he has a name.....

This video is just audio, but I just love hearing Pearson say his baby brother's name.  I tried to get him on camera saying it, but he wouldn't cooperate.  He says, "Baby Nash" all the time now and it melts my heart every single time. 

meal planning monday

Monday: Cornflake Chicken, Cracker Barrel Potato Casserole, Veggies, & Rolls

Tuesday: Date Night @ The Fair

Wednesday: Out before Small Group

Thursday: Three Cheese and Chicken Ravioli, Garlic Parmesan Toast, and Roasted Green Beans

Friday: Parent Night Out

Saturday Breakfast: Sausage Biscuits

Saturday Lunch: Mac N Cheese

Saturday Dinner: Me & P: Fuddrucker's Matt: BU Football Game

Sunday Lunch: Taco Soup & Cornbread

Sunday Dinner: BOGO Pei Wei Coupon

Baby No. 2 {19 weeks}

how far along? 19 weeks

how are you measuring? 3 days ahead according to the sono about a week ahead with the doctoring measuring my belly

size of baby? size of a large tomato 

heartbeat? 147 bpm 

total weight gain/loss? 3 lbs (All of my free birthday food finally caught up to me.  Thankfully birthday month is over because it's time to get back to eating healthy, trying to work out, and not gaining 40 lbs this pregnancy!!)

maternity clothes? A mixture of regular clothes and maternity clothes.  Picking out clothes is SO annoying these days.  Most real clothes feel tight but maternity clothes feel to big.   

stretch marks? Nope.  Lotioning up and hoping to not add to the few my Sweet P gave me.  

sleep? Most nights I wake up once but for some reason I woke up 5 times last night to go to the bathroom.  Hoping that doesn't become the norm because I need some interrupted sleep. 

best moment this week? Finding out we are having a boy!!

movement? Yes! And it's getting stronger each day.  It's strong enough where I can feel it without my hands on my belly, but Matt still can't feel it yet.  As I'm typing this he is kicking away! Love this feeling.  

food cravings? Honeycrisp Apples

gender predictions? We were all wrong, but we couldn't be happier that we are adding another little boy to our family.  Pearson and Baby Boy are going to have so much fun together.  I have to add that Tuesday morning I woke up really thinking we were having a boy even after thinking it was a girl for the last few weeks.  

what i miss? Working out, feeling like I am in shape, having more energy and fitting into my clothes.  Can you tell I miss my body?? I'm feeling huge today!!
what i'm looking forward to? Announcing our baby's name.  I don't like to have a no-name baby so I immediately starting thinking of boy names after we found out.  We have decided on a name and we have told some friends and family.  I will announce it on the blog sometime this week!!
how are you feeling? Pretty good.  I still feel like I have to eat breakfast very shortly after I get up.  I already feel big. Ugh. 

comparisons to last pregnancy? At this point with Pearson I was still unsure if I was feeling him move or not.  It's crazy because this one's kicks are so obvious.  I'm feel very pregnant way earlier than I did with Pearson. 

Here I am 19 weeks with Pearson and 19 weeks with Baby No. 2.

gender reveal play dough

 Back in the day when I taught Kindergarten, on the first day of school I made Magic Playdough.  I filled plain colored playdough with food coloring and told the kiddos that if it changed colors were were going to have a great year!! When I was trying to come up with a way to tell our parents if we were having a boy or girl, I just knew this would be the perfect way to do it.  

I follow this easy recipe for making playdough......

1 c. flour

1/2 cup salt

1 c. water

1 T. oil

2 tsp. cream of tarter

Mix flour, salt, and cream of tartar in a heavy saucepan. Combine water, oil and food coloring and slowly pour into flour mixture, stirring constantly, and cook over medium heat. Cook and stir until it forms a ball and pulls away from the sides of the pan. Turn out onto wax paper. After it cools a little, keep in a Ziploc bag.

