trendsetter?!

Boomer loves when I ask him to pick Ellie and himself out clothes for the day.

*basketball shorts/tie combo
*4th of july shirt in march+teal+pink and purple striped leggings.

On the homefront

Today we sat down with Larry, the guy who drew our house plans, to discuss an addition to our house. We were told to bring in a sketch of what we were thinking for him to jump off of. We pretty much planned it ourselves and he fiddled with it so everything could be built to code and whatnot. Sooo... the first step in the process is done! Next step is taking some precise measurements to send him, then he'll make the official blueprint plans, then all we'll have to worry about is how to pay for it! aside from actually building it, that is! Pretty exciting!! We will be adding a big dining room off of the back of the house and a decent sized mudroom. Which will mean no more tracking dirt through the house and dirty hands can be washed in the utility sink!!! maybe, just maybe, my bathroom will be clean for more than half a day! And above all that will be a big bedroom. We'll have to switch around the upstairs bathroom a bit to make room for a hallway to the new room, but it's all doable!

In other equally exciting news, for the past few weeks I've been taking Ellie to the potty on a regular basis. I even bought her a potty seat for the toilet last week because she was on the pot so often. The girl is pretty regular, so most the time I can anticipate when she needs to #2 it. Almost every morning she goes. obviously she still goes in her diaper throughout the day, but I make sure to take her to the potty everytime she gets a diaper change and most the time she tinkles while there. Tonight she surprised me and Jason by getting this really panicked look on her face. Jason said to her, "What? Did you just see an alien?!" she was pooping and realized that's not the place for it! We ran to the bathroom and she finished the job there. She was so proud of herself, but we were even prouder. Our baby is turning into a big girl and it's bittersweet.

Little Miss Sassafrass

Just in the past week or so, our sweet daughter has really been finding her voice. At first it was just singing and babbling in her own little language, that turned into her starting to expect you to decipher said language. Which in turn has resulted in a whole lot of tears and most recently... SCREAMING. It is surprising how many more decibels she has in her little lungs compared to boys. The boys never screamed like that. The poor dear is so frustrated with not being able to communicate. I'm getting frustrated too! I think it's time to start teaching her some signs. I never really felt like the boys needed signs. Jax talked really early and Boomer was just totally chill.

Please, for the love of Pete, if you see us out in public and witness the shrieking... DO NOT REACT!!

random

we've been up to a lot in the last month, but it's all pretty random stuff.

i made the kids heart shaped pancakes for valentines day breakfast.

we've always known jax was smart, but recently he proved it to the everyone else. his teacher called me in to the class one day while i was at the school doing PTO stuff. i was nervous but she told me it was good news. she wanted to share with me his test scores-he tested at mid to end of second grade level in math and reading! that's a grade to a grade and a half ahead of where he's supposed to be!
jax had his last basketball game and finally made his first basket with 5 minutes to spare. his coach was so awesome and made sure the other kids passed him the ball often that last game. he was the only kid who hadn't gotten a basket yet. he's just very considerate and passed the ball whenever a kid would ask him to. he learned so much and we're so proud of how much he progressed and that he pushed through frustrating times. we're excited for what's next...he's deciding between baseball and soccer.

jax also lost his first top tooth yesterday. he looks so dang cute when he smiles. he's been practicing with all the different things he can fit in his gap. last night it was a carrot stick. too funny.

boomer had his last hip hop dance class complete with recital of the dance he learned. it was super cute and he's a natural. he's such a cool little man, so open to and excited about new experiences. that's where he's just like his daddy ;)

ellie said "jax" for the first time this month, is so close to jumping, is at the stage where she has her own language that noone understands. she's a petite little miss, in size 18month clothes, she's still the only kid of mine who has ever worn the "right" size clothes. she's VERY much a great-grandpa's girl, is an awesome eater, loves shoes, builds lego towers with her bubbas, swimming, anything frilly and pretty. she hates clips in her hair and having her hair washed. she loves looking at books but don't you dare make her sit on your lap through an entire story. she's a sassy little thing and has recently perfected the art of "mean-muggin'".

the other day helpful little boomer decided to unbuckle ellie in the time it took jason to get out and open her door. she tumbled right out and took a headfirst dive into the driveway. she had a HUGE goose egg on her forehead and i was terrified she had a skull fracture or internal bleeding or something. of course, i overreact while jason is mr.cucumber. i hate that. but i'm glad for it too. i don't know how it would work having two drama queens in one marriage.

jason and i are still going strong with bootcamp. he's smoking hot already, i'm more of a tortoise when it comes to results. but i'm okay with that. i've been slowly changing bad habits. one at a time. i gave up soda over a year ago, didn't have one sip of eggnog over the holidays, and this season, i'm giving up cadbury mini eggs. i LOVE those things, but end up eating way too many. i don't think this one will be so hard because i'm not giving up chocolate all together. i'm not really sure what will be next yet. there aren't too many more vices to give up. i need to start adding healthy habits into my routine. like ab workouts on my off days. i keep saying i'm going to do it, but haven't followed through. also, i need to add more veggies to my diet and actually take the vitamins i'm supposed to. i recently bought a bottle of apple cider vinegar because dr.oz said adding a shot of it to a large glass of icewater will increase your metabolism by 30%. i haven't tried it yet. i'm a bit scared to. it sounds really gross!

potty talk

i'll start by saying i totally know that my baby will not be potty trained for probably years, BUT... she totally pooped on the toilet tonight! we were letting her have some nakey girl time and she started showing signs of needing to poo. so i stuck her on the toilet and we talked a bit and then she did it! i thought for a split second after she went that maybe that was a bad idea and she could have been traumatized by it, but she thought it was pretty neat. anyway, just had to write down ellie pooped on the potty at 14months because i have a terrible memory.

