Happy New Year everyone! I hope January was a lot of fun and that new year resolutions are still happening! My gym is still packed this month, so I take it people are sticking with it! Our January was a lot of fun and a little more relaxed than our December. Don't get me wrong, I had such a great time in December, but I was ready for life to calm down a bit.
We celebrated sweet Cameron's birthday with a hand full of friends at the SteamBoat Studios in Maple Valley. The kids had a blast doing science experiments, having a pizza party and some cupcakes! It was an awesome twist on a birthday party - nothing that Cameron has ever had. Totally recommend it to everyone. In lieu of gifts this year, Cameron chose to collect donations for people. The kids usually pick animals so this was a new venture for us. After doing some research on charities and organizations that needed extra love, we decided on the Ronald McDonald House was the best choice this year. Cameron collected several large boxes of donations for the house. We delivered the goods as a family on a Sunday - it felt so good to see how compassionate and caring my children are. Cameron was extremely proud of himself for choosing to share love instead of collecting gifts. Thank you to everyone that gifted Cameron donations and for those who bought him such thoughtful gifts. He is truly a blessed little boy.
The second weekend in January was a weird one for us. We were going to surprise the kids by taking them to see the Monster Jam show on Sunday after Cameron's soccer. Unfortunately, Natalie went to bed not feeling well Saturday night and ended up getting "sick." It was a very long night to say the least. She was up every hour and couldn't keep anything down. Sunday we made the decision to keep Natalie home and Cameron and Dad would go to the Monster Jam show with our friends (SO SAD ERIN AND ANDY!!) I'm so glad we did make that decision because I have never seen Natalie so sick before. After about 36 hours, she was on the mend. Ryan headed out to Portland at 430am on Tuesday - and I was greeted by an extremely nauseated Cameron. I told him to try and get more sleep because he had school that day. 15 minutes later, the sick hit. Poor buddy caught the Norovirus from sissy. It was a horrible 36 hours alone with two sick kids. Unfortunately Ryan wasn't feeling good at his hotel in Portland - but was able to get some uninterrupted sleep. I don't know how it happened but I was spared from the sick!! THANK YOU!!!!! Everyone was on the mend by the following weekend.
Cameron and Natalie both started swimming lessons again at the Covington Aquatics Center and are doing amazing! Natalie is having so much fun because she can touch the bottom at this pool! All smiles and laughing. Cameron's class is a little more intensive but it's good for him to push himself and face his fears of diving into the deep end. Cameron also started indoor soccer at Starfire in Tukwila on Sundays! He absolutely LOVES it and is getting a lot from his coach. There are no games - it's a work shop of sorts. He is really enjoying the pointers and tips from his coaches and feels like he is getting so much better at soccer. Natalie started up her dance class again in the beginning of January. She absolutely loves ballet and tap! I can't wait to see if she likes hip hop and jazz - my little dancer. She clearly likes to do activities that are independent and we are ok with it. I want her to feel confident and give 100% of her effort for herself - not because we want her to.
Both kids are thriving at school and LOVE to go. It's crazy to think that the school year is halfway over already!! Natalie is super confident in her class and loves to help friends. She is always happy and smiling when I pick her up. I really wish she could go 4 times a week!! On Wednesdays, after I drop off Natalie, I run back to Cameron's class and volunteer while she is at school. I absolutely love helping out and wish I could do it 4 times a week too! Cameron is now a reading machine that loves math and science. This month, his class started an art class which is sparking him to want to create more at home. I'm so very proud of my kids and how independent and confident they both are. I thought for sure they would still need me more at this age - I guess I was wrong!
In the beginning of January, Cameron got the opportunity to meet Blitz (The Seahawks Mascot)!! He was able to meet him because the the amount he earned via his fundraiser in November - so thank you to all that purchased from him!! Such a cool thing for the kids - Cameron was a bit star struck haha
The last thing we did this month was go to GREAT WOLF LODGE!! We had such a great time and I dare say it was our favorite year yet! Both kids were extremely busy and excited the entire time we were there. Natalie was especially brave and did 3 slides and laid/stood under the big bucket TWICE!!! She was like a little fish in the wave pool and was constantly laughing and smiling. Even Cameron was SMILING the entire time - for those of you that know him, that is saying a lot because of how serious he is!! Our friend was amazing and had a connection to Great Wolf - he actually called ahead of us and asked if we could be "taken care of." When we got there, we found out we had an upgraded room (both kids had their own queen size beds and Ryan and I had our room master bedroom with our OWN bathroom!! On the table, we found 2 paw passes that give the kids the opportunity to experience all of Great Wolf. The pass allowed them to each play the Magi Wand games (including the wands), each kid got their own interactive stuffed animal that plays a game around the lodge, they each got glitter tattoos, bulk candy, putt putt golf, arcade points and more!! This is on top of hours and hours at the water park. THANK YOU BRENT!!
Cameron loves playing this fish game at every arcade. Great Wolf had it and this kids rocked the game AGAIN!! His first shot, Cameron won 1,000 tickets!! It kept going and going and going! I couldn't believe it - he did the same thing on his birthday at Dave and Busters. What a lucky guy! We all had such an amazing time. I am so thankful that we are able to have quality time together like this every year. I'm looking forward to this again next year.
I just finished my 3rd Whole30 on January 30th. I have to admit, this round was the hardest one so far. I think it was because of all the stomach sickness from my family and having to cater to their crackers, cereal and juice intake this month. I am usually not tempted by these things because I don't eat them - it was weird. I completed it and felt accomplished and strong. I'm glad that I did it and learned a bunch of new recipes and cooking techniques that have made meal prepping and shopping easier.
I'm still loving going to the gym 4-5 times a week. I try to hit Body Flow at least twice a week to help with my flexibility and strength. It also helps when I'm super sore - stretches me out like magic! I started to attend a new class called GRIT - man, its intense! It's nice because it's HIIT class and it is over before you know it (30 minutes) It has great energy and positive people that are in the class AND TEACHING IT! When I'm not attending classes, I go into the gym and run/lift. Lately, my weights have been increasing, which is AWESOME! I feel so strong and healthy. I'm definitely pushing myself to my limits at the gym and in the kitchen. Feels amazing to have this part of my life dialed in. I'm super thankful to have a positive group of women surrounding me and showing me how to better my life athletically.
I hope everyone has a great February - HUGS!!
No comments:
Post a Comment