Dancing the Pounds Off

Christmas was a killer. I'm surprised the pounds of junk I ate, and have continued to eat, haven't stopped my heart yet. I haven't been able to get my eating back on track. Finally, yesterday, when I finished the last of the ice cream in the freezer, I gave myself the OK to really call it quits with the crappy food.

I'm off the junk.

And while Christmas was really bad in the food department, it helped a little in the exercise arena. Not only did I get a new work out program for the Wii that I've been using, but we also got Just Dance 3.

It's been perfect for the nights that I feel gross, from eating too much or from inactivity, to pop in and groove away. We already had Just Dance 2 and play it all the time, but it's been nice having new songs to sweat my guts out over. There's a few songs that are really fun and really a work out.

The best part is that I'm enjoying myself so much trying to figure out the moves, that I don't really notice how much exercising I'm actually doing. I know I look like a fool because I can't actually dance and I'm only matching the moves in my head, but I don't care. It's fun, I'm moving, and the beauty of it all is that I can do it in the privacy of my own home - where in my mind, I'm dancing the night away.



With that little plug for the awesomeness of Just Dance, the other night I was thinking about the very first dancing game that I ever owned and played religiously. The nostalgia quickly won me over and I actually pulled it out and set it all up. Anyone else remember Dance Dance Revolution?

                                                                                                                     

Oh the hours that I used to play this game and the entertainment I had with my family, roommates, and husband. Now that we have the more advanced dancing games, the movements of DDR are laughable. And yet, it was so much fun! Once I started playing it the other night I couldn't stop. 

The memories that assaulted me while playing had me pulling out my camera because I knew I was going to have to document DDR before it's completely forgotten by everyone except me. 

And it was a decent work out. Jumping around to match you foot to the correct arrow at the right time can really get your blood pumping! Because this game takes a lot less coordination and actual dancing skills, I'm pretty alright at it and I guess I get pretty intense about it because one of Brigham's favorite things is to just watch me play.

So now that I've got three different dancing games, and go to Zumba once a week, soon I'll be an awesome dancer. Probably not. But I will have fun and get a good work out. So if you need to work off some pounds, like me, and want to have some fun looking like a fool, or perhaps just watching a fool, come on over we'll dance off the weight and have a great time doing so.

And just like DDR recommends: Stay Cool!

Food Snob

As we try to transition Ammon from a diet consisting mostly of formula to a one made up of regular food, we've had some challenges. I've noticed that he does not like a lot of textures; he'd much rather eat something pureed. He also prefers anything sweet or made up of bread and will do a lot to get out of eating his vegetables. The constant cookies at Christmas time (thanks Grandma and Grandpa Nelson) did not help this trend.

His temper comes out STRONGLY when trying to give him anything he doesn't want to eat. I never even knew he had such a temper until a few unfortunate occasions with green beans. It's a combination of scary and hilarious.

Here's an example of his eating habits. On his birthday I gave him some apples and this is what happened:

Apparently apples are boring.

I tried to wake him up and get him to eat more but this is what happened instead:

He fell asleep again -only in a different position - and yes that is an apple hanging out of his mouth. When I went to remove it, I found he had a whole bunch of chewed up apples sitting in there.

I relieved his suffering, put him down for a nap, and when he woke up I gave him a graham cracker for a snack. Here's his reaction to that:

Celebration.

He's so happy. This is the food group he prefers. Carbs loaded with sugar.

Oh he looks like such a big boy here.

He's been doing better lately with some hard work and lots of patience, but he still is rather picky. I have to keep reminding myself that he just turned one and has a long time to learn about the deliciousness of all types of food.

The Party of the Century

With Ammon turning one, we had a little get together to celebrate and had some pizza, cake, and presents.

Despite being newly bathed for his party, he decided to rub his greasy pizza plate all over his hair to make sure he looked really good the rest of the night.

He really liked his new toys that were given to him...

But he was mad when someone gave him clothes because they weren't nearly as cool as the toys. He definitely didn't want to sit on my lap and look at clothes- especially when he prefers being naked anyway and all his new fun things to play with were surrounding us.

I made his cake in the shape of a one.

I thought I had a yellow cake mix, but found out later I only had strawberry so his cake was pink and brown. However, it was DELICIOUS. I would know because no one ate the cake and I had to eat it all myself these last couple of days. You guys really missed out.

Maybe it was because you were too busy eating these peanut-butter, chocolate-cookie sandwiches I made to go with it - which were also delicious.

After we sang to Ammon and he cried while I blew out his candle for him, (poor guy had five shots earlier that day and was pretty tired and cranky by this point)

We cut him a big piece of the cake and let him have at it. He approached it in stages.

First he didn't really like getting his hands dirty and kept trying to lick all the frosting off his fingers.

Then when he realized it was hopeless, he decided to just go for it.

Then he realized how delicious the cake was and completely dug in...

With his face! He went crazy and buried his face in it over and over again. Who can be bothered with using their hands while eating cake anyways? 

The whole cake eating process ended up taking it's toll on the little man and by the end he was pretty wasted.

:) This picture is right before he lost it, started crying, and was done for.

Luckily, he was easier to clean up than I thought he would be, and after a bottle and the removal of clothes, he was happy once again.

I loved having family there to celebrate Ammon turning one. It was a raging party. Thanks for the gifts, the help, and for just being there! 

One Year Ago Today

One year ago today, I was called in early to the hospital and was induced four days overdue to deliver a new baby boy. It was beautiful.

These pictures show our joy in welcoming him to our family much better than I ever could. Words really can't describe how much I love this boy. I was terrified of raising a boy into a man and I still am, but he has captured my heart so completely that it's all worth it. When he smiles it lights up my world and I can't help but smile back. This birthday is bittersweet because we've come so far and there's much to celebrate, and yet I don't want my little Ammon to grow up. Ever. But, he will no matter what I do and so:

Happy Birthday my little boy! I can't believe I get to have you as my son and I'll love you forever.

Love, Mom