You've got to take the good with the bad...

Penelope has learned to climb up on the couches and our bed (when the door is open). It's so funny watching her struggle for a second to get a good grip before she tosses one leg over on top and then pulls up. But now I have to constantly watch her while she is on the couch because she likes walking on it. She's such a cutie. Also, she's learned to climb up on Daddy when he's on the floor:

Another taking good with bad is I have started mall walking to get some exercise in until I have the gym membership and someone to watch Penny for when I'd go. The great thing is I have lost two pounds in the last four days! I guess the bad is that I'm going with Penny but have no one else who wants to go with me. I've been feeling isolated lately which is why I'm getting out and walking. I sometimes feel like I don't have much of anyone, if anyone at all, to really turn to for support out here. I've been calling my mom to tell her how I'm progressing. I don't know if I'll be able to find anyone to watch Penny for an hour a couple times a week, even if I paid them. It's got me really down. I feel that I don't have anyone to talk to about this besides Chris so I need to vent it somewhere. I have a great game face when people talk to me though.
So, I got some Jessica Andrews from the library today! It's the one thing Chris and I will never agree on- country music. Listening to these CDs brought back so many memories of high school. Crazy, huh? I put the CDs in my purse before I went for my mall walk. SO the store alarms would go off when I would walk in or out of a store. It was funny at first but then a little annoying.

Well, I need to go do something to cheer up before I work on dinner.

Achieving goals!

For those who don't know, I have hit a very important goal of mine as of this morning. I have officially hit my pre-pregnancy weight. Now, that's not to say that my body is back to normal because I still have that baby pooch. It was an important goal to me because I fluctuate a lot with my weight, especially after having Penny. I haven't been this weight for a year. My next/new goal is the weight I was when Chris and I were dating (a little over 4 years ago we got married). I am watching more how much I eat, especially when there are days that I don't really get out. Also, I've noticed that if I'm just in the house most of the day I can do some mindless eating.

Today was looking like it was going to be one of those days of being in the house if I didn't make a choice. I decided that it was a bit chilly for Penny and I to go for a walk outside but there's a mall that's about 2 miles away that we could walk in for a while. Well, a while turned into an hour and a half! Thankfully, Penny fell asleep during that time and had no problems being moved from the stroller to the car seat to the crib when we got home. She was tired. I weighed myself this morning and I weighed xxx.8 and for fun I thought I'd weigh myself when I got home after this nice long walk in the mall. Well, I weighed in at xxx.4! Amazing! I'm anxious to see how it'll turn out tomorrow. I'm excited to be reaching these small goals that I'm setting for myself. It was so hard at first not to sabotage myself during the day by snacking too much. So the first few pounds were a little harder to drop.

Chris and I have decided that we'll be joining a gym. Not just any gym but an Apple gym for employees and their families. The upside is that it's dirt cheap with some pretty good equipment from what I hear (and you can plug your iPod or iPhone in and it'll upload your calorie burn with the Nike + app). We need to have their "assessment" done which is basically your blood pressure and heart rate I think. The downside to this is they don't have any childcare. I'm going to be asking around tomorrow if there are some moms at Church who want to do some babysitting swaps with me. All I'd really need is 30 mins to an hour a few times a week. I hope it all works out. Plus a friend of mine who is already using the Apple gym said if I find someone to watch Penny that we could do a cycling class together! How fun would that be?!

Penelope is no longer afraid of the grass! It was so funny to watch her run all the way to the edge of the cement patio and stop at the edge where the grass would start. I'm working on getting the video small enough to upload here. 

Well, I'll be back soon enough!

A Picture Says 1,000 Words.

I think this picture says it all. I decided today that I was going to get some tiny rubber bands for Penny's hair because I know it's long enough for a pigtail. I was struggling to figure out how to get her to sit still so I could pull her hair back and get it in the rubber band. Well, Elmo is the answer. I got this fun little app recommended by my sister of Elmo "calling" on the iPod. It was enough of a distraction for me to do her hair! I was SO happy. I knew I needed to take a picture so I didn't know how to get her to look up from the iPod. The answer: ducky. She LOVES her rubber ducky so all I had to do was say "Where's the ducky" and she looked up. No smile but she hasn't taken her hair down at least. I think if I show her the picture she might re-think what just happened to her.

Today, Penelope turns 14 months. So much has happened in those 14 months- going from a "failure to thrive" within weeks of being born to eating and drinking everything in sight is delightful. We just got her a swing for the backyard (the home we're renting already had a jungle gym type thing up with extra hooks for things to add on if desired). She loves her swing. The draw back is she doesn't want to cross the threshold between the patio and the grass. It's kind of funny to watch. She'll go to the edge and then hold her hands out and go "uh-uh". Penny can almost take our hands and walk from one to the other but it's taken a while to convince her it's safe.

Well, it's getting late. I'll try to post a video of her going from in the house to the yard next time :)

Good times!

