2 years, oh my!!

our wedding (above) and engagement night (below)

three years ago today, i was blissfully living life, a single working girl. not much to plan but nights out with friends, weekend trips with jay, enjoying having mary back in town, and when to meet mollie on the elliptical machine at the gym (so we could dish out our “complicated” lives. haha!!!!!!!!). little did i know that less than a month later, I would be engaged. that sparked about two months of staring at my beautiful ring and happy hours to celebrate with jay, then a year of planning our beautiful wedding in breckenridge, colorado, a move to fort worth, a move back to dallas, a job change, and…

two years ago today, a wedding on top of one of God’s most beautiful places on earth in colorado, surrounded by over 100 of our sweet friends and family. unreal. that was one of the most fantastic times i have ever had, enjoying time with jay, surrounded with so much love, and making our commitment to one another. our first year was phenomenal, and we traveled more, had fun, started new jobs, got settled back in dallas, and just all-around had a blast enjoying each other and our married life.

a year ago today, we were moving out of uptown into our almost-finished home in the m-streets. we were so excited and could not wait for our renovations to be complete. the house, renovations, and it’s contents were our anniversary present to each other – quite the first year gift, huh?? we were ramping up for college football season (as we always are this time of year, BOOMER SOONER!) with zero knowledge of what would come just at the end of that season.*

today we are happier than ever. settled into our home, with many, many, MANY housewarming parties behind us, we have completely fallen in love with our neighborhood and home. and now, here we are, two months (or less!) from becoming parents to our first child, sweet link!* i can promise you that this time last year, having a child was the LAST thing on our minds. nothing could have prepared us for all that comes with preparing for a child and how sweet this process would be for the two of us as a couple. this has already been an unreal experience and we are thrilled beyond belief. our little family is starting to grow (speaking of growing – we had a checkup yesterday – link is just over two weeks “ahead” and already weighs almost 5 POUNDS!!!! holy moly!).  the pups are excited, we are excited, so much to look forward to!

i can’t imagine, cannot even FATHOM how different things will be a year from now. jay – every year, we grow, change, evolve and become closer. i am so sweetly, amazingly blessed and cannot wait to watch you be a dad to our sweet boy…brings tears to my eyes just thinking about it! thank you, God for our many blessings!

happy anniversary to my partner in life, best friend and sweet love!!!!!!!!!!!!!

my #1 preggo treat

everyone has asked me my entire pregnancy what my "cravings" have been, and honestly, i don't think i have had too many. normally if i am going to let myself have something "bad" i am a tex-mex/queso or french fry type of gal (think salt or cheese less than sweets). but i must say, during pregnancy, this is definitely my favorite treat!!

1 scoop, blue bell vanilla "light" ice cream
2 crushed oreo cookies
4 strawberries, sliced

mix all together, and BAM - YUMMO! the best treat ever!!

coldplay

ah, thank you for perfect weather tonight and a great, great show. look at this view!! (and thanks to adam for saving us seats on the lawn. wow, that was sweet of ya!)

the days and weeks are flying by and we are heading into the final weeks of this whole pregnancy shin-dig.  we went for a very eventful (as everything jay is included in seems to be) tour at the maternity wing of the hospital recently. let's just say that jay isn't exactly a fan of things involving hospitals, blood, pain, etc...he's more nervous about labor and delivery than i am! but anyway, we suddenly realized that it is time to get on board with putting together the nursery and really getting ready for our baby boy.  

so to assist us, my sweet parents came over this week and helped us take down/put up furniture, then we received and placed the rug we had ordered, and started to get things put together for link.  it's been hard to squeeze all this baby organization and planning into our already hectic schedules, but somehow we manage.  :)  kidding, we are so excited, it's not hard at all.  we even went this weekend for jay to get a lesson on the two things he is most excited about...the bob revolution and the baby bjorn.  hilarious.  i swear, that bob pops up from the fold-down position like some sort of spaceship from the jetsons...crazy (go to about the 3:15 marker and watch for a couple seconds, you will see what i mean: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zuoMAjO8p2c)!

so we are not totally together, but things are starting to look good.  we should get the glider and ottoman in the next couple of weeks, and then i feel like the room will have started to look complete.  now, to prepare the two of us for childbirth and all that comes after...whew!

i added some pics of us getting the furry friends acquainted with the nursery.  we try to use link's name a lot and make sure the pups know that this is a room where we remain calm and sweet.  hopefully a little prep work will pay off later! i didn't take too many pics since we still haven't completed the room, but i will add more once it starts to come together a bit more in the coming weeks, i promise!

