The Wild Bottle Tamer!!

Just wanted to let you know about a great item I have perpetually attached to Sophia's stroller! It's called the Bottle Tamer and it's saved her bottle (which is now a sippy cup!) many times from plummeting to the dirty ("icky" as we're teaching her!) ground. The Bottle Tamer easily attaches to any stroller. You can find the Bottle Tamer online at Lil BahBee (http://lilbahbee.com/). I've found it really useful and just wanted to share in hopes of helping someone else whose child likes to see how far they can throw stuff out of their stroller when they get bored:-)

That's all for now! Have a great weekend~

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How can it be?!?!

...that we have a 1-year-old! We celebrated Sophia's very first birthday on August 25th. It was just a special, quiet night at home with Mommy, Daddy and our Big Girl. We had just come off of a 2 and 1/2 week trip visiting family and friends back in Illinois where we had a blow out birthday bash with a balloon and confetti drop...the works:)
So the night to ourselves, to reflect on what the last year has brought us, was a nice way to end the birthday festitivies:) After Sophia went to bed, Justin and I watched video footage from Sophias first months...of course, I teared up at the realization that if the first year went this fast, the rest of her childhood will be over in the blink of an eye! But we've managed to savor each moment with the wonder of the blessing she is to us.
In other news...we nearly have a walker. Her record (3 steps) has given us hope that full fledged walking is quickly on the horizon!

Sophia enjoying some time on the Farm with Grandpa!










First Birthday Fun!












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She's trying to communicate:)

Sophia is slowly connecting verbally with her world...and boy, is it adorable! She started off several weeks ago saying "dadadada" which made her daddy very proud (and of course left me feeling a little jealous:-) But now she actually says "mamamama" even when you prompt her to say "dada"...(smiling smugly:-)

But the cutest one we've heard so far is her new friendly greeting...she says, "Hi!". Soooo cute. But it's usually not just a short, sweet "hi". She likes to draw it out. Imagine a little hi pitched voice saying, "HHHHIIIIiiiiii...." to you. Makes you kinda smile, doesn't it.


Justin's family came to visit a couple of weeks ago. Here's a beach pic of Grandpa, Sophia and me enjoying the beautiful view.

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Expensive seats!!

So I just realize that I've been slacking on my "mom responsibility" to get the next step up in car seats for Sophia. I'm reminded during a conversation with a friend who asked me what carseat I got for Sophia when she grew out of her infant carrier. "Yikes", I still have her in the infant carrier and haven't thought about the next step convertible seat in a while. Honestly, I've been putting it off because it's all so confusing to me. There are so many options and brands. And I'm convinced that the car seat industry has us parents cornered. All of the seats on the market meet safety regulations so you really can't go wrong, but it seems like the most expensive seats get the best safety ratings from Consumer Reports and the like. I mean of course you want your baby in the safest seat possible. But is it necessary to buy the most expensive?!?! It just gets really overwhelming. One brand I've looked at resembles a little lush recliner for your kid. Of course it's the most pricey. Across the board, I've been looking from most to least expensive-Britax Marathon, Cosco Alpha Omega and the Evenflo Triumph. Anyone have any suggestions?? Help!

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So Proud!

I actually JOGGED last weekend! What an accomplishment~ And I owe it in huge part to PUSH TV and my trainer Mike Monroe. I just started session #3 with PUSH and it is the first one that has REALLY challenged me. The previous sessions have kind of been building on each other and the most recent left me sore, a good sore, the next day. I'm continuing to "plug away" at my workouts and am feeling really great. I can tell it's given me more energy throughout the day.
My next goal is to begin swimming as exercise. I've never been a strong swimmer...I think it started in grade school when I failed swimming lessons (yes, you really can fail:). But I'm going to turn over a new leaf and give it a try. It's an important part of my overlying goal of eventually competing in a triatholon!
Sophia Update: She's EVERYWHERE!! Crawling all over, pulling herself up on everything...it's a wonder I have a moment to spare for exercising!

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Cool Shades...

So I have to tell everyone about this great find that I have been using for Sophia's stroller. Ever since I've had a baby, I've been OBSESSED with protecting her from the sun. I figure, I should start her out by protecting her from as much sun damage as possible...hopefully by the time she's a teenager, it won't be "in" to have a constant dark tan like it was when I was that age!
Anyway, in addition to massive amounts of sunscreen, I've been using this great Stroller Sun Shade Attachment that you can find at www.stylishlyprotected.com or www.protectabub.com. This sun cover easily attaches to almost any stroller (I have two strollers and it works with both) and protects against 98% of the sun's UVA & UVB rays. Plus when she's getting a little drowsy in her stroller, I can pull the shade down to help her take a nap (and buy me some time:-)

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I will survive!

Well...I've made it past the first 2 weeks of my fitness program with PUSH, and I have to say, they make it really easy for me to workout with my new life situation..i.e."trying to get in shape after having and trying to keep up with a baby!"(now mind you, "making it easy", and just going ahead and doing the workout for me are two VERY different things:-)
My fitness trainer, Mike, calls me every two weeks to check in, see if I have any questions, and basically encourage me in reaching my goals. The current challenge he's given me is investigating a competitive event that I can set as my future goal. I'm looking at some triatholons, or maybe a 1/2 marathon. Haven't decided yet.

Yesterday, for Mother's Day, Justin, Sophia and I went for a hike. And boy, was it a hike! It definitely made me realize that I still have a long way to go to acheive all of my fitness goals, but finishing the hike encouraged me that I'm not a total "lost cause" :)

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