9 months!

Diana turned 9 months old this last Friday. Wow, how time flies!

Here are some of her accomplishments/new things:

*She can walk - she took her first unassisted steps @ 8 1/2 months. She's still not brave enough to walk more than 6 steps on her own without assistance, but she's almost there!

*She has two teeth - she got her first one a few days before she turned 8 months and the other when she was 8 1/2 months old.

*She loves to "scare" Daddy and have him scare/chase after her.

*She's slowly getting hair, but it's super-blonde, so she still looks bald. :)

*She's still afraid of everyone. She loves you if you keep your distance, but she doesn't like being held by others, especially if she thinks I'm going to leave her. She's even apprehensive about Daddy holding her if she thinks I'm going to leave.

*She still has her Daddy's bowels...poor girl.

*She LOVES shopping. (She definitely doesn't get that from me). Her favorite store, by far, is Target.

*She tries so hard to talk for real, and she talks sooooooo much (she DEFINITELY gets that from me!)

*She doesn't wave "Hi"/"Bye" anymore, but instead holds out her hand as far as she can towards you in hope that you'll come to her so she can grab and squeeze your face.

*She still loves to give kisses, but when Daddy asks now, she gets shy and hides her face.

*She LOVES to dance and dances to almost EVERYTHING...noise, music, coughing, you name it. If it sounds like it might have a rhythm, she's dancing to it!

*She loves music - I've found that it's the only way I can teach her anything, by singing it to her.

*She's getting so big and eating so much, but she's still a skinny little bean, and I LOVE it!

*She loves to make the motorboat noise with her lips....all the time....

*She's also doing this new thing where she makes a duck quack-noise. Don't know how she learned to do it, but she does it a lot.

*She HATES wearing socks and will pull them off while we're in the car.

*She LOVES hair and will rip (yes, literally RIP) it out of your head so she can play with it in her hands. She'll also work as hard as she can to find a single hair buried deep in the carpet and she play with it forever, running it through her hands over and over and over again. She's so odd.

*On that same note, she loves eyelashes, but doesn't understand that it hurts when she grabs them and your eyelid.

*She loves other babies and kids and she'll talk and squeal to try and get their attention. - She's VERY social.

*She loves Church, and LOVES the Hollings Family who sit behind us every Sunday and keep her company and happy - THANK YOU!! :)

*She loves to bang on things with the palm on her hand...especially things she knows she's not supposed to have.

*She'll watch you while she's doing/touching something she KNOWS she's not supposed to.

*She is SO smart and SUCH a stinker!!

*She knows what the word "No" and the sound "Uh-Uh" mean very well, and HATES when we use them!

*She drinks out of a straw & has been for quite a while, and she prefers it, because she can drink while sitting up and without having to tilt her cup (she's lazy). :)

*She loves having her ears cleaned out with a q-tip, always has. That's about the only time I can get her to sit completely still.

*She still LOVES bath time. It's her favorite time of day.

*She loves getting into my dishes and opening up my cabinets and climbing onto the dishwasher while I'm loading it and pulling dishes out of the dishwasher.

*She loves to get into my laundry, especially the whites, for some reason, and pull it out piece by piece and throw it across the room over her shoulder. It is actually pretty hilarious to watch.

*She does the same thing, above, with her toys.

*She will give whatever she's holding to me if I hold out my hand and say "give that to me, please."

*When she gets mad, she tightens up her body, clenches her fists and screeches as loud as she can. Wonder where she gets THAT from...... ;)

*She LOVES sour things, and, not too surprisingly, sweet things as well.

*She loves banging on the laptop keyboard and chewing on the TV remotes, because she knows that doing so will cause something to happen.

*She still has beautiful light blue eyes!

*She INSISTS on sitting in the shopping carts backwards. Apparently, looking at me isn't that fun.

And...she's still our sweet little pumpkin and she's still spoiled rotten by her Grandparents, Aunts, and Uncles! :) I love her so much!!

My dieting journey

When people hear the word diet, they generally think of pain, agony, endless hunger and suffering, rabbit food, no more desserts...basically, like visiting Hell. Or, at least, this is what I thought when I heard the word diet, up until I started dieting myself 2 1/2 months ago.

I was feeling unhappy with my weight, and so I decided to do something about it. I had given birth to my little sweetheart back at the end of February, and had basically gotten back to my pre-pregnancy weight of 133 pounds (I was at 135 when I started the diet) about 5 months later. Technically, I was healthy, but I was never happy with the way I looked or felt, even for the past 5 years. A year after I graduated high school, I started to pack on the pounds. I had moved in with my sister and we ate Taco Bell pretty much every day, and I exercised, um, never. Slowly, I went from 115 to 120 to 125 then to 128, which is what I was at when I married my sweetie Mike 2 years ago. Then, by the time I got pregnant with Diana, I had gained an additional 5 pounds. During my pregnancy, I gained 48 more pounds, some of which was the baby, and over half of which was (thankfully) water weight. Luckily for me, as I breast fed, I lost all the additional weight (with no diet or exercise). But, even after I got back, I was still heavy.

