5 months

I'm behind again on posting Brynna's monthly update! Ack am I a slacker or WHAT?!

Anyway, about a week and a half ago, Brynna turned 5 months old! Crazy!

Here's her pics:








She is growing bigger by the day (although compared to her play date buddy, she looks tiny... but he's 9 weeks older HA!).

Everyday I swear she has learned something new. She's grabbing at everything! And of course, it all goes straight to her mouth HA! I have to be careful what I let her hold onto (aka my grocery list) otherwise it ends up a slobbery mess. She can transfer toys from one hand to the other and back again, which is adorable to watch ;-)
I think she gets more drool by the day. Her gums look like her bottom teeth will push through at any time, but I have a feeling it's going to be another month before they finally make their appearance.
She has officially outgrown all her 3 month size clothes and is working on outgrowing the 3-6 mos. Her 6 month stuff is still a little big, but give her another week and I'm sure it will feet perfectly ;-) She is still in size 2 diapers (if we use disposable), but we did have to move the snaps on her cloth diapers.
She started rice cereal just after she turned 4 months (at her doc's request... I was going to wait until she was closer to 6 months, but her insisted we should start sooner, so we did). She loves it! We tried oatmeal a couple weeks ago and she doesn't like it nearly as much, but she will eat it. Yesterday we tried sweet potatoes for the first time. Here's her face:



Haha! I don't think it went over too well. We will keep trying it though ;-) I've started making my own baby food and it's SO easy, I don't know why anyone wouldn't do it! It's nice knowing exactly what's going in her mouth :)
She is sitting up almost exclusively on her own (way to go!), but still has yet to roll over. We work on it everyday, but I swear she is either too stubborn or just not interested. She pushes her chest and head up with her arms and does great tummy time, but is content to just stay there and no amount of prodding or coaxing with toys will get her to roll. She does try to "swim" to get them though. Ha!
She loves standing and if it were up to her, I think she would be pulling herself up with furniture if she had the strength. For now she uses my or Batman's fingers ;-)
She LOVES her daddy! The cutest thing happened the other day. She was sitting on our bed. Batman was in the closet and I was in the bathroom and I was asking "where is daddy?" Every time she would look directly at him in the closet! So CUTE!
She babbles all the time and loves blowing raspberries still. No "mama" or "dada" yet but I'm sure she'll get it soon!

That's all I can think of... haha!

Thursday Weigh In

So just weighed in...

160...

I didn't lose ANYTHING, but I guess at least I didn't gain anything. Right?

Time to STOP cheating. Period! It's not helping me at all.

Oh and here's the food/ workout blog if you want to check it out. Pretty boring stuff, but it's helping me see that I'm not so good on the eating. Will. Be. Better.

Batman's Award

Finally getting around to posting about this:


So as you know Batman was in AL for 6 weeks going through Officer Training School (AMS for guard). He completed his training with FLYING colors (did we have any doubt?) and received this:



It's the Honor Grad award!
They only give out 1 of these awards per class and there are only 4 classes per year. Needless to say, it's pretty prestigious. It was such an honor and I was SO proud of him!! He was completely surprised, even though he had been working towards it since the day he set foot on Alabama soil. His instructor was very impressed with him, as was his new commanding officer (he came down for the graduation). Lt Col Woody (his new commander) had heard good things about Batman from his past commander (Maj Sheppard), but didn't realize what a catch he was for the maintenance wing until AMS and this award.

Thank you!

Thank you all so much for your advice and support and emails with suggestions! That's why I love you all!!

I feel like I've been doing really well since my last post (although I did cheat on the diet a bit over the weekend). P90 is kicking my a$$, as I knew it would, but it is a good feeling ;-) I had been walking pretty much everyday, but I don't think that's going to be enough for me (in case anyone wants to know I'm doing the lean routine instead of the normal one- more cardio and less weights). I am going to increase my distance/ time though as well as trying to get in a DVD workout.

As far as posting a daily eating journal, it seems like it would be a pretty mundane thing for you to read everyday, so I'm thinking of starting a journal blog so I have a place to post it all. I've been keeping a daily written one, but it seems like such a waste of paper. When I get it up and running I'll post the link so you can all check up on me periodically. And I will post EVERYTHING, even if I cheat.

I'll be weighing in again on Thursday. I don't feel like I've lost any weight, but like I said above, I feel GOOD.

Also, Brynna turned 5 months on Sunday! Eek!! A post on that to come ;)

The post where I lay it all out there...

