Time sure flies!

I can't believe how long I've gone without a post. There's so much going on, but also not a lot going on. Yeah, I know that made sense. :)

C is into everything, so curious. She's super adorable right now! She "talks" a lot. When we were at B's parents house, she seemed to be asking for "Da-da" and called B's Dad, Dada also. I don't think we can yet call it her first word though, since it's still the only consonant sound she is consistently making. She also will imitate me if I sneeze or cough in the car! So cute. We had a great time in TN. The flight down was awesome since she actually slept! The flight back was not so great. We were delayed bc of all the rain in Nashville (praying for the people there still!) C did really well under the circumstances, but it was still a really long day! She had a great time with Nan and GP though! We miss them already!

On the running/weight loss front, I crested losing 20 pounds! (then went back up a half pound, but we will just go ahead skip over that and hope for a loss again this week!) I decided to go ahead and train for a half marathon! Yikes. I wasn't even seriously running before the end of March, and now I'm running a half marathon on May 30th! I have some great support from my family and I have two friends running with me, so we are checking in daily, which is great. Another challenge is the new heat and humidity. I'm still adjusting! Yesterday's run was tough because of the heat!! I did 8 miles in Chattanooga and I was SO HOT at the end. I am hoping for warm weather on the 29th for my friend's wedding, but then for a cool down overnight on the 30th! If you're in the area I'd love to have you come and cheer me on! Here's the race info!

http://www.greathyannisroadraces.com/halfmar/

Sorry no adorable pictures right now since I have to go get the wee one! :)

9 Months old!

I can't believe C is already 9 Months old. Time flies when you are having fun! And fun, we are definitely having!! Now that she is napping pretty consistently, both Mum and baby are happy! Here are the 9 Month Stats:

• Weight: 18 pounds, 6 oz
  
• Length: 27.5 inches
• Head: 18 inches

Everything is about the 40th percentile, which is down from the 60th, but normal do to her increase in activity! We saw the nurse practitioner who I LOVE this time, and C loved her too. She was very happy with how well C is doing! Yay!
And she's been going going going while awake! After months of "almost" crawling, this week she has achieved the true movements of crawling. She's still a bit slow, but each day she is speeding up faster and faster... which means I'm getting faster and faster! Her current favorite "forbidden" objects to crawl to include electrical wires (particularly the ones attached to floor lamps! EEK!) breastpump tubing, my booklight, and of course, the never boring remotes and iPhone. You should see her GLEE when she gets a hold of the phone for one moment!She loves waving and clapping for "the baby in the mirror" and tries to squirm from my arms to get to "her". Speaking of waving, for awhile I've been wondering if she is waving, but I'd say for sure, in the last week, she does a sort of "frankenstine-esque" wave intentionally. Other times she will do a small hand opening and closing wave (she did it a lot @ last night's red sox game) but still with her hand low by her side. But she's getting there. Since I didn't post about it in my 8 Month update, it must've been in the last month that she's been clapping for herself, the cat, pretty anything. It's pretty much the cutest thing ever. :)She seems to have developed preferences for certain books, shutting others when we attempt to read them. It's cute, but also tough to find something she actually wants to read! Her favorites are "Peek-a-Who?" and "Grow Up" both of which feature a mirror at the end!
She does so well when we have outings, I'm so thankful. Last night we got the opportunity to get some GREAT seats for a Red Sox game at a GREAT price. She didnt have any great naps yesterday, had her 9 month appointment (didn't even cry at her shot!), and then spent the day in the car, stroller, or baby carrier. (Speaking of which, how many WW points do you think I earned babywearing an 18 and a half pound baby for the better part of 5 hrs?). She slept a little bit in her carrier till Youk got tagged out when he was trying to bring us into the lead. The Boos from the crowd woke her! She passed out again on the train ride back to the car and slept the whole way home- but still, wasn't in her crib till nearly one am, and never really fussed! We are so blessed! I hope she wasn't too badly scarred by everyone thinking she was a boy because she was in Red Sox colors! :) And yes, we are letting her lay low today!
Besides the return of the Red Sox, spring also has brought so much nice weather. As I wrote a couple of weeks ago, it's been SO awesome to go running with C in the stroller. I ran a new personal longest run with my friend down on the Cape Cod Canal last week- 4 miles! (we stopped every mile or so for water, but we pretty much ran straight through, doing a 10 min mile!) C seems to enjoy it. We even ran to Starbucks to get our free coffee on Tax day. :) I'm looking for a race to run in soon!

It's not an April Fools Joke, I swear!

So, did I tell the story of the missing sneakers on here? I think it was around mid-February when it began. I ran on the treadmill one morning, and took off my sneakers. The treadmill (and therefore, the sneakers) is in our house. The next day, I go to look for the sneakers and I can't find them. I didnt have time to look, so I just wore something else. The third day was a day to run, so i really needed them. I could.not.find them ANYWHERE. I mean, Over the course of the next MONTH I tore apart my house looking for them! I even put away stuff that had been out since December! (On the one hand, that's a good thing, on the other hand, I had obviously NOT wanted to put it all away, LOL!) B also searched high and low for them. People in our small group looked also. I finally give up and buy new sneakers. But because of Murphy's law, I wait a few more days to take the tags off the new sneakers. ( I was sure buying new sneakers would be the key to the old ones turning up!). No dice. I finally give up and walk with my new sneakers (which cost more and I didn't like NEARLY as much!). At this time it's mid- March.

