Happy Birthday Elijah!!!

My son is 4 years old today. I can hardly believe it. He has a calander in his room that has special things you can put on it for Holidays and stuff, and I put a birthday candle on it for the 18th, and I put the Labor Day thing on there for the 16th and told him that was when I went to the hospital to have him! It is the first year he has understood what that means because he remembers when he had to wake up really early the morning I went to the hospital to have Aliyah!

Four years old is such a fun age. I took Lij to the play place at McDonald's today in South Bend while AJ was at class, and he was playing with another 4 year old and I could hear their conversation. They talk about all kinds of fun stuff, and it's just neat that they really can communicate with each other and play well together and understand each other.

I just wanted to tell you all some things that I love about my Lijinator because it's his birthday! Elijah is one of the sweetest boys I know, which always makes me laugh because he's also the craziest, most energetic boy I know. He loves helping people do things, though, and he is always the first to jump up to get Aliyah something if she starts crying. A couple weeks ago, I said something about how I needed to do the dishes and then I got distracted doing something else, and when I came into the kitchen, Elijah was standing on his stool doing dishes for me! It was just so sweet, and he was so proud of himself for helping me even when I didn't ask him to! :) He is always on the go...always making up new games to play or stories to tell. He has a great imagination and has come up with some pretty crazy stories that always make me laugh. He loves to read, although he can't really read himself yet, but we read him 3 books every night before he goes to sleep and I catch him in his room often reading the books himself. He likes to read to Aliyah, too. He will listen to us read her her little books and then he memorizes them and reads them to her himself! It's so cute. He has a love for learning, and I hope that I can do whatever it takes to keep that love alive! He likes to practice writing his letters and sounding them out. He also loves counting and can count to 100 all by himself! I guess I should probably teach him what comes after 100 sometime because I can tell he wants to keep going once he reaches 100! He also loves to go to Sunday School and learn about Jesus. I think his favorite thing they do in their Sunday School is sing because he always sings his songs on the way home from church! He also likes to memorize his verses!

Those are just a few things that make Elijah great. He really is the best son, and I'm so thankful that God gave him to us. It's so strange to think that when I was pregnant for him I really wanted a little girl, and was even a little disappointed right at first when I heard he was a boy. I can't imagine now NOT having my boy. He is such an important part of my life and the PERFECT first kid. I honestly don't think I could have made it through my year without AJ without my son. He is so special to me. I'm happy to have a daughter now, too, but I'm always so thankful that God gave me my boy first. :)

So...Happy Birthday Little Stinks! I love you so much!!!

So far, so good..

Well, just a quick update to say that I really have stuck to running every day! I'm very proud of myself and it's getting easier and easier to motivate myself to go! I can tell a difference in my attitude about lots of things just by exercising and eating healthy every day! I love it!

Also, I have not had pop since the night before my birthday. I thought I might get headaches from stopping, but I haven't! I drank a LOT of diet coke before I was 29! ;) I think my morning coffee might have helped, but I feel like I want to have something delicious! When I stop seeing a difference or stop losing weight, I will maybe give up my coffee, too, but I have a feeling that's a long way off!

I haven't weighed myself since last Wednesday, so I'm interested to see if there is any difference this week. I think I'm going to weigh myself tomorrow morning or Friday morning. I don't know...sometimes I feel like I have lost a little weight, then other times I feel like it's not working. So...I'm just gonna stick with it and eventually hopefully the numbers on the scale will go down, but I think the most important thing is that I feel better!

That's the update!

29...REALLY?!

Well, you guessed it...I'm 29 years old now! Seems so crazy to think about. I mean my next birthday will be my 30th birthday!

The night before my birthday AJ took me out on a date (thanks to Ross and Emily for watching our kids) and we were talking about how I really want to be healthy and fit by the time I'm 30. So, I asked AJ to really keep me accountable on exercising and eating right. I gave him permission to get in my face about it! (I tested him out once, too, and he did great!) So far since I've been 29 (3 days), I have ran every day and eaten healthy! My goal is to run every single day I am 29. Seems kinda crazy when you think about winter and everything, and the fact that you should have a rest day, but my plan is pretty simple. I am going to run as far as I can for 2 days, do sprints the 3rd day, run as far as I can the next 2 days, do sprints that 6th day and then sort of do the opposite thing on Sunday...I will start off with jogging for 5 minutes, then walk, then end with jogging 5 minutes. So I can say I ran every day, but it's still a rest day. I think it's a fun goal because so far I really have ran every day and I don't want to not run because I like saying I have ran every day I've been 29!

