The Stars at Night are Big and Bright...

I grew up in Texas (College Station...Gig em?). I have lived in Virginia for 8 years. I haven't been back to Texas since February 2008. I miss some things, but others I could do without.  Last weekend my parents, younger brother, Noah and I packed up and drove to visit my 90 year old grandma.  She lives in a tiny town about an hour from Houston (North). This was Noah's first time to meet her.  We drove 40 hours there and back to spend about 5 hours with her. It was a long trip, but worth it.  Noah did pretty well in the car.  The last two hours before we got home he had a total meltdown.  Who would blame him though? He is so active so being in the car for so long is just not his cup of tea.

Keeping a 9 month old entertained in a car seat is no easy task.  We played, played and played some more. He watched his Disney Land sing a long, and we listened to his music.  He took short naps (no more than an hour at a time) and he threw every toy off the side within about 30 seconds.  

We stopped often and even got to see the worlds largest grasshopper at the Texas boarder rest stop.

That thing was as big as my phone. 

Finally we made it to my grandma's house.  Noah thought she was hilarious...

and even tried to strangle her.  

We found her chickens and of course Noah had was totally in to the dog.

Noah and my dad got an egg. 

Noah wanted to have Grandma's dress

Oh, did I mention how hot it was? Um ya. This is the part I do not miss about Texas.  That thing says 98! This morning in Virginia it was 55 degrees and at noon it is 75.  Texas, you have so many fun things to do and lots of fun places to eat...but you are too hot for me.  

We took my grandma to lunch, came back and had the apple pie she made, talked for a little bit  and then we headed back to Houston to spend the night before our 2 day trip home.  Whew. It was a whirlwind trip. 

Oh, and what would a trip to Texas be without some Texas sized cheesecake:

Next we leave for the lake and to visit Rich's family on Friday. 2 days home and ready to pack all over again (at least we won't be in the car for so long). 

Father's Day Weekend

To celebrate the lovely fathers in our life, we traveled to a near by lake to spend last weekend.  Let me tell you, we have some wonderful fathers around here! First, Rich. He is the best daddy to Mr. Noah.  My dad is a wonderful dad and Papi.  And my grandpa aka Papa is just as awesome!

This was the FIRST time that we have spent the night away with Noah.  I was more than prepared.  I planned, shopped and packed the entire week.  I had 7 bags packed for just Noah and me for the 2 nights we were away.  We had a wonderful time.  Noah did not adjust well to sleeping away from his crib, but he loved being at the lake and playing in the water.  The first night he was up every 15 minutes and finally ended up in the bed with Rich and me.  The second night he slept about 5 hours in his Pack N Play and then ended up in the bed with Rich and me.  And as usual he was up bright and early before 6 both mornings (this is typical even at home).

In the next few weeks we will be doing a lot of traveling. This Friday we leave for a road trip to Texas.  Then, next Friday we are going to visit Rich's family and then back to the lake for the 4th of July.  Before it is all done Noah will be an expert traveler.  Rich is not going to Texas, but my parents will be a big help.  We are not bringing the Pack N Play because it will be easier to have Noah sleep in the bed with me.

So, what do you do at the lake with an 8 month old baby? Well, you try to take them on a boat ride.

The ONLY smile we got out of him. 

My mom, Noah and me

He hated the life jacket. I do not blame him. It was hot, restrictive, and uncomfortable. 

He lasted about 10 minutes on the boat.  Next, we tried the beach. This was much more his style.  He loved playing in the sand and water, watching the boats zoom by, and playing with his toy boat.

We are going back for the 4th of July. I am pretty excited.  I love to be on the go and it is nice to get away from the every day routine.

My dad and Noah watching for boats EARLY Sunday morning.  

View from our condo.  Lovely. 

My grandma, my mom, Noah and me. No, the color coordination was not planned. 

After a lot of fun Saturday and Sunday morning at the beach, we decided to try a local place to eat. It was at a marina close by the condo and it was called Mangos. It was fun and the food was good (well, at least I was told it was good). Apparently, they had the BEST hamburger ever.  And, Noah got his first try of lemon...

Yummm

Here is to the next few weeks of traveling and fun! 

On The Move

Yesterday Noah started Crawling...real crawling.

Weight Loss

Ugh. The dreaded 2 words.  Before I got pregnant, I got a gym membership. Ok, so maybe I got the gym membership like a year before I got pregnant and then really only started going about 4 months before I got pregnant.  I wasn't really that determined to lose a lot of weight I guess. I would go to the gym often after work, but I still ate whatever I wanted.

