The Biggest Loser Challenge

The mom's club started a Biggest Loser challenge today that will run for the next 12 weeks. There are 7 competitors, and I'm one of them. It's a $10 buy-in to participate in the BL challenge, and each week when we do our weigh-ins, if we gain weight, we have to put another dollar into the pot for each pound. This is serious business. I am so unhappy with the weight I've gained, so I've got to start doing something about it. Shawn is going to do the challenge with me as well, so we've decided two nights a week, after Inara has gone to sleep, we will go to the gym. I'm determined to get to the gym at least 2 other days during the week. I will have to be careful with the exercising though because my back is still causing me problems. Besides exercising, we have to start eating better as well. I'm limiting myself to dessert two nights a week, which is going to be a huge effort for me because I love ice cream and cookies and milk in the evenings. I'm also going to limit myself to 3 coffees and 1 soda a week. I don't drink much soda, so this shouldn't be too hard, but the coffee is going to be a challenge since I love my Starbucks frappuccinos especially now that it's getting warmer. But I have to do this!!! No more slacking and letting myself go. I did so well losing a lot of weight before I had Inara and now I'm creeping back to what I weighed before and I don't like it one bit. So wish me luck and I'll keep you posted on how the weight loss is going.

Lil explanation on some pics

To show you how much Inara squirms around now, I wanted to point out that when we put her in her crib, she starts out in the middle around where you see her right foot. Sometimes when we come in to get her, she's worked her way all the way up into the corner and knocked over the teddy bear that is generally there. I'm telling you the girl is a mover!

I have my own highchair! Mom and Pop surprised me and had this highchair delivered to our house this week. Inara already loves it. When we sit down for dinner, we can put Inara in this so she's not sitting in the walker staring at our feet. I love her look in this picture.

Kristi, the girls, and I met up with our friend Eetung and her son William on Friday at Cherry Creek mall in Denver. They have a super cool kids play area there with these giant breakfast foods made of this squish material so kids can climb all over them and if they fall, they won't get hurt. I can't wait until Inara is a little older so she can climb on these. She got a bit frustrated watching the kids this day because she wanted to crawl and run around too. Poor little thing!

Inara's newest favorite things

I thought I'd do a short post (yeah right) about the newest things Inara is doing. She loves to sit up. Can't get enough of it. This is a challenge when she's drinking a bottle though. I almost feel like I'm feeding a newborn animal or something. Plus, she squirms ALL over the place when she's feeding. Needless to say, meals are a lot of work now. One reason she's so squirmy is because she has to see what everyone else is doing. It's really cute because I can see how she's absorbing it all in, but it's also frustrating because I just want her to be still and eat.

Today we went to storytime and she was really good and listened to the librarian as she read. I could tell that she was actually paying attention. This is no surprise because lately she loves when I read books to her. I try to read to her every day, so that she can start learning words. She is starting to show understanding with a lot more words. When I say words like dog or tree, she looks for these things. It's amazing how her mind and memory are growing every day. I'm in awe of this child.

Along with this, I am also doing a lot more animal sounds for her when we are reading books. Within the past week, she's started giggling every time I say an animal and the sound they make, such as a dog goes ruff ruff. This is actually how I kept her quiet in Target yesterday. Too bad I ran out of animals to do sounds of because she started getting cranky once I stopped.

The thing I love most about Inara's new interests though is her love of trees. When we go for walks or stand in the backyard, she gets ecstatic looking at the trees rustling in the wind. I pull a branch down so she can touch the leaves and she gets super excited and starts kicking her legs and giggles. It's hilarious! I love the fact that she loves to be outside though. I've noticed that since we've moved here I hardly sit her in front of the TV any more. Instead, we go for walks, read books and listen to music. I'm hoping she won't end up a TV junkie like me. So for the soon to be moms, a word of advice, spend as much time with your little one as possible because they start learning so quickly. Time is precious when it comes to a child. Don't lose one second of being with your baby. I tell Shawn I see changes in Inara every day, which is a blessing and sad at the same time. I don't want her to grow up so fast. I love my baby girl!!!

