Sibling Love

Hannah crying because I put her brother next to her on the couch.

Colson, looking at his sissy with a bit of concern.

It's okay sissy! I love you!

I must add that as I was taking these photos, Nick and I were laughing because we thought the fit that Hannah was throwing was absolutely hilarious. I hope that doesn't make us bad parents...to laugh and take photos of our kids loving torturing each other. :oP


But in Hannah's defense, this photo below was taken about 20 minutes later. She really does love her brother...just not when he's sitting right next to her.

6 month well baby visit

Colson finally had his 6 month doctor visit today... 2 days shy of turning 7 months.


Here are his stats:


Weight—16 lbs 12 ounces
(+2 lbs 7 ounces from his 4 month appointment)
40th percentile

Height—25 1/2 inches
(+1.75 inches)
25th percentile

Head Circumference—43.8 cm
(+2.1 cm)
50th percentile



And just for comparison, here are Hannah's 6 month stats that were actually taken right when she turned was 6 months old:
weight: 17.9 lbs
length: 26.5 inches
head: 42 cm


So, Colson is still smaller than Hannah was even with being almost a month older at the time of the 6 month appointment.


I'll update more on the little man this Thursday when he turns 7 months old! :o)

Candy Land

Grandma and Papa got Hannah the game Candy Land quite some time ago and would always play it over at their house. Well, they were going out of town for the weekend so we brought it over to our house to play.

Hannah has a slight love for the game. She is constantly asking to play it. She can go through and play the entire game about once, but if she asks to play it again she only lasts a few minutes before she wants to move onto something else.

I am quite impressed though. She picks a card and is pretty good about moving her own piece to the correct spot. She just loves to move everyone else's pieces too! :oP

I loved this game as a kid...as well as Chutes and Ladders. I'm thinking that Hannah might be a bit too young still for Chutes and Ladders, but I don't know. Maybe we'll give it to her for her birthday or christmas! :o)

The Road To A Better Me—Week 1

Well, today marked the end of the first week of my journey down the road to a better me.

I think it went rather well. I actually stayed a bit under my calorie allotment for most days, so I am proud of that. I have been rocking the Ab Ripper X workout (from P90X) with the hubs plus I am doing some cardio. I am hoping that with all three of these things combined, I will start to see some serious results.

Now, before I get to the nitty-gritty, I should state that my scale is a super cheap scale. It only rounds to the half pound so all of my weights will either be to the whole pound or half pound. I don't like it because its not too accurate, but it's all I have for now. Hopefully it won't make too much of a different and the pounds will fall off either way. :oP

Okay, here are the numbers:

Post Pregnancy Weight (April 2011)—156

Starting Weight (Day 1-8.9.11)—153.5

Current Weight (Week 1-8.26.11)—152

What!? I lost a pound and a half (according to my cheap pound/half pound scale)? Yeah, I am pretty stoked! I am inching closer to the 140's and I am so happy about that. I cannot wait to say goodbye to the 150's! I am 16 pounds away from my first goal of 136.

So, YAY! What I am doing seems to be working. This makes me excited to continue on to see what next weeks progress will be. :o)

Hannah's 3rd Birthday Party

Todays Oh, How Pinteresting will revolve all around my daughter's upcoming 3rd birthday party.

There is a little under 2 months to get everything in order so I have been very busy pinning ideas and crafting away!

Her birthday party will be a Tea Party Theme and I cannot tell you how excited I am to plan and create this party! :o) We are going all out! Different kinds of tea, cocktail hats and fascinators, feather boas, fake mustaches for the guys, tea sandwiches, beautiful desserts...ah, I can't wait!

Hannah loves to play tea set and she always walks around asking everyone if they would like a spot of tea, so I just knew that that was going to the the theme of her birthday party this year. I just hope she loves it as much as I am loving planning it!