Fast forward to two nights later when I go out with some girlfriends. God bless my husband, who is much neater than I am, he was cleaning/straightening the basement (it's finished, but we don't use it for more than working out) up while I was out.
I come home.
There, sitting on my stairs, my old sneakers sat! I was shocked! Apparently he had found them in between a pile of clean sheets that I had folded by the laundry room. (yes, I had CLEAN sheets, folded, but not put away, for over a month!)

So that whole story explains why I hadn't run for over a month. Then even after the sneakers were found, I still have my very inconsistent napper to deal with. So I wasn't really into exercising.

But now we have our new (FAB!) jogging stroller. It's a BOB revolution, and if you're in the market for a jogger, I highly recommend it. Anyway, so yesterday, I decided to take it for it's inaugural spin. After a month and a half off, I had no idea how long i could run for, or how far, pushing a jogger. I started out trying to make it (on the flat side) to the end of my street. I kept going. I did it again, then I did the hilly side and back! I ran for about 30 minutes and for about 2.7 miles (according to B)! I can't believe it. So here's hoping I can do it again tomorrow or Sunday.

I also ended up walking with my neighbor for a few miles in the afternoon yesterday, I'm a workout machine!

In other weight loss news, I thought I'd post some about what I'm eating. I'm a snacker, that's my downfall. I've found eating some of the following things satisfies my need to snack without sacrificing my diet.

• I found out microwave popcorn is TERRIBLE for you (even the fat free kind, they are all very chemically), so I've been popping my own on the stove for awhile now (so easy, no need to buy an air popper or anything!). I put a little "Molly McButter" on it to make it taste SUPER yummy. Popcorn is actually a great source of fiber and better for you than chips and whatnot if you make it like this. I find it to be filling and it's only a few points for a LOT of it!
  
• I love eating a few pretzels and dipping them in trader joe's bean dip. The bean dip is no points and super yum. And a bowl of pretzels is MUCH less than 7 or 8 tortilla chips! I use the pretzel trick for guacamole also.
• I also started eating the Laughing Cow light cheese wedges. TWO wedges is only 1.5 points. And with a few pretzels or reduced fat-wheat thins, this is a low point and filling snack!

Another downfall of mine is drinks. I love me some sweet drinks. I've banned soda (diet and otherwise) from the house, though we treat ourselves to a diet or regular drink when we are out and about. I sometimes will buy diet snapple to satisfy a craving, but I'm not wild about artificial sweeteners in everything (i use them in my coffee and try to limit it to that). But, I'll tell you what, it's easy to not drink em when we don't have any in the house! That's my main strategy. Now that it's warmer I've been getting Passion Tea at Starbucks because it's sweet without syrup or anything and I like it! I'll also make tea for myself at home (I like Harney and Son's Hot Cinnamon Spice) that is so flavorful I don't need to add anything (sometimes a little agave, but not even all the time).

It's so true that as you cut out some of those things, you crave them less. I really am enjoying my water, most of the time! And my milk at the end of the day! :)

Alright this is long enough and I want to get some downtime in before the wee one wakes from her nap!

What I love(d) about being pregnant/being a Mom.

On my message board the other day someone posted about all the trials of pregnancy. That served as a good reminder that I could wait awhile before attempting baby #2! :) But then some people also posted spin offs about what was great about pregnancy and having a new baby (these made me ache to be pregnant and have a new baby again!) Here are some of mine:

Best parts of pregnancy:

• How (mostly) everyone is so nice to you!

• Feeling the baby move!

• Having such an intimate connection with the baby. You get to have a relationship with someone who isn't yet born...it's pretty awesome... I wonder if God sort of feels this way about us before we are born also?!

• Eating Ice Cream. (Though I've resolved, repeatedly, to not do this as much next time!)

• Being infinitely interesting. People (including strangers) always want to know about you, how you're doing, when you're due, what you're having... I think it's probably because they know how awesome what you're about to do is!

• Getting to park in "expectant mother parking".

Best Parts of Mommyhood, so far:

• feeling the weight of her little body rest against mine.
• getting to experience all those "firsts!"
  
• her smiling at me just because I'm me.
• seeing her try to peek over the crib rail to see if I'm there.
• breastfeeding, for me, has almost always been a very positive experience.
  
• watching her learn and explore "simple" things has made me appreciate them more.
  
• feeling pretty darn productive even if "all" i did that day was keep her safe & fed.
  
• teaching & playing Peekaboo.
  
