1, 2, 3...4 months old!

link is four months old! we had a big trip to the doc this week, complete with shots - which are no fun, but lucky for us, a bottle fixes everything with our boy. he did great. poor thing already has a tooth coming in, and the doc confirmed it. i guess that just means we are one step closer to having him indulge in chips and salsa with us. ; )

so here are the stats:

length: 27 inches (95%)

weight: 13.7 pounds (25%)

head: 17 inches (75%)

so once again, we are tall and skinny. very good! i was surprised he didn't weigh more, but i guess he is putting all his efforts into growing tall...that's what the doc said, since he eats SO MUCH. he takes about 6-8 oz at every feeding, so almost 40 a day!

rice cereal is just around the corner. that should make for some good photo ops! :)

happy four month birthday, link! and thank you, thank you, thank you, for being the world's sweetest little boy. you have totally spoiled me!!!!!

playing on saturday morning with mom and dad

first time in the "johnny jump-up"

playing with chopsticks at pf changs

"eating" chips and salsa at mi cocina

some new sounds

today was the last day we will take link to "big church." at HPUMC the contemporary service encourages families to bring their kiddos if they like. that was fun until link learned that he has a voice. :) oh no, he didn't cry, he just burped (and this kid can BURP, like a MAN!) and made his new engine noise...he sounds like a boat in the water. i'm telling ya, this kid is ALL boy. cracks me up.

i finally took about four seconds to edit a few clips from the last couple of weeks. sorry, i promise for more effort on the next few, now that i know how easy imovie is! anyway, it's short, and only for baby lovers, but makes us smile. tomorrow makes four months!!! :)

followers

in order to get to know the readers of the blog more, we added the "follower" button to the sidebar. please join us so we can better know the folks who are checking in now and then.

sometimes i feel like the same two or three people comment (thank you for your comments!) and wonder if we have any other friends out there reading. i know that i read lots of blogs of people i don't know oh-so-well, and that's okay, just let us know you are out there. also in comments, let us know what you think about private blogs? i don't really understand why so many people are going "private" and thought i would ask...so please also let us know your thoughts in the comments section. is this something i need to do? thanks!

we are one week out from link's 4 month old checkup with the pediatrician. i cannot believe that his 4 month mark is upon us! as many other moms are planning to do, i plan to make many of these posts a part of link's baby book. so, i thought i would write down a little of what is going on as of now and then report back next week with his stats like weight, etc.

dear sweet, sweet link,

at 3.5 months old, you are the world's perfect baby. you laugh and giggle, cry, but just a little. you are so enjoyable to be around and so, so incredibly interested and curious about everything around you.

sleep: you've been sleeping about 10 hours straight since thanksgiving (you were about two months old). you typically like to go to bed around 7:30 or 8 and get up sometime between 6-7am. i am always very, very groggy, as i am not a morning person. YOU are the only thing that has ever consistently had me up before sunrise. and i love it. it's our quiet, special time.

naps: you take a nap about every two hours after you wake up. you play hard and crash hard. you love to have a few sips on a bottle before you doze off. you typically sleep about an hour.

play: you absolutely love to stand. you can already hold on to the edge of the couch and stand unassisted. unbelievable! you have been rolling over since you were two weeks old. your grandparents are convinced that these are all signs that you are a future heisman trophy winner. :) you love to roll around on your little gym and bat at your toys that hang down. you laugh and talk to them and it cracks me up.

books: you adore them. i hope this interest continues for the rest of your life. our current favorite is still, "we're going on a bear hunt."

bath: your favorite time of the day. you giggle and coo, smile at your dad and me as we melt into puddles on the floor at your overwhelming cuteness.

you have so many funny little things... i love going in to pick you up after a long nap - the way you S-T-R-E-T-C-H out your arms like you are superman as i lift you up. i love that you "talk" as you sit in your carseat, taking in the world as it flies by you out the window of our car. i love that you "read" your books and "talk" aloud as we go through each page. i love the way you hold your hand to your cheek when you are eating. i love your fascination with ceiling fans and lights. especially our dining room light that looks like low-lit candles, your dad has deemed it "link's light." it cracks us up that you already love sports. sportscenter (espn), football, basketball, it doesn't matter. if it's on, you tune in.

