Studio Pictures

I finally took Ephram and Charlie in to get "real" pictures taken in the beginning of August.  We went to Sears and had a fantastic experience.  We'll be going back!

The main reason that I wanted to get pictures was to capture little Ephram in his blessing outfit before he outgrew it.  We got some great pictures of him alone, and of him and Charlie together.

Of course, we also took some pictures of Charlie before having the boys change.  This outfit made him look so old to me.  He's lost all the toddler look now, I think.  I love the personality in these two pictures.

We also took the opportunity to take some diaper shots of Ephram with his blanket.  I love these too!

And finally, I wanted some street clothes pictures of the boys just being brothers.  Love how these three turned out!

There are many, many more pictures that I haven't posted... but these are my very favorites.  I so enjoy taking pictures of the boys at home, and feel that I have good ones of every stage along the way... but there's something about being in a studio that I just can't duplicate.  Actually, it's easy for me to identify what I'm missing... backdrops and lighting.  Hmmm...  I'm either going to have to go into the studio more often or find a way to bring the studio into my home!

Sitting Pretty

One day Ephram went from army crawling everywhere, to suddenly wanting to sit.  A lot.  Now, he's been sitting for months with a pillow to prop him up.  But, all of a sudden, he was able to sit on his own.

It did take him awhile to get used to balancing.

And we still had the occasional flop over onto the floor.  Well... that still happens, but he's become much more graceful at it.

He loves his new vantage point for playing with his toys!

90 Pounds Later

And now for a self-absorbed post.  I'm allowed one of those every once in awhile, right?

That's right.  The title of this post says 90 pounds.  That is what I have lost since I began my weight loss journey three years ago.  Yes, that's a long time to be on a weight loss journey.  I had a baby in the middle, so my efforts had to take a backseat for a year.

How did I do it?  I started on Weight Watchers.  About 30 pounds into it, I quit Weight Watchers and went solo.  I lost the remaining weight by following a low sodium diet.  For me, reducing sodium was like magic ... the weight slowly and steadily kept dropping away.  I also increased my exercise and eliminated most eating out.

I don't like the pictures of me before.   Because of this, I have very few.  And the chances that you've seen any of them are slim.  Unless you happened to take some of me.  And then you probably didn't show them to me, because they weren't pretty.  I'm joking.  Kind of.  But for the purpose of historical documentation here, I am posting a before picture.  Don't look too long.

Now I still don't much care for the way I looked.  But today, when I look back at these pictures I often don't recognize myself.  And I know that I was a happy person then in many ways, but I feel so much more healthy now.

Again, for historical documentation, here is a look at the three years following the picture above...

2008 and look at cute little Charlie!!!  (Yes I cropped out the other half of my family because, after all, this is a self-absorbed post.)

 2009 and very pregnant with Ephram.

 2010 taken just a couple of weeks ago.  The blur next to me is my little sister.  Someday I'll actually blog about what we were doing in this photo.

Can you see the difference?  I can.  Not only in the pounds that have dropped away, but in my whole countenance... I think I look lighter.  Like a weight is off my shoulders.  Maybe I think I can see it because I just know how I feel now.  I feel great.

But...  am I done? For now, yes.  I have a.... wait for it.... normal BMI!  I have exceeded my original weight loss goal by more than 20 pounds.  I think I could lose another 10.  It would be fun to be able to say I lost 100 pounds.  I'm also down from a size 24 to a size 10.  (Is that 14 dress sizes or 7?  I never know!)  I think I could lose more inches too.  But I've been sitting comfortably at this weight for about three months.  And I am still a nursing mom, so I don't want to push it too far.  Once I am done nursing, maybe I'll conquer those last 10 pounds.

For a long time I have been thinking about starting a new blog to share some of the tips that I have developed for my low sodium diet.  To celebrate maintaining my loss for three months, I've actually started this blog.  You can find it in my blog roll to the right.  It's called "My Low Sodium Life."  I plan to put tips up at a rate of about once a week.  Don't hold me to that though.  (Again, nursing mom... time to do the things I want often eludes me.)

So, did I mention this is a self-absorbed post?  Also, to celebrate my weight loss being achieved, I got a new hair cut about a month ago.  I really like it.  And now that I am no longer ashamed of how I look, I decided to take a few pictures of it.  So here are a couple of my self portraits.  One with glasses, and one without.