One day, back at the end of August, I got sick, bad sick, and I lost a few pounds. That's when it hit me. I thought "I want to diet, I NEED to diet!" I hated being "fat" I had always been a skinny girl, so being so much bigger than I used to be years ago made me sad. So, I made a plan. I researched and found out how many calories I should consume in order to effectively lose weight. I downloaded an app on my phone that helped me track how many calories I was consuming, how many calories I was burning through day-to-day activities and exercise, and how much weight I was losing. I also made Mike go with Diana and I on nightly walks (sadly, this ended when the nights got too cold a month ago). That's when my miracle occurred. The first week I lost two pounds, the next, a pound, the week after, a pound and a half, and on and on. The best part was, I wasn't starving myself! I continued to eat sweets and snack, but now in healthier portion sizes. I also started getting more fruits and veggies, I learned how to cook and bake healthier. But, most importantly, I started to feel better about myself, and I felt better overall. I had more energy for everything. I felt great. I STILL feel great. 2 1/2 months later, I'm all done with my diet and weigh 115. I know I would have lost weight faster if I was better about exercising and if I was stricter in my intake, but I can honestly say I lost weight in the absolute best and most convenient way for me. It wasn't painful, it wasn't unpleasant, but instead, it was a fun challenge, a relatively easy challenge, for which now I am reaping the rewards. I not only feel better and am much lighter, but now I continue to eat better and constantly watch what I eat. So, for all of you out there who are afraid of diets, I'm here to say, don't be afraid!! If you diet right, it can be a very pleasant experience and you'll be so much happier for it (but only if you NEED it!)!

:)

These are a few of my favorite things

*My Baby

*My Hubby

*The lovely Fall weather...

*Halloween

*Thanksgiving

(There's little that's better!)

*Winter, that's coming,

*When Christmas bells ring

These are a few of my favorite things!

*October

*November

*And, of course, December!

*My family

*My Freedom,

*And being a 'Member'

*Knowing for certain my HF loves me

These are a few of my favorite things!!!

When the leaves change,

When the rain falls,

When I'm feeling glad,

It's great to remember my many blessings,

So I never feel too sad!

I love being a Mother. Every morning when i wake up to a loving baby that's happy to see me and shower me with love and hugs, it makes my life, all the struggles and sickness and crabby days worth it. I feel like I have found my calling, what I am supposed to be doing in life. I love Diana, with all my heart, and it's fun to feel that same unconditional love back. Don't get me wrong, my husband loves me unconditionally too, and I'm grateful for that, but it's fun to be needed, to be a favorite, to know that I can get frustrated with her and she'll still want to hug and love on me. I love doing housework and hearing her crawl up behind me and feeling her little hands grasp my pants as she uses me to stand up. I love her big, slobbery kisses. I love her sweet, cheeky smile. I love what being a mother has taught me, even in these short 8 months so far. Basically, I just love being a mom, being me. I'm excited to add more kids in the future. It makes me sad that there are people out there that "hate" kids and babies and are so self-absorbed that they don't want to make the sacrifices it takes to be a parent. When I see things like that, I can't help think about my sweet angel and wonder "how could you NOT want to do and give everything necessary for such a precious life??" I guess kids aren't everyone's cup of tea, but it's still sad. I'm just glad that I've been blessed with such a sweet daughter and with my love of Motherhood.

I also love being a wife. I love having a sweet, handsome man come home to me every day and tell me how grateful he is for me. I love how proud he is of me for such dumb little things, like sticking to my diet and singing to my daughter. I love cooking him dinners from recipes I invent knowing he'll devour them and help me perfect them, if necessary. Or, if they're good recipes, seeing the pride in his face as he tells me how delicious the food is. I love baking him desserts and seeing his joy and he gobbles them down. I love cleaning the house, knowing that he'll always notice and tell me how nice it looks. And, I love having a husband that will work hard all day helping people with their problems and if I have had a hard day with Diana, without a word he will do the dishes, or throw in a load of laundry or two, give me a massage, play with Diana; he'll step up and help out, finishing up what I couldn't. And, again, all without a word! I've never, ever heard him say that I don't do enough, or that the house isn't clean enough, or that he works hard and never gets a break. Nope, never ever have I heard any of those words or anything like it escape his lips, nor do I think I ever will. There's is not one thing wrong with him! He preforms his calling with love and zeal, he plays with his daughter without asking and helps to bathe her, occasionally change her diaper and feed her. He takes me out every Friday night, he buys me & Diana things we need, giving up things he wants and even needs. He sacrifices and works and toils without complaint, and is never idle. I could learn a lot from him. I love being his wife, because he makes up for everything I lack; he is wonderful.

With Thanksgiving coming up at the end of the month, and with today being election day, I felt inspired to be grateful and reflect on my blessings. My Heavenly Father loves me and has blessed me with so much....I can't even name or number my blessings, because they are infinite. I am grateful for everything I have, and for this exceptionally beautiful time of year. It really brings out the happy, grateful me that is buried deep inside.