Merry Christmas!

Ethan 18 months


Merry Christmas from our family to yours!!!

Sick again? & 18 months!!

I Instead of taking Ethan to the doctor tomorrow for his 18 month appointment, we went today for a fever & cough. He has a sinus infection and is on antibiotics again. Joy! We went ahead and did everything except his vaccines today. He will get those when he is finished with the antibiotics!

Here are his stats for 18 months:

Height: 35.5in (>95%!)

Weight: 28lbs 2oz (85-90%)

Head Circumference: 51cm (>95% Huge!)

He is walking, running, talking, laughing, and generally having a grand time! He is such a joy right now. He is starting to have more "toddler moments" & I think the terrible two's are approaching a little early.

He loves saying & waving hi & bye bye. To everyone! It is really cute. Since he got his tubes in his ears, his speech has really started taking off!

Ethan's list of words includes:

Mama
Dada
Hi
Bye
Night-Night
Hot
Owie
Papa
Abbie (in-laws puppy)
Puppy (or sometimes pup-pup)
Not a word, but he loves to say "mmmmm" when he is hungry or sees food. Imagine this times 1,000 when we are at the grocery store!
Ball
Car
Diaper (we can understand it as that)
Yeah
No

He loves to give & blow kisses. Whenever we say "I love you" he responds by giving kisses :) It melts my heart! He definitely understands what we say to him and ask of him. He responds appropriately with yes or no answers and/or head shaking. When I say it's time to change his diaper, he goes to his room. Time for a bath, straight to the bathroom. Time to eat, straight to the highchair. If he sees any signs of us leaving (clothes, shoes, purse, or coat) he RUNS to the door "Bye bye bye bye" and gets very antsy until we leave!

He knows where his eyes, nose, ears, mouth, belly, feet, & head are!

He has 7 teeth (4 on top, 3 on bottom). I think he is working on getting a molar on the bottom left side.

He is in size 5 diapers. Size 24 month sleepers. Some 18 month shirts but mostly 24month clothes due to his height.

We will take his 18 month pictures tomorrow & I'll post them then

If you can take a moment to wish us luck....we put an offer on a house last night and we hope we get it! It is bank-owned and it is a fantastic deal. Brand new & over 2,000 square feet. We love it and really hope we get it. We may not hear back for a week or two, so I have to learn patience!!!

Updates!

I have no excuses for not blogging in so long! Life is super busy with a toddler, husband, & full time job! I will make this update fairly short & try to start blogging more (I know, I've said that before...)

Since my last blog in August, Ethan started having febrile seizures. His first one on August 19th was terrifying and lasted almost 20 minutes. He had to be intubated, sedated & life-flighted to Seattle Children's Hospital. We spent 2 days there waiting for all of the meds to wear off & make sure he was okay. It definitely put things into perspective for Chris & I. Since that day he had a continuous ear infection in one or the other ear. He did 6 rounds of antibiotics until he had another febrile seizure October 20th at 1am. Thank god for baby monitors!!! I woke up to a weird noise from him and found him seizing in his crib. His temp got up at 104.5 both times and it was so scary! Thankfully this one ended fairly quickly. We met with an Ear Nose & Throat doctor in November and 1 week later Ethan had tubes put in both ears (November 17th). Praise the Lord!!!! We are hoping this will solve his ear infections & stop causing fevers, so hopefully no more seizures! He is at more risk to have more seizures given how complex the first one was. Hopefully he won't though!!!

He will be 18 months old in 10 days! Where the heck has the time gone? I WILL post pictures & an 18 month update this month because he is learning & growing SO fast!

On the weight loss front, I am down to 154 & fluctuate up or down about 2 pounds. My friend & I joined a gym right by our work and go on our lunch break 3-5 times per week. I haven't lost any more weight, but focusing more on resistance/weight training to tone up!! I can tell a difference in the month since we joined! I have also increased the amount of time I can run to about 15 mins straight right now which is huge for me! Next goal is to run a 5k!!!

We are in the process of starting to look for a house to buy!! Hopefully this happens SOON!!!

