Currently

Currently...

Obsessing over: this no-sugar thing! I LOVE IT and have never, ever felt better in my life. Sounds crazy, and I guess it is a pretty crazy thing to say, but it's true. This new way of life is so much better for me and for my family. Noah even ate veggies and shrimp last night! I am PINK obessed! (Oh BTW I am almost to the ten pound mark!)

Working on: my fitness. Remember that Fergie song? haha. But really, lately I've had such a fire burning under me to workout. I attribute this to my new way of eating. I still go to hot yoga all the time and love love love the way my body is feeling.

Thinking about: My choice to go back to almost full time at work. I worry I am going to miss my babies too much and regret this choice. But I know APS would not give me this oppertunity again so alas here goes nothing.

Anticipating: the birth of our sweet baby girl in just a week! I cant wait to get out to California and snuggle her and give her kisses! I just wish I knew what to call her (hint hint Jenny!)

Listening to: Adele's Set Fire to the Rain. I am obessed with her right now. Her songs are just beautiful and meaningful and full of everything that music should be!

Eating: Egg whites full of veggies...protien baby!

Wishing: that Grace would just sleep. Is that too much to ask for??? :P

How about you? What are you up to today?

Five Months

I know this song is suppose to be about a relationship but everytime I hear it I can't help but think of you my Gracie Poo. You were sent to me from God and I thank him everyday that I was choosen to be your mommy!

Dear my Gracie girl,

You are five months now...where has the time gone! It seems as only yesterday we were preparing for you to come into our lives! You have brought us such joy in just the five short months you have been here. Here are some of the things that you have been doing this past month.

You are super inquisitive. You watch everything that is going on around you...you especially love to watch Noah and seem to just relish in everything he does. He continues to be the one who makes you laugh the most. I hope that this continues for the rest of your lives! Your smile and playfullness lights up the room!

You weigh 16.7 pounds and you are already wearing 6-9 month clothing. You are going to be long/tall like your brother and daddy! I am happy you will be tall...it will make you a better volleyball player ha!

You started daycare last week as mommy had to go back to work. It was so hard to leave you but you did great. I get daily texts from the girls who take care of you. You have already won their hearts as you did ours! Your smile is contagious and you love to talk talk talk!

Day One at Daycare

Day Two

You are still bottle feeding and drink 4-5oz. You still struggle with your reflux so Dr Grambort suggested going to see a specialist for it. Your appointment isn't till Feb so we have awhile to wait for that. The Dr was also concerned about your neck muscle so we have an appointment tomorrow with a specialist for that! Hopefully this is the one and only appointment we have and they can give us some helpful hints to help you

We went to see your Aunt Jenny and Uncle Jeff for Christmas this year. You got to go to Disneyland for your first time. You were a trouper! You even slept through Pirates of the Carribean and The Haunted Mansion. I bet next time we go your won't be sleeping through those :) You made out at xmas although you had no clue of course what was going on. You didn't do very good sleeping away from home and daddy and I were up 4-5 times a night with you. Needless to say it was not a restful vacation for us.

Mommy and you at the mall the day before xmas

Waiting in line at Disneyland with Gram and Jenny

In line with daddy

Christmas Morn

New Years Eve-Ready to party!

You talk constantly. You scream loud, you squeal, laugh and have all sorts of fun sounds you like to make. You still love to play on your mat and you are FINALLY trying to roll over. You also LOVE to sit in your bumbo. While we were at Aunt Jenny's we would sit you in the middle of the table and you would just talk and watch everything going on around you.

On your playmat

Entertaining everyone with that smile!

You are trying to sit up and are actually closer to sitting then rolling over. I can already tell you are going to do things on your own time and how you want. Stubborn...you must be a DUVALL!

You are now taking a paci to go to sleep which has made bedtime easier on all of us. Since we returned from California you have only gotten up once a night and even slept through the night one night!!! WOOOHOOO We are very thankful for that!

You know who alot of people are and recognize voices. You are not scared of strangers and will go to anyone which is wonderful.

You are a very happy baby and only fuss when you are tired or hungry.

Gracie, you are such a joy to be around. You make us smile constantly (yes even at 5 in the morning!) and bring so much love into our family. I can not imagine our lives without you. All of us adore you and love watching you discover new things. We can't wait to see what the next month brings...SIX MONTHS!