Penelope is doing some pretty funny things lately. An example of that is this photo:

She has been plopping herself on pillows and getting comfortable. But not enough to actually take a nap. Penny is changing up her schedule as well. She is taking a later nap in the morning. She would usually wake up around 6 or 7am and by 9ish she would be ready for her first nap. Now, it's later (11/1130am). This is then resulting in later afternoon naps as well. She would typically go down for her afternoon nap around 2 or 3pm. Now, she's going down around 4pm. I think she's trying to cut out her third nap for good that would happen around 5pm before I go to get Chris from work. I'm hoping I can readjust to her napping so I can get back to my workout routine during the day.

As a preparation for the 5K this July, Chris and I have started taking walks in the evening. It's only .6 miles but we walk fast I guess. We can do it in about 11 minutes. Of course that includes talking and pushing a stroller with Penny in it. I did the math on it and it averages out to 3.2 mph that we're walking this in. I figure that's a great pace and a great starting point. If anyone knows of a GPS type app that calculates how far we walk and our speed for the overall walk that would be useful. We've heard of the Nike + GPS but I've also read some discouraging reviews on it as well (lower battery life and not recording over all speed).

I've started planning our meals this week to make life a little easier. Tonight is going to be taco/burrito night. Ground beef was on a MAJOR sale yesterday and I picked up some taco seasonings. Then, I got some home grown lettuce from a friend for lending her a movie. We have spinach tortillas for the burritos. I think it should be great fun tonight. I'm still working on the math to see if it'd be worth it to get a Costco membership. There were some things that looked like it could be a better deal but I'm still crunching the numbers.

We finally rearranged our living room furniture!! That also means we've pulled out our projector so we can watch movies on the wall again! We need to find some kind of shelving to go on the table so that it's away from Penny more (she's SO like her dad: into electronic things) and so we'd have a place for the blue ray player. I think an IKEA trip is on the horizon (or at least their website).

Another exciting thing is that I am starting to fit into pre-pregnancy jeans that have been mocking me in the closet. I still need to work on the muffin top (but I'm sure everyone feels that way one time or another). I feel like things are getting back on track (except for the naps).

I am finishing another book for our book club called "A Girl Named Zippy". Again, like the last book, I am listening to it instead of actually reading it. So far, it's a pretty good book. The same kind of feel as "Saving CeeCee Honeycutt" as far as it's telling the story of a child growing up. I'm enjoying it. I will let you know how it goes once I'm finished with it.

I'm enjoying my new maxi dress so much that I think I'm going to get one from Target.com (they have more colors).  I'm going to buy 2 different sizes as a just in case so I know what size to get after that.

So many good things happening!

New accomplishments!

Penny has been doing so many things this weekend. I think part of it is due to the fact that we moved the furniture around. Penny had learned to climb on the fireplace so we moved one of the couches to go in front of it. We feel like there's more room in the living room even though it's pretty much the same. We stopped by a friend's house to lend them a movie. They got a trampoline for Christmas and they said Penny could go on with them. Here's a cute picture of what her sitting with her hair all static:

She's so funny! Her hair was sticking up so bad :)  Tonight was one of the big accomplishments that I wanted for her so bad: She took my water bottle with a  straw and figured out how to suck the water threw. I think that's partly because earlier in the week, I bought sippy cups that make her suck instead of the ones that you apply pressure to like a bottle top. I am so excited for her! She is walking all over the place now! During the third hour of Church, she was walking around the room and all the women were watching and then later telling how big she's become. She has grown up so fast. This morning, she woke up at 330am. She didn't want any milk or juice. Finally, I put her back in her crib and decided she wanted her light on and she then she proceeded to open one of her books in her crib and read to herself. About 30 minutes later, she made her little cry that she was ready to be tucked in and go to sleep.

So, Chris and I think that Penny would be ready for a big girl bed. The concern is that she would know how to climb in and out which could be bad. That means she could climb out and wander around the house. It's a hard thing to know when to transition. My mom says she didn't really have an age where she moved kids from crib to bed because it was a matter of another baby had come and so the child needed to not be in the crib anymore.

This week, I am going to be trying to plan meals ahead better than I have since Penelope has come along. Before Penny was here, Chris and I would plan out what we wanted for dinner for the week and I would make a list of what I needed to get from the store. I don't know why he doesn't care anymore. But anyways, we put a list together of eighteen meals that we like and some we'd have more than once a week and then we go out about once a week for dinner. I'm going to go to Costco with a  friend to see if shopping there will help the grocery buying and budget. I love spreadsheets so doing this is fun to me. I guess it appeals to the part of me that worked for a while. The meals go from being simple like pasta with spaghetti sauce and hamburger helper to things that take a little more effort like enchiladas, lasagna, or beef stew. I am open to any dinner suggestions for three, even though Penny doesn't eat a lot. I want to make sure dinner include veggies more often. Sometimes we just forget.