Ok, on to the pins! :o)

Source: cakecentral.com via Jennifer on Pinterest

Source: frostedgardner.blogspot.com via Jennifer on Pinterest

Source: cupcakestakethecake.blogspot.com via Jennifer on Pinterest

Source: prudentbaby.com via Jennifer on Pinterest

Source: fun-tea-party-ideas.com via Jennifer on Pinterest

Source: ohparty.net via Jennifer on Pinterest

Source: hearthandmadeuk.blogspot.com via Jennifer on Pinterest

Source: sweetapolita.com via Jennifer on Pinterest

Source: weddingtree.tumblr.com via Jennifer on Pinterest

Source: bedifferentactnormal.com via Jennifer on Pinterest

Source: niftythriftythings.blogspot.com via Jennifer on Pinterest

Source: thedecoratedcookieblog.com via Jennifer on Pinterest

Oh Snap Wednesday--Hannah and Daddy

Today, I am joining Growing Up Gardner for Oh Snap! Wednesday.



Hannah has been really big on playing certain ways. She'll tell us, "No, like this!" if we're not doing it right (aka how she wants us to). Or she will tell us to lay in a certain spot or in a certain way. It's pretty funny.

And of course, we are her monkeys so we do what she tells us to do! :oP Okay, not always...

I love these pics of Hannah with her daddy. :o) This is one example of when Hannah wanted her daddy to lay on the floor with her. And at first he didn't lay in the right spot so he had to move. :oP Too funny.

I spy...

Colson's first tooth!

Yep. that's right! Colson's first tooth popped through the gum on Sunday! It took forever but it finally broke through. Poor guy! And the one right next too it, isn't that far behind.

He's been a little bit more fussy than usual but we have been giving him extra hugs and kisses! :o) I mean, how could your resist loving on this cute little guy!?

The Road To A Better Me!

This post has been a long time coming and honestly I have been putting it off for fear of failure. But I am sucking it up and I am going to post.

I have started exercising, I am watching what I eat, and I am counting my calories.

Hopefully, I am headed down the road that leads to a better me.

Let me begin by saying that it's not easy! When you take note of what you eat all day, everyday and the calories involved, you realize just how badly you were eating before.

Examples:
Jimmy Johns #16 Club LuLu sandwich—a whopping 750 calories
small Dairy Queen M&M Blizzard—500 calories.

And that's not including McDonalds that I would get, cookies I would eat, or all the fried food I would consume. All I can say is YIKES! I am kind of embarrassed at my eating habits.

Granted I don't eat all of those things in a day, but at the same time how was I even wondering why I wasn't losing the rest of the pregnancy weight.  I mean, DUH, I am eating crappy crappy food...that is why I'm not losing anything.

I have been exercising for a good 2 months now with nothing to really show for it but slightly toned arms and stronger ab muscles still covered by fat. :o/ So I have decided to take it one step further. I am keeping track of everything I eat in a day and the calories along with it. I am using an app called Lose It! and so far I love it. It is really easy to use. They also have a website.

I actually signed up for this app way back in April when I first told myself I wanted to start losing the baby weight. I pretty much signed up for it and that was it. I never actually used it...until about 3 days ago. I started on Friday so I am excited to see over the next few weeks if I see any improvements/weight loss.

When I signed up for the app it was shortly after my 6 week postpartum doctors appointment. At that time I weighed 156. And, yes I am posting my weight. I am not ashamed of where I am. This is me after 2 kids and +20 pounds.

Before I had Hannah I was 136. So, 136 is my first goal. I would love, love, LOVE to lose my 20 pounds of 'baby' weight. If all goes well with losing 20 pounds, I might aim for another 10-15 pounds. Oh how I dream of being 125 pounds again. I haven't been 125 pounds since junior year of college, 8 years ago. But, while my overall goal is to lose 30 pounds--any weight loss at this point in time will make me giddy. :o)

So far I have lost 2.5 pounds since I was weighed back in March. Not too great, hence, why I have started to keep track of what I eat. I am hoping that with some discipline and exercise, I will start to see those pounds fall away. I am determined to get back a body that doesn't jiggle. :o)

I will set my weigh in days for Friday since that is the day I started tracking with Lose It! I will try to post my weekly results every Friday so it holds me accountable. This Friday will be my first official post and I will try to post a current photo of me (and compare it to my 6 week postpartum photo) as well as my numbers.

