What A Great Year 2013 Was!

Note that I am playing catch-up since I haven't blogged for a while.

There was so many things that happened in twenty-thriteen for our family, so I decided to make a little video that sums up the year with pictures. Hope you all enjoy.

To celebrate the new year we didn't do too much. Casey had to work New Years Eve and New Years Day. Walker and I did our normal routine during the day but at night we had a little party of our own. I had a number 14 pizza for dinner. Walker played on his drum before he went to bed to "ring in the new year." And after Walker went to bed Casey and I played Super Mario Brothers until midnight. Than we went to bed. We are pretty crazy partiers if you couldn't tell. It was fun to celebrate 2013 and start a new year with just my little family.

Ringing in the New Year the Schroeder way.

Now let the new year begin!

♥ The Schroeder

It's That Time of The Year.

I wrote this a while ago but forgot to post it so ignore that it is march now and pretend Christmas and New Years just past. :]

Yup Christmas is Here! And I love this time of year. There is just so much happiness in the air and we all get to focus on the true meaning of Christmas, the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ.

I was super excited to decorate this year. I did little things hear and there throughout the month. Walker loved playing with our ornaments and beads on the tree so they were on the ground most of the time and the tree was bear. I saw a sign that said "believe" on Pinterest and wanted to do some like it. I loved the saying because it could go both ways of why people celebrate christmas, BELIEVE in Christ and also BELIEVE in Santa. The one I did turn out cute but I still like the one on Pinterest better, so maybe next year I will do it again different. I also made some tags for a our presents under the tree. I loved how they turned out and how it looked without the to and from. I want to do this again next year, so I kept the tags since Walker won't remember. Santa also put tags on our gifts he brought us.

Our home decorations

We sent out Christmas Cards to our family and some close friends. This year I wanted to go all Christmasy and not just use our family photo we took. So we took a picture by the christmas tree and fireplace at Robin and Perry's reading a Christmas story to Walker. I think it turned our great. Here is it for all of those who did not get it. Merry Christmas!

Last Christmas Casey had to work, which was a bummer but it was okay since Walker wasn't super into Christmas since he didn't know and get much and also he was sick.. This year it happened again except Casey had the day off (that is the happy part). Walker was getting over a cold-ish thing that he was fighting since the friday before. He still wasn't feeling super great but he was a great sport.

The week before Christmas my Grandpa went into the hospital so parents and brother, Alex, were able to come and visit him and Walker and I went up there once my Grandpa was out to visit. I always love being close to my parents and being able to visit them often. Like I said Walker and I went up to my Grandpas to visit for the day on Monday, Christmas Adam. We got there about lunch time and than left after dinner. Walker and my mom played in the leaves that were in my Grandpa's backyard. Walker loved having my mom throw the leaves in the air and have them land on him. We also built and huge pile around Walker. My dad and brother got there that night, than we went to Grandpas favorite Mexican restaurant for dinner. I sure do miss spending time with my family and wish more of them lived closer.

Walker playing in all the leaves grandpa Carter saved with my mom.

Earlier on Christmas Eve day Sidney and Scott came down from Idaho and surprised Robin and Perry. That night we had a party over at Robin and Perry's. We made our own pizzas for dinner which was way fun. We also had a white elephant gift exchange with everyone there. Before everyone got there Robin, Walker and I made a Christmas Tree sugar cookie for Santa. Walker loves helping making the dough and putting the sprinkles on.

Waiting for Santa.

We also got to talk to Kyle and Connor. Connor called through Skype at night at 8pm our time. Kyle was going to surprise Connor and try and Skype for a couple minutes during Connors call but got the wrong time. So we were able to talk him some before Connor called. We are going to try and have them call around the same time for Mother's Day so they can talk and see each other. We did get to talk to Connor that night as planned. We talked to him for about an hour and a half. It was way cool seeing him and hearing his stories. Here is Connor's Blog if you want to read his letters. Casey and I left to go home after his call. Christmas morning we woke up at 7 and got to talk to Kyle. It was interesting hearing the differences of how they celebrate Christmas there. Here is Kyle's Blog if you want to read his letters. They are both are doing great! We are excited to see them again on Mother's Day.

