Isabel is 3! Eva is 18 months! Long post!

I'm so far behind. So, so far behind. Girls...when you read this later in life just please know that while my interest in blogging dwindled, my love for you did not! Ha!

Anyway!
On April 21st Isabel turned 3 years old! Seems unreal! We had a birthday party with about 12 kids at the Monkey House and she had a blast and I cleaned up nothing! I honestly kind of missed decorating for her party even though that normally stresses me out a little bit. We did have a theme and that was monkeys of course, so her cupcakes had Curious George on them and her little tank top had a monkey on front and the rest was handled by the MH people to whom we paid the big bucks! Lol.

She had her 3 year checkup and here are her stats:

Weight: 28.3 lbs (25%)
Height: 37 inches (50%)

She wears a 3t on top and in some bottoms, but honest to goodness she is comfortably wearing all of her 18-24 month shorts from last summer. Size 7 shoe. My teeny little girl. Lately though her appetite has really picked up and she wants to eat all day long.

Her likes: playing outside, jumping on the trampoline, watching Daniel Tiger, Dora, The Hive, and Leapfrog Movies, coloring and painting, anything involving water (baths, swimming, making mud)

She talks nonstop. When she wakes up in the morning, she starts talking about random things in her room and "what are we doing next?" before she's even really awake. She says the funniest things and half the time I'm wondering where she heard them. She is outgoing and wild around family members and shy and a little cranky around strangers. Ha. Age 3 has been hilarious and also challenging thus far. The girl can straight up throw a fit when she feels like it's necessary and that is often. Once she gets hung up on the idea that she wants to do something she has a VERY hard time letting that go, regardless of the consequences.

She is a big Momma's girl right now. She wants to be with me and know where I am when I'm not with her. She likes to sit in my lap or take naps with me when we're able to pull that off around little sister's schedule. She loves her sister and playing with her just so long as Eva doesn't touch anything that she wants. We're working on it. ;)

She is such a funny, happy (for the most part), smart little girl and a constant joy to our lives.

Here are a few of her "3 year" pictures.

On May 14th, Eva turned 18 months old!

Her stats:
Weight: 24.2 lbs (35%)
Height: 32 inches (75%)
Wears size 18 months in pretty much everything and a size 5.5-6 shoe. Size 4 diaper.

Her hair is so blonde and curly and she still has those pretty blue eyes that people like to comment about. 

Likes: dancing, being outside, jumping on the trampoline, climbing everything, just generally making messes as fast as Momma can clean them up!

My wild child. Nuff said. I used to say this about Isabel....and then her sister came along. Neither of my girls are just calm and laid back little kids, but Eva takes the cake for being a wild woman! She is just on the go allll of the time. She hates to be confined in any way and we've all but given up on feeding her in a high chair except for maybe once a day.  The rest involves her eating on the run, IF she will take out time to eat at all. And you can FORGET a stroller. She is like a 3 year old trapped in a 1 year old's body. She can climb and jump and do things that she shouldn't be able to do yet. Her coordination is unreal. She was running by 10 months old and she hasn't slowed down yet. And if that wasn't enough she talks like a 3 year old too. She says 4-5 word sentences and knows what they mean. At her checkup her doctor asked if she could say about 20 words and I just had to laugh. Uh...try like 60 words (or more). I'm so impressed by how advanced she is, but it makes me sad too because she should've been a BABY longer! Poor Momma.

 She has the cutest little personality. So very ornery. She even has that ornery look about her face, like you know she is looking for trouble. She pushes limits and all we can do is push back.
She loves to dance and has got some pretty sweet moves, haha! We laugh so hard at her just dancing and spinning around and the facial expressions that go with those things.

She is also my little cuddler. She loves hugs and kisses and will give them to anyone! She does the open mouth slimy kiss which I happen to love, but it's not for everyone. ;) She will say "wuv you Momma" and it's so cute. But...I have to be honest, she is a Daddy's girl for now. 10x a day she says "Where Daddy go?" and I'm trying to explain to her that because I did the birthing, she has to like me the best. So far she's not convinced.