This concludes the self-absorbed portion of my blog.  Back to my beautiful children soon!

Ephram at Seven Months

Since my baby boy will be eight months old as of tomorrow, I think it's time for me to post some information about how he was on his seven month birthday!  Between six and seven months old, Ephram became a mover.  By his seven month birthday his army crawl was perfected and he was even up on all fours rocking back and forth a lot!  Everyone keeps telling me that this is their favorite stage for babies.  I have started to wonder if any stage will not feel like a favorite stage to me.  While I am adjusting to chasing a baby around and have started to teach him what "No!" means, I am thoroughly enjoying my growing little boy.

The Stats:
There is no seven month well-baby check-up, but as usual I tried to capture some things on my own.
Height - he wouldn't stay still enough to even think about measuring this, so I have nothing to share!
Weight - 19 lbs, 8 oz

At six months he was 18 lbs, 11 oz, so he is up 13 oz in one month.  I am ready for his growth to slow down.  This kid is getting heavy!!!

Milestones:
First finger food (Cheerios) - 26 weeks
First attempt at sippy cup - 26 weeks
Army crawl! - 27 weeks
Sit without support - 28 weeks

As you can see - it was a busy month for Ephram.  Since the time he was born, I kept telling myself, "I can't wait until he can put some food, any food, in his mouth by himself!"  Actually, I'm pretty sure I said that to several other people as well.  I was so happy when he figured out how to put those cheerios in his mouth on his first try!

Teeth:
Ephram had six teeth on his seven month birthday.  Four on top, and two on bottom...  he's been a busy little teether!

Food:
Everything he was eating before, plus...
Cheerios
Sweet Potatoes
Carrots
Oatmeal
Green Beans
Bananas

Ephram's favorite food by far was the sweet potatoes.  He would eat them non stop.  His least favorite was what I was most excited to give him... bananas.  He spit them back out!  After several more tries, he finally will tolerate them now... but I suspect he still doesn't care for them too much.

Favorites:
Itsy bitsy spider (song)... Singing to Ephram works like a charm.  Any time he is upset, a song will turn his mood around!
Peek-a-who (book)
Jumperoo (activity center)
Truck with peek-a-boo blocks (toy)

Ephram's favorites haven't changed much since last month!

Nicknames:
Bug, Little Bug, Buggy
Boo-boo
Remy

Here are some pictures from his seven month birthday!

Ephram's Pal Scout

Watching Ephram play these past two months has been so much fun for me.  He is really developing his personality, and it is coming out in the way he interacts with his toys.  I think these pictures show it all...

Fun Play Date!

At the end of July, my friends Carleigh and Candice came over with their kids for a fun play date.  It had been far too long since we'd had just a play date with all of our kids together.  We had so much fun... at least, I had so much fun catching up with my friends, and I think the kids had fun too.  They were also very cute, so I got a lot of good pictures.  Charlie was there too - he just was refusing to pose for my camera.  :)

Our play date was a few days before Carleigh's birthday, so we had to have cupcakes to celebrate.  All of the kids enjoyed them, except for Ephram of course.  The adults enjoyed them too.  They were yummy!

Caleb getting ready to eat a cupcake!

Candice and Tanna singing "Happy Birthday" to Carleigh

Here's Ephram watching everyone eat the cupcakes and probably wondering what they taste like.

Tanna hiding behind her mom during lunch

Jacob playing with Charlie's Mickey Mouse plane

Every time Tanna comes over, she gravitates toward this easel and the chalk in it!

Caleb liked these soft blocks almost as much as Ephram does!

Candice playing with Ephram

We had a lot of fun with the Stutzmans and the Zaniewski's.  Hopefully another play date will happen soon!

Up Close

I am in love with this little man.  I took some close-up photos of him at 29 weeks.  I love seeing the light behind his eyes.

I love it when he is obviously deep in thought.  What can a six month old be so consumed with?

Often he looks like he's ready to talk.  I can't wait to hear all the things he'll say to me someday...

I love it when he gets the giggles... he can laugh and laugh and laugh.

Seeing how much he has changed in six months makes me wonder what the next six months will bring.  And how much more I will fall in love with him on the way.   I can't wait.