Weigh In Wednesday: Week 1

One week down, many more weeks to go! Its so daunting looking ahead at the amount of weight and inches I'd like to lose and, especially after a trip to get new workout clothes, realizing how MUCH my body has changed.

I found this on Pinterest and need to have it burned into my head to remember my body made two beautiful babies in 16 months! I'm just trying to improve and LOVE IT MORE

My goal isn't skinny. My goal is to be fit and healthy. To be one hot mama!  I have felt so good this week. My endurance for exercise built up immediately and I have more strength in my abs by far after this C-section than with my first surgery. I think maybe that's due to lifting Laila bug all day long during my pregnancy. I didn't take any classes, because I didn't want to get discouraged if I couldn't finish them. So I stuck with light cardio. 30 minutes on the treadmill walking at a 3% incline, 10 minutes on the elliptical (that's all my poor incision could take) and 10 minutes on the bike.

My diet definitely changed, but isn't where it should be by far. I have quit drinking soda, and quit fast food. I even turned down a sandwich from one of my favorite places here in Bellingham called Coconut Kenny's. If you know me personally, you know what a junk food addict I am, and diet by far will be the hardest change. I'm not following any certain program, but I'm not opposed to one either. We will see what kind of results I get with just more mindful eating.

LOSING THE BABY WEIGHT ROUND 2

POUNDS LOST: 2
TOTAL POUNDS LOST: 2

INCHES LOST
Waist: 0.5"
Hips: 0
Thighs: 0
Chest: 0
Arms: 0

TOTAL INCHES LOST: 0.5"

Toilet Troubles

This is the kind of day we are having.

Laila has become fascinated with the toilet. I was changing Camden's diaper when she disappeared into my bedroom. The next thing I heard was her saying, "Uh oh" over and over. I went into the bathroom and intercepted her little hand just as she was about the flush LaLa down the toilet! Which then turned into a nuclear meltdown because she couldn't play with LaLa anymore until LaLa took a bath. Even though we have two other LaLas that are exactly the same-she wanted soaking wet toilet water LaLa. Sigh

However, both kids are napping right now in their own rooms and I miss them. So funny how that happens. The house is so quiet!

We had a great weekend and visited the local children's museum for the first time. They have a little toddler area which was perfect for Laila. As usual, she went straight for the stuffed animals! I wore Cam in my Solly wrap and it felt so strange to walk into the mall without a stroller! We turned Laila loose in the mall and she ran her little legs off. She even got to ride in an ice cream truck.

 

We finally turned Laila's carseat around. We were having trouble stuffing her into it backwards, and she outgrew the height/weight requirements so forward facing we go. She didn't know what to think at first but is loving it now!

Camden is getting those delicious thigh rolls! He is such a chunky monkey sweetheart! And we have a little thumb sucker! I'd be thrilled if we didn't have to keep track of a whole other set of pacis around here!

I'm going to sign Laila up for a little dance class that's once a week, and starts Thursday. Can't wait for that! That's also weigh in/measure day for my round 2 of losing the baby weight so fingers crossed that all this healthy eating and exercising is doing something. Its always so daunting when you first get started because it takes so long to start seeing results.

Here's to hoping my sanity doesn't get flushed down the toilet with poor LaLa as we navigate through our afternoon!

Sorry for the absence...I swear the kids haven't taken me hostage and ransomed me for cheerios...YET

My posts are few and far between these days because life is crazy. In the best way possible of course ;) I fully plan to keep up with my blogging, especially because its so fun to look back, and I've found myself referencing old blog posts to remind myself of when Laila reached certain milestones. Its unbelievable how quickly you forget!

Ok, first things first. CAMDEN IS SLEEPING THROUGH THE NIGHT!!!!! I could burst into song I'm so excited about this, but I will refrain ;) The last 4 nights we have gotten 7-8 hours of straight sleep. Holy moly this mama feels like a brand new woman! We got to sleep in until 7:45 am this morning...7:45!!!!!!! I think we are blessed with another good sleeper! Cam is such a sweetheart, and so quick to smile these days which is endless entertainment for his big sissy! He is also HUGE lol. He has completely outgrown all of his 3 month clothes and is wearing 6 month size already! Big. Kid.

I also have to give a huge shout out to Solly Baby Wraps! They have changed my life. Not even exaggerating. Being hands free with a giant 2 month old and a busy 18 month old has been a life and time saver! They are super soft, and so easy to use! I highly recommend these wraps!!!

My beautiful mama rocking the wrap!

Another huge happening at the Raymor house...our house is on the market!!! We have been thinking for awhile now about moving to Anacortes as we have much more family and friends there (aka HELP) and we love the town. (It's where I grew up)  So we are officially trying to sell our house! (If you're interested in buying in the Bellingham area come have a look!) So with that comes a lot of home repairs, including the railings on the front deck. Laila loved watching the "worker guys" out the window, waving and blowing kisses all day long!

