meal planning monday

I had a fun week trying out LOTS of Pinterest recipes.  Some were really good, some were okay and some were a total bust. I'll definitely be reviewing some of the recipes I tried in my new series, "Pinned there, Done That!".

Monday: Tortilla Soup & Cheese Quesadillas

Tuesday: Chicken Tender Cob Salad

Wednesday: Last Rangers Night @ Chick-fil-A

Thursday: Chicken Pot Pie & Salad

Friday: Hard Tacos, Rice & Beans

Saturday Breakfast: Easy Cheesy Bacon Pull Apart Biscuits

Saturday Lunch: Mooyah (free burgers)

Saturday Dinner: Green Onion Casserole, Salad, & Rolls

Sunday Lunch: BBQ Sandwiches & Chips

Sunday Dinner: Pizza

And don't forget to check back tomorrow for a fun little giveaway!!!

new series on TheLinkHome

Being a teacher my brain thinks in a school year calendar (August to August) rather than January-December.  So to me, I feel like this week is kind of a start of a new year.  

To start this "new year" on my blog I'm going to be doing some fun new series on my blog!!

{Pearson Approved}
This series will be posts featuring things Pearson loves and approves.  It could be his favorite toys, favorite products I use on him or even recipes that he loves.

{10 on 10}

This series will be where I take 10 pictures on the 10th day of the month.  It will document a snapshot of our daily life.  I got this idea from one of my favorite blogs, The Larson Lingo.  I always look forward to reading her 10 on 10 post each month, and I hope that you will enjoy seeing a snapshot of our everyday life each month.

{Pinned There Done That}
This series will feature Pinterest projects, recipes or ideas I have done or used. I have finally starting doing some of the things I have pinned on Pinterest, so I want to share with you the ones that are actually worth doing.  I got this series idea from one of my old college roomies fun organization blog, From Messy to Manageable. 

And the series I'm most excited about is.....

{Monthly Giveaways}
Each month I will host a giveaway that features an Etsy shop, a local business, or one of my favorite products.  I already have a giveaways lined up for August, September and October.  If you would be interested in me featuring your shop or local business as a giveaway please contact me at katymlink {at} gmail {dot} com and we can talk details!!

And get excited because the first giveaway will be on the blog on Tuesday!!!

sno-cones

I can't believe we waited until almost the end of summer to get our first sno-cone. 

Little man was in for a treat getting his first taste of  a sno-cone.

I got a Red Raspberry and Matt got a Banana Colada.  

 Pearson had a few bites of Matt's.  

But I'm pretty sure he more of a Red Raspberry fan.  

 See.....his face doesn't lie!!

Yum! Yum!! We might just have to squeeze in one more Sno-Cone trip before the summer was over because they were soooooooo good!!

getting ready for fall

This morning I took Pearson to a real Barber Shop to get his second haircut.  Ashley always gets Carson's haircut by her best friend's Dad, so we joined them this morning while Carson got his haircut too.  They are both going to look so handsome for the their start Pre-School and Mother's Day Out.

To help him sit still, the barber gave Pearson a lollipop.  He wasn't quite sure what to do with it at first.  

 He quickly figured it out though!!

 I'm pretty sure he was on a little sugar high here.  Too funny!!

After Pearson's haircut we went over to see my grandma and grandpa.  

Oma had made a special cake for Pearson.  It was a pumpkin cake decorated like a cute little carousel.

 Pearson quickly discovered that the little animals were edible.  

 We enjoyed a nice little visit while eating some delicious pumpkin cake with Oma and Joe.  And the best part was that Oma sent me home with about half of this cake.  Pumpkin cake is definitely a favorite around The Link Home and it really gets me excited that fall is right around the corner!!

busy busy busy

We have been so busy these last few days....

On Monday, we went to Hawaiin Falls with Ashley, Carson, Olivia, and my Mom!!

We got to use her buddy passes again.  Nothing beats a free day at Hawaiian Falls, especially when it was only in the 80's. 

On Tuesday we had another cousins day at The Children's Museum. 

You can read more about our adventure here. 

And today, we went to Gymboree for a trial class with Denise and Holland.