She has been so much fun and is growing up WAY too fast. We are so thankful God blessed us with our 2 sweet girls.

Oh the weather outside is frightful? Delightful? Both?

I'm not one to really complain about the weather, at least not where a lot of people know about it, because I've never really understood the point. What good does it do? It sure doesn't change anything. Honestly, I was never a Winter person until probably the last few years when the hot flashes started ;) and I still think Summer is my very favorite season but with the amount of snow that we've been getting this season I can't help but be in awe of how just gorgeous it is. It's one of those moments where I have to wonder how someone could not believe that there is a God? Who created all of this people?!?!?!

Anyway, with that being said, I am ready for some sunny days. My reason is allll of the cabin fever! We've had a few days where the road hasn't been safe and then a few other days where it was just too wet and cold for me to drag my babies out in it (especially when they already have colds) and we have had just about enough of the inside of this house!!! JT has worked some extra hours this week on top of the enormous amount of hours that he already works, so it's been me and 2 little girls who already don't feel great, STUCK IN THIS HOUSE since Saturday. 5 days now. We're ready to get on outta here for a bit!!! What little bit of sanity that I have left is in danger of leaving me forever!!!

Anyway--some pictures! :)

Going off the grid...

For starters, there isn't a whole lot of correlation with this blog and any other form of Internet that I was/am using, but just in case you're one of the few who sees it all and noticed, I went off the grid. On Jan 1st, I shut down my facebook account and my other blog and I didn't do the thing where you warn people...I just did it. Haha

There were a number of reasons of course but the one that is the most important is just that I get so consumed with all of that jazz that I am missing real moments of my life and my kids' lives. It's almost embarrassing to admit that. Why shut down? Why not just limit time spent on there? Good question! Because I am a weak little addict, that's why! Go big or go home!

I may eventually re-open my blog. Actually it's not "closed", I just have it set to where only I can view it for now. And I won't say that my facebook is a permanent thing, because I honestly don't know. For now, I don't miss it. And that's the truth!

So I'd like to start using this one again and not only for updates about my kiddos, but about the rest of my family and things going on in our lives as well. We'll see how it goes. I do have Instagram if you are someone I should be following and am not aware of it :), holla! I promise to blow up your feed with pictures of my kiddos, but not to spend nearly as much time stalking you as I did on FB. Promise! ;)

Stay warm!
Ashley

13 months and 32 months!!

Just an update on my girls. I haven't posted about Isabel in a while and holy moly there is so much I could say...

My big 2.5 year old. She has changed so much! She's a talker and says the funniest things. Today just out of the blue she told me that her Pop was bringing her M&M's for Christmas. Everything she says is followed with Mama or Daddy. She tacks our names on to everything! She never sits still, EXCEPT to watch Daniel Tiger. That girl LOVES her some Daniel Tiger right now and Momma can pretty much recite every word from every episode. She also loves Lalaloopsy and Santa hooked her up pretty well in that area too.

She got a big girl bed this week. As in a full size bed and she looks so tiny in that thing, but she loves it.

Stats: 28 lbs.  Not sure on height but lately she looks so long and lanky. Wears a size 2t, (easing into a size 3t for length although they are HUGE in the waist) size 7 shoe. Potty trained by day and size 4 diaper by night!

She loves to watch tv (we're about to start cutting that back down a bit), playing outside, taking baths, pretending, building "castles" with blocks, coloring, reading. She got a giant Mr. Potato Head that is filled with several little potato heads and she loves playing with those too. She loves to go shopping with me and say things like "Oh Momma that is SO cute!" about things like bras and paper towels. Haha! :) She also loves going to storytime at the library and going to Mothers Day Out once a week, even though she has been crying when I drop her off the past few times, the ladies tell me she is over it really quick and is always happy and playing when I pick her up. She always yells "Bye Grandmas!" when we leave. :)