Talking to Kyle (top) and Connor (bottom) on Christmas Eve.

Walker was asleep still so we didn't want to wake him up since he still wasn't feeling great. We got to spend the morning as just our family. Casey and I made Egg Nog Waffle French Toast with eggs and bacon. It was way good and we want to make it a tradition for Christmas morning.

Yummy Christmas Breakfast.

Once we were done with breakfast as a family we opened up presents. We all made it our great. Walker got lots of new toys that he now loved playing with. He wasn't very interested in ripping the paper off the presents but once he saw what was inside he was all excited! His favorite present that he loved playing with once all of the gifts were open were the $1 slinky stocking stuffer. I love how he loves the little things and makes me want to remember that more often. He sure shows me more than I can express.

Santa Came!!

playing with some of Walker's favorite presents.

Late afternoon we went over to Robin and Perry's for Christmas Dinner and spent the rest of the night with them. Walker opened up his gifts and loved them. Robin and Perry gave him a fish tank with some money to get a fish. (we now have the tank set up and waiting for a week to get some fish but he is loving looking at the tank and saying 'wow'. He sure is going to love it once there are fish are swimming around.) Christmas dinner was delicious!

After dinner, Sidney, Scott, Casey and I played on the Wii U and also some Rock Band. Once Walker noticed that we were hitting drums with sticks that is all he wanted to do. I think we might have a drummer on our hands. (I don't know how to feel about that). He loves to play with all of the instruments he notices and he know what to do with them. I love it but a little nervous of what he can bring to the future.

Future Drummer.

Thursday, Walker and I stayed home and relaxed. Alex was able to come down and spend the night with us. Casey had to work late so Alex and I played Mario Kart and also played with Walker until he got home. We than went to Panda for dinner. Once we got home Walker went to bed and we got to party. When I say party I need become the dream team of Super Mario Brothers 3D. It was great having my brother come down for a night and spend some time with us. We miss living close to him and spending time with him in Utah.

The Dream Team.

The weather during this holiday week has been great! Friday Walker and I joined Robin, Perry, Sidney, and Scott for a small beach trip. It was such a beautiful day. Walker loved playing in the sand with grandma and grandpa. Friday night, Robin watched Walker while Casey and I went to get froyo with Sidney and Scott. Saturday we went to the church camp that is in Ramona with Robin and Perry and played some sports with them as well.

This season has been filled with family and it has been great fun. We are now excited to start the new year and see what it brings us.

♥ The Schroeder

"This is Halloween. This is Halloween."

Its that time of the year where everything gets scary and spooky around the town, Pumpkins are all over and in everything you want to eat and Candy is your now to go snack. ITS HALLOWEEN TIME!!

Since we have moved into our own apartment, I wanted to decorate for the holidays more. I went on a search for good Halloween decorations. I found a few that weren't super scary or based on death and gory. So I decided that I would make some of my own since I have been in this super crafty mood and can. I made a 'trick or treat' banner, 'boo!' banner and some Halloween silhouette pictures to put in frames. It is fun to be inspired and create your own decorations. The best part is that you can personalize them to your color scheme and liking.

Decorations that are around our apartment for the Halloween Season.

This year we went to the Disneyland Mickey Mouse Halloween Party with Casey's family. Summer and her family came up for fall break so they joined us. It was fun to go to Disneyland when it is all decked out in Halloween decorations. All of the main characters were dressed up in their own costumes and the villains of Disney were out and about as well. There was many candy stations that you can go around and get a handful or two of candy. We came home with about 15 pounds of candy. (Hence the reason why candy is now my go to snack. Its everywhere!) The whole family dressed up for the event. Robin, Perry, Grandma, Summer, Glen, and Kasen were characters from Peter Pan (tinkerbell, hook, tick-tock crock, tiger-lily, smee, peter pan). Payton and Lexi were Cinderella and Belle. While Walker was Captain America and Casey and I were Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. A lot of people were dressed up for the event. It was fun seeing all of the costumes that people think of (lots of toy story and princesses).  We went to Disneyland at 3 that afternoon and do some rides with summer's family before the halloween party started. We got to meet some of the Winnie the Pooh Characters with Lexi and Walker while Summer, Glen, Kasen, and Payton went on a ride. Robin, Perry, and Grandma Schroeder joined us around 6 for the party. They closed down the park except for the people that bought tickets for the party. We got to see the halloween fireworks and also the Halloween Costume Party Parade. I liked the parade better but the fireworks were still pretty cool. We were behind a tree that blocked the fireworks so we weren't able to see all of them but did see some. The castle was all lighting up different for the fireworks and we were able to see that. Disney never disappointment on not going all out. I defiantly like going to the Mickey Mouse Halloween Party instead of going out to random peoples homes and get candy, a lot safer and fun in my opinion. I wouldn't mind doing this again next year and the year after that.

