Elf on the Shelf: Day 1-10

We started Elf on the Shelf the day after Thanksgiving and it has been a huge hit!

I wasn't sure if Julianna would really understand the whole thing but she definitely understands way more than I thought she would. She knows that Joy moves every night and that she is making sure that she is a good girl. Has it helped her behavior? Um... probably not but it's fun! Here's what Joy has been up to the first 10 days...

Day 1:

Day 2:

Day 3:

Day 4:

Day 5:

Day 6:

Day 7:

Day: 8

Day 9:

Day 10:

Health & Fitness: Day 44 & 45 + Progress Pictures & Weigh-In

Yesterday was an exercise bust since we went out to lunch for 2 hours. But today I completed 30 days of the 30 Day Shred!!! Woo hoo! It took me 45 days to complete it but I guess that's not too bad considering I have 2 little people demanding my attention. I have to exercise during naps and the occasional independent play.

But the 45 days was so worth it! I weighed myself last night and guess what?! HELLO PRE-PREGNANCY WEIGHT! I am down the 30 lbs. that I gained during my pregnancy. It took me 45 days to lose those last 8 lbs. A complete change in diet, giving up soft drinks, and almost daily exercise got me here. It wasn't easy but I'm so proud of myself for doing it! Now that I've made it to my first goal weight now onto my 2nd goal weight!

I won't be doing the daily post anymore, maybe just weekly to keep myself on track. I'm going to start a new Jillian Michaels DVD next week but I'm going to go back and do the 30 Day Shred workouts until Monday.

Day 44 Exercise
-none

Day 45 Exercise
-20 minutes of the 30 Day Shred

Health & Fitness: Day 31 & 32 + Progress Pictures

Day 31 Exercise:
-None... except if you count taking an 11 week old and a 28 month old to the movies by yourself. Julianna did great until she didn't want to leave the mall. I carried Olivia in the carrier so that's at least 16 lbs. pounds and practically dragged Julianna out of the mall kicking and screaming. To top it off, she refused to nap yesterday so no exercise time for mom.

Day 32 Exercise:
-20 minutes of the 30 Day Shred Level 3

Olivia- 10 weeks old

Seriously?! Another week has gone by?! Our sweet Olivia is 10 weeks old. She is such a content baby. So far she only cries or gets fussy when she wants to eat or when she's tired. She smiles often and gets very excited when I pick her up. She'll tolerate tummy time for a little bit longer this week and is started to show some interest in rolling over. We love you, Olivia Grace!

Health & Fitness: Day 24 + Progress Pictures

I wasn't motivated today. I did the workout but I just wasn't feeling it and I'm sore. Oh well, hopefully I'll feel better tomorrow. Tomorrow is my last day of level 2 of the 30 Day Shred. I've completed 19 days so far and I think I've gotten pretty good results. I've lost 5 pounds and some inches. Please let my motivation return tomorrow!

Day 24 Exercise:
-20 minutes of the 30 Day Shred

Health & Fitness: Day 10

Today is day 10. I'm pretty sure this is the longest I've ever stuck with an exercise/weight loss regimen. I'm pretty proud of myself! I know that I am making progress. Last night when I couldn't sleep after putting Olivia back to bed, I was wishing that I had taken a "before" picture. I did find a picture that was taken of me the week before I started my journey.

This was on June 26 at the zoo. I was 6 weeks postpartum and I weighed 150 lbs. So this is my "before" shot. I wish I would have taken one where you can see my arms and stomach better because both have definitely changed during the past 10 days. It's amazing what 10 tens of exercise and healthy eating habits can do. I'm excited to see what kind of results I get after 30 days.

And if there is one thing I will try to talk my daughters out of doing, it would be getting their belly button pierced. I thought it was great when I was 21. But after 2 pregnancies, it's not so cute anymore! I'm anti-belly button piercings now! Don't do it! (Unless you never want babies.)

Day 10 Exercise:
-20 minutes of the 30 Day Shred

Fall Photos

I just realized I haven't posted pictures from Julianna's fall photo session with her cousin, Clara. We took these pictures on a beautiful October day.

life as we know it

Little chair for Julianna made by her daddy. He spent a lot of time on this cute little chair for Julianna. It was an old chair that my mom had for a long time and was getting rid of. He did a great job!

One of our latest projects. We've been collecting picture frames on our thrifting adventures to display Julianna's artwork. They have hooks at the top so the artwork is interchangeable. These frames are going to go on the way beside of our staircase. Our collection of frames is far from done.

Julianna with one of her first ponytails. I could just eat her face. So stinkin' cute!

Just relaxing with mom on a Friday night!

One of my favorite things right now! Inspired by Pinterest, Josh made this necklace holder out of an old rake he found on the side of the road. The only cost was the $1.88 ribbon and $3.00 can of spray paint.

Little Miss Sassy Pants!

Beautiful blue! The new color of our bedroom walls.

It's so peaceful and calming. I love it!

Julianna and her daddy love pickles!

Checking out the sticker that she got at the doctor. At her 18 month checkup, she's 22 lbs. and 32 inches tall. Her weight makes her a peanut but her height is average for her age. She also got a her flu shot.

Reading a book and turning the page the right direction. Go Julianna!

Just driving my car. Beep beep!

Childress Vineyards

Josh loves calling into radio stations to play the games to win prizes and he has great luck with it as well! This week he won 2 tickets to a dinner party at Childress Vineyards- retail cost $70. Our good friend Brittney watched Julianna for a few hours so we could go. We had a great dinner and Josh even got to squish grapes with his feet. Overall, a fun date night with the husband!

i love my family

Have I mentioned lately how much I love my little family? Well, I do. So much. Julianna has brightened our lives so much and she continues to amaze me each day! Love that little girl!

She's loving books right now (which makes her teacher mom very happy) and won't leave the house without a book. Every thrift store shopping trip results in Julianna leaving with the book of her choice. She chooses what she likes from the book shelf. She "reads" the book to herself and will give it to mommy or daddy to read to her as well.

She's also been a fantastic eater lately. A few months ago, I couldn't get her to eat anything and it was stressing me out! But now she'll eat pretty much anything I give her. She loves strawberries right now and anything with that she can dip into ranch dressing.

Julianna is also talking like crazy. She has so many words that she's using to help her communicate about what she wants. She asks to "eat eat" when she hungry, tells me "ni ni" when she's tired, and says "bye bye" and "hey" at the appropriate times. She's using less sign language now because she can say more words. She can say please and usually signs please while saying "peas".

She's our world. Enjoy a few pictures of our baby girl from the past few days: