IPhone rewind {november}

Just chillin' in the fridge.

Babysitting Miss Olivia

Feeding the ducks behind our house.

Dipping tortillas in butter.  Yum!

I love how he points his little finger out when he stacks his toys. 

Hanging out on Thanksgiving!

Dipping pineapple in ketchup.  Yuck!

Playing at the park.

Future photographer?

And because I started the year taking daily iPhone pics, I'm going to finish the year out with this.....

do not ring the doorbell

Last year when I had a little 5 month old around Christmas I discovered the beauty of online shopping.   I had never been much of an online shopper because I just hate paying shipping.  I quickly learned that around the holidays lots of places do free shipping so I love online shopping now.  It's so much easier than dragging around a toddler!!  And you can shop in your PJ's.  The only problem I have found with online shopping is that when our USPS lady, UPS man or Fed-Ex man come to deliver our packages they always seem to come during naptime, ring the doorbell, make my dog go crazy and wake my sleeping babe.  It took us 10 long months to learn how to take long naps, and even still he wakes at the drop of a hat, so if you wake my baby, I am not a happy Momma!!  

Today I was expecting two packages so I decided to let the UPS man know!!

Thankfully the UPS man followed directions and didn't make a peep dropping of  my packages.  Pearson took a nice long 3 hour nap so I would have been so mad if it was interrupted.  

I think for the next package that I'm expecting I'll add a smiley face and Merry Christmas so I don't come across so rude!! Ha!! I just needed the UPS man to know that he better not wake my baby!!

santa claus is coming to town

Today we took a little trip to North Park to visit good ole Santa Claus.

My Mom and I shopped around Northpark and then walked right into the line to see Santa.

Going to the mall during the holiday season when it's not crowed and not having to wait in line to see Santa are definitely perks of being a stay at home mom!

 Matt was even able to join us!! And I'm so glad that he did!!

Or he would have missed this........

 I guess he didn't like Santa this year??

Santa made me laugh while we were there because after the photographer had snapped a couple of pictures Santa said, "Oooooookay, you can come and get him now."  He sounded pretty annoyed to be holding my screaming kid!! 

laundry room drama

This morning as Pearson and I were about to walk out of the door to go to the gym and the grocery store, we had a little drama  While I was packing his diaper bag, he kept going in the laundry room.  I didn't really think anything of it because the back door to the garage was locked, so he couldn't get out.  Unfortunately, while he was in there (for no more than 10 seconds by himself), he closed the door to then opened these little plastic drawers that I have between the wall and the washer.  He opened the bottom two and happily started playing with the tools that were in there. Little did he know that he had locked himself in the laundry room. When I went to go get him, I couldn't open the door because the drawers were blocking it.   

I tried to stay calm and figure out a way to close the drawers so that I could open the door, but I just couldn't figure it out.  I couldn't even get my fingers through the crack.  I tried using just about every kind of kitchen utensil to close the drawers, but nothing worked.  At this point Pearson was still happily playing with the tools in the bottom drawer.  I was praying that he couldn't do anything to hurt himself.  I called my Mom to see what she thought I should do.  While I was talking to her I started to cry and that's when Pearson lost it.  I think he realized that he was stuck and got scared.  Since I was trying to calm Pearson down, my Mom called my Dad to see if he could come over and help.  He didn't answer so she called my brother.  While my brother was on his way, my Dad finally called back and he came as well. Pearson screamed bloody murder for a good 5-10 minutes because I just couldn't calm him down.  I finally thought to put on a Baby Einstein video on my phone and slip it through the crack.  Once he had the iPhone with the video on, he was happy.  He would cry ever now and then but for the most part he was fine.  I could see his little feet under the door crack.  He was just standing in the corner.  He never would sit down.

 After he had been in there a good 20-25 my brother finally got him out.  He got some sort of tool that had a sharp-pokey end and he kind of stabbed the plastic drawers so he could push them in.  

Poor guy has tears coming down his face and big puffy eyes once we rescued him!!

 Thanks to my Dad and brother for coming to the rescue.  They even moved my washer so that I could put the drawers in between the washer and dryer where it wouldn't block the door if Pearson ever decides to pull them out again. 

Whew! What a morning!!

I'll have to blog tomorrow about the little trick I know about that "kid-proofs" your iPhone.

meal planning monday

Monday: Meatball Subs, Fruit & Potato Chips

Tuesday: King Ranch Casserole & Refried Beans

Wednesday: Italian Sausage Lasagna, Garlic Toast, Roasted Green Beans

Thursday: Pork Chops, Spiced Apples, & Roasted Zucchini & Carrots. 

Friday: Chicken Pot Pie & Salad w/ Raspberry Vinaigrette 

Saturday Breakfast: Cream Cheese & Sausage Twirls

Saturday Lunch: Chicken Caesar Salad

Saturday Dinner: Fried Rice & Egg Rolls

Sunday Lunch: Chicken Salad Sandwiches, Chips, & Fruit

Sunday Dinner: Pizza & Salad w/ Ranch

black friday in my PJ's

Are you a Black Friday shopper??

