Karissa jumping

Karissa loves to try to stand. We have a walker, but it is too tall for her so I have been watching Craig's List for a jumperoo or exersaucer. We got one earlier this week and were hoping she would like it. She LOVES it!!!! She loves the independence she has and gets so proud of herself when she jumps high and wiggles around on her own. She's gotten a little funny about sounds....she was scared of another toy I got her because of the sounds, so we were worried about this. When she got comfortable jumping and enjoyed it, I turned on the sound/lights. (It lights up and plays noise when she jumps high.) I wasn't sure how she would feel about it. She jumped and when she saw the lights and heard the music she would just stop and stare for a few seconds and I wasn't sure if she liked it. Then she would smile and jump again. She kept repeating this. Here is a picture and a video...it is SO funny!!!!

Yankees Game

Karissa's first trip to NYC and Yankee Stadium was this past Thursday. It was going to be her first time on the subway too because usually we park in NJ and take the PATH train to the World Trade Center and then take the subway to the Bronx. But, Dave looked into it and decided if we get to a parking garage as soon as they open, we should be able to find parking and it would only cost a couple dollars more to drive over the GW Bridge and park than if we parked in NJ and paid for the trains. We decided to drive in would be best because at least Karissa could be in her car seat and sleeping as we were sitting in traffic to get out of the city, but if we were on the subway, she'd stay awake looking at everything. We got into the city with only sitting in a little traffic, got a spot in the garage, and then walked down the street to go in a couple of the stores (we wanted to get Karissa a baby Yankees hat and blanket...succeeded in a hat, couldn't find a blanket). Then, we went to check out the new stadium. It was great. We walked around, looked at everything, eyed up the Johnny Rockets milkshakes (they have the BEST milkshakes), then headed to our seats. We loved that the stadium is still similar to the old one. Some people complain and say it is too much like the old one, but we like it like that. It's like the old stadium only newer and bigger. We still sit in the bleachers (they're the cheaper ticket package and better views than the nosebleeds) and now there is a little more room. So, now on to the game....we only got to see Joba pitch a tiny bit. :( The Yankees had been doing pretty well so we went into this questioning if we'd get to see a win and when Joba came out of the game, we were really questioning. Surprisingly, they did win! :) Karissa has now seen the Yankees win 2 times (in person...of course she watches the games from home with her daddy). If you have been following our blog, you know last year was sad at our last game, but I was happy to see they keep many of the traditions I hoped they would. The "bleacher creatures" still chant out each player's name until they acknowledge it, the grounds crew still does the YMCA, and there is still nothing better than Metallica (as much as we HATE them) being played and the crowd going crazy as "Mo" Rivera comes in to end the game. So we had a great time and everyone around us loved Karissa and wanted to take our picture for us and talk to her and say how pretty she was. We have some pics below. Hope everyone has a great Memorial Day and remember to thank all of our troops (past and present) for what they do!

Weigh-in Wednesday

Well, I really intended to start blogging more than once a week so that my weigh-in isn't mixed in with everything else, but as you can see, that didn't happen. Maybe this next week. This is going to be a short blog, hopefully I'll blog later this week about our first trip to the new Yankee Stadium (tomorrow). Today is the final weigh-in for the Shrink Into Summer Challenge. There's good news and bad news. Good news: I am down another 2 1/2 lbs.!!!!!!! I am SOOOO excited!!!! This is especially good considering I am WAY behind in doing anything. I haven't worked out because we have been on the go nonstop lately and the past couple of days I've been sick. It seems like the past couple of weeks I've lost more weight when I stopped trying to count my calories and everything. Maybe my pre-baby metabolism finally kicked back in. lol Bad news: I haven't lost any inches in the past couple weeks. I didn't do my measurements at the beginning of the challenge and wish I had. I only did them a couple of weeks ago. And really, my measurements wouldn't really change when I'm not shredding. I need to get back to that! Overall, I'm very happy with my loss and will continue with my Shrinking Sisters! Have a good rest of the week everybody! Oh and how could I forget???!!! Check out what I was able to score for my weight loss!

Weigh-in Wednesday/ My 8's

Hello! Dave posted pictures of our weekend and Vacation so check them out! We've been really busy so we haven't been able to give details of our trips....not today either...busy day. Anyway, today was weigh-in day. I was trying not to get my hopes up....I have yet to lose more than 1 lb. in a week....but this week, something just felt different...I felt thinner as funny as that may sound and even Dave told me I looked thinner. I'm down 2 lbs!!!! Not a lot, but I'll take it! Especially since no trip to Baltimore is complete without cheesecake from The Cheesecake Factory! And we had a BBQ over the weekend. I'm no longer in the 140's which is the main goal. YEA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! So I was also tagged the other day by Melissa from A Box of Chocolates. I know....I've been so busy I haven't even been able to answer the tag - sorry! I'm supposed to tag 8 others....I don't know 8 other bloggers....most of my friends aren't into blogs and we just started this one for our pregnancy/baby so I'm just now getting into reading other peoples' blogs. So, if you are reading this and haven't already done it - go for it!

