finally had a chance to post a few of the pictures taken of lincoln at the hospital. he was a sleepy little tike so i never managed to catch him with his eyes open. but there will be more to come, i’m sure.

well this post is basically for the little man. i want him to know how he came to be Lincoln James Mask.

Dear Lincoln,

Choosing baby names has never been an easy task in this family. We generally don’t decide on your names until a few weeks, days, or minutes (in Dallin’s case) before you are born.

This time around, I started making a list of names early. I gave it to Dad and told him to see if he liked any of the names. He crossed off everything he didn’t like, but he didn’t pick out one he did like either. Every month, we would look at the list again, cross off more names and Lincoln just kept coming to the top.

Just a few weeks ago, I told Daddy that we really needed to finalize your name, so I could be ready for you in my mind. He looked at me, smiled and said, "It’s Lincoln, isn’t it."  I smiled back. It felt right. It felt like you. And we knew with that name you would be a good baby, a great boy, and an incredible man.

Next, to decide your middle name. This took us a little longer. We really wanted your middle name to have a special significance. We picked out a few names of some very special people in our lives, but we couldn’t choose one over the other. So we decided we’d figure it out when we met you.

As we were getting ready to come to the hospital on Friday morning, we heard that President James E. Faust, second counselor in the First Presidency, had passed away that morning. I was sad to hear it, but Daddy and I also had a feeling that maybe you two had a chance to talk for just a little while as he left this earth and you entered it that day. We felt the spirit strongly as we spoke about it.

We arrived at the hospital excited and anxious. The operation went smoothly. They brought you over to meet me and Daddy and we knew you were the "Lincoln" we had been awaiting. Later that day, we were still unsure of what we wanted your middle name to be. Dad was talking on the phone to Aunt Kim about  you and about Pres. Faust passing away that morning. She asked if you had a middle name yet. Dad said no, and she said, "What about James?" Daddy emphatically exclaimed, "Yes, that’s it! James!" He turned to me and said, "What do you think?"

At that moment, I remembered an interesting experience I had while they were putting me back together on the operating table. Daddy had gone with you to the nursery and I was just laying there quietly when I heard a clear voice in my mind say, "James." That was it. Just James. I didn’t hear anything else. And I sat there wondering why in the world that name popped into my head for no reason. It seemed odd. I didn’t think much of it and my mind just went on to something else.

But when I heard Daddy say "James," it all came together. I knew exactly why I had heard that name in my head. It was a neat experience for all of us. We felt strongly that we should give you the name of a man that we love and respect. And for all we know, you two may have already become good friends.

President James E. Faust
07.31.1920 – 08.10.2007

say hello to the newest love of our lives…baby Lincoln!
brought to you from our hospital room and jeff’s computer this lovely afternoon.

born 8.10.07 at 12:47 p.m.
7 lbs. 2 oz. & 20 in.

thanks all for your love, prayers, and support!
we can’t wait for you to meet him!

with a c-section scheduled right after lunch, you never know.

🙂 🙂 🙂

she wakes up in the morning and tip toes around upstairs oh so quietly.
i went to peek and see what she was doing this morning.
first i stopped in the play room and saw this

then i went into our bathroom and found this

this is what makes me love having a girl!
she will be such a sweet big sister.

well, as if this week wasn’t already exciting enough… today was the first day of school here in az. crazy! school just keeps starting earlier and earlier every year. i’m ok with that right now. he’s been waiting for a LONG time to get back into a routine. and he loves it.

another year of pre-school though. he didn’t make the cut off here, but i’m great with that because i had already decided to hold him back. i love how much he loves school!! let’s just hope it stays that way!

jeff keeps asking me when i’m going to take a picture of the belly. i’ve been completely camera shy with my other two pregnancies. i have only one picture of myself pregnant with dallin and two with ella. kinda sad. this time, i figured i’d get over it and just take more pictures. silly, i know.

so here it is this morning.
me. the belly. and i.

nice. got the crib all set up today. phew.
i plan to have him in a bassinet in our room for a bit, but it was nice to get the crib dilemma solved.
so here’s the story behind it.

with every move, the crib has been slowly falling apart. not complaining though. my sister gave it to us along with most every other piece of furniture we own. 🙂 but with this last move, it finally bit the dust. so i began my search for something inexpensive to replace it. first stop: online. trying to save a buck, i ordered a crib from walmart.com. mistake #1: what you see is not always what you get. the crib arrived and was a completely different color than the one online. big huge bummer. so, here i am thinking, “well if i’m going to pay money for a crib, it should at least have a vague resemblance to the picture.”

hah. once again the crazy pregnant determination strikes…must return crib and find another in one day. so on saturday i ventured out to see what i could find.
picture this. i’m in babies ‘r’ us in the furniture section. cute first time parents all over the place. sitting in gliders, admiring all the lovely sets, joking with the employees about “instructions to raise a child,” lovingly gazing at each other with dad rubbing mommy’s belly.
then there is me. alone. waddling quickly around, looking for something sturdy yet cheap, getting a few glances like “oh, poor girl,” and a new mom even stopped to offer me her suggestions on crib particulars. it was all too funny!
after about 10 minutes, i found a gem. and the bonus–even cheaper than the one at wal-mart! yo, baby! loaded it in the car and drove home feeling victorious.

another funny tidbit about the bedding. i’m always on a quest for a good deal so i shopped e-bay for a bumper, sheets, etc. i found some great stuff that matched dallin’s bed. only drawback, it was already monogramed. but anything for a bargain, right?
i got it out today and was going to unpick the monogramming when i realized something funny. the initials JCM. hey, this baby is a product of Jeff and Cherie Mask. surely that can work! 🙂 😉 🙂

jeff thinks i’m nuts. which i probably am, but i must must must get things done and quickly! he gives me a puzzled look, like “do you have to do that right now?”
my reply “yep, help me, or get out of my way. (insert evil laugh mwah hah hah hah)”

good thing he still loves me. pre- present- and post- preggo or should i say psycho 😉

weekend report:
hung some drapes. put pictures on walls. all with kids underfoot being helpful–scratch that, more like being harmful. to each other that is!!! ella likes to scratch. dallin likes to tackle. ah, siblings.

gonna put that scripture above the picture. thought i’d try a little preview first. love it!

next project: assemble crib. a.s.a.p.!!

yeah, that’s my feet right there! swollen beyond belief and recognition. oh ankles, where are you? 🙂
it used to just happen at the end of the day, but at this point they puff out about 20 minutes after i get out of bed. my favorite thing is to push on them with my fingers and see the indentation stay there. feels like silly putty. fun stuff! who needs toys when you have feet like that? hee. hee.