Being Healthy... or Trying To

Today started my 30 day challenge for myself. After having a child, as many of you know, a woman's body is just not the same. So, instead of not liking myself or complaining that this shirt or those shorts don't fit right anymore, I've decided to do something about it! 

My good friend, Kayla Poucher, let me borrow a work out DVD. Let me tell you, I was not ready to sweat that much! It felt so great to get back into the groove of things. Emma will only get heavier which means I need to get stronger. 

My challenge for myself: to do at least 20-30 minutes of activity a day. If it's not the work out DVD, a walk will do. I know it's easier said than done, but I want my child, eventually down the line children, to know that health is important. 

Obviously, working out doesn't do it all... Eating healthy needs to be in the mix! My new thing is throwing some vanilla yogurt, some frozen blueberries, frozen raspberries, and a banana in our Magic Bullet and walla! 

Emma seems to love it too! 

Auntie Time!!

Our friends have gone to the splash park a few times and Emma and I have yet to join them. It's either been a little too hot for this lady... or her mother had yet to get her a swim suit! But, at a garage sale the other day I found this cute little suit for $.50! What a steal!

Now all we have to do is get to the splash park before the end of summer!

Here you go Abby! She finally fits into your "My auntie loves me" sleeper! She woke up just smiling away in it this morning. 

There was a cute video of her chatting away this morning too, but it won't upload to the blog. Here's the link to it on Facebook. Chatter Box

Cara normally stops in here and there throughout the week. We hadn't seen her all weekend so the excitement was filling the room when she got here. Emma loves spending time with her. 

I was going through my camera and deleting all the pictures. I totally forgot I took this! I wanted to remember just how small and precious Emma's fingers were. In my mind, the picture was suppose to turn out very different. But, Cara almost died laughing when she saw this, so I had to put it up. 

1st Time at a Restaurant!

Jay's parents came down for the weekend and had a bunch of quality time with their grandbaby. We decided to take an adventure and go out to dinner. We went to The Cheesecake Factory and Emma did so well! Here's a few pics of her while we were at dinner. 

Grandpa decided to let Emma play with his electronics... 

She loved it as you can tell by her eyes.

Look at those smiles.

Play time!

Her new thing is sucking both of her lips in... Goof ball. 

What a cutie!

 One of my old co-workers had a baby a little over 2 weeks ago. She had a little extra time in DSM and came to visit us. Here little girl Grace was about the same weight as Emma was when she was born. It's crazy to think Emma was ever that tiny. 

Alisa & Grace

It was such a great and full weekend. We enjoyed spending time with Jay's parents, going to a birthday party of one of our newest friends, and even a little date time for Jay & I. We were able to go see the last Harry Potter movie and run some errands babyless. It was relaxing, yet I was ready to come home to see our baby.

Baby Food!

Emma got to start baby food today! Surprisingly, she's a fan of it! She did really well with the rice cereal so most of me wasn't too worried. Here's some pics and videos.

Emma's first moments in her high chair!

Her first bite!

A few bites in, as you can tell by the mess on her face.

Lovin' it!

"I want more...."

My favorite pic of the night!

We have been given tons of Gerber baby food from friends whose babies are getting too old for it. After those are used up, it'll be time for home made baby food!

Licking the tray clean.

Hanging out with daddy before bed.

6 months already!?!?!?!

Well, Emma is now 6 months and 2 days old!!! Where has the time gone? 

We had her 6 month check up today and have some stats for everyone. 

A little back-story. At 4 months, our little one was quite small and wasn't getting enough to eat. She had dropped from the 10% at 3 months to the 3% at 4 months, so they were getting a little worried. After switching her to formula, we got her all beefed up!!!! 

Here's the amazing stats from today!

Height: 27" Tall girl!! 90%

Weight: 16 lb 3 oz!!!!!! She's up to the 50%!!!!

We'll take it! I'm sure she'll keep gaining weight like crazy as we're going to start the baby food this week too! We have one fast growing girl! 

Finding things to do indoors...

This week is suppose to be ridiculously hot. So, we found some interesting things to do inside. I made some S'more Cookies that Jay was able to take to a grill out. They weren't warm but still gave you the smore taste! Delicious!

Next, we had some what of a beauty day that involved a foot massage and a little bit of a make over. Who did they go to you might ask?

The foot massage goes to.........

EMMA!

Not who I would have guessed either!

The hair/facial cut...... 

JAY!!!

You got it!

