Now and Then

Our first family vacation was last August. Michael absolutely loved the beach as a 6 month old. We wondered how he would be this year since he is definitely more mobile. He is amazing at the beach. We have already been several times this year and we are heading back this weekend. He sits and plays in the sand for a long time and loves when Daddy brings him buckets of water. He also enjoys getting in the water on his terms. Sometimes he rather be in the sand and other times he rather be in the water. Overall, he can be at the beach for several hours without complaints. It is amazing how happy and content he is on these trips. The top picture is Michael at 6 months old and the picture below is Michael as a 16 month old. We cannot believe he is going to be 1 1/2 years old on August 27th. WOW!

Hi Daddy!

Michael was calling Daddy, so we decided to make a video to say hi to you. Love you! Hope you're having a great day at work.

Carousel

Michael enjoying the Carousel at the Outlets

Our little boy!

Talking on Mommy's Phone

Making Ice Cream

Michael sat for almost 2 hours playing in the sand




Loving mommy

Daddy helping Michael on the slide

Way behind....

Since Michael is taking his second nap of the day (which he doesn't normally do) and we are at the beach, I decided to post some pictures to catch up on the blog. Michael will be 16 months on the 27th of June. He just had his 15 month check-up last week and he is doing really well. They put him on reflux medicine again in order to neutralize some of the acid problems he is having again. Our pediatrician said we can take him off of it ourselves when we start to see a change. Just one week of being on the medicine has seemed to make a difference for him. I don't have his measurements with me right now, but I remember his percentiles....45 percentile for weight, above 95th for both length and head. Michael is saying new words every day. His favorites (off the top of my head) are: mommy, daddy, kitty, doggy, step, please, no no, cookie, and many other random words. We have also learned that he has some "substitute words" such as baby/bobby for mommy and dee-dah for daddy. He will flip between calling us by mommy/daddy and bobby/dee-dah. We are definitely entertained by him constantly. He can get up and down stairs, open our screen doors (letting our cat out), run in the sand without falling much (I found out yesterday), and he is doing really well using a fork and spoon while eating. As you can see we are already enjoying the summer.
Michael LOVES the beach, the pool, the playground, sand,` and walking around the neighborhood without a stroller.

Not Me! Monday

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.

"I thought it was funny to 'fess up about some embarrassing things I'd done that week...by pretending I totally did not actually do them! "   - MckMama

I have been following MckMama's blog for a while now and can't help but laugh every Monday when I read her confessions....especially when I have done some of the same things.  I finally am deciding today to take part in this blog carnival.  If you decide to do it also, just comment on my blog and let me know so I can laugh at/with you too :-).

Here goes.....

I definitely did not spend numerous hours this past week catching up on progress notes for work because I was a month behind.  Nope, that would be utterly ridiculous.

When meeting Jason this week to swap Michael so I could go see a client, I certainly did not lie to my husband by saying "I don't know where Michael got that tissue that he is chewing on", when in reality I had given it to him moments before seeing Jason just to stop the whining.

I most certainly did not contemplate taking my sick son out on Saturday just so I could get some caffeine and fresh air because I was desperate.  Nope....that would be totally irresponsible and selfish.  

What Does it Mean to Be Inspired?

There are many things from which I draw inspiration from day to day. I draw inspiration from my God, Jesus Christ. The inspiration daily to be a better man, the inspiration to grow spiritually, the inspiration to be a better father, and a better husband.

Being better is not just a spiritual act, or a mental exercise, but a physical act as well.
37
[Jesus] said to him, " "You shall love the
Lord your God with all your heart, and with all
your soul, and with all your mind.'
38
This is
the greatest and first commandment.
39
And a
second is like it: "You shall love your neighbor
as yourself.'
40
On these two commandments
hang all the law and the prophets "
To that end I have been inspired to get into a shape other than rotund.

I have been inspired by my son, because when I play with him I'm out of breath.

I have been inspired by my father, because he was able to coach my sports as I grew up.

I have been inspired by my wife, who has challenged me to a weight loss competition. She, daily helps me become a better man on all three fronts. I'm continually inspired by her ability to set goals, and attain them, as well as her ability to put up with me daily.

I have been inspired by my former roommate Jeff, who is line 736 on this list.

So it is in honor of these people that I have started a blog to mark this journey to become a better me, physically.

I intend to accomplish a couple of goals.

• Get back into a healthy weight range (133 - 178.5 or a BMI or 18.5 - 24.9)
• Beat Heather in our competition (She's a tough cookie, so this won't be easy)
• Play with Michael without being winded.
• Run a Half-Marathon (13.1 mi.) in the fall. Yeah I know I'm nuts.

So if you're at all interested in monitoring my progress, you can follow along at my new topical blog inspiredbyanothermile.blogspot.com