Steven's Birthday

I still haven't gotten around to posting pictures (sorry!) but I do have them, I promise!
On Saturday the 11th (Steven's actual birthday) Josh, Sofia, & I took him bowling.  We'd never taken him before but I thought he'd enjoy it.  When we were in California for my mom's birthday, we went to this little Western/gold mining town & along their main street they had a old-school bowling alley.  He really liked that one so I thought it would be fun to take him for his birthday.
We got him bumper lanes & a ramp to make it easier for him.  At first he thought it was pretty cool but then he discovered the ball return.  He was completely fascinated!  He just wanted to stand there & watch the balls come back up.  (Thankfully no little hands were hurt!)  It got to the point where he didn't even really want to have his turn.  He'd go over to the ramp, half-heartedly push the ball & then run back over to the ball return to watch the ball come back up. It was pretty funny.  I was afraid that with the bumpers & ramp that he would get a better score than I would!  (I am notoriously a bad bowler.)  I was pleasantly surprised that I did fairly well.  I got several spares so I was pretty happy.  All-in-all it was a pretty good time.
On our way out of the bowling alley my sister called to sing to Steven.  He's never been all the interested in actually talking on the phone (although he loves to play with mine) but he was grinning from ear to ear while listening to her on speaker phone.  Very cute. :)
After bowling we got some pizza to take home.  Steven LOVES pizza (a child after my own heart).  If he even hears the word he will bug you about wanting pizza for quite some time.  He will eat the left-overs for every meal until they are gone if you let him.  This particular evening we got it from Dominos.  I have to say that they have done an excellent job with "re-vamping" their pizza.  That night my pizza was not as good, though.  They didn't put their new garlic seasonings on the crust & let me tell you - that definitely makes the pizza.  On the box it says "if you are not completely satisfied, give us a call."  Well I wasn't, so I called & got a free pizza!  Woot! 
Sunday we had a family party with my siblings as well as with Josh's family.  Steven was VERY excited to see his cousins.  He loves to play with other kids, especially his cousins.  He got very spoiled with presents but he wasn't all that interested in them.  The problem with a large amount of presents for a little kid is that they want to look at the present they just opened but there are lots more to open.  After a little while he got up and ran into his room & sat on his bed calling, "Anna! Anna!" (my niece)  He was much more interested in playing than opening presents that he couldn't even really look at ;)  I made him some lemon cupcakes with amazing cream cheese frosting (if I do say so myself).  I had given him one before the party (it was a "sacrificial one" to test the amount of frosting it needed) & he did not like the frosting.  I had meant to leave one without frosting but I got carried away with the frosting & it didn't happen.
All around it was a good birthday if I do say so myself.  He got a bunch of sports stuff (basketball hoop, soccer ball, kids' golf clubs, t-ball set) at Josh's suggestion & he's been having a ton of fun with them.  I think Josh wants to expose him to as many sports as possible when he's younger to get him going.  I'm all for it, too, because I want my kids to be active & be involved in activites.
When I have more time, I'll post some pictures.

Steven Turns Two!

