Fun in the Tub

Cael sits up really well now so last week I put him in the big tub for the first time. Ayden loved having someone to play with in the tub, and Cael did really well. He's just like his big brother though, he HATES getting his hair washed.

I took this picture of Cael in his crib staring at the bear. I love the look on his face :)

7 Months Old!

Cael turned 7 months old on Monday! He is now very mobile and has been crawling backwards all over the place. Not forwards yet, and he also does a lot of rolling. He gets backed into corners or furniture a lot since he crawls backwards. He then gets mad because he can't go backwards anymore and I have to rescue him. He is still a great sleeper and usually takes two 90 minute naps a day and sometimes a shorter third nap late in the afternoon. He is sleeping all night from 7:30 pm - 6:00 am. He puts himself to sleep very well and rarely cries himself to sleep, he usually talks to himself instead. As long as he isn't hungry or tired he's a very easy, happy baby. Ayden is very good at entertaining him, and Cael lights up when Ayden is around. Ayden is always playing with him and talking to him. He's a great helper. Cael is very good at sitting by himself now and can get into a sitting position on his own from crawling. He is drooling a ton and puts everything in his mouth so I am pretty sure some teeth are going to be here soon. Ayden got his first tooth when he was 7 months old. Cael is also a big eater. He likes pretty much anything you give him, and I just started feeding him solids 3 times a day instead of 2 times. He seems to sleep a little longer in the afternoon now that he eats lunch too. Cael also got his second haircut (from me) last week. His hair grows even faster than Ayden's, if that is even possible.

As you can see from the pictures below, it's harder to get a picture of him sitting still now that he can crawl...

Laughing at mommy...

Trying to escape...

Worn out...

Helping Grandpa Combine

A few weekends ago, I took the boys to visit my parents. My dad was almost finished combining, and Ayden really enjoyed riding with him in the combine last year. Ayden and my mom rode in the combine while my dad finished up his last cornfield. Last year they saw some deer, but this year all they saw were a few rabbits trying to get away. Ayden had a lot of fun, he is so obsessed with John Deere tractors that he is even going to be one for Halloween! He's so excited!!

Ayden likes to watch the corn go in the wagon.

Waving to me.

Off they go again.

Ready to climb down.

While he wasn't in the combine, Ayden had fun getting rides on the gator, the skid loader, playing outside, and playing with this remote contolled car, below.

I had fun painting pumpkins, something I haven't done since I was a kid :)

I've had these shirts for a long time, but keep forgetting to have the boys wear them and get a picture before they outgrown the shirts.

Kickboxing and the 9 Week Challenge

About a month ago I started going to kickboxing and resistance classes at a place in Ames called Goals In Motion. If you have heard of Farrell's Extreme Body Shaping, basically, it's the same thing. My brother and sister-in-law did the Farrell's one this summer and they lost a lot of weight, gained muscle, and look amazing. They now go to the maintenance classes after finishing the Farrell's 10 week challenge. Even though I have been working out for about a month, my 9 week challenge only started 2 weeks ago. We were split into groups and have 1-2 coaches who look over our meal plans and meal diaries for the first few weeks to make sure we understand the nutrition part of the challenge. We had a "before" picture taken in a sports bra and shorts or a bikini. We also were weighed, had our body fat composition taken, ran the mile, and did as many sit-ups and push-ups in one minute as we could. We will get tested on all that again at the half-way point and then again at the end of the challenge. During the 3 weeks of working out prior to the challenge, I really didn't change my diet that much, but once the challenge started I really tried to buckle down. The diet is all about clean eating. Processed food is bad, fruits and veggies, lean white meat, and whole grains are good. Pizza and mochas are bad! That has probably been the hardest thing for me to cut out. Although I usually only have 1 mocha a week, that was the one thing I craved the whole first week. Cutting out pizza was hard too since we have frozen pizza about once a week when Joel doesn't have enough time to grill. You are supposed to eat 5-6 times a day. Breafast, snack, lunch, snack, and supper. It feels like you are eating all the time. When you eat meals and snacks you are always supposed to eat a carb and a protein. And you have to drink tons of water, about 90-100 ounces a day. Another hard thing for me to cut out was dairy. Cheese it bad, except for cottage cheese, and the occasional glass of milk is okay. I drink lots of skim milk so that was also hard to cut out, but I usually still have a glass at lunch. At least it saves me money at the store now since we don't go through as much milk. The good thing is that I am rarely ever hungry since we eat so often, but occasionally I am in the evening after eating after my workout. They say as long as you can eat really well 90-95% of the time that you are doing great!

