I Go Out Walkin’…

But it’s not after midnight, and I’m not searchin’, hoping you will be somewhere out walkin’ after midnight searchin’ for meeeeee. 

Oh Lordy, my life is one big song.  I had a choir director in college who would randomly break out into song whenever he was in a conversation.  Everything reminded him of a song.  It didn’t make for short conversations, but it did make for interesting ones!

Anyway!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I thought I’d share with the masses (or maybe just my mom) what I’ve been doing since my 30 day fitness challenge ended.  I took some time off, but after about a week, I got back into a walking groove again.  Now, I’m up to walking 4 miles almost every weekday morning!  I think I’m doing about a 17 minute mile, which isn’t that bad, but I’m sure could be better. 

I thought I’d share with you what it is that makes me get up and walk, and what makes my walk manageable – dare I say enjoyable?!

I found on iTunes a podcast called Podrunner.  (You don’t have to have iTunes to use their podcasts – just an mp3 player of some sort)  DJ Steveboy (whoever that is) has created hour long mixes of techno music that stay at a steady beat per minute (BPM).  I started walking to 135 BPM for 3 miles and realized that I liked walking if I had a steady beat pumping in my ears.  I keep my volume low enough so that I can still hear and talk to Jack while I push him along.   I’ve steadily increased my speed to 140BPM and 4 miles.  

I even got my hubby to use them on his Blackberry while he runs now.  He’s using around a 148 BPM.  I tried running, but my knees swelled, and I couldn’t walk for a day or two. After I lose some weight, maybe I’ll try running again.

Another thing that keeps me moving is an awesome, borrowed jogging stroller.   My friend Andrea let me borrow her Schwinn, swivel wheel jogging stroller, and I never want to give it back!  As far as Jack’s comfort goes, it’s great!  It has a tray, which so few seem to have.  He keeps his water and toy with him and it doesn’t fall out (much) since it sits in the tray.  It also has a swivel wheel.  I LOVE that.  I think a lot of joggers think it’s unsafe to have a swivel wheel when you’re jogging, but I’m not jogging, so it’s wonderful for me. 

Next, my husband bought me this wonderful Camelpak for my birthday this year.  I was totally shocked when he bought it for me, but I love it so much now.  It holds 3 liters of ice and water,  my iPod, and anything else I want to throw in the pack.  (It’s made for cyclists, so it has compartments with their needs in mind)  I used a regular sports bottle one day last week, and hated how my water didn’t stay cold, and how I ran out of water before my walk was done.  This backpack is great! (Jack loves drinking from it too!)

 

And finally, I couldn’t walk for an hour and 8 minutes if I didn’t have a snack for Jack.  About half way through the walk, he starts to get cranky.  If his toy (usually a truck or Little People) isn’t keeping him occupied anymore, I’ll throw him a snack trap with crackers, raisins, or apple pieces in it.  That usually keeps him happy for the rest of the trip.  If not, there’s always my keys.

Now, if only the pounds would start melting off!  My diet is average to good, so I’m pretty frustrated that 4 months of walking hasn’t taken any weight off.  I’ve been in to see the Dr. for my thyroid, and we did find my numbers to be off, so that may be the culprit. I just can’t win!

30 Days!

Well folks, I made it to 30 days!!!  If you have no clue what I’m talking about, let me share with you.  I accepted a Challenge from my friend to exercise for 30 days.  We were to exercise for 5 days straight, take two days off, and continue that for a total of 30 days of exercise.  That took us about a month and a half (6 weeks). 

During the challenge, I mostly walked.  I walked around our neighborhood, I walked at the park, and I Walked Away the Pounds on days I couldn’t get out of the house.  Rick and Jack joined me for two weeks walking in the park.  I loved that!  Rick would push the stroller, while I got busy walking.  We are up to walking 3 miles a day!

 (this isn’t me!)

Last week, I noticed a change in my walking.  I walk pretty fast to keep my heart rate up, and after a while, I was having trouble keeping up with Rick – he always pushed me to walk a little bit faster.  All of a sudden, I started to speed walk.  My stride changed, my hips swayed differently, and my arms were bent like a runner’s.  I found that I could not only keep up with Rick, but I could go even faster with no extra effort.  It was amazing!  I felt like I could walk more than 3 miles.

This week it rained every day! So, I stayed in every evening to Walk Away the Pounds.  Rick tried to watch Jack while I walked in my living room, but sometimes Jack just wanted me to hold him.  At one point, I did a knee raise right into his little cheek!  It was then that I decided to put him in the baby carrier and walk with him on my back.  That lasted for a little while, but thankfully, he asked to get down not too long into the walk.  That did add a little more intensity to my workout though.

