I can't think of a witty or informative title, so that's what you get! I don't have anything in particular to write about, but I'll update you on the latest.
First, I dressed Nora up a couple of weeks ago in a dress I got for super duper cheap (all dressed up but no where to go!). She looks like a little flower girl for a wedding, but this was just to church. How adorably cute is she?
So this weekend we had big plans to go on a dirt bike camping trip with some friends. For various reasons, no one else could make it! So we changed the location and just our little family headed down south of Salt Lake to a track that our friends have and camped there one night. It was good to camp there cause it was so hot and dusty that we could ride early in the morning and be gone before it was too hot or too dusty. We ended up leaving a tad later than we hoped on Friday night so we didn't roll in and set up till late. Nora didn't sleep well that night, but in hindsight, she got a nasty ear infection and was pretty sad about it. In the morning, Fogg's bike didn't work well, so I actually got to ride a good amount. I rode my bike, and two others which was fun. The kids played but struggled a little cause it was pretty warm and they didn't have a lot to do. It was also dusty and there were these poker things on the ground which really hurt the hands and feet if touched. Nora spent time shirtless. And thank God we had some carpets for them to play on. Here's Nora trying on my helmet.
We left at 1ish and headed back north. Not too long, we got a flat tire. Nevermind it was 104 outside and Fogg had to get on the ground (hot ground) to change it. And then he burned himself on the muffler. It was so hot! On the way home, we stopped at a water park and let the kids play for a bit. It was actually pretty fun. Then it was home for the night!
On Sunday morning, I went for a run (see below) and then to our friends house for a breakfast BBQ. We did one a couple of years ago and it was so fun so we did it again! Morning time hang out with friends over coffee, pancakes, bacon, egg casserole. Then it was off to church. Yesterday afternoon we just caught up a little on life around the house. The kids played in the little pool out back and rode bikes.
Reed is learning to write his name. He's been resistant to it for some reason, saying things like "I can't do it". But finally, he was willing to try. He knows the letters just not how to write them. I asked him (for the millionth time) if he would write it in chalk, he finally did. I made a big deal of it and let him pose next to it. He wrote this all by himself, I gave no instruction as to how to write it or what letter was next. This is a picture I will treasure!
Before I get to my new training, I wanted to record for my own sake what the kids have been up to lately. I feel like I'll never forget these milestones, but I will for sure! So I've been printing out my blogs yearly so I can make scrapbooks with them with pictures and stories and day-in-the-life memories.
Reed is 4 as we all know. He is really into counting, even counted backwards from 10 for me the other day! He's still working on the ABC's but recognizes letters. He loves to color and does it daily. He likes to count how many boys and how many girls. Or identify that someone is a girl or a boy. Like most boys, he's a little obsessed with his... well, boy parts. He's so very sweet to his baby sister (most of the time). The other day he wanted to help change her diaper, and pick out her outfit. He chose a silver skirt that made her look like a princess. He stated as much "I want her to be a princess". He likes to play with her and the other day he insisted on holding her hand the whole way home from school in the car. He will talk to her in the car often, prompting her to say words. They play chase and he loves to make her laugh. He is exercising his "toddlerness" sometimes and takes the whining cue from Nora. Sometimes he acts very young, other times he acts "brave" and like a "big boy". He knows so many words and phrases now, it's like having a conversation with an adult! He loves riding his bike these days and is really into his dad. I hear all the time "my dad and me...". When we were camping this weekend, he was looking at the stars and the moon and he said "my dad can throw me up to touch the stars and the moon.". It was just so sweet how dad is the ultimate strong man, hero, know everything. Reed also loves stickers, putting them all over himself. Spiderman is still a favorite.
Nora is 21 months already, two is just around the corner! She says a lot of words, those most are in her own language. Roro - cereal, tha-tha - diaper (this comes with grabbing her diaper), nack (snack and drink), ee - eat, hot - hot dog (her favorite), ba-barry (strawberry, but also grape or blue berries), night-night, book, de de (our word for blankie, thanks to Reed), ma-bak - bike, motorcycle, dirt bike (she LOVES motorcycles), baby, ba-ba (milk bottle), juice. I'm sure there are more, but that's most of them. My favorite is the way that she says "Ya!" Ask her a question and her response is this happy upbeat 'Ya!" She can of course say lots of names, mama, dada, lala, reed (more like sheesh), nana, papa, grama, max (more like maa). Her favorite show is still Yo Gabba Gabba. She knows it so well, knows the answers to the questions that DJ Lance Rock asks every show. "YO!, it's almost time to Go", the crowd says "aww", so does Nora. She seems to know sometimes when she needs a new diaper, potty training around the corner? She also likes to color but usually on herself. She is pretty clingy to me mostly, but just likes to me held a lot. She is sleeping SOO much better than her first year of life. She eats good too. She is pretty good at throwing some epic fits. Lately, I've been thinking that she might have asthma and feeling like her allergies might be the cause. We are getting allergy testing done to find out but I'm thinking she has lactose allergies and possibly some seasonal ones too. We are working on that as we speak! She continues to get lots of ear infections despite having tubes which is really annoying for all of us. Poor baby girl! She loves her brother tons, will do anything he does. They play the repeat game a lot, both directions. Nora loves to play in the car any chance she gets! She even got the car keys in the ignition last week - yikes!
So, in my quest to lose 10 pounds (noted in my new years post), I have stepped up the workouts and changed my eating habits. I have been working out all year, but really not putting a whole lot into it. I finally hit my breaking point about 6 weeks ago, things need to change! I was doing 3 workouts a week, but not really pushing myself and I didn't change the way I was eating at all. Turns out that turning 32 and having two kids means that I have to work a little harder than I used to. So I am eating way better (small portions, less calories, more fruits/veggies/protein). I also started doing two workouts a day but my body got a little beat up, so I'm working out at least once a day. I also signed up for both a 5K (done on fourth of july) and a 10K (this saturday - yipes!). So that means that I'm running way more and longer. This had yielded a weight lose of 8-10 pounds already and I can already tell slight differences in the way I look and more importantly feel. I'm excited to keep going! My challenge for the month of July is no french fries (if you know me at all, this is a hard one!). I also haven't had any ice cream in quite some time, also a shocker for me! I'm really hoping to keep going and lose another 10 by the end of the year. To double my goal would be awesome. I'll probably do one more 10K at the end of September and then take a break from running for the winter. I also started a 30 day pinterest challenge with my coworkers - try 3 new workouts from pinterest a week. That should be fun and motivating, trying something new each day. In the end, it really is all about how I FEEL about my body, to feel stronger and more confident, to be healthier. This is a lifestyle change for the whole family, changing how my kids eat and move (though the move part has never been a problem for them, we just want to keep it up). Fogg has done some great work in the past 2 years, getting himself to a very slim figure and eating so good, time for me to get on board!
This is the view from my 5 mile (non-stop!) run on Sunday morning. Could it be more beautiful where I live?