I am SOOOOOOO not a Black Friday shopper.  I think my Mom and I got out once while I was in college and it was just not our cup of tea. Everywhere was too crowded, there were no parking spots, and the lines were just too long.  

I have seen this floating around Pinterest and Facebook and it is SO true. 

 Part of the reason I don't ever think I will go Black Friday shopping is because now that I stay at home during the day I can go shopping and run errands while everyone else is working.  This means no lines, great parking spots and it isn't crowded anywhere.  Except maybe Chick-fil-A at lunch time!!  When I go out in December on the weekends or after 5pm I just get so frustrated.  

I did however, do a little online Black Friday shopping in my PJ's this weekend.  

I got a half price (but actually FREE since I had giftcards) 16x20 canvas print of Pearson from Erin Condren,  a super great deal on a new watch from Macy's for Matt, a little outfit from Children's Place for Pearson, some batteries from Lowe's (Ha!) and the most exciting deal was a refurbished iPad.  I'm super excited about my Christmas present this year!! I've been wanting one for a long time.  I realize that there is no real need for an iPad, but I just really wanted one! I had a little online garage sale and saved up enough money to buy my own Christmas present.  It was the only way I could convince Matt to let me get one.  Although I think he's pretty excited to have one too!! 

What great deals did you get this weekend?

Stay tuned this week because I'll be posting pictures of my re-decorated Christmas tree. I'm kind of obsessed with it! I absolutely love it!!  

thanksgiving 2012

Our Thanksgiving in pictures......

We are all STUFFED and so THANKFUL.

so very thankful

I have so much to be thankful for this year. 

my savior and his saving grace. my husband. my son. my family. my in-laws. our home. our friends. our church.  our heath. matt's job. being able to stay at home with pearson. two cars that run. food in the pantry. clothes to stay warm in. freedom. and the list could go on and on. 

I am so very thankful for all that the Lord has blessed me with. 

pearson reads the bible

Pearson loves to read his Bible.  We have The Beginner's Bible by Zondervan and we all love it!

We keep it on Pearson's night stand so he can look at it whenever he wants.  He loves to just turn through all the pages and he also loves for us to read it to him.  I love it because the pictures are so cute and I love how all the stories are retold.  This is even the same Bible I had growing up as a kid!!

Here is a sweet video of Pearson reading his Bible and even saying "Bible" and "Jesus".  

hilly house {winner}

And the Hilly House winner is.......

Comment #3- Lindsay from The Fenner Four

E-mail me at katymlink (at) gmail (dot) com to claim your prize!!

meal planning monday

Monday: Dinner @ The Havards

Tuesday: King Ranch Casserole

Wednesday: Stew & Cornbread

Thursday: Thanksgiving w/ The Links

Friday: KITCHEN CLOSED

Saturday Breakfast: Chiloso's Breakfast Tacos (hopefully)

Saturday Lunch: Soup & Crab Triangles

Saturday Dinner: Spaghetti & Meatsauce, Garlic Toast

Sunday Lunch: Last Sunday Lunch w/ our ABF

Sunday Dinner: Pizza

1st babysitter

We are so blessed to live close to my parents, my grandma, my sister in law and even friends that are willing to watch Pearson when we need them too.  My in-laws also live about an hour away and happily come and watch Pearson when we need them to as well.  Even with family and friends close by though, I think it's important to kids to have babysitters.  I loved having babysitters as a kid so I want Pearson to get to experience that too!!

Last night Pearson had his first babysitter!! 

 We had a game night with our ABF in our neighborhood so we thought last night would be a good night to try out a babysitter because we would be close to home and we could leave at a moments notice if needed.  We wouldn't have to leave in the middle of a movie, or dinner, or drive back from somewhere far.  Plus, Pearson was only going to be awake for 30 minutes to an hour while we were gone.  

Jessica is the daughter of one of our ministers at our church, who we are good friends with.  She is a SUPER responsible 12 (almost 13) year old.  I'm excited to have a young babysitter because we'll be able to "keep" her for a while.  I started babysitting when I was 12 as well and I babysat some of the same kids until I was 18 and left for college. The best part about having her babysit is that her parents also live in our neighborhood, so if anything should happen her parents (along with my parents and grandma) are all in the neighborhood to help!

These are the notes that I left for Jessica for the evening.

I found this printable on Pinterest. You can download it here. 

Pearson did great with Jessica.  He went right to her and sat in her lap to read a book while we snuck out the door. She said they just played and read books then she put him down at 7:30.  When I went to upload some pictures I found these on my camera!!

What a sweet little surprise to see some pictures of him walking around in her shoes!!

I'm glad that our first experience with a babysitter when so well because this won't be the last time little man gets babysat!!

pearson {17 months}

Pearson, this month has been so fun!! Other than the stomach bug you caught, this has by far been my favorite month.  It seems like you are learning new things every day and more and more words each week.  You are so smart.  It's been fun to really see your vocabulary explode.  I love hearing your sweet little voice talk.  You are all boy and I love it!!  You love cars, trucks and really anything with wheels so much.  It's so cute to see you play with them. You are still a pretty serious guy, but we know how to get you to smile and laugh!! Your little smile lights up our world.  You are so precious to us!!  We love you so much sweet boy!