4th

we had a "staycation" fourth (i love that term) here in big D.  i had to work friday, which totally sucked, but oh well.  this is what i get for working somewhere that doesn't offer maternity leave.  but that's another story that i'll spare the readers of the blog.  ;)

i got away friday afternoon and we headed out to the four seasons.  this was our first try at an in-town getaway, so we were curious to see how this whole thing works.   i am happy to report, it "works" just beautifully!  we totally felt like we were out of town and really enjoyed our time in flip flops, lounging by the pool and being waited on hand-and-foot (a pregnant girl, heck, any girl, could get used to this!).   and what a bonus to have a 15-minute trip home at the end of our "trip."  

so we got in two good, solid poolside sessions, a great cookout, a fireworks display on the golf course, and a very, very relaxing time.  it was nice, and i highly recommend it.  we definitely felt like the whole staycation thing worked on us (meaning we felt relaxed and like we were away from it all) and will be partaking in the whole scene out at the four seasons again.  that pool is A-MAZING.  large, winding, lots of trees and green grass, bridges over the water...just nice!  there were lots of families out there, and seeing all the little ones made us both so excited to think that this time next year, little link will be there, splashing away with us!  

we didn't get many pics, but i thought i'd post what we got between my camera and jay's iphone.

the pool at night, so pretty!!

jay and i after the picnic at the cabanas, waiting for fireworks, giggling and humming neil diamond..."they're comin' to america...TODAY!"  don't think we weren't...

poolside.  one of my favorite places to be.  

BOOM!  i inherited my love of fireworks from my mom.  she LOVES fireworks.

a little catch up...

this last weekend some of our dearest friends, mary and whit, got hitched!  i neglected to take pics with all the fuss of the wedding, but borrowed from our friend who sent me pics today, brooke (thanks!).  it was a beautiful wedding, and now the happy couple is enjoying a wonderful honeymoon on the beach.  thanks for allowing the pregnant chick to be a special part of your day, mare!  it was such an honor and so fun to enjoy the weekend celebrating with you two...congrats!

we also had a check-up this week on little man, link.  he is growing fast and measuring a week ahead.  he's already as big as our pup, mckenzie.  haha.  they said everything is looking great and once again, we got a comment on the fact that he would not stop moving.  the nurse was cracking up while he wiggled and grabbed his feet, flip flopping around like a little baby boy should!  ahhhh...we are so excited to meet this little bugger.  everyone keeps asking me if his activity bothers me, but no.  i absolutely love every little stretch, kick and punch.  it's good to know he is growing and already living it up in there...i'm in love.  :)

and speaking of living it up...we "took" link to the kid rock concert last night. :)  sometimes when i think about it, it's really appropriate that i am having a little boy.  i must be honest with you, friends.  give me a good rock-and-roll show on a lawn or a football game any day over a ballet or symphony. i'm just that kind of girl.  remember, i am the girl that my parents took to a musical for the first time when i was in kindergarten.  at intermission, i stood up and asked, "is it halftime?"  i'm not kidding.  ;)  it's just me.

anyway, what kind of parents take their kid to a kid rock concert??  i guess we do!  hahaha...if you remember, we got an invite last year to see KIIIIIIIIIDDDDD at the granada here in big d.  i was so skeptical going in, but let me tell you, i was impressed.  and let's just say this show was just as wonderful, if not even better - he had more stage space to show off all his mad skills.  this man is truly talented.  he plays every instrument on the stage, can sing the loudest, craziest songs and then turn around and sing a love ballad.  he really is a rock-and-roll cowboy.  if you don't just smile and think of happy times on the lake when you hear all summer long, then i'm sad for you, because it is FUN.  :) and little link got to "hear" it all.  we couldn't stop laughing thinking about the fact that we "had" our baby (yes, in the womb, but still...) at a kid rock concert.  i think next year, once he has made his grand entrance to the world, we will probably need a babysitter...hahaha.  

anyway, things are going great with us, link is growing and the pregnancy is going well.  i'm now a real pregnant chick, no one is second guessing on the bump anymore (did i mention that it's HOT IN TEXAS?!?!!?).  we are in the 3rd trimester, starting the countdown, for REAL.  90 days to go!

NORMAN WON!!!!

thanks for voting!!!!

vote for norman!!

jay sent in a pic from a while back of sweet norm, all stretched out on the couch.  (you may have seen it here on the blog).  anyway, he was chosen as a nominee for "pet of the week" on the dallas morning news website.  so, please go cast your vote for our sweet boy!!  (you do need to sign in or register with www.dallasnews.com in order to vote, but it's free and they don't spam you, i promise!)

in case you missed the link to go click and vote, CLICK HERE TO VOTE FOR NORM!

scene: pritchard living room

(setting:  late evening, monday night)

(the bachelorette on the television in the background, tanner p is giving the weirder-by-the-episode, jillian, a foot massage)

katy:  why is tanner p. so obsessed with feet?  it totally weirds me out.

jay:  i don't know, but i hope he gets kicked off and comes back to dallas...