your eyes, your smile, your soft, rosy cheeks and tiny dabble of blonde hair...you are adorable. and you are oh-so very loved. with every fiber of my being, i promise to do all that i can to give you the happiest life that i can. i pray aloud with you daily, and will continue to pray for you every day that i live.

i looooooooooove you,

mom

in the words of fergie, "i be up in the gym just a workin' on my fitness..."

my personal trainer :)

so the new year kind of came at a unique time for me. our gym has a beautiful childcare center that is only $6 extra bucks a month...the only caveat had been that link had to be at least 3 months old to go. so the last few months workouts have been the bob stroller, link, a pup, and me, hitting the streets. jogging, walking, whatever i could come up with, but it all was reliant upon the weather and the baby all working out for me. lucky for me i live in texas and have a baby that loves to be outside, so for the most part, i was able to get out everyday.

christmas day link turned three months old. that meant i had an easy new year's resolution...get my booty to the gym! so monday started my life back in the gym and i LOVED it. i expected to be a bit hesitant leaving him for the first time with someone other than family, but it worked out great. the girls that work there are adorable and absolutely love having him, so that makes it soooooo much easier. and i have had some great workouts on the elliptical, the treadmill, lifting weights, and even got in a yoga class yesterday. whew! it's so great, and i am loving the time to myself and the great workouts.

so i guess i am back in full swing. i figure i've been trying to watch what i eat, so some good workouts plus a good diet and surely i'll start to look somewhat "normal" again. pregnancy can be tough on a body, huh?!? anyway, i just wanted to share out loud how thankful i am for our wonderful gym + daycare, and that link seems to like it, too!

i love being sore from a good workout. it's amazing that even if you've been jogging, etc, when you add in some different workouts you are in for quite a sore bod! but i take it as a good sign that all those muscles are burning away baby weight and getting me back in good shape! hooray!

happy 2010!!!

we had a great NYE and day. OU WON THEIR BOWL GAME! this is big, great news. we were so excited and jay was so happy that link watched the game. he really seems to love watching football on TV. go figure!

we spent the evening with family and with friends (thanks to hunny and papa for babysitting!). it was a really fun night with great friends and nice to get out again! we had fun at dinner with my parents at matt's el rancho, put the babe to bed, and then on to the party. thanks to grayson for organizing at park's new bar, celine. wow, that place is awesome!

this morning we all woke up and took my mom to brunch for her birthday. gotta love a new year's baby, and happy birthday to my wonderful mom!

we had so much fun and cannot believe at this time last year we were packing our bags for miami. we had no idea that the journey we were taking to see OU play in the national championship and enjoy some time on the beach would change our lives forever. :) my, how the times have changed. or how i joke with our single friends, "oh how the mighty have fallen." haha, that is definitely a joke, because i am already wondering why we were thinking we wanted to wait longer to have kids. this is THE BEST!

happy new year, all. much love from our family to yours. 2010, we are looking forward to you!

mary and me at bar celine

grayson, you are hilarious

the boys, ringing in 2010

hunny and papa like link - just a little bit. :)

tech??? oh well, go OU!

the folks at texas tech have officially lost their minds. good luck to you, mike leach.

and sad for baylor, because it sounds like our bears are about to lose their coach...

to lubbock. poo.

oh well, i'm just happy today is OU's bowl game, BOOMER SOONER!!!!!!!

christmas, round two and three...

oh-what-fun!!! we have had the best christmas ever because of our sweet link. we have had two christmases with my family (in order to celebrate with both of my brothers' families), one with jay's parents - and one more to go with jay's brother and sis-in-law this week. and it has all been so special. not to mention the fact that jay's awesome boss-men, scott and doug, are wonderful enough people to give the employees time off from the 24th through the new year! it is beyond fun and so special having jay here everyday to enjoy this time with link and me.

