6 A little less of me to love!

I just wanted to congratulate myself on FINALLY losing all of my baby weight! I have been on Weight Watchers since last May, and as of this morning, I have lost 30 pounds! It came off pretty slow while I was breastfeeding, but once I stopped, the rest came off fairly rapidly (of course I have also added in exercise 5 days a week, so that helps).

I gained about 35 pounds with Leighton, but I was SO out of shape from bed rest that I never did lose the last 20 pounds of extra weight (excuses, excuses) before I got pregnant again. Thankfully with Georgia, I only gained 18 pounds (don't ask me how), so by last May, I only had 30 pounds to lose (ONLY!!) to get back to my pre-Leighton weight. My main incentive was to feel good about myself, but I'm extremely conscious of being a role model to my girls, and I want them to grow up learning about a healthy diet and regular exercise by my example.

I told Chad once I reached my goal, I wanted to go out to an awesome dinner, but I think now I really would rather have a pair of new shoes (and maybe a new outfit)!

1 Lovely weather

We've been spending a lot of time outside lately because the weather is just so awesome...not cold, not hot yet. Georgia just stumbles all over the yard and picks up leaves and Leighton has been riding tricycles, playing with dirt, and finding ladybugs. We'll take advantage is this nice weather as long as it lasts. (Beautiful dress on Leighton...compliments of Uncle Matt!)

Didi from across the street is determined to get Georgia to be comfortable with her (in other words, not scream and cry when she holds her). Looks like she is succeeding!

0 Fun with the grandparents

 My parents' last visit here was a lot of fun. Unfortunately, that was one of the weekends where I didn't have a working camera, so I didn't take any pictures. My dad took a few though! Georgia is slowly starting to warm up to other people, although she is still pretty clingy to Chad and me.

 Leighton must have had a growth spurt recently because all of a sudden a lot of her 3T dresses are too short, including her prized Tinkerbell nightgown. I bought her a bigger one and she could not have been more excited about it.

 It amazes me some of the things Georgia is able to do...compared to sweet Leighton who was a bit delayed on a lot of these things. Georgia climbed up Ferdie's cat stairs over the weekend...amazing! And she easily gets on Leighton's giraffe stationary bicycle.

 We took the girls to Monkey Joe's first thing Saturday morning. We've only been for parties before, but you can just walk in and jump it up. It was perfect when we got there...not at all crowded. One thing I discovered...adults can get on the bouncers if you are helping a child under the age of 4. Score! Georgia really got a kick out of the bouncers. I am glad I was able to be on there with her because she was just diving left and right.

 I got pictures on my IPhone but I didn't have my camera at the time. A few weeks ago my timid little Leighton went on the highest slide at Monkey Joe's and went down backwards. What?!! She did it again when my parents were with us and my dad got a picture of it. (Of course, she still won't get on an animal on the merry-go-round! Go figure.)

We had a great time with my mom and dad and I was sad to see them go. We even got to go out with them to dinner and movie without the girls while they were here...a real treat!

0 Sunglasses are back in

Leighton found her stash of sunglasses yesterday and has been wearing them nonstop ever since. Yesterday afternoon she was having a little jam session on the piano and Georgia and I were dancing to her groovy music.

Well look who came through for me and smiled for the camera! Go Leighton! Now if only Georgia was looking too...oh well. We'll keep trying!

BUSTED! Something not so great is about to happen to Georgia in this picture...maybe a little push or a shove? Or an overly strong hug from Leighton. I can't remember what happened, but I have a feeling Leighton looked guilty and Georgia cried.

0 Little bow peep

Well, Georgia's hair has gotten long enough that we can put bows in it...and it actually helps to keep her hair out of her face. Now she really, really looks like a little girl and when I look at her and Leighton, I still can't believe I have TWO girls!

I would have loved to have taken a picture of Leighton, but she would not look at the camera. Here's Georgia, pointing at all those stuffed animals, who were actually all singing at the same time.

It really is too bad there are terrible people in the world that I can't post a cute little naked picture of my baby girl without worrying about it. But here's a side profile cause it's just too darn sweet not to share. Love Georgia's big ol belly in comparison to the rest of her. Cute little booty. Love this little naked jaybird!

3 This one's for you, Granna

My mom got these cute little hats for Leighton and Leighton would always take them right off when I put them on her, so I guess I gave up on putting them on Georgia before even trying. My mom was SO SAD I hadn't put them on Georgia that I gave it a shot this morning. Here you go, Granna!