Classes are 6 days a week (Monday-Saturday). I go to the 5:30 pm class. It's actually really nice because Joel gets home just after 5:00 pm, and takes the boys for a walk. By the time I get home just after 6:30 pm, the boys have been fed, bathed and have their pj's on. He puts Ayden to bed, and after I shower I nurse Cael and get him to bed while Joel grills us something for supper.

I really enjoy the classes and have met a lot of great people so far. Kickboxing is a lot of fun because we get to wear our boxing gloves and spend most of class on the bag hitting and kicking. It's a great cardio workout. By the time class is over you are drenched with sweat, but feel awesome. Resistance class class is more about using weights and resistance bands. We also do tons of squats, lunges, and planks. I've already noticed how much stronger I am from when I started and am using harder resistance bands then I did in the beginning. My clothes are looser on me, and just after two weeks of the challenge I have lost......6 1/2 POUNDS!! I'm so excited to be finally losing this baby weight from Cael and Ayden. My goal is to get back to where I was before I was pregnant with Ayden when I was running 4 miles a day every morning at 4 am when we lived in DC. I have a long ways to go though, but I'm optimistic! After the challenge is over I will definitely be signing up for the maintenance program and try to go most days, if possible. I would even like to try and get up to go in the mornings, eventually, once Cael is a little older. I will keep you updated on my progress :)

Ayden had fun trying on and playing with my boxing gloves.

Center Grove Orchard

Last Wednesday, I took the boys to Center Grove Orchard. Some moms from my mom's group were meeting there in the morning. Joel and I took Ayden there once last year and it was really neat, and a lot of fun, but very busy on the weekend. It was actually still pretty busy for a weekday. There were a lot of school buses in the parking lot. Ayden had a blast feeding the goats out of his hand. He really surprised me because the last petting zoo we were at (which was only a few weeks earlier) he wouldn't pet any of the animals. He loved looking at all the other animals too, but spent most of his time feeding the goats.

In addition to all the animals, they have a giant slide, which I was able to take Ayden down once, and he loved it. We'll have to come back with Joel so they can go down multiple times, and Ayden wanted to ride on the wagon that the tractor was pulling all over the farm. There was a hay maze for the little kids, a jumping pillow, and a corn pool. Ayden had a blast while we were there and we ended up getting a season pass before we left since I know we will be going back a few more times this fall.

Feeding the little goats.

The goat's pen.

Ayden also had fun jumping on the jumping pillow. It was a lot like the trampoline he jumps on in gymnastics.


We spent the longest amount of time in the corn pool. Ayden wouldn't get in it last year, but this year I couldn't get him out! They have slides for the kids to go down too :) It was Cael's naptime so he was getting a little cranky and wasn't a fan of the corn. I couldn't put him down in it for long because he kept trying to put corn in his mouth.

Sitting on some hay bales outside the corn pool.

Trying some straw... YUCK!!

Getting ready to leave.

A Day Out With Thomas the Train

Last weekend I took the boys to the Boone railroad for their annual Day Out With Thomas the Train. Joel was planning on coming along, but something came up with work at the last minute so I took the boys by myself. Last year we took Ayden on a Friday afternoon and it wasn't too crowded, but it was packed on Sunday. We hadn't planned on riding the train this year because we did it last year and thought it too overpriced. It's $18.00 per person for a 20 minute ride and the train goes super slow. Ayden insisted on riding though, and he seemed to enjoy it more this year than last. He's older so that probably helps. Luckily, we didn't have to pay for Cael. When we got there we first went to the petting zoo. Ayden liked trying to feed them, but he didn't want to pet any of the animals.

Ayden trying to feed a sheep.

Next we got in line to get a picture with Thomas. Right before it was Ayden's turn he started crying and grabbing at his nose. I saw some bees around his face and saw him swatting them away. I thought he was mad that they were flying around him. I didn't realize until after the picture (which shows Ayden crying below) that a bee actually stung him on the nose! It started swelling up right away and I was worried about him being allergic to the sting, but luckily everything turned out okay, although Ayden was slightly cranky after that.

After the disastrous picture with Thomas, we headed over to get on the 1:00 pm train ride. Ayden was excited and loved looking out the window.

Cael enjoyed the train ride too, and was such a good boy even though it was his naptime.

Ayden showing me his swollen nose and the little pink dot where the bee stung him.

Ayden running through the hay bale maze.

We had a good time and there was a lot more to do, but we needed to get some lunch and go home for naps. It was a gorgeous day to spend outside!

Cael and Ayden at 6 Months

I went back and looked at some pictures of Ayden when he was 6 months old. I didn't realize how different the boys look from each other! Fun to compare :)