Mickey's Halloween Party.

Walker surrounded by 15 pounds of candy and treats = one happy boy!

A tradition we have around Halloween time is go to a pumpkin patch with the family and come home to crave the pumpkin. This year we went to two. We first went to a pumpkin patch that is in Ramona. It was kinda lame and not every exciting. So we decided to go to Bates Nut Farm Pumpkin Patch like we did last year. They always have lots and lots of pumpkins and kid friendly things to do. Robin joined us. Walker seemed to like see and playing with the pumpkins. He liked to knock on the pumpkins and also wipe the hay off them. Silly boy.

Bates Nut Farm Pumpkin Patch.

At Bates Nut Farm they also have some goats that you can feed. Robin got some food for them at the store and we had walker feed him. He seemed to love it! The goats did so well with him. We showed him how to do it a couple times and than he was able to feed the goats on his own by the end. He also loved to pet the goats. We kept on having to remind him to be gentle but like I said the goats were great. It was fun to watch him discover new things and see how much he loves animals.

Walker feeding the Goats at Bates Nut Farm.

We bought a pumpkin at Bates Nut Farm's pumpkin patch. They have them for a great price. This year we wanted to crave our pumpkin into something Walker loves. We were thinking about doing Sorcerer Mickey but the patterns were crazy. So we decided to do something different. We did Woody from Toy Story. We had Walker help us empty the pumpkin. He didn't really care about the seed or 'guts' but he just wanted to put the spoon into the pumpkin and the top of the pumpkin back on. He tried to scrap the sides with the spoon as well. It is fun to see his observant personality come out each time we do something. Casey and I took turns carving the pumpkin. Casey did post of it because I am not super good and didn't want to break it. Our Woody-O-Lantern turned out great! After we carved our pumpkin we watched part of the movie "Nightmare Before Christmas' than the new short movie 'Toy Story of Terror!' They are both great things to watch around this time of year. 

Pumpkin carving and snuggling while watching 'Nightmare Before Christmas'

As long as I can remember my ward has put on a 'trunk or treat' party. This year we were going to able to participate in two! Robin and Perry's ward and our own ward. Robin and Perry's ward had a theme of Peter Pan. When we were deciding what we were going to dress Walker up for Halloween we decided it would be fun to do a Avengers theme with one of our friends. Walker being Captain American and his friend Lucas as Thor. We were planning on going to Robin and Perry's trunk or treat but plans changed and Walker was admitted into the hospital that night. (you can read about it here.) 

Even thought we weren't able to make it to Robin and Perry's Trunk or Treat on Saturday we still had the opportunity to go to ours. Our ward's 'trunk or treat' was on Halloween night! Smart idea if I say so! The kids and still go "trick or treating" in a safe environment. There were a cake walk and some other games the kids could participate in. Walker was still a little young for them but he did go fishing and did the cake walk with Casey. Robin and Perry joined us as well for the night. We walked with walker to all the cars to get some candy. It was funny to see what he would do. Most of the time he just kept on walking or he would watch the person put the candy in his pumpkin and then take it back out or drop his pumpkin and leave it there. It was always fun watching him do this own thing. 

Walking around carrying his pumpkin full of candy. Our Family (Captain America and Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D)

Halloween this year was fun. I am excited to think of something creative to do for our costumes next year. I already have some ideas but we will see what happens since Walker will be able to tell me what he would like to be. It is fun dressings matching or coordinating as a family, I think. Hope you all had a Happy Halloween! 

