Visit My Other Super Cool Blog - You Know You Want To :)

I have started a new blog for myself and the lovely ladies in my life! It will be about fitness, nutrition and other fun stuff, it will also serve as a personal journal as I climb my way back to the body I once had. I have two of my sisters-in-law contributing – one of them is a fabulous chef so I thought that would be awesome for new recipes. I thought it would be fun to have a place where my friends and I could go for support and ideas when it came to our own personal goals, share ideas or to ask the questions that everyone is afraid to ask. It will be very candid and comfortable and I hope you will all participate.

The official blog launch will be Monday, June 1st, 2009. Please tell everyone you know so we can get a huge following – the more people that follow, the more ideas and support we have!
ENJOY!!
http://ladiesinweighting.blogspot.com/

The Happenings at the Halls

It has been awhile since I have posted. I can't believe all the things that can happen in just a couple of weeks. Hailey's eyes are becoming a beautiful shade of blue and her reddish hair is turning blond. She is sprouting so fast - she is going to be tall like her daddy.

We gave her a biter biscuit the other day and she thought that was super fun. They are seriously messy but it is fun to watch her.

A couple of weeks ago Scott wanted to mow the lawn and I needed to do some work so he put her in the front pack and she was Daddy's big helper. I thought the mower would scare her but it didn't seem to bother her one bit, she had so much fun!!

We have been trying to help her learn to crawl. She HATES being on her tummy though. She ends up doing a somersault because her legs are so strong from jumping and her arms haven't caught up with them. Then she gets upset and pouts by burying her face in the floor. So cute though :)

We were at Scott's parents house the other day and Auntie Teresa and cousin Alethia were singing No More Monkeys Jumpin' On the Bed to her and she thought that was hilarious. She loves music and she will stop everything she is doing if you start singing to her.

Life is so much fun with her and Scott. I am so blessed!!

Hailey's Half Birthday!!

Hailey was 6 months old last Wednesday!! I can't believe how fast she is growing up. Scott and I are so blessed to have such a wonderful baby girl. On her half birthday (April 22nd) we gave her some pears to celebrate. She has had veggies and rice cereal but we held off on the fruits until she was 6 months. She loved it!! We also bought her a pretty dress, so of course I had to take pictures of her in it. Everything is fascinating to her, a leaf, the grass - I just love to watch her discover new things. Sometimes when I look at her I see such thought and wisdom, I wonder if her spirit is older than mine. I can't wait until she talks, I just know she has so much to teach us. I have the most wonderful, precious, beautiful baby EVER!!!

I Am Such A Cow

Since I have gone back to work, I have been pumping 3-4 times a day for the last 12 weeks. I thought it would be interesting to keep track of how much I pump. As of today, I have pumped almost 5 gallons of milk!! That is absolutely crazy to think about. And that is just what I get at work - that doesn't include what I make when I am feeding her at home. The human body is AMAZING!! Although pumping does make me feel like a bit of a bovine - it is totally worth it!!

Our Outing In Seattle

We went up to Seattle today so I could make up 3 hours of work and spend the day in Seattle since it was a beautiful day. Hailey helped out at my desk.

We then walked up to Pike Place and walked around for a bit.

Then we walked to a scenic view of the waterfront - which Hailey slept through :)

We ended the day with having dinner at Ivar's - watching the seagulls and the fire boats...

...and blowing bubbles. It was a super fun day!!

I Must Have An Angel...

If I had a dollar every time someone asked me how I do what I do everyday, I wouldn’t have to work. All I can say is – I must have an angel. A friend asked me this morning exactly how my day unfolds so here it is: I wake up between 3:00 and 3:15am, I wake my baby girl to feed her and spend some time with her before I get ready for work. I throw a piece of bread in the toaster and go finish getting ready for work. By 4:30am I am mostly ready and I realize I still haven’t eaten so I grab the piece of cold, dry toast and am out of the door by 4:40 or 4:45. As I walk out the door each morning, my heart breaks, leaving Hailey is the hardest thing I have to do each day and it hasn’t gotten any easier. I must have an angel. I drive 20-30 minutes to the train station where I get on the train at 5:17am. I finish my makeup on the train and I try to catch some sleep on the train ride in. I arrive in Seattle at 5:55/6:00am and since it is so early I have no buses to take me to work from the train station, so I use the opportunity to get a workout in and jog the 1 ¼ mile into work. I pass numerous homeless people sleeping on the street, some who yell after me and beg me for money or call me names; somehow I make it into work safely. I must have an angel. I get to work usually 5 minutes late and feel guilty that I can’t make it in on time. I begin working before my butt hits the chair. While at work, I pump three times a day – this is an accomplishment since pumping has always been extremely painful for me. I pump at 8:30am, 12:30pm and 3:30pm and pray that I get enough to feed my precious girl for the next day. I have learned how to work while I pump – which is hilarious since I have a double pump so it takes some finesse. I work while pumping because again, I feel guilty that I come in 5 minutes late. I store my milk in the fridge at work and hope that nobody confuses it with the creamer. I eat the same thing everyday while at work: sugar free oatmeal, whole-wheat saltines, a Fiber One bar, a sandwich and veggies. I am relieved when 4:25pm rolls around and I can go. I feel guilty again that I leave 5 minutes early from work just so I can catch the train in time, which is why I work and pump through lunch and sometimes work on the train ride home. I catch the train at 4:45pm and I do everything I can to stay awake because I know if I close my eyes I will sleep through my stop. I get to the train station at 5:30pm and run to get in my car and pick up Hailey. Scott and I just miss each other because he starts school at the same time I get to the train station. He has to drop Hailey off with someone for 45 minutes until I can pick her up on the way home. Each week I struggle to find someone available to watch her and I would give anything to just be with her and not have to depend on anyone else to help me. I am in near tears when I pick up Hailey until I see the look of pure joy on her face when she sees me.

I put her in the car and head home. We get home at 6:00 or 6:15pm and I feed her the second I walk in the door because I am ready to explode. Then I try to cook dinner for myself while holding her and then eat while standing up and holding her because she won’t let me lay her down. She missed mommy. I do it without angst because I have missed her so much too. I must have an angel. I clean what I can in the house and then play with Hailey – I read to her, I sing to her, I do tummy time with her and for as long as she lets me - I just stare at her. Daddy gets home around 9:00pm and I am feeding the baby again. When she is done, I let Scott take her while I throw his dinner together. I do what I can to prep for the next day and give Hailey a bath. I feed her again at 10:30pm where we both fall asleep in the recliner and Scott has to wake me up to walk me to the room. I lay her down for bed and I crawl in bed and we say our prayers. As I start to fall asleep, I think to myself, I must have an angel – I am so blessed - because I actually have two, one who lays next to me every night and one in the playpen at the foot of our bed.

5 Months Old Today!!!

I can't believe it has been 5 months since we had our precious baby girl. She has grown so much and is so active now. Everyday is a new adventure. She loves to talk and giggle and I could just stare at her all day long. She gets bored easily and wants to learn and do new things all the time - I have so much fun introducing new things to her - she gets so excited!! She is finally sprouting some luscious locks, we spiked it the other day after bath time fun...

I decided to dress her up in a ballet costume and she wouldn't sit still for very long and every time I laid her down, her feet went into her mouth. I love this picture because it looks like she is saying "dis my foot, you don't touch it!!"

She loves her Jumperoo more and more everyday. She started to jump really fast and high and do some ballet moves with her feet. It is so cute - we kind of caught it on video - she hasn't let us record her doing it other than this one time.