Cha.. Cha.. Cha.. Changes!

I have been so anxious for the new Weight Watchers program to roll out. Seriously, it's been driving me nuts. The new plan was FINALLY released today and it looks pretty cool. All fruit is 0 points now. Yay! The new points are based off Fat, Carbs, Protein & Fiber (vs. the old plan Calories, Fat, Fiber). A lot of things are higher points value but you also get more points a day plus more weekly points. 'm not officially starting until Saturday because that is when we will be learning everything at our first meeting. Saturday could not come any faster!

21 months

I'm sad to say that I no longer have a baby! Bella is definitely a toddler now and it makes me sad! Where does the time go? She is such a nutty girl, we love her so much! I bought Bella a potty chair for Christmas and then realized that it was the silliest gift ever. Who would want a toilet for Christmas? So I had to give it to her early. I had no other choice. In fact, I didn't only give her the potty chair. I also gave her a baby doll, an outfit, & another small toy. What is wrong with me? There is no point in shopping for Christmas early if you give all the gifts early! Oh well.. on a happier note, here is the potty chair..

Isn't it cute?!

Best thing about potty training? Big girl panties!

We haven't officially started potty training yet. I'm still trying to whip up a game plan. Potty training is scary to me. I don't want to mess it up and I want it to be a positive experience for the both of us. Ya know?  So if you have got any tips.. send them my way.

21 month highlights

This girl can say a bajillion words. And lots of sentences now too! It's so much fun. 

She is really loving Blues Clues

She likes to play on the kneebouncers website. She's actually liked this for quite a while but I don't think I've ever shared the website. It's really cute and age appropriate. She can play it all by herself.

She loves drinking water. Totally my girl. I love water too. She still drinks milk really well too. 

She likes to play in her room all by herself. See, not a baby anymore! 

She likes money. Who doesn't? But what does a one year old need a dollar for?  Whenever anyone gets their wallet out she yells, "money! money!"

 She is totally Miss Independent. She likes to try to do things herself. When we have to go anywhere she has to pack her own "purse" and always says, "I wanna walk" instead of letting me carry her. 

She loves her new boots that grandma bought her. And don't you dare call them shoes or she will definitely correct you that they are called BOOTS. 

 That's about all I can think of for this month. We are so excited for Christmas so I'm sure I'll have lots of blog posts this month. I love the month of December. Putting up the tree, the music, Christmas lights, the decorations.. not so much the snow. I wish it only snowed on Christmas Eve and Christmas day. That would be perfect!

 

Christmas Tree Jubilee

I hope everyone had a nice Thanksgiving. We went to my parent's house and it was really nice. Bella is generally a pretty good eater but was super picky and only liked the pie and the rolls. Totally my kid :) I did not even snap 1 picture on Thanksgiving. Oops!

A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to donate vinyl for a tree being donated for the Christmas Tree Jubilee. We went yesterday to the event to see all the trees and to see Santa. The trees were all beautiful and the money raised goes to help special needs children in the school district. Such a great cause!

Oh, the places you'll go!

 We have to watch Bella really carefully right now because she will disappear in an instant. She always wants to walk by herself and she is quick! She had so much fun looking at all the trees and also got to see Santa! She didn't want to sit with him at first until she noticed that he had candy canes and then she was all for it. Silly girl! She was really good after that while her candy cane lasted.

Santa, Mrs. Claus, Bella & Tayzhia

Candy Cane Tea Party

 And... this look means, "Enough with the pictures, mom!"

drawing

Bella's first digital illustration..

Now that's fine art!

Weight Watchers..

I haven't talked much about weight loss on my blog and I'm not really sure why. It's something I'm constantly thinking about and I'm always on some sort of diet. About 5 years ago, my mom and I decided to start Weight Watchers and we both lost TONS of weight. I got down to my lowest weight since who knows when and I felt so great! But after I had a miscarriage (back in 2006), got married, went to college, had a baby.. you guess it.. I gained it back.. plus some. Doh!

Wishing I still fit into those jeans!

 After I had Bella I decided to give WW another go. For whatever reason, I just couldn't do it. I think it was a combination of my crazy hormones (thanks PCOS!) and willpower but I just wasn't losing it this time. So for the last 20 months, I've been switching through different diets and work outs (WW, HCG diet, Couch to 5k..) but I'm just not going anywhere. I've realized lately that I can lose weight, I just feel overwhelmed & then get discouraged and then I quit.

I keep going back to Weight Watchers because it is truly amazing. It's not some fad diet that you do for a month, it's a lifestyle. And it's totally doable. It just teaches you to look at food in a whole different light. So when I heard that they are rolling out a new program on the 29th, my heart skipped a beat. This is totally what I need. This new diet is supposed to be fantastic and I CANNOT wait.

My plan is to start WW on the 29th and I'll share my progress here on my blog. Here is to the new me!

Sew much fun!

For Christmas, I asked for this:

 And Santa delivered early! And he didn't wrap it either.. in fact it was setup just like that right on the table. Yep, that's the story that I'm sticking to. So I got right to work and sewed this!

Ahh! I'm so proud! I only had to unstitch it once. I really considered leaving the ears off. But I'm glad I fixed it. The only part I'm not sure about (besides the crooked sewing and doing the ears wrong even after my messup) is the embroidered eyes/nose. The pattern didn't really explain how to do it so I just winged it. I think it works for this little fox but I'm definitely going to need to practice that one.

If anyone is curious, I got the pattern from Bit of Whimsy Dolls. I got a couple of others too so I'll be fabric shopping this week!