♥ The Schroeder

Walker First Big Hospital Trip.

This past weekend has been something I could never expect on coming. It was a weekend that was filled with blessings and answered prayers. We were planning on hanging out with some friends and going to a Halloween Party but plans changed. Before I tell the story of the past couple days I want to say thank you to all of our family members and friends that prayed for Walker and our family. Every prayer and thought was appreciated.

Walker started to come down with the cold, we thought, on Thursday. He woke up acting cranky and just wanted to lay down and not do much. I put him down for a nap at 10 which was very odd for him and he slept until 1:15 when I woke him up to go to the Schroeder's to pick up Robin before we went to the pumpkin patch and than over for dinner. I brought some Tylenol for Walker just incase he was teething or what not. Before we went to pick up Robin, we stopped at Costco so Casey can turn in his resume and Walker and I walked around to get some samples. NOTE: Walker doesn't like eating things he hasn't tasted before. But this time while getting the samples, Walker ate every sample I gave him! I was thinking he just has been hungry because the last time he ate was in the morning about 8:30. So then I ruled out teething since it didn't seem like his gums were hurting. We then got Robin and headed to the pumpkin patch. Everything else seemed normal the rest of the day except that Walker took another nap on the way home from the pumpkin patch, which we thought was normal for a little boy coming down with the cold.

Walker feel asleep when we got home pretty easy. But woke up the next morning with a cough and a rasp in his voice. He was acting very lethargic and just wanted to lay down on the couch or our bed and watch some of his favorites. His symptoms stayed the same throughout the day with an addition to diarrhea and a low grade fever, which is no fun. That night however was a different story. Walker went to bed still having a raspy cough and a low grade fever. I took a steamy shower with him before he went to bed and put the humidifier on in his room. He woke up about 11pm coughing and crying. Casey and I both rushed to him since it sounded like his cough got worse. Casey turned on the shower and closed the window in the bathroom which we all sat in the steamy bathroom. Walker went back to sleep and slept pretty well the rest of the night. Casey and I looked up his symptoms after he went back to bed to see what it could be. WebMD said that it sounded like the common cold, asthma or bronchitis. We decided that I would talk Walker into Urgent Care the next morning to make sure it was nothing else and see if there was anything we can do to help him.

Resting while watching our favorite shows and movies on Friday

Saturday morning. We did just that. Except when I got to urgent care it was closed and didn't open until 1. (RANT: isn't it called urgent care for a reason? you would think they would be open all day on saturday and sunday since most doctor offices are closed for the weekend. nope not the case.) So since it didn't open until 1 and I didn't want to take him in ER since it wasn't anything horrible, i thought, I decided to go to Casey's parents house and hang out there until they opened. I was planning on doing this after going to the urgent care anyways but plans change and life moves on. Walker and I watched some Disney Junior and played with some toys. His cough was worse than it was friday night. It started to sound more like a bark of a dog or a seal. You could hear him breathe when he was playing. You could tell that breathing wasn't effortless. Perry told me that it sounded like he had croup. I was thinking it wasn't the common cold since it has got progressively worse. And croup would have been a good guess since Casey got it many times when he was younger.

1 o'clock finally came around. I took Walker into the Urgent Care. Trying to fill out papers with a sick one year old that is walking everywhere and exploring is hard to do alone, especially when he might have a very contagious sickness. They called me in pretty quickly, luckily. I told they Walker was showing signs of croup and had a bark-like cough. They listened to his lungs and throat and yup it was croup. They first gave him some steroids to help his airways swelling go down. The doctor came in and checked him out. He definably was having a hard time breathing. You could see him gasping and trying to get as much as air he can when you looked at his throat and chest. The doctor told me that the steroids wouldn't kick in for a couple hours but they can give him different medicine that he would breathe in with the nebulizer that we were already using in the office with saline water mist. She said I would have to stay there for two hours so they can monitor him and check him again once it wares off. If it helped and the steroids kicked in and he was breathing better than we would be able to go home but if the medicine worked and he wasn't breathing better and still struggling we would have to admit him into the hospital to stay over night to be monitored and maybe get more breathing treatments. So that is what we did. I stayed their with Walker in Urgent Care while he got his first breathing treatment. We had to hold the tube that was connected to the nebulizer close to his month so help him breathe in the mist and medicine. Robin was able to come and stay with us while we were there.