(This is me!)

I’m pretty proud of myself for sticking with this challenge for 6 weeks.  I don’t see any difference in my body or the way my clothes fit right now, but I’m planning to give it another 4 months to really evaluate how it’s working for me.  I figure that after 20 or so weeks, I should see some difference in the way my clothes fit!  I can tell a difference in my stamina though.  I don’t get winded as easily, and I feel like I can walk farther than I did when I first started.  I don’t get winded walking up the stairs either!

I’m not sure what the next 30 day challenge will be, though, I’m pretty sure it’s going to be about food. Heather said something about giving up sugar.  I stopped reading her blog right after I read that.  No, just kidding.  I don’t think I’m going to go so extreme yet.  For now, I’m going to add more plants to my diet.  I need to eat more fruits and veggies.  I’m not sure how that will translate into a 30 day challenge, but we’ll figure something out. 

I can’t wait to report back in 4 months on my weight loss and how my clothes will be fitting better. I better stick with this!

My Personal Trainer

The other day, while we were driving home from church, Jack was in the back saying “Up! Down! Up! Down!”  I caught him once even lifting his leg up and down as he was saying it.  We thought that was cute, and encouraged him to continue doing it by repeating him every time he said it.  We had no clue why he was saying “Up! Down!”

Then, last night, while I was doing my Walk Away the Pounds video, Jack started saying “Up! Down!” while Leslie Sanson was saying it on the video.  She only says it for one segment that I recall, and it’s while we’re lifting our weights doing bicep curls.  I was walking in front of my computer, doing bicep curls, and Jack was playing with his toy truck saying “Up! Down!”  It was the funniest thing!!

Now I have proof that I’ve been working out. Most days we go to the park, but we’ve been having a very rainy couple of days here, so I’ve been stuck inside doing my videos instead.  Evidently, Jack has been watching me.

I love how Jack is a little window into what I do and how I act.  I’m sure it will come back to bite me in the butt, but for now, it’s cute to see what he’s picking up on.  I remember a time when he picked up my broom and dustpan (he loves to play with the dustpan) and started sweeping the kitchen like I do.  I had to share that photo with my family to prove that I actually DO clean my house!

Two Days and Going Strong!

It’s not much, but I’ve started the 30-day fitness challenge and have completed 2 days so far.  Woo-hoo!  I’ve walked around the neighborhood with Jack in the stroller for two afternoons. 

Like I said, it’s not much, but at least it’s something!  The thing about this challenge that’s getting me is that if you miss one day, you have to start your 30 day count back at one.  You must do 5 days in a row, and if you miss one day, even if it’s the 28th day, you must start back on day one.  I don’t want to do that!!  So, I’m hoping I’ll make it 5 days in a row for 6 weeks.  I’m always starting exercise, but never sticking with it. 

I’m planning to take Jack to the park tonight while Daddy stays home to do his taxes.  Then it’ll be THREE DAYS!  I can do this!!!!

(I wonder if cleaning my kitchen for a half an hour counts?  It’s PRETTY MESSY!)

*I’m going to link this up to the challenge –if we get a linky set up- so that others can see who’s with them on this challenge.

What a Difference a Year Makes (or not)

As we were walking in the park yesterday afternoon, I realized that one of our first walks with Jack happened around this same time last year.  I was reminded of that walk because almost the exact same scenario played out - Jack started out in the stroller, became fussy, then ended up with Daddy for the rest of the walk. 

Let’s take a look down memory lane…. March 2009 (2 months)

And this was how we enjoyed last evening’s walk…. March 2010 (14 months)

Did you know I have a blog?

You did?

It seems that I must have forgotten.  This is the "I haven't posted in so long" post.  But I promise I will TRY to keep it short.  (naps don't last all that long around her)

A few HUGE Growth Chart Moments:

• Jack's WALKING!!! He started taking a few steps before Christmas, but it was last week that he decided that walking is just as good (almost) as crawling now.  He used to walk to us, but crawled to anywhere he wanted to get to quickly.  Now, he's choosing to walk to most places if he's already on his feet.  He still crawls a bunch, so I'd say he's 50-50 at this point.

• He's also trying to climb on everything.  I'm sure there will be some bumps and bruises in our near future.  Did you ever notice that with each major milestone, a new set of bruises appear? 