Food: Barely eats. Haha. I know she is a toddler and this is just what some toddlers do, but some days I wonder how the kid keeps up her energy. She will drink and drink and drink the milk though. And juice when I let her have that. Foods that she does like are: grilled cheese, cheese of any kind, peanut butter, fruit snacks, crackers, green beans, tomatoes, cottage cheese, grapes, hot dogs, pasta, mac n cheese, pancakes, raisins, fig newtons, marshmallows, chocolate of any kind, or basically anything with loads of sugar in it. (just like her Momma)

Dislikes: hand dryers in public restrooms,  the vaccuum cleaner, for her sister to touch her toys

She has been in a clingy phase the past month or so and just wants her Momma allll the time. If a stranger DARE tells her she is cute she will straight flip out on them. Gotta love the Terrible Twos! 

She knows how to recognize all of her letters, say her ABC's, spell her name (by saying it), count to 20, sing many songs. She has learned a nighttime prayer that is the most adorable thing ever to hear. 

She is sweet and will tell us that she loves us, or that we are "so cute", or pretty. At night I tell her to sleep good and I'll see her in the morning and she'll say "you sleep good too Momma".

She loves her baby sister just so long as she gets to be the boss.

I hate to jinx it, but I think after 8 short months of working at it, bless our hearts, she is about 99% potty trained! Like I mentioned above, she still sleeps in diapers.

All in all, we have a beautiful, rambunctious, healthy, strong-willed little girl and I'm just shocked at how fast she learns things and how smart she is.

And for this girl:

She is now and probably will always be my little wild child. I think it's funny how I used to think that Isabel was just high energy and in to everything (and she was), but this little girl came along and blew that title out of the water. Such a hot little mess! She started walking the day after she turned 10 months old and about 3 days later was RUNNING and has been ever since. Not joking. My Mom talks about how she never just toddled around like a baby learning to walk, she just didn't walk and then BAM she ran. Like Forrest Gump. ;)

She talks all of the time. Can repeat just about any word you say. She is seriously more like an 18 month old than a 13 month old when it comes to her speech and her coordination. Not to be confused with being graceful...she almost always has a bruise or a scrape on her head, somewhere.

Every time I leave her in the nursery at church, or at MDO, or even if I just have her in a public place somebody WILL comment about how active she is. I have to thank her though, she is the reason that I have not gained any weight through the holidays even though I've been eating for 12! She keeps me busy! My cardio plan!

Stats: Weighs between 21 and 22 lbs. Wears a size 12 months in most things but we've bought 18 months in some tops (for length). Size 4 in most shoes, but we have a couple of 5's. Size 3 diaper. She has a really long waist and short little legs. She is starting to slim up and it makes me sad that my chubby baby is turning into a big girl!

She has such a comical personality. She makes the funniest little faces and noises and loves for people to say Hi to her or talk to her in public.

Words she can say without being prompted: Hi, Bye, Momma, Dada, Sissy, Puppy, Baby, Uh oh, Ouch, Wow, Night Night, Bite, Pappaw, Cheese (for the camera)...I'm sure there are more. But like I mentioned above she will repeat ANY word, big or small.

She loves food and being outside! Those are her 2 favorite things. Some of her favorite foods are squeeze applesauces, peanut butter crackers, peas, carrots, green beans, bananas, pancakes, sweet potatoes, cranberry sauce (just found this out over the holidays), bread, hot dogs, cheese puffs. 

She thinks big sister is hilarous! Loves to give hugs and kisses! Loves to make ginormous messes!!!

I could have never known how perfect of an addition you would be to our family Eva Jasmine. You keep us laughing and on our toes all of the time! I feel like you're growing up too fast and it doesn't seem to be slowing down at all. 

We love both of our girls so much and are thankful for them!!!

 

12 months!

Eva you are 1 year old today!!!!

*You weigh 20.12 lbs (40%) and are 30 inches long (75%). You wear size 12 months clothes and size 4 shoe. Size 3 diaper.