Paging Nurse Kim

I've commented a couple times to Aunt Jeri that with all of her and Uncle Dave's mishaps that they should have Kim traveling with them at all times since she's a nurse. Well, I'm taking that all back and claiming Nurse Kim for the Tomlinsons. Last night Barb pulled her hamstring playing tennis and is now laid up for the next 2-4 weeks. I was out last night at a mom's night out for scrapbooking and when I got home, I was shocked to see Barb laying on the couch in the play room. I knew things weren't good, so I went in and asked Shawn what happened and he told me the story. Once I knew Barb was awake, I went in and talked with her to find out more of the details. She injured her leg so bad that she was on the ground crying in pain. A tennis partner had to drive her home. Then Shawn and Ed had to help her in to the house. Unfortunately, she was in so much pain that she ended up fainting for a few seconds. I was so scared when I heard this part of the story. That's a LOT of pain to be in to faint. One funny part to the whole story though is when she's telling me what all happened, she says to me, "And we lost the match by default." Wow! Now I totally know where Shawn gets his competitive nature. Barb ended up sleeping on the couch downstairs and went to the doctor today. She's walking on crutches and icing her leg every few hours. I might steal some of her hydrocodone when she's not looking for the next restless night of sleep because of my injured back. J/K. (I'm not kidding, but I'll just say that so my parents don't think I'm hooked on prescription meds now. Ha ha.) This morning Barb then said something that totally made me laugh. She was sitting in the recliner telling me about her night's sleep and says to me, "Great. Just what I wanted to do. Stay on the couch all day." As if I haven't said that a few times these past few weeks and gotten yelled at for saying such things. Man, this house is full of impatient, stubborn people. Kim, you better move to Colorado soon. The Tomlinsons will keep you on payroll since we seem to need a private nurse to tend to our injuries.

Fun with Mom and Bro

Since I've had a few requests to blog about my mom and brother's visit, I figured I better get to it. I was waiting until I had a block of time to write. I took Inara to the pool this morning, so I'm hoping I'll get a good nap out of her this afternoon.

My mom and brother arrived on Wed the 7th. As I already shared, my brother's visit was a total shock but well worth it. I was so thrilled that he came out here so that I could share this new experience with him. It meant the world to me that he took the time off work to come see Inara and I. Thursday we did a little shopping because I needed baby formula. We then went out to lunch and I drove around pointing out some of the favorite homes I've found here. It was drizzly and a bit chilly, so we didn't do much. Actually, Michael and Mom said there wasn't really anything specific they wanted to do while they were here besides spending time with baby girl, so we didn't do a ton of stuff. Also, since Michael was only here a couple of days, I figured he wanted to maximize baby time. That was probably the highlight of their trip out here. I loved seeing my little brother playing with my daughter. A few months back when Inara was going through her stranger anxiety, Michael didn't get to do much with her. This time around though she had a blast with him. He played with her, sang to her, and she loved every minute with Uncle Spanky. She even kept putting her arms out for him to pick her up. Little stinker! It was super cute though.

We pretty much laid low most of Friday. That afternoon I had a Mom's Day photo shoot with the mom's club. Our organizer set-up this event for us to get photos taken by a professional photographer, who only charged us $5 for the shoot and for a 5x7. Mom and Michael went too, so they got to meet some of the moms I've gotten to know in the group. It was a pretty day and the park we went to was really nice as well. The pictures turned out fantastic. I ended up ordering 10 additional prints and only have to pay $30. Not bad! I also had made goodie bags with Arbonne stuff to pass out to all the moms at the shoot. I got a few Thank You emails, which made me feel good.

