HAPPY HALLOWEEN TO ALL! Love, The West family

Do you feel the burn? Ughhhh....I feel it!

So, I have been trying my best to be a happy, healthy and loving wife and mother but unfortunately over the last 6 months the healthy part has been rapidly running downhill (exactly the opposite of what I have been doing). For example, before we welcomed our little Andrew into the world I would go running AT LEAST 3 times a week or play energizing games with my hubby (such as, soccer, racquet ball or horse shoes--what?! Horseshoes? oh, if you don't think horse shoes is very "energizing" then you have never played it with Michael West). Anyway, I am proud to say that even when I was 8 months pregnant--yes, 8 MONTHS which meant I lived in a body that was squished, squeezed, lopsided and significantly rotundas--I would go for brisk walks and even jog a little! (I don't even want to think about how silly I looked) However after Andrew came, the exercising just kind of stopped. Now, keep in mind there are excellent reasons why this occurred. Some of which include: no time (every minute of my day was now being better spent taking care of my beautiful little baby), no energy (please, when I wake up 4-5 times a night and am part of some horrific phenomenon that won't let me take naps, then there was NO WAY I was going to have energy to exercise), and lack of desire (hey, I just gave birth--you tell me what else will occupy your mind after you have a baby!)

However, now that 6 months have passed all these reasons have significantly diminished. Andrew now takes great naps and sleeps through the night, which means I have a lot more time and energy. Therefore I soon found that slowly but surely my fortitude for fitness has returned once again. The only obstacle in my way was now trying to figure out what I wanted to do for exercise. Jogging seemed too dreary, plus Andrew doesn't like long stroller rides (he prefers to be out and and free of restraint). And then I remembered my sweet friend, Frances, had given me some exercise videos a while ago called, "turbo jam". I decided to pull them out and use them once again. At first when the hip-hop music and bubbly aerobics instructor filled my living room I thought, "Hey, this doesn't seem too hard. It's going to be easy and fun!" I maintained this sunny disposition for the first 5 minutes of the routine.

And then...I hit minute 6.

Apparently all the sitting and remaining stationary for the last 6 months had taken it's toll because my side started to get a stitch. "No big deal, I thought, I can push through it!" So I kept going and then I began to feel my legs buckle and my heart race. Again, no big deal because this was all part of the exercise and it sure is worth it in the end, right? Well, I went at this pace for about 20 minutes into the routine and then bubbly miss aerobics instructor starts the "Turbo" part of the work out. Before I knew it, she was telling me that I had to kick forward, backward and side to side as I was punching and pretending to attack an imaginary foe (right, if I ever I got attacked I doubt my kicking or punching would hinder my attacker. I figure my best bet is to try and tickle them away.) Then I would jump rope for a measly 10 seconds and perpetually repeat the process all the while listening to her screech out orders to keep my bum tucked in, my shoulders straight and my abs clenched! "Ummmm...der, a whhhat?!" Oh well...I can be very determined and I wasn't going let this lick me so I ineptly stumbled on. As "little miss sunshine" fluently kicked and punched and smiled and glowed I goofed and grunted and wobbled and stunk. I realized then that I am a masochist.

Well, I really don't know how I did it, but I somehow made it through and finished the 45 minute routine!!!! Can I get a whoop-whoop?!? It felt great that I had accomplished it but even better that I could now sit and conform back to my mold on the couch without feeling guilty! Ahhhhh!!! That night I honestly felt healthier and I even experienced the best sleep I've had for months. And then...I woke up. The next morning every muscle in my body seemed to groan in agony as I pulled myself out of bed. I wanted to howl. I looked at my husband and pathetically whimpered something like, "Hmmbbllppphhhfff." He, being more of the optimist in our relationship, smiled and gently patted my back and said, "Guess it's working" and then cheerfully sprung out of bed. Hah! Working?!? If you call massively stinging glutes, sickeningly tender abs and so much aching that Hulk Hogan might even shed a tear, then I guess it's "working"! And then I realized, I have been known to be a bit of a drama queen when it comes to sore muscles, and the stiffness really was indicating that my poor physique was getting some well-needed exercise. So, before I could stop myself I heaved my lump out of bed, put on the work-out shoes and heard bubbly blond say, "Are you ready to have fun? If you do this right, you can really feel the burn!" My response: "Honey, do I ever!"

It has now been a week and a half and I have done the routine every day (except Sunday) and have the sincerest intention to continue on for good. I am also ecstatic to say that I feel great and happy and I have more energy than before! So, for all you fellow pessimistic exercise drama queens I say, the burn really is worth it! :-)


P.S. Special thanks to Frances, I really do LOVE these videos. Thanks so much!

6 Months Young

Yesterday Andrew turned 6 months old. I can't believe how fast the time seems to go. He is growing, growing, growing and is learning more exciting things every day. I wanted to take a minute and just write a little tribute to him.

Andrew, your mom and dad love you so much! You bring so much happiness to everyone around you. You have such a fun personality. You don't cry unless there is a very good reason. You sleep well at night and you love to eat! One of your favorite things to do is to suck on your toes and play hands games like patty-cake. You love listening to music and your new favorite song is "hot potato" by the Wiggles ( I can tell because whenever it comes on you start smiling and flapping your arms almost like a bird ready to take off!) . You get very excited when you see dad at the end of the day and you love to play with him and eat his glasses. You love to go for walks and to be outside and you love it when you get to visit Grandma Moody at her house. You are very strong and can sit up and stay on you hands on knees for long periods of time. You don't like to lay flat on your tummy or to be one your back for too long. There is just too much to see and you don't want to miss it! You can now make noises that are starting to sound more like words and you don't mind screaming them out so that everyone can hear. You are also very cheeky and make funny little chipmunk laughs when you get excited. You are a very precious boy and we are so grateful you are a part of our family.