The breathing treatment seemed to work great. Walker slept most of the time except when he started to feel uncomfortable. Once it wore off you can tell that he was starting to have a hard time breathing again. So the Doctor told us that she is going to call the hospital to get us a room and have us go over there in a ambulance since it was respiratory. We gave another breathing treatment to Walker while they figured out what hospital we were going to and while we wait for the ambulance. I called Casey and told him that the situation and that Perry would pick him up from work when he can get off since I had the car. Casey got off as soon as he can to try and make it to Urgent Care before Walker and I left in the ambulance. NOTE: I did not plan on staying over night anywhere except for our home. So I did not have anything for Walker or Casey and I. But Robin was able have Perry give some things to Casey before he started his way to the hospital.

The ambulance came after about 30 - 40 minutes. Walker and I got into the ambulance and drop off to Rady's Children Hospital in San Diego a couple minutes before Casey got there. Walker did great in the ambulance. He was relaxed and just looked out the back window and around. There are many new things to look at so he was occupied. He also found a zip tie that was on the windows next to him that he liked to play with. The EMTs were great! They were young and didn't have children on their own so we got to talk about what Walker likes and what was going on with him and their job.

First (and hopefully last) adventure in an ambulance.

We got to Rady's Children Hospital a few minutes before Casey. They had a room all ready for Walker so we were able to get settled in pretty quickly. When we got there we met our first nurse. She was very peppy. You could tell she was suppose to work at a Children's Hospital. Walker did great with being checked up on. The only thing he did not like was the cord that was attached to his toe that would track his oxygen flow and heartbeat. He kept pulling on it to get it off. We tried to hide it under his blanket but he always seem to find it. You could tell the steroids started to kick in because Walker wasn't crying every time he coughed or breathed in. The nurse told us that the best way for Walker to recover is to keep him calm. They wouldn't do anything that would bother him or frustrate him because they wanted him to rest so his airways don't swell up again. That was easy since we had the iPad and phones with us that had his favorites on it to watch. Casey watched Mickey Mouse cartoons with Walker while he was awake. Walker loves Mickey Mouse cartoons and thinks they are funny. You could tell he had croup when he laughed. It was and cutest/saddest laugh. When the funny parts were one you could tell Walker wanted to laugh but was holding back, he had a big smile on his face. Thank you to Apple for having great modern technology devices for entertaining Walker.

some pictures in the hospital. [laying down, watching Mickey Mouse with daddy (love how he is smiling!), sleeping (a lot of sleeping), finally was able to go outside and walk without a cord attached to his leg.]

Robin and Perry were able to come and visit for a little. It was after visiting hours when they were able to make it since they had their wards trunk or treat party that night and had some non-member friends coming. But they were still able to come up since Perry was going to help Casey give Walker a blessing. They also brought some more sleeping supplies for Casey and I since we didn't have any. By the time they got there Walker was sound asleep.

(SIDE NOTE: I want to say how grateful I am to be apart of the Church. I am so glad I have a husband and father-in-law and many other family members that were and are able to give blessings to people that are in need of one anytime. Also having the knowledge and faith in Christ helped me not break down and lose myself throughout this whole time. I knew that he will help walker fit this and get better.)

Casey and I both decided to stay to make sure we were both their if something did go wrong. We got to snuggle up on the little pull out chair/bed. Lets just say it is really meant for one person to sleep semi-comfortably. Walker did great during the night. He only woke up a few times to have something to drink or eat since he didn't get to good to go to eat or drink until right before he feel asleep. It hurt eat much so we tried to keep the food soft and the drink warm. Throughout the night the nurses kept on coming in and checking on him since croup is suppose to get worse at night. But like I said Walker was great. His breathing for clearer and he didn't need any more breathing treatments! In the morning it just sounds like it did on friday, high congestion. We were able to be discharged from the hospital by noon. They told us to still keep an eye on him and make sure if the barky cough comes back like it was bring him in.

