Kennedy @ 2YO

It's an amazing feeling when your child turns 2. It's like, where did the baby years go? Where is my little newborn, infant, roly-poly babe and how has she so quickly been replaced with this little person who has her own personality, can contribute to conversations, run rampant around the house (and the mall), express exactly what she wants and give so much love in return? I have said multiple times but I can definitely tell I'm going to like 2 a LOT. Even with the harder moments, I can tell it's going to be a beautiful time in life.

Kennedy at 2:

• Runs, all over the house and especially in public. She doesn't like to be confined in her highchair at the restaurant or in the cart at Target. Daddy does pretty well with this, and I tend to freak out with this newfound freedom. Especially when she's running full force at an escalator.
• Loves her puppy Callie "Lala" -- always asks if Lala can go too or will sometimes put her hand out and say "Lala, stay."
• Loves her baby and taggie(s). Multiple taggies, in fact, she has 2 green taggies, her bee blankie taggie, has adopted her sister's new taggie as her own, and now even has a pair of pants that she walks around the house with and plays with the actual tag on the pants. This is, of course, affectionately named "pants taggie."
• Sits forward in the carseat now, which is fun for everyone! She's more part of the conversation and seems happier in the car as well.
• Sleeps 11-12 hours at night and 2-3 hours during the day (knock on wood). We've come so far in a year - and we're about to turn it all upside down again with baby sister!
• Weighs 26 lbs and is 34" tall. Pretty average, weight is slightly below average.
• Wears 18 month pants (skinny waist!) and 2T shirts for the most part, and size 5 shoes.
• Loves Mickey Mouse Clubhouse "Mimmie" and Baby Dance (her DVD from Crystal). She has also shown some early interest in Sesame Street and can name all the characters.
• LOVES the water and baths. Is not even slightly scared of dunking her entire head/face! I always have to remind her to close her mouth - especially at the pool at Williston where we go frequently.
• Doesn't love us touching or combing her hair. She'd look so cute with a ponytail but can't handle us even messing with it. It's enough of a battle to just get a comb through the back where there are always knots!
• Loves puzzles, her shape sorter, books, naming colors and shapes, and when she sees letters in a row she'll say "d-y" like we do when we spell her name, the last two letters in Kennedy. She is starting to recognize that letters are each associated with a name, but always defers to "d-y."
• Loves "class," the "park," and always wants to "go" somewhere. Often puts on her shoes when she thinks one of us is leaving because she wants to go too. "You go too."
• On that note, refers to herself as "you." "You do it!" "You go!" When we ask her whose is it? she'll point to herself and say "You!" Hard to switch to thinking of "me" when we always refer to her as "you."
• Loves pretend play for a little while, especially with her kitchen, dishes, her shopping cart, her baby. But then wants to go back to more mechanical things like puzzles, shapes, hooks, latches, figuring out how things work. Definitely a potential scientist/engineer on our hands.
• Scientist/engineer, but also extremely SOCIAL!! This child is so engaging, and cares so much about others. She's always sharing her things, handing out hugs and kisses (especially to other kids) and greeting people. She's determined, social, curious and engaged. I'd say these are great traits for a bright future, but then again I am maybe a little biased. :)

We just love her so much and have had the best 2 years! Now onto another journey as a BIG SISTER!!!

Serendipity + Intention = Our Nutrition Journey

There are two major components to this business I'm building-- generating wellness and generating freedom. A major component of wellness is getting the right nutrition, as I've been able to witness numerous times over the past 5 months. The funny thing is, I sort of backed into these amazing nutritional results with a bit of intention and a bit of good fortune.

Truth: I've had at least a 10-year battle with fatigue. I've often wondered if I just never grew out of the teenage years of needing to sleep in late every weekend. I also wondered if I had just created a bad habit of sleeping late. Sure, I still enjoy sleeping until 8:00 or 8:30, but I also find that if I start my day with good nutrition, I am fueled up and don't feel groggy the rest of the day. I'm growing a baby, I hardly have any caffeine, and I can completely tell a difference by starting my day with high quality protein. Not just any protein; I also admit I have had a severe obsession with bacon over the years. I think it started when I noticed that bacon was keeping me fuller longer than cereal and toast. Sure, I still like bacon, but I find that starting with the right protein in the morning gives me a calmer energy to start my day, and I don't have the other side effects of eating that greasy, salty fat far too often. One other amazing side effect has been a complete transformation of my skin. It's like my skin has cleaned itself from the inside out! This was not the case last time I was pregnant.

So, isn't it also about weight loss?
Weight loss is absolutely one positive effect of getting good nutrition. People tell me how thrilled they are with the results they get from putting good nutrition in their bodies -- overall wellbeing, not just weight loss. Boundless energy, better sleep! And nothing makes me happier than when people are so happy to have finally found a solution to feel overall health. It truly warms my heart.

This is feeling extremely serendipitous in my life right now, for many reasons. My family has always eaten fairly healthy, in the sense that we have always eaten fresh foods: lean meat, fruits and vegetables at every meal. We didn't grow up on Hamburger Helper or other boxed meals. We also didn't grow up on protein shakes. We grew up somewhere in the middle. 

And if you know him, you know that Jake and I grew up eating verry different things (aka bread and cheese vs. not that). Even when I lived in Chile my host family called him "Pan y queso" !!

When I first caught the vision of this business, we knew it'd help us both get healthy. What I wasn't prepared for was the sheer joy I'd feel from seeing Jake really get healthy and me feeling really healthy! Not only did he lose 36 lbs and over 40 inches off his body, but now I catch him looking at ingredients and nutrition facts on the back of packages when grocery shopping. He also eats things in moderation and says no to junk food more often. It's been so healthy for our family and I'm beyond excited that we've fit this into our lives at the perfect time for our growing family.

So what I'm dedicated to: I have decided that health for our family is at the forefront; I don't have to be the girl who is just naturally thin and pretends that thin = health. I can care on a new level about my health and the health of my family. And with that, I am so compelled and passionate about helping others do the same.

As I said there are two sides to this business-- I just shared more about generating wellness; next up: generating freedom!