Milestone- Henry's First Haircut

Today we checked off another milestone- Henry's first haircut. We arrived with a 16 month old and left with a 3 year old; I've been avoiding it for this exact reason. :( Now I'm really wondering where my baby went!

Before:

During:

Despite his sad, disapproving look, he actually did much better than we expected. He sat still, for the most part, in Daddy's lap…with an iPad…and a sucker…then another sucker...and a phone…and 2 combs. Yep, that's all it took! ;)

After:

Regardless of my {emotional} momma feelings, he really does look incredibly cute. And truthfully, his hair was getting into his eyes...at least that's what I'm telling myself. Whew. Felt like cutting the cord all over again!

My heart will still continue to ache when we pass milestone like this, but it'll also grow with more love for this lil man. How's that even possible- pain and love? I'd say he's worth it, though. :)

Heisel Rules!

Weight Watchers Friendly Snack- Fruit topped Rice Cakes

The first time I did WW I remember thinking that I was really hungry the first couple of days. (Check out WW 2.0) I didn't realize at that time that I was doing it wrong. Unlike other diet plans, WW wants you to eat MORE...of the right stuff. Plus, I wasn't used to NOT shoving my face full of bad carbs, so my body had to sort of detox. After just a few days, I figured out what low point foods filled me up (mostly fruit) and ate those things. What I realized this time, to make it easier, is that I needed something to curb my sweet tooth (other than fruit) and to feel filling. This snack is IT!

I love fruit. I love rice cakes. I lOVE whip cream…well, here's their baby! So satisfying and filling for a snack.

Blueberry Rice Cake - 1 P+

1 lightly salted rice cake (the sweet mixed with the salty is yummo!)

2 Tbsp Fat Free whip cream

Blueberries, Bananas, or any fruit (as many as you'd like, most fruit is 0 P+)

Dir. 

Spread whip cream on rice cake, top with fruit. Devour! And then try not to make another. Or do, if you have the points available…these babies don't break the bank! :)

Banana Rice Cake

(please excuse the bites; I couldn't wait to eat this!)

And Strawberry.  Can you tell I'm slightly obsessed?! ;)

…….

If you want to jazz this up a bit, for 1 more P+ (so 2 P+ total) you could add a few crushed almonds (5). Not necessary, but to mix it up, it adds a yummy little crunch.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to make this for my snack…for the 2nd time today! ha! 

Heisel Rules! {the Kitchen}

WW 2.0

About four years ago I challenged myself to do the Weight Watchers Points Plus Program. I was very hesitant, and thought I'd already unsuccessfully tried everything to lose weight to feel healthy again, surely this would be a failure…and I'd be out the cost too. To my surprise it was a success, and the cost was actually a driving factor that made me stick to it! Who wants to lose money, AmIRight?! It took 3 months, but I lost about 25 pounds! It was not instant, but it was a great lifestyle change.

……….

Fast forward to the current me- 4 years, a marriage, 2 moves, and a baby later- I have gained some (not all) of that back, and so I'm restarting the program. (Well, I started on February 19). I already feel good, but I feel like I can be doing better. Ya know? And truthfully, pregnancy and child birth do crazy things to your body. Like, really crazy. Things aren't where I left them, sadly. I'm proud that my body housed my baby for 42.1 weeks, but now I want to try to regain some of my former healthy body back.

And I'm attempting to be healthier overall, to be a good example for my son.

And, I have a box FULL of super cute, perfectly good clothes begging to be worn again. ;)

So, I know this topic isn't popular and people have opinions... and like a butt, everyone has one. I know we should all like our bodies no matter what, and I do, really, BUT this is my reasoning, and this is what worked for me. I'm not trying to be skinny, that doesn't look good one me, I've already tried…a long time ago. I want to look healthy, and that should never be argued. :)

So, my big goal is to lose 15 pounds (and tone up)- which doesn't sound like a lot, but I SWEAR it's so much harder to lose weight a.when you're older, and b.when you've had a baby. But what's great about WW is that you make small, achievable goals and eventually you get to your big goal-over time.

I'm sharing this for accountability, mostly, but since I've done this once successfully (and hope to again), I also want to be an encourager to anyone else in the same place. So, I'll be sharing more healthy alternatives for food, along with some seriously enticing photographic evidence. ;)

Wish me luck encouragement!

Heisel Rules!

Valentine's Day 2015

Roses are red

Violets are blue

My baby is sweet

and so cute, too! ;)

{check out his heart bootie} 

I hope your Valentine's Day was filled with lots of love, hugs, and kisses…I know ours was!

Heisel Rules!

Henry is 15 months!

Well, I'm a couple weeks late, but our baby turned 15 months in January (10th)! Soo many new things have developed since he turned one-

He runs!
He laughs when we laugh!
He marches/stomps.
He gives hugs and kisses like they're going out of style, and when asked. I'm ok with that! :)
Sometimes when he hugs, he'll pat you on the back, and it's the sweetest thing ever.
He's the sweetest in the morning- endless BIG smiles, laughs, hugs and kisses!
He babbles-all THE time! I can see and hear new vowels and sounds everyday.
He's learning compassion- when he hurts someone, he'll give them a hug for "sorry".
His audible vocabulary includes- momma, dada, Bella, PU-pa *pats leg* (puppy), BA (ball), Boo (boobie/wants to nurse), HO-SY (horse), vrooom (car), and baby.
His sign language vocab includes- eat, more, all done, potty, sometimes 'thank you', puppy, and horse.
He waves and says "Bye" for hi and bye.
He's learning that bye means the person is leaving and most often will cry. It's the saddest thing.
He'll blow kisses-sometimes. He's stingy with those.
He points at everything.
He says, "whasssat?" meaning…what's that?
Or he'll say, "isssit?" meaning…what is it?
He weighs- 23.7 lb (but it sure feels like more!)
He loves to slide.
He likes to swing-for 5 seconds, then he's over it.
He still loves book. When it gets quiet, most often I can find him in a pile of books-flipping thru one.
He can point to his eyes, ears, mouth, nose, belly, wienie, toes, and head- on command.
He eats a LOT! I'm pretty sure he's hiding a teenager in that lil body!
He has these incredibly cute rolls on his arms and his booty.
This baby needs constant stimulation or else he gets bored.
But he sure is cute. :)
And just when I think he can't possibly look any bigger, he goes and turns another month older.

I'm sure it's hard to tell, but I kinda love this lil guy…like, a lot! ;)

Heisel Rules!

Auld Lang Syne - 2014

This year has been full of change, full of growth. Having Henry has given our days, weeks, months and year new meaning. Our 2014 was joyfully filled with celebrating all his firsts, living life all over again through his innocent eyes. And although we were tested a couple of times during the year, we managed to end it on the best note possible- being reminded that tomorrow is a gift and that each moment in between is what really, truly matters.

Here's a look back at our 2014:

 

We miss you, Grandpa.

Thank you all for being a part of our 2014! We look forward to a brand new 2015. Cheers!

Heisel Rules!