gosh, seriously. i promised myself i wouldn't be one of "those" people that talks constantly about their kids, their blog shifts from being about wonderful vacations and crazy experiences to pics of kids and conversation regarding them. but guess what? YOU CAN'T HELP IT! and i don't care...it's fun. :)

don't get me wrong, we have definitely had fun with friends, had some fun parties and time to ourselves, had our annual pritchard-holiday-party-bus-light-extravaganza (hope to get pics from someone soon - but i forgot to take any!) with 30 of our closest friends...but my favorite parts this year have been the moments with link - seeing twinkling lights catch his eyes, watching him grab the toys he's been given, seeing him giggle with delight at all his grandparents, cousins, aunts, uncles, and most of all, us! gosh, i'm just overcome with how in love with our precious son we are - he is truly our little miracle!

the funniest story is from the christmas eve service at my parents church. i had link on my lap and he was FASCINATED by all the lights, candles, music, people - just loved the whole experience. a soloist was singing the line, "sweet little jesus boy..." and just at that quiet, holy, sweet moment...BURP! way to go, link! my dad was sitting next to us and we were both in tears laughing, along with everyone around us. gosh, it was so funny.

and to add to all the fun on jesus' birthday, link turned 3 months old! in ways i can't believe it's only been three months, and in ways i can't remember our lives without him. all i know is, our lives are richer, fuller, and we feel so incredibly blessed to have this precious boy in our lives. thank you, sweet boy, for enriching our lives beyond all comprehension! your dad and i love you with all our hearts!

our 3 month old son!

christmas morning with the grinch!

look at all that snow! since we were at jay's parents, our neighbor was nice enough to send us a pic of our house with all the snow! wowser, this is big for dallas.

my mom's new maltese, gracie - she doesn't even register on a scale she's so small, not even a pound! it was her xmas present and she is precious!

christmas, round one

we have already had a busy christmas season with parties, baby life, and starting now, we begin the journey of christmas with our families. whew, we are a scattered bunch this year, but we will all get together, no matter what it takes! this weekend was christmas with my brother, josh and his family from tulsa. we had dinner at the new babe's in cedar hill on saturday night - yums! then today after church we had christmas lunch and presents at my parents home. oh-what-fun! owen made his debut with his tulsa cousins and they could not have been more excited. there really is nothing like a golden with kiddos. it's oh-so-sweet. mckenzie was a trouble maker spreading her yorkie fiesty-ness to all who came near and sporting her xmas cheer. and sweet link even got to play santa...and proceed to get more gifts than the rest of us combined. ; )

asher, carter, and link

caroline and owen

auds and link

mckenz and linkers

josh, link, auds, and carter

owen and link, big buds!

sweet link, post bath - he LOVES bathtime

things are going well with our new pup. we officially adopted him as of monday after our trial run. he is really sweet, so laid back, and seems to be getting along well and happy with us. link is starting to notice the dogs, he either smiles or laughs when he sees them or they lick him. so sweet. ; ) in keeping with the theme of sooner-named dogs, we are going with the name owen (for owen field, where the sooners dominate! or if you like, for owen wilson, after all, they are both blonde. haha) for this pup. it sounds enough like his old name that he recognizes it and we think it's cute. we feel 100% confident that norman would totally approve of owen to take care of us. and that he will, i am sure. such loyal and sweet guys.

link is charging on like a champ. he is starting to get a more regular schedule and still sleeping great (usually from about 8 or 9pm to about 7 or 8am). everyone tells me i am lucky that he sleeps so well, and i say i'll take it! he and i have both had stuffy noses this week, but seem to be coming out of it slowly. wanted to share my favorite - watching them fall asleep (of course) but then the moment when their little paci slips out, and they continue the motion like they are still sucking on it. OH MY GOSH, so adorable. gosh, i could just eat him up, can you tell?? he is so happy and we are enjoying him more every day - i swear he gets cuter every second!

bad quality pic - but wanted to show mckenzie cuddling with owen, so sweet already!

my boys!

link playing with sophie the giraffe. he giggles everytime it makes the "squeak" sound.

big day!

first, i can now officially tell everyone that i will not be returning to the bank, instead i will be staying home with link! i talked to my boss this morning to let the bank know. it has been a difficult decision as we will have to make many sacrifices in order to make this happen, but in the end this is what is best for us and we are feeling so great about our decision. i will be taking on some consulting work starting in january that will allow me to work from home about two days a week. this will start out being a three month deal and we will see what it works into...more details on that later. for now, we are so thankful that God has blessed us to allow me to stay home. happy tears in my eyes just thinking about it!