• He plays Peek-a-Boo with us now.  Usually during a diaper change or a meal, he'll cover his eyes and then reveal himself to us with a big grin. So cute!
• He's identifying body parts now.  He can point to his belly, piggies, head, and I think hair when you ask him.  The funny part is that when you ask him where his nose is, he points to the nose of the person closest to him.  We are working on ears and mouth now.  He went to the dentist with me last week, so we worked on teeth with him.  I think he had if for that day. 

• He mimics a lot of what we do now.  When we go into the bathroom, I often take his hairbrush and brush his hair.  Now he brushes his own hair when you give him the brush.  He picked up the broom the other day and swept the floor.  He takes the toy that's in his hand-be it a Little People, cup, car or anything else - and makes it fly like a plane or go like a car.  Remember when I was worried about my son not learning Boy Noises?  There are no worries there anymore.  Everything sounds like a car or plane now (they sound the same of course)
  
• He makes animal noises now.  He can bark like a dog, tweet like a bird, and grunt like a monkey. Sometimes it's on command but other times it's just when he sees or hears that animal.  All of those sounds are the same when they come out, but I bet they all sound like the real thing in his head. When I ask him if he's a birdie or a doggie, he points to the birdies in our backyard to clarify. 
  
• He is just plain smarter. He catches things much more than I realize.  This morning I said I have to go blow my nose, and he immediately got up with me, grabbed my legs as we walked to the bathroom, and pointed to the tissues for me.  He may not be able to communicate with words, but he sure does say a lot in his own way!

One Small Step...

Jack took his first steps last night!  I think there were two real steps in all.  We captured the second set of real steps.  The first ones were a surprise to us, but as soon as he did them, I ran for the camera and set him up to do it again.

I thought he may walk before his 9th month was over, but he decided to wait until 3 days into his 10th month. He should be running around by Christmas, right?

If someone would like to tell me how to upload a video, I'll share my 6 second video with you. :) Until then, I'll share this picture of him standing by himself from last week. You'll just have to trust me that he took the steps.

Getting Up To Speed

It's been a while since I've mentioned any Growth Chart Moments, though they're happening almost every day around here now.  I'm going to try to remember all of them, and get you up to speed on Jack's accomplishments. They are in order as best as I can remember.

He can now walk (assisted with our fingers) with shoes on.  He had a good solid month of walking like this barefoot, but with winter coming up, I wanted to get him used to having shoes on his feet.  He had to learn how to walk all over again the first time I put shoes on him.  But now he's back to normal, cruising and walking all the time.  Baby shoes are adorable!!!

He is now 'crawl running.'  When he sees what he wants (like the doorstop that makes LOUD noises when hit), he crawls really fast towards it.  I call it crawl running.

Bath time is now in the big tub!  We went from the baby tub on the kitchen counter, to the baby tub in the big tub, now to just being in the big tub.  He loves it.  He scoots around on his little bottom, and sometimes even tries to crawl around. 

We decided it was time to get a convertible car seat.  A friend of ours gave us her old front-facing car seat for him to use, but we don't think he's old enough to be front facing yet.  His infant seat only goes to 22lbs, and I'm pretty sure he's over 20lbs now, so we had to get something soon.  Craigslist is a wonderful thing!! 

His top teeth are coming in.  One has been there for a few weeks now, but the other one is still trying to come through.   It has wreaked havoc on nursing!  Without going into detail, I'm going to take a little break from it for a few days.  If any of you have advice or encouragement, I'll take it!!!  This is painful stuff!!

Jack finally tried to climb our stairs this past week.  And he did it on the first try!  I turned around to see him on the first step.  What did I do? I ran to get the camera of course!  And then I kept my hand behind his bottom and encouraged him to go up further.  He made it about half way before he fell and decided it wasn't for him. He hasn't tried it since.

As of yesterday, he understands what "I'm gonna get you" means.  It's so cute to hear him squeal with delight and anticipation when you say those words to him.  He crawl-runs away as fast as his little knees can take him!  It's so fun! He has yet to figure out what "come and get me" means.

Today, Jack clapped for the first time.  All it took was taking him to the PBR Rodeo!  He was sitting on Daddy's lap, and all of a sudden he just started clapping.  Every time he did it, we encouraged him.  Tonight at dinner, he clapped between every bite of chicken.  Yay for meat!

Whew! That is a lot of Growth Chart Moments!!!  I can't believe how much growing he has done in his short 9 months.  (He will be 9 months on the 14th.)  That's about how long I had him inside of me.  It amazed me how much growing he did in that short time while he was in my womb, and now it has amazed me how much growing he's done in our home.  What a little guy.  We love him so much!!