4 years

I can’t seem to let this little blog go, as it has been around since I was pregnant with Arianna, over 4 years ago (wahhh).  So, my infrequent updates will just have to work!  Another milestone passed by our little family; Arianna turned four a few weeks ago.  How did this happen? She was just a little, tiny baby! That little saying that we have all heard, “The days are long but the years are short” really rings true to this point in my life.  Throughout the days, I try to sometimes repeat that saying in my head, because really, the days can be SUPER long with an (almost) two and four year old. 

We had a Monsters University themed birthday party for the kids, it was small and easy! Note to self; have future parties at the park pavilion instead of our house.  As usual, the children will spoiled by our friends and family with lots of wonderful gifts.   Here are a few pictures of some of the dessert made by my best friend’s Mom, Grace. 

 

 

I was thinking that there are so many random little things that I don’t want to forget about Arianna at this point in her life, so I made a bulleted list!

-She says “fwamwich” instead of sandwich.  I love it and I will truly be sad when she starts saying it correctly. 

-She is tiny.  According to her four year checkup, she was in the 5% for height and 40% for weight.  Still my little peanut. 

-I have brought her up to my cardio kickboxing class with me a few times, just for 10 minutes or so, before I bring her downstairs to the daycare and she thinks it’s the best thing ever.  She keeps up with all the grownups and watching her do jumping jacks is the cutest thing ever

-She loves the song Cruise by Nella and Florida Georgia Line.  She also loves Chicken Fried by Zac Brown Band and Pontoon by Little Big Town.  Occasionally she will ask why Micky Anaj (Nicki Minaj) isn’t playing on the radio, haha. 

-4k starts in a few weeks and is a 5 day program around here.  I can’t believe that this is the last few weeks ever, that I will have my little girl home all day with me. 

-She is a social butterfly and talks to anyone, anywhere.  Even when we walk by people on the street or at the store, she says “hi” and smiles at them. 

-Baby dolls are her current obsession.  Never mind her Barbies, ponies, Littlest Pet Shop, etc.  She spends all day “taking care” of her babies and carrying them around the house.  They all have different names and she is very nurturing with them.  So adorable. 

 

I just finished here 3-4 year photobook on Shutterfly, so here it is :)

Arianna's 3-4 Year Photo Book

 

 

Hiiiiii

We are long overdue for an update.  I thought about letting this little blog go, but it has been in our family since I found out I was pregnant with Arianna.  Blogging has taken a backburner lately, but I really do miss it. Facebook and Instagram are the extent of my social media efforts these days!

 Since we have quite a few random updates, the easiest way to do this is going to be a bulleted style, just like my last few posts, haha. 

-I ran my marathon.  26.2 miles.  4 hours 22 minutes, 10 minute average pace.  Overall, I am happy with my time and I plan to do another marathon one day, hopefully Chicago!

-Jeremy got a new job! Goodbye Applebees! He has taken on the role of being an account manager for a Health Care Services company.  More or less, he runs the entire food service portion of a nursing home.  The hiring, firing, menu planning, training, etc will all be on his shoulders.  Finally, I will have a husband who has NORMAL 7-5 work hours and weekends off! I will not miss restaurant hours!! This is a great change for our family, not only because of a salary increase and better hours, but this job will looks like it will present opportunities to move up within the company too, all while Jeremy stays in the food service industry.  Yay hubby!

-Arianna finished preschool.  Wahhhh.  I may or may not have cried.   Brady already has a spot reserved for the same preschool for fall of 2014.  Wahhh.  My babies are getting  so big.  4-K is next up for Arianna.  Her classroom is at the YMCA (yay!) and she gets to take a bus there (5 days per week) and she is SUPER excited!

-Brady is turning two in August and he still isn’t talking much.  Currently, we see a speech therapist every 1-2 weeks.  Progress is happening, slowly and steadily.  There is NO interest in potty training.  It’s funny when I think back to Arianna at this age…at 22 months she was talking in sentences and in big girl undies all day long.  And sleeping in a big girl bed.  Hah.  Brady will stay in his crib as long as possible…mostly for my sanity! He actually loves his crib and sleeping and has made no attempts to escape…hopefully it stays that way for another year or so J

 

I’ve got more to say, but not enough time to write, so for now I’ll leave you with a cute video of Miss Arianna at her first dance recital!

First Dance Recital

 

 

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18 months, catching up and a TON of pictures!

