What the Hale's?!

Hungry.

2012-01-23T20:21:00.000-08:00

I am so baby hungry! Especially now that most of my friends who already have a baby are popping out new ones all over again... Anytime I see a newborn my heart feels like it's getting hugged and squeezed and I can't help but get so excited for another one.
My sister-in-law just had the most adorable baby boy and I can't get over him. I have not even met him and just looking at his pictures makes me giddy. He really is one of the most handsome little baby boys I have ever seen. Of course seeing his picture makes me want another one.
And then I see a picture like this...

Or this one...

or especially these...

...and I can't decide if I really want another baby now or if I just want Winston to be a newborn again.

Blondie.

2012-01-22T18:30:00.000-08:00

Dear Emily,

Next time you feel like dying your hair dark please remember the nastiness of these roots.

A love letter to my favorite exercise...

2012-01-18T20:00:00.000-08:00

I love walking. Like, I am SERIOUSLY passionate about it. And by walking I mean power walking. Like, swing your hips obnoxiously and take ridiculously long strides kind of walking.
Walking is my favorite way to exercise ever! I love looking at all the houses and plants all around and really take everything in. I hardly ever go the same way twice and I find something new every day.
I have never liked staying inside for very long. Being outside keeps me sane.
Winston also has a serious love for the great outdoors. He stands by the back door and looks out the window and whines until we let him play outside.
About two weeks after Winston was born I began walking with him in the stroller almost every day. This is probably the only reason I lost all the baby weight...
We are now to the point where we walk around for 1 hour every morning and then for 15 or 20 minutes we go to the park and play. Watching Winston explore is one of my favorite things in the world. Yesterday we were tossing a tennis ball back and forth and then he threw it down the sidewalk, ran over and picked it up, tossed it again ran over, picked it up and this went on for about 10 more minutes. And I just watched. It was funny to me... and maybe you had to be there.
If ever I am feeling stressed, frustrated, sad, mad... a quick walk outside makes everything in the world better... I am not really sure why I wanted to write this. Aaaaaaaaand I'm done. I'll probably go on a walk or something.

My third arm.

2012-01-17T20:26:00.000-08:00

A while ago I did a posted about one of my favorite things in the entire world.

I call it my third arm.

I pretty much love it the same amount as I love my other two arms.

The great thing about my third arm is that it is indeed detached from my body and where a shoulder and bones should be, there is a magnet.

Seriously. It does not get any better.
In case you missed my last post on this subject here is a refresher...

{Me when I was going to college in a REALLY small town and obviously VERY bored. Or was I...?}
One of my favorite things to do with the arm is to stick it in surprising places for Steven (or anyone else) to find...

All these pictures were taken a few years ago when I was allowed to have the arm with me whenever I wanted.
I think that Steven got fed up with finding the arm in random places because now the arm can only be brought out during Halloween time... So month after month it sits in the "Halloween Box" waiting to be reunited with me.

Since October we have been living with my parents and of course I decorated our room with our Halloween stuff. When Halloween was over, the arm... didn't find it's way back into the box. It has been tucked away behind the couch (hidden from Steven) if I needed it, (you would be surprised how often this happens) it would be way more convient for me to quickly grab it from the behind the couch instead of going all the way to garage and digging through boxes. I have been waiting and waiting for the perfect moment to get it out (this arm is seriously on my mind waaaay too much).
Tonight was that night.
Winston was hanging out in our room and went behind the couch and he found the arm all by himself.
He loved it the moment he saw it.
He then climbed into our trash can and stood there with the arm in his hands and I have never, ever been more proud.

This kid may be the spitting image of his dad but, I have a feeling that he just might be more like me on the inside. And that's the stuff that really matters... right?

2012: Confidence.