(katy peers over at at jay, clearly puzzled)

jay:  what?  he looks pretty good at it.  i wish he would come rub my feet. 

part of me thinks he was totally serious.  jay wants weird foot-fettish tanner p. to come rub his feet.  the father of my unborn son.  very, very frightening.  at first i thought he was kidding, but then i wasn't so sure.  after all, i got a call from jay this morning, "yay!!  i'm on my way to tanner p.'s condo for a foot massage!"

this is what i deal with, people.  this is my husband's sick and twisted sense of humor. somehow, someway, i may be just as sad, because it is hilarious to me.  gotta love jay, he is always there to keep us on our toes.  :)

i swear every week that we won't watch it again.  after all, i am the person that makes fun of people for watching "american idol" and such.  this is clearly a character flaw on my part, a slip up of sorts, but "the bachelor/ette" and "the hills" are a weakness.  it's the editors.  every week i swear at the shows end i won't watch it again, then they come back, "next week, the most dramatic episode ever..."  

ugh.  i am clearly slipping in my old age.

baby check -in and cousin's camp 2009

i can't believe it already snuck up on us again, but it's summer, and that means cousin's camp with all my nephews and nieces here in big d!  as most of you friends know, my parents get both of my brothers' kids together for a "camp" of sorts every summer.  so yesterday they brought all seven kiddos over and jay and i threw them the annual b-day party courtesy of us.  we started with a museum trip in the morning to the nasher, pizza at campisi's, birthday cake at our house, and then a trip to play laser tag, miniature golf, bumper boats, and anything else we could find to play and/or ride.  we had a great time...and i think the kids did, too!!  

sweet little caroline and my cute dad

yes, that would be me with caroline on the TINY pink plane...

at the nasher on the sculpture scavenger hunt

too cute...with their statue friends...

23 week old link!

and last week we had our 23 week check-in on link!  he is so active (trust me, i feel it - and this little man is always moving!), it was just amazing to actually see him being playing around in there.  this was by far the most change we have seen thus far - he is really starting to grow fast and look like a little baby boy, kicking his legs, holding his feet, and staying very, very busy in there.  anyway, everything is looking great and we are totally on schedule for september 30, weighing in at 1.3 pounds as of last wednesday.  i am feeling great, lots of energy and just happy, happy to have a healthy baby growing and getting ready for good times with all of us!!  

as soon as she stuck the wand on my belly, he plunked his foot up in camera view, hahaha...so here is a shot of the bottom of his foot.  he was just letting us know he is fully aware of what is going on out here.  how cute is that little tiny foot??  

road trip!

this weekend we made a quick trek to austin.  

friday night jay and i enjoyed a relaxing evening downtown and a nice dinner at ranch 616.  saturday morning we went for a hike in the greenbelt with the pups.  we had a great hike on a newly discovered trail, ran across a very scary snake ("red and yeller kill a feller" - remember that this time of year in texas, those coral snakes scare me, along with all of their slimy friends) and after some sweat and quick get-away tactics from the snake, we survived the trail unscathed and with a good workout behind us.  anyway, good times.

at lunch jay dropped me off at the beautiful barton creek resort for an overnight getaway for my good friend, mary's bachelorette party.  what a great time we had!!   a lot of pool time, hula hut, and a whole truckload of funny moments and mary giggles made for a great trip.  i can't believe we are a mere month away from the big wedding day!!  woo-hoo!

jay, jill and i topped of the trip with breakfast tacos at maria's on our way out of town with the burpo clan...complete with our first meeting with sweet baby eve!  she is so incredibly precious.

sooooo it was another great weekend in austin, a town that has, over the years, become our home-away-from-home!  gotta love that place.

i have posted some pictures below, courtesy of  the organizer of the weekend, sweet cali-girl, brooke and below that, pics from our good friend, mollie.  

some of the ladies from the weekend with the guest of honor, mary!!

mollie and me at hula hut

a pic of baby link, the baby bump goes public!  thanks, mols!

