Water Wednesdays!

The past 2 Wednesdays we have been to the pool, so it seemed fitting to title this Water Wednesdays : ) Lincoln, it turns out, LOVES the water. Never would have guessed this after his first bath experience! Now, it is hard to get through a bath without getting soaked from all the splashing! The pool is one giant bathtub and Lincoln just splashed and splashed and splashed.  

Today we went to a water park, complete with slides, dumping buckets, fountains, a lazy river, and even an awesome baby pool with a zero gravity entrance (perfect for little guys like Lincoln)! My cousin, Mark, is a guard there, so he was able to get us some free passes. It was a lot of fun, although for some odd reason, Lincoln wasn't allowed to go down the big slides. Go figure : )

Reaching for the camera.

Grandma joined us for the fun!

The lifeguard there is my cousin, Mark.  The girl in the purple suit is my cousin, Naomi.  She came along to play with Lincoln before her swim meet that evening.
Splashing!
He loved these fountains!
Me, Lincoln, and Naomi.
Waiting with eager anticipation for the bucket to drop water!

Tutorial Tuesday: All You Need is Love

How to have a fabulous, incredibly beautiful, and unique wedding (as done by my brother, Jeff, and his new wife, Lindsay):

1.  Location, location, location.  Beautiful train depot turned museum?  That will do!

(photo credit:  Lucas' Dad)

2.  Keep track of who attended.  Each guest had their picture taken with the Fuji Instax camera (think Polaroid) and then signed their picture instead of a book.  So fun!

(photo credit:  Lucas' Dad)

3.  Be sure to practice your reading over and over so you don't trip on the words.  I practiced many times, then ended up crying during it anyway : )

(photo credit:  Lucas' Dad)

4.  A string quartet + guitarist?  Check.  The song:  All You Need is Love.

(photo credit:  Lucas)

5.  Walking down the aisle with her dad.  Don't forget the gorgeous colors and flowers:

(photo credit:  Lucas)

6.  Amazing lighting.


7.  Maid of Honor:  Lindsay's sister Lya in a beautiful teal (this may not be the actual color name...) dress.  Officiant:  good friend and former roommate of my brother, Steve.  Best Man:  Jeff's best friend since elementary school, Bryan.  Feel free to choose your own wedding party when planning a wedding : )

(Photo credit:  Lucas' Dad)

8.  Be sure to laugh!

(photo credit:  Lucas' Dad)

9.  Dress to impress.  3 piece suit?  Check.  Zap Pow Shoes?  Check.  Adorable grin?  Double check.

(photo credit:  Lucas' Mom)

The shoes.  I had to include them because I splurged and bought those fabulous shoes I blogged about here.  I did find them nearly half price on Amazon, though!

(photo credit:  Lucas)

11.  If you get married on 7/11 be sure to have an appropriate groom's cake.  

12.  And don't forget the beautiful wedding cake!

(photo credit:  Lucas)

12.  Very important:  dance, dance, dance!

(photo credit:  Lucas')

12. And at the end of the night, you'll most likely be exhausted so....goodnight!

Congratulations, Jeff and Lindsay!  We love you!

I heart faces: Vacation

I ♥ faces is on vacation from typical contests this week--instead, we are invited to share our own family vacation! Lucas and I went to Ireland in March of 2007, so I chose to share some pictures from our trip. We spent 6 days on the Emerald Isle and were blessed with unseasonably warm weather for most of the trip!

Day One:  Bru na Boine & Trim Castle
Newgrange passage tomb

Front of the passage tomb

Trim Castle
Day 2:  St. Patrick's Day in Dublin
Lucas and me at the St. Patrick's Day parade

An awesome balloon during the parade
Day 3:  Cliffs of Moher
Brave Lucas, driving on the "wrong" side of the car!

Some friendly cows--they were honestly just an arms length from the car window as we were driving down the road!

In front of the incredible Cliffs of Moher
Day 4:  The Aran Islands
Dun Aonghasa on the Aran Island of Inishmore

Irish pub--Guiness, of course.
Day 5:  Rock of Cashel
The Rock of Cashel

Warming up with some coffee
Day 6:  Powerscourt Gardens
At Powerscourt Gardens

Beautiful Ireland!
Be sure to check out other vacation photos at i ♥ faces!

Omaha, a photo montage

We returned from our trip to Omaha on Friday, but I am just now getting around to posting again about the rest of our time there.  We have spent the last couple days back at home just relaxing, unpacking, and helping the baby get adjusted again.  He was one tired guy yesterday!  

I have a bunch of posts I need to catch up on--this one, how we spent Easter, a new post in the cloth diaper series, a new Sunday series....Sigh.  So, I think this one will best be told in pictures and timeline format. I will write a brief caption for each, but I think pictures are probably more interesting than rambling anyway...

Also, these pictures are out of chronological order.  It is too big  a pain to move them around, so I'll just label the days instead...