*You still have blonde curly hair and big, gorgeous blue eyes. I think they're here to stay! You have really started to slim up here lately. I think it's because you literally NEVER sit still. I think you even move around in your sleep. You've weighed 21 lbs for a few months now, but you're taller.

*You take one bottle at night and I think we'll try to cut that out over the next few weeks. Everything else is sippy and table food. You won't even eat baby food unless it's meat sticks or squeeze style. You prefer to eat with your hands! You love veggies--carrots and peas especially. We've learned this past week that you also like cupcakes! :)

*You sleep well most nights. You will wake up occasionally and usually go back to sleep as soon as I locate your paci. You still take a mid-morning nap and an afternoon nap. You go to bed between 8:00-8:30 at night and wake up around 7-7:30 most mornings. The time change didn't seem to affect you, even though it did your sister!

*You have learned to RUN. It's the cutest thing ever. You are a fast little girl for someone who's only been walking for 2 months! You have also learned to clap and you've added to your dance moves! You've actually been dancing for a few months but I don't think I mentioned it. You are also climbing up everything--into sister's bed, up on the fireplace, in and out of the bathtub! WILD WOMAN!

*You say Mama, Dada, Bath, Pop, Pappaw, Bye Bye, Hi!, Yay!, NoNo, and tonight you repeated me and said "cupcake". Occasionally you'll repeat a random word and then we can never get you to repeat it again, ever. lol

What an exceptionally fast year this has been! Unbelievable! Birthday Party this weekend! Love you baby girl!!!!

11 months!

Eva Jasmine! Here is your 11 month update. Nevermind that you will be a year old next week. There have been technology problems that kept me from updating, but those are fixed! Yay! Anyway, on Oct 14th you turned 11 months old!

*You weigh 21 lbs. 29 inches long. Size 3 diaper and size 4 shoe. You are still wearing mostly 12 months in clothes, but have a few 18 month shirts just depending on the brand. You are so long waisted.

*You say Mama, Dada, Bye Bye (and wave), Hi, No no and occasionally you will just surprise us and repeat some off the wall word that we say. And then refuse to ever do it again. haha!

*Walking is a thing of the past, now you basically run everywhere. High rate of speed at all times and you can climb anything. When I pick you up from Mothers Day Out or the nursery at church I always have someone telling me that I must stay really busy and that you are climbing and all over the place. Yeah....I know. ;)

*We stopped giving you formula right at 11 months. You just prefer cow milk and weren't taking much of a formula bottle anyway. You take a bottle in the morning and a bottle before bed, but the rest of the day is a sippy and table food. The only baby food items you eat are meat sticks and squeeze pouches of applesauce, etc. You love to eat mixed veggies, anything out of a squeeze pouch, puffs, cheese puffs, bananas, cheerios, the Gerber raviolis, basically anything you can feed yourself. You basically refuse to eat from a spoon. We'll eventually have to work on that.

*You are sleeping much better. Most nights you go down about 8:30 p.m. and wake up around 7:30 a.m. Once or twice a week you will lose your paci around 2 a.m. and I will come find it for you and you go back to sleep. You usually take a mid-morning nap and an afternoon nap, although occasionally you will take one big one in the middle of the day.

*You currently have 5 teeth. 3 on top, 2 on the bottom. You have really blonde, curly hair and big, gorgeous blue eyes. So many people stop me in public to comment on how beautiful those eyes are! You are always smiling and have such a comical personality. You are also dramatic sister! You can throw a fit like a 2 year old!

*You love bathtime, being outside, and your big sister. You are always laughing at her and you love to play in her room. The 2 of you can destroy a bedroom in record time!!! Big sister loves you too! Sometimes....too much. :-/

You will be 1 in just a few short days. I cannot believe it! This year has flown by so fast and it makes me sad that my tiny baby is a toddler! We love you so much. You have the cutest little personality and I can't wait to watch you grow up, but hope that you take a loooonnnngggggg time to do so.

10 months!!!