We than went home. Stopped by Grandma and Grandpa's house to get somethings we left and return what they let us borrow and visit of course. When we got home we gave walker a bath and some food. Casey and I both wanted to take a nap but Walker had another plan. We wanted to play with his toys. So Casey let me take a nap while he watched Walker than once I woke up I let Casey go lay down while I put Walker down. As of now he is doing much better. He is getting back to his normal self. Still has a hard time eating and drinking since this airways and throat are sore but he tries his best to do what he can. He seems to be on the mend. We have a follow up appointment with his doctor on wednesday to check on how he is doing. He still has a horsiness to his laugh and cough but it seems to not hurt as much as it has been. The Doctor said that he can have that horsiness up to 10 days because his throat and airways will still be healing. He is acting more and more like himself. He is playing more and more with his toys.

Walker is now the doctor. We still are resting when we can.

I am glad to say that I am a tough little guy. I am so glad he is a healthy boy and he was able to get better enough to only stay one night at the hospital. I am glad it wasn't worse and it could have easily been if we didn't catch it the time we did. I am so thankful for Heavenly Father's hand in all of this. Blessing Walker that he would feel better and also blessing Casey and I for keeping calm and knowing what to do. I am grateful for all of the family and friends that sent their thoughts and prayers our way. It really was a weekend I wasn't expecting but glad I was able to do what we had to do. I am thankful that we have health insurance for Walker. I am so blessed to have my little boy in my life and to be his mom and help him when he needs it.

♥ The Schroeder

Walker Update: Eighteen Months

CAN YOU BELIEVE IT! My little boy is a year and a half years old! I cannot believe how fast time flies by. Walker has grown so much in the past three months. He is getting so big that I start to think about what is ahead of me but than just tell myself to live in the moment and spend as much time as I can with my little boy while I can.

Hide 'n' Seek | "Look what I can do!"
How we like to watch TV | feeding himself | Swimming with Grandma Schroeder

Stats:
weight: 23 lbs (10 - 25%)
height: 32 inches (50 - 75%): tall enough to go on Mater Junkyard at DCA but hasn't yet because whenever we try he won't stand up straight. In a couple months it will happen.

He is still cruising on the floor most of the time but getting more and more confident each day to stand up and see what he can do with the new view. He has learned new words and is starting to communicate to me what he wants or if he is frustrated. He loves to point out the birds and airplanes in the sky when he hears them. His new favorite thing to watch is movies, mostly Pinocchio and Toy Story. He still loves Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and Little Einsteins as well as the old and new Mickey Mouse and Donald short cartoons, he thinks they are hilarious! He loves to play with his toys and to be outside doing anything. He loves making towers with his legos and than knocking them down while saying uh-oh. He loves to watch Casey and I play Mario Kart and even brings me the controller so I will play with and he plays along. He loves to climb onto anything he can get up on. He will even push a chair or step stole over to get up where he wants to get up on. He loves to play with his friends. He loves to spend time with his grandparents and swimming at their home. He loves when my parents to come visit.

One thing that we have noticed about Walker is that he is an observer. He doesn't mind just looking around and see whats going on. My mom and grandpa says that he is going to be an engineer because he thinks like one. He is a very smart kiddo. While at my grandpa's house he went up to his grandfather's clock, that is in the glass cabinet so you can see all the gears, and just watched the gears work and the pendulum go back and forth. He also loves to just look around when we go to Disneyland and "people watch" (which is very fun to do at Disneyland. You see many interesting people there).

He loves to play with his toys like a 'normal' kid but also loves to try and figure out how it works. For example, we got his a table that he plays with standing up (or kneeing down because he is so dang tall). There are this balls that you can put in the middle and they come out the legs. He has figured out that if you put the ball down the hole it will come out on of the legs but he wants to know more. So what does he do.. puts the ball up the leg to see what happens. And what happens.. the ball comes out another leg. It is so fun to just sit back sometimes and watch him figure something out. And once he does he is so proud of himself and sometimes looks over at me and claps with a big smile on his face.