Happy 6 month birthday!

Finally, here is a new post!! Thanks for being patient!

So, I know…I keep saying I’m going update and then I don’t. I am 100% guilty as charged. Although I will say that I have had enough hands-tied-crying-baby-no-internet-too-engrossed-in- the-stupid-twilight-series excuses to make for valid and credible reasons as to why I’ve been blogging MIA, but let’s be honest…we don’t usually care about the excuses, right? At least, I know I generally don’t (hope that doesn’t make me rank a little lower on the kindness scale) however, I DO k now that what we (we, meaning all of us stay-in-touch, chillin’ at home or work, blogging junkies) really care about are the posts…the actual facts of our existence, not the dull excuses as to why no update has been inserted. So with that said, Mike, Andrew and I are back and should be for awhile now. We FINALLY have the internet in our little basement (got it yesterday after about of month of rubbish from all the different companies we talked to—but that’s a long story for another day) and Andrew is now on a good, predictable, solid nap schedule so I also have “some time to kill”! So, without further ado here is an update as to what’s been going on over the last 3 months!

AUGUST

In August we were sooo lucky to have Mike’s family come for a visit—not a short or easy trip to make, so it was wonderful that they could come!! Mike’s brother, Matt, flew in first and stayed with us in my grandpa’s basement for a week before his parents flew in. We did a lot of fun things together. We went to movies, played Frisbee golf, went shopping, visited old friends and basically got re-acquainted OR newly acquainted as it was Andrew’s first introduction to uncle Matt. Then a week later, when Mike’s parents flew in, we had some even more fun when we all went mini-golfing, shopping at the preparedness store and rode the Heber Creeper. However, the highlight was having the family meet Andrew for the first time and to have everyone together for his baby blessing. The fam was here for almost a month and during their stay they were able to go on a church history tour of Nauvoo for about a week. I think they really enjoyed it and it was a great opportunity for them! We also got family pictures taken (unfortunately I can’t post these on the blog because I don’t know how to scan them in) but it was a lot of fun and I love seeing the pictures hang on our walls. Well, there was a lot more that happened while they were here and we all had a great time! Andrew really took to his gran and granddad West and I know he loves them as much as we do! We can’t wait for the next time we get to see them again!

OH! One other thing I remembered around this time was that Andrew and I both got hair cuts! I copped mine off and Andrew, well, some of you may remember his oh-so-hideous baby mullet! Well, we chopped that off too! He is much more handsome!

Matt & Mike playing some frisbee golf

Matt & Mike went to a Real Salt Lake Game

Andrew and his uncle Matt

Pictures of us at the Thanksgiving Point Gardens

We showed them a real American gem, Cabella's,
and gran West proved she is a natural cowgirl!

This is a nice picture of Andrew and Grandad
West as we rode the Heber Creeper

Ewwww, gross the baby mullet! See
what I mean, he really needed a haircut!

Cut it off! Hurry!

At Andrew's blessing:From Left to right--Alan ,
Megan, My dad, My mom, Heather, Jeanette, Stephen
Mike, Andrew, Me, Liz, Matt and Mike's Mom and Dad

This picture also uncludes our good
friends : Morgan ,and Dave & Hejdi Swan
Thanks for coming!

Saying goodbye! We went and had breakfast
with Mike's parents and Liz the morning they
flew home!

SEPTEMBER

September was pretty much a month of getting into a routine and back to everyday life. Mike started school again. This semester he is taking a few classes at UVU so he can fit in the pre-reqs he needs for grad school (he would have had to take more time if he stayed at BYU this semester). He really likes it there so far with smaller classes, etc but I know he will also be glad to get back to BYU next semester too. Mike also got a new job at the MTC as an athletic trainer and he works literally all day on Saturday (15 hours). Classes and work definitely keep him busy and Andrew and I are lucky when we get to see him at the end of the day. He works so hard for us and we love him sooo much for all he does!

My friend Chelsea also had a baby shower during this month and it was a lot of fun to see her and all our friends. There were a lot of people from the old BYU ward who came and it was so good to see them all. So many people now have babies, I sure wished we lived closer to everyone!

OCTOBER

This month has been going great so far! Mike has had a few breaks and the weather has been fantastic so it’s been really fun to go to parks or take walks in the canyon. Andrew has finally established a good nap time schedule which makes my days run a bit smoother. He is growing like crazy too! He can now sit up on his own (although, he has been able to do that since he was about 4 months old) and he LOVES to eat new foods. He can eat rice cereal and all the stage 1 baby foods. His favorites seems to be bananas, apple sauce and sweet potatoes. In fact, there is only one thing he won’t eat and that is prunes—I sure can’t blame him though! He can now get up on his hands and needs but he just kind of stays there and looks worried. He hasn’t figured out how to move yet but I think he’s getting close. The last new thing is that he can now suck on his toes, and he loves it! He will happily spent his days laying down with his toes in his mouth!

I still work a few hours a week teaching smoking cessation classes at the Utah County Health Department and it’s a lot of fun—I have been teaching there now for over 2 years! Time flies but I still love it, and I really do love all my little “delinquent” teens!

Pictures at the park:
Andrew and Mike going down the slide!

Andrew loves mouse, which was a gift from Grandad West

Andrew was helping me cook--he was holding the vanilla for me!

He loves sitting in big people chairs!

These are just a couple of pictures where he is being especially cute and fun!

We took these last pictures on conference Sunday between sessions.
We decided to go up to the canyon and look at the leaves. It was beautiful!!!

Well…I guess that is a pretty good update but I can honestly say, and promise, that I will be updating our blog A LOT more now so please come and check us out! We always love to hear from you!