11 months (for a few more hours)

Maybe it's denial, or just being busy but Lincoln's 11 month post is barely making it! Since he'll turn one tomorrow (technically not until 6:04pm) I figured it was due time to update the blog. Here's a photo timeline of Mr. Lincoln's month #11:
We took a quick trip down to Chattanooga to see 3 of his buddies, I hope these boys grow up being BFF's!

Lincoln 11 mths, Easton 7 mths, Parker 3 in Aug, Bryson 9 mths

We took him to the opening of the new splash pad in Mt Juliet (Ava's Splash Pad-such a heart touching story behind this awesome new addition to the Charlie Daniels Park):

He took his first steps 2 nights in a row, but has since decided he'd rather crawl:

With 3 adults, a variety of snacks and a few toys, Lincoln got his very first hair cut:

Even with all the warnings in the world it is still so hard to believe an entire year has passed in what seems like a blink of our eyes. We cannot wait to celebrate tomorrow! Good night!

(we really did take this almost a month ago just slow posting!) 

Wa-POW!!

Sasha survived a whole year!

Happy Summer!

Tennessee summer is officially here! We've enjoyed time at the lake and pool to cool off.

 

wrapping his head around the wonder of the water!

Dennis and I were so surprised to see Lincoln standing up in his crib when he woke up from his nap one afternoon back in June! In a few weeks time he learned to stand up and walk around while holding on to someone's hands, the couch, table etc. He still loves his walker, keyboard toys and balls. He plays with a toy set of golf clubs and balls  -be careful when he has the clubs though, he swings without looking where he may strike and has had a few accidental swings at us :) He really likes to throw balls that light up when they bounce around the house. Lincoln will crawl up to a book and push it around or grab it when he wants story time. We've memorized the book "Baby Loves to Rock" - seems to be his favorite! It's so cute when he kisses the animals on the pages. He's the sweetest little man, always giving kisses to his stuffed animals too. We celebrated our 3 nieces' birthdays last weekend and the bigger kids chased him around. Ever since he has the best time if we crawl around behind him saying "I'm going to get that baby!" His giggles are priceless! We all had a great 4th of July despite the downpour that overtook Middle TN for most of the week.

Sweet Lincoln has some rhythm! He moves back and forth when he gets a tasty bite of food, when he hears Dennis making sounds, he dances to the music from his toys too! His subtle dancing is always a crowd pleaser! He's in size 3 diapers, size 9-12 month clothes, has 4 teeth (2 on top and 2 on the bottom) and he weighs a little over 19 lbs. Oh and he now feeds himself bites of food! This helps keep him entertained when we are trying to eat at the same time :) Can't believe he's almost 11 months old.. then 1 year! My oh my :) We love him to pieces!!

TGIF - have a wonderful weekend!!

D, D and Lincoln

A Month of Firsts

MAY 2013 brought on a few firsts for our family:

• Lincoln hit a couple milestones: A biggie is he started crawling May 31st! He had been mobile but not full-on crawling and then with the bribery of a laughing baby on the computer he was up and going for an up close look at the baby on the screen!
• The very next morning he started pulling himself up to sit on his knees. He does the yoga pose "downward facing dog" as he is really trying to stand up. Pretty funny to watch!
• He had his first taste of table food - pinto beans! He showed us he isn't a picky eater at this stage. He has successfully eaten beans, salmon, tuna salad, pimento cheese, assorted veggies and fruits, spaghetti, greek yogurt, ground turkey/beef and even shredded chicken. It's a lot of fun (and easier) feeding him off our plate. Surprisingly he likes steamed carrots despite not liking them pureed.



First Spaghetti - yummy!

• Lincoln's top teeth are coming in. One poked out this morning and the other is right under the gum. We've had some long nights and a lot of extra hugs and cuddles to help him cope with the discomfort the past week.
• May was my first month of being a full-time mom. I had so many mixed emotions making the decision to become a stay-at-home-mom and through a lot of conversations and prayer, Dennis and I decided it is what would be best for our family at this time. We are all very happy with the change and very thankful for being able to do it.
• We celebrated my 1st Mother's Day:

Best buds

Mommy and her #1 boy

• Lincoln got to see his daddy at work! This week is CMA Fest here in Nashville. We joined Dennis during their sound check at LP Field today. He seemed to like the big tractor and a guy moving big cords around more than actually watching the rehearsal - go figure :)

At the stadium

First golf cart ride!

I can't believe he is already 9 months old!!! His doctor's check up went well. No shots this time :) He measured 29 1/2 inches long and weighed 18.8 pounds. He's still in size 3 diapers and 9 month clothes. His favorite toys/activities are the music table, his small keyboard, walker, and a treasure chest with plastic coins that lights up. He REALLY loves one giraffe with big eyes we named Georgey the Giraffe. He gives it kisses and talks to it. Once we realized how much he liked that particular animal we brought out a few other stuffed animals to play. He seems to light up and love on them too! It's really sweet and makes us laugh. He is a chatty little man with so much to say. Mostly ba-ba's, da-da's and ma-ma's with a few ga-ga's every now and then. Check out his 9 month photos with Keri - these are by far our favorite set. He is SUCH a little ham!! Her blog recap made our hearts melt seeing his personality captured. He really is a great baby, always happy (unless he's tired, then his bottom lip pout takes over). Thank you again Keri for your wonderful work and talent! I can't believe next time we see you will be for his 1 year session... where has the time gone?!

