Graham is 7 Months old!

So we hit another little milestone in the first year of Graham's life. He turns seven months old today. It is hard to believe our little guy has changed so much in such a short amount of time. He has two more teeth coming in. This time they are on top. He is becoming so curious about EVERYTHING! He is picking up his bottle and putting it in his mouth. He can roll over and this is his favorite mode of transportation right now. He is trying so hard to crawl but right now mainly just rocks back and forth and scoots a bit. I'm not in hurry to see him take off just yet. He is sitting up on his own which means he can play independently a bit...like 3 minutes at a time:) . It seems like the stages are going too fast. Faster than I can keep up with.

Taken today...Seven Months Exactly!

 BTW...he's looking at his daddy in this pic below...

Sitting up...

all by himself!

I promise those are prunes on his face, not chocolate, Dria!

Graham Drake with Papal Drake

My mom, Graham's Grandmaw's bday celebration
(check out the toes...they made it in the icing before we could blink!)

We've had a great month with a trip to New York, being with family and just routine life. We also discovered the hard way that Graham can't have mangoes yet. He got a terrible rash from them but he is doing great now.

Some videos of that amazing laugh...

Prayers for our little Graham this month would be that he would know Jesus and walk with him every day of his life. That he would be a leader with a humble spirit. Prayers for us parents...that we would have patience and wisdom in how to care for our growing, curious little guy.

Bethany took some shots of us on our trip to New York. Here's a sneak peak. Thanks so much, Bethany. I'll share more of them in another post.

Oh...here are 2 pics of me around this age. He definitely looks like me at this age!

Fit for Good

Many of you know that I have struggled to get and stay in shape many times. I spent my teens, college years and my twenties significantly over weight. In high school I went through a season of working out and successfully lost some weight but it did not stay off for long nor did I do it in a healthy way.

The ups and downs of life have been reflected in the ups and downs of the scale. Whether the stress of graduate school, a painful break up or the lack of knowledge of healthy living, my weight has always been a battle. 

The last several years I've educated myself on things that others seem to simply absorb in their families. I've learned to listen to my body in ways I didn't know healthy eaters do. I've learned the joy of tired running legs and finishing work out goals taped to the back of my bedroom door. I STILL have a love/hate relationship with running.

The long and short of it.....I've lost over 70 pounds from my highest to my lowest.

                                               

Before

After

                                     

To see some of my journey, please visit the Fit For Good website where my story is featured.

http://www.fit-for-good.com/our-blog/ambassador_amy

Well I am now back in the middle of this familiar YET SO FREAKING HARD weight loss journey after having our precious Graham six months ago. I am somewhere in between my heaviest and my lowest. I was so sick at the beginning of my pregnancy. I threw in the towel on working out during that time and then I let the exhaustion that came after morning sickness keep me sedentary the bulk of my pregnancy. I would go for walks here and there but nothing like the activity my body was used to the last few years training for half marathons and walking all over Manhattan.

I feel so incredibly vulnerable writing about this part of my life but I know others feel similarly to me and have also struggled. I'd love to hear about your journey in caring for your body. What are your challenges? What do you need to create change? What are your goals? Leave a comment here or send me a Facebook Message :).

Would you join me in a commitment to be Fit for Good? BTW, there are free goodies for us on this site that reward our efforts.

As a bit of accountability, my plan is to write weekly about how I am doing in my journey to be Fit for Good. I'd love for you to join me, encourage me and challenge me! I'll share next week about where I am in the journey and more specifically what my plan is and what my goals are.

Family Labor Day Trip to NYC

Thanks to several very generous people we got to spend Labor Day in NYC with Corey's parents, his brother, Gabe and his sister, Bekah.

I've been thinking of going up to New York all summer but I just couldn't make it work. It was such a gift to get to see so many wonderful friends and also to spend time with Corey's family with our little Graham.

In many ways it felt incredibly normal and like home to be there and in other ways, so much had changed. Some friends have moved or were out of town which made NYC feel different and of course, many shops had changed. My bodega on west 73rd had closed and I was so disappointed not to get to say hello to those folks.

BUT...I did have a great time with these ladies. Our community group had a dinner together. Joanna was also visiting from Virginia. The fact that she had baby Violet just two days before I had Graham still blows my mind.

Daniela, Robyn, Joanna, Me, Erin, Bethany

Adriana also came in from the Hamptons to spend Saturday with us. That meant so much to me!
We got to go for a quick run in the park as well.

Adriana, Robyn, Baby Graham :)

I worked with these ladies at Redeemer for several years. I miss spending my days with them!

Me, Tracy , Joanna, Bethany

"Uncle" Neil also came and spent some time with little Graham.

Graham kissed Neil without us coercing him at all. They are buddies!

We had a great time sharing our New York with Corey's family.

Three Sylvestre Men ;)
Corey's dad, Roger, Corey and baby Graham

Corey and I met on August 28, 2011 in New York and spent that whole day in Central Park. 

This pic below was taken last week on August 28th.

We got engaged on this bench on Sept. 27, 2012.

So crazy how much has happened since that proposal!

Corey and I walked around Central Park for our first date exactly three years to the day of this pic including here at Belvedere Castle.

Just before heading to the airport to come home we got to see the Taylor's.

Margaret, Graham, Hannah

We also attended Redeemer on Sunday.

Graham got the best childcare in the world :).

Pics of my favorite city:

 My home for so many years....

I had such a wonderful time at a little get together with friends and we also stopped by the Redeemer offices. 

It meant so much to me to see all of you. You are my New York family and I miss you terribly. 

This pic says it all....