Weight Loss Update

I have been on a journey since January 2011 to really change my lifestyle and become HEALTHY. Yes, I wanted to lose weight, but really I want to be healthier and feel good. Here we are 7 months later and I have lost 44 pounds from then. My total weight loss since having Ethan 14 months ago (holy cow!) is 70 pounds!!!!! I am SO proud of myself! I have been measuring my bust, waist, and hips along the way and I have lost 10 inches each from my waist and hips. I have lost 7 inches from my bust (and I have smaller boobs to show for it lol). I have went from an XL-XXL in tops & size 18-20 pants to size MEDIUM shirts and size 12 pants (which are actually starting to get loose). I cannot remember ever wearing these sizes! I can't believe I am almost in a size 10. That may still seem large to some of you, but I am thrilled!

Today I weighed in at 158lbs. My goal by the end of the year has been to weigh 150lbs. I know I will make it, and hopefully even surpass it! I feel WONDERFUL, have so much energy, and can exercise for hours now! I LIKE exercising! I have a wonderful friend/coworker who has been helping me along this journey and she is an awesome workout buddy!

I would love to hear about your journey as well! Trust me, this hasn't been easy, and I am not always perfect. But this is for life! If you have any questions about how I have lost weight, just ask. I just did it the old fashioned way! Portion control, counting calories (using Livestrong.com), and exercise. Check out Livestrong.com , it has changed my life!!!!

One Year Stats!

We had Ethan's one year check up today! His doctor was on vacation the past week so that is why we are a couple of weeks late. He is turning into a shy little boy when we are around new people! He will turn his head in and smile and it is so cute! He is such a little charmer & flirt! So here are his stats for 12 mths!

Weight: 24lbs 2.5oz (75%)

Height: 31.5in (95%)

Head: I didn't get number, but it is >95%! Love his big noggin' ;)

We have had some concerns about allergies recently. Ethan has very sensitive skin and has been getting very red skin and little bumps all over randomly. He also has very puffy eyes and rubs them constantly. My hubby had HORRIBLE allergies as a baby (and still does). His included food allergies to peanuts, eggs, and citrus. Due to this we have been very careful about what we feed Ethan. My doctor felt it was best to wait on him getting his MMR vaccine until we see an allergist to be 100% sure it is safe.

Now you know I work in the pediatric office that we take Ethan to & I am a nurse. I am very much Pro-Vaccine because I think the benefits far outweigh the risks. I give tons of vaccines everyday to children. I trust Ethan's doctor 100% and I am fine with waiting a couple of months until we see the allergist. I want to make sure it is completely safe for him to get the MMR vaccine. He got his 3 other vaccines that we due and did great! He cried for a few seconds while we got them, but as soon as I picked him up he was fine!

We also had his first dentist appointment today. It was more of a meet & greet. I really liked the staff, dentist and the office! They took us to the "Mommy and Me" room and I just held Ethan on my lap while they looked around! I knew Ethan had one tooth on the top about to poke through (it finally broke through the skin last night), but the dentist said all FOUR of his top front teeth are about to break through. His poor gums are extremely swollen! No wonder he has been fussy! I can't wait until they come through!

So at 12 months, Ethan is a very active little boy!! Here is what he is up to...

He crawls at full speed!

He cruises around everything! He can stand up my grabbing onto the wall and will walk holding onto the wall with one hand. He is SO CLOSE to walking!

He can pull himself up on doors and open the door handle! Seriously, my baby is too tall and too smart LOL :)

He is 100% drinking whole milk and has been for about a month. He decided he didn't want bottles anymore either so he is drinking out of sippy cups! I am so happy with this. He made the transition so easy. He prefers the sippy cups with straws.

He eats anything and everything ( minus eggs, peanuts, & citrus fruits for now). He really isn't a picky eater. He LOVES yogurt, cheese, strawberries, bananas, waffles, and anything else mommy makes!

He says Hi, dada, baba, nana, but not really saying Mama yet. Someday soon I hope!

He is still in size 4 diapers and wears 12-18 mth clothes (mainly 18 mth). Size 5 shoes! His feet are HUGE!