second, today, after many walk/jogs since being cleared to run a month ago, i officially completed my first 5K without stopping! i don't think i could have done it without the cheering of my running partner, link...his smile pulled me through. :) anyway, it's a small personal victory on my goal of getting back to running 5 miles on a regular basis, but hey - it's just over 3, so we are more than halfway there. :) yay for me!

third, tonight we are starting a 5-day trial period of adopting a golden retriever. he is the pet of some friends of friends of ours and they are no longer able to keep him. he is adorable, we met him last night. i can't wait to welcome him into our home. we are adopting a dog rather than buying a puppy because we want to honor norman's life by rescuing a dog that is in need of a home. we are excited about this process and hoping that it all works out. more on that and pics to come later...

i told you it was a big day! :)

(of course, some pics of link had to accompany the post - these were taken this morning during storytime..."we're going on a bear hunt, we're going to catch a big one..." i love that book. anyway, i thought these were cute, with all his stuffed pals.)

sweet audrey

my oldest niece, audrey, just turned 13. wow. that's so unreal to me. her parents have started a tradition (w/ carter last year, yes, he is now 14!) that on their kids 13th b-days, we have a family birthday party with the aunts and/or uncles and give a special gift, write a letter, and have a fun weekend together.

this weekend was audrey's girl weekend. she and her mom drove to dallas from tulsa on friday and we all met to take audrey shopping and to mi cocina (her fave!). it was so much fun to see audrey with different generations of people that all know she is oh-so-special. after mi co, we had a birthday party complete with sprinkles cupcakes. each of us gave her jewelry and the letters we had written her, complete with words of wisdom from her aunts and grandmothers. basically we made her feel like the princess she is and let her know that we are all here for her as she begins her life as a teenager. oh-what-fun!!!!

i really just thought i would share because i think it is such a great idea - something for people like me, who are just starting as parents, to put in our minds for future use. i don't think it's ever a bad idea, at any age, to celebrate the kids in our lives. happy birthday, audrey! i love you, girl!

auds at our wedding

auds swimming with norman a couple of summers ago

tiny audrey and me

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thanksgiving in the homeland!

we have so much to be thankful for this year. it was easy to be happy this thanksgiving, as we shared it with our wonderful families in the great state of oklahoma!

we left wednesday for tulsa to be with my family. there are now sixteen of us with my two brothers and their families, my parents, and the three of us. we had a great time watching all the nieces and nephews adore link. he had so much fun cooing and smiling at all of them. what a fun group of cousins he has that will be surrounding him his whole life with so much love. we also got to see some of our dearest family friends, the taylors, and meet their newest addition, austin. austin was born just ten days before link. his dad, wes, and i have been friends since we were born. our moms gave baby showers for each of us and the families have been very close ever since. it was special to have us all together, too!

we left on friday afternoon after the visit with the taylors and headed to oklahoma city to meet up with jay's family at meme's house. we had a wonderful time celebrating our future nephew or niece with the pritchard family and judd and jacque! so exciting. meme's house is always full of so much love and GREAT food...always a wonderful place to be, always so at home at meme's.

saturday morning we got up and headed to norman for link's first OU game. i don't think it was a coincidence that OU dominated and completely shut out their in-state rivals, OSU, on his first trip to owen field. yes, OU beat okie state 27-0! it was awesome. link was such a trooper and we had a great time showing him around norman. such fun!!!!

we have so much to be thankful for in 2009 - two wonderful years of marriage, our sweet baby boy, our sweet pups (still celebrating the life of our sweet norman), our families, our health, and most of all, our Savior. thank you, God for your many blessings. we look forward to a joyous holiday season (even spent the day putting up the tree and decking the halls!)!!

austin and link, chillin.

sweet addison, austin's big sis, telling the boys what's up!

link, screaming along with the fans...OOOOOOO U!

the pritchard family at owen field - go sooners!

pritchard boys and meme

papa, carter, and link - bonding

caroline, mckenzie, link, and me taking a nap in tulsa

weekend update

this weekend was nice. we got a lot of good exercise, got to go see "the blind side" (EXCELLENT!), spent some time with good friends going out to eat and even a b-day party!