Packing up the kids and the dog in a moments notice for a showing has been anything but easy, but hopefully worth it! I know...crazy timing right?! We must be nuts.

To help me with my daily task of trying to stay sane, I joined the gym and have started my second journey of losing the dreaded baby weight. I had forgotten how much better I feel after exercising! Its been tough to get started since I still feel like I'm recovering from my C-section, but putting in my headphones and working up a good sweat is just what the doctor ordered! P.S. Bruno Mars new song Uptown Funk is the best song for cardio. Its pretty much on repeat while I'm on the treadmill.
I've got a long way to go, and I know I need to be patient but wearing maternity clothes when you're not pregnant is not fun to say the least. Almost as not fun as looking at your closet full of clothes that don't fit anymore. Ugh, all in time.

Thank you so much for patient waiting for blog posts! More frequent posts coming soon I promise :) Have a wonderful rest of your weekend!

Little Moments

Being a stay at home mom to two under two is hard. Every day brings new challenges, and trying to find a routine to balance it all has been tough. That being said...these last 8 weeks have been incredible. I am learning every day, and though it can get super stressful at times, I find myself smiling and laughing more that I ever have. Each day seems to run together with a newborn in the house, but my every day is filled with little moments of pure happiness that it blocks out all the other hard stuff and I go to bed each night thinking about those little moments rather than the big picture of pure chaos that has invaded my house. Its safe to say that we've fully embraced the chaos and it has become our new normal.

There was the little moment two nights ago when Camden smiled at Laila for the first time and the look of love on her face for her little brother was priceless. She looked at me with the biggest smile, pointed at his smiling face, then bent down and gave him the sloppiest kiss right on the lips.

Or the million times that I've changed Camden's diaper, and Laila is always right at my side wanting to help yelling, "UCKY!" over and over and laughing because it's the newest word she's learned.

Its the way Laila carries around her baby dolls now, gently patting their back and telling us to "shush" if we are talking too loud. Such a bossy little mommy.

Its the way Camden smells right now. That yummy newborn smell that I cannot get enough of and I know will go away way too soon.

Its the sound of Chris playing with the kids when he doesn't know I can hear him, laughing with Laila and talking to Cam so sweetly.

Its the little moments of alone time when I can actually take a shower and brush my teeth, then feel so proud of myself that there's some sense of normalcy to my day. Like I conquered the world because both kids are napping and I get to flip through a magazine with my feet up.

Like today when I got brave and took both kids to the grocery store for the first time. I was a proud mama with a basket full of kids and no place for groceries. If I could've high fived myself when I got everyone back in the car to go home, I would have ;)

And most of all, its most evenings when Chris and I are cuddled on the couch with Laila between us, and Cam in our arms and we look at each other and say, "Can you believe this?!"

We are so lucky. We are so blessed to have these little moments. Its so easy to get caught up in the craziness and feel like you don't have time to slow down and savor these times. I never want to forget the struggle we had to have a family because thinking about that struggle and how incredibly hard it was forces me slow down and savor these little moments. To not take a single one of these moments for granted.  It's true what everyone says...It goes so fast. Too fast.

Super Bowl and 2 Month & 18 Month Stats

Yesterday was a sad day, as we watched our beloved Seahawks lose in the last minute of the Super Bowl. That being said...that doesn't mean we had a blast watching the game, and getting all done up in our Hawks gear :)

Life around here is starting to feel a little normal, and we are falling into somewhat of a routine. Camden is sleeping one solid 5 hour stretch each night, which has really made all the difference for this tired mama. We got the much needed opportunity for a date night (thanks Allyson!) and Chris and I went to dinner and saw American Sniper...SO GOOD! We had a great time, and were reminded how important it is to get out without the kids every once in awhile.

The kiddos both had doctors appointments today so we got their latest stats!

Camden

Weight: 12.9 lbs - 86th percentile
Length: 24 inches - 92nd percentile
Clothing size - 3 month but he's growing out of the footy pajamas and today he's wearing his first 6 month size outfit! It's amazing how fast he's growing!
Eating - 3-5 oz every 3-4 hours
Sleeping - Better, 5-6 hours at night, then 2-3 long naps throughout the day

Laila

Weight: 29.3 lbs - 96th percentile
Height: 33 inches - 87th percentile
Clothing size - 3T tops, and 2T bottoms
Eating - The only thing we have found that Laila doesn't like is maple syrup! 
Sleeping - 12-14 hours per night with one 2-3 hour nap in the afternoon

Hope everyone had a wonderful weekend!