Toledo Trip

Here are more pictures from our trip to Toledo last week. We had such a good time spending time with family. My dad made a fire and we roasted marshmallows and made s'mores. Adalyn was not a fan of the mess that the s'mores made but she was a fan of how they tasted! Cayden tried a marshmallow and he was most definitely a fan!

Cayden was also a fan of the graham crackers:)

I thought these next two pictures were funny. Like mother, like daughter. How funny that we took almost exactly the same picture.

We spent Saturday making homemade applesauce. Adalyn was excited to help us work the applesauce machine!

After church on Sunday we had to get a few pictures.  The guys...

And the girls...

We had such a nice relaxing trip that it was hard to come back to reality and a crazy busy life! I just wish we lived closer so trips could happen more often!

Friday Weigh In

It's been a month since I met my first goal. I figured I should give a little update! As of last post I had lost my goal of 36.6 lbs (weird amount I know...but it was to get me to an even number on the scale). I then gave myself the goal of an extra 5 lb loss in order to be to my comfortable before-Adalyn weight that I maintained for years. I have not yet hit that extra 5 lb goal yet, but I'm ok that. I haven't been quite as strict with my diet and exercise.

When we were in Toledo last week I took all my running gear and was excited to get some runs in through my parents so very flat neighborhood (love!!) but I ended up not running even once!! On top of that, we had fast food on the drive, s'mores, pizza and my mom even fixed an entire Thanksgiving dinner since we won't be with them for turkey day. And let's just say that after the Thanksgiving dinner I was so very stuffed that I had to go lay down. My tummy is not used to rich buttery yummy food! When we got back to town I thought I'd hit the ground and run off some of that yummy food but our week has been so crazy busy that there hasn't been a night after work that I could get a run in. It's been a week and a half since I ran! So on top of all of those circumstances I was thrilled when I got on the scale and saw a .5 lb loss this week! These last 5 lbs seem to be coming off slowly but each week we're moving in the right direction!

Overall, since May 1st (6 months) I have lost 40 lbs! It's kind of hard to believe. I feel like a whole new person! As for my extra 5 lb goal, I am 1.6 lbs away from reaching it!

Sidenote: This week we had to fill out a form for our benefits at work. It's all online so it remembers all of your information that you entered the previous year. That way you can easily just update pertinent information. First I noticed that Cayden was listed as 10 lbs. **tear** Where has my baby gone and how did this year go so fast?? So I changed that amount to more than double! Then I saw where my weight was listed as of last fall. You all. I had a moment. It was a bit surreal looking at that number. It was so HIGH. (I'm used to thinking of the number I started my healthy lifestyle in May. I forgot that I actually started much heaver that that!) So when I listed my current weigh I had to do a double take. I have lost 48.4 lbs since last fall! (And I would assume that when I filled that number in I was probably being quite generous since I wasn't weighing myself often at that point.) So when I lose this extra 1.5 lbs, I will have really lost 50 since last fall! Crazy!

One more fun thing! I am able to wear almost all of my old clothes. Finding my old shirts and jackets and coats has been so much fun!! After 3 years I forgot a lot of stuff I had (like the shirt I'm wearing today!) and it's been fun to discover new old items. Good thing most of the stuff is still in style or classic. I did go shopping with my mom this weekend at Loft! They were having a sale on their Jeans and Cords for $35 plus I had a 20% off coupon so $28 is excellent for Loft jeans/cords. I knew my size 8 skinny jeans from Old Navy I bought last month were getting baggy. I was sick of yanking them up every time I turned around. And I had a giftcard from my mother-in-law I had held on to from my birthday hoping that I would need new clothes by fall! You all. I got 3 tops, a sweater, jeans, colored jeans and cords. Yep. I had FUN. I love me a good sale! I know that a number is just a number. But this number meant more to me than just a number. It felt like it said that I completed this weight loss journey I've been on. I felt like I was finally back to being me!

(Sorry it's sideways. I can't turn it.) I know lots of girls slide back into their pre-baby size pants easily after having a baby, but obviously that was not that case for me. I haven't seen this size since February 2010 and it feels amazing to see it again! And even more amazing to feel how great I feel from being healthy and in shape! Now, let's hope that the next time I get pregnant I don't throw on weight like I did in the past! :)

Little Boo at the Zoo - Year 2

This past weekend we traveled to my parents' house for a nice long weekend away from home. The main reason (other than to see Papa and Nana) that we chose this weekend for a visit was to attend Little Boo at the Zoo at the Toledo Zoo. Last year we took the kids and we had such a fun time that we decided we had to go again this year! We had an absolutely beautiful perfect fall day to visit the zoo. It's a day completely geared toward pre-schoolers and it's an awesome family day!