My baby is ONE!

shirt is from Etsy.com
I have waited on posting this, because I am having a hard time believing that my baby is one! Ethan turned one on Thursday June 16th, 2010 (at 12:18am to be exact:) My sweet boy is becoming a toddler way to quickly! I took Thursday-Sunday off of work to spend time with my birthday boy and celebrate! We spent the day playing with daddy & then celebrating with grandma & grandpa. He got lots of fun toys and clothes, and LOVED his jumbo cupcake to top it off ;)
We had Ethan's one year pictures/family pictures taken a couple of weeks ago by a co-worker of mine. She did a great job, considering Ethan didn't want to be put down! He is going through a stranger/separation anxiety phase something awful! He does not want mommy or daddy to leave his sight :(
In other news, my awesome hubby graduated college on Friday! He also got a job and starts tomorrow! I am so incredibly proud of him! I am hoping life only gets better from here and we can really start working toward future goals (buying a house, having another baby...)

I am also proud to say that I met my weight loss goal by Ethan's first birthday. I have lost 60 pounds since giving birth last year! I also finally weigh less than my super thin hubby! Granted he is 6'3 (13 inches taller than me). I weighed in at 165lbs Thursday!! I know to some that is still a big number, and I agree. BUT I weighed more than this going INTO highschool (at 14 years old!!) So this is a HUGE deal to me!!!! My ultimate goal is to lose another 20 lbs by the end of the year. I know I can do it!!!

Bad blogger!

Sorry it has been a month since my last post! Life has been super busy! Ethan is now (over) 11 months old. He had his first ear infection and is just now finishing up his antibiotics. He weighed over 23lbs at the doctor last week. We don't go for his 1 year check until June 29th due to his doctor being on vacation. Did I really just type 1 year check!? I cannot believe my baby is going to be a TODDLER and be ONE! Excuse me while I hyperventilate...

In other news, I have lost 32lbs since January bringing my total to 57lbs lost since I had Ethan almost one year ago!! GO ME! I would like to lose 20 more pounds before we start TTC #2 (which probably won't be until next year anyways).

Not much else going on except for trying to keep up with my super mobile baby. He is full on crawling and will walk so long as he can touch something (even just a hand on the wall). He keeps us on our toes!!!

Easter 2011!

Ethan & I before we left

Happy Belated Easter! We enjoyed our first Easter with Ethan! We went to grandma & grandpa's house where he got his super cute Easter basket filled with goodies. He got 2 summer outfits, 2 pair of sunglasses, a toy, bubbles, and snackies! He was super excited!

Our first Easter as a family of three (outside:)

We had a wonderful day filled with wonderful food (which I indulged a little too much in!). We have so much to be thankful for! We are so excited because C's brother & his wife are moving out here in a WEEK! We are SO happy to finally have them out here with us! We are also SUPER excited because they are expecting their first baby later this year!!! Ethan is going to have a cousin and they are only going to be about 17-18 months apart! It will be so fun to see him with another baby. He can get a little practice before we have another one! :)

I am also proud to say that I weighed in at 173.5 on Friday! I was awesome with my exercise last week. I spent 4 days on my stationary bike ranging from 25-40 minutes. Two days I went walking with some co-workers of mine. I also watched my food intake better. Until we went out for Mexican food Saturday night. Then we had ham, scalloped potatoes, green beans, and apple pie yesterday. MMM SOO GOOD! I need to do better at portion control, but it was so yummy!

I am also happy to say that I bought 2 new scrub tops/pants in MEDIUM this weekend. I don't remember EVER wearing a MEDIUM! I still see myself as an XL or XXL. Craziness! I haven't weighed this {little} since I was in 8th or 9th grade. My goal is another 11 pounds by June 16th...Ethan's 1st Birthday!!! I can hardly believe it's less than 2 months away! My little boy is growing up so fast!

I have a super cute video of him crawling I will post soon!

Ethan's 9 months!

