I have been a little quiet on here. I just seem to always have something to do. I have not been quiet in real life though. I have been busy with Jackson, who is 19 months old now! He definitely keeps my days action packed. I have been working out, cooking, going to family events etc. I have slowed down on running a bit. I actually took this weekend off from my run. It has been a bit humid and warm and the thought of running in that kind of weather made me want to crawl under the covers. I figured I deserve a break once in a while so I stayed inside and did workouts in my house.

I have two new videos. Both Jillian. I love that woman. She is the best. I have done my share of at home videos and she is still hands down my favorite instructor. Instead of buying the DVD I have started to use my amazon instant option. Jack has been getting his sweet little hands on DVDS and BluRay discs and managing to scratch them. The kicker was when he broke our BluRay player last week. So oh well!

I bought Kickbox Fast Fix and 6 Week Six Pack. Ok so I have to admit I am not looking for a fast fix in either case. I am a maintenance person at this stage. All of the baby weight is gone, I am mostly toned all over. I weigh about 120lbs. I wear a size 0 or a size 2. Extra small shirts. So I am not using these programs to drop or shed quickly. I cannot give a response on if they do any fast or 6 week fixes. I am going to assume if you are looking for that and you are honest and stick with these workouts as part of your regular routine that a difference will be seen. As with any workout. You have to be honest with yourself though, no cheating!

I am just looking for ways to shake up my routine so I stay involved and not bored. I love learning new moves and finding ways to challenge myself. The kickboxing is something I have always been curious about. I am not very coordinated. I am incredibly clumsy and I have a hard time learning coordinated moves. So for me kickboxing is a new challenge. I have to learn how to punch and kick in step. I am sure I look ridiculous but it is fun to try! Maybe soon I can take a kickboxing class out of the lovely shrouded privacy of my own home.

Speaking of workouts not at home we are thinking about joining L A Fitness. There is new one being built right down the street. I want a place for the winter. I am also now comfortable with having Jack in a babysitting program at a facility I choose. We went to an amazing place about 20 minutes away. We thought of joining there but the distance and the price differences in the new L A Fitness are tantalizing us! So has anyone been a member of L A? Any tips, any reviews? I know this place is new, not even done being built so we can’t think about location specific reviews. Also I tend to take reviews with a grain of salt, remembering that sometimes only negative people tend to review places. However the historian in me instantly gravitates towards doing my research on a topic. Any advice is appreciated so that I can make as informed of a decision as possible.

So my little man is now 19 months as I mentioned. I am baffled as to how this has happened. But I do relish in his growth and development every day. I love that boy so much. It is ridiculous. I love how much he communicates with me. I could listen to him talk all day. He has so many words. He is great at figuring out how to tell me what he wants. Yesterday morning I was getting us ready to visit my grandpa. I was making our breakfast and told Jack we were going to visit great grandpa! He said GA? GA?!?!?! And got very excited. He calls my mom Ga. He calls my dad Pa. So I think he thought I was saying we were seeing my mom, maybe because I threw the great in front of grandpa. Anyway I called my mom to tell her because it was so cute how excited he got at the thought of seeing her. She talked to him on the phone and his reaction was equally sweet. He got rather excited. He didn’t get to see her yesterday but I love how happy he gets when he thinks about her.

So we are eating our breakfast and he is quiet. Then decides to start saying “bye bye” and waving. I said yes we are going to go bye bye in a bit! Very good. I had said we were going bye bye to visit great grandpa. So he remembered our previous conversation. Then after I encouraged him he was right he said “bye bye! Park!” I was astonished. It was the first time he asked me to go to the park! It was amazing. I explained that we weren’t going there but we were going to visit grandpa and that was fun too. (he had a blast on our visit) I just love how he can tell me what is on his mind. I know people say I will get tired of that but for now I am not. I love it and I am excited for him.

Stickers have been a hot item this week. He has finally discovered their awesomeness. He used to think they were weird, probably because they were sticky. But this week he is obsessed and I love it. You should see the laptop I am typing on. The front of it was his white canvas and is covered in layers of stickers. I mean, I put any hipster to shame at this point!

He also has started to decorate us and himself. His feet and mine were covered in stickers last night. Then he started decorating his forehead. He managed to do this all himself without a mirror.

I have been enjoying these kinds of moments a lot lately and I hope they keep coming. He is such a sweet loving boy. I am so excited each day to see what he is going to learn, say, or show me he now knows. I look forward to his bear hugs and sloppy kisses. Being so consumed with love for my child is not a new sensation, in the least bit! I have known how overpowering that love is from the moment I held him in my arms, right after I pushed him out. Yet I am still blown away at times at how much love I have for him. Sometimes it knocks me off of my feet and I stop what I am doing and just think WOW I LOVE THIS KID SO MUCH! HE IS AWESOME. HE IS MINE! I hope that never changes. I hope that I can always be aware that my love for him is so grand it stops me in my tracks. I think that is a happy life. Being aware that there is love inside of you that is greater than everything and that trumps any bad moments or days!

Toddlerhood is challenging at times. It is not always a walk in the park. We won’t get into his separation issues with his cars and naptime/bedtime. So when you can relish in how amazing your love is for this amazing child, it makes those stressful small moments nearly vanish. It overpowers them and knocks them out. At least for me, and I truly hope that all parents can be in the place I am with that. It keeps my patience in check. I have more patience when I remember that he is a toddler and I could kiss those squishy cheeks and toddler toes all day long.

That is my update. Please if you do have any thoughts on L A Fitness let me know. We have never done a membership at a fitness center. This is the first time for me so I am a little unsure what to expect.