Also, I gave up pop for my 29th year of life. Those are just 2 goals that I am going to make right now. Later on if I lose weight and feel like taking on another challenge, I will. But I gotta start small!

In other news, my little girl is 7 months old today and my little boy is going to be 4 on the 18th! Where has the time gone?! I can remember as clear as if it was yesterday the summer I had Elijah. He was such a fun baby and we would walk everywhere in the summer together. Now he doesn't fit in the stroller anymore. But I have a pretty cute replacement! :) More about Elijah on his 4th birthday...I want to do a post dedicated to him, and I don't want to spoil anything! :)

Aliyah is crawling now (has been for close to a month), she loves sweet potatoes and squash, she is starting to pull up on things. She squeals with delight about anything that makes her happy! She loves her talking phone, her singing giraffe, and her doll from Lila. She is equally in love with her daddy and mommy, but Elijah is by far her favorite person in the world. He just walks in the room and she squeals and tries to scoot or crawl over to him as fast as she can! She also has gone MIA a few times and we have found her in her brother's room playing with his favorite toys. He now has a few toys just for her in her reach so that she will just grab those when she goes in there! Clever boy, huh? :) Her hair is getting longer and she is wearing some 6-9 month things now. Oh...and she has beautiful red toenails thanks to her mom. ;)

Alright...I gotta go clean and do laundry and pack for our trip to Massanutten this week! We are going to Emily's parent's timeshare condo! So fun! I think Elijah is more excited than anyone because he gets to spend a whole week with his best friend and cousin Hunter! :)

Until next time...

Let's Get Real

Alright, folks, I'm about to get really REAL with you. I have been overweight since I had Elijah. It's not getting better. After having Aliyah, I realized how important it is to set a good example for her and Elijah on how to be healthy. It is so hard for me to admit this publicly, but since it doesn't seem like that many people read this anyway, I guess it's not THAT big of a deal. I have 50 pounds to lose to be at my ideal weight.

Ugh...so there you have it. I need to lose a whopping 50 pounds! I have finally reached a point where I feel ready and willing to do the hard work to get there. Before I have always looked at how much I have to lose and it seems so overwhelming, so now I've set a goal that feels much more manageable for me. I want to lose 10 pounds every month. I think this will get harder when I only have like 20 pounds left to lose, but for the first 3 months, I think it's very doable.

When I think about losing 10 pounds a month, it feels less stressful than thinking about all 50 at the same time. Plus every month after I've reached my 10 pound goal, I'll be able to say Oh! I only have 40 pounds to lose now, 30 pounds to lose now, 20 pounds to lose now...and so on. So, here is how I'm planning on doing this. I'm going to work out 5 to 6 times a week, and I'm going to cut my calories to 1600 a day the first month, 1500 a day the second month, and down to 1200. It's gonna be crazy, but I think it'll be totally worth it in the end.

Alright, folks...I'll keep you updated on my triumphs and struggles! Wish me luck! Well...really pray for me if you think of it! I could use the extra strength! :)

Back at it again...

I have really gotten out of the habit of blogging! I don't expect a lot of people to read this or anything, but I truly do enjoy writing these posts, so I am going to try my best to keep up with it this year!

We had a really great Christmas this year! We celebrated our own little Christmas early because we were in Minnesota with AJ's side of the family on Christmas day. Elijah was so excited about Christmas this year. He ran into our room in the morning and yelled "Mommy! Daddy! There's PRESENTS under the tree!!!" It was so exciting for us, too! He loved his toys and played with them all day!

My parents came over the day after our little family Christmas, and we had lunch together. It was really great to see them before we left. We weren't going to get to see them because they were supposed to arrive after we already left for Minnesota, but they ended up getting to come home a little early! We were very happy that we could see them and say Merry Christmas in person! :) Elijah got some great little toys from his grandma and grandpa and Aliyah got a cute Christmas outfit and some nail polish! I painted her little toenails after they left and she looked so cute! Have I mentioned I LOVE having a little girl?! :)

We drove to Minnesota on the 23rd and stayed there until the 31st! It was a lot of fun to see everyone! Some of the highlights include seeing AJ's whole family on Christmas Eve and opening presents, hanging out with Roxana every night til like 3 in the morning playing bananagrams or talking, going bowling with all the siblings, taking Lij ice skating, going to the Mall of America, and going to IKEA for my very first time! We had a wonderful trip!

