Why I love Weight Watchers..

I really do love Weight Watchers and here is why..

• It isn't a diet, it just teaches you to eat right.
• You can still eat whatever you want. You just learn to eat smarter.
• I have chocolate almost everyday still :)
• You can go out to eat.

And last but not least, it works! It's definitely not one of those fad diets where you lose everything overnight but it's something that is easy to stick to. My mom has lost almost 100 pounds in 20 months. She gained weight during her cancer treatments and I'm so proud of her for losing it again. I've been back on the program for almost 4 weeks and as of today I have lost 7.8 pounds. And I'm not one to lose weight quickly because of my PCOS, so I'm excited because that loss is really good for me!

I also picked up Zumba for the wii a couple of days ago and I love love love it! It's not nearly as fun as going to the classes but it's convenient and Bella likes to dance with me too. I can honestly say I haven't felt this good about myself in a long time. It's crazy how different you feel when you are eating healthy. So my new years resolution (and pretty much everyone elses..) is to be healthy and fit for 2011! Bring it on!

22 months!

I honestly can't say what age I love the most of babyhood because every phase that Bella goes through I think that is the one I like the best. I love the stage she is at right now. The talking, trying to be Miss Independent.. the tantrums are not my favorite. We are definitely heading into the terrible 2s!

Bella loves..

Being a big girl (or so she thinks :) She is really independent and likes to do things herself. She loves sweeping, closing the dishwasher, helping to put clothes in the dryer, loves helping get her sippy cup ready.

Her binky.. still. Next week it is time to binky break. It's got to be gone by the time she turns 2 but I don't want to do it too close to her birthday. We are planning a fun day out the first day to keep her distracted. I definitely want to make it fun and positive. She is SO attached.

She loves brushing her teeth and washing her hands. Every time we even get near the bathroom she yells, "teeth teeth!".

She stills LOVES Blues Clues. She would watch it all day long if I'd let her.

She likes going shopping but I don't love going shopping with her! She is way too busy and refuses to sit in the cart most of the time.

She is starting to play pretend. She really likes her kitchen and making everyone is the house food (including the dogs & her stuffed animals).

Little Miss cooking away in her kitchen

Taking a break to feed her bear. Check out that plate of food! Watermelon, ice cream and an avocado! Lucky bear :)

Reading her book... that's how I read too! J/K :)

Little Zumba queen!

Notice her PJs in the above photo.. yesterday Walmart had jammies on clearance for $5 so I let her pick out the ones she wanted. I'm pretty sure those are boys but she really wanted them. I think they are cute too :)

She still loves dance and all the other mom's always comment on how different she is than the day we started. The first day she was shy and scared. She didn't know what to think.. now she is wild and crazy. She runs around more than she dances.

The things she says the most are:
- "Hey you!"
-"show you" -she started saying this because she would be trying to say something and I'd tell her to show me because I couldn't understand her.
- She knows the dogs names and calls Onyx, Ony and Meeko, Ko. I think that is pretty good!
- She went through a phase where she said "go away" and "move" but we have been working on manners and she doesn't say them as much anymore. Whew!

Day 28- Last day

 This is the last day I'm doing this cause I'm already bored of it.

Day 28 - A picture of you in the last year and now, how have you changed since then?

This was Christmas 2009 and then Christmas 2010. I've lost about 25 pounds since then although I don't think it shows that much in the photos. My hair is quite a bit darker too but I'm not so sure I like it. I'm sort of stuck with it though because I don't want to bleach it..


Honestly, I think Bella's transformation within the last year is much more impressive..

Much bigger! Lots more hair! She is growing up too fast!

Christmas 2010

We had a wonderful Christmas this year. We woke up at 7 and brought her right up to see her presents. The only thing that she asked for was a train set (such a Daddy's girl!). She played with it right away and then decided it was scary. Silly girl! She is getting used to it now. She also got a shopping cart, more stuff for her kitchen, a Zhu Zhu pet, a Barbie (her first one ever), clothes & books, and tons of other stuff. Her stocking included nailpolish, bath scrubbies & body wash, & a little bit of candy. I'm really trying to get the whole family eating healthy so both Justin & Bella only got a little bit of candy this year in their stockings. They can thank me later :)

Bella's setup

Bella really got into unwrapping her presents this year. She hardly played with anything between presents. She would rip a tiny piece of wrapping paper off and hand it to me to throw it away before she would rip more. So sweet & dainty!

Crazy hair.. I'm trying to grow out her bangs

More presents at Grandma's

Playing with her cousin Gretchen

Merry Christmas!