 

Eva you are 10 months old! (as of 9/14/13)

*You weigh somewhere between 19-20 lbs. Wear 9 month and 12 month clothing. Size 3 shoe. (that you will not leave on your feet)

*You have 4 teeth!

*You have cut way back on bottles. Getting you to sit still for any of them is a task. You are too busy!!!! You take maybe 4 a day at around 7 oz. You are eating mostly table food, with the exception of  pureed meats. You love Mum Mums, puffs, cheddar puffs, and squeeze veggie/fruits for snacks. You also love when sister sneaks you bites of pop tarts too! You have started having a sippy cup of  regular milk a day and have tolerated it just fine.

*You're still not really on a schedule with your sleeping other than you go to bed every night at 8:30 p.m. Some nights you wake up 3-4 times! Some nights we don't hear a peep. You take 2 naps on most days, one mid morning and one in the evening. And then some days I just get one nap out of you. Most mornings you wake up around 7-7:30, but just about the time I get used to that you start waking up at 6:00! Like I said...no schedule!!!

*I told everyone that I expected you to be walking by the time you turned 10 months. You turned 10 months on Saturday and then started walking the very next day!!! You showed me!!! ;) Crawling is still your preferred method if you're in a hurry, but you will crawl for a bit and then stand up and take several steps and then go back to crawling. You're still making up your mind about which way you want to travel through life! :)

*You say Mama, Dada, bye bye, and duck! If I say no no, you will say bah bah every single time. I guess that's how you're hearing it. You "shake it out" meaning if Isabel says, "Shake it out, Eva!" you will shake your head back and forth real fast. It's pretty cute. You love bath time and being outside just as long as no one is holding you or making you ride in the stroller. You want DOWN sister!!!! You think big sister is hilarious and just laugh at everything that she does.

We love you big girl!!!! 2 more months until your big day!!!

9 months!!!

Eva you are 9 months old!!! (8/14/13)
You turned 9 months and then the very next day your Dad and I went on a trip so I am late with this update, BUT the picture is right on time. I promise! :)

*You weighed 18.5 at the doctor's office a few weeks ago. I would guess 19-ish right now. You have your 9 month checkup next week and I'll know for sure. You wear 9 months and 12 months clothes. No idea on shoe size but we're about to have to figure that out for Fall because you are about to start walking sister!

*You are pulling up and standing and then letting go. You push things all over the living room, while walking behind them. I keep thinking that any second you're just going to let go and take off walking down the hallway. I am SO GLAD that you decided not to do this until we got back from vacation because I would have been super sad to miss it.

*You have 2 bottom teeth still but just in the past couple of days I have started to feel one of your top front teeth trying to poke through. Your eyes are still BRIGHT blue. I don't think they're changing. And that hair keeps getting blonder and blonder. Other than your mouth, you look nothing like me! You're beautiful. I have so many strangers stop me to tell me that and also to talk about your eye color.

*You sleep well most nights. You still have off nights and even on the good ones you're likely to wake up once. Maybe once a week you'll sleep all the way through the night without waking up at all. You still cry for a bottle about 2 a.m. most of the time. You normally take about two, 1 hour naps a day. Sometimes they'll last a little longer than that.

*You are such a happy baby. You are always ALWAYS smiling. You've been saying "mama" & "dada" for awhile but now you'll repeat "uh oh" except that you just do the first part "UH" every single time. It's pretty cute. Your grandparents got you to say "bye bye" while we were gone and I've heard you do it a couple of times now. You are a talker and have been since day 1. You jabber all day long. ESPECIALLY when you're fighting sleep.

*You don't care for any of your baby toys, you'd much rather play with (and eat) household items. Electric cords, the alarm clock, and shoes are your top 3 favorites. You will put ANYTHING in your mouth. I am on guard 24/7. I literally just now got up and removed some paper from your mouth. Big sister is not much help because she just gives you stuff.

