5K Goal
Okay, I’ll confess. I gained a 60 pounds when I was pregnant with Isabelle. The recommended weight gain is anywhere from 15 – 40 lbs depending on your pre-pregnancy weight. When I started the pack on the pounds I asked my doctor about it, and he said not to worry because I was underweight before I got pregnant. The nurse also told me to not worry about it because after delivery the pounds would melt away.
Well, the first 40 pounds melted away, but I was stuck with 20 pounds of baby weight. At first I was okay with it and bought bigger clothes that would fit. Then when we were in Steamboat Springs we watched the very end of a marathon which inspired me to really get back into shape.
I enlisted my brother, major runner and triathlete to help me with a workout plan so that I could loose the last 20 pounds and get me in shape to run a 5k race in September. With his workout plan and eye on my diet I’ve dropped two dress sizes and almost 10 pounds during the past two months. Having to shop for smaller clothes isn’t necessarily a bad thing!
Nate’s workout plan for me includes either running or cardio exercise plus strength training everyday except Sunday. The diet means eating healthier options, in smaller portions, more often. It’s not always easy to stick to the plan, but I just registered for the 5k race on Labor Day, so I better stick with it. Thanks Nate for helping me with this goal!
18 Months
Izzy is 18 months old today. Wow, she has grown up! She is 100 miles per hour when she’s awake, always chattering, loving on Samson, splashing in any water she can get into (the water bowl, the toilet) and never sitting sit. When someone said the “pitter patter of little feet” it is so true and the pitter patter is non-stop! Whew…if only I had her energy to keep up with her.
Izzy’s vocabulary is growing. I think the sign language isn’t sticking as well because she can actually say words instead of having to sign them. Here’s what she can say and sign:
Words: ca-cah (cracker), dogh (dog), mama, dada, juice, ba-bah (bottle), bah (ball), cheese, choose (shoes), bah (bath), buh-bel (bubble), cah (car), nana (banana), up, dun (down), fool (pool)
Signs: milk, eat, bath, mama, sleep, shoes, more, all done
Izzy loves trying on shoes and clothes. Sometimes I’ll find her in my closet in the middle of a pile of my shoes and going through our drawers. She is just started learning how to kick daddy’s soccer ball. I think Luke will be putting her in soccer as soon as she’s old enough. She loves to kiss, however, not necessarily mama or dada. It’s usually her stuffed toys and Samson that get her kisses. She will also bring us her toys so that we can kiss them. Izzy loves to share her things. She shares her food and toys with basically anyone including Samson. We’ve lost several toys because Samson now thinks they are his.
We are starting swim lessons again tomorrow. We have also been spending lots of time at the community pool. Izzy plays in the wading pool and I get to cool off by sitting in the shallow water with her.
Here are some pictures from today. We have enjoyed time with Grandpa Knowles who is here helping us build the office and deck. Today we went up to Estes Park and did a little hiking in the mountains.
Weekend Project
Click on the picture to learn more about my project!
Reality of Motherhood
I find it hilarious that those of us who are first time moms have the same story… I read all the books on pregnancy but didn’t read anything about how to care for my baby! I think I blamed the nurses for not providing me with that newborn education. I also blamed other young parents I knew for not telling me how it was really going to be! But now looking back on it, it was completely my fault. I was so focused on my growing belly and thought everything would be easy to figure out that I neglected to inform myself or listen hard enough to learn about the reality of motherhood.
There’s nothing that replaces “on the job” training. Of course reading books will never fully explain the challenges and joys of motherhood but it could help prepare those first time moms. Here’s a list of some books that I probably should have read along with my pregnancy books:
The Mother of All Baby Books
What to Expect the First Year
100 Things I Wish I Knew in My Baby’s First Year
The Happiest Baby On The Block
The Baby Book
The list can go on and all these books can be found on Amazon.com along with PLENTY other books to help you prepare to handle your little bundle of joy!
Home Pictures
I finally got around to taking some pictures! Here’s the first batch. I’ll post more when WordPress starts working for me again… This week landscaping and fencing are being installed. Hopefully the rain doesn’t delay things too much.
Happy Birthday America!
The Fourth of July always holds the hope barbecues and gathering of friends. That’s exactly what we did this weekend. We spent some time up in the mountains with friends and grilled up some burgers on Friday and on Saturday we got together with our small group from church and again grilled up some burgers. Both times there was also homemade ice cream, which I am a huge fan of!
We had hoped to see fireworks this year in downtown Fort Collins, but it started to rain and Izzy was fading fast! So we decided to head home early and this is what we got to see.
It was the brightest full double rainbow we had ever seen. It was amazing! I wish I had a panoramic picture so that I could capture the whole beauty of it.
Summer Fun
Time for a recap of what our summer has been like so far. We’ve gone to Steamboat Springs, a soccer tournament which Luke played at, spent time at the splash park and…well moved! Here are some pics of our summer activities.
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- Soccer Tournament
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- At the tournament
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- Moving Day
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- Keeping Izzy Busy
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- Major Bedhead
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- Splash Park
