your name! I hope you like it too!

I love you handsome boy! You sure are adorable and keep me smiling!

Love,
Mom

Dear Lincoln,

Sleep has been a battle lately. You started not liking nap time. You will fight it till the bitter end. But if you don't get a nap than you are cranky as heck. You also don't sleep as well at night time if you don't take a nap. Then, you still wake up multiple times a night. I mean are up 3 or 4 times a night. Sometimes more. It's been very very hard. Especially because I'm supposidly doing everything right. Whenever I look up articles on how to get you to sleep through the night I'm already doing everything they suggest. You are comfortable, you have a routine, you sleep with white noise, I make sure you eat enough before bed. Nothing is working. I've thought lots about letting you cry it out, but that just seems awful! I did it with Bently and Olivia but for some reason I just can't do it to you. Thought that might be all I have left! I've tried everything else! I hope that I don't ruin you some how by letting you cry! I love you with all my hear!

Love,
Mom

Dear Lincoln,

You had your 6 month doctor appointment recently. I really thought you were getting so big. I was sure you were going to be at least in the 50th percentile. Well you aren't. You're actually pretty far from it! You are in the 5th percentile for your height and 35th for length. Your head came in the 75th percentile. I have one big headed baby! I really hope you aren't super short. Thought there are worse things than being short! I also mentioned to the doctor that you don't roll yet. You can roll from your tummy to back, but you have only done it a couple times. You have never gone back to front. The doctor said it was fine but then made me nervous by saying we will watch it and reevaluate next appointment. So start rolling so I don't worry too much! :)

That said, you sit up like a pro. Seriously, I am always impressed when I see you sitting there steady as a rock! You hardly ever fall over anymore. Unless your siblings pull you over, which they do quite often. :) You love to be up and looking around. I think that's why you skipped rolling and went straight to sitting up. You just like to be able to look at everything! :)

I think you learned how to frown today. All day today we caught you randomly frowning. It was pretty hilarious! I don't know how long it will last but I really love watching you frown all the time!

I love you handsome. You are awake crying again. You have had a rough couple days since your shots. You are acting pretty miserable. Not sleeping and crying all the time. It's been rough but I'm sure it's been rougher for you! Feel better baby!

Love,
Mom

Dear Lincoln,

I am so sorry! I have been awful about writing letters. Between blogging on the family blog and making videos, I feel like I just don't have any desire to write letters! I hope you never think it's because I don't love you enough! I can't even describe how much I adore having you in our family! :)

I want to write you about your blessing! We blessed you February 21st and were able to do the blessing in Davis County! That was so fun because we were able to have almost all of our friends and family there! :) That being said, it was also extremely stressful! Bentrly threw up the day before we left, but he seemed okay on the actual day we were leaving, so off we went. The night before we blessed you Bently woke up in the middle of the night screaming that his throat hurt. Needless to say the next morning we were all exhausted. Especially you! You did not want to sleep outside of your crib! You resisted napping our whole trip! So you were very very cranky!

The night arrived and Bently was miserably sick. And you sweet baby were miserably tired and cranky! I was standing in the back holding you so you wouldn't cry. It was time for the blessing, the whole room was super quiet. That's when you decided to projectile vomit all over the table behind me. It was pretty funny! The table made it much louder and every body heard it and had a good chuckle!

Then it was time for you to be blessed. I handed you off to your Dad and sat down to listen. Of course I cried quite a bit through your blessing! It was beautiful!

A few thins you were blessed with:
To be athletic
To be a leader and have other look to you and follow your example.
Lincoln you're being watched over by many special spirits and your Uncle Jonathan is watching over you.
Blessed to take a princess to the temple and to lead your family in righteousness.
Blessed to be healthy and strong.

You screamed through the whole blessing. I mean screamed. The  minute it was over and everyone took their hands away you immediately stopped screaming. It was actually pretty funny how immediate it was. Like a light switch turned off. :-)

After that you got passed around a lot and even caught a few naps! It was such a special day and I was so grateful, once again, to have you as my son! My beautiful little boy. Words could not describe how much I love you!

