Happy 1st Birthday Lily!

I couldn't believe Lily's 1st birthday came so quickly! It took 3 long years of waiting before we were able to hold her in our arms and now she was turning 1! (I blogged about my struggle here!)

For her actual birthday day, it was just the four of us. I made her a cake and sang "Happy Birthday." She got to open one of her presents that evening.

We found out she doesn't like fire! 

It took her a bit before she thought it was funny to play in it. She didn't really care to eat any though.

Oh the faces she makes. :)

After a bath she opened her present...

...with help from Isaias. :)

Her party was just a few days later. We invited some of Erik's family and some of mine. I had fun making her first tutu for it! I know it's not everybody's style or taste, but, guess what? It's OK!!! :)
Here are a few pictures from her party!

Her adorable hat Grandma Janet and Grandpa Quico got her!

Grandma Janet and Grandpa Quico

Since she cried after we lit her candle, we just set her on the table to make a mess!

I kept it simple this year. I would have liked to have made a Lily for each cupcake, but I'd never done it and didn't feel like getting frustrated.

Juliana (Lily's cousin)

Here are Lily's 1st birthday pictures!

I can look at her expressions and just hear the sound she is making in my head!

Here was a recent one I couldn't resist adding!

Fat Cristina

I know, the title seems silly, right? When I began tracking my weight loss and looked back at pictures, there was one I titled "Fat Cristina," and I saved it to my computer that way. Erik thought it was hilarious! So...it seemed like a good title. :)

Since March of this year, and 4 months after giving birth to my daughter, I decided to start losing weight. I was squeezing myself into jeans that were a size I'd NEVER been in before. I was unhealthy, obese, and felt horrible about myself.

My goal is realistic. To get back to my pre-pregnancy weight. That will take another 15-18 pounds. Oh, and to exercise a little more! I've lost 26 pounds since March! That's a total weight loss goal of at least 40 pounds and I'm OVER halfway there!

I posted the picture below to facebook and I was almost embarrassed to. I looked pretty bad before! Why is it that nobody tells you you've got a muffin top? Oh, wait! Somebody did. It really hurt my feelings and took a blow to my self-esteem. You know what though? It helped motivate me.

How did I begin? Portion control! I stopped snacking so much and started eating 3 meals a day. I limited sugar, some carbs, and started adding a bit more protein. I reduced my portions probably in half. My biggest thing to comfort me is food. What do we spend all our extra money on? Eating out! We LOVE to eat out! Plus, I don't like cooking. We try to only eat out about two times a week now. To some that may be a lot, but for us it's pretty good. Wednesday nights we like to eat out and Sunday after church.

Another thing we started was Visalus shakes. Its a meal replacement that we started taking. It's really the best weight loss shake I've had! Not only that but it has vitamins and fiber in it as well. I do sell it, and if you want more info, here's the link. I'm adding it just in case you're interested. I've had some people ask about it after posting on Facebook. I'm not a very good sales person and the type that if you want it, you'll let me know. I don't like to be pushy at all.

Here's "Fat Cristina," and I should have titled the other one "halfway there" instead of "after." :)

If you notice, Erik has lost weight too! 18 pounds now!