Teething baby

Payton is getting his two bottom teeth. They are finally both through the gums. He really hasn't been very fussy at all, just a bit more clingy and needy. His right one came in first, and we didn't even know until it was almost through. The left one seems to be a bit more painful for him. I have had to give him tylenol a couple of times and some teething tablets. All in all though he has been great! I can't figure something out though, maybe all the moms out there can share some insight. About a month ago, Payton had a bad cough and cold. He seemed to get over most of it, but the congestion stayed. I used saline drops, humidifiers, vicks baby rub, and nothing seemed to improve it. Finally the doctor saw him when he went for his shots, and started him on singulair, thinking it was allergies. Its been about a week and the congestion is MUCH better. I just don't know whether it really was allergies, or just teething. Do babies get congested and stuffy while teething? I may have to try taking away the singulair for a few days to see if it comes back. It makes it hard when he is having more then one problem at the same time, how do you know what really causes it, and takes care of it?

Quick update on me: Healthy eating and exercise is going great! I have started p90x with Devry, and still continue to do my eliptical or zumba every day. As of my weigh in yesterday.....9 lbs down!! I am not below my prepregnant weight! I'm enjoying the changes i am making. I feel much better. I am working this weekend, and am going to try to take healthy snacks to eat, and keep on track!

Feeling Great!

I think I forgot how GREAT it feels to eat healthy and exercise. I have been so diligent this week in staying on track with my goals, and it payed off when I weighed in 5 lbs less this morning then I did last week. I don't know that I have ever been this motivated to get into shape, at least not for me (I have been motivated to be in shape for basketball, or swimming, but not simply for myself). I am enjoying planning meals, and planning workouts. I look forward to working out everyday, and am anxious when I dont get to until the evening. I am watching my calorie intake very closely with www.myfitnesspal.com. What a WONDERFUL and EASY way to help you loose weight, check it out! I have more energy, I am happier, I feel good about myself, and about my progress. Devry has been AMAZING in helping me. He even eats what I eat (mostly)...including Salad and other vegetables (although he substituted his sweet potato for a "real potato" of course loaded with ranch and cheese..haha). I really want these habits to become part of our lives. I got rid of ALL of our junk food. If its not in front of me, I won't eat it. No more late night nachos, or sugar filled cereal. I am trying to substitute everything unhealthy in our diet with something healthy.

My challenge is when I work. I work nights, 6pm to 6am. I cannot figure out how to balance my diet with my work schedule. Do I eat all night then not eat the next day? Do I still try to eat dinner before I leave and not eat all night while I work? I just don't know when to eat dinner? Any suggestions? I have used snacking as a way to stay awake. I WILL be stopping that. Last time I worked, I got tired about 2am, and instead of making my usual 2 am toast and mountain dew, I grabbed a cup of ice chips and snacked my heart out on them.

I am feeling great and loving it!

2010

I am very excited about this coming year.I am so excited to watch Payton grow and learn this year. He is such a joy to us, and we love seeing him learn new things every day. I have several goal and "resolutions" that I have made, which I am very motivated to achieve.

In the past my attempt to achieve goals has been more successful when I write them down, and share them with others. That way, I feel like it is more concrete, and not just a thought in my mind. Because of this, I have decided to share one of my very important goals on my blog, that way those of you reading can see updates on my progress and help motivate me.

I want to loose my "nursing school" and "baby" weight. I started nursing school about a month after getting married. Between the life changes marriage brings, the stress of nursing school, and lack of time, I put on some weight (20ish lbs) After graduating nursing school, I began to try to loose it. After losing a few punds (5 I think), I found out I was pregnant, and as a result I gained more weight. I gained more then I had expected, totaling 44 lbs gained during pregnancy. From nursing I lost 35lbs easily...but nursing does not seem to be helping me loose anymore. I am currently 6-7 lbs away from my prepregnant weight. Once I reach my prepregnant weight, I hope to loose another 25-30lbs. I know my body, and am very realistic, so I am setting goals according to that. I hope to achieve this 35ish lbs weight loss goal by Payton's 1 year birthday, July 27th (this is about 1 lb a week...which is reasonable for me).

How I will achieve it: I believe that making a plan is just as important as setting a goal.

• Eating healthier: Since I am breastfeeding, I cannot cut my calories way down, so instead I need to find healthier choices to fill the calories with. We have gotten into a habit of finding "quick" and "easy" foods, AKA. unhealthy, processed junk. When I plan and make a meal schedule, I eat much better. I also save money by following a strict grocery list. It will take more planning and is more time consuming, but I know when I eat healthier, I feel better. I want Payton to grow up eating right, and I know it needs to start now, with me and Devry.
• Exercise: I have always been very active, and involved alot in sports (basketball and swimming especially). I am very out of shape right now, and miss being able to enjoy exercise. Right now, it is painful to exercise. I hate this feeling of being out of shape. I enjoy running, but cannot do it in the wintertime. For now, I will be doing several different forms of exercise. 1. Zumba - a wonderful dance aerobics type class that I attend 2-3 times per week. 2. Eliptical - I have one, and need to use it more. 3. P90X - Devry bought me all the tools for p90X for Christmas, and we should be getting the discs very soon. I want to use it mostly for toning 4. Swimming - I know this won't happen as often as I would like, but I am going to try to swim. It involves me going to the school, which is much more time consuming, but I really enjoy swimming, and think it is the best exercise. 5. personal trainer - I am fortunate enough to have access to a FREE personal trainer as long as I am a student. I want to take advantage of it before I graduate. I will try to set up weekly sessions with one to help assess where I am at. I will sign up for a 10K race sometime this summer, and once the weather is nice I will train for it by running outside.

