22 weeks

i can't believe we are already more than halfway to meeting our little girl!  i had a doctor's appointment and sonogram again this morning and she looks great.  she is measuring just ahead of schedule a couple of days, which is how this (being a 9 pounder!) all started with link, and then it just slowly kept inching up and up until he was the big baby he was!  we will see how baby girl does.

pic of her little face from the front, and up top is her arm, reaching behind her head...she is just chillin'!

at 23 weeks with link his estimated weight was 1.3 lbs, and today, at 22 weeks, baby girl's was estimated at 1 pound exactly, so they are similar in size thus far.  but all is well and it was great to see her sweet face, feet, heart, hands, just all of her cuteness, and get a good report on her health.  this was our true "anatomy" scan, even though we found out last month she was a girl at that sono.  early on i had a "low placenta" so i will get more sonos to keep an eye on that - although it is moving up as they would like, so no problems to report.  and, we are pumped to get to check in on baby girl more often!  all is well, we feel very blessed that she is looking good and thriving.  keep it up, little mama! :)

summer is here, which means link is out of school and we are keeping busy with play dates, friends in town, swim lessons, and finding other ways to beat the heat (which isn't too bad today, right now it's 70 degrees.  it's almost june.  in dallas.  amazing!!!!!).

my sweet friend mollie was in town this week with her girls, so the baylor gals had a play date with our kids and got to catch up.  we had lots of fun.  it's extra fun that mollie's in-laws just moved in a BLOCK away from us...we get lots more play time when she is up from austin!  YAY.

cuties on my couch!  love these kids!!

we also got to meet another sweet friend, mary's baby girl, maren, for the first time this week.  link was so sweet with her.  these sweet kiddos have many a play date in their future!!  i am so blessed to have college friends that are still such an important part of my life.  i treasure their friendships so much!

link and baby maren, exchanging their first glance...adorable

if you have read this blog anytime in the last year, you have definitely seen pictures of link with his little bud, finley.  these two have such a sweet and real friendship...and so do we, with her parents, garrett and cameron.  sadly, they are moving to san antonio (well, happy for them, because garrett has landed a great head pastor position in SA...sad for us because they are moving!!!) so we are squeezing in as many play dates, lunches, and nights out as we can in the next few weeks before they head south bound 35.  we love you guys!

link and finley at coffee park

and last issue of note, our house.  we have finally decided what we want and moved to the final stages of the process to add on to our house.  we had an appraisal today, and as long as our builders, appraiser, and bank can all agree, we should start construction in the next couple of weeks!  we are pumped.  well, not for construction, but for the finished product - an upstairs with two additional bedrooms, another laundry area (b/c what mom doesn't need two washer dryers?!), a play room/open area, and another full bath.  if this all works out, we will be sooooo happy to have all the space we will need (or want, i should say) for our growing family and for our family and friends to visit us!

so there's a lot going on over here - and in the coming weeks, my parents newly renovated dallas home will be ready, nephews and nieces are coming for cousin's camp (YAY!), and i will hopefully have pics to post of a progressing construction project on top of my house!  say a prayer that this all goes well, if you will.  it's been a long road to decide which way to go on this, and i hope we are almost to the decision point.  :)

hope you are all having a great summer!!!

a week in pics

this is the "silly face" and must be documented.  he thinks it's hilarious and will do it on command. ha.

boy and girl drama at parties starts early, people.  link and his friend, finley, having a little drama at her second birthday party last weekend.

saturday smoothies are the best!

doesn't this look like something from a wes anderson film? he is so funny.  and he totally wore the hat b/c he was so happy to be at finley's house.

playing the piano on sunday morning after church.  good times - they look like they are singing "great balls of fire" on the church piano bench.  ha!!!!

these tank tops are killing me with their hilariousness.

tarzan at work.

and on to the rings.

tennis time!

21 weeks today!

two-year old words

fair warning:  baby-book-grandparent-loving style post!

kids say the darndest things.  yesterday link asked me if it was saturday.  i said no, that it was thursday and we needed to get moving out the door for his last day of school.  he looked sad and said, "but saturday is for parties!"

rotten.

you people and your lavish, wonderful kid's birthday parties are making my kid think saturdays are an endless stream of balloons, birthday cupcakes and bounce houses!!  haha.  that cracked me up.  and if i haven't rsvp'd for your kid's party, don't worry, we'll be there, link wouldn't miss it!  :)

my parents always talk about the funny things we said as kids, and i always think it's fun to hear, like how i said "el-e-bow" instead of "elbow" (still think it sounds better that way, but i give in, it's elbow).  now i know am going to miss a lot of these and will probably come back and add to this post for the sake of his future baby book, but i want to write down a few.

my personal favorite is motorcycle.  it is a hot topic in our house and it is pronounced: 

"mo-se-cy-c-cle."