I don't have any pictures to post at the moment because I'm at work but I figured I'd do this first & then post pictures later. 
I already posted his weight and all that so I will just mention in here new things he's doing.
-He still loves his baby sister.  He's progressed from just calling her "baby" to "Fia", "baby Fia" or sometimes even "baby S'Fia".  He sometimes wants me to wake her up when she's asleep so he can play with her.  He very rarely gets jealous of her anymore, which is so great.  He'll give her kisses, hugs, & play with her a lot.  He knows he has to sit down to hold her (which is funny to see because she's probably 3/4 his size) & is pretty careful about not laying on her when he's leaning over her.
-He loves to help, especially when I'm cooking.  He gets pretty excited about it & wants to help me measure & mix (which can get very messy).  When I try to use the swiffer on the floor while he's in the room he will get upset if I don't let him do it.
-He is a pretty stubborn little boy (I wonder where he gets that from?? ;) ) but generally pretty happy.
-He definitely can throw fits & temper tantrums & because of this, time-outs have become one of my best friends ;)  For me, they work great!  Honestly, sometimes the only way he will calm down is if he goes into time out & has time to himself to breathe & settle down.
-He is starting to read (no joke)!  Josh (and myself) has been very adament about Steven knowing how to read before he starts kindergarten.  My mom taught me at a very young age to read but Josh didn't pick it up well until he was a little older.  He says it made things a lot harder in school & he didn't want Steven to go through that, too.  He can read all his letters, almost all of the numbers 1-9 & can recognize quite a few words.  He will also ask us to help him write some of his letters when he's drawing.  I can't tell you how proud I am of him :)
-He's not a super picky eater (thank goodness) but I would like him to gain some weight.  He is starting to drink more milk but if anyone has any ideas to help get him to drink more, let me know!
-He talks quite a bit (although he's typically shy around strangers) & still signs some words.  He's very good about "asking" (i.e. repeating) me for things (ex. "Mommy, may I have more cheese?") cause he knows he won't get it unless he asks nicely. 
-He loves his cousins & playing with other kids.  Many times when we're driving in the car he'll just repeat his cousins names (his favorites to repeat are Ashley & Mandy) randomly.  It's pretty funny.  He gets very excited when they come over or when he gets to go play with them.  He also loves to go see "Bumpa" & "Bumpa" (he calls Grandma & Grandpa the same thing).
-For his birthday he got an adjustable basketball hoop, a t-ball set & a kid's golf club set.  He's been really into playing with them since last weekend.  It's very cute to see him play with Josh & Josh teaching him.
-He loves "Boots" (from "Dora the Explorer") & "Diego" & would probably watch them all day if I let them.  It's definitely apparent I'm a parent when I start singing the "Dora the Explorer" theme song in my head.

He can be a stubborn, temper-tantrum-throwing little two year-old but we love him a ton & are so glad to have him in our lives :)

I have come to the conclusion after much struggle & frustration with feeling like a failure that I just may not realistically have time to work out 5-6 days a week right now. 

It's been really stressing me out to try to work out & then not having the time & then feeling guilty for not working out & eating a cookie.  I hate living like that.

Right now, realistically, the only time I can work out during the week is if I cut into study, sleep, or family/couple time.  I just hate being so stressed about it because I'm not doing what I set out to do.  I'm also so paranoid that if I let myself off the hook & relax a little bit that I will gain back the 20+ lbs I've lost in the past 2 years.  Of course I don't want that!

So I have a revised goal for the time being.  I still want to lose another 5-10 lbs but I also don't want to cut into my study/sleep/family time any more than I already have to.  I do want to lose 2-3 lbs ASAP just so the jeans that I have won't be tight.  But then I am planning on working out when I actually have some spare time (i.e. Tuesday afternoons, Friday, Saturday) & watching what I eat.  I still plan on drinking tons of water (4+ liters) & being as active as I can (while sitting at a desk all day...).

I feel less stressed about this now...and really, why feel stressed over something that you don't have time for??  Live life unstressed...you'll live longer ;)

Being a Responsible Adult is Tough...

I hear people say all the time that "being a[repsonsible] adult is not fun!"  How true it is!  I've felt that way before but that feeling is becoming ever prominent in my life these days.  Shortly after Sofia was born Josh & I made the painful decision that I needed to return to work.  I'm not going to go into the details because, really, why else would I leave my two kids (read: need more money)?  We found two great babysitters at a price that wouldn't completely negate my paycheck.  That's been working out pretty well so far, despite the fact that I hate that I have to work. 

As I've said in previous posts, I've been feeling like I need to finish my schooling for a while.  I hadn't really been making too much progress in that arena until recently.  I'm taking the pre-req I need (stupid Chem 101 that I've taken before but with a grade that barely didn't make the cut for Nursing school) right now.  It's an online class, which is tough, but it's realistically the only way I can do it with my schedule.  I'm happy to say that I'm doing pretty well so far.  I'm planning on getting on the waiting list at SLCC when I finish this class but also applying to an LPN program through Mountain Land Applied Technology College.  I never really considered getting my LPN first but this is the year of changing perspective for me.  One of my best friends got her LPN through there & she finished pretty quickly.  If I go that route I can get my RN online or at a place like Weber State.  That is my number one choice because it's fairly quick & it'll still get me where I need to go. 