Then, I got pregnant. The first 4 months I was sick, sick, sick.  I did go to the gym and walked, but that was about it. Then we moved...no more gym. So, I walked in the neighborhood.  Then I got huge...

and it was harder and harder to walk.

I gained 40 pounds when I was pregnant. Wow...scary. And here is the dreaded after birth picture.

I was very swollen...that is bad. 

The weight loss started pretty soon after I had Noah.  It took about 2 weeks for the swelling to go down. Then, for 2 months I couldn't hold anything down. I was pumped full of so many antibiotics that it threw my system off.  After I healed from the surgery I got serious about weight loss (come on Christie...you have a wedding in less than a year!).

I started off slow on the treadmill.  Noah would sit in his bouncy seat and sleep and I would walk. Then I started Couch to 5K. Then the holidays came and I struggled, but starting in January I started up the weight loss again. 

I didn't do a fad diet. I cut my calories to between 1200 and 1400 a day.  I exercised every day...many days 2 times a day (once on the treadmill, once walking with Noah). 

And currently, I am on serious weight loss mode. I have a wedding in less than 2 months and a beautiful dress to wear.  So here is the current plan...

I work out at least 250 minutes every week. That looks like getting on the treadmill or walking the HUGE hills in the neighborhood.  

We exercise together.  He loves this thing.  I usually do the treadmill for about 45-50 minutes and lift weights for about 15 minutes.  

My daily diet consists of:

-breakfast: a small bowl of fiber rich cereal

-snack: a small glass of Kefir

-lunch: a small packet of tuna with mustard and relish, greek yogurt, almonds, and a 50 calorie cheese snack

-snack: fiber one bar

-dinner: protein shake with protein powder, flax seed, plain greek yogurt, almond milk, frozen fruit and spinach (it actually is not bad)

I also cheat...but not too often :) 

And...since the day I gave birth I have lost 85 pounds.  I would like to go down about 15 more pounds for now.  It is hard work! 

The day after my wedding I am going to cheat the entire day.  Yup. 

This is not a good picture at all...but it is the basic idea.  

My goal is to be healthy...not super skinny. 

New Things for Summer

We have done tons of new things so far this summer (even though I guess it really isn't summer yet...it sure does feel like it).

We got a new umbrellaish stroller. Then we had to get another one because I am giantly tall and this one was too short. So now we have more strollers than we know what to do with.

We went to a music festival and it was so blazing hot and Noah was a tad grouchy so I thought why not share an ice cream cone. I told the ice cream food vendor to put just a tiny bit in the cone. $3.50 later Noah and I had our cool treat.  Noah was not a fan. He does not like cold things...never has.  He had a few bites and that was all.  I had a few bites, and the rest went in the trash. Yum.

We put on our swim suit and...

went swimming. Our neighborhood has a pool and we go there at least 4 times a week.  Noah LOVES the water.  We also got him a little kiddie pool for the yard which he also enjoys.  Oh ya, Mama got a new swimsuit for $10 at Old Navy (what a deal!).  Pictures of that might come 10-15 pounds from now.  

Noah also learned how to get out of his Bebe Pod seat (those cords were moved shortly after the taking of this picture).  Ya, so I had to come up with a different plan for showering.  I really do not like putting him in the Pack N Play unless he is sleeping...but there is no other option for showering right now.  

Noah is also able to sit up from the laying down position.  He learned this last Saturday (6/4/11) and now any time I lay him down he sits up.  During nap time he thinks it is hilarious to sit up so when I go in to check on him he is sitting and playing rather than sleeping. Silly boy! 

He is also trying very hard to pull up.  He has a lot of weight to pull up.  He can move all over the place whether it is by sliding on his butt or doing an army like crawl. He still isn't crawling on all fours.  I am not in a hurry for this...he will do it when he is ready. 

We also got a Spanish book that his Uncle Paul read to him.  This is Paul trying to wrestle Noah down to actually read the book. Noah wanted to play.   Noah and I signed up for a library card and Noah thinks the library is tons of fun.  He loves picking out new books and holds his books in the stroller with him until we check out like a very proud little reader.  

And soon....in 2 weeks the newest thing we will be doing is packing up the car and traveling 20 hours to Texas. Noah's first road trip. My grandma still lives in Texas (I grew up in Texas) and this might be the only chance she has to meet Noah. Yay for car trips with a 9 month old very active boy.