Have a wonderful weekend!!

The Edwards

Recipe: Greek Yogurt Pancakes via Schue Love

I have been reading along with Natasha's blog Schue Love for a few months now. I enjoy her fun posts about her family, recipes, decor etc. When she posted her own recipe for a healthy pancake I wanted to give them a try. Dennis had work this morning so it was just me and Lincoln and I wasn't sure if he would like them or not I decided to cut the recipe into 1/4. Lincoln loved his bites and we both ate them without any toppings - yup! they were THAT tasty :)

Another bonus is I won't have to go to the grocery store to make these because it uses simple, staple ingredients-yay!

Here's Natasha' original recipe and my smaller version below. This amount made one big pancake along with 3 smaller sized ones - plenty for us 2!

Greek Yogurt Protein Pancakes for 2:

• 1/2 cup greek yogurt (I used plain)
• 1/2 cup egg whites
• 1/2 cup oatmeal oats
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp baking powder

1. Blend all ingredients. With Lincoln on the go now, I used our Rocket Blender for a quick alternative to pulling out our food processor.
2. Let batter sit for 5 minutes to set. Grease griddle or skillet and cook until finished, about 2 minutes depending how big, thick you pour.

That's it - easy peasy, healthy and tasty! Thank you for a GREAT go-to breakfast recipe!

For the LOVE of Pinterest! Iced Coffee and Spinach Quiches to Go

For the LOVE of Pinterest! I recently tried 2 different morning recipes from Pinterest and highly recommend them for your next brunch/breakfast shower or party.

ICED COFFEE with SWEET CREAM via Craving Comfort

Ingredients:

• 1 gallon of water (I may try an extra 1/2 gallon next time)
• 1 bag of ground coffee (recipe called for 1lb but I think a regular 12oz bag would work)
• A fine mesh strainer
• A large bowl (I brewed ours in my crock-pot since it has a lid)
• Pitcher (big enough to hold a gallon)
• 12oz can evaporated milk
• 14oz can sweetened condensed milk

Directions:

1. Pour coffee grounds and water into your large bowl or crock-pot
2. Stir well to make sure all grounds are saturated
3. Cover and brew for 12 hours or overnight in fridge
4. Pour (or ladle) the liquid from the top of the bowl into the strainer over your pitcher repeating until all the coffee is in the pitcher & leaving all the grounds in bowl. Since I ended up not using the filters as the original recipe suggests, I poured directly through the strainer a few times to make sure we didn't have grounds in the pitcher of coffee.
5. Once all the coffee concentrate has been filtered, stick it in the fridge and enjoy for up to one month! (remember to keep pitcher sealed between pours)
6. For the "Sweet Cream" mix the 2 cans of milk together and store in the fridge.
7. Fill your glass with ice and pour half full with coffee and the top with sweet cream. DELICIOUS!

NOTE: Dennis bought us a fine mesh strainer. After straining the brewed coffee through a filter into the pitcher a few times (each ladle full took a LONG TIME to drain through the filter), we tried pouring straight through the mesh strainer and it worked like a charm! Much faster and we will skip using filters in the future. I also think I may try to use less than the 1lb of coffee called for as the coffee was STRONG and I saw a similar recipe from Pioneer Woman who doubled the water amount for the same amount of coffee. Either way this is awesome to have on hand, saving both a trip to Starbucks and $$. Once the Sweet Cream was gone I used regular cream.

BREAKFAST QUICHES TO GO with SPINACH via Pillsbury and Crisco

These are VERY easy to make and I did so the night before serving. Then you can pop one in the microwave for 20-30 seconds.

Ingredients:

• 2 cans (8 oz each) refrigerated Crescent dinner rolls (8 rolls each)
• 8 oz cream cheese, softened
• 3 eggs
• 1 small onion, chopped (1/4 cup)
• 9oz box frozen spinach, thawed, squeezed to drain
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon pepper
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese (4 oz)

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 350°F. Spray 16 muffin cups with cooking spray
2. Separate each can of crescent dough into 8 triangles. Press 1 triangle on bottom and up side of each muffin cup.
3. In large bowl, beat cream cheese with electric mixer on medium speed until smooth.
4. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
5. Stir in onion, spinach, salt and pepper until well mixed.
6. Fold in mozzarella.
7. Fill each cup to the top with egg mixture (do not overfill).
8. Bake 15 to 20 minutes or until knife inserted in center comes out clean and edges of rolls are golden brown. Remove from pan. Serve warm OR store in fridge and reheat individually in microwave 20 seconds.

NOTE: I skipped the onion and used 2% mozzarella, low fat cream cheese and reduced fat crescent rolls (regular because I couldn't find the garlic flavor listed in the original Pillsbury recipe) and they still tasted YUMMY!!

Hello again! 8 Months and counting

Hello again!