So the weight loss...

I think this is something I've been avoiding posting about because it just kind of depresses me. I hear all over about new moms getting back to pre preggo weight within the first few weeks or months after having their kiddos. Unfortunately, that hasn't happened for me. I think the worst part is, they didn't even have to work for it to get down.

So here I am, looking at 5 months postpartum and I still have at least 10 lbs to lose until my pre preggo weight and an additional 20 lbs or so to lose until I'm back to my "normal" weight. Ugh!
I think the worst part about all of this is that I keep making excuses- I need to take in so many calories because I'm nursing, I need to make sure my workouts aren't too intense because I'm nursing, etc. You can see where this is going, can't you? All these excuses just add up to me NOT losing ANY weight and instead I'm stuck in a rut I'm afraid I can't get out of. I've never really struggled with my weight until TTC and it's a completely foreign concept for me to HAVE to work out and HAVE to watch what I eat.
Each day I start with such purpose and motivation and somewhere by the end, I've lost it all and end up snacking (usually veggies, but lately it's been chips and hummus) until I go to bed and NOT working out. I hate myself for it. What kind of an example am I to my daughter, if I can't keep myself healthy or follow through with anything?

So today's the day I change things. Today's the day when I stop making excuses (yes I know some of those things ring true, but I can't let them be a stumbling block). Today's the day when I finally STICK to something and do something for myself. Today's the day I get my a$$ in gear, work out, eat healthy and become a better person for it.

Here are the stats:
Normal weight: 125-130
Pre preggo weight: 149
Weight on 10/20 (day before B was born): 197 (yes that's an almost 50 lb weight gain- how my doc said that was okay is BEYOND me!)
Weight as of this morning: 160 (no clothes on, first thing after I woke up)

Here's the game plan:
Eat HEALTHY- this doesn't mean I can't indulge once in a while, it just means I won't make it an everyday occurrence. I will make better choices and watch my portions. I will learn to COOK! (Haha- I cook a little, but nothing too complicated) ;-)
Exercise! We have P90X and I am going to use it. I may not get to it everyday, like the program entails, but I will do it AT LEAST 4 days a week. I realize it may take me an hour and a half to get through the hour works outs (thanks to Miss B) but I WILL do them! On days when P90X seems a little too daunting, I'll pull out the old Wii Fit and do some aerobic exercise on there (I'm begging Batman to get me the Biggest Loser "game" for it).
Adopt a better self view- I HATE the way I look and for some reason that has equated to me not caring about the way I look. And then I don't follow through with taking care of myself (yes I shower!). So instead of getting down about my new mom body, I will remember that this is just temporary and I WILL reach my goal!

Here's the goal:
Aside from just being more healthy, I need to lose a few pounds. My ultimate goal is to lose the weight. Period. But my short term goals are to lose 15-20 lbs by June. That gives me 11 weeks at 1.5 to 2 lbs a week. That is definitely doable.

I'm going to take a cue from Kitty (and I'm sure many other mamas out there) and post a weekly weigh in to keep me accountable as well as posting my daily food intake. I think having it all out there will help keep me in line and help me reach my goal.

I wish I had tips and tricks, but I don't :( Hopefully there's someone out there that can give me a little advice?

Thank you all in advance for your support!!

Zac attack

Since Friday, Batman, Brynna and I have been enjoying a wonderful weekend with my little brother, Zac. It's been so fun and he just adores his little niece! We haven't done anything super exciting, just relaxed, played some video games, hung out... So unlike the trips we take up to see them! Ha! My family is so "go, go, go" while we are there, which is okay, but it's nice to just sit and chat with him.

We went down to Mtn Home AFB yesterday to get some stuff for Batman and showed Zac around a little bit while we were there. We've been joking with my mom about getting Zac to sign up for the AF while he's here (I think she would DIE! Seriously, the woman walked him to the security check point. And took videos of it. He's 18! She says he was nervous, but really? I think she was, not him) Fortunately for her sake, he wants to be a pastor not a pilot. ;-)

Posts are coming. I have one coming soon about the whole weight loss issue. And another about the award Batman received at AMS. And many more floating around my brain. Sometime this week, watch for them.

Until then, I'm just going to enjoy time with my little bro ;-)

4 months!

Okay, here's the official 4 month post :)
On February 21st B turned 4 mos so I'm only a couple weeks late on the update, right?