I am WAY late posting this, but better late than never! We had Ethan's 9 month appointment on March 25th. He is doing great and we are so proud of him! He weighed 21lbs 12.5oz and 30.5inches tall! He is SO BIG! He is off the charts for height (thanks to his daddy) & 75% for his weight. Ethan at 9 months...

He is wearing 12-18 month clothes.

Size 4 diapers.

He eats mainly 3 meals a day and snacks (we went from 2 to 3 meals a day in the past few weeks).

He takes 3-4 bottles a day (6-8oz each). We are trying once again to switch him from Nutramigen formula to regular Enfamil milk-based formula. We decided to try for good before he turns one and has to start on whole milk. We want to make sure it truly isn't a milk allergy. We are doing this very slowly. Right now he is getting 2/3 Milk based formula, and 1/3 Nutramigen. So far so good!

He is just starting to army crawl. He tries so hard to get up on his knees, but just can't figure out how to crawl.

He would much rather stand and play. He can kind of walk when holding onto our hands.

He sleeps 11-12 hours a night and takes roughly 2 naps a day for about 30mins-2 hours each. LOL big variation!

His FIRST tooth finally broke through a couple of weeks ago!!! It is the bottom right tooth. I think the bottom left tooth should be coming through any time.

He is saying DA DA constantly. He just starting saying Mama a few times. He would rather say Nana and tease me lol

He is getting really good at pulling up on things! I think he is going to walk before he figures out how to crawl!

On a different note, we FINALLY traded in our Volkswagen turbo (6 speed) beetle for a new family car! We got a Kia Sorento and I LOVE IT!! We have SO MUCH ROOM NOW!!!!

Weekly Weigh in with PICTURES!

This week started out pretty good last Sunday. I took Ethan on a 2.5 mile walk/run and it was so nice! Fast forward to today, and I have only exercised 1 more time since then. I also don't think I ate very well this past week. I had a few splurges. I was hesitant to step on the scale yesterday morning. I was just hoping it would be the same as last week and I hadn't gained any weight.

Imagine my shock when the scale said 177.5!!! That is another 2lbs gone!!! Total weight loss in 3 months is 24.5lbs. Total weight loss since Ethan was born is -50lbs!!! I am so proud of myself!! I would like to get down to 150! I think 160lbs is my first goal though! So here is a picture from me 39 weeks pregnant, the day I went in to be induced with Ethan.
I weighed in at 227lbs that day *gasp*! Thankfully it was only about 6lbs over what I started with. I am pretty proud of that.

Here is a picture of me today at 177.5lbs .....(excuse the duck back behind me :)
This is a front view from when I was 39wks.
This is a front view of me today. I think you can tell that my hips have gotten smaller! Don't mind the bad lighting!
So I think the real shocker to me is how many inches I have lost.

Then Now Total

Hips 49in 42.5in -6.5in

Waist 43.75in 36.5in -7.25in

Bust 43in 38in -5in

Neck 15in 12.5in -2.5in

I hope you all have a great weekend! More exciting news to come! (no I'm not pregnant!)

Weekly weigh in!

Hey everyone! I am so glad it is Friday! I love Fridays because of the weekend, but also because it is my weigh day. I did fairly good with my diet this week. I exercised 4 days out of the past 7 which is pretty good for me. I rode my stationary bike 3 times, and went on a couple of walks with Ethan. My wonderful friend from work gave me her gently used jogging stroller! Her 3 y/o son has just about outgrown it, and he has a Bob revolution stroller so she passed on the Jeep Urban Terrain jogging stroller to me! It is wonderful! The only stroller we had was part of our travel system, and the plastic wheels don't work very well for outdoor walks.

Ethan loves the stroller too because it has a toy steering wheel on the front! So how did my weight loss go this week? My goal was to make it below 180, which meant I had to lose about 2 pounds this week. I didn't think I would make it, but when I stepped on the scale this morning, and I got 179.5 I almost died! I cannot remember the last time I weighed this!!!

