The Zoo in March

We went to Free Day at the zoo again. We didn't get to stay very long because naps made us late, and we had to leave early to pick up Sam from work. This one car deal is getting annoying. But the boys loved the zoo. Alex was bossing me around saying which animals he wanted to see next. "Monkeys!" "Birds!" "Lions!"

I really like giraffes. Why are they so cool looking?!

Alex loves getting the stamp. He doesn't like that it means we are on our way out though!

Super Bowl XLVI

I don't care about the game. I halfway care about the commercials. I really care about the food. We weren't watching the game with friends, but this is still an important night for Sam and I wanted to make it special. So I made a lot of food. We ate leftovers for weeks. 

The menu consisted of seven layer dip, strawberries and pineapple, wings, blue cheese dressing, spicy roasted chickpeas, my Papa's punch, and chocolate chip cookies. We put the boys to bed and then started the game! That's about when I zoned out so my recap ends there.

To Edison

I rocked you before bed, singing Happy Birthday and crying. You are growing up, and there is nothing I can do to stop it. I just want to breathe in every moment of your life. Daddy and I recorded this for you.

Alex wanted to sing you Happy Birthday.

Obviously we can talk about you endlessly. We love you endlessly, too.

Edison's Edition (One Year)

Weight: 21 pounds, 2 ounces

Length: 30.25 inches

How? How did this happen? How did these days add up to an entire year? Edison was born one year ago. He has gained 13 pounds and grown 10 inches. He has learned to say three words, and understands more than I know. He has a huge smile, great sound effects, and the newest addition: big, juicy, open mouth kisses!

They don't get much cuter than this!

This is not a slide, Daddy!

"I feel something under my feet. That's okay, I'll just kick it."

About to be tackled.

Smash!

A good-lookin' little girl boy.

Little bumblebee.

Why?! This is not a step!

He loves snuggling.

Ooh! More books to pull off!

Just keep sweeping, just keep sweeping.

He is such a messy eater. Our kitchen floor is always a disaster.

"Where's our food?!"

Delicious chalk!

"Computer under the desk? Don't mind if I do."

Edison fell asleep in his carseat at church. We started the drive home and he woke up. Then he climbed right out. Oops, somebody wasn't strapped in!

He got a bubble machine for his birthday and loves it!

Mmm, orange peel.

"Don't mind me. I'm just driving my car."



He is getting really good at walking.


Hilarious. Playing keep away from Daddy.


Jabbering away at Daddy.


He loves having water squirted in his mouth.

Here are a few more things Edison does for which I do not have a matching picture:

He...
...can drink through a straw.
...had roseola earlier in the month and was miserable for a week.
...tries to climb on the futon, but can't quite make it. He can climb on the couch when Alex pulls off the cushions for him.
...makes sound effects while pushing around cars.
...makes growling sounds for all animals.
...changes directions very easily while walking.
...loves walking in circles, almost always to the left.
...does belly blows to Mommy.
...loves cheese and strawberries.
...may have a chipped front tooth.
...prefers walking to crawling.
...looks like a giant in his Pack N Play.
...can say "More," "Ball," and "Mama" at the appropriate times.
...has another tooth (3.26.12). Total of eight teeth now.
...loves food. If he thinks I have something in my mouth and he wants it, he just tries to fish it right out.

Breeja's Swim Meet

Breeja Larson and I knew each other in high school. I swam with her older sister and we became friends after I graduated and she was starting her freshman year. She turned into an amazing swimmer and just keeps getting better. She is currently a sophomore at Texas A&M. Alex, Edison, and I went to watch her swim meet against University of Houston. She was amazing, as usual. She makes it look so pretty, and so easy.

Horrible pictures, but it was indoor and I was far away. Oh well. Hello, Breeja!

Since this meet, she broke the NCAA 100 breaststroke record and then the American record for the 100 breaststroke. I am excited to watch her in the 2012 Olympics in London.

It is rare that I feel dwarfed by someone. I felt that way standing next to Breeja. She has grown since high school. Not just that, but she has swimmer shoulders. She is so humble, and kind, and thoughtful. I could not believe how easily we were able to catch up and that she hurried out of the locker room so she would be able to talk to me longer. She is awesome.

 Things I want to remember:

1. Alex asking if he could get in the water.

2. While some swimmers were racing Butterfly, Alex said, "Oooh! Dolphin!"

3. After he saw a flipturn for the first time, he said, "They flip over!"

Things I want to forget:

1. Alex dropping his toy car over the banister and onto the pool deck.

2. Alex trying to replicate the car's adventure with his own body.

Two Kids

The decision to have another child was a little conflicting sometimes. Of course I wanted more kids! I love Alex and he brings me so much joy. I wanted to increase my ability to love and also give Alex the opportunity to have what I had with my siblings. But then I knew another child would distract me and would not allow me to give Alex as much attention anymore. Once Edison was born, I loved them both and had to find a way to give them both what they needed. I feel bad for anyone who decides to stop after only one child though. They would miss this, and that is sad.

I want to freeze my kids at this age. It is perfect. They are both so fun and I cannot believe how adorable they are. Alex talks like a grown up -- the attitude at least. Edison is walking and responsive and grinning. They are both perfect. I love having two kids!

