Where is Lynden? Where is Lynden?

Where is Lynden?

Where is Lynden?

I'm right here.

I'm right here.

 
Why is he in here?

I was sleeping?

 
Please help me.

Please help me!

Lynden Rucker - 18 months

Lynden Rucker, you are now 18 months old {really almost 19 because I'm so super slow at posting this!!}.

At your 18mo well child check-up you were 28lbs, 33" long, and had a head circumference of 19". At 18months you were still riding rear-facing in the car. It is now recommended to ride rear-facing until two years of age or until the child reaches the top height or weight limit allowed by the car seat’s manufacturer. I thought your car seat stated it was safe to ride rear-facing until 30lbs, but when I re-read it the other day I realized it says TWENTY pounds!! Oops. You were TWENTY pounds at SIX months old! I should have bought a different car seat for you at six months so you could continue facing backwards. That said, I have turned you around. I can't tell that you like it any better. You were very content when rear-facing.

I tried to get your "18month" picture with you seated in my recliner, but you're a bit more active than you were at 12 months.

You have really started to slim up and don't have as many rolls as you once did. I placed your horse blanket in the picture as I did in the past, but didn't dare spell out "18 months" with your wooden blocks as I did every month through 12 months. That was just disaster waiting to happen.

Speaking of horse blanket, that is definitely your safety blanket. You LOVE that thing and take it with you all over the house. We've started referring to you as Linus from the Peanuts gang.

You have a few other faves as well...your "Florida Gator" your Aunt Euna gave you, Raegen's soft dog "Christy" that he sometimes calls "Pepsi", the Horton elephant, the hungry caterpillar, and any other random toy that you want at the moment. And of course your pacifier is still key in getting you to sleep. And oh how I despise that thing and love it at the same time. It brings you great comfort.

Not comforting to you, is being awoken from your slumber.

There better be a good reason or you will make us PAY!!!

You are a typical 18-month old and constantly on the move.

You have so many words...SOOOOO many more than Raegen had at this age. And you mimic most sounds so you are jabbering ALL the time. Here are the words I can think of right now that you say often:

momma

dadda

ball

hey

hi

bye-bye

what that?

nana

more

please

thank you

go-go

no!

uh-oh

baby

dog

mmm-mmm

You can also hum your A-B-C's. That's one of the songs Raegen would always sing to you to help calm you down. You obviously like the tune.

You also now have HAIR!!!! It's still an odd, orange-red-brown color. And it's also an odd, wiry, coarse type of hair.

You absolutely LOVE all your sister's fun toys and I often find you in my room enjoying them all!

You adore your big brother Raegen and can out-eat him two plates to one at the dinner table. He should really start working out because you're going to be a lot to handle! You wear mostly size 18-24mo clothing and some 24mo/2T.

You are a great big brother. If you see a burp cloth ANYWHERE, you bring it to Ellison. If you see her pacifier ANYWHERE, you also bring it to her and try your best to cram it in her mouth. haha

You still have the biggest, sweetest smile and Bro. Tim at church just loves for you to smile for him. He also now enjoys head-butting you. He's going to need a helmet before long!

As big as your grin, you have an equally big frown and TEMPER. It can be quite exhausting to deal with, but I'm trying my best to curb it now because otherwise you'll be overpowering me when you're THREE!

You are currently cutting your second year molars so there's lots of drool, fever, and waking in the middle of the night to find you walking around crying and screaming. You're in a toddler bed full-time now, but it's a lot of work to keep you in there. I've learned that if I will lay down with you, you're usually asleep within ten or fifteen minutes. However, there are some days and nights where that doesn't work. I set up the pack-n-play in your room and that's where you end up if you simply will not stay in bed.

You're a sweet, sweet baby growing into a sweet, sweet boy.

"Movie Madness" Fair Fun

Tuesday afternoon we met Aunt Amber and the girls to watch the county fair parade.

Raegen had no idea we were going to watch the parade OR that he was going to see cousin Ashlyn so he was VERY excited!! We found a nice grassy spot just perfect for the kids.

Lynden and Ellison had the best seats in their comfy stroller, but I knew it was just a matter of time before big boy wanted a little freedom...

This was Lynden's fourth parade, but I believe he enjoyed this one more than he did the first, second, or third {not blogged about because I was busy being pregnant, packing, moving, repeat, etc.}! The parade had his attention, for sure.

I'm so glad Amber asked us to join them. We had a great time and it's always nice to spend time with family.

Raegen ran into his buddy, EK, after the parade. I always enjoy seeing him interact with his little friends. So cute.

Afterwards, we joined the traffic bandwagon and headed out to the fair. Ellison slept through most of it... {as she did the parade too!}

And Lynden enjoyed his first sucker. What started out as him holding Raegen's balloon {attached to a Tootsie Pop}, ended with him realizing he could take the paper off that ball on a stick and put it in his mouth! We didn't dare take it out of his hands. haha

Some of the kids at church show animals through the 4-H program so Raegen got a hands-on experience while viewing the goats...

Who knew at last year's fair that our 2011 family fair pic...

would include a NEW baby?!

God knew.

That's who.

The fair is a great place to meet up with old buddies...

"Hey friend, it's been a while!"

What's a fair without rides? haha

{we might rethink this next year when we have TWO that want to ride...}

We had a great time and B even bought me a corn dog...he really does love me! ;)

Bye-bye shag-a-do

My little linebacker has been in dire need of a haircut for sometime now, but

1) we've waited soooo long for him to actually get hair I really didn't want to cut it all off

2) his little curls on the back of his neck are so precious and I know as soon as they're cut they're GONE, and

3) I highly dislike seeing my baby turn into a boy with just one haircut.
ugh.

B and I took Raegen for his first haircut at 10 months. I knew he wouldn't be able to join me this go round so I opted to take Lynden to a fun "children only" hair salon. I needed all the extra help I could get!! He loved playing with the toy train set all by himself...no big brother telling him where to put the trains, etc. haha

Of course that only lasted so long and he wanted to sit in the vintage airplane and "fly".

I was thankful the stylist let him sit there while we waited for our turn. There were only two stylists working and there was a steady stream of customers.

It took all of ten minutes to turn my baby into a big boy...

He is too precious.

Ft. Stain

The other day B built a fort for the boys and it was a hit!

Raegen and Lynden both loved it and played in it for hours.

I have fond memories of building forts when I was growing up. We always used old blankets and secured them to doorknobs with rubber bands.

I have a feeling this is just the first of many for my boys...but hopefully the last where they use my nice coverlet from the bed!! ha