Now we're back and enjoying our last week before we go back to school. It was nice that I was able to take the summer and a semester off to spend with my kids, but I am very ready and excited to get back into the routine of classes and homework. It's crazy to say, but I really am.

That's the update! I will blog again soon about some changes I have been making in my life! Until then.......

One Month Ago...

One month ago, my sweet little dinosaur baby was in my tummy still. I was at the hospital walking and walking and walking trying to get contractions started because my water had broke! It's crazy how fast this last month went! Now my little girl is here and has made quite the impression on us! I can't even imagine life before her! She has fit in so well and we all love her.

One of my favorite things about having Aliyah in our lives now is how much Elijah loves her. He gets so happy every morning when Aliyah wakes up. He runs over and talks to her in a baby voice and says hello and good morning and gives her a kiss and hug. He often asks me if I can bring Aliyah into his room to play. We either put her in her bouncy seat (which doesn't work) or we lay her on his bed. His favorite is when we lay her on his bed because he thinks it's so funny. He also always runs and gets her a blanket if she doesn't have one on her. He shows her his cars. He talks to her about what he has done all day. It's just so cute. And the other super cute part is that Aliyah is always listening to him and watching him. I am pretty sure that he is her favorite person to listen to because he's always talking and he's always excited about whatever he's talking about! :)

Aliyah has grown so much more alert in this first month. She smiles at us now and I think she's trying to laugh sometimes, but it doesn't quite come out right. :) She watches everything intently with her big eyes. She is starting to stay awake every day for around 2 or 3 hours at a time. She does still sleep most of the time. She is now sleeping in her own crib. She is breastfeeding like a champ now. She doesn't cry too much. She loves to cuddle and I think she would prefer if we held her the entire time she is sleeping, but she's starting to sleep for longer intervals. During the day she only sleeps for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, but at night she sleeps for at least 3 hours at a time. She was sleeping 4 hours, but then we switched her to her crib and she's getting used to it. When she starts to get upset, she makes these little dinosaur cries, so I call her my little "Allisaurus." She's too sweet for words. I love her so much!

Anyway, our lives were forever changed a month ago when we welcomed this adorable little baby girl into our family. I am so thankful that God blessed me with her. I love her so much already, and I just know God had huge plans for her life! Thank You, Jesus for giving me the little girl I've ALWAYS WANTED, and the best big boy I could have ever asked for, too! I love my kids!!!! :)

A Strength I Underestimate...

So there have been a few times in my life where I have been faced with a situation that I truly didn't believe I could get through. The first time was when I was called to Iraq in 2003. I couldn't tell you exactly how scared or unsure I was...it was the most frightening thing I've ever been faced with. Yet, I went, I made friends, I found my husband, and I loved my experience. Another time I was faced with something I wasn't sure I could handle was when my husband was called back to Iraq without me. I was facing a year of life without him. A year of life with him in a country where there were people trying to kill him. A year of life with taking care of our 1 year old son (who turned 2 halfway through). Yet, I said goodbye to him, went back to school, took care of our son, and somehow grew closer to my husband despite the distance. This brings me to my most recent trial. I got really sick last week with mastitis. I have been having a love/hate relationship with breastfeeding. I love bonding with my sweet girl and feeding her, but I hate the pain. Well, this last weekend was pretty much the sickest I've ever felt. My left breast hurt more than it's ever hurt, and I continued to breastfeed the entire time. In fact, I breastfed more frequently than ever because I was told that's what you're supposed to do. I got very frustrated at one point and said "I'm done! I don't want to do it anymore!" However, I kept on doing it, and now a few days later, things are better. I feel better, my supply is going up, and best of all THE PAIN IS GONE NOW!!!!!!!! It doesn't hurt to breastfeed anymore! So, I'm so thankful I stuck it out.

It just amazes me that at times when I feel so overwhelmed and stressed with things, I forget how strong I am. God has always given me the exact strength I need to get through every tough situation I've been through, so why would I doubt that he would give me the strength to overcome this sickness last weekend? I would say that from now on I'm going to remember that I'll be able to get through anything, but I'm sure I'll forget by the time the next big trial comes my way. Although, I think that's okay because everytime I feel that much more grateful for the love and strength of God for helping me through! :) Anyway, I'm just thankful that I didn't give up on breastfeeding and that I got sick this last weekend instead of this coming weekend when AJ will be gone the entire time! Praise the Lord!!!