The first minute of the video is the part I love. I have been looking forward to them interacting like this. This is what I always dreamed about. They make me so happy. I have the best job ever.

Dinner with Company

I really like making dinner. I love finding new recipes and testing them. It has gotten to the point where we rarely have the same thing twice. I also really like having people over for dinner. It is kind of dangerous sometimes to combine those two. However, it is also a great excuse if dinner is a total flop because I can say, "I've never made this before!" I am all about having a good cop-out. But it is rare that our dinners flop.

We went out to dinner to Gringo's because so many people had recommended it. We had to wait for a long time and as we were about to be seated, the Keens walked in! They would have had to wait for over an hour and it was already late, so we sat together. It was fun to share conversation with our friends. They invited us over for dinner the next weekend but I didn't take any pictures. However, Kristi made some amazing pizza and it was so fun. Alex decided to be afraid of their cats, and Edison tried to defend his brother by pulling the cats' hair and lying on top of them. It was a good time.







I serve in the Young Women organization with Melanie and Crystal. It is always just the three of us at playgroup so I have gotten to know them really well. Crystal had us over for dinner and our husbands got to know each other as well!





Alex loved this car and didn't let go of it the whole time.



We love the Rotolos. They are some of the nicest people we have ever met. We had them over for dinner and I made one of our favorite recipes, but I added way to much cayenne pepper! I think they wanted to cry. Our kids play so well together though, so the night was a success.





The Rotolos returned the favor and invited us over later in the week. The Thomsons came over, too. It was so fun to play games. Sam and I love games. They invited us over again the next weekend to rematch Jason (since he had beat everyone on the game we played), but I lost the lead and Jason ended up winning again. Grrr!

3000

On February 1st, I was talking to my friend about working out. She is a personal trainer at a gym and could kick my butt with her amazingness. She told me that someone challenged her to do 3000 pushups and 3000 situps in the month of February. I decided I could do that, too. That is about 104 of each every day. I quickly realized that I would not be able to do that many pushups, so I changed my goal to 1000 pushups and 3000 abdominal movements... I was getting bored doing situps only. At the end of the month, I was able to finish all 3000 situps. However, I only finished 205 pushups! Failure.

Alex wanted to workout his abs with me one day. He is better at them than I am.

 This would probably be a good time to talk about weight loss. That is all people talk to me about these days. I enjoy talking about it though, so it's fine.

On September 15th, my sister-in-law, Laura, and I decided we wanted to do a Family 5K at Thanksgiving. I started running but didn't really change anything else. I was able to lose a few pounds but I didn't meet my goal of losing 15 pounds by Thanksgiving. A few days into the year, I came across an app on the iPhone that was an easy way to count calories. I had never counted calories before in my life. Honestly, I didn't want to count calories. I was scared that I would ruin my relationship with food and it would become a fear of food. Instead, I feel like I have a better understanding of food now.

At first it was really hard. I wanted to eat everything. I knew I couldn't have popcorn, a smoothie, and chips and stay within my caloric goal. I would read labels and have to set priorities. Still, every day, I have to ask myself: How much do I really want this? Do I want this more than that? It helps to remind myself that if I eat a ton right now, I am using up all of my calories meant for dinner.

I have realized that if I want to be full for longer, I need to eat more food. That means I can't eat 10 chips as a meal. Instead I need to have something like pasta, tacos, or salad. I can still have really yummy food. The hardest thing for me has been tortilla chips. I love chips and dip and it used to be a daily thing for me.

Now, I am far from perfect. I actually go over my goal a few times a week. I have days when I open the pantry and I think, "I just don't care right now."

This has been my first diet of my life though. It has been an interesting experience. I have reached my weight loss goal now, but I continue to count calories. I like knowing what I am putting in my body. It helps me realize that I may not be hungry when I think I am, and maybe I just want water or I have something going on emotionally.

Sam has been running during lunch every day since July. He was getting frustrated because he wasn't losing weight very much either. We started counting calories together. We discovered that he was eating too few calories and his body was entering starvation mode. Oh, if only I had such a serious problem...

Since September 15th, I have lost 25 pounds. I weigh how much I weighed when Sam and I got married. I fit skirts that I haven't worn since before we were married. I feel great about myself. I am so proud I was able to accomplish something I wanted to do. Most days, I have tons of energy and I am happier. Since Sam started working out in July, he has lost 40 pounds. He fits into a suit he bought on his mission (10 years ago), and it is even a little loose! It has been a great change for our family. We are both working out still, but have realized that working out alone does not solve the problem. Diet is so important, and I am doing my best to plan healthy, well-balanced meals for the whole family.

Church Basketball

Sam played church basketball for our ward. They only had four games and no championship so it seemed to go very quickly, but Sam enjoyed it. Three of the games started at 9pm so we were only able to go to the one game that started at 7pm. The picture quality is very poor because I was trying to take pictures from across the cultural hall.

Alex wanted to get out there and play. He got hit by a ball during warm up though and he was very broken up about it.

Edison had a friend to play with and he was happy eating his friend's toys.

Sam was really into it. Whoa.

Playing Outside

My boys love playing at the park. It makes any day a good day. Alex is very adventuresome. I love watching him run around for hours and not care about anything else. Edison really likes eating bark. I think being outside makes my boys cuter. I wish we could spend all day outside.