Tuesday, December 30, 2014

Smile for the Camera!

On November 1st, we took family pictures with Amber Jane Images.  My sweet husband sacrificed his Saturday evening watching the Baylor Bears play football to take family pictures.  I was sooooooo worried that these pictures wouldn't turn out good.  I was afraid  Pearson would be his crazy little 3 year old self and that Nash wouldn't smile because he wasn't feeling well.  This weekend was also the start of our crazy super cold weather we had in November.  While Pearson was pretty crazy during the photo shoot and I wiped Nash's nose more times than I could count, I couldn't be happier with the way these pictures turned out.  I will forever cherish all of these pictures.  
We used two of these pictures for our Christmas cards so I've been hanging on to these for almost 2 months!! Thanks Amber Janes for all these awesome images!!

2014 resolutions recap

{via}
WOW! I can't believe that 2014 is coming to end.  
This year has absolutely flown by.  I'm sure a lot of that has to do with the fact that we had a baby this year.  Time seems to fly by when you have little ones.  As this year comes to a close, I want to take a minute to reflect on my "resolutions" from last year.  I set the bar pretty low because I didn't know what life would be like with two kids.  I'm pretty proud of my self for accomplishing most of my goals!!

1. Find a way to make a little extra money again after Nash arrives.
**I was actually offered a little part time job in January with a start date of April.  I decided to turn it down because I was not sure I would be able to make time for it since it was a work at home job.  I am so glad I turned it down because shortly after I turned it down Nash started therapy, got his helmet and then went through a 2 month span on sleeping awful.  There is no way I would have been able to handle it.  So officially I didn't really find a steady way to make extra money, however I had earned a little extra cash this year other ways.  I participated in some research studies and got some cash back from Ebates, Ibotta (If you join I'd love for you to use the referral code "gip5q") & Snap!!

2. Organize/clean out my computer, iPad & iPhone.
*Still working on this one.  It's still a big mess, however I have been backing up my computer regularly which is a good thing!!

3. Find a system to keep mail, paper and coupons organized and not pile up. 
*I bought some new wall hanging baskets that have really helped with paper not piling up.  I also started using some accordion files to keep my coupons organized.  There is still an occasional paper pile but for the most part I definitely have a system going.

4. Memorize one simple scripture a month as a family.
*We didn't intentionally do this, but Pearson and I listen to our Seeds Family Worship CD's all the time in the car.  We can sing LOTS of scripture.  I would love to intentional do this this year. 

5. Lose all my baby weight and get back into the gym.
*I lost all my baby weight but didn't get back in the gym.  I think I worked out a total of 5 times this year! Ha! I definitely need to get my booty back into gear this year!!

6. Wake up earlier and actually get some things done before Pearson and Nash wake-up. 
*This one definitely didn't happen.  Two kids is exhausting and I came to the realization that in just less that 2 years I will be getting up early every day to take Pearson to school.  So for now, I'm going to enjoy "sleeping in".  Plus, Nash wakes up around 6:30, so I just refuse to wake up earlier than that.  Oh and anytime I get ambitious and decide to set my alarm to wake up at 6am to get some stuff done, one of the kids inevitably wakes up at 6:05, so it's pointless!!

7. Take a picture a day.
**Follow along on Instagram @katylink #thelinkhomeeveryday2014
*Check! I finally completed a picture a day challenge!!

8. Take a picture a day of Nash for his first year of life.
**Follow along on Instagram @katylink #thedailynash
*Still going strong!!

9.  Plan intentional activities to do with Pearson during Nash's morning nap.
*I wouldn't say I did planned activities with him, but I did have intentional time with him.  I always try to sit down on floor and play legos with him, read books with him or play games.  It's good for both of us to have some good quality time together. 

10. Continue once a month date nights with my sweetie!!
*Check! Thanks to our church's Parent's Night Out for only $18, we have been able to continue this!!

Stay tuned for my 2015 goals!!

Monday, December 29, 2014

Wrapping Up Christmas

We had our last Christmas celebration with Matt's family on Saturday.  We didn't get around to taking a family picture but we did take a girl pictures.  I love all the girls so much!!

Grandaddy recently had back surgery so he could only hold Nash sitting down. 
Grandaddy wasn't the only one giving Nash lots of attention!
 Everybody loves our happy little baby!!
Pearson had been looking forward to going to Ethan's house ALL.DAY.LONG.  He absolutely adores his cousin Ethan who is about about year and half older.  
They are so silly together and have so much fun with each other. 
Nicole set a beautiful Christmas table and we all brought some yummy dishes for our Christmas Dinner. 
 All the cousins (minus Nash) ate in the kitchen.
 The adults got to eat in dining room!
This little guy got to hang out on the floor with us!!  
 Once I was finished eating he munched on some crackers in my lap because he kept crawling off!!
 The kids all finished eating quickly and begged us to hurry up so we could open gifts.  Nash is the lucky boy this year because he got to open up his gifts first since he is the youngest.  
 We open all of our gifts one at a time with Matt's family so Pearson helped everyone open gifts in between opening his.  
 After opening up all of our awesome gifts we busted out the karaoke machine turned the colored lights on and busted out some tunes!!  We had SO much fun singing!!
 Pearson even joined in on the fun and sang Jingle Bell Rock!! He did awesome!!
 It was WAY past his bedtime but he enjoyed listening to everyone sing.
**I've got lots of videos I want to post but they aren't uploading tonight for some reason.  I'll get to it another night!
 Nash was stil bouncing around and as happy as can be even though it was way past his bedtime too.  He finally crashed in Grammy's arms around 10pm.  We left around 11pm and the boys slept all the way home.  
 What a fun night we had with our Link side of the family.  It's always a good time when we all get together!!