8 Things I Look Forward To

1. Summer/warm weather 2. Going to the beach 3. Vacations 4. Going to Yankees games 5. Date nights with Dave 6. Karissa waking up in the morning/after a nap and giving me a great big grin to greet me 7. Karissa growing up to be a wonderful, beautiful, Christian woman (don't get me wrong - I am in NO hurry for her to grow up! lol) 8. King's Fest and any other concerts we go to

8 Things I Did Yesterday

1. Took Karissa to the library 2. Went to the grocery store 3. Straightened the house 4. Laundry 5. Dishes 6. Showered 7. Played with Karissa 8. hmmm...this makes my life seem boring...I can't come up with 8 things....checked e-mail

8 Things I Wish I Could Do

1. Manage money better 2. Manage my housekeeping better 3. Help our family financially without leaving Karissa with a sitter all day 4. Keep in touch better with friends 5. Manage my time better.....I feel like we are too busy 6. Stick with a plan for longer than a couple of weeks (weight loss, Bible reading, anything) 7. Cook healthier meals on such a tight budget 8. Become a better mother and wife

8 Shows That I Watch

1. Biggest Loser (We SOOOOOO wanted Mike to win, but oh well, they all did great!) 2. Without a Trace 3. Amazing Race 4. 18 Kids and Counting 5. Property Virgins 6. House Hunters 7. I can't come up with 8 of these either...boy am I a boring person lol...Rachael Ray 8. What Not to Wear So it's your turn if you haven't done it! Talk to you later!

Yanks Game/Baltimore pictures

Vacation Pictures

Please Vote

Hello everyone. I don't have much to say. I just wanted to ask you to vote for Karissa's picture in the Cute Kid's Easter photo contest. Thanks for your votes! http://www.thecutekid.com/ckgallery/votemypic/email/26780

Where to begin...

Hmmm....so much to say. Well, I guess I'll start with where we left off. We got back Sunday evening from Hilton Head Island, SC. We discovered it a couple of years ago on our road trip and loved it. It takes some getting used to (when looking for places you have to look close to the ground because there are no big signs), but we love it. Karissa had a great time. She screamed all the way down....12 hours....not fun, especially when I didn't know how to deal with that because she rarely cries at all. We decided it was a combination of teething, being in a different vehicle and car seat, being tired and hot (I didn't realize how hot it would get on the way there so I had to change her into cooler clothes), and being constipated. Thankfully, she was over all of that on the way home and slept most of the way. Other than that, she was happy and loved it. I'll let Dave post about it later with some pics. In the meantime, you can check our Facebook page for pics. Karissa is doing better than ever. Monday we had her weight check appointment. She is up to 11lbs. 11oz. The doctor was very happy about that. She is now in the 5th-10th percentile for length and almost there for weight. Except for when she is tired or eating, she is now jabbering and talking almost non-stop. She likes to talk! We can't go anywhere with her without getting stopped by people. We aren't complaining - everybody likes babies. But nobody says she's "cute" like other babies....everyone says, "She is SOOO beautiful!" It is nice to hear....of course we would believe that about her regardless of whether others did or not. :) This week will again be a busy one. She had her appointment on Monday along with Dave's first softball games of the season, library yesterday, church tonight, she'll be trying cereal as soon as I can get to the store, and Friday will be her first time in Baltimore and first Yankees game (her first time to Yankee stadium is later this month). And her Uncle Nathan will be coming and meeting her for the first time. On a sad note, I have stopped nursing. She is now only on formula until I start cereal. Many people were encouraging when I was nursing and others wanted her on formula to gain weight. I was scared that she wouldn't still nurse once on formula and sure enough, I was right. I tried for a few weeks and she just got less and less patient so last week I decided to stop. I've come to terms with it and as much as I didn't want to give it up, I've accepted that we're done and stopped blaming myself for not providing for her. So now, on to the weigh-in Wednesday. I'm up one pound. I'm actually not too disappointed. I totally planned on shredding over vacation....forgot my weights, was extremely busy, and just didn't get to it. Haven't gotten to it in the two days I've been home either. I didn't snack much on vacation, but did drink soda and ate at Paula Deen's restaurant (that alone could have made me gain a couple of pounds lol). I've had some health issues since being home that stopped me from working out too. I know...excuses, excuses. So, I decided my heart has just not been in it. I want to lose weight, but just haven't wanted it bad enough to give it my all. I decided I was going to start shredding all over again from the beginning....30 days straight without stopping and trying to follow Natalie as much as possible instead of the easy way out and following Anita all of the time. I logged on to Shrinking Jeans this morning to see they are doing the challenge again too! Great! I'm going to do some Tae Bo and elliptical work until they start again on the 11th. This time I'm laying out some goals for myself: I'd like to lose 10lbs, but I'm going to focus more on losing inches instead of a weight number because I'd like to get more muscle. I'm going to drink more water, eat more veggies, fruits, and proteins and less junk. Hopefully, I'll lower my body fat percentage. We'll see how it goes. Okay, now I'm done....now that Dave has looked and said I'm writing a book, I better shut up. lol Hope everyone has a good rest of the week!