179.5! That is a loss of 22.5lbs since January 9th! WOO HOO!! I just may make my goal of 160 by Ethan's birthday. If not, I should be close to it! I ran into a friend yesterday that I haven't seen in about 6 months and all she could say was "Wow you look great!!" She told me that about 3 times! Good self esteem booster! Also great motivation!

I have to say my motivation has been lacking a little bit. When I first started and the weight was coming off so quickly, it was easy to keep going. Now it is becoming a little more of a chore some days. I still try to track most of my food intake everyday. I have quite a few staples in my diet so I already know the calorie count which helps a lot. I have to keep reminding myself that this is a lifestyle change, and not short term.

I know I said I would post my measurements from start until now, and I will soon! I need to measure myself since I haven't in a few weeks and see if there is any change. I have lost quite a few inches since the beginning though!!

Stay tuned for that post, and Ethan's 9 month post!

20 pounds GONE!

I am super excited to announce that I have lost 20 POUNDS in a little over 2 months!!! What is even more shocking is that I am down 46 pounds since I gave birth to Ethan 9 months ago!! WAHOO! I am so proud of myself! I have to say that it hasn't been easy the past few weeks.

When I first started a couple of months ago, it was exciting and I had tons of motivation. It also helped that I was losing 3-4 pounds a week the first month I think. The past few weeks have been a little harder. The weight loss has slowed down (which I expected). I am having to learn that it is okay to eat something if I want it everyone once in a while & in moderation. This isn't a diet afterall, it's a lifestyle change! My exercise hasn't been the greatest this week, I really need to step it up!

Today I weighed in at 181.5 which makes my loss 20.5 pounds! I am so close to being under 180! I have to say I don't think I have been at this weight since I was in 9th or 10th grade! It feels wonderful! My reward for losing the first 20 pounds is a manicure/pedicure. I can't wait! I have also been measuring myself and cannot believe how many inches I have lost! I will update in my next post!

I'm alive!

Since we were out of town last weekend, I forgot to post! Sorry it has been two weeks since my last check in. I have been doing okay the past 2 weeks on exercise, but I could be doing better. Diet has been pretty good, minus a few splurges ;) I weighed myself on Friday and I am down to 183, so -3.2 pounds since my last post. Not a bad loss for 2 weeks!

I am currently enjoying my coffee in silence! Last night C & I had our date night to celebrate our 3rd anniversary (which is on Tuesday). His parents kept Ethan ALL night! It was wonderful! I miss him like crazy & am ready to go get him though :) It's so funny that the majority of our conversation at dinner was about Ethan. We went to the mall after dinner, and headed straight towards the baby section lol. We just love our little guy and we missed him so much! We had a great night alone though!!!! ;0)

Weekly weigh in

I did pretty good the past week with my diet/exercise. I exercised for at least 20-30 minutes 5/7 days! I am very proud of that! I did good sticking to my calorie intake. I even had Five Guys Friday night and it was SO delicious! I found the calorie count and worked out hard Friday night to make it work LOL. Is it bad that I exercised just so I could have a cheat day? Oh well, it was delicious!

I weighed myself Friday and I lost 1.8 pounds this week, down to 186.2lbs! Not too shabby! I am down 16 pounds now which I am so proud of! I only have 4 more pounds to get to my first goal. I will be very happy when I am below 180! Only 7 more pounds until that happens! I can SO DO THIS!

I am a little nervous about next weekend, because we are going out of town to visit family. I won't have nearly as much control over my diet, but I just have to make good choices. I will make it work!

I worked today so I only have 4 more days of work this week. Mon, Tue, Thurs, & Fri! I am looking forward to Wednesday off with my baby boy!! Have a great week everyone!

Operation New ME!

I love my baby boy dearly, but it is time I start blogging about something other than him! For those who have been following my blog since I was pregnant, you know that I am overweight. If you just stumbled across my blog, you go look at June 2010 and see my massively pregnant self.