Measurements: 24 pounds 8 ounces

Clothes: 

• shirts/onesies: 18 month shirts; beginning to wear some 18-24 months stuff
• shorts/pants: 18 months; beginning to wear some 18-24 month stuff
• pjs: 18 months
• diaper: size 4 
• shoe: size 5ish (it really depends on the brand)

Sleeping: I really thought I would hate the one nap schedule but I actually really love it because we can get out and do more during the day and I don't feel so tied down to the house.  You typically nap from 1pm-3pm, but sometimes I put you down earlier and sometime I push you until 2.  On days you go to MDO you don't go down for a nap until 2:15 and you usually sleep until 5pm.  Most days you take a solid 2 hour nap, every now and then I get lucky and you take a 3 hour nap.  Because you are down to one nap, you go to bed at 7:00 sharp.  You sleep until 7:30 or 8am.

Eating: You drink 3 sippy cups of milk, one at breakfast, lunch and dinner.  You LOVE milk so sometimes you ask for it with your snack. You go to the panty grab a cup and wait by the fridge saying "nuh".  You eat three meals a day with us and have 1-2 snacks a day. You pretty much eat whatever we eat and you eat alot.  Although this month you have had a stomach bug which resulted in you not eating much of anything for about a week.  Even though you are better you don't seem to have as big of an appetite as you used to.  You've been turning down foods that you normally like.  We introduced to fruit snacks this month and you love them.  I also let you try chocolate milk this month and you did not like it at all. 

New Tricks: You can climb on the couch. You can sign "all done". You have lots of new words. 

Words: Dada (Daddy), Go (when he waves),  Doh (dog), Da("dat"), Woah (hello), MaMa, Duh(Duck), Wah (Water) and LOTS of babbling GoGoGoGoGoGo (when we mention going somewhere), Nuh (milk), Ah-Oh (when he drops something), Di-Dle (Bible), Ca-Ker (cracker), Go-Go (anything with wheels), Doo (Peek-a-Boo), Shhhuh (Shoe) New this month: Cah (car), Nih-Nih (Night, Night) Trac-Ker (tracter), Na-Nuh (Banana), Neuh (No), Gee-Suh (Jesus), Nack (Snack) Di-Da (Diaper)

Teeth: 12 (six top/six bottom) Your bottom left lateral incisor came through this month. Looks like we only have our canines left (top & bottom) and then we are done with teething for a while. Atleast until the dreaded 2 yr molars.  

Likes: Reading books, eating/snacking, letting Izzie chase you while you eat your snack, playing with cars or trucks, coloring, playing with puzzles

Dislikes: Getting his diaper changed, brushing his teeth, waiting for his food when he's hungry, when we don't let you play with the printer or the TV or any technology for that matter.

Other Random Things:

• When we ask if you are ready to go Night Night you go straight to your crib to get your blankie and paci and just stand there.  You go to bed so easily.
• You are obsessed with cars and trucks.  If you see or hear a car you say "cah" like a little New Yorker.  You love playing with cars and looking at books with cars. 
• You are so good at puzzles.  It's crazy how fast you can do them at such a young age.  You are so cute because you will put a piece in, then look up at us and clap for yourself!
• You love to pull out all of Daddy's shoes out of his closet and try them on when he gets home from work. 
• You have decided this month that you hate to have your teeth brush.  You kick and scream or just close your mouth as tight as you can so we can't get in.  
• When you are thirsty you go to the pantry find a cup and wait by the fridge saying "Nuh, Nuh, Nuh" (milk) until I come and get it for you.  We had to start locking the ice and water because sometimes you would just try to help yourself to the water!
• While your Aunt Ashley watched you last week, you played with Olivia's baby stroller the entire time.  To you, I'm sure it was just a truck you could push because it had wheels!!
• You had your first stomach bug this month.  It killed me to see you so lethargic and sick, but I sure did enjoy all the snuggles and hugs I got while you were sick. 
• I gave you chocolate milk for the first time this month.  You took a sip, looked at it, threw it on the ground, and said "Nuh".  You knew that was not the kind of milk that you loved!!  
• You mimic things we do and it's so cute.  If you see a brush, you will start to brush your hair with it. If you see the the thermometor, you will rub it against your head.  If you see me use anti-bacterial hand wash, you will start to rub your hands together. It's crazy how much you soak up just watching us do everyday things. 

Look how you've changed....

snack time

Izzie really couldn't care less about my sweet boy.  They don't interact that much at all, which makes me want to just get rid of Izzie because she drive me crazy most of the time!!

 But when it's snack time and Izzie hears the sound of his little snack trap they are SO cute together.  Izzie just follows Pearson wherever he goes and Pearson just runs around and giggles.  It's the cutest thing ever.  

Every now and then Pearson gives in and just hands her a snack.

 But after a while, Izzie gives up and just curls up on the couch since Pearson isn't all that generous with sharing his snack.  

So for now, snack time is one of my favorite times of the day!! 

I just love to hear my sweet boy giggle with Izzie.