i call this one "dat"

lincoln is an official toddler!

josh and i are in complete disbelief that lincoln is actually one year old! we are so excited for this next year. we absolutely love watching him discover life!

his official birthday was wed, march 19th. it was a pretty low key day. i treated myself to two new nursing bras and some tulips...hey, i deserve it...I pushed that 9 lb-er out without pain meds in 23 minutes after 12 hours of labor! that night we took him to Target to pick out a toy or two. however, he ended up being most interested in a lemon and the shopping cart. he liked to try to eat the lemon and carry it around or push the cart down the aisles. we realized we needed to make an executive decision for him. so we chose a car for him to ride on and push buttons, a drum/cymbal set, and a "mr mischief" t-shirt! he's figured out how to mount and dismount the car but not how to push himself forward.

yesterday we had a birthday party for him. tons of our friends who have loved on him for the past year showed up to celebrate! we had tons of fun eating cake and opening presents. here are some pics that our gracious friend, steph, took! (thanks steph)

lincoln's birthday cake

so lincoln had a pink (unintentional) birthday cake yesterday. everyone seemed to love it so i wanted to include the recipe. it's a carrot cake recipe with no sugar. of course, the frosting has tons of sugar in it! (i colored it with blueberry juice)



here's the recipe:

Baby's First Birthday Cake (Carrot Cake)
(Makes 1 double-layer 9-inch square cake; adapted from "What to Expect")

2 1/2 cups thinly sliced carrots
2 1/2 cups apple juice concentrate (you may use slightly less)
1 1/2 cups raisins
Vegetable Spray/Shortening
2 cups whole-wheat flour
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 whole eggs
4 egg whites
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/2 cup wheat germ
2 Tbsp low sodium baking powder
1 Tbsp ground cinnamon

Prep: Preheat oven to 350 F. Line two 9 inch square cake pans with waxed paper and spray the paper with vegetable spray/shortening.

1. Combine the carrots with 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons of the juice concentrate in a medium size saucepan.
2. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer, covered, until carrots are tender, 15 to 20 mins. Puree in a blender of food processor until smooth.
3. Add the raisins and process until finely chopped. Let mixture cool.
4. Combine the flour, wheat germ, baking powder, and cinnamon in a large mixing bowl. Add 1 1/4 cups juice concentrate, the oil, eggs, egg whites, and vanilla; beat just until well mixed. Fold in the carrot puree and applesauce. Pour the batter into the prepared cake pans.
5. Bake until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean, 35 to 40 mins. Cool briefly in the pans, then turn out onto wire racks to cool completely. When cool, frost with Cream Cheese Frosting.

I substituted egg replacer for the eggs, of course! It's a really good recipe without frosting! Probably would be great for breakfast muffins! Hope you enjoy!

almost one!!!!

lincoln will be one year old in 9 days. last year at this time i was begging for labor to start. he had a different plan. lincoln is walking really fast these days and has pretty much completely given up on crawling. walking's so much faster when you can do it well!

his favorite foods are any sort of round fruit or veggie...grapes, peas, and blueberries. josh made him vegan french toast and he loves that too!

i can't wait to see him stuff his cake all over his face. yay!

he's talking a lot. saying things like "dat" for that, "di" for this, "hat", "na" (haven't deciphered that one yet), "arts" for archie and any other animal, and "hi." these words are scattered among much babble!

his hair is growing like weeds and he, no doubt, has a mullet! heck yeah!

he is not sleepy through the night and he never has. he nurses every 2 - 3 hours in the night but thats ok cuz he's sleeping with us. we even got rid of his crib that he rarely used.

he has 8 teeth and is working on his two lower molars. another reason he loves frozen peas!

by far, my most favorite development is pointing. his hand is the cutest thing when he is pointing. unfortunately i don't have an pics of it. i wish i did cuz i'd put it inside a locket!

i'm extremely excited

when we move to salinas i'm going to start a business. it's going to be called "nature's wisdom." it will be a doula service, and provide breastfeeding and childbirth education. i am not quite certified but working on those to get them done! check out my "logo." i'm super super excited! you all better be having some babies!