2012-01-14T21:12:00.000-08:00

{This picture has nothing to do with the post.}

Writing this is very difficult for me... But since this is my "journal" I want to document it... even if I do end up deleting it as soon as I post it.
Like almost every other girl I struggle with confidence issues. Daily I beat myself up over this or that. It has gotten to the point that talking to people (in person, on the phone, texting, email...) has become extremely difficult for me. I would love to be able to call up anyone in my family (or just anyone) and just talk without worrying what they are thinking on the other end.
I used to love talking to people...
Nothing looks good on me, I never say the right thing, everyone judges every thing I do or say... I am kind of just one big walking flaw.
Nothing bugs me more than a girl complains about her confidence issues (or complains period). And here I am doing it. My confidence issues are running my life. And I am kinda super over it. I think Steven is getting sick of me never believing him when he gives me a compliment which is daily... He's a really good man.
This year instead of having tons of little goals I have just one
TO BE CONFIDENT IN MYSELF.
I don't know exactly how I am going to this. But it will happen. I have let this go on long enough. It's ridiculous.
Two thousand twelve is the year that I learn to love myself!

All mine.

2012-01-09T21:11:00.000-08:00

Sometimes I look at this handsome man of mine and I am overwhelmed with how lucky I am...

Dear Steven,
I know that you are going to read this and when you do I hope you watch this video and it brings a smile to your face. I know you can't watch it without cracking up. I just wanted you to know that you make my dreams come true. I love you.

p.s.- B.O.B.O.D.Y.

December recap!

2012-01-07T20:11:00.000-08:00

December was such a whirlwind. I spent all year looking forward to it and now it's gone. And if the world really does end on December 21st then Winston will be one day shy of his 2nd Birthday so... there's that.

Speaking of Winston we totally celebrated his first Birthday in style.

Read more about his Birthday recap HERE.

We also Celebrated Christmas

(view previous post)

- Did something awesome that I will (hopefully) share soon!

- I started doing side jobs part time

- One of my very best friends had her first baby named Kingston and I am so in love with him. He came in at a very healthy 8 lbs 12 oz (a pretty big difference from Winston's 5 lbs 5 oz). Kingston is such a handsome boy!

Winston and Kingston are already best friends.

To end the month and year we had our traditional chocolate milk toast.
We started doing this the year we got engaged because we did not have any bubbly. Chocolate milk is the best alternative.

Whew! As fun as December was I am glad to say that it is over. We have so much to look forward to this year. Including Winston's 2nd Birthday!

It's Christmas Time!

2012-01-07T19:33:00.000-08:00

And it's about time that I blogged about Christmas. This year was amazing. Having a kid during Christmas time brings back all the magic. Not LITERALLY having a kid during Christmas time like we did last year. Last year Winston was only 3 days old on Christmas so we kind of missed out on Christmas because we were too busy staring at our new baby. I was so excited to see him open his gifts this year on Christmas morning that I could hardly sleep the night before.
Surprisingly Winston was not at all interested in the wrappers or boxes and he went straight for the good stuff. Such a good kid. We will keep him.
I have way too many pictures and instead of writing captions for each I am taking the lazy way out and just going to sum it all up.
We were with my family this year (we missed you Hale family!) and on Christmas Eve we went over to my Grandmas house for a yummy Mexican dinner. We did a talent show and I was able to play my violin while everyone sang along. It was so much fun. This was our first Christmas Eve with my family since we were married and I forgot how much I loved it!
My grandma also insisted that each family come up with a song to sing for everyone. Steven and I tried to take it up a level and the week leading up to this night we practiced our own Christmas medley. The songs involved were Feliz Navidad, I Want a Hippo For Christmas, and All I Want For Christmas is You. It was epic.
Christmas we opened gifts in the morning, went to church (church on Christmas is the best thing ever and the way it should be every year), had my the Hancock (my moms side) come over for Christmas brunch, and topped the day off with Christmas dinner at my Grandmas... Whew!
Let me just touch on some of the gifts we got as well.
Steven got me a coupon for a mani/ pedi and dinner with one my very best friends, sees candy, a beautiful camera (aka my new baby) and WICKED tickets!!!
I got him a Christmas tie to wear to church, a 3 hour cooking lesson, and I organized all his mission stuff and made a scrapbook for him.
Winston got lots of toys and the cutest little vans from his Aunt Victoria.
We were also so spoiled this year from both sides of our families. We feel so loved.
But the best gift of all is that of the life of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. I love him and I know he loves me.
Ok. I know that there is so much I could go on about but how about some pictures?

I KNOW it's blurry. I ask you to look beyond that.

Violin playing.

Family Christmas songs

4 out of 6 Tipton children. They also did a lovely Christmas song together.

Winston's "big gift"

he did not want to leave his new train.