Bootcamp Repost and UPDATE

REPOST FROM JULY 25th,2011
so i started a 12 week bootcamp on the 4th of july. a week late, so really it's only 11 weeks for me. the first class was miserable. i ran to the bathroom 3 times thinking i was going to lose my cookies (i never did, though). i knew i was out of shape, but really didn't know just how bad off i was until that class. when i decided to do this, all i was thinking was "i just want to lose my ellie-belly". but after that first class, i changed that goal to "get through a class without feeling like i'm going to throw up". i thought i had reached that goal until tonight, but i'm sure there will be those days. i'm definitely improving in endurance, though. now i get excited for the challenge that each class brings. i'm still always last at everything, the MOST out of shape and a lot of times i'm the one holding everyone back, but everyone is always so supportive and encouraging to me, which motivates me to give my all. i often think of one of our family mottos we always are telling the boys "DAHLSTROMS DON'T GIVE UP!" and i won't. what i lack in self motivation i make up for in work ethic. if that makes any sense, anyway.

i'm really awkward still when it comes to meeting new people and trying new things scares the heck outta me, so i'm really really proud of myself for putting myself out there. it's a bit embarrassing that i don't know how to stretch properly, and that i have to copy others b/c i don't know the proper technique of anything really. BUT... i KNOW that i will only be better because of this, in more ways that just the obvious.

i'm being realistic about what the outcome of this session will be for me. it ends in september, right before my birthday. all i want is to NEED to buy new clothes by then.

my lowest weight ever-senior yr of HS- 120ish
when i got married-125
pregnant w/jax-130
9mos w/jax-160
pregnant w/ boomer-145
9mos w/ boomer-180
pregnant w/ellie-191
9mos w/ellie-222
start of bootcamp-175
end of bootcamp goal- i couldn't care less about my weight. i care about how my clothes fit me, and getting rid of this soft, round belly i've got. i should have measured myself to see if i'll have lost inches, but didn't. so i'm just hoping to have some jeans be too loose to look right anymore once i'm done.

UPDATE
right now is week one of our 2week break from bootcamp and i was struggling with how to find time for a workout. so i just bucked up during ellie's first nap and dusted off the treadmill for a run. i was happily surprised to find myself warming up at my old running pace! i used to "run" at a 4.5 for half an hour, that's uncluding my warm-up and cool-down walk. i tried running at a 4.5, and it was just pitiful that i was so out of shape that that used to be a good workout for me. today, i ran for an hour (including short warm up and cool down jogs) and i was comfortable running at a 6! i kept looking down at my speed, calories burned and distance and just grinning. i honestly surprised myself today!

i've been working out on a regular basis for 6 months now (only missing 2 classes-one i was literally kidnapped for), am so proud of myself for how far i've come in that amount of time. i feel great, have more energy for my kids, i'm less stressed, have better self esteem and am coming out of my shell a bit more, socially speaking. i don't know (or care, really) if i have lost weight, but i have lost inches for sure. i will find out soon just how much progress i've made during winter session. i have HAD to buy new workout pants, i was starting to moon everyone during my workouts! and i NEED new jeans for sure. my favorites FALL OFF if i don't wear a belt. so i've accomplished my original goal!! GO ME!! whenever i get down i tell myself, "it took you 7 years to get fat, you can't really expect to have lost it all in 6 months!" i AM improving, i AM losing fat, i CAN reach my goals, i WILL keep on! i'll never have a bikini body again, but i'm already starting to not HATE what i see in the mirror. baby steps, right?!

it would have been REALLY easy for me to quit between sessions. especially when jason decided he wanted to have a go at it. i mean, we don't really have $450 stuffed under the mattress. but we decided we will make our fitness a priority and i feel like that money is an investment into our happiness.

speaking of jason and xfit...he has improved by leaps and bounds since he started 3months ago. i beat him in EVERY one of the categories his first fit test except one. regular pushups. and that was only by 1! now he smokes me in everything. he has lost inches and weight, gained muscle and endurance. all during his 5AM class! he is amazing. and i love that we can share this experience together.

january 16th will mark the 1yr anniversary of my breakup with soda, which is a huge accomplishment for me. i was very much addicted!

all in all i'm so excited for what's to come in the new year. some of my fitness related goals are...

*workout between classes at home with the ball and treadmill
*be able to keep up during field trip runs
*have more fitness related family outings like hikes, trips to the rockwall, swimming...
*do WAY better on my situp fit test
*maybe smoke jason again in at least SOMETHING!

i would love to post a before pic, but i can't seem to find a good bad one. i was really great about deleting any unflattering pics of myself. i regret that now! oh well...

Christmas Program 2011

All us Dahlstroms got gussied up and ready to go to Jaxon's Christmas program at school. We made sure to get there an hour and a half early this year since last year we had to stand. Yep. FIRST ones there. The music teacher was so kind as to give us books to read and free reign of the stage for pictures to keep us occupied for so long. We managed to get through the night with only one minor Ellie-meltown. Maybe by the time Jax is a 5th grader we'll have the right timing!

Boomer, so cute in his little vest



Jax was the lucky microphone tester. I think this made his night!
Lovin' this new tongue-filled smile of hers.

Grandma and Grandpa came to watch the show.

Jax was so cute up there singing. This year they sang Frosty the Snowman and All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth.