Nola walking!

OK, here is a video of Nola taking a few steps.

It has taken us along time to finally get this on video, even though she walks around every day!

Enjoy!

All about me

I have typically used this blog just to post about Nola and our adventures with her, however I am feeling the need to write a post about me.

My whole life I have fought the 'battle of the bulge'. I have yo-yo'd with that last 10 pounds for years and years. When I graduated high school, I was 135lbs. That is the lightest I have ever been! When Simone and I moved to Lethbridge, I put on a whopping 35 lbs. Just before I left for China, I weighed 170lbs. I had never felt so disgusting in all my life. And when I say disgusting, I don't just mean fat. I was slow, sluggish and lazy. It was horrible! I was terrified to go to China, as all those who went before me told me that they gained weight. I was at a critical point - if I gained even 5 more lbs, I would be obese. People would refer to me as the 'bigger one'. I was so scared of that, so I got my running shoes on and went to work. While in China, I only taught for about 2-3 hours a day, so I had plenty of time to work out. I remember those first few runs - I would make it half way around the school complex and I could barely breathe! Thank goodness I had packed an inhaler. As the weeks and months passed, I got better, ran faster and went farther. I also played soccer a couple times a week, did power 90, hiked, fasted from sugar for 40 days (lent) and ate more fruits and veg from the market. 5 months of hard work resulted in the loss of 8lbs! Victory!

When I got home to Fernie, I continued to run and tried to 'work out' at work. I was housekeeping, so I would always take the stairs, even if I had to carry the vacuum or something. I lost another couple pounds before I headed back to Lethbridge for College. Back in Lethbridge I was down to 160lbs and doing well in school. Unfortunately, things took a turn for the worse with my mood and I ended up in the Pysch Ward of the Lethbridge Hospital for the 2nd time. Life sucked and I started to eat. I stayed home all day, in my PJ's and ate. I gained back the 10lbs I worked so hard to lose.

Then came Doug.

My night in shining armor, in every right and respect. It always makes me laugh - when Doug and I were first dating, I asked him what his 'type' was. He said he likes brunettes (I was platinum blonde) with an athletic build (I was 5'4" and 170 lbs - the furthest thing from an athletic build) Well, I must have done something he liked, as we just celebrated our 3rd anniversary and we are doing great! He helped me lose 10 lbs before our wedding, which I really appreciate. After the wedding, we really got down to business. Doug, Dori (Doug's sister) and I trained to do a Olympic Team Triathlon. I swam, Doug biked and Dori ran, at least that was the plan. Doug and I worked really hard. We went to the pool/gym 4 days a week and trained for an hour or so. We also ate really well - tons for fresh salads and delicious grains. (Unfortunately, we were unable to do the actual triathlon due to illness)

On Doug and I's first anniversary, I was down to 137lbs!!

Shortly after our first anniversary I got pregnant. I wasn't vomiting sick with that pregnancy, however I had nasty dizzy spells which kept me from work. I stayed home on sick leave for the first 9 weeks. While at home, I ate more than usual and started to gain weight...but I was pregnant, I was supposed to gain weight, right? I was up 12 lbs. Unfortunately, at 12 weeks we miscarried our sweet baby. What a hard time that was. We had heard that if you make it to 12 weeks, your in the clear, so we started telling our family and some co-workers. I lost 7 lbs immediately after the loss, but wasn't able to lose that last 5 lbs before I got pregnant with Nola.

While pregnant with Nola, I worked my butt off! I did not want to gain lots of weight, so I exercised every other day and really watched what I ate. I am happy to report I gain only 30lbs while pregnant and returned to my pre-pregnancy weight of 142lbs only 3 months after her birth.

But, now she is 10 1/2 months old, and I am still 142lbs.

I have not lost any more weight since June. Although I am close to the smallest I have ever been, I feel like crap. I eat horribly and often feel sluggish and tired. My skin has broken out and I am quite moody.

The point of this post? To change! I have learned that I can only change my behaviour if I admit there is a problem, not only to me, but to others. I need to be accountable! So here it is! I have an eating and laziness problem. I am going to work at changing my lifestyle to help me enjoy each and every day and to take care of the body my Heavenly Father has blessed me with. I am not going to set a weight goal - I am just going to work at becoming more active and more healthy.

Thanks for listening!!

Snowshoeing in Fernie

Over the Christmas holidays, we went snowshoeing in Fernie. My cousin, Jodi, graciously lent us one of her baby back-pack carriers so we could bring Nola with us. We were a little nervous, as she hated being out in the cold before, but she loved it! Just watch the video at the end and you will see.

One of those moments

First off, I apologize. I have been a horrible blogger lately. I have absolutely no excuse, as I find I waste too much time per day on facebook, however I am going to try to get back on track here. I need to be blogging as I do not keep any other kind of journal for Nola.

What I wanted to share today was a wonderful experience I had with Lil' Nollie yesterday. Normally Doug gives her a bath and then I feed her a bottle, however Doug has Scouts on Wednesdays, so I get to give her a bath. She's usually pretty chill in the tub - she just wants to chew on her toys, however last night she was kicking her legs and splashing. Every time she would do it, I would cheer her on a little bit and then she would just go nuts! I was laughing so hard and because I was laughing, she would kick more and more! She ended up scooting herself all around the tub and was soaking wet! Both of us laughed, smiled and laughter some more.

It was one of those moments, one of the those moments where I knew that I will have no greater joy in my life than to be a mother. Nola makes me so happy! She brings me so much peace and joy. I know that being a mother is a divine calling from our Heavenly Father, and I want to treat it as such. I, along with many others, have my moments where I think, "What the heck am I doing here? I cant handle kids!", yet I know that this is my purpose.

I love you Nola! You are my bestest little friend!

Nola's first steps!!

I am having a HECK of a time trying to get a video on to Blogger, so here is a link to a video of Nola taking her first steps!!'

Enjoy!

http://http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=csPk2Ovu2DQ

10 month stats

Weight: 19 lbs 3 oz

Clothing: 6-12 months & 9 months

Diaper: 3

Teeth: front top two and front bottom two

Favourites:

Toy: bike, push walker, elephant, dragonfly, board game boxes, TV remote, toothbrush

Song: 'somewhere over the rainbow', 'good morning', super why theme song

Food: tomatoes, oranges, ritz crackers, yogurt

Noise: laughing, 'yeah', random jabbering

Activity: walking with her walker, reading books, being tossed around by Daddy, sitting in her high chair, feeding herself, standing all on her own, stepping, playing with Grandma (she's such a ham!), chewing on the crib (bad habit), watching Mommy play the guitar

Learning:

- walking!! She took her first step on her 10 month birthday (Jan 8, 2011)

- feed her self new foods.

- talking alot more - new sounds and lots of jabbering.

Dislikes:

- getting dressed

- getting her diaper changed (we accidentally poked her with a diaper pin)

- having her nose/face wiped

Loves:

- her Daddy :) He always plays with her and they have so much fun!

- Grandma Sedrovic. She usually sees her Grandma twice a week. Every time Grandma is around, Nola acts like a total Ham!

- listening to Mommy sing and play the guitar. She'll watch intently and then dance :)

Best part for Mommy:

- watching her grow up. When she first sat on the bike she got for Christmas, it hit me that shes not my little baby anymore. She's a big girl!

- when I wake up in the morning, I'll go into her room, where she is standing in her crib, waiting for me. When she sees me, she starts jumping and laughing. What a way to start the day!

- watching her feed herself.

- swaddling her and feeding her bottle, especially in the night time :)

- playing.

- watching Doug play with Nola. He loves her soooo much! My heart just melts!

The apple doesn't fall far from the tree

I have posted this on my facebook, however I feel it deserves a blog post as well. Here is a baby picture of me and a picture of Nola. We look like we could be twins!

The apple doesn't fall far from