Summertime and the livin is not so easy....

Well I can't believe summer is almost over. Our weather is supposed to start cooling down, and not heating back up again. Normally this would devestate me, but I think I am ready to say goodbye to this summer. It's been too busy, too stressful and too sad. A Mama can only take so much, and I am done!!!

Casey of course is still growing like a crazy weed. He was 3 feet tall today, and outgrew the Doctor's table to get measured. He is 31-32 pounds, which is down a little, as he has been sick. He is working really hard on communicating, and picks up new words and phrases all the time. This makes him really happy and excited, he loves when we understand each other.

I made my first batch of laundry soap the other day, and homemade Draino, and next on the list is dishwasher soap. We seem to run the dishwasher every single day, since we eat all our meals at home, and actually cook!! Together, we have lost 75 pounds! And more importantly, the healthy way. As the weather changes and everyone else goes back to school, I feel this nesting craze, and since I have no one to get ready for school, I am getting us ready for fall:) Lots of organizing and getting rid of stuff, cleaning, cooking and freezing meals.

Stress means Ryan needs a project, so we moved 12,300 pounds of pea gravel in the play area in one day. It looks great. Even he couldn't believe we did it that fast!

I finished up my 2nd Biggest Loser challenge, this one was 22 weeks, as opposed to 8 weeks. It was from March to August. I was in 3rd or 4th place all the way just based on percent of weight loss, but after the final measurements, I WON!!! Still waiting to collect my prize and see what it is:) The next 8 week challenge starts Sept 11. I am already signed up!

We have started the tornado of 2nd birthday parties, starting with Casey's cousins, and a friend, and now we have a few every month for the next year, lol. We know a lot of babies from me teaching prenatal water aerobics for so long:)

We are really enjoying the fresh produce this time of year.....melons galore, corn on the cob, onions, peppers, jalapenos, tomatoes, green beans, peaches, plums, nectarines and oh the berries.....I will be sad when the season ends.

Well, I have to get back to Words with Friends...so that is all I have for now. I need to come up with a good topic for the blog....

A post about ME!

I love to talk about Casey...but today, I want to brag about myself. Because I am so proud and I feel so good!

Since December I have lost 43 pounds! I have tried lots of times to lose weight, and I lose 10-15 pounds, only to gain it back again. I tried weight watchers 3 times. I tried the South Beach Diet twice.

I have it figured out. It's a lifestyle change, not a diet. It's calories in and calories out. I enjoy this. I feel so much better. I have worked really hard, and I feel strong. My endurance has increased so much. I love the outside, and I LOVE walking, hiking, biking etc. I love kickboxing, step aerobics, water aerobics and working hard!! I have a heart rate monitor that tracks my calories burned. It makes me work harder when I know my HR, and I can increase it, and watch the cals burned increased!

I got a wonderful compliment yesterday, that I have totally transformed my body:) While I still have a long ways to go, that felt really good to hear. I also got to go shopping, and bought a whole new summer wardrobe! I started selling my old clothes, because I will never need them again! I am down 3-4 sizes. It was fun to grab clothes to try on, and they all fit.

I know this is a lifestyle change, because even after surgery, I lost weight. Even after 2 weeks of traveling, and eating on the go, I lost weight. No excuses. I can do it.

I have a wonderful support system. I have a wonderful group of "Biggest Losers" from my gym. We have a facebook page and do challenges together. We encourage each other and push each other. I have my "myfitnesspal" group too. And my family, who is also a bunch of "losers". And my wonderful hubby, who continually encourages me, and reminds me that I am awesome, regardless of what I weigh. He has also lost weight, and is my favorite workout buddy. Now we have gym dates! And also, I am just a couple pounds away from weighing less than him...which has never happened as long as I have known him (4 amazing years!!).

I am looking forward to hitting my next goals. 45, then 50 pounds lost! Thanks to everyone for your support and kind words!!

I will have to post pics soon!

Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day! Now there are 2 reasons to celebrate...my wonderful Mom, and the fact that I get to be a Mom to Casey.

I think becoming a Mom is the ultimate bonding between Mother and daughter. I have always been close to my Mom, my whole family, really. But, sharing experiences throughout my pregnancy, through childbirth, and now as a Mom, is just a whole new level:) And also, it is so much fun to see my Mom (and Dad of course) play with Casey! I am pretty sure my Mom takes Gramma of the century award...there are 4 very lucky little boys who call her Gramma!!

You can't read it on Casey's shirt, but the shirt he is wearing says "Dad is the boss, until Mom comes home". LOL. We had a fun family day. Still limited with my broken wing, but we walked an hour this morning. Slow and easy....it's really weird not pushing the stroller. Did a little shopping, had Subway for lunch. We took Casey to the neighborhood park this afternoon to go sliding and swinging. We made a turkey breast tenderloin in the crockpot for dinner, with potatos and asparagus. Yum! I am not the most fun person without pain meds....or with really. I am either zombie or cranky...but hopefully this arm will be back to normal soon.