Friday:  After the baby went to bed, Lucas and I snuck out (around 10:00 pm) while my parents watched him, so that we could attend a concert with my brother and his fiancee, Lindsay.  We saw Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band at the Slowdown.  We are grateful to Jeff, who was able to help get us in to the sold-out show, because it was awesome!  The picture below is what came out of our not-so-awesome cell phone...but, the point of the picture being is that I could see!  At 5'2", seeing anything beyond the lights on the stage is a rare occurrence for me!  This was our first show at the Slowdown and I was very impressed with the venue--great vantage points for short people like myself. 

Thursday:  We drove down to Lincoln, NE with my mom so that Lincoln could both visit the city of Lincoln and meet my cousin Ryan, his wife Rebecca, and their son, Cody.  Below is Ryan with new friends Cody and Lincoln:

Hmmm, maybe Friday?:  My mom and Lincoln are playing with the Fisher-Price Happy Apple.  This was one of my toys when I was little that my mom saved--good thing, too, because Lincoln LOVED that thing!

Back to Friday:  Lucas with Lincoln and Cody.  Cody is so good at having his picture taken!  I hope Lincoln was taking notes =]

Back to Friday:  Just hanging out with the sock monkey and bopping penguin.

No picture, but on Thursday, we had dinner at Taste Restaurant in Omaha.  It was wonderful.  If you live in Omaha, or are there visiting, you should check it out.  It is in Rockbrook Village.  We will definitely return next time we are up there.  If I think about it, I'll try and write a review later.

Ok!  On to Easter....

Out and About in Omaha

For only the second time since Lincoln was born, Lucas and I ventured out on our own while Grandma and Grandpa babysat.  For our adventure out, we saw the movie Duplicity.  And we even bought movie popcorn.  And a soda.  I only checked my phone 2 times during the movie (in case I missed Grandma calling...even though I had the phone on vibrate in my pocket the whole time...).  Grandma and Grandpa reported that Lincoln did really well while we were out--he played, ate, slept, and even cried a few times (because he missed us, of course).  We may try and scoot out one more time for another "date" while Grandma and Grandpa are able to babysit.  Might go grab some dinner tonight.  Early, of course.  Must be home for Lost.

We have also been making daily field trips to downtown Omaha for lunch.  Yesterday, we met my brother at Ahmad's Persian Cuisine.  They have my favorite dish EVER--Jessun Jun (chicken with pomegranate and walnuts).  YUM.  I could eat that every day for lunch and dinner and still not get tired of it.  It is that good.

Today was another lunch outing; this time to Dixie Quicks Magnolia Room. 

This restaurant was featured on the Food Network's "Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives" and is amazing.  We met my brother and his fiancee Lindsay there, along with my aunt Kathy and uncle Doug.  I didn't get a great group shot, but the best of the bunch is below.  I think I snapped it just before Doug smiled =(  I had eaten there before and had the gigantic french toast with berries and whipped cream.  This is a popular dish--3 people in our group ordered it today!  I had the grilled roast beef with tomatoes and cheese today.  Also tasty.

Below is a picture of my mom and Lincoln, having fun while we were at the movie.

Isn't he just the cutest?

First Snow and Fun with Grandpa

Only one day after arriving in the Cornhusker state, Lincoln got to experience his first snow fall!  Now, understandably, the Nebraska residents were less than enthusiastic about this spring time fluff, but after living in Texas for 2 winters, we were thrilled!  We have minimal warm clothing items for Lincoln, but had brought along a snowsuit given to him by Aunt Marianne, which proved useful for just such a day as today.  The pictures below illustrate quite well Lincoln's reaction to the falling cold stuff.  He was much less amused than we had hoped!  It was a pretty snow, though, and even though it had almost all melted by this morning, we enjoyed it!  

We went out to my parent's backyard and snapped these pictures just before Lincoln told us it was time to go back in...

Back inside, warming up in the sling...please do notice that impressive double chin.  As if you could miss it.  Also, you may notice the hair sticking up towards the back of his head.  All natural mohawk, friends.  Lincoln apparently only chooses to grow hair at the back of his head, resulting in a mohawk-esque do without really trying.

Before we arrived, Grandma had picked up some toys for Lincoln to play with by scouring Craig's List.  Lincoln was particularly enamored with the staking rings, or "doughnuts" as we call them.  After seeing how quickly he picked up on how to remove the rings from the stack, Lucas and I realized we really need to get some more toys at home for the buddy.  Apparently, he has been a bit starved in the mental stimulation department.  Since playing with all of Grandma's "cool toys," it is going to be a big disappointment for him to go home to the floor gym and rattle.

We are continuing to see lots of friends and relatives while here in Omaha, so much more fun to write about should be coming in the next few days!  For now, Lincoln is taking a siesta after a tiring car ride to Louie M's Burger Lust for lunch.  I am sure he is still dreaming of burgers since his blanket is covered with mustard, pickles, and breadcrumbs thanks to mom trying to eat while nursing again...I think I heard him ask for some onion rings as we were leaving...