Justin got me a steam mop (yay!) and a Love Spell set from VS. I got him a shirt, Donkey Kong Country for the wii (I know, I'm cool) and I gave him money towards his new car stereo. I also got my sewing machine months ago that was supposed to be a Christmas gift.

After opening presents & eating Breakfast we headed over to my parents house and spent the day there and had Christmas dinner. My sister's family came too. Bella loves her cousins. We played Pictionary Man and had a blast! I hope everyone had a very merry Christmas!

One more picture..

Bella crashed on my mom's couch as soon as I got her in her PJs. She had such a busy day!

Christmas Eve Traditions

Every year on Christmas as kids we would get to open a present and get to wear Christmas PJs. I've continued that with Bella and I'm so glad I have. She got to open her tupperware shape ball tonight (sorry no pic). We are so excited for tomorrow morning!

Bella & her dad. She would only take a picture if he was in it.

Best picture I could get with just her and her pup.

And this is Jingle, he is our newest Christmas tradition. He comes with a storybook and when you read certain sentences, he recognizes them and makes a noise. We love him!

Santa's message to Bella

Santa's message to Bella

This is so fun for kids! Bella loves her message from Santa and we have to watch it every night. It's personalized just for her. Check it out, it's free!

Day 12, 17, 18, 19

I'm just skipping to the days that I like.. the other ones are silly.. Well they are all kind of silly but I'm bored.

Day 12 - How you found out about blogs and why you made one.
The first blog that I ever read was Jenna's. She inspired me to start my own. I didn't really get into blogging until I was pregnant though.

Day 17 - Someone you would want to switch lives with for one day and why.
Well the first thing that came to my mind was Britney Spears.   I don't know why.. but it would be fun to be her for one day. I think it would be insane, the paparazzi, the fans.. plus she has lots of money so I would have fun spending it!

Day 18 - Plans/Dreams/Goals you have
I can't wait to hit my goal weight. I love Weight Watchers and I hope that by the Spring/Summer of 2011 that I have hit goal! I totally think it's doable. We also have a goal to have Justin quit his job and help out with the vinyl business. We got denied for health insurance because he has back pain from a car accident so he is kind of stuck at him job until we get that figured out. Hopefully soon!


Day 19 - Nicknames you have; why do you have them?
Sunny, Sunny Bunny, Bunny.. that's about all. 

Day 10

Day 10 - Songs you listen to when you are happy, sad, bored, hyper, mad.

I don't really listen to specific songs according to my mood. I don't really listen to music when I'm sad or mad. I love Zumba songs, especially when I'm working or cleaning. I make lists on Playlist.com and play them on my computer when I am working. I also love Pandora.com. The channels that I listen to the most are Katy Perry, Hairspray, Chicago & Britney Spears. 

Click here for my Zumba playlist! It's still a work in progress as the songs are really hard to find or hard to figure out what they are called.

Day 8 & Day 9

Day 8 - Short term goals for this month and why.
Day 9 - Something you're proud of in the past few days.
 
I decided to combine these two days since they go hand in hand for me. I mentioned that I was starting Weight Watchers so it's a perfect time to set some short term goals.


Day 8
December Goals
- Track everyday!
- Drink all my liquids for the day


I have such a hard time drinking enough water each day. I'm just not thirsty!


Day 9
I'm really proud of myself for sticking to WW. This is my third week on and I've lost more than 5 pounds. And I'm so happy to have a friend that has joined me.

Day 7

Day 7 - A picture of someone/something that has the biggest impact on you.

I had to really think about this one. I have so many important people in my life. I have the best family and so many caring friends. But my mind kept wandering back to one of the most important men in my life and that is my step father, Rex.

This picture cracks me up. It's just a candid shot from my sister's wedding but it looks like an ad for a bottle of water or something. It could almost be a business headshot and then there is that bottle of water. It's such a nice photo though!

I can't tell you how lucky we have been to have him in our lives. My mom met him when I was 11 years old and he has been my father figure ever since then. He is so funny, caring, & understanding. He is seriously the best grandpa ever! He bundled up Isabella the other night and pulled her around in a sled in the front yard until dinner time. He loves that baby so much! And she definitely loves her grandpa. I love hearing stories about his childhood (he was a hellion) because he is such an angel now. Don't tell him I said so because it will go straight to head and I'll never hear the end of it!

I knew I wanted to do something special for him around the time of my wedding. We found the white cowboy hat and I did some of my bridals in it. We let him see the proofs for the rest of the pictures but somehow hid those ones from him until we got the prints back. We surprised him with some portraits and the white hat a little while before my wedding. And then we wore the white had to my wedding. When Bella was born, we did some of her newborn pictures in the white hat for him. She may or may not have peed in it..