Lincoln's 8th months old (almost 9-time is FLYING by...I probably say this 50 times every week) He is such a happy little guy, he wakes up with a grin that goes from ear to ear.

 His belly laughs are contagious

Tooth #1 appeared on April 7th quickly followed by #2! (there's a quick shot in this giggle video we sent to Dennis while he was away)

He is in the "rocking" mode but not crawling yet. He rolls and turns in circles to move around. (I'm counting my blessings here! I have a feeling life will change for us once he's really mobile!!) He snuggles in for hugs, usually when he first wakes up and before falling asleep. Once I picked him up from nursery and was holding him a minute before he realized I had him and when he saw me he snuggled in for a hug- made momma happy! 

He's eating pureed veggies and fruits 3 times a day-banana mixed with anything is a sure win! He went to watch his daddy play volleyball. He whipped his head back and forth watching the ball and listening to the ref's whistle. He got to visit with his Chattanooga BFF Easton. Thanks Rachel and Eric for making the trip up!

Lincoln spent quality boy time with his Grandpa and BoBo:

 We are so thankful to have Dennis home for a few days. Within the 1 week he was on the road Lincoln started pushing up onto his hands and knees, making "ba-ba" and "da-da" sounds, started a new laugh (sounds like a panting chuckle) and sadly had his first ear infection :( He finished his medicine and seems to be feeling better. Oh and he also woke up 4 mornings in a row at 5 instead of 7!! First night having Dennis home he was back to his 11 hour sleep. I hope the other mornings were from the ear ache and not a new habit for when daddy is away. 

Have a GREAT week!!

Let's Go Predators!

Heading downtown

Lincoln had such a good time at his very first Preds Hockey game tonight! We sat behind Grandma and Grandpa & made it through the end of the 2nd period. We were happy with making it that long since the game started at 7 and Lincoln is usually headed to bed right then. We got there early to get in as much pre-game fun as we could.

Much like the Easter Bunny- NO reaction to Ronald McDonald

He liked the Preds girls!

My 3 Favorite boys!

So many distractions

We decided to head home just to be safe and watch the Preds win the game on TV. What a fun night out!

Watching the Preds warm up w/Daddy

Have a great rest of the week!

DD&L

Lincoln's 1st Easter

We took Lincoln to meet the Easter Bunny last weekend. We weren't sure how he would react to sitting in the big bunny's lap especially after waiting in line outside, but he did great!

Lincoln serenading everyone in line

He showed ZERO reaction to meeting the Easter Bunny! Thanks to Great Grandma Darlene and Cousin Beth for making him his sweater and hat.

The Easter Bunny gave us a sneak peek at Lincoln's basket.

 I decorated his bucket using my new Cricut (love it!) and the Easter Bunny got him some Easter books, a holiday bib and bunny hat, toy car keys and a swim suit with matching hat and sunglasses.

Lincoln got to try his new sunglasses on right away, after all he won't remember seeing his basket early anyway :)

7 Month Stats

Sleep: He is really making us proud in the sleep department. We are starting to have a routine for nights and mornings which makes it a lot easier. Sasha can sometimes be found sleeping under Lincoln's crib or in a basket of blankets in his room - it really is the sweetest thing! Check her out in this month's onsie pic and she snuck in the sunglasses photo too!

Diet: Pureed veggies and now fruits. He tried mangos and peaches and LOVES bananas!! This comes as no surprise considering how often I craved and ate this banana pudding while pregnant.

Milestones: He is rolling around everywhere to get where he wants to be. We laid him down to snap a photo on his blanket and he kept flipping over. Took a few tries to get a matching one on his back:

His squeals have turned into a lower sound... he sounds like he is trying to sing sometimes and we have caught him babbling to a few toys that have faces on them. He's sitting up pretty good and took his first ride at Target without his car seat Saturday morning:

Favorite Things: Lincoln is always happy to jump in his jumparoo and now he likes to play in his walker. He loves to be read to especially at night. He usually pets the pages if there is an animal ;) He can sit and play at his keyboard toy for a long time too!

Rain rain go away...

When I first decided to start this blog I had a few reasons in mind: 1) to track my pregnancy and growing bump, 2) I like the idea of having a record of what's happening with our family 3) sharing photos and happenings with family and friends who we don't get to see a lot. One aspect I like now that we've had it going awhile that I didn't think about ahead of time is 4) reflecting back and seeing where we have come. For example, last year on Easter Sunday I was 21 weeks pregnant and Lincoln was the size of a banana (funny because this is by far his favorite food right now!). It's hard to believe he was ever that small-crazy really! I also like tracking Lincoln's growth and development so I can easily access his "baby book" (We are adding to a tangible and traditional baby book too. I plan on printing his 1st year updates and attaching them to the book to have as a keepsake). Even as we prepped for our new addition we didn't really know what to expect (and we still don't). We just try to take it one day at a time. Of all the time that has passed and new challenges we face, one thing has remained the same. As we all celebrate Easter this weekend it's important to remember and reflect that Jesus died for our sins and God's grace is what gives us the chance to begin new each and every day.  

Happy Easter!!

Dennis, Denisse and Lincoln

My first Easter