I took on another "child".
This dog goes everywhere with us.

We kiss the dog, we sleep by the dog, we play by the dog, we pet the dog, we read books to the dog.

How long will it take for him to realize the dog is fake?

Lets cross our fingers and pray he just believes it's real forever. ha

The fake dog has gotten more kisses from him than anyone and I keep telling myself he does love me more than the dog:) xo

Todays agenda was weights with the husband before he went to work.

I have mentioned this before but I am not a weights lover.

Lets really emphasize the NOT.

You wanna know why??

Because I am terrible at them.

(funny how we like the things we are good at ha)

In fact I told my husband when I met him "Weights make girls bulky".

I think I made myself think that just for an excuse not to do them.

Boy was that just the farthest thing from the truth.

I thought the way to lose weight and stay small was to run yourself into the ground with cardio.

(I was so smart back then:))

Turns out that way gets you no where,

and your body will actually start plateauing making it so you don't burn near the amount of calories or fat.

It's important to add variety in your workouts to burn those calories and fat. 

My husband made a deal with me when we met,

"I will go run with you whenever you want,

IF I can teach you how to lift weights".

So that's my story.

Now I'm a true believer.

And I'm hooked.

And even though I may still lift 5 pounders and 8 pounders (after 3 years)

I have improved a lot.

So if I can do it.... anyone can do it.

ALL YOU NEED IS A SET OF WEIGHTS.

Depending on how buff you are you can determine the poundage ha.
We won't talk about how much my husband does because it makes me a little depressed picking up my 8 pounds.

Start down and then go half way up.

That is ONE rep.

Repeat 7 times. Going from bottom to half way up.

Then start half way up and go ALL the way up.

Do that 7 times.

Only from HALF WAY to the TOP.

FINALLY do one full BICEP CURL.
Do that 7 times.

21 reps total. (hence why it's called "21")
I use 8 pounds and I usually do this rotation 2 times.

Your biceps should burn by the end.
Now all you crossfitters and intense weight lifters. -GOOD WORK!
I don't know if I could ever be you. ha

The hubs gets a nice 7 mile run tomorrow for putting me through a grueling weight and squat workout today.:) Because let me tell you, I would MUCH RATHER go hit the pavement then lift a weight.

Happy Friday! and Happy toning!

If I was asked while I was pregnant if I was going to nurse my baby, the question was a no brainer...

"Of Course!"
I knew it was the healthy route, the cheapest route (hello students) 
and lets be honest, the route that burned 500 calories a day ha so I jumped on board "in my mind."
Little did I know what was to come.

**Now I realize every body is different and this may be a sensitive topic.

I know my mom nursed each child to a different stage depending on her body and the baby.

Some moms don't produce enough milk and some moms are not able to breastfeed for other various reasons.

But I believe whatever you decide to do is best for you and your baby.**

I however, produced enough milk to feed an army.
(you think I'm kidding)

I think breastfeeding is probably the best kept secret of pain.

Yes you prepare for the birth, the nursery, all the fun baby accessories but did anyone prepare you for nursing??

I remember that first week after he was born.

I was engorged and in tears night after night.
My poor husband had no idea what was going on. ha
 I had no idea it would hurt like that! WHO KNEW!?

All of the sudden I found myself not wanting to do it and thinking,
"A bottle of formula would be so much easier".

Luckily my mom was staying with us for the week and she kept saying it would be worth it.

And let me tell you.

*It was.

After 1 year and 3 weeks of nursing, we decided to pull the plug tonight.:(

Ok, so I totally felt like a cow sometimes. (okay scratch that, a lot of the time)

I remember calling my mom in tears (I think lots of tears were shed over nursing haha) and saying, 

"Mom all I do is feed him! Is this my only purpose in life!?" hahaha

But looking back it was some of the sweetest and most tender experiences of my life.

I am so attached to that little boy.

and I think his daddy would tell you he is all "Mamma's boy". (maybe too attached?)

No way did I ever think he OR I would make it a year,

but now that we have, I'm pretty emotional it's over!

He is officially out of the baby stage.

Even though he will always be "my baby."

So yes, breastfeeding is hard.
Really hard.
It's no fun sometimes, and sometimes it makes you want to go crazy in those early stages,
when your baby wont latch, or has a hard time catching on to it.

But if you are ABLE to, stick with it.

It is so worth it.

I wouldn't trade those nights for anything.

I will miss him eating and stopping, then looking up at me and smiling, and then back to eating.

My heart melted every single time.
(I have been down to only feeding him 2 times a day ((morning and night)) and weening slowly 5 minutes to 4 to 3 to 2 etc..)
Tonight he looked up at me when he was done and said "Mommy" and smiled.
It was just the cherry on top.:)

I'm so lucky to be your mommy.

Thanks for sticking with it with me little one!

xo

My 5"5 foot self gets a little "dwarfed" with these 2 beauties!
PS sorry for the terrible lighting, "husband's took the picture", phone picture.

So my darling friend on the left, Erin, is due in 1 month with a little boy!

Ryan is pretty thrilled to have another playmate in the mix.

So my pretty friend on the right, CHELSEA and I threw her a baby shower recently!

The theme was "Ready to POP" so the goal was to have all things that "POP".
And it turned out a little something like this...

I am so thrilled for my sweet friend and pretty excited to meet this beautiful baby boy!
I love him already!
xoxo

and just as we were about to go take our seats for the game,

We met up with some of our best friends from college.
They have the cutest little boy Ryder and he is only 2 weeks apart from Ryan!
Our husbands roomed together and played sports at BYU so we are hoping the same for the babes:)

Get ready for the saddest news EVER!
I am allegeric to my wedding ring.
Seriously!?
I didn't even know that was possible!
I broke out in an intense rash on my wedding finger after I had Ryan, and it just keeps getting worse and spreading!
My finger bleeds and itches like crazy 24/7.

So this last week my mom got me into the dermatologist and they stuck like 30 patches on my back.
After keeping them on for 48 hours my back became enflamed. (OBVIOUSLY- most sensitive skin EVER)
So I guess I need to go to a jeweler and figure out what to do.
I think I need to get it dipped??
So sad!


Oh and Ryan and I got to see this pretty sister of mine cheer!


And she is pretty fun to watch.:)

It's always bitter sweet leaving but as soon as we got off that airplane and Ryan saw his daddy,
he yelled "dada!!" it was the cutest thing ever.
Thanks for the perfect week. Love this family of mine!

Don't we all wish every day was Labor Day?

We had a really good one over here.
We spent the day at the pool. Soaking in our last days of summer.
(Even though Aaron had criminal law books to read, at least he spent the whole day at home!)
And ended the day at Cheesecake Factory with my in-laws going into food heaven.
Their BBQ chicken pizza is the best thing on earth. Trust me.

Ryan was on cloud nine all day. Daddy is his favorite playmate.

 I'm still in Utah but I fly to Houston tomorrow.
Currently loving this "fallish" weather here! Utah is gorgeous in the fall.
Everyone should visit these mountains at least once in their lifetime!

P. S. Does flying with a baby ever get any easier!?
I am not a fan of flying alone! (even though with Aaron having to get back to school, it seems like I do it all the time) Wish us luck and pray the people next to us don't hate us too much:)