My motivation for achieving this goal is primarily so I feel healthier, and better about myself. But also, it is for my family. I want to start healthy habits of eating right and exercising now so that it becomes part of our daily lives. I have always played on teams, which is often where my motivation came from. I have had a challenge pushing myself the way I was pushed by a coach or teammate. I want to change this. I want to motivate myself, but also be able to turn to family and friends for support.

I know I can achieve my goal. I know it will take daily decisions and changes to get there, but I am ready for it!

Happy Birthday Devry!

Devry turned 25 on December 28th! We had a fun time celebrating at his parents house with family. We all enjoyed cake, brownies and ice cream.

Trey helped him blow out his candles.

I am so thankful for such a wonderful husband. He is so kind and thoughtful, and takes such great care of Payton and me. Happy Birthday Devry!!

Payton's First Christmas

We had so much fun celebrating Christmas with Payton. Even though he had no idea what was going on, we had to wake him up to open presents, and of course the wrapping paper was his favorite part, it still was alot of fun! Of course I missed home and my family, but we had a ton of fun keeping old traditions and starting new ones with our little family. We finished up our shopping on the 23rd, and got to take Payton to see Santa. It was fun to get a picture of Payton on Santa's lap.

Since I was scheduled to work on Christmas Eve we planned to have dinner at 3:00 so I could be at work by 6. We had Chinese food, which has become a tradition for us. Devry's parents and his brother Tim and his wife came over for dinner. We had fun eating and playing the wii. I was put on call for work, so I got to stay home. We opened our Christmas eve presents (pajamas..which is a fun tradition we have). Payton looked so cute in his "my first Christmas" PJ's. Payton went to bed, and we finished getting everything ready for Christmas.

Payton's cute Christmas PJ's. He was so smiley!

Christmas morning was a lot of fun. Payton woke up to eat and I was all excited about opening presents.....so he finished eating and fell right back to sleep. We let him sleep for about 45 minutes then ended up waking him up, because I was excited and couldn't get back to sleep.

We opened our stockings, and "helped" Payton open his. He really enjoyed eating the wrapping paper and bows. Then we opened all of our gifts from family and Santa. We got lots of great gifts, but more importantly we really enjoyed the morning together.

We made yummy waffles with my new waffle maker, and enjoyed the morning together. Then we started making Christmas Dinner. We made the Turkey, and Devry's mom made the rolls, potatoes and gravy. We had a few sides too. It turned out really good. Payton even got to try some peas for the first time, although he was not a big fan.

We had a great Christmas! It was so fun to enjoy it with Devry and some of his family, and even more exciting to celebrate Payton's first Christmas.

Christmas Song

I came across this song while listening to Pandora last year around Christmas. I fell in love with the song. It is called I believe, by Natalie Grant. I think the message of the song is what Christmas is really about.

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year...

Chilly weather, Decorating the tree, hearing carols wherever you go....Christmas is coming! I am excited, but also sad. I have so many memories of Christmas with my family growing up, big famliy parties, huge Christmas Dinner, secret santas, gifts to friends and neighbours, going to see the live nativity pagent, going to grandparents, all my moms wonderful baking, and SO many more. I can't help but feel homesick during this time of year. Christmas is the biggest holiday in my family. We have so many traditions, starting at the beginning of December right up until Christmas. This will be my 3rd year being away from home for Christmas. Every year has been hard, for different reasons. The first year was my very first Christmas away from home, and my first Christmas being married. Devry's brothers all were at their inlaw's for Christmas, so we celebrated with his Parents. It was fun, but since I was so used to all the people and celebrations my family has, I was so homesick. I had a very hard time that year. Last year was dissapointing because we had booked tickets to fly home, went to salt lake, and our flights got cancelled. The good thing about last year was that Devry's brothers were here to celebrate, so it seemed a bit more like what I am used to, with lots of family. I debated going home this year, but between the price, my work schedule and being too nervous about flights getting cancelled, we decided not to. It is the year that Devry's brothers and their families will be gone, so I am trying to have a good attitude about it. I want this Christmas to be fun and exciting, since it's Payton's first. I am trying to keep some of the traditions I am used to, and also start some new ones. I am still having a very hard time being excited though. I picked up a Christmas Eve shift (for double time pay) because the money's good, and I was being very negative about my expectations for Christmas. I said to myself "if I work Christmas eve, then I can just sleep through Christmas and not feel so homesick and disapointed." I know that in order for it to be what I want, my attitude needs to change, but its hard. I want Payton to grow up loving Christmas as much as I did, but how can I do that when I am having a hard time loving it. Any pointers??