I'm gonna be a supermodel

Bella's dance class started learning their dance for the spring recital. The song is "I'm gonna be a supermodel" from the movie Clueless. So fun & the song is perfect for my little diva!

There are 5 girls altogether in her class and they are all so cute!



Ahh! I totally loved this movie! It makes me want to watch it right now :)

{thankful}

So many people are doing "I'm thankful for.." posts this month and I love reading them. There is no way I could commit to doing a post every day.. I'd totally slack off and then wind up deleting posts to avoid looking like a slacker.. ha ha. So... here is my whole list! In no particular order..

My little cheese ball

#1 I'm thankful for Isabella. I've never met anyone in the world who could make me so happy. She is silly, funny and smart! She already has a graceful and sweet personality, yet she can get a whole room cracking up being the silly girl that she is. I love you Bell!

#2 I'm thankful for Justin, for which there would be no #1. And.. it helps that he is seriously the coolest dad ever. He is honestly my perfect match. I love him so much!

#3, #4 & #5 I'm thankful for my mom, Rex & Ty. My mom is the most amazing person. She seriously knows the answer to every question (or at least fakes it really well :). She is the strongest person I know. She is my hero. Rex is seriously her soul mate. He taught me that guys can be cool & nerdy at the same time. He is the best dad a girl could ever hope for. He is the most awesome grandpa in the world. All the kids love him. Ty is the little brother I always hoped for. He is my bestest buddy

#6, #7, #8, #9, #10, & #11 I'm thankful for my sister & her family. My sister is beautiful and funny. We are so much alike yet so different! She is my best friend. Jaden & Tayzhia are the coolest kids ever. Jaden is funny and talented. He makes me so proud! Tazy is GORGEOUS. She is a wonderful dancer. Skye is so lucky to have found AJ. He compliments our family so well. And of course we love his daughters Gretchen & Emma. Gretchen is the ultimate teenager (attitude & all) but she always has a smile & hug for you, no matter her mood. Emma is adorable and it feels like she has been part of the family since the day she was born.

#12 & #13 I'm thankful for my dogs Meeko & Oynx. Although, without Meeko I would own the most fabulous shoe collection but my shoes don't listen to all my worries when I'm having a bad day. She is sort of the most terrible and most wonderful dog all-in-one. Onyx reminds me why I wanted a dog in the first place. She is sweet and loving. She loves Bella & would do anything for her. Yes, I am talking about a dog!

#14 I'm thankful for my best friend Stephanie. We have been friends since we were 3 years old. She is more like a sister to me. She knows more about me than any other person in the world (including Justin). I can talk to her about anything and I know for one, that she will be honest and two, that she will at least try to understand where I am coming from and try to understand me. Every girl should have a friend like that.

#15 I'm thankful for my friends. Although I can't brag and say I have hundreds of friends, I CAN say that I have a close knit group of friends that are the best in the world. And I am thankful for each & every one of them, including the ones that I see a lot, the ones that I don't & the ones that I mainly just have a friendship with online.

#16 I'm thankful for our home. It needs lots of work, mainly a new couch that I really want now but I'll be good and wait until after Christmas..

#17 I'm thankful for my business. I feel like the luckiest girl in the world to be able to work from home and spend my day with Bella. It is my dream come true. And it's totally a plus that it's a creative outlet for me and doing something I love to do.

#18 I'm thankful for the internet. Maybe too thankful.. I'm a little bit addicted. But seriously, what would we do without email, Facebook & blogs?!

#19, #20  & #21 I'm thankful for our president, our country & our soldiers. I am honored to call America my home. I respect our president, I stand behind him with my whole heart. The same way I did with our past presidents. I am grateful to live is a country where freedom is just not a word in the dictionary. I am grateful for our soldiers (& their families) who make a sacrifice everyday for us.

#22 I am thankful for all the modern day stuff (?) that we take for granted. Seriously people, can you imagine a world with no electricity or indoor plumbing. Frightening.

#23 I'm thankful for all the beauties of nature. Rainbows, sunsets, birds, the colors of fall leaves.. So inspiring! I live for it all!

#24 I'm thankful for chocolate. Enough said!

#25 I'm thankful for books! I read every night and it's my little escape. It's so relaxing.

#26 I'm thankful for art. For the people past and present who create it, thanks! Paintings, sculptures, architecture, photography, typography.. It's like life's accessories!

Last but certainly not least, I'm thankful for my faith and where I'm at right now spiritually.

Each of us will one day be judged by our standard of life, not by our standard of living; by our measure of giving not by our measure of wealth; by our simple goodness, not by our seeming greatness. - William Arthur Ward

Happy November!

Family Pictures!

Today we had our pictures taken despite having a black eye. Seriously people, it's bad! Bella and Justin were goofing around and Bella flung her head backwards right into my face. The weather is supposed to take a turn for the worst after today so we decided to just go for it and I could try to touch it up in Photoshop if I had to. Well, you can barely tell in the pictures and definitely not enough that I'm going to worry about touching them up. Hallelujah! And to think I almost canceled family pictures. I love them! Thanks so much Sierra!

Love that little belly!

Bella's Room - Part II

Today while Bella was taking her nap I worked like a crazy girl to cut her some new decals for her room (8 different colors!). I've been planning it out forever but just haven't had the time to cut them. After she woke up, we put them up and they turned out amazing! Here are the pics..

Bella giving the deer kisses.. she loves her :)

Her room is almost done now. I just need to find a shelf or something on the wall above the pink chair and finish the whole other wall. I also need to find or make a coat rack for behind the door. Oh, and I need to finish the closet. I guess I'm almost almost done!