Being a working student mom is very tough.  I'm a bit sad that I never finished before I had kids.  But I can't change that now & I am determined to finish before I have any more kids.  I want to be there for my kids but I'd rather sacrifice now so I can have more time, money, & freedom with them in a few years.  To all those working/student moms: I feel ya & I really admire your courage & strength you have to do what you have to do for your family. 

Woot!

All I'm going to say is that I lost 3 (yes, THREE) pounds last week!  Woot!  I will also say I'm not sure how I did it...I guess drinking lots of water (I'm talking 4+ LITERS a day) & doing tons of p-jacks paid off...at least this week. 

4-Month & 2-Year Appointment

Yesterday was Sofia's 4-month & Steven's 2-year well-child check-up.  First of all, I have to say that I finally found a pediatrician that I really like.  When I first had Steven, I went to a clinic in Sandy that I liked but it was pretty far from where we moved to in Taylorsville.  The other downside was that you would just see whoever was available first so you didn't really get to know any one doctor.  That was okay but I prefer to just see one doctor if possible.  Then I tried out a new pediatrician in Taylorsville, closer to our new place.  Both times I went I waited 45-60 minutes in the waiting room & at least 20 in the room before the doctor actually came in.  She was a nice enough person but not nice enough to wait that long to see.After I had Sofia my sister-in-law recommended her pediatrician.  I've been to him 3 times now & the longest I've waited is 5 minutes (literally).  Pretty much the whole time you're there you're either being seen by the nurse or the doctor.  He's really nice, knowledgeable, & never seems rushed.  So if you're in the Salt Lake area & need a new pediatrician, let me know!

Anyway, yesterday Steven & Sofia were weighed & measured & all that.  Sofia's our little chunk (even though she's small) at 12 lbs 4 oz (15th percentile).  She's 25 inches long (70th percentile) so she's actually fairly tall :)  Steven 34 1/4 inches tall so he's actually average for his height!  He's only 22 lbs 13 oz (3rd percentile)...so tall & skinny.  I was thinking he'd been the same weight since his 1-year appointment but I guess he's actually gained about 5 lbs!  Whoo!  He's small but not alarmingly so.  Even still, I'm trying to put weight on him.  He hasn't loved milk ever but he's starting to like it more & more.  If anyone has any ideas about how to fatten that boy up, please let me know!  Any ideas of how to get him more milk would be especially helpful.  Thanks!

4 Months!

It's a little weird to me that Sofia is already 4 months old! She seems like she's getting so big already.  Her 4 month appointment is not until the 7th of September (so I could do her 4-mo appointment & Steven's 2 year at the same time) so I'm not positive of her measurements. I think she's probably 11 or 12 lbs but I'm not sure.  She's a pretty happy baby the majority of the time.  She loves attention & will let you know if she's not getting enough.  She's rolled over from her back to her stomach but hasn't ton it a ton.  She does love chewing on her toes, though. :) She's been sleeping through the night for quite a while.  We've discovered something, though.  She usually wants to take a nap around 6 or 7.  If we let her sleep when she wants to she'll wake up around 10 or 11 & just want to be up & hang out.  No fun for me!  So now she can't go to sleep until about 9 pm.  That way she usually sleeps until 6 or 7 am.  Much better :) Steven is still being a great big brother, although he still hits her occasionally.  He calls her "Fia" & whenever he sees her he says "Hi, Fia!"  He also likes to share & tries to give her his food.  Good concept, but not so great to try to choke her ;)  Here are a few pictures.

Sofia with her cousin, Adam.  Yes, he is 1 day younger than her.

Adam was completely fascinated with Sofia's bow.  He kept trying to grab it

He almost got it but his mom stopped it

His concentration was so intense!  Notice his puckered lips & also that Sofia won't really let him use his other hand...

I love this picture!  You can't really tell but she is getting more hair (at least on the top of her head...)

Happy girl playing with her toes

Apparently those things taste good...

On Saturday we went to the Gateway mall to let Steven play at the water fountain.  It was SUPER windy & Sofia was making some very funny faces when a gust would get her in the face.  You can't really tell here just out freaked out she was.  It's the best one I got, though.