college football is not as fun this year as it normally is - i assume it's just the sooners stinking it up, but maybe it's just not as good overall? i dunno. anyway, link and i decided that the game was so awful on saturday, we would just take a nap in our sooner gear. ha! all i know is that if jay and i were going to choose a year to take off from going to most of the games, this year would be the best. yuck!

below is little man all decked out and in the bob stroller, heading out for a run and to brunch at cafe brazil. he is such a trooper, loves being out and about, just like his parents. he is two months old now, i seriously can't believe it. we are starting to get into some routines and he is eating and sleeping like a champ (he no longer has to eat at night, just occasionally wakes up, but isn't hungry. he definitely gets 5-7 hour stretches each night). at his two month checkup last week, we found out he has grown more in length than anything, he is already 24 inches long and just over 11 pounds. so far, he is tall and thin. maybe he is burning calories by osmosis when he goes jogging with me. :)

we are looking forward to a fun week spent with lots of family and friends...i will recap post-thanksgiving holiday with pics. i hope you all have a fantastic turkey day. we have so much to be thankful for!!!!!!!

coping

we skipped town and headed down to austin for a few days the morning after our sweet normie passed. just jay, link, mckenzie and me. my parents had rushed over that morning and took us to breakfast, all the while begging us to leave town, as they thought it would help us to get out of our house for a bit. as usual, mom and dad were correct, getting out of town and out of our home, where norman was SUCH a big presence, was probably best. we are doing better, taking it one day at a time. jay put it best, that norman will always be a romantic figure in our memory. i cannot think of a better example of the phrase "only the good die young." norman was pure good, pure fun, and as loyal and loving as they come.

to follow up on what actually happened, norman had acute lymphoblastic lukemia. this is most common in children and younger dogs - double dose of sad. in dogs, the average lifespan after symptoms start is two weeks. it not really treatable. this is one of those awful things you read about and think will never happen to someone you love...but it did.

we are trying to move on to a point where we celebrate norman and his impact on our lives and the lives of so many. you wouldn't believe me if i told you how many wonderful friends have reached out, with emails, texts, fb messages, phone calls...thank you all. without your kind words and prayers, i don't know that i could have made it through! norman touched a lot of people's lives and was just one of those extra-special dogs. i'm quite sure he is in heaven right now stirring up a game of fetch with all the other pups and swimming to his heart's content. my how that boy loved to swim!

in the hopes of ending this post on a lighter note, a couple of pics of our little linkster during his first trip to austin (sorry, iphone pics, i forgot my camera). we got to see some of our greatest friends - met mollie and her girls for tacos and jill, GP and their boys for hamburgers the next day. we got to stay a night downtown and then went out to barton creek for the rest of the trip. link did GREAT and took his first road trip in stride, slept the whole way (even during the stop for lunch at george's in waco! where we got his "give me a big O hug" t-shirt - hahaha). he is such a great baby. he even made his first trip to church this sunday when we got back in town - he loved it and was wide eyed the whole service. precious. he kept raising his arms during the music - he already loves him some Jesus! :)

friday he will be two months old. wow!

at barton creek

RIP, Norman

I woke up a few minutes ago to check on Link, not realizing he was actually still asleep and that I was really getting up to check on Norman. He had stopped eating recently and we were amidst day-long trips to the vet for tests to try and figure out what was wrong. Each day he seemed to get progressively worse. They had ruled it cancer and we were waiting for results on what type (either lymphoma or lukemia) to start chemotherapy and try to get our boy back to health. Obviously this was a rapid form of whatever it was (which I am sure we will find out tomorrow), because I found him laying in our closet (which he never does) and his breathing was heavily labored. I went in to get Jay and we both got back and started to pet him. He died moments later.

Please pray for Jay and me. This is like losing a family member for us - it was so fast, just this weekend he was still wagging his tail and able to go on walks, even chewed up the neighbor kid's football in our yard. :)

Norman was only three years old. He would have been four in April...and he lived more life in his three years than most dogs could possibly live in a lifetime.

Sweet, sweet, blessed Norman, you will be missed. We will see you in heaven, and I will bring plenty of tennis balls. Love you, buddy, rest in peace.