Gift from my parents

Gift from Steven's parents.

My handsom boys in their church clothes.

Steven and my newest cousin, Wes.

Pre- It's Christmas Time!

2012-01-07T19:26:00.000-08:00

We kicked off the holiday season with a good ol' ward Christmas party.

Do you like the outfit Winston is wearing? Steven does not. However I will never get rid of it. That outfit has been worn by me, and all three of my brothers when we were babies. I think it is adorable! Long live the baby Santa suit.

Winston also met Santa for the first time. Too cute for words? Oh yes. I do think so.

This one is the winner. No crying. Just curiosity and smiling. That boy makes more and more proud every day.

Steven and I then ditched the kid for a night and went to an ugly Christmas party that my aunt hosted.

We are also BIG fans of the engagement pose. Or was it just me...

My parents were there too!

I love this picture of them

Please note the shoulder pads on this charm of a sweater. They kind of made the whole thing.

More Christmas fun to come...

Last year I was pregnant.

2011-12-21T09:21:00.000-08:00

One year ago today I was lying at home on my couch, on restricted bedrest because my body got very sick due to preeclampsia. I was trying to sleep through the day (pretty much the only thing I was allowed to do) and wait until that night at 9:00 when I was scheduled to go to the hospital to be induced. Around 10:00 am I received a call from the hospital that they had an opening and they were able to take me that afternoon at 2:00.
I was alone and I had way too many emotions running through me and the couch was seriously cramping my style and much against my Dr.'s orders I got up and very energetically began cleaning (looking back on this it was very stupid. When I got to the hospital my blood pressure was the highest it had ever been and they were threatening to give me magnesium if it did not go down. This meant I had to stay on my side until the baby came. Awful.). I took a few last pictures of my growing belly, and lovely swollen face, feet, and everything (swollen...ness is a symptom of preeclampsia)...

And as a family of 2 we headed to the hospital to meet our son the next day. It's hard to believe that it has been a whole year since he was in my belly. I still miss being pregnant. As awful as it can be sometimes there is something so amazing in knowing that my body, MY BODY, was doing such an incredible work and fulfilling God's plan. I loved watching my body grow and change. It was nice having a break from constantly caring about how skinny I looked or how something flattered my body and just let it be. I am thinking that I will do this whole pregnancy thing again someday (this is not an announcement).
*Winston's first Birthday is tomorrow and you better believe that there will be an awesome post all about our Birthday activities. I love him a whole lot.*

My husband wears crocs.

2011-12-15T15:46:00.000-08:00

I am a person that believes in trying to look your best when going out in public. To me it shows that I respect myself and I care about how I present myself to others. And it just makes me feel good to put effort into my appearance. Therefore, I do my very best to never, ever leave the house in pajamas. Ever. Steven, however, is very different. He will often leave the house after work in his grey sweat pants, a T- shirt, and crocks. I hate it. If you wear crocs at all they should never, EVER leave the house.

Well, one night Steven and I wanted to take a trip to the mall down the street to grab something. I went into my room and got my shoes on and Steven asked me if I was ready to go. I walked out of the room and saw that he had on his crocs... His fuzzy, extra smelly, ugly crocs. I asked him if he would be changing his shoes and staying true to his crock love he said no. So, like the good wife that I am I offered to grab him another pair of shoes and put them on his feet for him. He still protested. Our adorable playful banter (that was not playful at all because I was actually totally very serious) went on for a while and then I had a light bulb moment.
I have a dress that was my grandma's back in the day. It is an empire waist, has long flowing sleeves, goes down to the ground, and has lace around the collar, cuffs, and the bottom. Oh! and it's completely patchwork. It looks like a quilted dress. The way that I feel about crocks is the way that Steven feels about this dress times 10.

This is not the exact dress but it is pretty darn close. It's pretty bad...

I finally gave up our battle because I clearly was not going to win and I told Steven that I would meet him in the car. I ran to our room, got on the dress and walked out to the car.
Now Steven was so embarrassed that he locked the car and made me stand outside of the car for far too long before finally letting me in.
And dressed in his crocks and me in my dress we headed to the mall. I don't think that he found my dress as funny as I did but since that day I have not seen him wear his crocks in public. I guess I got my point across.

Thanksgiving Weekend and Sister Wives.

