did i mention i love spring?

this spring and summer link is going to have a LOT of new friends joining us (congrats to brittany and lindsey for bringing jack and lauren home! they were the first of MANY between now and july)...and i can't wait! talking with some of the girls that are about to have their first babies is already so sweet for me. it's completely impossible to explain, but i just tell them the truth. i have had a very, very blessed and happy life thus far. but the last six months have been the best. the best ever.

some pics of life lately...

every night before bath (bed) time, we have play time in the front yard with dad and pups

decided to stop and see the bears at lakeside park on the way home from mi cocina the other night

lowered the crib last weekend. from this pic, you can see why it was definitely time!

bought this for him today. can you believe he's already driving??!! haha - he stayed up an hour late tonight playing. "walking" and letting neighborhood kids take him up and down the sidewalk. adorable. lots of giggles. he fell asleep in about six seconds. he LOVES his car. VROOOOOM!

i can't believe all the changes that have taken place in the last month. our little guy went from a little-ball-of-a-baby to a mover-and-a-shaker. first he started sitting up, then he started crawling, and he constantly wants to "stand" and when we hold him up, all he wants to do is move his little feet to walk! he is suddenly into everything. he tries to grab our food, drink, hair, glasses, everything in his reach...so i guess the days of taking a shower while he plays quietly on his little mat are over. this boy is on the move!! and he "talks" constantly. once these become actual words, i have a feeling he is never going to stop talking. :)

it's so bittersweet. i just can't fathom that six months ago he was this quiet little newborn bundle and that six months from now - he will be even bigger and MORE into everything. unreal.

**(oh and the above pic seriously captures the truth. linkers is in LOVE with owen. everything big O does makes him smile and laugh. such joy!!)**

opening day - way to go rangers!!!!!

OPENING DAY! i heart you oh-so-much. i love it all, the anticipation, the first time out to the ballpark for the new season, the crowd, the opening ceremony, the game, it's so much fun!

link's first opening day was an extra-special day for me. i do everything within my power never to miss an opening day and have missed zero in my adult life, so it was very important to start that tradition with my boy. i was a little concerned that some of the overwhelming-ness of it all would be too much for him, but boy was i wrong. he soaked in every moment of the opening events with a BIG smile on his face, even the loud planes flying overhead. he couldn't take his eyes off that field during the game, either. and every time the crowd cheered, his eyes got huge and he looked all around him, then back at me, as if to say, "do you hear that?!?" hilarious.

the game was a little slow for the first seven innings, but it was all worth it in the last few. the rangers pulled off a bottom-of-the-ninth win in the end and it was oh-so-exciting!!!!! go rangers!!!

just after seeing his first home run

he is reaching for his bottle. we interrupted a feeding for a photo op. whoops!

celebrating the big win

very, very tired boy post-game

easter, tarrant county style

wwwwoooow. that was a fun weekend. we left town friday late morning for fort worth to stay with jay's parents. we headed out to love shack (YUM) for some tasty burgers and a quick trip to the duck pond (for purposes of this blog post, i feel i should note that i decided ahead of time to throw the diet out the window, just for this weekend, and enjoy tasty treats!). that evening the g-parents babysat and jay and i met ten of our friends for a big dinner at joe t's. gotta love that place. especially in the spring.

saturday late morning we headed to arlington to stay with my parents. we did some shopping and ate at dave's bbq (an a-town institution that jay has a BIG appreciation for!) with hunny and papa. that night we had yet another set of free babysitters :), so we took advantage and went to fort worth to meet some friends for dinner and then back to a-town to meet up with some high school friends of mine.

sunday morning we went to my dad's church for easter and then off to colonial to meet up with the rest of the crew for easter brunch. it was a WONDERFUL weekend. lots of time with family, lots of time for jay and i to enjoy evenings out, and of course, the most important reason - to celebrate easter. HE IS RISEN!

future colonial cc junior champion, just like dad!

with hunny and papa at church

papa is so silly

hunting easter eggs

home again, home again!

pre-brunch with mom and dad

hole in one

he loves to "walk" while i hold his hands. so cute.

loved. easter. bunny. couldn't take his eyes off him!

girls night at the lake!

this weekend was so fun. great to see so many of my college girlfriends. loooooove you all - what a great group. here we are, almost ten years out (yikes!) and still all so close. i love that. :)

thanks for organizing, mollie!!!