Walker has taken about 20 steps on his own and improving each day. He has been a late bloomer in the walking category but has excelled is many other categories. He is very determined and just doesn't want to walk even though he can. It makes his doctor laugh to an extent that he isn't walking because he can and he has the strength to. We have tried everything we can think of to get him to realized that he can go much faster if he walks but he is perfectly fine crawling along. He will just one day get up and take off. He sure is a mover. He loves to move from one place to another all day long, so in the meanwhile I will just enjoy my little boy and have him move at his own pace.

Walker loves to eat sweets and knows who to go to when he wants some. And that is Grandma, but isn't that what Grandmas do. He will turn away from veggies and other foods that he just doesn't like but if Grandma offer a popsicle or ice cream or anything of that kind he won't even hesitate and take a bite. We have tried to even trick him of switching from a sweet and a "healthy" snack and he will still turn away once  he see it but not from the sweets. I think we have a sweet tooth junky on our hands.

Mr. Independent has now entered the room. Walker loves to do things by himself. He will ask for help when he needs it in his own little way. He has became more independent when we moved into our own apartment at the beginning of August. He likes to do things on his own and I am not stopping him. Independence is very good. He even tries to turn on the TV when he wants to watch one of his shows or movies by himself but hasn't figured it out so brings the controller or my phone over to me so I can switch it or turn it on. If he needs help he will bring whatever he needs help with over to where I am and says in his own language "help me mommy. I can't figure it out".

♥ The Schroeder

Something exciting is happening!

Most of you know that after Casey and I graduated we moved to California and have been living with his parents. It has been a little over a year since we have been living here. Casey and I have been looking for an apartment to move into for a while and just hasn't found the right place for the right price. We are on many waiting list for low income housing and we are still waiting for the call that there is an apartment available for us. Casey and I feel like it is time for us to get out on our own again. Even thought we haven't been called for low income housing we still looked for a home to move to.

And guess what?!

WE FOUND A PLACE TO MOVE INTO! We will be moving in a couple week to a 2 bedroom 1 bath apartment in Ramona. It is about 30 minutes away from where we live now but the same distance from Casey's work.

             

                         It's official!

I can't express how happy I am. I am excited to be able to live as a family just Casey, Walker and I. I am also sad because I am moving away from the friends I have made there. But I know that it will all be okay. I am not too far away where we can't still come visit or people can't come visit us.

I am now excited to be able to design our place again and design Walkers room since he will have his own! It will be good for our family to be on our own again. 

I will post pictures of the new designs I am planning on doing once they are complete! 

♥ The Schroeder

Let's just say.. I'm Bringing Sexy Back!

So if you follow me on Facebook or Instagram you might have noticed that I have gain some weight that I wasn't planning on gaining after I stopped breastfeeding Walker. I have been trying to get the weight off but hasn't exactly been successful. I have tried diets, exercising by myself, walking with friends, going to the gym early morning with a friend and really anything you could think of that doesn't cost a lot of money. I was really down on myself because I couldn't get this weight off. I wasn't really in a good place either. I really wanted to get out of this runt I was in.

So one day I was talking to my friend, Diana and she said she had the same problem. She suggested that we should workout together and do Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred. We thought that we can work out together and check up on each other each day so we can motivate each other to work out and get back into shape. Let me tell you, Jillian isn't joking around. She is hard. I sometimes really do feel like I am going to die after I work out. But it is good! When I skip on working out, those days I am tired and don't want to do much. But the days I do workout I have more energy and feels better.

We decided that we wanted to do this 30 Day Shred in three months, one level each month. At the beginning of the month it is hard to get through the 30 minutes video without stopping but by the end of the month I can do most of it without stopping. It is still hard but feels good. Jillian really knows how to push someone to keep on moving and doing the workout video (that is why she is on the biggest loser as a trainer).

I didn't think that this was going to work or I wasn't going to be able to stick to it. But it really has helped me. It also has showed me that I don't have to spend tons of money to get results. I am still not to what I want to be but I am feel more confident about myself and also how I look in my clothes.

Left: Beginning of June | Right: Mid July

You can't really tell but in the left I weighed about 145 and now I weigh between 135-137. It is slow progress but is progress. I know that I am not going to drop the weight in a blink of an eye. It is going to take some work. And I am still don't have a flat stomach or no pooch or love handles but I am working at it and really getting ready to BRING SEXY BACK!!

♥ The Schroeder