mommy things

well jay and i got our first dose of parenthood this weekend.  we stayed home for memorial day to shop for and register for our little man, and do/get some house stuff.  yes, normally these weekends are filled with time on the boat, getting a suntan and having hot dogs and brews...we were a little freaked out that we were doing the "responsible" thing, but i must say, we had a pretty good time and got a lot accomplished.  plus, i'm sure next year we will just take him with us, lather up the sunscreen, and go back to the lake.  ;)

so anyway, we have been quite the parental units lately.  i got a mom car (see below).  a total mom car.  i will say unless it is beyond my control, i plan to never have a mini-van.  so don't have a total meltdown on me...it's a very, very cute mom car, but alas, it's a mom car.  the volvo XC90.  i love it so far, it's my favorite car-color, black, and the leather is oh-so-plush.  volvo does the job there.  and of course, it's safe, the main concern of my over-protective husband (the man who asks me to leave any event to drive home early in the case of rain.  yes, i said rain.  he worries.  it's sweet).  so anyway, step one, mom car.  CHECK.

me, driving on the autobahn, or a stock photo, whichever...

step two, register, get a crib and a dresser, then name the kid. CHECK, CHECK, CHECK.

well, we at least started the registry. i am sure some of my mom-friends will help me with all the stuff we missed, but we had fun. so far, we have baby bliss and babys r us started. baby bliss is fun, babys r us is kind of a whip, but i guess it's a necessary whip. :)

crib is in tact, and without any tears! jay put it together in about an hour. dresser is still in boxes, but purchased.  it's all perfect. my mom was sweet enough to purchase our dwell bedding a few weeks ago, so we now have a crib, ready to go, just need little man to come and SLEEP, LOTS OF SLEEP. i'm thinking he will be a sleeper like his parents, maybe come home ready for nine hours straight? sleep until 9am on saturdays? what do you guys think?? ; )  hey, i can dream, right?

and speaking of little man, although we have yet to settle on his full name, we have one thing for certain, and that is what he will go by...it's always been in the back of my mind as a perfect name if i had a little boy, it honors my AMAZING family, plus it's a really cool name. and jay INSISTS on us using said name because he thinks it's pretty darn cool, too. so anyway, we bought letters this weekend for his room, so i guess we can make it official...

this weekend was f-u-n. it was filled with wedding showers, parties, events, and great weather.

we did the showers and parties friday night, saturday morning, and saturday night. they were all fun, and the weather was mild, but a bit rainy. i woke up this morning to brilliant sunshine, green grass, and blue skies. we were off to church, brunch, and then an afternoon outside.

first we hit the cotton bowl for the "dog bowl" with the pups and their friend, lucy (who you will see in some pics). i guess they do this every year before they re-sod the field. whatever the case, it's a great time and the pups could not love it more. next we hit the east dallas garden tour (i know, who would guess that we would like this, but we do!) in little forest hills. if you aren't familiar with this neighborhood in dallas, you should be. their slogan is "keep little forest hills funky," need i say more? it's cool, with hills, unusual lots, beautiful gardens, and best of all, unique homes. the area is just about five minutes from us, on the other side of white rock lake near the arboretum. i highly recommend the garden tour if you like that sort of thing. lots of fun. we made a brief stop by lakewoodstock, the festival in lakewood, and i have a feeling that once our little man gets here, we will be there a lot longer...they had a bounce house the size of our actual house, looked like a lot of fun. anyway, great weekend, great weather, and i am so thankful for it!

more pics from the dog bowl...

norm enjoyed the many pools, just got right in!

mckenzie wasn't too sure how she felt about all this...

norm exiting the tunnel to the field, just like the OU players will in a few months...ready to thrash the nashhhhhhty horns

jay would not let norm take off his sooner jersey - but i will say, it helped me keep track of him!

what do historic homes on swiss avenue, a pregnant woman, yard signs in the middle of the night, and a very hectic work weekend all have in common? this weekend, they were my life! having a hubby who runs campaigns and a mother who deserves a great mother's day all meant that this weekend was going to be a crazy one. we started it off friday with a car full of yard signs for the vote no! campaign here in dallas. jay's and my duty was to go to all the polling places and get signs out before saturday's election. this means you have to go at odd hours so that the opposition doesn't try to take them down before morning. crazy! so here i was in all my glory, running around schools, churches, and various public buildings putting up yard signs in the dark. ha! but on saturday, it was all worth it. that night jay and i attended the election party and they pulled out a victory! this was huge because jay's firm was hired two weeks prior to the election to bring this campaign out of the gutter - and that they did! i'm so proud of him and happy that our city will finally have a hotel for the convention center...so host your company conventions here!

we got home late saturday/early sunday morning and i started putting the touches on sunday's mother's day lunch. we had jay's mom and family and my parents over for lunch at our house. after a great lunch, we headed out to the historic swiss avenue home tour. anyone that knows my mom or has ever even heard of my mom knows how much she loved this...it was quite a day for her. ; ) she also brought us the bassinet that I SLEPT IN, (yes, that makes it ancient, i know) for our little guy. pretty neat!

speaking of our little guy - we are now to the halfway point and could not be more excited! i can't believe that i am finally getting a little baby bump and our little man is getting closer to joining us! oh my goodness, i can't tell you how excited jay and i both are for him to get here! oh, and i've also started to feel him move, which is the most amazing thing i've ever felt. ; )

hope you are all doing great and had a happy mother's day.

it's a...