3 At the park

We took the girls to the park for about an hour this morning to let them burn off some energy. (Although this totally didn't ensure naps in the afternoon; Leighton doesn't nap at all anymore and Georgia only slept an hour. Oh well!) Turns out last week at the rodeo when I thought my camera battery died, it was really my lens that had stopped working. We got a new one yesterday so I took it to the park to try it out. I believe we are back in the picture-taking business!

0 Superbowl with Lance

This is from February...I got a little behind with the girls' birthdays around then. But Lance came over for the Superbowl and he taught Leighton how to show her team spirit! Clearly, with green and yellow, Leighton was cheering for Green Bay.

Here Lance is showing Leighton the ultimate "WADDUP!" sign with his hand.

And she got it!

Check out Lance's bad-to-the-bone tennis shoes! Leighton loved them and loved that they matched her dress.

We always have fun with Lance comes by. Unfortunately, his new job has him out of town more than we'd like, but it just makes us appreciate his visits even more! Love you, Lance!

0 Yee haw...rodeo!

We took the girls to the Houston Rodeo Saturday morning and we had such a fun time! Leighton was much more excited about it than she was last year, which was a pleasant surprise. We got there right at 10 when it opened so we would be able to spend a few hours before Georgia's nap time.

Chad wanted to walk through the carnival area first so Leighton could get on some rides. I thought there was a slim chance in hell that Leighton would want to do rides, but sometimes she surprises me. Chad thought the bumper cars were a good option, and Leighton was really excited about getting in the car. Until they actually started, and then she screamed holy terror for the entire duration. I was laughing so hard I was crying because it was just so sweet and tragic at the same time.

Here's a closeup of the previous picture. Is Leighton's face just heartbreaking or what? I don't think she is too traumatized from the experience (mainly because she got on another ride as we were leaving that I think scared her more).

One highlight after Leighton's fun bumper car experience: Chad won her a stuffed animal. Because I told him "You have GOT to do something to make up for what you just put her through." So he threw darts at balloons and popped 5 whole balloons! Go Daddy! Leighton selected "Piggy" for her prize.

And...my camera battery died at this point, so I switched over to my phone for the rest of the pictures. Nothing better than lugging around a big ol camera that isn't any use! Unfortunately, my camera stopped working while Chad walked the girls through the petting zoo. So I didn't get any pictures of them loving looking at all the animals (compared to last year when Leighton cried in the petting zoo).

So we had a fun time walking through this area and seeing pigs and cows up close and personal. Leighton was squatting down on their level and talking to them.

This pig had such a sweet expression on its face I had to stop and take a picture. And then I wanted to either adopt the pig or cry because I know it's gonna be bacon soon. Wah!

Oh the fun we had looking at the baby chicks hatching from their eggs. Although they look a little fragile when they are first born (some of them I thought looked like they weren't quite alive!), so we moved over to the chicks that had made it a little longer in life.

Leighton was fascinated with them. They are pretty cute, aren't they?

Georgia was pointing left and right at all the animals. Don't feel sorry for her for being strapped in the stroller. We took her out quite a few times so she could get close to the animals.

I should note I have gotten to a period in Leighton's life where I'm sort of letting her lead the way on what she wears. All the books I refer to say that I should pick my battles with this kiddo, and what dress she wears isn't one of the ones I want to pick. I just need to ensure I keep her closet fully stocked of adorable clothes (done!!). So maybe she didn't wear the outfit I wanted her to wear to the rodeo. Who cares! She looked adorable anyway and had a great time.

Georgia, on the other hand, is my little dress-up doll for now so I enjoy dressing her in whatever I fancy that day.

We did a double diaper change in the back of the car before we left and I got this sweet little picture of Georgia happy as a clam! How cute is she? Unbiased, of course.

Don't laugh! This is a picture of a picture I had taken specifically to send to my team at IBM. They have a wall in their office in Raleigh where they put pictures of everyone on the team near something location-specific. I thought what better than riding a bull to show off Houston?!

As we were leaving the Rodeo, Leighton saw a ride that she wanted to get on. It was a boat, and while we didn't see it in motion, it looked like it just gently rocked back and forth. And it also looked like little little kids were getting on, so I thought this might actually be a ride Leighton would enjoy. So I got on with her, and right as we sat down she said "I don't want to be on this." Oops, cause there went the boat, which in fact did a lot more than gentle rocking. We didn't go upside down or anything, but Leighton cried the whole time we jerked back and forth and spun around. Sorry, baby! I asked her if she had fun at the Rodeo later and she said "I don't like the boat." Looks like that's her takeaway from the day.

Yesterday we went to the zoo and Leighton got on the ride she DOES enjoy: the carousel. Hopefully this will restore her faith in us!