shapes, specifically, triangles top the list of things he finds in everything and points out to us.
but it's not triangle, people, it's "tri-dang-gu-gle."
in fact, future daughter in my belly, that is one of his favorite choices for your name.  triangle pritchard.  wow.  he also likes spiderman, choo-choo train, and tree.  mama's here for ya, babe.  it won't happen.  fear not.  :) 

giraffe - "fraff"
chick-fil-a - "flay"  (as in bobby?  is he gonna be a chef?  or is it just that chick-fil-a is THAT good?)!  :)
baseball - "peeeeeaaaace-ball"
football - "aughtball"
water - "wawers"
chocolate milk - "chocolate NILK!"  (always screams the last part and puts a whole lot of emphasis on the "n" in milk - haha)  :)

those are a few of my favorites.  sadly, they are starting to already be fewer and fewer, as he is slowly realizing the true pronunciation of most words.  but i had to write down a few so i can remember!

it's funny to me that just two years ago i was writing month-by-month posts about rolling over, eating rice cereal, and sleeping through the night.  now he is climbing trees, telling stories, playing ball, and generally acting like a rowdy little boy.  unreal!

we forgot about the 2.5 year check up (which we realized when we went in for a busted open chin!) and now aren't going in until 3 - but here are a few current stats, as i want to be able to see how he and little sis compare later on:

wearing 4-5T in tops, 3T shorts/pants, and shoe size is 10.  he is 40.5 inches tall and i'm not sure on his current weight.  last i checked he was about 37 lbs, (but that was several months ago).

recent pics!

he and daddy learning about tea parties at PB kids - all for you, lil sis!  :)  what a HILARIOUS sight.

swing time with daddy at abbott park

arboretum - chihuly exhibit.  awesome.

a brief, all too brief these days, moment of rest.

20 week belly pics (above @ 20 weeks and below @19 weeks)!  getting big already!  eeeek!  it's gonna be a HOT summer!  below: link wasn't as amused as i was.  i was trying to get him to reach down and touch the belly.  he is rolling his eyes.  boys.  anyway, the above is my self-belly-20-week-portrait in the mirror during nap time.  i never took any belly pics last time so i am going to try and do better this go-round.

i'm feeling good at 20 weeks.  i'm definitely feeling (and looking!) pregnant, but the weather is still pretty nice and i've been resting fine, still able to run and work out, and generally doing good.  halfway there!  can't believe it's summer - and come early fall, little baby girl will join us.  it will be here before we know it.  i can't wait to meet her - and no, we don't have her name yet!  HELP US, because her brother is clearly not the one who will name her - haha!  

sugar and spice and everything nice!!!

it's a girl!  we are soooo excited to introduce link's little sister to the world!  our little guy was correct -- every time we asked him if the baby was a boy or girl he would proudly announce, "GURL."  link and my mom both had such a sense about this little gal!  so funny.  anyway, we are over the moon excited.  i really am in shock!

i left the doctor and went to lunch with my friends, cameron and audrey, who had already purchased a sweet little gift for baby girl, then got home and my mom was here with three new outfits and a pair of shoes for her, too.  i think this is gonna be fun.  :)

sweet girl, we already love you oh-so-much and CANNOT WAIT to meet you!  we are going to have so much fun together!!!!

we've been soaking up the spring here in big D.  there has been lots of yard work, trips to the park, the zoo, and the arboretum.  in texas you just have to enjoy the spring as much as possible so that when the temps start soaring, you can submerse yourself fully in water or air conditioning as much as humanly possible.  ;)

this weekend link ran in his first 5k with jay, baby p (pic below in my belly!) and me.  he did great!  he has obviously run in races with us before and in the stroller with me all the time, but this time we decided to let him try running himself, and that he did - ran just about a mile of the race and then did the rest in the stroller with a bottle of water to cool him off and his mama pushing.  he kept up a pretty fierce pace during his mile (for a 2.5 year old), because we still finished in just over 30 minutes!  way to go, link!!

he kills me in this pic.  so hardcore.  ;)  on the way home from the race, he just kept saying, "mama, daddy, that was FUN!!!"  LOVE IT.

so he likes running and climbing trees is his second favorite new hobby.  he spends a lot of time conquering these limbs in our backyard

too cool.

at the zoo with his buds

the rest of our time lately we have spent deciding on house issues (do we get a bigger house, add on to this house and start construction asap, stay in our current house, as is, or pursue a house we have a contingency contract on?!).  whew, we have a lot up in the air right now!  oh, i am now 17.5 weeks.  at this point with link we had just found out he was a boy - so i am hoping to find out the gender of this sweet baby at my appointment this week.  if not, i guess we will be waiting a few more weeks?  i am feeling really great.  i remember loving the second trimester last time, and this time i am feeling good and it seems to be the same - still comfortable in my clothes, just getting into stretchier tops for the growing belly.  :)  

this week holds a lot of possibility, as we have a lot of decisions to make on our house and another doctor appointment to learn the progress of baby p.  please say a prayer for us if you think of it.  we definitely have a lot on our hearts and minds these days, and a lot of big decisions to make this week!