Can we pause a minute to look at last year's family picture? Yes, Adalyn insisted on being the same owl as last year and I happily obliged. She was swimming in her costume last year and this year it fits just right! Can we take a moment to see how big my boy has gotten in the last year? Can we also take a moment to see how much bigger I was last year? :) Of course my hubby is just as cute as ever!

 Cayden got a picture on the elephant that we always take pictures on (even back to my childhood!) It's a good thing that he got a picture on it early in the day since he was sound asleep when we took a family picture on it on our way leaving the zoo.

 Waiting in line for the first trick-or-treat station checking out his treat basket.

There's a path through the zoo that has different trick-or-treat stations. Each station is sponsored by a different organization and are decorated and the people are dressed up. The kids love it!

 Cayden pointing. Typical.

They had some fun little tossing games and bowling games for the kids to win prizes. Adalyn did such a good job with the bean bag tossing game. The candy corn bowling game was hilarious because she put the ball on the ground and kicked it like a soccer ball and knocked down all the pins. Ha! They also had little craft stations that Adalyn thoroughly enjoyed!

One of the booths was decorated as Monsters Inc which is one of Adalyn's most favorite movies. She was super excited to walk through the door and get her picture with Mike and Sully!

 We came across the University of Toledo Rocket and it was a bit weird  looking but Adalyn loved her and gave her hugs and kept blowing her kisses. It was pretty sweet.

 And yes, we did actually look at some animals after we had lunch. We had to go see the 18 foot crocodile (which is the largest reptile in captivity in North America) but Adalyn decided it looked like a dinosaur and she was ready to see some other animals. We went to see the elephants. The baby was out playing (not pictured) which is always fun to watch and this guy was rolling this tree stump and we couldn't believe when he rolled it over to his food tree and then stood on top of it to get to the food better. Crazy smart!

 The girls!

 After lunch Cayden fell fast asleep which allowed us to look at even more animals since he wasn't melting down. We had some awesome views of the lions and tigers and penguins.

 Family picture minus a sleeping Cayden. I wasn't about to wake him up!

Let's look at this same picture from last year.

 And a picture with the polar bear. Pretty sure I have this same picture from when A was a baby!

 Yep. I found it. Where has my baby gone??

 My parents are pretty cute!

We had such a fun day! So many memories made!

Sibling Love

Seeing my children play together and love each other makes my heart so full. They both adore each other and I was able to capture a couple sweet moments on camera this week.

On Thursday I found this poke-a-dot book at Sam's. It's really fun and I totally underestimated how much the kids would love it. I may have to run back over to get another story this week so each kid can have their own. For now they are playing so sweetly together and doing a good job of sharing. I had to grab the camera to show proof (to their teenage-selves) that they at one time played well together and took turns.

Then on Sunday we had a couple minutes before we needed to leave for church so I asked Jonathan to take a couple pictures of us. Cayden was not in the mood to smile for the camera.

 I absolutely love this picture. The way they are looking at each other shows how much they love each other. Cayden might not smile at the camera but he will smile for his Sissy. Sweet babies!

Big Girl Bed

Adalyn has always been a good sleeper and has slept in her crib since night one when we brought her home from the hospital. Sometimes she puts up a fight to take a nap but honestly she always goes to bed at night so easily. When Cayden was born we didn't want to upset Adalyn's awesome sleeping so we kept her in her crib and got Cayden a new crib. She has never crawled out of her crib so we've just left things as they were.

Next month Adalyn will be 3 and I really felt like she was ready for her room to become a big girl room. Yesterday we made a big deal about it and Jonathan turned her crib into a toddler bed and her changing table into a dresser. I'm so glad we bought convertible furniture back before Adalyn was born. It was such an easy switch!

Adalyn's last nap in her crib!

Helping daddy build her new bed rail. I can't believe how old she looks here.

 Trying her bed out for the first time.

 She was pretty excited.

Next up - the changing table.

 I love the mirror on this dresser! I still need to get a couple items to decorate it.  Adalyn loves it too. It's so cute that her stool is in front of her dresser so she could see into the mirror.

Adalyn did so well for her first night and nap in her big girl bed. She stayed in her bed and called us when she was ready to wake up. I'm so proud of her. She has gone right to sleep the last two nights and this afternoon she didn't want to nap but she stayed in her bed singing and reading and eventually fell asleep. She's such a good girl. My little rule follower.

A picture before her first night in her new bed. She was so excited. (Notice all her stuffed animals piled high. We tried to thin them out but she would have nothing to do with that!)

I'm so proud of how well she has transitioned. I guess she was more than ready for it. It's hard for me to see her growing up.