Wordless Wednesday

I know, I am like 2 months behind on blogging...but I'll start by taking baby steps..

Here's a Wordless Wednesday for ya :).

Thanks to Amy P. and Bryn for the sticker...we obtained it while helping them move last week.

6 Months Old!

Wow, time really flies with the second one! Can she really big 6 months old ALREADY?

Kaia had her 6 month appointment yesterday and here are the stats:

Weight: 16 lbs 4 oz. - 60% percentile

Length: 26 1/2 inches - 77% percentile

Head: 42.5 cm - 52% percentile.

Following are pics of my silly kids. Notice that Kaia still likes to "mug" for the camera, even in the middle of a tackle for big brother. Maybe she'll be a model if she likes the camera so much! :) And, of course, Brett has to get in on the action when I'm taking pictures :).

Blackmail Pics

Not that I would ever blackmail Brett, but these photos sure would be fun to show a future girlfriend! (taken with my cell phone, so pardon the low resolution)

Wearing mommy's shoes...

Beautiful pink fairy wings (and note, he likes to "fly" while wearing them...hilarious!)


How I love my little man! :)

Kaia Lou Who

I couldn't resist snapping these pics the other day. She woke up with a perfect "Who" coif!

Wordless Wednesday

She's Growing Up SO Fast!

Today was a(n) historic day in the life of Kaia.

She had her first solid food...that's right....we gave her rice cereal this morning :).

It makes me a little teary...I have nourished every ounce of her little being all by myself...from the food I ate that helped her grow in utero, to the milk I've provided her ever since she's been in the world. I have helped her grow to her (approximate) 16 pounds ALL BY MYSELF!

So, it was a BIG DEAL for me to give her her first rice cereal. We waited until 5 1/2 months....research until recently said that Breastfeeding solely for 6 months was optimal, but within the last month, I've heard other research that says if you wait TOO LONG babies can develop other problems. So, I kinda compromised and decided to go with 5 1/2 months.

She was definitely ready!

Here are the pictures of her first feeding, as well as a video of her first spoonful.

Brett was so cute...he kept patting her head, saying "Good job, Kaia!", like he was giving her moral support.

My Kids are THE Cutest Kiddos Ever

And you know the title of my post is completely unbiased and fair, right?

Well, I needed to take more pics of my munchkins together...and you can just see how much they love each other. Brett loves making Kaia laugh and he always wants to hold her. I can just imagine that they will grow up to be great friends :).

Snow Day!

This winter has been almost as horribly snowy as this past summer was horribly hot! Anyway, we've had quite a few nasty days, but only in the last 2, has Steve's work been canceled. The amount of freezing rain that has fallen has caused a sheet of ice outside, so we have stayed hunkered down in our little igloo passing the time. It's actually been REALLY nice to have both of us here with both kids. I've gotten so much done around the house, and we even had time to make cookies! Here are a few shots of the kiddos...Brett did very well in assisting without eating too much dough. I must say, I was impressed!

Trip to the Eiteljorg

Back in the day when Steve and I were first married, we took a trip to the Eiteljorg for a masters class that he was taking. I remember it being interesting...but not really a place I'd take small kiddos. Basically, it is a museum of Native American art and culture.

But recently I'd seen some of my friends posting about taking their kiddos and Steve recently had a meeting there that was in the "family area" (a place we hadn't previously checked out), so when we heard that they were having "Kaya day" we had to go check it out. (Kaya is, from what I have learned since having a little girl, an "American Girl"...specifically a Native American, American Girl). So they had Kaya themed activities for little kids and a chance to win a Kaya doll (that's what really drew me...alas, we did not win...I'll just have to save my pennies to get this $100.00 doll one day for my daughter, since I doubt I'll be able to get her anything else that bears her name (I doubt I'll be able to buy her a "Kaia" keychain for example).

So we went..both kids got in free and since Steve worked at IUPUI he got in free, and I found a coupon that got me in for $6..and we got free parking, so I'd say it was worth the trip :). The family area was cute...I was under the impression that it was a little bigger than it actually was, so it didn't take us too long to get through it all, but I got some cute pictures of the kids nonetheless, and Brett had a great time!