I will welcome any support, cheers or words of wisdom. If you, too, are on a weight loss journey, let me know! We can cheer each other on! :o)

So there it is! I am on the road to a better me! I can do this!

Peek-a-boo

Wow, it has been a while since my last post.  Yikes! Sorry, loyal readers.

Honestly, not much has been going on. It was a rather laid back week and weekend so we just spent a lot of time hanging out.

I didn't take too many photos either so I don't have all that much to post...but I do have a few! No worries! :o)

Colson was playing with the blanket the other day, being super cute. :o)

Please ignore the pink blanket. I promise to take it away before he realizes it's pink and it scares him for life! :oP

Wordless Wednesday (but with a few words)

My favorite purchase from Shipshewana yesterday!

Da Bears!

Saturday night was date night for me and the hubs and boy was it a great one!

My MIL got Chicago Bears preseason tickets from work and gave them to us to enjoy. And not only were they great seats, they were club ticket seats—so we were also able to enjoy the club perks as well. They had a turkey and prime rib carving station, a salad bar, an ice cream bar (which we hit up on the way out!) and tons of leather seating. It was pretty cool! We felt pretty important! :oP

The weather was perfect for the whole game (70 degrees). It rained the whole drive to the stadium and the whole way home but as soon as the game started it stopped raining.

I took one little video clip of the game and it just happened to be when the Bears scored the only touchdown. Pretty awesome timing on my part!

Bears Touchdown from Jennifer Loving on Vimeo.

The Bears won the game which made it a perfect night. This was also my first NFL game so I can know mark that off of my list of things to go do. :o)

It was so nice to just go out and do something with the hubs. A super huge THANK YOU to my MIL for the awesome gift!

Date Nights and Me Time

This blog, about 99% of the time, revolves around our children. Which is okay because our lives revolve 100% around our children. But, often times I feel like I just post photos and that's it. Very rarely do I have the time to actually sit down and write a post with any meaning behind it.

I mean, I have two kiddos who keep me pretty busy so whatever free time I do get, I try to do something around the house. (My husband is probably laughing to himself right now!)

Okay, okay, I know I'm not the best housewife, much to my husband's dismay. Our end tables are dusty more times than they are not, we usually always have some form of a dish or bottle in the sink at all times, and I am usually way behind on laundry...but I try to get things done when I can.

Coming downstairs into my office is last on that list of things I do so when I do come down here, it is for 15 minutes to quickly put a post together for my loyal readers. It is definitely not the time of blogging I would prefer to spend because quite honestly, blogging is my form of relaxation. It is really all I do for myself. It is my time to come to my quite space and just do something alone. I wish I could spend more time writing deep posts that didn't always involve photos of my super cute kiddos. It is just hard to find that time. As I sit here and write this, I know Hannah is already awake, playing in her room. I really need to go get her breakfast and change her clothes but instead I am trying to squeeze in this blog post. *sigh*

The same goes for me and the hubs. Our life is all about our children and we wouldn't have it any other way. But I would be lying if I told you that I was perfectly content with never going out on dates with the hubs. There are some days that I miss my husband. He goes to work, I stay home with the kids and then when he gets home we spend time together as a family, prepare dinner, go through our bed time routine. Once the kids are in bed we usually try to squeeze in some form of workout--mind you it is already 9 o'clock at night. That doesn't leave all that much time to just be together. And I hardly count dropping off the kids at the grandparents to go grocery shopping as a date or quality time together.

So, when we have a chance to go out on a date or I have a chance to do something for myself, we jump on it!

This past Friday, Nick's mom surprised us with Chicago Bears tickets. I had never been to an NFL game so I was super excited to go! It down poured the whole drive up there and the whole drive home on Saturday but during the game, the weather was perfect. It was such a blast and it was so nice to be with my husband--and actually hold hands. :o) We had awesome club ticket seats and the Bears won! I even managed to get a video of the only touchdown! (separate post to come!)