Love your mommy

The Paper Mama Photo Challenge

This week The Paper mama Photo Challenge is Pets! I love this pic of my sweet boy and my first baby Lady Bird. They are best friends and it warms my heart!

Four Months

Dear Gracie,

You are now a big four months old. It is hard to believe you have been with us for that long. I

often still think of you as my sleepy little newborn, but you are far from that! Here is a look at what you are up to this month:

You love to sit up and often cry if we lay you down. You are so interested in everything and are constantly looking around.

You were waking up only one a night but now you are back to two. Although you are now sleeping full time in your crib so no more car seat! Yay for that! I am sure its just an adjustment and we can go back to the once a night wake eat and go back to sleep mode. (Fingers are CROSSED!)

You love your schedule. You eat every 2-3 hours and nap in between each feeding still. In the evenings you cluster feed and go down around 7-7:30. You have now started eating a little cereal at night and you seem to enjoy it. You have a smile on your face the entire feeding.

You smile and talk and laugh all the time and you are LOUD! We love it. You have so much to say and get so excited when we are interacting with you. Your smiles are full face smiles and they are so stinkin' adorable. You love smiling at your big brother the most!

You love being in your bouncy seat or swing. You are starting to like sitting in the bumbo alot more then you use to so when Noah and I are doing an activity you sit in that and watch watch watch!

You grab everything. You reach for toys and teethers and love getting them and putting them straight in your mouth. You love putting anything and everything in your mouth and you often find your shirt and suck on it till its soaked! Your hands are constantly in your mouth.

You get fussy and mad when you are tired or hungry and it is so funny and sad at the same time. You make the cutest pouty face and your daddy and me just laugh and laugh! When you are hungry, you get MAD fast!

You love your bath and especially now that you get to take it with your brother. You lay there and laugh and laugh at him and his sillyness.

You are wearing mainly 3-6 month clothes, but quite a few 3 month still fit you. You are SUPER long and are starting to chunk out which I LOVE!. I think you weigh around 15-16 pounds still, but you have your 4 month check up in a couple days so I guess we will see :)

You have added so much joy to our lives, Gracie. We love you.

I wipe your face to make room for all the kisses of tomorrow.

I have experianced being a stay at home mom twice now as well as a working mom. The first time I was home with Noah for the first six months of his life. By month six I was SO ready to go back to work. I needed that adult interaction. I needed the feeling of accomplishment outside of the home where people actually tell you that you are doing a good job. This time around I am dreading going back to work. I don't know if it's because I am older or a more experianced parent but going back to work to me this time I could take it or leave it. Im sure once I get back into the swing of things I will remember how much I enjoy my job and the great friends I have at work. But I will miss time with my sweeties. I will miss the cuddles, the days we don't get dressed, the days we just spend enjoying each other. I am much more comfortable being home and taking care of my kids then I ever was when it was just me and Noah. I get out of the house when I am feeling cooped up. I make sure to have "me" time so I don't recent staying home with them. And I am enjoying every minute because from experiance I know how fast the time goes. So for the next month I am going to hug, kiss and cuddle my days away.

Me by Plumb

haven't had
A chance to sleep
And when I wake
I wake with your dreams
I guess my pillow
Holds some kind of key
To your peace
Your peace

Me
I wouldn't trade your love for all the candy
In this great big world
Me
I feel so crazy blessed and oh so lucky
To be the place you go
When you need to feel safe
When you need a kiss
It's me

I haven't showered
And I tried to eat
But all your tears
Oh they needed me
I need some time, some time to think
But then I hear you
And what you need is...

Me
I wouldn't trade your love for all the candy
Find More lyrics at www.sweetslyrics.com
In this great big world
Me
I feel so crazy blessed and oh so lucky
To be the place you go


I wash your face
To make room for
All the kisses
Of tomorrow
And every day
That I get to
Be here with you
Is sweet

Me
I wouldn't trade your love for all the candy
In this great big world
Me
I feel so crazy blessed and oh so lucky
To be the place you go
When you need to feel safe
When you need a kiss

Oh don't be afraid
Cause what you'll have is....
Me

Hot Yoga Baby!