I really love being Casey's Mom. He can melt my heart with a smile, a hug, a laugh....or when he comes up and holds my hand. He took his Dad's hand at the store today, than mine. He looked back and forth between us and laughed. Just precious. When I pick up Casey from daycare, I love that he runs full speed from where ever he is, shreiking and laughing and arms raised to hug me. Makes me feel pretty dang loved! Casey has been giving kisses, but he really likes open mouth kisses, pretty sloppy! He loves the dogs so much. We are working on being gentle, and petting them gently. He likes to play fetch with them. He likes all dogs he sees on our walks and points them all out.

17 months and counting

Totally missed the 16 month blog. Been pretty busy around here for sure:) Won't be long til 18months, yikes! Guess we should do some family photos....oooh wheels are turning in my head....

Back on track. My little monkey man. Busy busy child! Casey just never really slows down, although he is definitely more huggy and lovey now. He is really picking up on language and saying some cute things. Unless you speak Casey-ese, it's really hard to understand. He is still on the top of the growth charts, he is almost 30 pounds and 33.9 inches. He is blonder than blond, and cuter than cute:) No bias here of course. He went from eating everything to next to nothing, although he still loves pretty much all fruits and veggies. That's good, we can build on that. We switched daycares and are happy with his new care. It's hard to trust someone else, and we really have to do a center, as we have no family for backup here. We will rethink our options with baby #2. No, no news on that. No, you can't ask.

Casey LOVES to be outdoors. This is perfect, because so do Ryan and I:) Casey loves to go for bike rides, walks in the stroller, hikes in the pack, he loves to ride his trike, his wagon, push his trike and wagon, play basketball, play in the grass, tell the dogs what to do, go to the park, swing, play in the cul da sac (and let's be honest, the street is far more exciting). Casey plays hard and naps hard. He likes to ride his trike away from the house, but screams if you go twards, because he thinks you might take him inside:). I have to trick him into letting me push him fast, so it's a game. Casey also loves the bath, and swimming. He likes splashing:) He is a big fan of doing things himself. The spoon, the stairs, carrying his shoes, putting his cups in the sink, helping put clothes in the dryer, sweeping, mopping, wiping things with rags.....so helpful!

Well, pian meds are wearing off and it's bed time.....will update more later....

One last surgery

Well I am just ridiculously behind on my blog. No promises to change, I'll just update:) Monday I had the titanium rod out of my arm. Surely third surgery is the charm. I wasn't even going to do it, but Dr. Hazel said it would never get any better than how it was, and I think it was holding me back too much. At least now I KNOW, I have done everything possible. It's best to do the surgery while I only have one child, before summer is here, before I am elderly! All my favorite things seem to aggravate it, so now....it is gone. And man, it was huge! I can see how my arm rejected that thing! I can totally see why it was hurting! So glad it's out. And I was very lucky my Mom, Kelly and Jenna came up to help with Casey and I. Ryan was able to stay with me at the hospital and Casey got to play with his cousin:) Casey just adored his Auntie Kelly, and also the fact that the more he loved on her, the more upset his cousin got....silly monkey! How do kids learn these things?! It was a beautiful weekend pre-surgery, perfect to go to the park, have some MyFroYo, take lots of walks in the sun, and play in the pool at the gym. So Ryan and I got a "hospital date", which wasn't as fun as our first overnight date for our wedding anniversary last year. I am not much of a conversationalist when glassy eyed and morphined up. And throwing up wasn't exactly flirty. Nothing hot about an allergic reaction! I am lucky Ryan keeps me around:) I would have traded me in a long time ago.

15 months

In a few days Casey will be 15 months! He is busy growing, learning and changing.

We are really liking the "school" he is at. He comes home with new tricks each time he is there. One day he came home and spun in circles the rest of the day. He really likes to shut the door, and put things away. Although, not necessarily when I want him to:) We did Valentine's for his little class of 7. And a little basket for Miss Cynthia. Casey has been stealing pacifiers in class. Not surprising! He was bit the other day, and has a huge full bite mark on his arm! I am sure it won't be long til he bites someone. He played in shaving cream the other day, and gets to paint a lot. So we got a bath time paint set for Casey for Valentine's Day! He got the cutest animal book from Gramma and Grandpa....when you press on the fuzzy animal it makes the noise....its adorable and he loves it!

We are still fighting the runny nose and cough, the nose may be from all the teething he is doing. The Doctor thinks he has Reactive Airway Disease, which is basically baby asthma, which he will hopefully outgrow. We have done a lot of breathing treatments...I am an old pro, after doing those with Jenna growing up! Going to a new daycare is hard with germs too. Casey got sick at school last Friday, so I left work to go pick him up, poor guy developed a 100.8 fever after I dropped him!