2011-11-27T19:14:00.000-08:00

Well Thanksgiving was wonderful again this year! We spent the day with Steven's sister, Jordyn, and her husband and two little girls (who Winston LOVES) and Steven's grandparents. My camera is currently dead and since moving I cannot find the charger so I have been using Steven's iphone to take pictures with (when he lets me) and sadly we only got 1 picture of thanksgiving.

Jordyn made the yummiest turkey. All the food was delicious and we ate way too much of it.
Steven, Winston and I spent the night at her place so that at 10:00 that night we could go to the outlets at Anthem for some awesome black friday deals.
Steven and I LOVE black Friday. I am all for the shops opening later at night. I would rather stay up until 10:00pm to shop than wake up at 4:00am.

This picture does not do the crowds justice. It was a little packed. It can be really overwhelming and sometimes I get really bad anxiety and I need to get out of the store before I pass out. But not this year. Lucky for us Jordyn lives right across the street from the outlets and we were able to beat most of the crowds and shop and get out of there before it get really bad.
Friday night we were able to go see the Mesa temple lights with my extended family. Most of them were in town for the holiday and it was nice to see them. We all showed up at different times so I didn't really get many pictures of any of them... Sadly.

Saturday night we were able to meet up with some of our favorite friends at our favorite place, Oreganos.
Since these friends live in Queen Creek and Utah we don't get to see them nearly as much as we would like (especially the ones in Utah) and catching up was a lot of fun and much needed. After we ate we went cosmic bowling. I can't explain the pictures below. There is just something about a pregnant woman and bowling balls (just to clarify there is only one pregnant woman here. That would be Hailee. Joni and I were just reminiscing. And it was awesome).

I call the above picture "sister wives." It just feels right.
We had a great weekend. I am sad it's over. Now it's time to get ready for Winston's first Birthday and Christmas. Time is flying!

Winston, Winston, Winston.

2011-11-08T20:24:00.000-08:00

So, I have been a little emotional about Winston turing one next month. And by "a little" I mean a whole lot.

I can't help but get emotional when I look at this picture. I can not help it. This picture was taken on Christmas day last year just one day after getting out of the hospital after having Winston. He was 3 days old.

Words cannot possibly express what I feel for him. Just know that whenever I do think about my love for him my eyes fill up with tears and I try to hold back having a total break down. Sooo... I try not to think about it too very often. I don't think that I could emotionally handle it on an hourly basis.

No matter how much I love that Winston is growing I can't help but miss when his little 5 pound body would curl up against mine. He would sit there for hours and I would let him sleep and just stare at him, completely overwhelmed with how lucky I am to have this little boy.

Now he won't sit still longer than 5 seconds and he gets into anything and everything. Our snuggling time is limited because he needs to explore everything. All the time. He calls me "momma" and puts the phone (remote, toys, etc...) up to his ear and tries to say hello. He finds me when I hide and then he goes and hides and makes me find him. We play this game everyday. He always makes me laugh at him and he laughs at me. We are each others biggest fans. And with every passing day I love him more and more.

And just so happens that I am kind of obsessed with this boy too...

Seriously. Could they look any more alike? So much handsomeness going on in this photo.

BUSY!

2011-10-17T16:42:00.000-07:00

Things have been BUSY around here! Blogging has not really been at the top of my priority list. Here's why:
-Steven is in school
- I decided to go back to school as well. I love it. It's all online and I am getting all A's for the first time in my life! More on that later...
- And the really big thing is that we packed up our little condo and... moved in with my parents. We are going to live here for a few months while we save up money to buy a house. I can't wait. But now that we are getting settled in here and things start calming down a little bit I will be right back to blogging.
- Oh also being a mom to a crazy active 9 month old has kept me busy as well. He is so full of energy and going through this phase where he only wants me ALL THE TIME. Good thing he is so cute.
That basically sums up all that we have been up to.
Be back soon... hopefully.

To my Daddy.

2011-09-21T22:32:00.000-07:00

To the man who taught me...
That random acts of kindness make everyone feel better...
That a day without laughter is a day wasted...
That if you are wrestling against the "Big Bad Bumb Basher" you will most definitely lose...
That taking small moments out of your day to to color with someone just might be the highlight of that persons week...
That you are never too old for a story. Or cartoons.
That I am beautiful. Inside and out. No matter what.
That a handfull of chocolate chips or a spoonful of peanut butter can be the best snacks.
To the man who taught me all these things and much much more...
HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!
I love you Dad.

