Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow

We are getting our third snow fall of the season. There has been so much more snow this year than normal. Unlike Wisconsin, Virginia treats snowstorms as a weather emergency. Everything shuts down and people stay home. Neighbors converse while shoveling. Hot chocolate is consumed. Games are played. Sleds are shared. It is so nice to be stuck at home for a couple of days - no gym going, church attending, grocery runs, etc. Just good times with your loved ones. So I say, " Let it snow, Let it snow, Let it Snow!"

Fit Friday - photos added

Well, I have completed 31 days of p90x. I am still enjoying it. I really am happy to be learning how to incorporate weights into my workout. I am starting to notice slight changes primarily in my arms. For the first time I can see slightly defined muscles. Yeah! I think my core muscles are starting to wake up a bit but not as much as I hope they are 60 days from now. My skin is still saggier than I would like due to being stretched out twice (small price to pay for 2 beautiful babies).

Here are measurements from day 31 (these may be inaccurate due to measuring technique):

Waist (at most narrow spot): Day 1 - 28 inches Day 31- 27 inches
Hips: Day 1 - 36.5 inches Day 31- 35.5 inches
Thighs (they are the same): Day 1 - 19.75 Day 31 - 19.5 inches
Peak of biceps: Day 1- 10.75 inches Day 31 - 11 inches

Comparison photos are here.

What have you done to stay fit this week?

Crawling Cutie

Last week I was telling my cousin Julie that I didn't think Lainey was going to crawl anytime soon because she seemed content to stick to army crawling and scooting on her butt. Lainey must have overheard me because about 24 hours later she made her first attempt to crawl on all fours. She is pretty good at it now!

I really am loving the phase my sweet baby girl is in right now. So fun!

Lainey crawls

Show Off

This week my baby girl has figured out how to go from laying down to sitting, sitting to standing, and how to crawl on all fours for short distances. She is quite proud of herself.

Lainey Lane

My sweet baby girl is really at a fun stage now! She is a fun, easy going baby. She loves attention and wants to be a part of everything. She finds Erik hilarious and can't stand being away from him if she knows he is nearby. Poor girl -- I have already seen Erik push her away from him and say, "Leave me alone, Lainey." If only he knew it was so rare for someone to have complete adoration for you. He should be soaking it up!
She is full of personality! As I said before she wants to be part of everything. This seems to impact her nursing. For the past week or so she has refused to nurse (or will only nurse for a few seconds at a time) if there is anything distracting her. It doesn't have to be a person -- it can be a toy, the computer, phone, etc. This afternoon she was crying because she was hungry but screamed bloody murder when I tried to nurse her. So, I gave her a bottle of pumped milk which she gulped down (although she would only take the bottle at an angle where she could look at Erik). I hope this is short lived because I am not planning on pumping for the next 5 months!

She is getting big (17 pounds at just over 7 months)!! She is moving everywhere now -- army crawling quickly, scooting on her butt, and just today figured out how to go from laying down to sitting on her own. She gets up on all fours and can move a very short distance in the formal crawling position but doesn't have it down for real yet. She wants to spend most of the day standing up which requires supervision. She can almost pull up to standing from sitting.
Lainey has had multiple ear infections and has been stuffed up since birth. Her reflux seemed pretty well controlled on Prevacid but she was still stuffed up all the time. This can be from food allergies so I cut out all traces of dairy (breads, crackers, desserts, etc.), nuts, and eggs three weeks ago. This is a pain for me but worth it as she is so much better!! For the first time in her life she doesn't have a terrible stuffy nose and cough. Her eczema is almost completely gone as well. Too bad it didn't help her sleep through the night. :)

Fit Friday

One more week done! I am in the middle of week 4 of p90x -- the recovery week. I don't think much has changed this week. One more week until pictures and measurements -- better find some motivation this week. I haven't missed any workouts yet although I had to do a catch up day once.

I am on this crazy diet -- no nuts, eggs, or dairy due to Lainey's allergies. It really seems to be helping Lainey so I am happy to do it but I was really craving some dessert this week (cutting out nuts, eggs, and dairy really doesn't leave me with a lot of dessert options). I told Victor about this small container of dark chocolate that I knew was dairy free and asked him to stop at Trader Joe's and get it for me. This is what he came home with...

Thank you honey!

He forgot that I wasn't eating nuts - we can save the chocolate
covered almonds for our next house guests.

Girl Time

Lainey and I spent the weekend in Princeton with the Chens. Mike and Sonja welcomed baby Jamison into their family in December so we went to spend time with them. Erik and Victor were supposed to come too but I really needed a break from my 2 year old as he has been testing my patience a lot recently. It was a really fun weekend for me. I was grateful to be able to met my new nephew and spend time with my fun in-laws.

guy time

the boys got to hang out this weekend while the girls went to princeton. here's a photo of our movie night. we watched "cloudy with a chance of meatballs" yesterday and we started "night at the museum" tonight, but it was probably a bit scary for a two year old.

it rained pretty much all day here, so we also watched the vikings beat the cowboys 34-3 earlier in the day.


and yes, no pants.

7 months

Can you believe this precious baby girl is seven months old today?
Amazing!

Check out this wild baby's crawl/scootin' action!

Fit Friday

I am now on day 18 of p90x. I have not missed a day yet. I do think I am starting to see slight more definition in my abdominal muscles. Yeah!! The workouts continue to be challenging. I went to the gym 4 times this week too for about 40 minutes each time just to get a little more cardio in. I am hoping to cut back on this a little more once it gets warmer out so I can go on walks more frequently.

I did take measurements this morning. I am not sure that victor's measuring technique is very scientific but here are the results...

