Lincoln's First Run

Last weekend the Hauner/King clan participated in the Trolley Run. Scott, Tracy, Mike, Joni's brother Neil, and I all ran the regular Trolley run. Lincoln has "run" the the race last two years with me, but this year he entered on his own and did the Kid's Trolley Run. They even gave him a number! The "adult" race is 4 miles, but luckily they didn't make Lincoln run that far. Prior to the race, I gave him some advice on how to pace himself.

As you can see, he got a great start.  Even though it was cold that morning, he was a trooper and ran really fast.  It helped that he "carb loaded" prior to the race by eating an entire lemon poppyseed muffin.
At the finish line they gave him a blue ribbon.  Okay, this isn't *his* finish line, but it's a good photo!  His actual run was actually about 10 yards total.
I think that everyone that ran were happy with their finish times.  Hopefully this is the first of many Trolley Runs for Lincoln.

Day Labor

Scott had a lot of yard work to do this weekend, so he decided to hire some day labor to help out. As you can see, the guy we hired spent most of his day lazing by the tree with his "broken" mower.

Later the guy "supervised" while Scott mowed the side yard.

Check out Lincoln's awesome sun cap - Scott bought that for him last week. We had a great weekend with lots of nice weather. Later this week we'll post some photos from our yard.

This one's for the ladies

It's been awhile since our last post.  We've been busy with things.  Nothing special...just the day-to-day stuff that keeps you busy.  We're learning about the various plants/flowers that are coming up in our yard (we had no idea what Spring had in store for us because everything was dormant when we moved in).  We're also getting ready for the Trolley Run (Lincoln too) at the end of April.

Anyway, since it's been awhile, here's a quick picture to keep Lincoln's fan club occupied for a few days.  I'm not sure if a double-wide is in Lincoln's future, but lately, he loves to roam the house shirtless.

Easter Recap (Part 2)

Here are some more photos from our Easter adventure at Grandma and Grandpa King's.  Lincoln spent some time bonding with "the boys" out in the wilderness (actually, this is right in front of the house).  What is difficult to see in the photo is the massive dropoff into a ravine directly behind them... 

Lincoln also spent some time with grandma playing with the magnetic letters on the fridge...

To prove that she can be just as "exciting" as the boys, though, Grandma also helped Lincoln test-ride a 4-wheeler at Scott's uncle's house on Easter (note the cool sunglasses from "great aunt" Janice).

Of course, we can't forget the "money shot" from Easter!  Lincoln was a little confused during the Loup City Easter-Egg Hunt ("you *want* me to pick stuff off the ground and eat it?"), but he managed to find some eggs for his basket.

Easter Recap (Part 1)

We're finally getting around to posting photos from our Easter trip to Nebraska.  This first stage of the trip takes us to Linda's parents and then on to my Grandpa's.

Linda's Mom has a daycare and Lincoln was the hit of the party on Friday.  All the kids would swarm around him and want him to play with them.  Lincoln will have to get used to being popular...he probably won't be able to avoid it later in life.

At my Grandpa's house, Lincoln and Grandpa got to spend some quality time playing "This Little Piggy".  Also, Lincoln and his cousin Austyn got to hang out for a little while.

Waiting for an Easter post?

We've taken a bunch of pictures over our Easter holiday in Nebraska, but Lincoln would like us to wait until he finishes his delicious Burger King chocolate milkshake before we post them...

He'd also like us to remind you that chocolate milkshakes are reeeeaaaallly thick so it may take a while (but we're having lots of fun!!)

Lincoln's New Game

Lincoln has a new game.  It's a strange game, but he likes it.  

Here's a quick description -- Lincoln goes into our bedroom closet and we pass coins back-and-forth under the door.  Sometimes he uses his hand...sometimes his foot.  Sometimes the coins go under the door...sometimes through the door.

Here's a video of the action.  It's a little longer than usual, but I needed to give you a sense of the time spent playing this game.  These closet-playing sessions are not short.

Editors Note:  We accept the fact that we are opening ourselves up for jokes about Lincoln being "in the closet".  Just know that now that I've mentioned it they are no longer original or witty.

The Reveal!!

After many difficult weekends full of blood, sweat, and tears we have finally completed Lincoln's room (okay, there wasn't really any blood or tears and the sweat was mostly Scott's, but you get the idea). We're pretty happy with the result and are ready to begin redecorating other rooms in the house.

We painted the room a light beige with white trim. The grey square with the blue border in the corner is actually magnetic paint - we purchased some magnets so Lincoln can practice his letters and numbers. Scott painted frames on the other side of the window and included some pictures so Lincoln can always see Mommy and Daddy. On the opposite wall we put up some car and truck stickers above Lincoln's crib.