On Saturday, we drove up north a bit to have lunch at Jose O'Shea's, which is a yummy Mexican restaurant. We wanted to treat mom for Mother's Day before Mikey left. On our way back, we drove through Red Rocks. Unfortunately, Michael started getting a bit car sick from all the winding up and down the hill. Mom got motion sickness one day when I was driving her around too. Big babies. Just kidding. Michael had to fly home that night. Bummer! I really wanted him to stay longer, but I totally understand he has to work too. I'll take the 3 days I got with him over not seeing him until I come back out to CA in July any day of the week. I really miss him alot!!!!

The rest of the time my mom was here we stayed around the house and ventured out for short trips here and there. I did take her to Park Meadows mall one day. I love the architecture of this mall, so I wanted to show it to her. This mall is a lot like South Coast Plaza, which means not much shopping going on. Most of the stores are name brands, high end stores, so pretty much out of my price range and just not my thing. I don't need a purse just because it says Coach. I'd much rather buy a bag at Target instead. That's more me. My mom did end up buying me a pair of socks and Inara a onesie that says I learned to rock before I could walk in Hot Topic. That's so my mom, the rocker that she is. We had a good time walking around and just spending time with each other. I had my mom walk the path by our house one morning too. She struggled a bit because the elevation is so different it does take you awhile to adjust. I think she enjoyed looking at the houses and stuff though.

As you would expect, my mom had a total blast with Inara. I know she only came to see her and not me. Ha ha. Mom got to feed her quite a bit. We all know the kid eats all the time, so it was nice to share the feeding duties for a few days. Mom also got to help bathe baby girl. Inara now loves to sit up in her little bathtub and splash. It's really cute. The best part was watching mom play with Inara. You all know what a goof my mom can be, and Inara couldn't get enough. She loved all the funny sounds my mom would make. Inara loves to sit up and play so much now, so mom got a good fill of playing too. It was great getting to see mom play with baby girl. I know how much she misses her, so that was the main goal of her visit in my opinion. I have some pictures to share and will post them on www.shawnandmarisa.com next week when Shawn gets back from CA. He flew out on Wed night with mom because he had a bachelor party to attend today. They are going wine tasting, golfing and gambling in Temecula. Enjoy the hot weather, honey. Ha ha.

Happy 8 Month Birthday Inara Grace!

She's getting so close to her one year birthday. It's hard to believe today she is 8 months old. We took her monthly measurements. She's about 18 pounds and 27 1/2 inches. Her weight puts her around the 50th percentile and her length is around the 75th percentile. I think she seems long for her age, so I expected her to be around the 75th. As for her weight, my back is sure feeling the extra pounds carrying her around. As Michael called her, she's definitely getting to be a heffalump. Perhaps this is due to her love of food, minus the avocadoes. Today I introduced her to bananas, and she gobbled those down in a second. She's got a hearty appetite, which I guess is a good thing because I don't want to deal with picky eating habits yet. I know that will come later once she starts trying big girl food.

Another change I've seen in her this past month is she talks a lot more (primarily the dadadada still, but I'm working on that). She also loves to make funny noises. Grandma tried to get her to do raspberries during feeding time, which I hope doesn't stick. I definitely don't like that one. Thanks, Mom.

Inara is great at rolling over from her tummy to her back but still no rolling from her back to her tummy. The problem with this is she hasn't shown any interest in trying to crawl yet. Not that that's a problem in my opinion. I'm scared for her getting mobile. My world will completely change at that point. I can tell that she really wants to move though when she sees other kids crawling and walking. Soon enough, little one. Soon enough.

She also sits up a lot on her own. We can sit her up and give her toys and she'll stay upright for 20-30 minutes some times. She would much rather sit up than lay down when she's drinking a bottle, which makes for a challenge during feeding time, but we're learning how to adjust. Along with this comes her dislike of being in the car seat for extended periods of time. I used to be able to get her to sleep in the car, but I think those days may be few and far between now. Darn. I know this is because she's getting older and more aware of her surroundings. The little one doesn't want to miss anything, so when we're in the car, she's stretching her neck and trying to sit up so she can see everything around her. As my dad said, she's an inquisitive child. At times it really does seem hard to believe she's already 8 months old. It reminds me how important it is to spend every day with her because she's changing every single day. It makes each day a new experience to see what she's going to do next. And it's one of the many reasons that I adore this little girl sooo very much!