• a sense of pride that is so inexplicable
• understanding, a sliver, a tiny bit more, the love that God must have for us. :)

There are many many more, but that's all i got for now. ;)

8 Months (and change...)

I was so excited about my weight loss that I forgot to first post this post on C turning 8 months old! She is just SO much fun right now. I definitely think 8 Months is my favorite age so far. She already had her two bottom teeth so aside from a FEW wake ups from teething, she's been sleeping well at night and that makes mama happy. She can sit unassisted for a long time and seems to know how to "fall" without hurting her self if she is done with sitting. She is so interactive now. She imitates us and does things she knows we will imitate. Her favorite is to fake cough or clear her throat. She gets such a kick out of that! On 8 months, one day, she finally started making consonant sounds. B swears she says "Hi Daddy" but I think it's wishful thinking, since she also says "haaa dadadada" to her exersaucer. :)

She continues to really take in the world. She is a pensive baby. She can sit and play independently for quite awhile usually. She will pick up a toy and really inspect it, like she wants to know how it works. (Maybe she will be an engineer like daddy!) Although, in the last few days, we have had a case of "the Mommies". She seems to be fine with Daddy or a stranger even, if I'm not within sight. But if Daddy is feeding and Mum is in the kitchen... Look out, there is sure to be some hollering. It's cute, but also tough sometimes! Yesterday I was trying to make her food, but she wouldnt even play in the kitchen in her exersaucer and I was RIGHT THERE. Fortunately I can put her on my back now in my babyhawk (highly recommend these!) and get some stuff done when the Mommies hit.

Yesterday she took two awesome naps- but naps are still inconsistent for me, and TWO awesome naps is very rare. B was pleasantly surprised at how productive i was- it helps so much when she sleeps! My best guess is that every other day she will take better naps. So I'm gearing up for a not so good nap day and will be pleasantly surprised if I'm wrong!
She still loves to eat, and of course prefers the sweet food, but usually I can get her to eat mostly anything, just certain things take longer! Her dexterity seemed to have progressed overnight, suddenly she is REALLY into feeding her self. (you have to have some puffs for her to hold while she's eating or she gets mad!) She also gets EXTREMELY excited when you go to the fridge, I think because she thinks she MIGHT get a piece of cheese. She loves cheese! So cute!

We also "celebrated" St. Patrick's Day by dressing C up in the appropriate attire. Of course, we aren't Irish, but we'll just skip over that bit. :) I love the way all of these came out! I'm SO glad to be married to such a wonderful photographer. There's more pictures from our "shoot" on our photo website. Email me if you need the link.
Speaking of links to photos, I also took C to get some photos done with a real live bunny. SO freaking cute. It's password protected, so just shoot me an email if you'd like to see them!! B was a bit miffed that he got passed over for his photography, but really, it was just about the bunny...if he lets me adopt a bunny then he can take her pictures with it next year!! :)

I'll try to add some video later, but here's some pictures of recent adventures!

I did it, I did it!

Yeah!! I reached my pre-pregnancy weight! While it's not a great weight for me, certainly not where I'd like to be, I'm very excited to have reached my mini goal. "Nine months on, 8.5 months off!" Wahoo!

I've also dropped 4 sizes (in the Gap) since October, which means since 2007 I have been 10 different sizes at the Gap! (Not including Maternity!) LOL. I'm excited to get closer to those lower sizes before I jump into pregnancy pants again. I'm so glad to have lost the 5oish lbs (yes, I'm coming clean that I gained about 50lbs while pregnant). And though I birthed an 8lb 11oz child, I only lost about 10 pounds post delivery and lost another 5 in the first few weeks home. I was not fortunate enough to have the weight melt off me while breastfeeding. The weight I've lost has mostly to do with my eating habits (thank you weight watchers!) and the rest is from just trying to increase my workouts/exercise. I've been off the exercise wagon the last month or so due to traveling and C's (and therefor mine!) sleep issues. But I cannot WAIT to get our jogging stroller so that C and I can start hitting the road despite her lack of naps. :)

So, I still have about 20-25 to lose to be where I'd LOVE to be, but I'm aiming to just keep losing and being healthy until we decide to have baby #2. The lighter I am before becoming pregnant again, the healthier I'll be.

And I'm vowing not to eat nearly as much ice cream this time!

Princess and the Pea...or the hardwood floor, as it were.

C is doing well! Not too much to report. We still have trouble with naps, though we think the culprit may be vibrations... I think because her crib is on a hardwood floor, when we walk by it must creak or something, and the vibration gets her up (if she is at the "light" stage of sleep). At night it is no trouble, but in the wee am hours when B gets up or during naps, she ALWAYS wakes up if we walk by. (I know it isn't sounds, because we have a white noise machine AND a humidifier in there!)

So I'm in the market for carpet, since I can't be banished from the upstairs for a few hours a day! (And I NEED it to be a few hours a day, LOL!)

Otherwise, she's doing great. She's eating lots of foods, she loves to gnaw on a bagel or a piece of toast- helps me get the dishes done! She's still not quite crawling, but anytime now!

We're off to meet my new nephew this week, so excited about that!

and I'll leave you with this picture, which I've named "It's hard to hit a moving target!"