On a totally different note, you slept in your bed the whole night last night! Now you usually start in your bed, but end up in my bed for at least half of the night. Well last night you went into your crib at 9 and didn't wake up till 4:30! :) It was incredible! I can't remember the last time I went had that much uninterrupted sleep! Then I fed you and actually stayed awake to put you back in your bed! So basically, you slept all night in your own bed! It was amazing! You are such a wonderful baby and I am so grateful to have you handsome boy!

Tomorrow your 6 months old and I can hardly believe it! But I'll talk more about that tomorrow! ;)

Love,
Mom

Dear Lincoln,

You son are getting so dang big! I can hardly believe you are that same 7 lbs baby I had just 4 short months ago! The first year of life is so crazy because you change so much! Every single day I swear you seem older and bigger! :) You can now hold things in your hands! It's crazy that you can grab onto something and play with it. Aka stick it in your mouth! I feel bad because I'm always forgetting you have this ability. I'm constantly not bringing toys for you to church and other places. I forget that my baby is old now and gets bored just sitting there.

Let me tell you son, you always make church an adventure. I spend a LOT of time in the mothers room and in the hall. Especially last week, you were just not a happy camper! And before church you had a huge poo blow out! It was so disgusting and stinky. I don't remember my other kids having stinky poos but you do. They smell awful!

I love you so much handsome! I can't believe you are just a month and a half away from being half a year! It doesn't seem like you've been here 4 months already! I hope you know I love you so much! I love that you smile so much for me! It always brightens up my day!

Love,
Mom

p.s. You will get blessed this upcoming Sunday and I can hardly wait! :)

Dear Lincoln,

Fussy baby is back. You went through a stage of being an easy baby, but you are not that child anymore. Now don't take me the wrong way, you aren't the most horrible baby. In fact if you were my first you might even seem easy. But with having two other children, it makes everything seem harder. That said, tonight you weren't fussy. Even though you had barley napped and should've been cranky, you weren't. You were extraordinarily happy! Your Dad and I just relished in the moment. We ignored the show we were watching to watch you. Watch you smile and talk like you always do. You talk all the time. Your Dad always tells me he loves listening to your stories! We even got a couple giggles out of you! :) You smile makes my day little man! :)

The other day I got out my tripod with a goal. I was going to get a picture of you and I together that I loved! I didn't think it happened. I was absolutely frustrated. But then as I was editing I found one! The perfect picture of you and I. I love it so much! In face there were a couple that I love. I love them not because they're perfect. But because they're us. You and me. Our relationship in pictures. I can't even tell you how incredibly lucky I am to have you as a son. I love you so much sometimes I worry my heart will explode!

Love,
Mom

Dear Lincoln,

I can't believe it's 2016! That's right today is New Years Day! This year is going to be a big one for you especially. You'll learn to walk, talk, roll over, crawl, and walk! Oh and eat solid foods! Man alive you are going to be quite productive this year! ;) I can't wait to spend 2016 with you and watch as you grow into a big 1 year old!

I love you my precious son!

Love,
Mom

p.s. I took your 3 month pictures today and boy was it rough. I was almost in tears at one point. I hope we got at least a few good ones!

Dear Lincoln,

Since your Dad has to work Christmas we are celebrating it today and tomorrow! So, happy first Christmas handsome! I'm afraid to say you are sick. As is Dad, me, and Olivia! It's no fun to be sick for Christmas but we are all suffering in misery together! :) You are currently napping on your Dad's chest and it's adorable! I think Dad might be napping as well! :)

I just wanted to tell you how grateful I am for you this Christmas. I have been really touched by the nativity story this year. I'm not sure why I'm so emotional over it but I think part of it is having you. I see infant you and can't help but imagine how Mary was feeling. It's an amazing thing to have a baby for Christmas! I am so glad you are here to celebrate with us!