I have been overweight for as long as I can remember. Always the fat girl that couldn't fit into the cute clothes. When I graduated high school, I weighed around 207. Way too heavy for my 5'3 frame. Fast forward to when I graduated nursing school 4 years later and I was tipping the scale at 248. I basically ate my way through college. I was a stress eater! I went to a doctor who prescribed a pill that was basically legal speed. I lost 20 pounds FAST! Woo hoo! Who cared if it made me feel like CRAP and constantly jittery and wanting to vomit, I was losing weight! I met my husband shortly after this, and continued losing weight because, hello! I was in love! I managed to get down to 198 the day we got married (coming up on 3 years ago).

I decided to stop taking this miracle pill after I read up on it and discovered how horrible it is for you. Six months after we got married, we packed up and moved across the country. I was ALONE, in the winter, in the pacific north west (note: DREARY!). I managed to gain 34 pounds in a year. About 2 years ago, my then employer decided to have a weight loss competition. I watched what I ate and worked out a lot, thanks to help from my hubby. I was doing great until I got pregnant, and had a miscarriage. It threw me off track. I still managed to lose about 15 pounds which was pretty good. I stayed that weight and when I got pregnant in October 2009, I weighed 220lbs.

I was extremely sick the first 4-5 months of pregnancy, and lost 11 pounds. I ended up gained weight back, but the day I went in to be induced I weighed 227. So I only went 7 pounds over what I started. I was very happy with that. When I went in for my six week check up, I was 209 pounds. I was very happy because I came out of having a baby weighing less than when I started!! I stayed at 209 pounds until I started my new job in October 2010. Once I started working 5 days a week, I lost a few more pounds.

Like most people, when the new year started, I vowed to get healthy. Not just lose weight, but get HEALTHY. For me, my son, and my family. I realized I am going to have a toddler soon, and I don't want to be the out of shape mom who can't keep up. I refuse to be like that. My son deserves better. My husband deserves better. I deserve better. I deserve to be proud of myself when I look in the mirror. I want to be able to ride a bike, go on a hike, run around the block without feeling like I'm dying!

So about the 2nd week of January, a couple of my coworkers and I decided we were going to start tracking what we eat. We joined Livestrong.com, put in our height & weight, and selected how many pounds per week we wanted to lose. It is an awesome website and I highly recommend it! It allows you to track your food, exercise, and water intake.

To date, I have lost 14 pounds!!! I am super proud of myself. Not only am I tracking weight, but I am measuring myself to track inches lost. It is amazing!! I think watching the inches of my waist & hips go down is almost more motivation than seeing the scale go down. I am trying to exercise 3-4 times per week. We bought a stationary bike for our house, and I have a couple of Jillian Michael's workout videos. Going to the gym is not an option due to time/money restraints. I am much more likely to do it at home anyways!

My starting weight was 202 pounds. Yesterday I weighed in at 188lbs. I do not remember the last time I weighed that much! I started in a size 18 pants, and when I went shopping today, I bought a size 14. WHAT!! They are a little snug, but the size 16 pants were too big. Talk about motivation!

I know this post is super long, but I wanted you to know my story, and how I got to where I am today. I need to blog about this, and have one more place to hold me account able. Having 2 ladies I work with doing it as well has been my saving grace. I don't know that I could have made it without them!! I have a long ways to go, but I am happy with my progress thus far. My first goal is to get to 160, and if I can make it by June 16th (Ethan's first birthday), then I will be extremely happy. However, I am realistic. This isn't just short term. I am in it for the long haul, and it doesn't matter how long it takes, just that I get there! :)

Are any of you trying to lose weight? If so what are you doing? I would love to hear your stories!

7 (& a half) months!

Yes, I know I am WAY behind! I have a lot to post about, but first Ethan is 11 days away from being 8 months old! So I need to post his 7 month pictures and stats!! I took him to get flu booster last week and he was 21 pounds 2 oz. He is about 30 inches (a guesstimate!)

At 7 months he can...

roll anywhere he wants to! Who needs to crawl when you can roll everywhere?

he says "Dada" all day long! He said "MaMa" one time! :)

Wears size 4 diapers.

Wears mainly 12 month clothes/sleepers.

He has been out of his infant carrier since right after Christmas, and he likes his big boy car seats much better!

He is a super happy baby & we love him so very much!!!!