The story of my bangs.

2011-09-07T09:59:00.000-07:00

Recently I got myself some bangs. I did not get bangs because I wanted to follow a trend or because I thought that they would look awesome on me. Nope. I got them because I HAD to.

During pregnancy my body did weird things. The most obvious thing was that I grew hair like crazy. And in some places that are not normal. Like my belly. All over it.

The hair on my head was lush and thick and shiny and it grew extra fast. I loved it.

After having Winston my hair stopped being so wonderful.

A couple weeks after having him I noticed that I had some baby hairs growing on the front of my hair line. And then hair growing on the sides of my hair line.

Here are some pictures so you can see what I am talking about...

This one was taken before I had was pregnant.

{Notice how clean my hair line looks}

And this picture was taken yesterday.

Yeah. Notice the wispy hairs just hanging out in the front? The bushy hair on the sides?
Ridiculous, right?
So while I wait for those adorable little baby hairs to grow in and look normal again (hopefully) I am kinda loving the bangs. So really I turned something ridiculously hideous into something awesome.
Bangs are always the answer.

Happy (late) Birthday- To my momma!

2011-08-29T18:37:00.000-07:00

Dear mom,

Thanks for being great. I am thankful that you are my mom. I love you.

Oh. Remember how you are such a great grandma and Winston loves you so much?

I hope that your Birthday was filled with magic and rainbows and lots of love.

BIRTHDAY BOY!

2011-08-07T07:45:00.000-07:00

{Reading to Winston. Just like my dad used to do with me.}

Sunday was Steven's 25th Birthday! I really can not say enough good about him. He's bonafide and a suitor. And my baby daddy. I love him so much and I am so thankful that I get to spend the rest of forever with him. I am also thankful that he has such strong genes and that our son got his pretty blue eyes.

Since his Birthday was on fast Sunday we did most of our celebrating on Saturday.

I made Steven some Birthday breakfast and he wanted his traditional, slop (it's really not as bad as it sounds).

{It's a tradition in my family to make some sort of poster or drawing for Birthdays. Tradition!}

{25!}

{Gifts}

{Could not leave him out. My cousin, also our house guest this week, got this for Steven. So classy.}

Saturday night we went to Grimaldi's with some friends. Sadly I did not take any pictures. Afterwards we came back to our place to play some games. I did get some pictures... However, they are not very good. Those of in these pictures, please forgive me.

Saturday night we headed over to my parents house for my grandma's home made spaghetti (made by my mother) and some cake and presents. PS my face in these pictures is not so pretty.

See what I mean about my face?
I hope that you had a great Birthday, Steven Hale. I love you so much!
Also, just because I think this is adorable, please watch and love this video below.

Such a cute dad, right? Winston loves him so much.

Newport Beach!

2011-08-03T09:06:00.000-07:00

July was crazy for us! I have discovered that traveling with a baby is... ridiculous. One bag for just diapers and bath things, another bag for clothes, and one for just food, a pack and play, a stroller, and a baby bag full of stuff that might be needed at a moments notice.

We made it through our first year with Winston at Newport! I can't wait to see what he will be like next year. It was so much fun to have him with us.

I am glad that we are settled back in at home but we had so much fun at the beach and I can't help but miss it.

Winston was obsessed with the sand. As soon as we set him in it he started to scoop it up onto his lap. And then he face planted into it... multiple times. It was awesome. The first day we got there and dangled him in the water he was not a fan. By the end of the week he LOVED it. He is so much fun.

Winston did amazing on the drives for our trips (for the most part). He really is an amazing baby. I luff him. And once again, enjoy the pictures!

Face plant.

Delilah was playing in the sand and singing to herself. How could I not take a picture?

Loving the tongue.

Again with the faces! This is my brother, Truman.

How cute are they?

My cute cousin and his henna tatoo. He kind of reminds me of Cole. It's fun.

Playing in the water.

This is my favorite picture! It is already blown up, printed out and sitting on my shelf. I love Winston's face. And belly. And everything for that matter.