SIX MONTHS!

where has the time gone? gosh, i used to look at the mother of a six-month old baby as such a "real" mom. those girls knew what they were doing. they seemed to have it all figured out. ha!

seriously, little linkers, i cannot believe you have been with us now for a full half-a-year. and even more, i cannot even fathom how much you have changed since you made your big arrival last september. i feel like i can't even keep up week-to-week with all the changes that are taking place in your little life. i cannot tell you how blessed i feel to spend each and every day with you, watching you grow and develop. your dad and i sometimes sit down together just after you have gone to sleep and just look at each other in disbelief. you will never, ever understand until you have children of your own just how much we love you. as loving and wonderful as my parents (your hunny and papa!) are, i know that i never fully grasped that love until i held you in my arms. you are a gift from God and we are fully aware of just how blessed we are that he has shared you with us. we treasure each day with you and are so excited for the next six months and all that they hold in store. you lucky duck, your first birthday falls on a saturday. i'm already coming up with ideas for your party. you just happen to have a mom that celebrates her own birthday for a full week, so yours may go on for a whole month! :)

i have a feeling we will be celebrating half-birthdays (as i remember it, i always proudly announced that i was 10 AND A HALF) for quite sometime. so, happy half-birthday, sweet link!

below pics were taken by my sweet nephew, carter, while he and his sister audrey were visiting over their spring break. he is quite the photographer, huh!?

so many tears.

and i still miss my sweet norman. today i spent a lot of time with our sweet dogs and norm's best bud, mary, and it made me think about normie a lot. i just can't help but miss my sweet guy. i had to share some pics. :)

And can it be that in a world so full and busy, the loss of one weak creature makes a void in any heart, so wide and deep that nothing but the width and depth of eternity can fill it up.

- charles dickens

st pat's!!!!

we had over 100 friends join us for the festivities yesterday. and oh-what-fun it was! st patty's day in dallas is one of the best days of the year. the race, the parade, and all the fun house parties make for a really, really good time. we live three blocks from the heart of it all, so our house was packed with friends all day yesterday. it was fun to see a lot of people that we hadn't seen in such a long time. high school friends, college friends, childhood friends and new friends that we just met yesterday, too! thanks to each of you that came by to visit. and for those of you that didn't make it, we hope you can next year! good times...

first picnic, first highchair...this is a year of firsts!

wow! this weather makes me feel so ALIVE! 75 degrees and sunny today in dallas, people, and it is the most energizing and wonderful feeling to be here today. thank you, God for this day. leaving the gym this morning i vowed to only be inside for link's naps for the rest of the day (which is what he is doing now). so we decided to have a picnic in the backyard...glorious! i think he likes to be outside as much as his mom, because he giggled and grinned the whole time.

first time in a rinky-dink unsupportive restaurant high chair = great success! he LOVES it. :)

sleepy-time in the bob...whoops, i was enjoying the day a little too much and missed getting him back for nap-time. ;)

he is FASCINATED by the mirror...

happy boy in the morning.

FJ

so you don't have to know me all that well to know that i heart the late '70's model toyota land cruiser and have wanted one for the last, oh, almost 20 years. through a series of events that i won't bore you with here (except to say thank you doug!), this precious gem has made her way into my tender care...

give me a shout if you are in east dallas and want to go for a ride!

RIP, BK

i lost an old friend this weekend. it was very sudden - and hard to take in when i realized it. one of my favorite guy friends from high school was lost suddenly this weekend after what we thought would be a short stay in the hospital. i think we are all still in shock.

BK was a friend to all. he had a killer smile, contagious laugh, and was always the life of the party. just an all-around good guy. we will meet again, buddy.

this is one of those times that makes me want to say to all my friends out there - i love you guys. life is precious and we need to value each day. thank God for our health and each day we are given. rest in peace, dear friend, you will be missed.

RIP, BK