Today, I am getting a little pampering done. I am getting a much needed hair cut and some serious highlights put in my hair. Ever since I had Hannah, I can count on one hand the times I have gotten my hair done. How sad is that? So I am definitely really excited for some me time today. :o)

Then tomorrow, I am going out with the girls to Shipshewana for a day of shopping--without the kids in tow! I cannot begin to tell you how much I am looking forward to this! It will be me, my MIL, SIL, and Sherri and Megan having a good time. :o) Look out Shipshewana! We're coming your way! :oP

The only way this could get any better, is if I could see my bestie. Then it would be one of the best weeks...but, I know I will see her very soon, so I cannot wait!

What are some ways that you find time for yourself or for you and the hubs? Do you get that much needed time as often as you would like?

Potty Training

This post has been a long time coming and I am happy that I am finally able to tell you all that Hannah is in the works of being potty trained!

We started two weeks ago and she has been doing wonderfully! Only two small accidents and those were on day #2. She has done so well telling me when she needs to pee and holding it until she gets to the potty.

We still wear training pants during nap time and night time and when we're going to be out and about for a long time. I will slowly start taking her places in panties, as long as I know that we'll be by a bathroom. And actually, during Colson's 6 month photos, Hannah was wearing training pants but told us that she had to go pee and she actually went potty at JCPenney. I was pleasantly surprised! :o) But I am loving these diaper free days!

Here is how it all went down. :o)

I had been very lazily trying to potty train Hannah for 3-4 months. My goal was to actually have her potty trained before Colson was born but by the time I was 7 months pregnant, I quickly gave up on that dream. A couple months after Colson was born though, I figured it was time to try. I would ask her if she had to go pee in the potty and she always made an excuse and told me 'no, I have to do _____ first'. I just kind of let it go. Shame on me! There were other times I would ask her and she would actually sit on the potty. She wouldn't go though. At least she was trying, right!? *sigh* I was beginning to think that my child would be going to school in diapers. She just didn't seem interested.

But like with everything in her life, Hannah did everything on her own time. She was a lazy crawling...only ever army crawling. One night she just decided she wanted to talk in three and four word sentences--a total shock to mommy and daddy. Another night she woke up at 1:00 screaming and decided that she wanted to walk for the first time (having never taken any steps prior) and has been on the go ever since. So why should it surprise me that one day she would just go pee in the potty???

Well, let's go to two weekends ago...We were swimming at the in-laws and usually Hannah will get out of the pool and then 10 minutes later, have an accident. She never told us she had to pee so she would just go in her bathing suit and all down her legs (gross!). Well, for some reason 2 weekends ago, she was swimming and I noticed she was crossing her legs. I asked her is she had to go pee. She told me yes. Ummmm...OK, then let's go on the potty. She didn't want to at first. She started screaming. But she was still crossing her legs. At one point she actually demanded a diaper. Ummm...NO, that's not happening! We finally forced her to go sit on the potty and she finally went pee. She was so proud of herself!

The rest is history. I have been putting her in panties ever since and, like I said, only two small accidents on day #2.

I decided to go at potty training full force since that day in the pool and I am so glad I did. From the moment that Hannah first peed in that potty, something clicked with her and she got it. I stuck her in panties every time she was awake and she did not want to go pee in her panties. She would actually tell me that she had to go and we would go into the bathroom.

Quitting diapers cold turkey like this might not be for every child, but it definitely worked with Hannah. And I cannot begin tell you how happy I am to only have one child in diapers! It is so nice not having to change my almost 3 year olds diapers. SOOOO nice! I should have tried this cold turkey thing 7 months ago!

But we are so proud of our BIG girl and I think Hannah is proud of herself every time she goes in the potty. :o)

And now that we are diaper free (for the most part), Hannah's already too big 24 month and 2T shorts and pants are now WAY too big when she's wearing panties. I am actually putting my little peanuts butt into 18 month shorts. Hannah definitely does not get this 'no butt' thing from her mommy! :oP