Well hello out there! It’s been a while since I have blogged (again).  And, as usual, I have no great excuses.  Hah! Life is just plain busy with a 1 and 3 year old! I will give a bulleted update of what’s been going on with us lately!

-Brady turned 18 months old last week.  I cannot believe how big he is.  Is my second baby really this big already?!

-I am waist deep in marathon training.  I’m running usually about 6 days a week and it has been going great.  I usually average about 40 miles per week.  CRAZY!!! I have ALSO branched out and have been going to power yoga and some cardio kickboxing classes.  My arms are actually muscular and sculpted, something that I have not experienced yet in my life! Hah!

-My first Marathon is May 5^th in Green Bay.  I am going to sign up for one in the Fall too.  When you hear people say that it’s(running) addicting, they are not lying.  It really, truly is.  I am sometimes still in shock that I can wake up and go run an easy 10-12 miles (multiple times a week!!).  CRAZY. 

-I have to thank my husband (even though I’m pretty sure he doesn’t read this).   Training for these races has been very time consuming.  Going on a 13++ mile run takes at LEAST 2 hours.  Most of the day, I am gone for about 3 hours on his days off to get these long runs accomplished.  He is always fine with it and always encourages me.  Love you, Babe!

-I have officially lost 75 pounds since the day Brady was born.  WHOA.  Most of my clothes don’t fit, and it makes me want to go on a shopping spree! That said, I’m pretty sure I will never have my pre-baby body back.  Things just are just..different.  Hah!

-Brady still isn’t doing much talking.  Our pediatrician wasn’t concerned at all.  I kind of figured he would be, but I guess it was reassuring.  Arianna was such an early talker, so it’s just strange to us that Brady isn’t there yet.  As far as receptive language, he is right where he should be, if not more advanced.  He understands everything.  He does have some words and a few signs.  I guess he just wants to take his time.  Plus, he has a big sister that does most of his talking for him J

-Although Brady is lacking in communication skills, he definitely has no problem in the large and fine motor areas.  Running, jumping , climbing, and walking up and down stairs with no help are things he does extremely well, all the time!

-Brady is 100% BOY.  He is my messy, crazy, wild, stubborn little man.  He is EXHAUSTING.  He needs at LEAST 1 bath per day.  He is in to EVERYTHING.  All that aside, I keep thinking about much fun he is going to have when summer gets here.  Playgrounds! Dirt! Sand! Swimming!

-According to our 18 month well baby appointment, Brady is 24 lbs (25^th percentile) and I forgot his height already, whoops, but he was in the 41^st percentile for height.   

-We are signing both kids up for swimming lessons soon.  I don’t like to do them during the winter because of the whole leaving the building with wet hair thing, but now that Spring is around the corner, both kids will have lessons starting.  For Brady it will be his first.  Jeremy is really excited to do the parent-child swim class with him.  HE LOVES WATER.  He also has no fear, haha.  Should be interesting!

 

That’s all I’ve got for now! I’ll leave you all with some pictures!

 

 

 

Half Marathon #2

Schaumburg Turkey Trot Half Marathon

The Saturday after  Thanksgiving, I ran in my second half marathon.  I had signed up with my Aunt Dina, who is an avid runner and has done TONS of full and half marathons, including Boston and Chicago.  I was a little intimidated to run with her, but we had done a few practice runs together and all went well.  Comparing this race to my first half marathon, I was definitely more prepared the first time around.  I trained my butt off for that one that was in September, my first one ever, mostly because I was scared I was going to fail!  That race went very well and I finished with a time of 2:05.

My goal for half marathon number two was to finish in under two hours.  This was a lofty goal; shaving five minutes off of my time, when I really didn’t train much at all.  I figured that running with Dina would keep me in check though!

The week leading up to race day was unseasonable warm.  In the high 60’s to be exact.  This is considered exceptionally warm for late November in the Chicagoland area!  Anyways, the day of the race was supposed to get to a HIGH of 30.  Really?? 30? It was freezing while we were waiting for the race to start and freezing the first few miles.  I remember making the comment to Dina that at mile 3, I was finally able to feel my toes.  Up until that point, it had felt like I was running on rocks.  Awful.  We kept a great pace the entire race, under 9:30 and then the last 3 miles we ran at about an 8:45 pace.  Super fast for me.  I never really run that fast, haha!  We finished at 2:01.  Not less than two hours, but I am still very pleased.  I am pretty sure I will keep signing up for more halves in the future and I am debating signing up for a full marathon in 2013! Here are some pictures!

 

15 months!