After I made the playdough, I rolled it into small balls and stored it in little ziploc bags.  I packed red and blue food coloring to fill the playdough with after we found out what we were having.  To fill the play dough, I just pointed my finger into the playdough to make a little hole.  (Be sure not to poke to close to the bottom or it will show through.)  I put 5 blue food coloring drops in each playdough ball. After filling it with food coloring, carefully seal the hole where the color can not be seen!

I made this little image to decorate the playdough cup.  

{To re-use this image, just right click on it, save image, and insert it on your labels. }

And here is the final product before we took them to our families!! I thought they turned out so cute!! I just wrapped them up in little cellophane baggies from Hobby. I loved how I was able to re-use an idea I already had and that it was an idea that included Pearson in the reveal.

We met my parents (who brought Pearson with them) and Matt's parents at Grimaldi's for dinner.  We had a cup of playdough for each of our parents and then one for Pearson!!

 "I'm supposed to do what with the playdough Mommy?"

 Pearson was a little slow getting the color to show through on his playdough so the grandparents went ahead and squished theirs.  They couldn't wait to find out.  

 By the expressions on their faces I would say they are pretty excited about our sweet little boy on the way.  

 "Wait, what are they so excited about?"

 My big boy playing with the playdough announcing my little boy! 

After announcing our baby boy to the family we all had fun playing with the playdough.  

It was the perfect way to entertain Pearson until our food got there.  

 We are absolutely thrilled to be welcoming another little boy into The Link Home.  Pearson will make the best big brother.  We can't wait to watch our boys be the best of friends.  With Matt having two sisters and me having two brothers, neither of us got to experience a same sex sibling.  I'm excited that we will get to experience that special relationship through our boys.  

 Lots of fun times ahead for us!!

It's a.....

I am officially WAY outnumbered! 

We are so excited for Pearson to have a little brother! 

big day

Today is the big day!! We find out the gender of our baby!! 

(as long as he or she cooperates)

What do you think we are having???

meal planning monday

Monday: Breakfast Tacos

Tuesday:  Baby Gender Reveal with family @ Grimaldi's

Wednesday: Which Wich

Thursday: Lasagna, Mixed Veggies, & Parmesan Toast

Friday: BBQ Meatballs, Mashed Potatoes, Mixed Veggies, Cole Slaw & Rolls

Saturday Breakfast: Blueberry Muffins

Saturday Lunch: Ham Rolls, Chips, & Fruit

Saturday Dinner: Leftovers

Sunday Lunch: __________ for Matt's Birthday!!

Sunday Dinner: Matt's Choice: Bacon Wrapped Jalepeno's, PW Queso,
& __________ and Banana Pudding 

Baby No. 2 {18 weeks}

how far along? 18 weeks

how are you measuring? We'll see on Tuesday!

size of baby? size of a bell pepper

heartbeat? 180's bpm (at our 13 week appt)

total weight gain/loss? 1.6 lbs (I am amazed that I only gained .6 lbs with all of the free birthday food. I was really afraid I was going to have to explain a 5 pound weight gain to my doctor on Tuesday!!)

maternity clothes? I'm wearing some of both.  It just depends on what I feel like wearing.  Regular clothes are getting on the tight side yet maternity clothes are a little on the big side.  Just mixing it up a little trying to find things to wear each day.  I'm not really a fan of the Bella Band this go round. 

stretch marks? Nope.  And I've decided that the lighting in my bathroom is awful.  I can totally see the few stretch mark Pearson gave me when I'm in the bathroom but when I'm in any other room I can't seem to find them.  I'm just going to stay out of our bathroom!!

sleep?  I'm just waking up once a night to go the bathroom.  I have no problem falling asleep but I feel like I've been restless this week.  I'm starting to feel uncomfortable on my back already so I'm forced to sleep on my side.  When I sleep on my side I have to constantly switch and with the switch I have to move my "belly pillow" with me.  Ugh, sleep is just no fun when you are pregnant......and I'm not even very big yet.  I've got a long way to go. 