Well, I've got to plan dinners for this week by myself (including dinner with missionaries over). Wish me luck!

The longest short week EVER!

Sorry it's been a while. Penelope is walking and jabbering on more than ever. Some words are very distinct that we know what they are and other times it's just babbling about whatever she talks about. It's quite adorable.
Valentines day has passed. We spent it with Penelope with us. We went to Outback Steakhouse!! I called ahead (they don't take reservations but can put your name down ahead of time) and they said they had a 515 open. Apparently that derailed some of Chris' plans for any gifts he might get. We had an amazing meal. Penelope was so well behaved. We got her their macaroni and cheese (she hadn't had macaroni and cheese before). When they brought the food out, they set hers far enough away that she couldn't make a mess but close enough that she could see what it was. She then went "Noonels" which is her way of saying noodles. We were so proud of her. We have always told her what we were giving her when we feed her and she tries to mimic the sounds. Well, she did this all on her own. After dinner, we came home to a cake that I won at an auction from Church. It is a red velvet cake with cream cheese frosting and some fondant flowers. Here are a couple views of the cake:

It tastes SO GOOD.

So Chris got me a iTunes gift card and a cover for the iPad. He says there's something else on it's way but he ordered it online SATURDAY! I tease him "What? You didn't know Valentines day was coming? Snuck up on you again!" He thinks it'll be here tomorrow or the beginning of next week. I'll put a picture of it up as soon as it comes. I made the dinner plans so that was my contribution. But I did get him two new button down shirts. For those of you who don't know, this past summer Chris fell off his bike pretty hard (he got stitches) and it tore up his nice blue button down beyond repair. We bought these shirts for him for his interview with Apple just over 2 years ago. Well, his white one is the only one he wears to Church on Sunday and Penny has been helping buttons come off and then there's the collar stains. Anywho, I knew what style and what size so I went to Macy's (where we got them last time) and ironically they were on sale! Penny went down by 720 and I was asleep on the couch by 730.

A couple days ago, Penny was walking/running up and down the halls in the house. The halls and the dinning room and kitchen are the only rooms with tile. Well, she tripped and started crying. I know to calm her down and then check for blood. Usually there isn't and she's fine but this time there was blood. It looks like when she went down she bit the top left side of her lip and there's a little bump under her left eye. She's fine now- just a little scratched up. She's a tough girl. After it happened, I took her outside to calm her and set her down. She started walking all around and having a good old time like nothing had happened. Thankfully, Penny is learning to take it slower in the halls. She's really good about standing back up after tripping (she trips a lot). 

Yesterday, I heard her in her bedroom but couldn't make out what she was doing so I decided to check it out. Well, here's what she was doing:

 

Oh well. I find her in her closet pulling her clothes off the shelves. Life happens.

Projects

Penelope is enjoying independence but still likes being played with instead of just playing by herself. Chris opens the side door to the yard and lets her go in and out as she pleases (and trust me, she pleases). It's so cute watching her discover with supervision in the yard. We're still teaching her that chalk is not food though. I'm sure she'll figure that out someday.
The baby shower card was a success although I had to change the "Congratulations" part into all caps because JoAnn's was out of the sticker letters this whole week. Kind of disappointing but they all "ooooo"ed and "ahhhhh"ed at it at the shower (ex. "You made this?"). I wish all the best to this soon to be mom.
I've also been working on a dress since Thursday afternoon. I ordered it online but they only had the next size up and I figured I could do the fixing. Thank goodness I ordered it when I did because now they don't have it in stock at ALL. I had to hem it almost 2 inches (which is saying something because I'm between 5'6" and 5'7"). We decided not to take it in because it flows just fine as is. It's a black maxi dress. Here's the link to what it would ideally look on someone: http://www.lanebryant.com/surplice-maxi-dress/p125000/index.pro
I was bound and determined to have it all done by this Sunday. I don't know why but I'm the type of person that if I get something during the week that I want to wear it that Sunday if at all possible. Sometimes it doesn't always work that way. With many phone calls to my mother and the help of a neighbor/Church member, I was able to get it pinned and learn how to use my sewing machine for the first time ever. It wasn't too bad. But as I said, LOTS of calls to my mother. I may never be as good as she is but by golly I will get what I need to done. I had to ask her what kind of needles, thread, and any other things I may need or need to know. What I found completely amazing is I've had the machine set up on the dining room table since Friday and Penny has not once looked at it, pulled the cord, or messed with it in any way.
We're still in the process of moving the furniture in the living room. We have a fireplace with a ledge on the actual part where the door is for the fireplace that Penny keeps climbing up and she's now taken a little spill on. I can't do it alone. It's not because the couch is heavy, it's just big. I hope it'll be a good change.
Here's a quick picture of Penny watching a video of her cousin on Facebook. He was running on his new bed and she just got a kick out of it:

Enjoy the weekend!!