Well, I somehow managed to go a month without blogging again.  Crazy how that happens right?! I have been telling myself for days that I need to do a 15 month update on Brady, so here it is!

At 15 months…

-18% for height.  I cannot remember the exact measurement, but he is a little shorty!

-23 lbs. and 35% (I think) for  weight!

-Mostly  12-18 month clothes!

-Fabulous eater.  Brady eats a bowl of cereal and milk (using a spoon) almost every morning.  Loves grapes, most berries, not really any veggies, oatmeal cheese, pizza, peanut butter and jelly, spaghetti, macaroni and cheese, chicken nuggets (doesn’t like chicken if it isn’t breaded), French fries and tomato basil soup, yogurt melts and yogurt. 

-Goes up AND down stairs now.  Crazy boy. 

-Loves water.  He sticks his whole face under the water in the bathtub these days.  Must get him enrolled in a swim class! He really is fascinated with water of any type…this includes but is not limited to; puddles, sinks, water fountains and toilets(ßlearned that one the hard way)

-Started working on stacking blocks and few weeks ago and he can successfully stack 6 on his own!

-Finally some improvement on his vocabulary! Brady makes sounds for cow, dog, kitty, duck and lion.

-He says ball, up, uh-oh, dog, Mama, Dada, cheese, and I knowwww I am forgetting a few more!

-He can point to body parts when I ask him! So far, tongue, belly, eyes, nose and mouth.  We work on 1 new body part per week!

-Drinks out of a cup and uses a spoon successfully! Working on the fork…

-Still a great sleeper.  Goes to bed at 6:45 and gets up at 6:45-7:00 AM, he only wakes up if he pees through his clothes which happens every once in a while!  He would nap twice a day if I let him but our mornings are pretty busy, so we usually nap once at about 12:30.  Usually he is down for about 2 hours. 

That’s all I’ve got for now! We are jetting off to Chicago tomorrow to spend Thanksgiving with some of my family! Also, running my second half marathon this Saturday, wish me luck!!

 

 

Weaning and 14 months!

I nursed Brady for the last time a few days ago.  It was definitely bittersweet.  We made it 14 months, which I have to say, I am so proud of.  Mommy guilt kicked in a few times over that 14 month period for sure, and this is why.  I only made it about 6 weeks with Arianna.  I gave up when it really wasn’t even that hard.  But, I was at a totally different time in my life and I would say that Arianna turned out just fine…Although she was a super sick baby.  Lots of ear infections, asthma, pneumonia, tubes, etc.  Anyway, cheers to Brady and I for making it so long! I am glad I did it and I will do it just as long, if not longer with future children J

 

Here is a little 14 month update for my big boy!

-Walking, running and climbing everywhere.  Goes down most slides by himself

-Size 12-18 month or 18 month clothes.  Some 12 month stuff, if it runs big. 

-I am thinking he weighs close to 25 lbs.  Catching up fast to his sister, who has been hovering at 29 lbs for about a year now!

-Loves eating waffles for breakfast, PBJ’s, noodles, spaghetti, GRAPES, any crackers, yogurt, whole milk, chicken nuggets, mac  and cheese and ANYTHING dipped in ketchup.  How weird!  Still not liking bananas, oatmeal, eggs, peas, corn, veggies in general or pancakes.

-Says: ball, mama, dada, uh oh, and trying to say dog (I think).  Signs “please” and “more”.  Waves bye bye at bedtime and blows kisses.  Also likes to give big slobbery kisses to people. 

-Uses index finger to point and also puts both arms up when he wants to come up.  

-Puts both arms in the air when he ask him to do “touchdown”.  Still loves playing peek-a-boo!

-Not a very good teether.  3 teeth total with one more top tooth coming in.  Lots of whining and just being crabby in general this past month. 

-Loves Arianna more than anything.  The two of them have been playing together so much and it is just adorable J

-Slight obsession over remotes, controllers, cell phones, computers and other electronic equipment. 

-Getting super close to Daddy lately J

 

I cannot believe my baby is 14 months old!! Good thing it’s not our last! Baby fever is at an all-time high, but it pretty much always is.  Baby #3 won’t show up for a few more years yet, mostly for financial reasons and because I want Ari to at least be in kindergarten!

On losing 50 pounds in one year..

