Getting Healthy

So for the past few months I've been trying to get healthy. I got involved in this great website called My Fitness Pal. I completely recommend it to anyone. I think it's a phenomenal website for helping in the weight loss process. It is a calorie counter but even more than that, you have a plethora of people who are just like you, trying to get on the right track to a healthy lifestyle and I've met some of the most supportive and genuinely nice people on this website.

I've been running a lot! And I mean a lot. I can barely go a day without going out for my afternoon run, ipod attached to my ears, jamming Aerosmith. I am surprised that I finally love running. I used to dream about running, hoping that I would someday love it. Now I can finally say I do. I run about 2-3 miles, depending on the day. I run in the rain and the snow. I'm a little crazy to say the least. I know for a fact it has boosted my self-esteem and has made me so much stronger. I am signing up for a 5k in April, and it's a weird feeling to know I'll be able to actually run the whole thing.



Besides the exercise part, I've also been eating well. I finally have weaned myself off this sugar addiction and have replaced my empty calories with some good old fashioned fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and lean meats. I feel like I'm doing my body a good favor and making some long-term lifestyle changes.



So since October, I've lost 14 pounds. And since about a year ago, right after having Benjamin, I've lost almost 40 pounds. I only have about 11-12 more pounds before I'm at my goal. This is the smallest I've been weight-wise since I was 15 years old. I feel like maybe I'll actually get to my goal finally instead of dreaming of it in the future. I know I owe this to myself, to my kids, and I love that I can see my hard work finally paying off.

MyFitnessPal - Free Calorie Counter

Happy Birthday Benny

Benny had his 1st birthday and it was a super fun day! I can't believe he is 1 already! I can't believe how fast this year has gone by. I am so happy to have my little boy. I'll never forget the stark difference in my labor with Benjamin as compared to Lily. I swear that his labor experience of having a VBAC healed me emotionally a little. I can't wait to see Benny grow up and change everyday.
His accomplishments as a new 1 year old:
- He can now say All Done! It's so cute, he says it for everything, All done eating, all done sleeping, all done playing.
-He also says "Uh Oh!" every time he drops something. It's adorable.
-He is still cruising on everything possible - not quite walking yet. I try to let go of him while he's "finger-walking" but he just gets scared and sits down. He'll get there soon enough!
-He is completely weaned and drinks real cow's milk from his sippy.
- He has started climbing on everything. I've found him standing on chairs, step stools, boxes. I'm sure someday I'll find him on the counter or something.
- He is still not a good sleeper, but I think we're slowly making progress. At least that's me being optimistic. I hope he'll be a good sleeper soon!
-He kinda tapered down on his growth spurt. He was 19 pounds in December, and he's now just over 19 pounds. I think all these sicknesses are hurting his eating habits. He's well right now! I hope he's done being sick for a while!



For Benny's birthday we had such a blast. I was planning on taking him either to the park or the zoo but the weather has been awful so we just spent the day inside playing. We took him out to Warren's for french fries because they are his favorite. We had Grandma and Grandpa B over and did presents and cupcakes. Then that evening, we got on Skype to open Grammy and Papa's presents with them.

Lily sang Happy Birthday to Benny all day
Benny eating his favorite snack
Presents!
Benny's so lovey! He kept kissing his toys!

Sweet little laughs
Cake Time!
He didn't know what to do!
Nom Nom Nom
My kids are such clean freaks. Both Lily and Benny decided to cry when they got all messy with the cake on their first birthday's!