BOY!

we just found out this afternoon.  everything is measuring great, now we just (anxiously) wait for september 30th!  

(sorry the scan is a little lopsided, whoops! - and yes, the top one is the "money shot" - the doctor added the "wow" to be funny...haha!  and below is a sort-of profile shot of our little man.  awwwww....he's already cute!)

we are thrilled - and both knew deep down this was a boy.  looks like the voters on the blog were correct, too!

easter

we spent most of the weekend with family celebrating easter, and it was wonderful!  we kicked it off friday night with the morrissey concert at the palladium.  jay has a "list," and this was one musician that was important to him to check off seeing live.  i personally prefer morrissey along with the rest of the crew - and am still going for a smiths reunion, but, i still had fun and got to see a lot of friends.

"baby" caroline, hunting eggs

saturday morning we were up and at 'em, easter-egg dying, hunting, and smashing (confetti-filled eggs) were a big player with all the link cousins and norman.  yes, it was norm's 3rd birthday saturday, so we allowed him to play with the kids, who wore him out!  so much fun. we brought carter and audrey, the two oldest tulsa kids, back to big D with us to spend the night, shop, and have some mi cocina...fun for them and for us!

dying easter eggs

carter and audrey - so tall!!

sunday was spent again with family, at church with the links and then off to brunch at colonial with the pritchards.  all good times and a fun-filled, family weekend.  what a reason to celebrate - He has risen indeed!

the gang

happy 3rd birthday, norm! (enjoying the confetti and kids)

this weekend was great - friday jay and i relaxed and had a nice date night - walked to terilli's, one of our neighborhood faves, and had a nice dinner on their porch. saturday i helped host a wedding shower for my dear friend, mary, with a group of WONDERFUL girls. it was a "LBD" shower, or "little black dress" shower. it was all oh-so-very-mary - all pink, all girls dressed to the nines - and lots, and LOTS of fun. then on sunday jay and i enjoyed the palm sunday service (i can't believe it's almost Easter!) and then a day out at the arboretum for dallas blooms with jay's parents. the arboretum is a little piece of heaven located about three miles from our house, on the other side of white rock lake.

the spread

the tasty beverages!

tiny V and me with the guest of honor, little mary...

some of the ladies...

dallas blooms

and to top off the weekend, one of my favorite days of the year, OPENING DAY! ahh, the ballpark, the fan-fare, i just love it all, from the opening with the soldier salutes and fly-over (tears!), the first pitch, the hot dogs, the brews (well, not for me this year, but cokes are good, too!) and a lot of sunshine and good baseball - it's just so fun! and to top it all off, the rangers started things off right, with a big win and showing some real promise...filling this fan's mind with anticipation for a great season?!? a girl can dream, yes? we had a great time, and were very thankful for jay's company box, it was kinda windy out there in the beginning...but nice to be able to finish the game sitting in the outside seats and sunshine. ; ) i can enjoy some spoils while i'm pregnant, yes? go rangers!!

fly-by = awesome

oh so patriotic...

i like the texas-rangers-"w" a lot, it looks good on the guy...he was so at ease throwing out the first pitch and seemed to have fun all day, even in the broadcast booth!

operation hope

yesterday i had the distinct honor of teaching middle school all day. you see, inwood (the bank i work for - for those of you that might not know!) participates with an organization called operation hope. through their "banking on our future" group, i was able to go spend time with ten different groups of DISD middle-schoolers and talk about budgeting, finances, and life in the 'real world.' what a fun day! i knew being a teacher could be rewarding, but i guess i never thought that being a teacher could be so much fun. what a nice change of pace from my usual job - and a reminder of how hilarious middle school kids are...what a true treat for me!

what started out as a one-day deal is quickly turning into something i really want to pour some time into - i'm going back next week to be a judge in their "business expo" - the kids came up with their own business ideas and are doing a full-day expo to highlight their work! how cool! anyway, if you are looking for a worthwhile organization to support and/or put some of your own volunteer hours into, i highly recommend it. not only is the material great for the students, it gives the teachers a well-deserved break and you a day to reach out to kids you might have otherwise never met. what a blessing!