Last weekend was nice and warm and Scott took the opportunity to catch up on some lawn work. Lincoln loves to watch dad use his "mow mow", so when Scott went outside to work Lincoln took the opportunity to break out his own "mow mow". We're pretty impressed with Lincoln's work and we're hoping Lincoln will take over all lawn duties soon.

Time for painting

Our first project in the new house has been painting and decorating Lincoln's room.  We're not ready for the big reveal yet, but here's a preview.

As you can see Lincoln did his best to help (with paint brush, monster truck, and cracker in hand), but in the end Mom and Dad did most of the work.

A Day in the Life...

Lincoln and I spent some time together this weekend as Scott painted Lincoln's bedroom all by himself (he painted the walls and the trim!).  I decided to chronicle Lincoln's activities so that all of our readers could experience "a day in the life"...

We begin with a healthy breakfast of cereal and/or pancakes.

After breakfast, Lincoln likes to do some "light" reading.  As you can see from the "reject" pile on the floor, he has very high standards for his books.
After reading some of my Econ books, we head to the Kitchen where Lincoln helps me make lunch.
Finally, after all of that hard work Lincoln likes to settle down for a nice nap (Mommy and Daddy may take a short nap, too)!!

Just me and the TV

So tonight, it's just me and the TV.  Linda and Lincoln are both in bed, and I'm going to watch an old classic - True Romance.

It's Lincoln's normal bedtime, but Linda is not feeling well.  We've been passing colds (and now something resembling the flu) between us for weeks.  The typical progression is Lincoln gets sick, then Linda, then me.  We're  hoping our immune systems catch up with the bugs soon.

I couldn't have a post without a picture, so here's one from a few weeks ago when Everett stayed with us.  As you can see, the two boy's bath times overlapped by a few minutes.  

This is the censored version of the picture because the uncensored version isn't appropriate for young eyes.  We will, however, be keeping the uncensored picture to torture Everett with at his high school graduation (I doubt that Lincoln will be too thrilled this picture exists in 20 years either).

Good things...

They say good things come in small packages, but what do you think comes in a super-jumbo pack of diapers?  Three guesses...

It's Lincoln!  He's showing a smiling face after a tough week.  Lincoln, Scott, and I were all sick last week so we were a pretty sad household.  Scott and I took turns taking off work to watch Lincoln, and we all became *well* acquainted with the shows on the Noggin channel ("It's like preschool on TV!"). My favorite is "Lazytown", while Scott prefers "Little Bill".  Lincoln had a fever for most of the week and was pretty tired, but on Friday he recovered and we had a wonderful weekend.

"E" is for Everett

Mary and Randy both had to go out of town for work, so we got to spend some extra time with Everett for a couple of days.  It's a good thing he was here - as you can see in the picture Everett gave Lincoln an impromptu xylophone lesson.  Poor Everett didn't like the pack-n-play so we "had" to bring him into our bed last night...not only is Everett a big teddy bear, but he is also an effective heater!

Randy is picking up Everett tomorrow morning so the boys only have a few more hours of cousin-bonding.

Another Lazy Day Post

Scott and I both had the day off today for MLK day.  We took advantage of the vacation time by sleeping in and having a leisurely breakfast.  Then we also took advantage of the fact that Lucy *was* working today and dropped Lincoln off so that we could have a "day date".  We had coffee on the Plaza, did a bit of shopping, and had lunch on 39th Street - all of the things that we haven't found the time to do since Lincoln reached official "toddler-hood".

This evening we spent some time playing one of Lincoln's new favorite games - climbing in his toddler rocker and rocking.  He may look like a little baby in this photo, but he wants us to assure you that he is indeed a big boy - and Cheetara agrees (notice how closely she watches him for any sign that he might come towards her with his "nice" petting hands).

Wedding Weekend

Last weekend we travelled to Lincoln to attend the wedding of my friend Jennifer.  All of my old college friends came to Lincoln for the celebration, so we got to see (and catch up with) a lot of people we haven't seen in a while.  We had hoped to use the weekend to introduce Lincoln to some people we hadn't seen since before he was born; unfortunately he came down with a cold and spent most of the weekend getting some TLC from my parents.

Here's the whole wedding party:  Jennifer and Christy are in the middle of the melee.

This is Jennifer with her attendants.   Rather than having traditional bridesmaids, Jennifer and Christy asked us to say a few words during the ceremony (no bridesmaid dress required - yay!!)  Carson, the little guy in the photo, is just a couple of months younger than Lincoln.  We shared a baby shower with his parents.
Kim, Jayne, and I were given the topic of "support".  Here we are practicing before the ceremony.  Don't worry - there were no antics during the actual ceremony... 

After-Christmas Post #2

We had a great time over Christmas. This year we spent Christmas at my parents', and on Christmas day Scott's parents came over for dinner and a visit.

