this has no title. oh- i guess it does!

my cousin, julia (christi's daughter) has been in town visiting for a few days. she and lincoln have had lots of fun playing and she's really enjoyed helping out with little miss lexi. she's only 10, but i can already tell she'll be a great mommy one of these days. she is such a huge help with lexi. also, lincoln adores her, and she's great with him. they have had a very fun week.
lexi is now saying several words: dada, nana, mama (she's finally looking at me when someone says my name, too!), yay (sounds like "aaay" or "aaaah"), hi (sounds like "haa" or sometimes "eye"), and she just learned to moo like a cow, but she keeps her lips closed so it sounds like "buuuu". she's also waving bye-bye (though she doesn't ever do it when she's on the spot- go figure!), waving when she says "hi", claps for herself after EVERYTHING she says or does (i think this is hilarious!), and plays the "how big is lexi? ...SOOOO BIG!" game. sometimes i think she understands what i mean when i ask for a kiss or tell her to kiss her baby doll, but other times i think maybe it was just a fluke when she actually DID do it for me. who knows! i can't believe she will be a year old in less than a month. i am planning a small party with just family and probably our life group friends. definitely not as over-the-top as lincoln's first bday. i'm able to control myself a little more these days!
lincoln is almost through with swimming lessons but isn't really swimming yet. he's still reeeeally scared of the water, but he'll at least get in the shallow end and walk. he'll also put his face in the water and blow bubbles, but he won't put his whole head underwater. he has no interest in actually swimming or getting anywhere close to the deep end. oh well- at least he'll get in the pool now! before lessons, he would only put his feet in the water! he will definitely be taking lessons again next summer. hopefully by then, he will be used to the water (i'm planning on taking him at least two or three times a week for the rest of the summer!) and will be up for really learning how to swim.
if you haven't read the blog about my aunt christi's battle with acute myeloid leukemia, please do so. she is currently undergoing what the family is calling "plan b". "plan a" didn't work because of the aggressiveness of her cancer, but "plan b" seems to be showing us a bit of hope! we know God is ultimately in control, so we're all praying hard!