Tomorrow, 10-11-12 marks the one year anniversary of me vowing to get healthy!  In the past I have blogged about weight loss and if you would like to catch up, those posts are here and here .  So back to October 11, 2011;  Brady was 2 months old and I had lost some baby weight but not much.  Toward the end of my pregnancy with him, I stopped looking when they weighed me at my appointments.  I just didn’t want to know! However, when I got on the scale that day, the number was soooo high.  Way too high for my liking.  When I look back at pictures, it makes me sick to think of how big I was! All I can say, is never, ever again.  I have never really been a big person but I gained SO MUCH weight during that pregnancy.  Anyway, I can remember calling my Mom and telling her that I was starting a new chapter.  I read the book Eat to Live and learned a little bit about what food does for our body.  There is a diet plan in one chapter of the book, but mostly, it is just informative and interesting.  I recommend it to everyone!

                So, I started eating healthier, MUCH healthier.  We headed down to Chicago in November to live with my family while Jeremy was gone in a hotel for his 3 months of job training for his new job.  My memory of getting on the treadmill at their house is clear as day: I could only run about ¼ mile before I was out of breath and pretty much dying.  I would painstakingly get back on that damn treadmill every day, and my plan was to keep running ¼ mile every single day until it got easier and easier, and then I would slowly increase my distance and repeat.  I informed my Mom, Paul, Jeremy and everyone else that I knew that I was going to do a 5k, 10k and eventually a half marathon.  We stayed in Illinois until the end of December and I worked out pretty hard while I was there. 

                January 1^st was the day we moved to Oshkosh.  Hubby started up at work the day after we moved in and here I was all alone in a new town/state with no friends, IN THE MIDDLE OF WINTER.  It took about 3 days of being stuck in the house with two small children before I knew I had to do something.  We found the library and a friend.  Her name was Ann and she was pregnant with a little boy, and her daughter Natalie was only a few weeks older than Arianna.  Ann told me right away about the YMCA, there are two of them in Oshkosh and they are great! I should add here that Ann and I started to work out together shortly after we first met and we still do.  She has become one of my closest friends, our husbands are friends and I think we will probably be friends with them forever.  Along with introducing me to tons of activities and other Moms in the area, she was motivation for me! I don’t know too many women who worked out daily during pregnancy!

                I worked my ass off that winter.  I eventually was running 6 miles a day, every time I worked out.  It was my little routine; drop the kids at the daycare area, run 6 miles in an hour and go home.  As spring rolled around, I knew it was time to sign up for some races.  I did a 5k Mud Run with my best friend that was a blast! The Bellin 10k was in Green Bay in June.  There were 19,000 people who ran that race and I pretty much thought it was the best thing ever! As soon as it was over, I remember talking about how I couldn’t wait to do another.  I did one by myself in July and finished in 55 minutes and in the top ¼ of women in the race.  I was proud.  Next came the Fox Cities Half Marathon.  With a finishing time of 2:05, I thought I did well.  Part of me was scared that I was going to stop running once my lineup of races was done,  so I signed up for ANOTHER half marathon in November in Chicago.  When people say that running is addicting, they are totally right.  I never used to like it like I do now.  I always played soccer, so I did my fair share of running back in the day but I never really enjoyed it like I do now.  I think my favorite day of the week is when my husband is home and that means I get to go outside and do my “long run” for the week.  I now go to the gym daily and run SEVEN miles in an hour, which is fast for me!

                To sum all of this up, I got on the scale today and have lost 50 POUNDS since last October 11^th! So, I’m sure it was even more because I didn’t get on a scale until 2 months after Brady was born, but whatever.  I am SO happy! I am back in my old clothes that I wore pre-Arianna and about 10 pounds from my tiniest point in college and high school too.  I would ideally like to lose about 20-25 more pounds. 

This post was pretty long winded and I am so tired, so there are probably a ton of spelling and grammatical errors but I knew if I didn’t get it done tonight, that I wouldn’t do it at all!

Yay for getting healthy!

 

 

We are still alive!

I have had no motivation to blog lately.  Like none whatsoever. 

Arianna is in preschool! And swimming! And dance! And gymnastics! All of which she loves, so we have a busy fall.  No we are not going to be doing three extra curricular activies all year long.  Brady is 13 months now and is an insane beast of a child.  We are just about finished weaning.  We are going to a wedding and a baby shower in the next few weeks. 

I ran my FIRST HALF MARAHON! It was freezing and it was HARD but I did it and I did MUCH better than I expected to! I ran it in 2:05.  I thought it would take me at least 2.5 hours.  My average pace was 9:25.  Can't wait for the next one!

Oh, and I couldn't forget to include a (cell phone) picture of my munchkins!