*You have started eating more table foods and less baby food. You like to pick things up and eat them rather than be fed with a spoon. I am still either giving you cereal in your bottle in the morning or feeding you a baby food mix of fruit and cereal. You usually don't want much "food" for lunch but I try to get you to eat some peas or carrots or green beans and some puffs or Mum Mums and a bottle. At night I try to give you a meat/veg/fruit variety. I'm still trying to work out the kinks in the baby food-table food conversion. You only have 2 teeth after all. :)

I am just in shock that I am considering what I want to do for your first birthday. I feel like the baby phase is just WAY TOO SHORT and I am just thankful that I get to be home with you and sister so that I don't miss any of it. You're such a sweetie and we love you very much little girl.

8 months!!!

Eva you are 8 months old!!! (07/14/13)

*You weigh about 18.5 lbs. This is me weighing you at home. Your next checkup is at 9 months. You wear size 6-9 months or 9 months in clothes. You are pretty long so I think we'll bump up to 12 months in footed sleepers pretty soon. Size 3 diaper.

*You are still speed crawling and this past month you started pulling up on EVERYTHING. Lately you are even letting go of things, but you fall down pretty quick. Little daredevil. I'm going to predict that you'll start walking between months 9 & 10. We'll see! No hurry here!!!!

*You have 2 teeth, bottom & center.

*You take 4-5, 5 oz bottles a day. I make 6 oz but you rarely finish it. You eat one fruit, one veg, & one meat a day. Cereal in your bottle in the morning and before bed.

*You love Momma! You have started saying "ma-ma" but only when you are upset and you want me to come get you from wherever I have had the NERVE to put you down. ;-) You say "da-da" too but it's pretty random and not very often. You TALK all of the time. It never stops. Ever. It's pretty cute. You also like to blow raspberries and you do so several times a day for extended periods of time. Haha.

*You love your sister and think she is hilarious, most of the time. When she has you in a headlock, you aren't a big fan of that.

*You sleep through the night about 4 nights a week. The other 3 are pure torture. Just keeping it real. You will wake up like 2-3 times during the night and while it's easy to get you back to sleep it is IMPOSSIBLE to lay you back in bed and KEEP you asleep.

*You love bathtime & swimming! I have 2 water babies and I'm glad about that!

*You still have gorgeous bright blue eyes. I have so many strangers stop me in public to compliment them. You are starting to get quite a bit of hair also, but it is SO blonde. In pictures you look bald but actually your hair looks to be pretty thick. Blonde hair and blue eyes....what?!?!

You are a sweet happy baby! You are also persistent & stubborn when you want something you're not supposed to have or when you are sleepy but don't want to sleep! Little stinker!

We adore you! Can't believe you are going to be one in four short months! Love you baby!

Making Changes: 2 outta 3 ain't bad.

It ain't ideal either though.

This past month I hit my goal of running four 5k's for the year. On July 4th I ran FreedomFest and ended up PR'ing which was another goal I've been trying to hit all year. My time was 29:21 which is 31 seconds faster than my previous PR. I worked hard for that too, people, because it got HOT fast! Summer running is not for the faint of heart. 

But if you'll remember I had also set a goal of losing 10 lbs for the month, which I knew would be challenging because I don't have *THAT* much to lose anymore...but alas, I think I lost 1 lb or something. Basically I'm at a standstill and until I figure out a diet and stick to it, I will probably stay there.

My next 5k is the Color Vibe in August. It's starts at 9 a.m. meaning it will be 200 degrees outside, but it's not a timed race and I am running with my Mom who will be doing her very first 5k! Should be fun!

Hopefully I can report back next month with some weight loss!!!!

If one of my blogs just isn't enough for you!!!

http://littlelovedrama.blogspot.com/



This one has become about updates. Kids and weight loss....well, you know if you've been reading it. I've had a few people ask me to do one about my parenting experiences. Actually, I MIGHT be getting Punk'd right now. Anyway...that link up there is the ticket...if you're interested. :)

7 months!!!