Waist: Day 1 - 28 inches Day 18 - 27.5 inches
Hips: Day 1 - 36.5 inches Day 18 - 36 inches
Thighs: Day 1 - 19.75 inches Day 18 - 19.5 inches
Biceps (at the muscle peak): Day 1 - 10.75 inches Day 18 - 11 inches
Weight: Day 1 - 139.5 Day 18 - 137

Two more weeks until the 30 day photos!

What did you do to stay fit this week?

Preschool Boy

Erik really likes numbers and letters now. He also has started lining all his toys up in a line. I am enjoying this not only because I like seeing him learn but also because it actually occupies him for 5-10 minutes at a time!

Erik with his fridge letters all lined up and separated by color

Here is a long, kind of boring video, busy lining up his cookie cutter letters.

Uncle Daron

We have had a fun, busy weekend. Daron has been interviewing for residency programs recently. This week he interviewed at 2 Havard programs in Boston and one at John Hopkins in Baltimore. Since he was close by he spent a few days at our house. We enjoyed having him here.

We didn't do anything too exciting although Saturday morning Daron (with Victor) took Erik to his gym class. Erik actually let Daron be the one to go into the gym with him (only one adult is allowed) so that was fun.

Sunday we went downtown and went to the Christmas train display at the National Botanical Gardens and the Air and Space Museum. Erik and Lainey were so fun to watch at the Botanical Gardens -- both were very excited by the trains and watched them with great intensity.

Here are some photos from our weekend...

Erik flying a plane

Lainey watching the trains at the Botanical Gardens

Uncle Daron with Mr. Cooperative

Uncle Daron playing with Lainey

Fit Fridays!

Well I have now completed 11 days of the p90X. 79 days to go. I can't say I have noticed a lot of changes yet -- hopefully in the next 2-3 weeks there will be some noticeable changes (more muscle definition).

Here is my 11 day review of the program:

Pros:
I really am enjoying incorporating weights and yoga into my workouts

Cons:
Not a lot of cardio -- there are 2 days of cardio each week, 3 of weights, 1 of yoga, and 1 of stretching. I am used to 6 days of intense cardio so this switch is hard for me to get used to. I have been still going to the gym for 30-40 minutes of cardio 3-4 times a week because I can't give it up completely.

Location -- it is convenient to work out at home but since it is available to do at home I feel like I should squeeze it in whenever I can. That means I have been doing 20 minutes a few times a day instead of my normal 75 minute workout at the gym

Stats:
I didn't measure or take pictures this week but I am at 137.5 lbs today -- started at 139.5 on Day one. Goal is 135.

Not Far From the Apple Tree

Lainey may not look exactly like me but she sure has inherited my spunk. Lainey has become a really fun little baby. She is very animated and happy. She likes to play and giggles a lot. She can not crawl on all fours yet but she follows me everywhere doing the army crawl and a few yoga techniques.

The thing that reminds me of myself though is her great sense of right and wrong about things. If you don't think, a not quite 7 month old really has opinions check out this video.

Spunky Baby

I could blame this spunk on Victor but I don't think I would be fooling anyone.

Erik and Victor Quotes

Victor was recently quoted in a news article. If you are curious you can read it here....

Corrupt Government Contractors

Erik has said several funny things recently which I have been meaning to write down so I don't forget them...

1) At night Victor will sometimes rub my feet for a few minutes while I am laying on the couch. Erik must think this looks enjoyable because the other morning he was goofing around in our bed. He laid down put his hands behind his head, feet up on a pillow, and loudly said, "Victor, rub my feet!" I hope I don't come across as that demanding/spoiled but it was cute coming out of Erik's mouth.

2) "Mommy, I put baby Jesus in the trash." -- Erik had put the magnet from the nativity scene into our metal trash can.

3)" Mommy, Why is my penis is stuck up?" Sorry to Erik in advance for recording that one.

Lainey-bug

Erik calls Elaina, Lainey-bug. He adores her and often tells me, "Mommy, Lainey-bug is so cute." We couldn't agree more with him! Lainey is so fun now. She jabbers at us all the time. She has started to say ga,ga,ga and da,da,da. She laughs out loud at Erik sometimes. It is fun!

Here is a video of her, not so successful first attempt at drinking out of a sippy cup.

Lainey

Fit Fridays!

I was originally going to call this "Free from Flab Fridays" but I didn't want to appear too neurotic as I know I don't have a ton of flab. I also don't have a ton of muscle and the muscle that is there is slightly hidden under a layer of loose skin. I am not sure if I should blame the loose skin on 2 back to back babies or the impending 3-0 but either way I want it gone!

I have been going to the gym about 6 days a week for many years now. My workouts consist of 60-70 minutes of intense cardio and not much else. This was no longer cutting it (muscles are still hiding under loose skin) and I am frustrated since I put a lot of effort into staying fit and wasn't getting the results I wanted.

So I decided I wanted to hire a personal trainer to teach me how to incorporate weights into my workout. This is fairly expensive though so before going down that avenue I am going to complete the p90x extreme home fitness program.

I am going to post my update every Friday -- with stats and a photo on days 30,60, and 90.

I am on day 4 so far and they have been tough! It is weird not going to the gym but my body is sore so I think it must be working.

Here are my before photos and stats.....


Weight: Day 1: 139.5
Day 4: 138
Chest: 35
Waist: 28
Hips: 36
Right Thigh: 19.75
Left Thigh: 19.75
Right arm: 10.75
Left arm: 10.75

Goals:
Get back to my base weight of 135-136 on a consistent basis
Define my ab muscles
Loose a small about of loose skin off of my hips and abs

Do you want to join me?! I would love a partner in crime to hold me accountable! If not, what other New Years Resolutions do you have this year?