oh-happy-day with the hubs

three years ago!

happy anniversary to my sweet husband. i cannot fathom that it's been three years.

and i couldn't agree more with his statement in the card he gave me this morning. "looking back now, i feel like the two people that got married on this beautiful day three years ago in breck were just kids."

so much has happened!! it's funny, when you look at kids over the course of three years you can actually see, with your eyes, the physical changes in them. you can even "see" the maturity in their little personalities. but once we grow into adulthood, sometimes it's harder to "see" those changes. it is nice for us to reflect on all the ways we have grown and grown together. jay, i hope this doesn't alarm you, but i think we became grownups!!!???! ahhh!!!!! our worst nightmare! haha...even if we did, i'm not worried. i think everyone that knows us knows we will both always be kids at heart. :)

happy anniversary to my wonderful husband. each day that goes by i realize more and more how lucky i am. and now, to see you as a father only adds MULTITUDES to how much i'm in awe of you. i love you, jay pritchard!!

10 months of fun

with link all recovered from a nasty 24 hour stomach bug and his parents recovered from a fun night out, we decided to go out on an adventure. it was a day early celebration of his ten months. we loaded up in the b.o.b. stroller* and headed to mockingbird station to ride the dart rail downtown.

he LOVED the train, the station, the whole experience. we got off downtown and headed to one arts plaza.

link took advantage of all the water features, soft grass, and many, many sights and new friends to take in.

after about an hour, he was soaking wet and oh-so-happy. we decided to take the uptown trolley, head out toward the AAC, grab some cold drinks, and then hit the katy trail to head home. anyone who says dallas is not pedestrian friendly is either a liar or lazy! we went to mockingbird station, AAC, one arts plaza, and everywhere in between withOUT a car. so much fun, and we will be doing this again...after all, if it is fun in 100 degree heat, it will be that much more fun in the fall and spring. link was enjoying himself so much he did something he has NEVER done. he totally skipped his afternoon nap and just relaxed a bit when we got home before we headed out for burgers. yes, tonight he had his first cheeseburger. he split one with me and ate every bite.

our sweet little boy is growing up so fast. i can't believe tomorrow morning he will be 10 months old. we will be sure to get some additional pics, especially since we are joining our new church tomorrow! after over a year long search from our former church, we have found a home and are so excited to make it official.

* i swear i could be a spokesperson for B.O.B., that stroller is the friggin' bomb! how did our parents do it w/o stroller SUV's?!? that is definitely the best baby purchase we made. perfect for our lifestyle and gets used every single day, no exceptions.

things you love at ten months, little link:

- sesame street and baby einstein. we only allow you one time a day, but you will sit, so sweet, quiet and still and absorb every moment. it's nice for your dad and me, too. ;)

- pedialite. while you were sick, you took in gallons of that stuff and went through a diaper an hour. crazy! but happy it got the sickness out of your system.

- crawling and cruising. you are a MACHINE of moment. still taking a few steps, but no walking yet.

we love you sweet buddy. can't even fathom how quickly this is going, but we take every day for what it is, a beautiful gift from God. time spent with you is our treasure and we love you with all our hearts!

thank god for two-a-days

and weight watchers. they say it takes 9 months to put it on, and 9 to take it off. this was true for me. i want to preface this by saying yes, i am patting myself on the back, but more hoping to encourage someone that is in the middle of the postpartum weight loss battle by saying with work, it will come off.

as of today, i am officially BELOW my pre-pregnancy weight and wearing jeans i wore on my honeymoon! i took the cheese fry route to the 9th month of pregnancy and the day i went in to have link, i was 44 pounds heavier than i am now. lesson learned, don't use pregnancy as an excuse to slack off on normally good eating habits. ;)

it is an OVERWHELMINGLY WONDERFUL feeling. after months of weight watcher points and working out twice a day, i am there! in truth i didn't start WW until june, i just needed something regimented for that last 10 pounds. but i am there and so excited. i said early on here on my blog how much harder this was than i had expected...and i never dreamed it would take this long, but the battle is done. whew!

i am so excited about how well WW works and how easy it is, that i think i'm going to stick with it and see if i can't keep shedding a few more pounds.

all this and then i will probably have another baby and have to do it all over again. oh well, i'll just be happy for today! haha...

two weeks away from home...

ahhh, we took a much, much needed vacay the last two weeks. first, to tulsa for the fourth (post below). then we were off to florida and enjoyed one of our favorite places on earth, seaside. my goodness, that place really is a little glimpse of heaven. jay and i had decided years ago on a trip there that once we had kids, we would do everything in our power to take them to seaside each summer.

so, family vacation number one, there we were...and we LOVED every second of it (sidenote - didn't see one tarball or glimpse of anything oil related, and didn't have one moment of rain, just beautiful sunshine every day we were there!!) we also spent time with my brother's family and some of their friends that came in the second week. so much fun!!!

get ready for picture overload!!

the fam on the beach

at barefoot bbq

riding his jet ski

the view from our porch, link loved the hammock

breakfast at the airport

with mom on the bike

with dad at movie night

my brother and sis-in-law renewed their vows on the beach

concert on the lawn, link loves the bubble guns

link and his cousins (jarrod's kids), kyle, nathan and carson

kissy time

all smiles!

beach bum

laughing baby loves the beach

a tulsa kinda fourth

to say he loved the fireworks is an understatement - that is him giggling with glee...waaaaay past bedtime and still all smiles. BOOM!

we decided last minute to head to tulsa this weekend to celebrate the fourth with family. we had so much fun and are so happy that we did! cookouts, parades, fireworks, pool time, shopping, seeing old friends, homemade ice cream, catching up with family...it just doesn't get much better than this! and of course, it was link's first 4th, so we were all very excited to experience this time with him.

fireworks at the country club

with hunny and aunt joy

with his friends, addison and austin

(one of my oldest friends, wes taylor's kiddos, who live in tulsa)

with the neighborhood gals at the parade/brunch

patriotic pups and link

swimming with the big kids, carter and auds

wes, austin, link, and me. austin is just a few weeks older than link, and wes and i are the same age, it's so fun for us, as lifelong friends, to see our kiddos together. ;)

link, carter, audrey, and caroline

july 4th halo ;)

with hunny and mama - still transfixed by the fireworks ;)