You can read more about that adventure here.  

All we have planned for tomorrow is a haircut for the little man, but other than that I think we going to have a quiet day at home!!

gymboree

This morning we met up with Denise and Holland again to try out another gym.  

Today we went to Gymboree and the kiddos loved it!

Pearson did so good climbing through all of the obstacles.  

His favorite thing at this gym was the thing he could roll across the room, just like the other gym. 

 At one point in the class the teacher had all the kids line up and try to push a giant log across the room. Pearson was the only one that was really interested in it.  He ended up pushing it all by himself.  The teacher said he was born for this!! Ha!!

They had lots of balls at this gym, which definitely made Pearson a happy camper.  Holland and Pearson enjoyed throwing the balls into a bucket on the ground. 

 My favorite part of the class was the parachute activities.  We played under it for a while and Pearson loved walking in our little tent.  

Then, the babies sat on the parachute and pull them around in a circle.  

I love being able to do fun activities like this during the day with Pearson.  And I especially love how these activities wear him out so he takes great naps afterwards!!

children's museum

Yesterday was rainy and a perfect day to spend indoors.  Ashley and I decided to try out the Children's Museum with the kiddos.  By the time, I got around to taking a picture with Pearson he was ready to go!! I promise we did have a good time though!!

All the activities were definitely geared for Carson's age and up.  

Pearson was free so I was okay with that.  It was so cute to watch his little brain spin!!

The babies loved the area where they "dug for fossils".

Surprisingly enough, neither one of them ever put any rocks in their mouths.   

 Carson enjoyed giving us a weather report. 

And he looked pretty darn cute in his little firefighter suit. 

 The water room was a big hit with the little ones.  

 How cute are they??

 Pearson was obsessed with these magnets.  He would act so surprised when we would put the magnet on the wall and it would stick.  I'm definitely going to have to bust out all my letter and number magnets from my Kindergarten collection soon.  

 We spent the last little bit of our morning at the Museum in a little area especially for babies.  It was a padded area where they could crawl and climb. They loved it.  

 After the trip to the museum we stopped for a yummy lunch at Jason's Deli and then Pearson took an unbelievable 3 hr nap when we got home!!

meal planning monday

Lately I have been so burnt out on our normal go-to foods.  I spend the entire weekend on Pinterest searching for yummy new recipes.  I think I found quite a few because my menu this week is just about all Pinterest recipes.  Some are new but a few are old.  Hopefully this week is a week full of yummy food!!  We'll see if they all actually happen.  Doubtful.  But I'm going to try!!

Monday: 1/2 Price Papa John's Pizza

Tuesday: Dinner @ The Havards

Wednesday: Rangers Night @ Chick-fil-A

Thursday: Easy Garlic Chicken, Cheesy Zucchini Rice, & French Bread

Friday: Baked Penne Pasta, Spinach Salad, Garlic Parmesan Pull Apart Bread

Saturday Breakfast: Potato Bacon Casserole (didn't make last week)

Saturday Lunch: Apricot Turkey Pinwheel, Fruit Salad, Chips

Saturday Dinner: Roasted Shrimp Enchiladas w/ Jalapeño Cream Sauce, Rice & Beans

Sunday Lunch: Last Sunday Lunch

Sunday Dinner: Easy Homemade Pizza Rolls

Extras this throughout the week: Sausage Balls, Edamame & Black Bean Salad, Banana Bread, Cinnamon Churro Chex Mix, Bacon Wrapped Jalepenos Thingies, Peanut Butter Fudge

cute as a button

A few weeks ago we had a shower for the 7th sweet little boy joining our ABF.  Somehow I forgot to blog about it!!

My sweet friends Jenny & Michelle hosted the shower for Courtney.

They made a precious little diaper cake and served Chex Mix and cupcakes with little buttons on them. I loved the "Cute as a Button" theme.  So creative!!!

Baby Jack is due to arrive on September 29th, which is Matt's 30th birthday!!!

Nobody is ever surprised with my baby gift.  All the girls know that they are getting a K'Link baby wrap.  It was one of my favorite baby items so it's fun to gift something that I personally loved and that I can personally make for them!!