My new obsession??? Sacred Hot Yoga. I had heard about this extreme yoga class from my bestie Angela but had always been scared to try it. Kim and I went a couple weeks ago to try out a black light class. When we pulled up to the front of the studio and saw all these people half naked we freaked. I said ok Kim lets get out of here! But Kim being her stubborn self made me go in. I can not thank her enough for having me take that first step. If you don't know anything about Hot Yoga let me explain some to you...

Sacred Hot Yoga includes the physical workout of other forms of hot yoga but with a stronger emphasis upon the spiritual teachings of yoga.

The Sacred Hot Yoga Method stresses during yoga practice conscious awareness of the body's alignment, breathing, and energy flow; and has the students set their intention for practice and use affirmations to direct the life force generated by the postures for manifesting healing and happiness.

The hot room allows increased stretching and flexibility which helps to prevent injury. With the combination of the heat, humidity and the yoga poses (asanas) you WILL sweat and burn calories. Your body will experience a huge detoxification. Drinking plenty of fluid before, during and after class is necessary. Hot yoga can help to improve flexibility, suppleness and strength. Hot Yoga can also help with the ability to deal with stress and to increase relaxation. Hot yoga can be a very effective way of losing weight and toning up.

Hot Yoga is practiced at a temperature of about 103 to 105 degrees Fahrenheit with 40% to 60% humidity.

I got this information from http://www.cloud9divine.com/. This is the studio I currently practice at.

After going the last couple weeks I can say I can see a difference in my body and mind. I have lost about 5 pounds and 3 inches in my waist. I feel stronger and have more energy. The nights I go to class I sleep better then I have in years. I feel GREAT! I have not been to a class since last Thursday and my body is craving it! My skin looks better, my hair is softer. I am AMAZED at what this one thing has done for me. I can not wait to continue my Sacred Hot Yoga practice. And for those of you who are in Albuquerque and want to try a class... come with me! You will sweat and have a hard workout but afterwards you will feel like a million bucks!

3 year old madness!

It's been a rough couple of weeks in the Topley household. Not only with not sleeping because of the time change but Noah has really settled himself nicely into the makings of a three year old. All my girlfriends with older kids warned me. They said three's are the worst. I thought ya ya ok how hard can it really be. OMG! Some days I want to literally pull my hair out (or his!) He has an attitude of a 16 year old on hormones. One minute he is the awesome Noah that I love and the next a roaring psycho comes out. Here are some examples of both....

He loves Grace. He is so sweet to her. I will catch him kissing on her and loving on her when he thinks I am not looking. He tries to play with her and keep her entertained and if she is crying or just whining he always makes sure Daniel or I know that "gracie isn't ok." I love watching this and it gives a great image of how great of friends they will be. This is my sweet Noah I love.

He hates school and I mean hates it. He is a home body and would rather stay in his PJ's all day and hang with us. I do not tell him when he goes to school that Grace and I stay home. This would break him. But every school day is a battle to get him dressed, get his lunch made and get him out the door. He usually cries when Daniel drops him off. He misses his friends from "the baby school" and this breaks my heart. But now he is starting to act out at school. Just yesterday when I picked him up the ladies told me that he wouldnt sit for quiet time and wouldn't listen to them. This is defiantly not the Noah I love. His new thing to say is "you are not the boss of me" or "nope not gonna happen". I think he gets this from some kids at school and its driving me nuts. This is the three year old I dont like.

He got half of his trains thrown away for pulling attitude with me. I told him to pick up his room. He looked at me and said nope not gonna happen. I told him I would give him some time to get his attitude straightened out and he preceeded to tell me that I was not the boss. Needless to say my head almost exploded. I proceeded to pick up every toy that he decided not to put away and throw them in a trash bag. I have to say though that this worked. Every toy in the house was picked up and put into its place within record time. This is the three year old I don't like.

A postive thing right now is he loves to sing. He is constantly singing something. He often makes up his own songs about this he is doing which is so much like his daddy. It cracks us up. He will hear a song once or twice and know most of the words and tune soon after. His favorite song to sing this month is the goodbye song. He learned this at school and he loves singing it...at home, in the car, at the grocery store, to Grace. You name it! This is the Noah I love

I pray that this stage passes soon and doesn't last a year because I miss my sweet boy...come back to us Noah :)