I love you so much Lincoln! Thank you for coming to our family!

Love,
Mom

Dear Lincoln

I forgot to mention how vocal you are. Especially right after you were born! Your dad and I both commented on how much noise you made. Not necessarily crying but lots of grunts and squeaks. I love listening to you "talk"! 

I knew I shouldn't complain about your sleeping habits. The last two days you've been a fussy bucket. You at least still sleep good at night but during the day is another story. You seem to be going through a stage of cluster feeding. You just want to eat all the time. That makes it very difficult for me to give your other siblings attention. Or to get anything done at all. Luckily your dads been off work the past two days but today he goes back. I'm a little worried about how it's going to work out. Hopefully it's not too bad! :) 

Today is your two week doctor appointment. I hope it all goes well. I have this fear for some reason that we'll find out you're not gaining weight. I think I'm only worried because you are such a tiny guy! You still seem so small to me. I'll let you know how it goes. I love you!

Love,

Mom

Later that day...

You're appointment went really good! You gained weight!!!! Hurray!! You are 7 lbs 6 oz which is one ounce over your birth weight! Good job son! :) You're in the 20th percentile for weight, the 25th for height (20 inches), and the 50th for your head. They also informed us that your collar bone had broken during birth! You poor thing! They said there's nothing they can do and it should heal on its own! Birth was pretty rough on both of us apparently! ;)

I love you handsome!

Love,

Mom

Dear Lincoln,

Hi. You surprised me by coming 12 days before your due date. But that will be a story for another time. This letter is for all the little things I want to remember. Because if being a mom of three has taught me anything, it's that time goes by too fast and you'll be one before I know it. So let's talk about newborn Lincoln. 

Today you are nine days old. I can't believe how fast these nine days have gone. You are quite the sleeper. I don't know if I just don't accurately remember or not but I swear you sleep more than my other babies. You are either asleep or eating. There is no in between. Not that I'm complaining by any means. It's just thrown me off a bit. I can't really tell you how you sleep in the nighttime. Despite all my good intentions and goals before you were born we have been bed sharing since the day you came home. It's just too convienent to have you right there when it's time to nurse. So I sleep pretty good at night. And don't really know how many times you actually wake up! ;)

Okay I'm continuing this letter and you are now 12 days old! Today is your due date! It's the first time I haven't been pregnant on my due date and I'm rather fond of it. 

You are more awake now than before. You are starting to get chunky and you face is getting some personality! I love when your just awake looking around! :) 

You really hate to burp. Anytime you burp or spit up you whine. It's cute and sad at the same time! ;) you so far don't spit up too much. That could change at any second. Especially since I just jinxed myself. 

Your siblings love you. Especially Olivia. Much to my dismay I can't get her away from you. she is constantly trying to hug you or lay on you or kiss you! Today I turned around and found her full on holding you all by herself.. Standing up! I nearly had a heart attack! Bently loves you too! He talks about you a lot and has lots of questions about you. Like why you don't have teeth. Or why you throw up! 

Your umbilical cord came off on the tenth. I thought it would never come off, so to prove me wrong it fell off in my lap. It was gross, but exciting. We still haven't given you your first bath yet! I can't wait to do that. 

You my Lincoln boy are special. You have not followed the norm by any means. You have already proven you're going to do things your own way and I couldn't be more pleased. See you are my first baby where I don't have to go back to work. That's right, you get me 24/7. It's strange though, I still find myself in that going back to work mind set. I cuddle you every second I can and I am truly cherishing every second we get together. I love you so much handsome. I wish to slow down time just a little. I want to cuddle you and smell your newborn smell a little longer. I worry with the holidays coming up that time will go too fast, as it always does this time of year. So I am going to pay extra attention and hold onto time as much as possible. 

I love you Lincoln. 

Love,

Mom