Sand on the face. Always sand on the face.

One of my favorite pictures of the trip!

Steven seriously enjoys boogie boarding.

Nixie and Winston. Nixie is getting a new little brother on the 6th! She was was so cute with Winston.

Jonathan and Winston

And that concludes our Newport Beach trip. Until next year!

Utah- Part 2

2011-07-08T09:26:00.000-07:00

Ok so we are leaving this afternoon for the beach and I wanted to knock out the rest of our Utah trip before we left! So, I am gonna let the pictures do most of talking. There are a ridiculous amount but we had tons of fun and I feel like I took pictures of almost everything!

Also I took a few pictures from my sister in laws. Hope that you enjoy!

{Winston is really into peoples faces right now. He is especially fond of his grandpa's face.}

{I love this picture an incredible amount.}

Kayak racing! Probably my favorite part of the whole trip.

{Babies}

{These two are engaged and are getting married next month! We are so excited to have another boy around in the family.}

Minute to win it games. Also another favorite.

Game for just the adults. They had to start with an orange at their belly bottons and work them all the way up to their chins without using their hands. Very entertaining and a little disturbing... But mostly entertaining.

Fouth of July celebration.

Utah- Part 1

2011-07-07T11:20:00.000-07:00

We are busy, busy, busy over here in the Hale household. Let me just re cap all that has been going on.
In June Steven went on a trip for 11 days traveling and road tripping to Maryland for the US Open (it's a golf thing for those of you who are like me and live under a rock when it comes to anything sports). I felt a little bit like a single mom for those days and I am thankful now more than ever that I have a partner in all this.
Then he came home for 2 days before heading out to Vegas for a business trip.
He was home for just 2 weeks after his Vegas trip and then our little family took a trip together for the first time to Utah. THEN tomorrow we are heading to Newport Beach for my family reunion that was tradition that my great grandfather started. Pretty deep roots. Nothing gets in the way of the Tipton family and our week at the beach.We are really excited but I the same time I am really looking forward to next month when things calm down and we just get to hang out at home.
So now that that is all out of the way I want to share a little bit about our little trip to the magical land of Utah.
Instead of driving the whole way there on Thursday we decided to stop off in Vegas to sleep and visit some good friends, The Bussio's and their adorable dog, Penny.
I didn't take too many pictures but I did get these...

Winston was not so sure about Penny.

Thank you Bussio's for letting us crash with you!

{On the road.}

When we finally reached Utah we stayed a few days with Steven's friend and his little family until the day of the reunion. We had so much fun with them and Winston has a new best friend, Colin.

He is SO adorable I can't even handle it. He has such a little sense of humor and he eats everything! He really needs to teach Winston how to eat.

We had so much fun hanging out with their family and we can't wait till next time!

More to come on our Utah trip/ Family reunion!

Haboob

2011-07-06T07:33:00.000-07:00

We just took our little family on the road to see some friends and family in Utah for the 4th. I will post more about our wonderful trip later but first I would like to talk about how Arizona welcomed us back home.
So, as most of you know here in Az it is monsoon season. Monsoon season is usually pretty crazy and unpredictable. Well, last night as we were rolling into Phoenix we got hit with pouring rain and hail. Yes hail. The temp also went down to 69 degrees just a few miles outside of Phoenix. We got home around 6:40 and unpacked and settled down a little bit and I sent Steven to the store to get some things for the baby and he made me come outside to see this

{All pictures from here}
This is called a haboob (is it bad that I can't help but giggle every time I hear that word?). It is basically just a huge dust storm caused by the storms and winds and the one that hit last night was one of the biggest ones we have seen in a long time. We were so lucky we did not get caught in this on the way home. When I went outside with Steven to look at the dust storm (when our home was in the middle of it) I could not even see across the street.
Oh yeah, and when my mom was on her way home from working at the hospital she pulled over because she was in the middle of the storm and could not see and she got interviewed by the news.
Basically celeb status.
Don't worry I found the video. I believe that she is the first women that was interviewed. Enjoy!

