Hudson's first prayer

Tonight after getting his teeth brushed, Hudson determined that he wanted to say his own prayers. It was pretty much one of the cutest experiences of my life. He said the whole prayer on his own, and it went like this.....

"Dear Heavenly Father, 

Thank you that I can go to the park and to the swimming pool. And go on the lazy river and the big red slide. And go to the green store(dollarama) and get gum and candy. And cheese and crackers. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen."

Can you tell what is on the mind of my three year old.  He was too cute tonight after his prayer. He was pretty proud. Then told me that Apple Crisp, Saxaphone, Odd, and Buna were the friends that he played with today at church, followed by a laugh attack! He is a crazy one! But the funnest!
Good Job buddy!!!

Out as long as he was In

My little Machy baby is 9 months old. I kind of want so sob and press pause, but at the same time  many of the things I am loving so much about my sweet baby are 9 month markers. For example little Machy is just crawling around opening cupboard doors right now saying Dat, Datta. He is so proud of himself, and it is about the cutest thing ever to watch and listen to him discovering his sweet tender voice. Our perfect baby still loves snuggles, and he LOVES to lay his head on Daddy's shoulder and pinch his skin. We can hardly handle ourselves when little Mach smiles at is with his big gappy smile and huge eyes. He is seriously such a delight. He is happy from sun up to sun down. One thing that Shane and I think is so funny is how much Cooper loves his bed. When we bring him into his room he starts to hyperventilate because he is so excited to go to sleep in his crib. He likes to sleep on his tummy, and when we place him in his crib he dives into the blankets and immediately falls asleep. It really is soooooooo cute. We are especially noticing his love for his crib now that we are home from our little vacation. Coops did not like to sleep in his playpen. Little guy has thrush and a bad diaper rash right now, but he is still calm and peaceful. He doesn't complain, unless he wants more food. Such a blessing he is to our little family!

Next on to my big boy Hudson. I feel so bad for my little guy right now. He is suffering from Hand Foot and Mouth Disease. It is a viral infection that is currently causing his mouth to be filled with open sores. Poor little guy can't eat anything and he has a headache and fever and is just miserable. He has just recovered from an ear infection and to say Hudson doesn't handle pain well, is a huge understatement. Hudson is well known already for his antics. He will cry out in agony saying things like "I can't take it anymore", or "I am dying" or "It is killing me." Part of me wants to run to him and cradle him like a baby and another part of me wants to laugh hysterically. It is really fun having Hudson be able to express himself so well. Hudson is also becoming more acutely aware of gender differences. He will say things like, "Oh Mom, the pink one is for you, it is a girl one, and the blue one is a boy one"... or "Give said the little stream is a Daddy song, and Families can be together forever is a Mommy song"-not too sure why he thinks that, probably because that is what each of us sings to him at bedtime. Hudson still loves his Dora, and being that we have over 60 of them PVR'd and sadly he has most of them memorized he asks daily for specif episodes. He will say "Momma I want the one with the gooey geiser, where Benny gets stuck in his balloon ect ect ect. Keeping him watching the episode that he wants is like having a full time job! ha! We had fun with Hudson on our trip. He played so well with Jaxen, Sadie and Rex, but did complain many times that he just wanted to go back to our home. He was cute one night in Kalispell crying that he missed his backyard with it's trampoline and balls. Hudson likes his routine, and he loves being home with his Mama. Hudson also LOVES to go and play at the park. Shane and I try to take him out a few times a week to different parks. He runs around and has the best time. Hudson has also started to take interest in his little bike. We have taken him out on his little pedaless bike and he just runs around on it. I am just so proud of him and I am so glad he is my boy.

Here is the skinny on my weight loss!