best moment this week? Oh my goodness, the weather was unbelievable this weekend.  We enjoyed multiple walks again this week and it feel sooooooo good to get moving again.  I also had  an amazing 29th birthday.  I had such a good day spending time with one of my friends during the family and then my little family of 3 in the evening. 

movement? Yes! It's just here and there though.  Mainly at night. I can't wait until I can feel kicks all the time!!  It's the best part of pregnancy. 

food cravings? Free food...ha! All of my free birthday food has tasted so good!! 

gender predictions? My official vote for this baby is girl!  We would love to have a little girl to throw some pink into the mix but the thought of little brothers sounds pretty fun too.  We can't wait to find out in two days. Matt and Pearson also think its a girl.  I guess we will all be wrong or right!! But no matter what we know that God chose the right sex for Baby #2 in our family!! 

what i miss? I miss my clothes all fitting perfectly.  This in between stage really stinks.  It's such a pain picking out clothes for the day.  I'm ready to just be in all maternity clothes so I at least don't have to think about what fits. 
what i'm looking forward to? Our appointment on Tuesday. We find out the sex of our baby!!!
how are you feeling? No complaints here!!

comparisons to last pregnancy? I am already feeling very pregnant at night when I sleep.  I have had some round ligament pains already too.  I definitely feel like I'm feeling the pains of pregnancy sooner this go round.  I also do not like wearing the Bella Band.  It's just not comfortable. I've been much more laid back this pregnancy with the cokes and lunch meat.

Here I am 18 weeks with Pearson and 18 weeks with Baby No. 2.

my first 29th birthday

Just kidding........I'm not going to be one of those people that celebrate their 29th birthday over and over again.  I am actually excited about turning 30 and the thought of getting old doesn't scare me at all.  I used to alway think 60 was old, but my parents are nearing 60 and I definitely don't think they are old.  Our age is just a number.  Who really cares how old we are? Not me!!

I had such a great day celebrating my 29th birthday.  One of my friends from our ABF shares a birthday with me so we hung out all morning.  Carissa works Monday-Thursday but is off on Friday so I called her earlier this week to see if she wanted to spend her day off with me on our birthdays.  We had such a fun day together and declared that we are going to make this a yearly tradition!!

We started our morning off at Denny's for breakfast to get our FREE Grand Slam. 

 After breakfast we headed to Safari Park to let the boys play.  Landry is about a year younger than Pearson.  Pearson talks about "Aug-Wee" all the time.  They are just now getting to the age where they can really start to play together.  

My sweaty boy had such a good time at the Safari Park.  He is still talking about the Choo-Choo ride. 

We stopped at lunch at Firehouse Subs to pick up our FREE sub for our birthday!

 I had never had Firehouse Subs, but it was so good. Pearson even ate a pretty big portion of my sandwich and almost half of my chips!

The boys had so much fun playing with their fire hats. 

 After lunch we hopped next door to go get our FREE Yogurt at Yogurtville. I think this was both of the boys favorite stop of the day!!

All our morning fun with Carissa and Landry wore us both out.  Pearson took a nice long nap while I vegged out on the couch.  I always feel bad just sitting around and doing nothing, but not today!! It's my birthday!!

When Matt got home from work we headed out to Grimaldi's to get my FREE birthday pizza!! It was so good!! Even Pearson loved it.  We ate all but one piece!!

I asked Matt for a new purse and a personalized Otterbox so I picked out my personalized Otterbox online and then we went shopping at Charming Charlie's for a new purse.  

We finished my birthday out with a FREE Red Velvet Pazookie at BJ's.  

I definitely had a fun filled (and free food filled) birthday! I couldn't have asked for a better day!!

**If you are curious about how I scored all of this FREE food check out Dallas Moms Blog on October 3rd.  I'll be posting all of my secrets there!!

safari park

I've had a groupon all summer long to take Pearson to the Indoor Safari Park. I finally took him today with my friend Carissa and her son Landry.  We had a great time!! Here's a few pictures from our adventure at the Safari Park. 