Bleck!

Up to this point, Inara has loved all veggies we've introduced her to: sweet potatoes, squash, carrots, green beans, peas. But we now have one she does not prefer...avocadoes. Can you tell just how much she loathes them in this pic? Oh well. Guess we'll have to try them again later. (As for her hairdo, Grammy Barb styled her hair in a curly mohawk that wouldn't lie down for 2 days. Inara's hair was as wild as Shawn's for a couple days.)

The best Mother's Day surprise

Shawn, Inara and I went to the airport to pick my mom up. I've been totally looking forward to her arriving for weeks. I was super excited when I saw her walking toward us at baggage claim. I had taken Inara out of the car seat because I knew mom would want to hug her the second she saw her. I was busy watching mom, when all of a sudden out of the corner of my eye I saw someone running toward me and who could it be? My brother!!!! I was totally shocked and never expected him to surprise me. I ran and gave him a big hug and was of course totally crying. It was the best Mother's Day surprise I could have asked for. Come to find out Shawn had been coordinating with Michael and my mom for weeks. I never once picked up on it. I miss my little brother so much, so this is the best way to spend Mother's Day weekend...with my mom and my brother, my two best friends!

Happy belated Cinco de Mayo

We had a playdate with our mom's group yesterday to celebrate Cinco de Mayo. Doesn't Inara look super cute in her sombrero?

The summer movie season has begun

Last night Thane, Ed, Shawn and I went to the movies to see Iron Man. I have a new obsession! I've got to find me a comic book store so I can start reading Iron Man comics. I loved this movie!!! It had to be amazing because my back was killing me sitting that long but I wasn't about to get up and leave. No way!!! This film had some great action sequences, awesome special effects, and my current favorite superhero. Tony Stark, aka Iron Man, is a great flawed character but totally cool at the same time. Robert Downey Jr. nailed this part. He was perfect! I loved his humor and ego and bad ass, nobody messes with me attitude. I also liked that there is a romantic story line, as do all superhero stories, yet this one wasn't so over the top that I start gagging from the cheese factor. When I go to see a superhero kick some butt, I don't want to see him getting all mushy over the girl. Leave that for the chick flicks. I also thought Jeff Bridges part was perfect. His look was killer! I wish he had played Lex Luthor now that I've seen him in Iron Man. Lastly, the music rocked too! I loved that they played Institutionalized by the old band Suicidal Tendencies. Sweet! This movie kicked some major bootie and made me so happy that the summer movie season has begun. This is gonna be one fantastic year for action movies. Of course, the one I'm DYING to see is the new Indy. A close second is Dark Knight, the new Batman. Then we've also got the latest X-Files movie, Hellboy 2, The Incredible Hulk, Speed Racer, the latest from Adam Sandler and Mike Myers, and last but not least, Mamma Mia. (Hey, it can't be all about the testosterone flicks. I've gotta throw in at least one chick flick I'm looking forward to. I'm so jazzed that I'll be home when MM comes out, so I can go see it with my mom and Michael who love the music as much as I do.) The sad news (or maybe it's the good news) with all these awesome movies coming out, they have already got some stiff competition with Iron Man cracking open the summer movie gates. Let the fun begin!

Mmm...grilled cheese

I know there are a few of my readers that love grilled cheese, so I wanted to tell you all about a new place I checked out today called Chedd's Gourmet Grilled Cheese. I decided to venture out today for a bit since I've been cooped up with the back injury. So I met a couple of the moms from my group, and we lunched at Chedd's. I was a bit overwhelmed by the list of options I could choose from. So many cheeses, breads, meats, veggies, etc. I went with one of their special sandwiches called the Yoga Teacher, and it has turkey, provolone, baby spinach, and avocado on 7 grain bread. Mighty tasty. So when my grilled cheese loving friends come to visit, I'll have to take you guys there.