It is a Hauner tradition to open gifts on Christmas eve, and this year was no different. After a Christmas-eve dinner of Chicken-noodle and potato soup, we settled into the living room to parse out gifts and begin the festivities.

Lincoln stole a peanut cluster before we could stop him. Don't worry - we didn't let him keep it! He had to go to bed before the gifts were all opened, but he didn't seem to mind much. He received some nice books, toys, and clothes - all in all he got pretty spoiled!

Mary and Randy also joined us for the holiday so my mom had two Grandbabies to spoil! Here she is with Everett and Lincoln.

My mom made turkey *and* ham for Christmas dinner, plus every side dish and desert we could hope for.  It was all delicious and I'm pretty sure I gained about five pounds that day.

On Christmas day, Lincoln wore his brand-new Christmas outfit (thanks Grandma!), and was extra-spoiled with *both* sets of grandparents. Here Scott's mom is reading him the book she brought him.

Overall we had a great Christmas and as always it was way too short. I'm already back at work and Scott's been spending some bonding time with Lincoln while Lucy is on vacation. See you all next year!!

After Christmas Post #1

Well, we're back from the holidays and here's the first of many pictures/videos that we've got to share.  I hope you all had a great time with family and friends.  I know we did.

Lincoln got some books for Christmas, and here's a video of him sitting down to enjoy one.  He's got a short attention span, so he generally only makes it through the first page or two (unless Mom or Dad is helping).

Daddy's little helper

This weekend we got our first real snow of the year, and Lincoln and I got a little father-son bonding time doing some household chores.

First, we shoveled snow off the driveway. Lincoln wouldn't keep his gloves on so his hands got cold, but it was otherwise a good outing.

Next, we swept the kitchen floor (Note Lincoln's little broom on the floor).

Finally, Lincoln picked up the magazines in the living room under the light of a half-moon.

Lincoln learns to babysit

Last weekend Mary and Randy went to a holiday party and asked us to watch Everett. Lincoln knew this would be an excellent opportunity to practice his babysitting skills, so we let him start by feeding Everett some bananas. He still has a lot to learn - he had a habit of eating the bananas himself - but we predict that in a couple of years the boys will be having lots of fun together.

A lazy Wednesday evening post

Linda is off knitting with friends, Lincoln and I are just hangin' out, so I figured it was a good time to update the blog.

There's not much to report except that Lucy (Lincoln's day care provider) had her appendix taken out on Monday (it was unexpected).  Lucy's daughter and friend have been taking care of the kids.  Lucy's surgery went fine and Lincoln is having fun, so everything turned out fine.

This picture isn't really relevant to this post and it's a couple of weeks old...but it is cute.  In case you don't know, this is Linda spending some quality time with Everett and Lincoln.

Thanksgiving Recap

We hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving - we spent the weekend hanging out at Grandma and Grandpa King's with a nice stopover at Grandma and Grandpa Hauner's.


Lincoln started his weekend with his usual inspection of the family store. Here he is testing out some of the equipment in the new rental store. It appears sturdy enough to support Lincoln's weight.

And here he is inspecting Grandpa King's sales technique as he checks out the features of this vacuum cleaner.

After a tough day at the store, Lincoln napped while the rest of the family practice their shooting skills. Here's a picture of me and Tracy trying out the shotguns.  

...and no holiday would be complete without an obligatory embarrassing bath photo.  How many kids can say that they got to take a bath in a utility sink?

Meet Mr. Duck Tub

Recently we noticed that Lincoln was getting a bit big for his baby tub - the water level was just barely high enough to cover his legs - not very warm and cozy for a winter bath. He's wasn't quite ready for the *big* tub, though, since he's still a little guy. At Target last weekend I found the perfect solution - the Duck Tub!! This inflatable tub is just big enough for Lincoln to splash around in without having to fill the entire big tub. He loves it - especially the giant duck head that quacks when you pinch his beak.

America's next top model

This weekend Lincoln modeled some outfits from his new fall collection. In the first, he's showing his continued support for the Huskers. In the second, he's showing his support for the U.S. troops.

Smelly Halloween

This isn't Lincoln's first Halloween, but it is the first Halloween where he got to go Trick-or-Treating. Our first stop on Halloween night was Tracy and Joni's house, where Lincoln got to try out his T or T skills and get some yummy candy. We then took him to some houses in our new neighborhood and met some of the neighbors. They are all very nice!

The photo at left is a good picture of his whole costume - you can see the fat tummy and the skunky tail.

Below, you can see that Lincoln took some time out to pose with Scott and me and with Joni. In the photo on the right you can see how happy he is to have some Teddy Grahms. When he really likes something he chews for a bit, then opens his mouth as wide as possible so everyone can see what he's eating.