Eva Jasmine! You are 7 months old! (6/14/13)

*You weigh about 18 lbs. This is an estimate since you weighed 17.5 at your 6 month appointment. You can still wear some 6 month things but are mostly in 6-9 or 9 months. Size 3 diaper. You are really long!!! The only pair of shoes that you own are a size 3-6 months and they still fall off. Both you and your sister have tiny feet so far! 

*You eat about 5, 5 oz bottles a day. In the mid-morning you eat a fruit and cereal and in the evening you eat a veggie and half a fruit, usually. Just started meats yesterday so that isn't really part of the routine just yet. You actually seem to like veggies more than fruits. What?!?!?  Your night bottle also has cereal in it.

*You have reverted back to being a newborn as far as sleep goes. This past month you have been waking up at least once and often even twice during the night and you're hungry. I try to just give you the paci and rock you back to sleep but you INSIST on eating. So we're doing that for now. I am sure it's a growth spurt or a phase. You still aren't really on a nap schedule. You usually take about 3 naps a day and they aren't long, maybe 30 minutes or an hour tops. You have also started to fight sleep. Aren't you too young for this?!?!?!

*This was an exciting month for new things. Between months 6 & 7 you began crawling and sitting up on your own. And you are IN TO EVERYTHING!!! You have a busy Momma just trying to keep you in the designated crawling areas!!! :) Today we even had to move your crib down because this morning when I came to get you out of bed you had half your body poked up above the rail! Big girl!

*You still babble alllll of the time. You are going to be a big talker, no doubt about it. And just this past week you learned how to blow raspberries, not only in the air, but also on my arm or face or whatever is close to you. Lol. You love to squeal and high pitch scream! You are a noisy little girl!

*Still no teeth and no sign of any. You gnaw on everything and you drool all of the time, but I feel nothing! No hurry. Your sister was a late teether too. You two have so much in common and are also so VERY different!

*You LOVE to bounce. The jumperoo is your favorite, but if someone will just hold you into the standing position you will bounce forever. Thighs of steel!!!

*You have always wanted to be held, especially by Momma, but these past few weeks you have started to try to get down on the ground whenever people hold you. You've got places to go!!!

*You have the sweetest little grin and laugh. You are so happy all of the time and really only get fussy if you're tired or hungry. You think everything is so funny, especially your big sister. I hope you two will always make each other laugh. 

We Love You! SO thankful that you are ours. :)

Making Changes: 5k #5!

Well, I didn't actually weigh yesterday simply because I started the day at 5:30 a.m., was busy allllll day long and then ended it about 10 p.m. and never thought twice about it being the day I blog about weight loss...or lack thereof. What I can tell you is that today, I am not down a single pound since the 8th of last month. I have officially plateau'd, I think. Time to reconfigure or...you know, eat less.

Yesterday was my 5th 5k ever. 3rd for 2013. It was at Chaffee and I liked the course but it was hilly! I knew of one little hill at the beginning....yeah I didn't know about the FOREVER hill after Mile 2. Nevertheless I did a little walking and still finished with my 2nd fastest time ever. 30:14. Which is a little frustrating because had I not walked, I probably would have set a new PR and on a hilly course at that! I won 1st place in my age group and yes there actually were other people in my age group. :) The thing about races is that most usually people get faster the older they get. How crazy is that?!?! My group 21-29 was slower overall than the 30-39's. And it seems to be that way most of the time. I don't have it figured out but I need to speed up before that next big birthday!!!!

I was going to take off for July as far as races go, but now I think I have found one in Greenwood that I am going to do on the 4th. I haven't officially signed up, but I'm working on it.  And then in August is the Color Vibe and I am (and have been for awhile) registered for that one. 

I have plans to start back on the 30 Day Shred tomorrow, to continue my running and to start counting my calories again and I HOPE to drop 10# before the 8th of next month to make up for not getting anywhere this month. Maybe saying that on the worldwide web will kick me in gear!!!! Wish me luck!!!

Just some things...