easter eggs, bluebonnets, and birthday parties

it's only saturday night, and we've already had two birthday parties, an easter egg hunt at colonial with the pritchard clan, and a trip to the wildflower patch with hunny and papa.

there has been more sugar consumed in the last 48 hours by my child than in his previous year of life, haha. i'm quite certain that birthday sweets plus easter sweets (and all on the same weekend) would be a good way to start a big problem with a sugar addiction! haha, i kid. there's a time for fun, and this weekend has started off with a bang!

ADORABLE petting zoo at colonial

link and his cousin, jack.  they are 9 months apart exactly!

the thrill of the hunt

no tears, once again, he loved the easter bunny.  he ran straight for him.  his "look" was more at the photog for interrupting his big moment with mr bunny ;)

learning the ropes of the club with daddy

sweet cousins ;)

he loves, loves his papa.  makes this mama happy. :)

sweet boy

ready to give hunny a hug

elton john impersonation at jack and lauren's birthday friday...this is a keeper for link's future girlfriends ;)

crazy.

(first note - we are all okay in dallas.  this pic is from today, in the basement of our church, taking shelter from the tornadoes.  b/c of all the outbreaks, we were there for four hours!  finley and link were providing entertainment for the crowd.  cutest pic ever?!?)

everyone keeps telling me all the advantages of having kids that are three years apart (as mine will be).  to be honest, some days all i can think about is just the day in front of me - the fact that i have a WILD AND CRAZY two-and-a-half year old and am currently entering the second trimester of pregnancy, it's all pretty overwhelming.  it's been quite a ride these last couple of weeks around here.  we are entertaining adding onto our house - and then i think, hmmm, what will i do with construction workers, a 2.5 year old, and 110 degree temps this summer???  oh my.  on a very, VERY exciting note, my PARENTS ARE MOVING TO DALLAS!!!  LAKEWOOD, i might add, so they will be uber close.  i could not be more excited.  ahhhh!  finally!  i am so excited to have them close and for link and baby number two to have their grandparents nearby.  it's gonna be a good time!

anyway, speaking of pregnancy - this week i will turn 14 weeks.  i had an appointment today and everything is moving along nicely and baby is measuring right on schedule. :)  i am feeling good and just finally starting to get a little tiny bump.  all my clothes still fit and others might not know it's a "pregnant" bump yet, but i can see it - and i'm sure it will pop out to a "real" (BIG) bump VERY soon.  :)  this pregnancy has been a bit different, as i'm sure this child will be!  i have been MUCH queasier this time and lost weight in first trimester (gained with link).  but some things have been the same, dizzy, tired, all the fun stuff.  the best news is, a lot of that has started to subside, and i am feeling pretty good.  second trimester was great last time, so i am hoping for that again with this little one.  :)  we find out in about six weeks if this one has boy or girl parts...guess we should do another poll (i added one to the side column - vote!  i'm curious - last time you all chose correctly!)??

baby p, waving to us last week on the sono - "hey guys, all is a-ok in here!"

so for now i'm praying for guidance on our house, enjoying the lovely spring weather in texas, and thanking my lucky stars that i am feeling pretty great for now!  

pics of the last few days...

first easter egg hunt of the season - he was SERIOUS about it this year.  :) 

who knew sidewalk chalk and cars could entertain the monster for a whole afternoon?!

link helped me clean out a box of mine from my parents move - adopted my old racquet, some flags from flag football, and at one point old ski goggles, and created a new game with one of his basketballs.  hilarious.

finley and link at HP pharmacy, it's love over a milkshake

link and his buddies, charles and drew - being little boys.  :)

end of day, stripped down b/c of muddy clothes, enjoying some tcby.  life is good.

waco trip

i went with some of my best college friends down to waco last week for a kids-plus-mamas-spring-break-road-trip. i have SO, SO, SO many wonderful memories in waco and on the baylor campus.  it is always special to share that with my little guy and make some new ones together.  we had a blast - went to the children's museum (amazing!!), the bear pit, and george's. all in all, a great morning! some pics from the day...

link and rhodes - future frat buddies?  first trip to george's. :)

link inside his favorite thing - a bubble!  he was hilarious.  couldn't wait to pop it!

link and some of the dyer ladies, checking out the sweet baylor bear "going night-night"

the crazy crew, post george's - it was like 2pm, we were lucky to have them all awake and not crying, i promise they had fun  :)

(link, elle, jack, lauren, rhodes, addie, and drew)

the wheels on the bus go round and round...

little pete delkus impersonators. :)