Casey is getting way too big. He learned to climb up on the couch, and then the kitchen chairs. Then he almost got all the way on the kitchen table from the chair! He is trouble!

I took him by my office to see everyone. He walked into a full room of mostly strangers, and he just lights up. Laughs, chatters and melts every ones hearts. He is so happy and full of life. He loves everything. Tonight we went swimming, and he laughed and shrieked and splashed. He is always content going for a walk in the stroller or hiking backpack. He loves his bath. He loves to chase the dogs and pull his wagon, ride his toys and throw anything and everything. He has the best personality. He is still a great napper and a great sleeper. He helps with the laundry by putting the basket on his head. He is hilarious. He loves to "get you" and to chase you. We played hide and seek a few days ago, where I hid and he came to find me. He enjoys everything. He is just a great kid!!!

Ryan and I are also doing pretty good. We have been getting quite a few date nights, trading with a couple friends. We have been working out a lot and playing outside anytime it's not raining and blowing us away outside. I am back seeing the Dr to see if my arm can get any better. We have been doing Badger Mtn again, now that the weather has warmed a little. We can't wait for spring and day light savings time. Almost time to dust off the bikes.....

14 months old

Oh goodness, it gets harder and harder to update this...but I love writing these things down.

Casey is doing awesome. He is still getting over a nasty bronchitis/ear infection, but he is definitely feeling better. We are getting the giggles we love so much. His antibiotics are a pain, he can't have milk 2 hours before or after, so we have been doing formula again around med time. Luckily we are almost done.

Casey is working hard on talking! He has mastered Uh-oh, it used to be uh-uh. He says doggy (without the g sound) and he says Dada and means it! He also mastered nana, and ba, but hasn't quite put them together for banana- his most favorite food ever. He seems to know mama, but doesn't always use it. This morning Ryan swears he said ello, when Ryan said "do you have jello?" He is definitely imitating sounds. Casey also answers your questions with "yea"....to every questions. It's pretty adorable. When he wants your attention, he will come up and say "eh?" until you answer him:)

This month Casey started at a full day preschool. He still goes just part time, but he is adjusting well, and interacting well. The teachers at his school all have to have a Bachelors degree, and are all bilingual, so Casey is learning Spanish, lol. I went to pick him up and he was sitting with 4 other kids on a rug with his teacher, Miss Cynthia, who was reading in Spanish, then English. Adorable. Miss Cynthia said Casey is warming up to the other kids (they are all 1-2 years old) and participating. They are curriculum based and have lots of fun. We get a classroom newsletter on what they are working on each week, so we can reinforce it at home. Casey painted the other day, the first time he didn't want to, but this time he held his hand out for paint when his little friends did. (Already influenced by his peers, oh man!) He danced with them, and sits nicely at circle time. They feed him breakfast, lunch and 2 snacks per day. We are really happy so far. This morning, he smiled and laughed when we pulled up. He is adjusting to naps there, which are on a cot in the classroom. This week they are focusing on the color red, and fire trucks. Last night, when he was at the gym daycare, he ran and found a red truck and brought it to us very proudly...he is learning! Smart kid!

On New Years we headed to Spokane to meet up with our good friends Casi and Chamisa, who were in town from Missouri, where Dr. Chamisa is interning at the Univerity of Missouri. We went to Chuck E Cheese...which Casey loved! He did try to steal some skee balls- and was pretty mad when I stopped him! He had lots of fun on the toddler slide, and even found a little friend, a cute little girl whose butt he patted! So funny! She taught him to go down the slide backwards, which he then took home and went down the entire set of stairs backwards! Yay! We had been working on going down stairs, but it wasn't clicking till a little 15 month old cutie taught him how. We won't tell his girlfriend, Maya.

He is quickly outgrowing his 18 month clothes. He is very long in the torso, and has a big belly, so he isn't fitting well into 18month shirts, we are doing mostly 2T. His 18 month pants still fit, but his 18 month jammies are getting tight. Such a big boy! Still 97% for height:)

We are just plugging along after the holidays, back into the routine and day to day life. Seems like we are always busy, but we have been getting some date nights! We have 2 different couples we have been trading date nights with...looking forward to this Sunday, our next date!!

Sick Baby

I am sitting in the family room, afraid to move other than typing. I am cursing the barking dogs, and my cell phone somewhere in the house that just rang, and who ever called it...Casey is laying on the living room floor....asleep. He is sad, crabby, feverish and just plain sick. I was up most of the night with him, he just feels awful, poor guy. We slept in the guest room half the night, so Ryan could sleep for work. I called in sick today, and am snuggling with Casey. Well, I was, until he wandered off, laid down and fell asleep. For the most part, he has been using me as his snot and drool rag, laying in my lap and dozing. As long as he is sleeping, even on the floor, at least he isn't crying! Poor baby. It's no fun when you can't make them feel better.