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Losing It

The baby weight that is :). And, I'm not talking about the Kaia baby weight...that came off as soon as she came out. I mean, the Brett weight...the really OLD, like 3 year old baby weight.

Yeah, I USED to be skinny. I ate right...I exercised every day. And then I got pregnant and threw everything I knew about everything out the window.

See, my vice is food. I know for some people it is alcohol or drugs or any number of things...for me, a Reese Cup sends me into a tizzy (and now I REALLY want one now that I am thinking about it). I have also never had a "healthy" relationship with food. When I was in high school someone said I was "fat" (which at 5'3 and 130 pounds, I NOW beg to differ) so, I felt horrible and became almost anorexic. I'd count every calorie that went into my mouth and got down to a super skinny frame. Well, in college I gained the lovely freshman 15 and then some.....but I never had a healthy relationship with food. If I was stressed or tired or bored, food was there to comfort me.

So, after I'd finally had as firm of a grip as I'd ever had on this eating thing/body image...I got pregnant. And what comes with pregnancy? Lots of worries, and feeling bad and all of that. Plus cravings! It didn't help that I read the Jenny McCarthy book in which she ate a pan of brownies every day. I guess I decided I really needed to eat for 2...and I put on a whopping 60 pounds during that pregnancy.

I did lose some of it, yeah, but I didn't work terribly hard to get the rest off. I was stressed about having a young baby and breaking him... plus I was nursing (which I used as an excuse the first time around I think), and I was on a horrible medicine that is known for making people fat. And, I guess that I wasn't all that intent on becoming skinny again because I knew that we wanted another baby and I would just get fat again.

Well, that was all also compounded by trying to sell our house 2 summers ago. Even though the market was horrible, we thought we'd try anyway. What a mistake! We had 96 showings over 6 months...with 2 dogs and a toddler it was arguably the most stressful period of my life. We also ate out almost every night because it seemed someone was coming out to see the house. It is going to be a LONG time before I want to put myself through that again. We never did sell the house. So, I put a few MORE pounds back on during that time due to stress and eating out.

And then, shortly after it went off the market (it had been less than 2 months) I got pregnant again. And I wasn't a small girl this time around. In fact, it was one year ago tomorrow that I went for my first Dr. appointment and was HORRIFIED when I saw the number on the scale. From the get go I ate more healthy, but it still wasn't enough to combat the Gestational Diabetes that eventually happened. Would I have still gotten it if I was skinny before I got pregnant? I can't say for sure (Diabetes DOES run in my family), but I'm sure the weight didn't help. But in a twisted way, the GD WAS a good thing. I felt much better after I got diagnosed and under control, and I only ended up gaining net 8 POUNDS during this pregnancy.

So it was great to see that I had lost a whopping 27 pounds at my 6 week appointment. Well I haven't weighed myself since, and the holidays happened and all....but now that it's all over, I'm going to FINALLY loose the rest of this weight.

I don't believe in New Year's Resolutions...I see it as a set up for failure....however I am setting a goal to be back into some of my old 2's and 4's by Kaia's first birthday. I realize my body has changed and I probably won't fit into it all, but some would be nice.

So, I've found this awesome website - babyfit. com. It tells you how many calories as a nursing mom you need to eat per day to keep up your milk production. So, I have been food journaling on the site as well as getting back into my old fitness habits. I used to lift weights a few times a week (I've been doing that) as well as pilates (I tried it again for the first time Sunday) and then running on our treadmill (okay, I'm only up to walking, but still it's good for now).

I can already tell my pants are looser and I've moved down a size. I probably won't hit the scale for awhile as this makes me obsessed with the number...but I can see progress so far.

So, that's what I've been up to lately...focusing on getting down to my pre-pregnancy size. We are like 95% sure we are DONE having kids so I have no more excuses! Plus, since I have a little girl now I feel like I need to set a good body image for her, and I don't want her to have a fat mama.

Wish me luck!!!!