Isabel has been 2 for over a month now. There are so many things that I didn't put in her 2 year post that I want to try to remember and I know that even still I won't remember everything as I am typing this. She is a feisty little thing that has everyone fooled! I constantly hear how sweet and good she is for other people and I am grateful for that. Honestly, she is really sweet & good for me about 80% of the time. Okay, 75%. haha
She is the typical toddler, or what I think the typical toddler is like--persistent, temperamental, stubborn, ornery and she is also loving and hilarious. That kid always keeps me laughing. I love her more than life.
Some things that she's been doing lately: I can say "I love you" and she says "Love you too!!!" It's always energetic and so sweet sounding. She loves to sing. She's been singing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star and Old MacDonald's Farm for quite some time and just recently has started singing Funky Town. LOL--I might be the one responsible for that. It is SO cute! When she says "talk about it, talk about it...." she for some reason develops an English accent so it's like "talk aboot it, talk aboot it".
She is potty training and so she sits on the potty and yells "BIG GIRL, GOOD JOB, SUCKER!" whether she has actually gone to the potty or not. Haha.
She loves to be outside and begs to swing 100x a day, regardless of rain, wind, sleet, etc. Must.swing.now.zomg!!!!!
She loves to give kisses. She and I have this thing where she kisses both of my cheeks and then my mouth and then I spin her around in a circle real fast at the end. She LOVES this. I love it too. :)
She is her Daddy's sidekick and likes to help him work on stuff. She loves for anyone to read to her. Right now she is hung on "Kitty Book" which is Katie and the Kittens.
I started taking her to a MDO program on Wednesday mornings so that she can get more kid interaction and she seems to really like going. The ladies there always brag on how cute and funny she is.
She surprises me all of the time with things that she says. Sentences that I've never heard her say before or like the other day in the car I was listening to KLove and I could hear her  "singing" in the back seat. But the one word that I could make out very clearly was "Jesus" and she was saying it at exactly the time it was being said on the radio. Heart melted. Mind blown.
She is so smart. My mom has always worked with kids and she is amazed at the things that Isabel knows as a 2 year old. Letters, counting to 10, some colors, some shapes. I can drive by a family member's house and she will start yelling their name....and then flipping out if we don't stop and "go inside!!!!"
She's adorable and wild and she keeps me on my toes. My cup runneth over.


This weekend my parents took her to the rodeo for the first time. We're not big cowboys at my house so while she does have a couple pairs of boots, she didn't have a hat. Crisis averted. Thanks Nanny & Pop!

Our family pictures came back, here are a few for those of you who don't see my page on facebook.

The funny ones are my favorites of course. I like to keep it real. And when I said I would show you a few, I clearly meant 19.

Other happenings: I *think* we're getting a pool. My husband just all of a sudden decided he wants one real bad so he has been working on that idea. We'll see how it goes. I'll tell you one thing, if we get a pool in our yard, I am returning my "mom swimsuit" and buying well....probably another mom suit, but this one won't have a skirt. YES! A skirt. Sad deal. I actually found some one pieces that I love that are skirt free, but I am rocking some pretty gorgeous stretch marks at the tops of my thighs that haven't had time to fade, so tankini and skirt it is...but the tags are still on until further notice. I'll keep you posted. Alllll of you. ;-)

My Eva is crawling. So I've got a wild toddler and a crawling baby. Both of my girls are high energy. Ask anyone. So if you see me in public and my eyes are crossed and I am all jittery and drooling it's because I am busy yo. Real, real busy just keeping electric cords out of one kid's mouth and making the other one get down off of the pool table 1 trillion times a day. Why do we have a pool table anyway?

Taking a kidless day trip to Mt. Magazine this weekend to watch my husband and some friends run the 15k straight up the mountain. I plan on eating good food and laying out in the sun while they're acting a fool.

I'm still running. My Mom started training for a 5k (did I tell you this already?) so I am doing training with her a few times a week and then fitting in my own runs a couple times a week. I have another 5k next weekend and I really want to PR. Fingers crossed!

I think you're all caught up.

Happy Summer!