She Likes Him...

her little brother...


She likes to show him the ropes of being a kid. She demonstrates tummy time for him, how to flip through a book, how to ride a bike, even how to climb into the infant carseat and get stuck (aka she's too big for it now).


And he is the attentive learner. He loves to watch Emilia run around and play. His head turns left, right, and trails her moves and her voice.




Yup. Our two little munchkins. I hope they'll have a good relationship with each other. There are things that us, old timers, from a different generation won't understand as they grow (though I promise to always listen to them and try to not judge), so hopefully they'll have each other to share through the joys and pains of growing up in their generation.






The best thing I gave my kids - a great dad, and for them to have each other. =)

Happy Birthday My Lil' Birthday Girl

My little girl is 2!! Seriously.. how did 2 years go by already? This year, I was inspired for a healthier alternative birthday cake/cupcakes. I recalled a recipe which a friend used for her son's birthday last year which uses no sugar sweeteners, only applesauce, apple juice, raisins, and carrots, and made with whole wheat flour and wheat germ. Thanks for posting the recipe Monica! A year later, and I've put it to good use.



I also came across a recipe for sugar free frosting. Again, it is naturally sweetened by incorporating blended up raisins and apple juice.



Cupcakes ready!! They were all gobbled up at her birthday party with a few of her lil' friends.

Sugar-Free Cream Cheese Frosting (Frosts one 2-layer cake)

½ cup apple juice concentrate
1 pound light cream cheese
2 tsp vanilla extract
½ cup finely chopped raisins
1 ½ tsp unflavored gelatin

1. Set aside 2 tablespoons of the juice concentrate.
2. Process the remaining juice concentrate, the cream cheese, vanilla, and raisins in a blender or food processor until smooth. Transfer to a mixing bowl.
3. Stir the gelatin into the 2 tablespoons juice concentrate in a small saucepan; let stand 1 minute to soften. Heat to boiling and stir to dissolve gelatin.
4. Beat the gelatin mixture into the cream cheese mixture until well blended. Refrigerate just until the frosting begins to set, about 30-60 minutes. Frost the cake


Birthday Cake (from What to Expect the First Year)
2 1/2 cups carrots, sliced thinly
2 1/2 cups apple juice concentrate
1 1/2 cups raisins
2 cups whole-wheat flour
1/2 cup wheat germ
2 tbsp low-sodium baking powder
1 tbsp ground cinnamon
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 whole eggs
4 egg whites
1 tbsp vanilla extract
3/4 cup unsweetened applesauce

1) Simmer carrots and 1 cup plus 2 tbsp of apple juice concentrate in a covered saucepan for about 20 minutes or until carrots are tender.
2) Puree carrots and cooking juice in a blender or food processor. Add raisins and process until finely chopped. Let cool.
3) Preheat oven to 350F. Line two 9-inch-square cake pans with wax paper and spray the paper with vegetable cooking spray (or lightly grease with oil or butter), or fill a cupcake pan with baking cups and spray with cooking spray.
4) Combine the dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Add 1 1/4 cups apple juice concentrate, the oil, eggs, egg whites, and vanilla; beat just until well mixed. Fold in the carrot/raisin puree and applesauce. Pour the batter into the prepared cake pans.
5) Bake until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean, 35-40 minutes for the cake, 18-20 minutes less for cupcakes. Cool briefly in the pans, then turn out onto wire racks to cool completely.

Working Out Family Time

Who says you can't work out and still have quality family time?

Source: itsfitnessbaby.com via Nicole on Pinterest

Awesome!

Sleeping Arrangements

She's grown so big, it's starting to get a little cramped like that...


but then again, there's still plenty of room in the crib!


No problem. We can totally fit two more kids in there.

Hairlicious!!

Back in the day, Em was channeling the Mr. T and occasionally, Flock of Seagulls, look. Liam has his own style and prefers rocking to "Dancing with Myself", aka the Billy Idol.

Strider Bike and Sentences

Emilia has hit a few milestones recently. About a week ago, we received a hand-me-down Strider bike from Kate & Aaron. This was really great timing as we were planning on getting her one of these. Here's her first ride...



We've been practicing on a somewhat regular basis, and I can tell that this is going to be a slow process. She's not real confident in the bike yet, and her attention span is, well, that of a 2 yr old. Oh, and we will be getting her a helmet soon.

Another recent development is that she's talking in full sentences now. Not all of the time, but it's apparent that she's starting to understand sentence structure. Her vocabulary is surprisingly large although I'm sure there are words that only us parents can understand (and we fail to understand her at times as well).

I'm way delinquent on posting some other updates especially regarding Liam. They say that you become kind of jaded on the second kid. But for us, it's more that there just isn't much spare time. I do have some things documented, and hopefully I'll get around to posting them soon.

Sumo Deadlifts and Russian Twists.. Wha??

It's all about the Crossfit. CareyN, I'm ready for Kettlebells with you!

I've been obsessed with Crossfit since October, prior to Liam's birth. As much as I love surfing and rock climbing and trail running, these are things I simply cannot do on a regular basis now(at least a few times a week). To get back into shape the fastest with the least amount of time commitment, I decided to look into Crossfit. So back in October, with my big belly and all, I checked out a few local Crossfit garage-style gyms. It was very intimidating, and felt a bit out of place, especially since I knew I had lost all my prior fitness abilities and had essentially become a mass of wiggly jello. The only thing I had going was that I was hoping for muscle memory.



Once I received the doctor's approval for working out,I told Ryan, "I'm going all out." I started with taking the Crossfit fundamentals class to learn the moves. My beginning fitness level was an eye opener. I could not do simple exercises and cardio was non-existent. It felt like a Biggest Loser moment. So I spent December, working out on my own every few days. The frequency was not much because the rest of the time was in post-recovery body aches. Ah yes, you know what I'm talking about, having the sore muscles where walking up the stairs becomes laborious. The beginning is always the hardest at trying to re-train the body and the inactive muscles back to being fully engaged.

With the start of a new year, which also perfectly coincides with my post-baby resolution, I have been obsessively focused on (besides the obvious, family and work) Crossfit and healthy eating . With careful planning and a very regimented schedule with no room for anything else (and of course, the awesomely supportive husband), I have been crossfitting 5-6x a week and loving it. I used to think weight-lifting was boring, but that's because I never tried it. It's fun to focus on the correct form and posture and then be amazed at how easy that makes the lifting. Flipping monster tires and banging things up with sledge hammers are fun too.

At 3-months post-Liam, I am back to pre-Liam weight and then some. Almost back to pre-Emilia weight. Muscle definition is slowly peeking through, but of course, I am not even close to where I was before. I can run up to 5 miles, though slow. I can do 3 pull-ups consistently and have a goal to beat my all time high of 13. Best of all, I feel great.

And a side note, I sometimes partner up with a normal looking 70s-something year old woman that can, in general, lift more than 30% above me, and has a wicked 180lb deadlift. She proves that one can be as active, strong, and fit as one chooses regardless of age. Amazing. I can outrun her though. =P

Oh, and what's this about sumo deadlifts and Russian twists? They're currently my favorite Crossfit exercise.

Hard Work. Determination. Crossfit.