While I was in the kitchen preparing dinner this afternoon, I heard Link rustling around in the next room. I looked just as Link came around the corner, naked. He had taken his diaper off all by himself! It cracked me up. I tried really hard to supress my reaction, however. I didnt want to reinforce this behavior I then asked him where his diaper was. He went into the family room and fetched it. Luckily it was only slightly wet.

Lately I’ve been letting Link walk around the community and explore his surroundings. He loves it, and I love the fact that by the end he is so exhausted he needs me to carry him home. Lincoln and I went on one of our expeditions yesterday afternoon. To keep myself entertained, I took my camera along. This allowed me to do a little exploration myself. Here are a few things we saw along the way. I tried to keep some sort of theme in mind, but by the end, my theme was “cool stuff that I saw.”

I tried to do this photoshoot closer to Link’s first birthday, but it took me ’bout 6 weeks to get around to it! Lincoln is so fun and such a joy! As he’s getting older our days are being filled with more screams and more giggles. I feel the toddler years approaching!

It’s official! We survived the first year of Link’s life! It’s all down hill from here, right?! Though this year has been littered with many trials and difficulties it also held some of my life’s most meaningful moments!

Lincoln is such a joy, and it’s an honor to be his mother. We are growing and developing together. Things he’s learned this year include: smiling, laughing, sitting, crawling, standing, talking, and soon to be walking. Things I’ve learned this year include: smiling more, finding just the right spot to tickle, sitting still just holding my boy, playing on the floor, getting on my knees and asking for the Lord’s help, and taking one day at a time. And until now, I never knew I could love so much.

Here are just a few recent photos of the one-year-old.

Eating with Daddy. He always wants to eat our food. But who could blame him!? Please forgive the unkempt hair!

At playgroup with his good buddy Benji.

After finishing off a small In-N-Out fry.

We have high hopes for Link becoming and In-N-Out employee. Yummmm, family discount.