I have always had Pearson with me or there has been a little baby at the showers to model my wrap, but this time there weren't any babies at the shower.  Luckily Courtney had a little doll from her CPR class the night before!! I have to say, the little baby was pretty creep though!!

 There are only two pregnant gals left in our class.

I wonder who will be next to join the Mommy Club!! Or even crazier, I wonder who will be the first to start round two of babies.  We started the first round of babies, but we are hoping to give someone else in the class the opportunity to start round #2!!

pearson {14 months}

Pearson, you are such a busy little boy!!  I love it though and I wouldn't have it any other way.  You keep me on my toes!!  We love to watch you learn and grow.  You are learning something or doing something new every day.  You are mimicking so much that we do, too.  You are so smart!!  You bring so much joy to our lives and we

Measurements: 22.5ish pounds and 31.5ish inches

Clothes: 

• shirts/onesies: 12-18 shirts 
• shorts: 12-18 month 
• pjs: 18 months
• diaper: size 4 
• shoe: size 4

Sleeping: Your naps have gotten a little later this month and sometimes your morning nap is nonexistent. You nap from 10-12pm and 3-5pm; you sleep at night from 7:30-7:30.  

Eating: You are weaning exactly how I wanted you to.  I want you to wean when you were ready. Last Monday (13th), when I tried to nurse you before bed you were not interested at all, so we just dropped the bedtime feed.  You are still nursing well in the morning, but I plan to drop it by next month. You have a sippy cup of milk after each one of your naps and I offer you a small cup of milk before bed.  You still love to eat! I swear you would eat all day if I let.  This month you decided that you like grapes again.  You also tried raisin, dried cranberries, yogurt covered raisins, & greek yogurt this month and loved them all.  You pretty much have whatever we have for dinner these day and eat it all. 

New Tricks: You are almost running, you can walk backwards, give high fives, play peek-a-boo, dance when you hear music, sign "more", climb down from the couch, fake cough. 

Words: Dada (Daddy), Go (when he waves), Doh (dog), Da("dat"), Woah (hello).  You will say the "Mm" sound sometimes and you will even say Ma sometimes, but you still won't say Mama!!!

Teeth: 7 (five top/2 bottom) Your top left molar came in this month, and I think your top right molar will be popping through anyday now.  

Likes: Getting into the dog bowl, pressing the button on the printer, taking toys out of the drawers and bringing them to us on the couch, playing ball with Daddy, playing with anything with wheels,  watching videos on my iPhone, playing with remotes and phones

Dislikes: When we make you sit down in the bath tub, getting your face wiped after meals, when I stick my fingers in your mouth to feel your teeth.

Other Random Things:

• We finally baby proofed some of the cabinets last week.  
• Every time you wake up, the first thing you do when you see us is pick up your blanket and throw it out of the crib.
• You still won't say mama. Sigh....
• You love playing in our closet.  You like to hit the hangers, move Daddy's shoes and hide in all my dresses.
• Anytime "Wide Awake" by Katy Perry or "Call me Maybe" by Carly Rae Jepson comes on you always start bobbing your head in the car.  You love those songs. 
• You love to pull things out of drawers.  In your room it's the shorts drawer, in our room it's my panty drawer (ewwww!) and Daddy's hat drawer, and in the living room it's all of your toys.
• When we tell you it's time to eat you go to your high chair and start saying "Noy, Noy Noy"and a few other strange sounds.  We have no idea what that means!!

Look how you've changed....

boys will be boys

This afternoon we had a playdate with Stephanie and her sweet little boy Ethan. Pearson is about 2 months older than Ethan, so they had a great time playing with each other. 

 They are both definitely all boy.  Pearson has gone through a little phase lately where he is more interested in pushing his car rather than riding in it.  Not today though.....

 Even though Ethan was in the car, he had to be in it too.  Poor Ethan was getting squished but it didn't seem to bother him a bit.  Pearson just kept squeezing himself in. 

 We finally decided to let Pearson sit in the car and have Ethan push him.  Both boys were happy then!!

Oh boys!!! I just love being a boy mama!!