A Moment to Brag

2011-06-23T16:58:00.000-07:00

Now, I am not usually one for bragging (cue my mom and husband's laughter) but I just wanted to take a second to talk about something that I am really happy about.
A few days before Winston turned 6 months I hit my goal weight!
After I had him I was determined not to let the baby fat stick around (especially as I have more children) and so I bought myself a scale to monitor my weight daily. I set a goal weight and I got to work.
When it was not so hot that I could hardly breathe upon stepping outside Winston and I would go on walks daily. Going on walks is my favorite form of exercise. Even though I know that it is not the most effective form of exercise it was my time for my baby and I to slow down and enjoy the world around us. It's amazing how many things stand out with beauty when you take a second to slow down and notice. We would go at least two miles every day but Sunday.
I also did yoga, walk/ jog around high school tracks, and a little bit of tennis.
I think the thing that benefited me the most was for the first time in my life I actually watched what I was eating. It was hard but so worth it! I feel so healthy. I enjoyed many clean eating recipes. Now, I don't really believe in "dieting" just eating healthy, and these recipes were awesome! I stopped eating so much meat and started to enjoy fruits and veggies so much more than I did before. I learned to have some meals that showcase the fruit or veggies as the star instead of meat. I also (and this one was hard) learned to control how much I ate. I stop eating when I am full. What a grand idea.
I have also never had a problem with soda but I did enjoy my Dr. Pepper. I would give myself one soda day a week where I could have a can of D.P. (most times I would not even do that). These were usually days that I would get headaches. Now I have given it up completely.
At the end of the day I have learned that it does not matter how much I weigh, really. As long as I am healthy I am happy.
Now, even though I have lost all the weight I wanted to my body is still not what it was before (I am talking about that little pouch of fat right on the abs and the stretch marks I got on my legs and booty) but I am thankful for that. I am proud of my "mommy marks". They remind me of the remarkable things that my body has done and the sweet baby I was able to carry.
Now I am gonna treat myself to a chocolate shake!... just kidding... maybe.

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!

2011-06-22T15:11:00.000-07:00

This is my last Fathers Day post (until next year!).
My favorite picture of Steven was taken by Larry Reeves the day that he became a father.
The picture was taken the moment that Steven saw Winston. It is by far the most precious picture I have ever seen. You know how they say that pictures speak 1,000 words? Well, this picture is the best example of that.

Amazing.
Steven is a wonderful father (as I knew he would be) to Winston. And it just so happens that Winston is Steven's mini-me which I am sure Steven loves. Steven always talks about playing catch with Winston (or really playing any sport). Lately he has been talking about how excited he is to wrestle with Winston. I am so excited to watch as their relationship grows. Steven is also super helpful which I seriously appreciate. I made a good choice in marrying him. Probably the best decision I ever made. He is the best dad to Winston and watching him interact with him brings me so much joy.
Now, I can't talk about Father's Day without giving a little shout out to my dad.
There are so many things that I love about my dad but I am just gonna name a few...
My dad read or made up stories for us every night. Even when I thought that I was too old to be listening to stories I would still sit outside of my brothers room and listen to my dad tell his stories. I loved them and to this day I give my dad credit for my love of stories and books. Those times with him were really special and I plan on doing the same thing for my children.
My dad is probably the healthiest person I have ever known. He wakes up early and works out and jogs every morning (besides Sunday) for as long as I can remember. If ever I have any fitness or nutrition questions my dad is the one that I turn to.
My dad has a really goofy sense of humor. When we found out that we were having a baby my dad would text me his "credentials" for being a babysitter.
When he found out that we were having a boy he would text me names. One of which was Pocahontas. He also has really good suggestions.
He is also a super grandpa. I love watching him with Winston.

Happy Fathers Day to my two favorite Dad's ever. I love you.

The Dancing King

2011-06-16T21:22:00.000-07:00

When Steven and I first got married we started a tradition to play music that goes with the theme of whatever dinner we are making. For example: for anything Italian we play Andrea Bocelli. Or if we are making Jamacian jerk chicken we play Bob Marley. Obviously... and so on. Sometimes while I am making dinner Steven will grab me and twirl me around and dance with me. I have never let him know this but those are some of my favorite moments. Ever. Sometimes, if I am really lucky, he will even sing to me. It's story book romantic. Anyone that knows Steven knows that he loves to dance. And truth be told he is actually pretty good at it. Please observe the pictures I was lucky enough to capture of the dancing man himself. And don't forget to enjoy them.