Front Before

Side Before

Front After

Side After

I think he lost 5 pounds in hair. It was crazy!

Emma is still putting everything she can find into her mouth.... Including....

This reminded me of a video my sister Abby and I filmed. Video  Whenever I need a good laugh, I just watch this. Oh Abby.

And here's just a cute one of Emma. Enjoy!

Last. We're working on sitting up. Assistance is still needed but, she's getting better at it.

Miss Talkative

Firsts!

We've had a few firsts this past week!

To start off....

Emma has learned to put her foot in her mouth. Literally.

Her first Jumperoo! Jay's mom found a really good deal on Amazon and it was at our door in just a few days. Emma enjoys this so much!

We were needing some 'cleaning up' done around our house for another one of our firsts. On Saturday's our Bible Study is part of the Service Team. The Service Team goes around and just asks if any work needs to be done on people's houses or yards. While Jay was out doing that, I was having my own little service project. I got the back patio re-mulched and decorated the front a little. Here's a before and after. 

Of course, I had a helper. 

All of this 'cleaning up' was for our first time hosting our Bible Study and friends after church. Since Emma was born, our house has been put on hold a little from hosting. I'm taking the plunge and trying it again. 

Here's some pictures of all the fun!

Jay & I had homemade shish kabobs. Yum!

The badminton net got some good use! 

I was able to clean up our patio furniture just in time!

 We also had games of ladder golf and even bags going!

Overall, it was such an enjoyable evening. Of course, it wouldn't be complete without a movie!!! We all enjoyed watching good ole Robin Hood, the animated version! 

The last first.... I wish it was the Emma was getting her first tooth; although I'm convinced she is, but there's no proof yet. Our little munchkin had her first cold. We got her checked out and it's just a head cold. As sad as it is that she's a little stuffed up, I'm so thankful that this is her first cold and she's almost 6 months old!!! Hope she keeps her immune system working like this for a long time!

Just a Thought.....

I love seeing Emma asleep. It's so peaceful and calming. 

The 4th of July!!!

WARNING: Picture Overload!

Here's a walk through our first 4th of July as a family!

Well, technically it starts on July 3rd :)

Jay, Emma, and I went to our good friends Halley & Colleen Griess' house. We met a few other couples there for an evening of some good grilling, fun games, and great conversation. It was so nice to hang out with some old and new friends! I was in charge of bringing watermelon. But, why just bring simple cut up watermelon when you can do this!

Halley thought it may resemble a muskrat, but I'm convinced it looked like a hedgehog.

Here's our baby.

She looks so grown up!

Her smile!

After a long week at work, Emma was missing her daddy. (or I'd like to think she realizes he's gone..... maybe not yet) But she enjoys playing with him so much, as you can see in the picture below.

Tummy time with daddy on his day off!

 After Emma's afternoon nap, we went out with my friend Jamie and had Emma's first photo shoot! Here's the link to her blog with the pictures! Jamie Lynne Photography or Jamie Lynne Photography Facebook Page I put Emma in her car seat and finished my conversation with Jamie; I looked down and she was out. Must be exhausting looking that cute!

 Our hub church, Walnut Creek Community Church, holds a big 4th of July celebration out at the church camp. We had been out there in the morning to watch our WTC team play and then watch my sister play. Cara's team just kept on winning, so we had to head out there for her semi-final game at 5:30. They won that game too! So, we stuck around to watch the championship game, but they happened to get "served" in this game. (not meaning to sound mean, just needed a fun pun in this post)

Cara in action!

This was the competition!! They put up such a great fight!

Emma watching Auntie Cara!

 After the volleyball game was over, we headed back home for dinner!

Cara turned my cute hedgehog watermelon into a devilish looking bugger!

Daddy feeding Emma rice cereal for the first time!

Someone got sunburnt!

Emma loves drinking out of a big girl glass.

Jay grilled up some delicious steak, potatoes, and carrots!

Of course, we needed an after dinner activity!

Jay and Cara enjoying a game of badminton.

We had a little problem. The birdie/shuttlecock got stuck in the tree. No one knew at the beginning that I was taking a video and not snapping a picture. It makes the video that much better.

We had a spectator.

"Yo Mom! I've got winner!"

"Please, just one more game before bed!"

We even got to watch some fireworks.... well kinda. We watched the Chicago fireworks on TV. We decided there were many pluses to this situation. We were in air conditioning, could grab a glass of water when we were thirsty, and best of all NO BUGS!!! We had such an enjoyable first 4th of July! Hope you did too!