Happy 10 Months, Lincoln

​On the 19th, Lincoln turned ten months old, and like every other month that passes, I cannot believe it. True to his first days, he continues to be chill, joyful, and easily entertained. He does spice things up for us in short bursts of fire during the day, as he's not a fan of diaper changes, getting buckled in the carseat and when Addie takes a toy away. Other than that, he's as sweet as they come. 

Although we're technically in the stranger anxiety phase, Lincoln still goes to anyone and maintains his calm demeanor--thank God! He even reached out for the doctor to pick him up at his check-up appointment. She commented that that NEVER happens at this stage. He just watched her as she did the physical, not bothered a bit. When she entered the room, the doctor said that Lincoln is a "string bean," weighing in at 20 pounds (33rd percentile) and 30 inches long (81st percentile). Everything checked out well with Lincoln, other than the persistence of his blocked tear duct. The doctor put in a referral for him to see an ophthalmologist in case it doesn't resolve itself by the time he turns one.

On the development front, Lincoln has been working towards walking. So far, he's taken three steps on his own. He walks along furniture all day long, but doesn't yet have the confidence to take off on his own. He can also sit down from a standing position so there's not as much falling over anymore. We've been teaching him a couple signs over the last couple months (more, milk, and all done). He can now sign "more" and "all done"--very exciting to see! He's also learned to wave and loves to point. Lincoln uttered his first word, "uh-oh," which was Addie's first word as well. He said it when he knocked his cup off the food tray a couple weeks ago. He really enjoys playing with gravity, sending Addie eagerly to pick up his cup at every meal. 

Lincoln's smile, with top teeth emerging

Lincoln has only said one word so far, but he babbles all day long and it's so funny! He says other "words" like da-da, but I'm not sure he associates those words yet. Tim took this cute video of him "talking." 
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We took Lincoln for his first hair cut a few weeks ago. I thought about attempting the cut myself, but I was too nervous to try the first time. He sat in a little car for the experience, and stayed calm for the first couple minutes until he was nicked slightly and then it al went downhill! He was not happy to continue with the haircut, and wouldn't sit still. The lady was a little too fast and loose with those cutters and his hair ended up pretty uneven, with a couple bald spots to boot. When we got home we evened it all up, and I think I'll be ready to do the next one myself. 
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​As far as his routine, Lincoln wakes up around six in the morning, nurses, and then falls back asleep until about 7:30. He goes down for a nap a couple hours later and sleeps anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour and a half. Then he naps again around one in the afternoon, and goes to bed about seven at night. He eats every meal with us, has a snack between meals, and nurses every four to five hours. During the night he's pretty inconsistent with sleep. Sometimes he sleeps through the night and other days he wakes one or two times. I desperately wish he'd sleep EVERY night without waking, but his doctor thinks he's still hungry and suggested I continue to feed him when he wakes as long as he seems eager and continues to take a full feeding...ugh! Adeline started sleeping through the night at six months and never went back; how I wish it was the same with Lincoln! But, he's so good during the day that I don't mind too much. 

Taking pictures of Lincoln at ten months was an exhausting endeavor! He moves so quickly that I could hardly take a shot of him smiling and in one spot before he twisted, rolled, crawled or walked away. This boy sure speaks to my heart--how could he not with that smile?!