March 2016
I really do love the month of March. It's my all time favorite (besides the Holidays) because it's my birthday and anniversary month.
This year I turned the big 2-3 and this is the first bday that I really wasn't all about celebrating and making a big deal out of. I decided the only thing I really wanted to do was hang out with my boys. Dakota took the day off and we went to the beach for some raw oysters! Peg leg pete's is delicious and has a variety of yummy food. I even treated myself to a virgin pina-colada (getting crazy over here). After lunch we headed to the Gulfarium and showed Walker a ton of pretty fish and different species. We even watched a dolphin show! Walker was so intrigued. I love watching the world through his little curious eyes.
The next few days fly by and it's our 3rd wedding anniversary. Once again, we didn't do anything big. We had bought new bedroom furniture with our tax return money and said that was our present to each other. We also had a cruise coming up and was trying to save as much money as possible for excursions and such. We both had to work and decided to have a nice night in eating chocolate covered strawberries and champagne. Dakota even surprised me and turned on our first dance song. He started twirling me around and dancing in the kitchen. It was just one of those nights you won't forget. It was also baby free... so that was a nice touch too.
April 2016
This is one of the months that I had MIXED emotions about. My baby boy's birthday month. Luckily I had some time mentally to prepare myself since his birthday was towards the end of April, but still... when April 1 popped up on the calendar it was like a punch in the gut. WHAT?! How in the world did his first year go SO fast? I wanted so badly to blog his first birthday, but now it was so long ago all I have is pictures. So readers.. be prepared for some first birthday spam.
Walker's birthday fell on a Friday this year so Dakota and I both took off of work and spent the day with our little guy. He woke up to birthday pancakes and a new toy. His daddy had to go above and beyond for his birthday present and still to this day he rides that thing almost everyday. Once we all got ready we went to Chili's for lunch and ordered him a kids meal.. since he's not a little baby anymore!! We had some coupons for Babies R us and decided to take him there. We got an invite in the mail from Babies R us that if you bring in your little on on their actual birthday they get a surprise! Walker got a birthday crown and a balloon which lasted all of 5 seconds. Really just enough for me to get a picture. It was cute though because it was his day and he knew it. That afternoon we stopped to get ice cream as one last treat before going home. We had to prep for the birthday party coming up!!
The next day was his birthday party and I was up super early to clean the house and get all the decorations up. His theme was airplanes and it was a huge hit. Thanks Pinterest for hooking your girl up once again. I had been planning his birthday party since he was 8 months old. Buying things here and there. Dakota probably hated me at some point because I was always getting something in the mail and stashing it with the other 35928592 boxes in the laundry room.
His birthday party turned out amazing. Great weather, fun people, and yummy food. I won't lie when I tell you I already know what I want to do for his 2nd birthday.
May 2016
This year May was a fun month for me. I graduated College with my BAS degree, hubs took me cruising as a graduation present, and I started my weight loss journey. All of the three listed were a first time for me.
On May 7, 2016 I walked across that stage and received my diploma. It was the greatest feeling ever knowing I finally did it and I made my loved ones proud. It was a beautiful, sunny day and I don't think I have ever smiled so much! After I walked across the stage I had to take 42762 photos with my family and of me in my cap and gown. It was literally a moment I had dreamed of. Honestly, I didn't think I was going to graduate. Having a baby really slowed me down and I had failed a few classes and gotten off track... but I got my crap together and made it happen.
On May 9, 2016 the hubs and I were in New Orleans waiting to get on our cruise ship. I had never been to New Orleans before and let me just say... it's not somewhere I would want to live or visit often. High volume of people and traffic.. not really for this small town girl. I was super excited to get on that cruise ship though!! We sailed on the Carnival Triumph and had a blast. We went to Mexico and had authentic Margaritas/Tacos, went to a Mayan village and swam in the underwater caverns, went free diving in crystal clear water, lost tons of money in the casino, and so on. It was one of the best vacations I have ever had. We were away from our little one for 5 nights though and that was pretty tough. Coming back home to our kiddo was the best feeling ever. We have a cruise planned in March for our 4th wedding anniversary. We are flying to Puerto Rico and I have my countdown set!
While on our cruise I hated every picture I took. I wore a one piece bathing suit, and felt super insecure about myself in anything I wore. I hardly posted any pictures of our cruise because I just felt gross. So when we got back I weighed myself and I couldn't believe I had put on another 5 pounds to my already high up there weight. I weighed 180 pounds.... um excuse me?! Those numbers ate at me. I was the heaviest I had ever been and all my confidence was thrown out of the window. I didn't feel pretty and I hated my husband seeing me naked. So I decided it was time to get all of this baby weight off and get back down to a healthy and more confident weight. At first I was just dieting and didn't do any exercising. The first few weeks were extremely tough.. I was the definition of Hangry. I was used to eating whatever I wanted and my portion control was crazy. Eating smaller meals and always feeling hungry really made me get depressed. I told myself that I couldn't do it and I was ready to give up.. .once again. I guess I'll just be fat and use the baby weight excuse. One weekend we met up with my in laws and had lunch. She had just lost 20+ pounds and looked so good. They were about to go on their cruise and were super strict on themselves. I asked her how she did it and the obvious diet and exercise was the answer. She showed me her before and after photos and I was so envious. I wanted to be that girl in the photos. If she could lose all of her baby weight, then so could I.
That night Dakota took pictures of me and I'm so glad he did. I knew I was big, but I just really let myself go. I cried that night and was so mad at myself. I promised I would take this weight loss seriously.. I had to. My health depended on it.. and really so did my marriage. I knew my husband loved me, but he wasn't as physically attracted to me. I mean how could he be? I decided to join a bootcamp and I am still to this day glad I did. It has really kicked my butt in shape. I get up every morning at 4:45 am and workout starts at 5:15 and I get done around 6. I have gotten used to it now, but I had to make myself go in the very beginning.
I am SO extremely happy to say that I have lost over 20 pounds and tons of inches. I lost ALL of my baby weight and more. I'm still dieting and exercising.. my goal weight is 140-145 depending on how I feel! Right now I feel amazing... I finally look myself and feel pretty in clothes. I'm so glad I took this weight loss seriously because I never want to go back to the "old" me!!
Sorry for the novel, but I have been away for a while. Stick around for part 2!