Anyway here are the pics I took that week:







Her stats: (on 2/24)

weight: 13 lbs 13 oz- 50%
height: 24in- 50%
head circumference: 39.5 cm- 25%

She got 3 immunizations this time- one orally and 2 shots (one in each leg). She took them like a champ and only cried after the second shot and only for about 5 seconds. I was so proud of her! I think it helps that our nurse, Amanda is SUPER fast with shots :)

Milestones:

She's smiling and laughing (on occasion- apparently her parents aren't all that funny, but she laughs for other people) a lot. She's a generally happy kid overall. She is still fighting naps, but goes down between 7-8 every night with no problem. We were still struggling with getting her to sleep longer than 2-3 hours (she reverted back to this when we got back from Seattle), but it's getting better(That's another post entirely!). She is doing GREAT with tummy time and started using her arms/ elbows to push herself up. She hasn't rolled over yet and I don't think she ever has any intention to. She seems content to stay exactly the way I put her down, whether that's on her tummy or her back- and no amount of prodding will get her to do otherwise. But I do try ;-)

She's sitting up with limited assistance and loves standing while holding on to our fingers. She's still pretty wobbly and my FIL thinks she would be a great hula hooper HA! I have a feeling she's going to be moving/ mobile before I know it! Eek!

She's LOVES her mommy and seems to have a rough time when Grandma and Grandpa watch her for an evening (although we haven't had them watch her again since Batman got home).

She started rice cereal last week- I guess that's technically an update for month 5, but whatever ;) She LOVES it! If I'm not fast enough, between bites she squeals at me and she wants the "help" me with every bite too. Which usually equates to a huge mess. It's fun though and I'm excited to start veggies with her next month!
She started grabbing for her toys. She has this rattle that she just loves and my IL bought her a little lady bug that hangs from her car seat and she can't get enough of it too!

She babbles on and on all day (I think I may have a talker on my hands) which I love to hear.

She got to try showering with her dad the other day and seems to like it almost more than baths, which is saying a lot because she would be content to sit in a bath ALL DAY if I let her! Speaking up, she's pretty much outgrown the baby bathtub.

I think that's about it... If I think of anything else I'll add it ;-)

Things keep getting in the way!

Things have been a little crazy here since Batman came home. Between getting a routine up and running again with an extra person, additional chores, different schedules and a few *ahem* other things (yes Morgan another reference) we've been B.U.S.Y!

So here are a few things that have happened since he's been home:

Brynna turned 4 mos old (next post I promise will include pics and milestones achieved).

Batman went back to his job that he only moderately hates (he's hoping to get a job out at the base f/t. Or at any base f/t).

I've been back on my healthy eating and exercising and am down a couple more pounds (I think I might have to steal the idea from a bunch of you and post my weigh ins here- that way I'm kept accountable for what I stick in my mouth! I need to lose this weight!!)

I've started doing play dates (aka mommies walking) with an old coworker- K and her little man. It's been nice to get out of the house and even nicer (is that a word) to have some adult conversation

We (batman and I) got new Blackberries! I am completely addicted and spend WAY too much time on it. And if I were faster at typing on it, there would have been an update a while a go! Ha!

Brynna got a new baby cousin!! (That's my other SIL blog- she got all the pics so check them out! He's a cutie and looks just like his mamma!)

Batman's oldest grandma turned 94! She's kind of crazy, but we love her very much! We hope she's got a few more years left so B can get to know her too ;-)

The cheer season pretty much ended. I say pretty much because we are still having one practice a week to work on stuff for next year. But only through the end of March. Then it will officially be over.

Batman was put on the short list for tech school dates for his new position (in ANG) which means when we DO find out when he's leaving it will only be a 7 day notice. He could leave as soon as March 29th. He will be going to Sheppard AFB in Wichita Falls for 4.5 months for training. Isn't that lovely?

I finally cleaned out all my maternity clothes from my closet (no, I wasn't still wearing them, they were just *there*) and put them away. Operation Spring Clean 2010 has officially begun.

Brynna started rice cereal!! So far so good. She loves the stuff and yells at me if I don't get the spoon in her mouth fast enough. My only concern is that it may make her constipated and since the girl only goes once a week as it is, how will I know if she's constipated or not? Ha!

I completely lost touch with the blog world- not kidding I had over 400 posts in my G.oogle reader last I checked. I need to get READING already!! Sorry about the lack of comments. I'm sure there has been big news while I've been out and I WILL get to it. Promise!

And... that's all I can think of right now. Hope everyone is well.