So here it is. This post is not intended to be a narcissistic bragging post, but more of a motivational post for me and anyone out there who has destroyed their bodies bringing their beautiful children into this world.
Long story short. I weighed 150 when I got pregnant with Hudson (I am 5'8). I had gained about 5 lbs in my first year of marriage(from 145) and then I ballooned up to 220 at the end of my pregnancy. For those of you that are unsure of  the math that is 70 pounds!!!!Plus my five from the beginning of my married life = 75 pounds! That is freaking crazy. I weighed 75 pounds when I was finishing fourth grade! I can't even believe that I had to lug that around! No wonder I was in such agony!
After I had Cooper I weighed 200 pounds just home from the hospital.  I am fortunate enough to be able to breastfeed easily, and although I don't care at all what other Mama's do I truly believe it helps you to lose weight if you are able to(who cares about the nutritional benefit right? heehee)
Because I was breastfeeding Cooper, I knew doing too much dieting might be a bit hard, so I told myself that I would wait until he was eating some solids at 6 months to see a trainer/dietician. I have a whole bunch of friends who have seen one lady and have had SPECTACULAR results, so I figured I would go to her for some help!
When I went in to see Lisa Parker I had brought my weight down to about 170-172lbs. I did that by occasionally exercising and trying not to be too big of a pig. What Lisa did for me was weigh me and take before pictures(they were not cute) and give me a meal plan specifically for me based on my current weight, muscle mass, age, height ect. She taught me about Carbs, Fats and Protein, all which should be consumed daily and helped me figure out foods I like to eat that match the specs that would help me lose weight. I eat 6 times a day and eat some carbs, protein and fats at every meal. I feel like I eat more than I ever did before, but it is the right type of food, and I am not snacking on junk, because I am full all of the time.
In the beginning I was exhausted and we figured I was a bit anemic. Lisa adjusted my diet to help this. I also started to take a multivitamin everyday. My body did miss the constant sweets that I was used to. I ate a lot of fat free jello to counter that craving for sweets and we worked 100 free calories into my menu. I think what helped me the most in the beginning too was that I saw results right away. Lisa told me I should lose 1-2 pounds/week and it worked. It was pretty exciting.  I also committed to walk on the treadmill 30 minutes a day.
It has been just over three months and I weighed in at 152 yesterday. I am so excited as I am getting a lot closer to my goal. I have lost all of my Cooper weight, my Piper weight and most of my Hudson weight.
In addition to adjusting my diet, Lisa provided accountability. Two times a week I text my current weight to her. I love it. It sooooo works for me. I have really taken to healthier eating, and I do not crave junk food at all anymore. Each night I have a bag of 100 cal popcorn and it is my"snack" that I can look forward to in the evenings.  I have loved doing the treadmill, and have noticed such a difference in stamina. In the beginning I could barely walk for 30 minutes, and now I run for 45 minutes and include 3 lb weights and other exercises. It is addicting.
I guess the main point of this post is that if I can do it anyone can do it! For real. In my case Lisa has helped me soooo much, but all of the info can be found on the internet and literally I have learned that it is not that hard to lose weight. Food prep is important, and knowing healthy alternatives is helpful too .If you sit down at the computer there are tones of resources.
I have learned a lot from livestrong.com.
and sparkpeople.com
I have also read a couple of other bloggers who I have found especially inspiring. First is a girl I know from church before I got married,
 Kamry Low: http://jklow.blogspot.ca/2012/04/biggest-loser-challenge.html
 and another lady from Utah who has an adorable blog
Shelley Smith, :http://www.thehouseofsmiths.com/2012/01/weight-loss-journey-from-beginning.html. Both of these reads I found very helpful!
So there it is down 18 pounds in three months and just a few more to go. I figure I will still have a crinkly stretched out  flabby round stomach but hopefully people will now quit asking me if I am pregnant!
Also one more thing to mention. I was not a horrid eater prior to meeting with Lisa, but I just had no idea about dieting at all. I loved to snack on candies and mostly just ate cold cereal. This past week when we were on vacation, I was somewhat careful, but definitely had to eat fast food and ate my fair share of snacks. I can not believe how gross it all made me feel. I sooooo prefer the way I feel eating healthier. I thought people were so full of it when they used to tell me that. Now I know they were not lieing-hahah. I also feel that part of my success is that I still drink Diet Pepsi(I know a lot of people will groan if they read this, but it has helped me).
I still have a ways to go and need to work on toning up and stamina, but I need to remind myself that I have come along way and that there is SCIENCE to losing weight and that ANYONE can do it.

So here is where I was.. A bit depressing looking at the stomach I will never have again, and the pregnant stomach I hope to never know again, but this will show you what 75 lbs looks like(this was actually 5 weeks before Cooper was born-my body aches just looking at this picture)
Now here is what my stomach currently looks like:)

(a pic off the internet...I didn't have the "guts" to show my own-hahahaha but pretty much this is EXACTLY what my tummy looks like) BTW, this chick is a size 3 and weighs 125lbs-crazy hey? If you want to read her hilarious "vain" blog about getting a tummy tuck her link is http://www.lifeinabluezoo.com/2011/06/gettin-skinny-friday-1-year-since-my.html)

 Now I just need a proper pic of me now, but I never seem to be in front of the camera. Soon....maybe...
So there you have it. I am pretty determined to lose the rest of the weight I have packed on and establish a healthier lifestyle. I hear stories from Shane everyday about really sick elderly people who can not take care of themselves and it really does make me want to take better care of myself now to make sure that doesn't happen in the future!

Canola Feilds

Since Shane has this week off,  I figured I would take advantage of his availability and go out and take pictures of our boys.
For a long time I have loved pictures of people in canola fields! I think the yellow is so pretty. Now let it be stated. I am not a photographer, not even a hobby photographer, and I don't know how to edit photos.I have a Canon Rebel, and always take pictures on Auto.
I just was not sure when the canola got harvested so I figured I would go now and do my best and try to get some pictures of our boys.
I took about 150, and 3 or 4 look cute...hahaha.

 There they are! Some cute ones:) I didn't plan on the matchy matchy green shirts either but Hudson had a hissy fit just as we were leaving and wanted to wear his new green shirt-heehee. The canola field was just right up the road off 17th street and the Henday and we just brought our kitchen chair and a little rocking chair Shane's Grandpa made for us. Be warned, if you are wanting simular pictures in Edmonton, BRING BUG SPRAY! My poor kids were being eaten alive!