If you are planning on going, I would definitely make sure you have a groupon. It's not worth the full $10 for a pass to play.  Also, it costs $1 for adults and the kids must wear socks!!

pearson {27 months}

• Monthly pictures are next to impossible to take these days.  This was the best we could do.  Actually, pictures in general are so hard to get.  I want some updated family pictures before I get too pregnant but it looks like that won't be happening because I'm positive you wouldn't cooperate!
• You started preschool this month.  You go 2 days a week from 9:15-1:45.  You are doing great so far.  You love talking about your new class and new friends and especially Logan. 
• You started carrying a "Tack-Tack" to school and you love it!
• You have finally learned all of your colors.  You still call brown black sometimes and purple pink.  But other than that, you know them all!!
• You are obsessed with Stickers and Stamps.  We do sticker books all the time at home and you get a stamp somewhere on your body everyday at school. 
• You love to dance in the car but Mommy and Daddy are not allowed to.  If we start dancing you say "No Mommy dance".  I guess you are already embarrassed by us.  
• If the radio station is not good dancing music you will tell me "New Station" and then if it's a good one you tell me "Up  Mommy" to turn the volume up!
• You got sick this month with the croup and strep and had to miss school one day.  The steroid you took for the croup made you CRAZY!! We had a rough week of really bad behavior, lots of tears, fits, time-outs, and spankings.  
• You will no longer give us hugs and kisses at night.  You lay in your bed and then say "Bwoah Kisses".  
• "Mo-Mo Cycles" (motorcycles) are you automobile of choice these days.  Although, big trucks and "Twawers" (trailers) come in a close second.  You also love looking at construction sights and love the cranes that we pass every time we go to church. 
• You think all houses with a round pointy part is a castle
• After watching me play Candy Crush you have learned the words, delicious, tasty and sweet. Everytime I brush your teeth you say "Yi-tious". It the cutest thing ever. 
• You used to call all churches castles because of the steeple.  We finally taught you they are called steeples and that if they have a steeple it's a church.  You can now spot all churches and steeples. 
• One day I went shopping for fall clothes for you and when we got home I showed Daddy.  I kept  saying "Aren't these cute?" Now when we get dressed you always say "Cute"......about yourself and about me and Daddy!
• This month you have become a very picky eater.  I never know what you are and aren't going to eat.  It's hit or miss everyday.  Some days I swear you only eat bread, crackers and fruit. 
• No is your favorite word and it's about to drive Mommy and Daddy crazy!!
• You have started playing soccer with Daddy in the living room. You love to kick your little soccer ball. 
• When we drive places you like to tell us to go "dis way" or "dat way".  You can also tell us exactly how to get to Lolly's house.  
• When you see a stop sign you tell us to stop and you also tell us "Green-Go" and "Red-Stop".
• You are convinced we are having a baby girl. If we say it is a boy you say "Nooooooo, baby gull"
• Every night when we say prayers we ask you whose turn it is to say prayers and you ALWAYS say "Mommy's turn".  One night when Daddy was playing softball and went and ahead an asked him whose turn it was even though Daddy wasn't home.  Of course he said it was "Daddy's turn".

grandaddy is 60

Sunday evening Matt's entire side of the family headed to Top Golf to celebrate his Dad's 60th Birthday!!

We left Pearson and Ethan (the two youngest grandkids) at home while we played golf!! 

 **I have been so terrible this summer at keeping my big camera with me, so all of my pictures are from my iPhone.  I stole the next three from my SIL because she always has her camera with her!!

{Most of the fam}

 {Matt, Bryan, & Stan}

 {Matt and his Dad}

After golfing we headed back to Matt's sister's house for cake, presents and a special video.

Grammy always makes the coolest cakes.  She is incredibly talented.  

{Grandaddy and his kids}

 {Grandaddy and his grandkids}

 Grandaddy had lots of help from Pearson and Ethan opening his presents!

My brother in law made a neat video full of pictures of Grandaddy all throughout his life.  It was fun way to celebrate 60 years of his life!!

Happy Birthday Grandaddy!! We love you!!