Howdy Friends,

Back to back baby girl updates! On the day she turns 11 months old, I am finally getting her 10 month update posted. I know every parent thinks, "wow, how time fly's," but I it really hit me today that my sweet baby is going to be ONE in a month!! How in the world did that happen? It's crazy how sometimes the days seem so long, but 11 months have seriously flown by. I wish I could just freeze her cheesy grins and belly laughs and hold on to them until the end of time.

This tiny human gets more personality by the day. She is a complete ham, and will give you the sweetest and biggest grins anytime you are talking to her. She is definitely a social butterfly and still gets pretty annoyed if you expect her to entertain herself for too long. In her mind, I should be a stand up comedian all day long.



She still thinks daddy is the greatest things since sliced bread. My favorite part of the day is watching how excited she gets when he comes home! They are two peas in a pod and she has him completely wrapped around her tiny little finger!


I mentioned last month how Belle has some pretty wicked dance moves. Well, she has perfected them even further. Her favorite song is "Drop It Low" and the second it comes on, she gets a huge smile on her face and gets down!



She's getting really good at pulling herself up and loves to hold on to her jumper and dance. She still hasn't quite nailed how to sit down slowly, but it's a work in progress. Still no developments on the crawling front, but she can push herself backwards while sitting. I'll take what I can get.



Baby Belle is still extremely ticklish and loves when you tickle her legs or belly. Most of the time, she starts laughing so hard she folds herself in half.


She has also made friends with the people at the HEB deli. She much prefers shopping with a side of turkey! The challenge is getting her to just eat the meat and not the paper.


I think she gets more fun with each passing month. Each stage is wonderful, but I absolutely love how she is really growing into her personality right now. She makes me laugh and my heart burst with love every single day!

I am so so lucky to get to be this little angels mom!

In health,

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Howdy Friends,

So I officially win worst mom of the year award! It is 6 days before this little one turns 11 months old, and I am just now getting up her 9 month update posted. With the start of PulsePointe and some other family matters going on, life has been crazy to say the least. I thought about skipping 9 months and going straight to 10, but I really want to have these blogs to look back on one day, so here it goes!

To say this little bit has a personality would be the understatement of the year! She is full of giggles, funny noises, and will most certainly tell you when she is not pleased. Most of the time she sounds like a cross between a squealing bird and a dragon. This makes going anywhere in public extremely interesting.



This month we celebrated Easter, and baby girl got to show off her beautiful Easter dress. She wasn't so sure about sitting still in church, but she always likes hamming it up for the camera.


Eggs, on the other hand, she prefers to feed to champ. She's also not a huge fan of strawberries, peaches, or anything she finds even the least big tart. Luckily, she did get her love of watermelon from her mama!



Speaking of daddy, she LOVES watching daddy play any kind of sport. As you can tell by the picture below, she is an extremely good cheerleader!


She is also miss social. Hanging out with friends (aka stealing their pacifiers) is her favorite!


Overall, she is still an extremely happy but opinionated little girl. She still refuses to even attempt to crawl, but loves to sit and play with any toy that makes noise and flashes fun lights. She now has 4 teeth, 2 on the top and 2 on the bottom. She still wants to wake up around 4:30 - 5:00 AM for a quick snack, but other than that, she is a great sleeper! Annabelle's cutest new skill this month is definitely her dancing! She has some major rhythm and loves to dance at the studio when the music comes on.

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Howdy,

My sweet baby girl was 8 months old on March 9th, and I feel like this past month has been a big one. She's turning into such a tiny person, and I just love getting to know her personality more and more each day. Belle loves to laugh deep deep belly laughs and thinks Daddy's burps are purely for her entertainment. She hasn't started crawling yet, but she rocks so hard, it's only a matter of time before she tumbles forward onto her hands and knees. She just started pulling up on things this past weekend, even though that technically happened after her 8 month birthday, I just had to share! Every day is definitely a new (and sometimes sleepy) adventure with this little one!

Belle is still a huge fan of basketball, especially if she gets to watch it from her daddy's lap. The lights, all the people, and the interesting noises keep her very entertained. She of course loves the cute outfits she gets to wear as well (even if they are burnt orange)!


She is also still fascinated by her toes, and never ceases to amaze me with her flexibility! If you need to keep her entertained for a few minutes, simply rip of her socks and she's good to go!


Annabelle would still rather eat books than read them, but we are working on that! I like to think she's still soaking up the knowledge right?

On the other hand, baby girl DOES NOT like green peas. I've tried them a few times, and each time results in some version of this face or gagging. Looks like we are going to have to skip these for awhile! I know I shouldn't laugh, but the faces she makes when she doesn't like a food are just hilarious. She can be quite dramatic.


She is also not the biggest fan of sleeping these days. I'm not sure if she's going through a sleep regression or if her top teeth are about to pop through, but the past 4 nights have been pretty rough. Last night, she did a little bit better so hopefully we are on the upswing. Whenever she decides she is not tired, she turns her bumper into a jungle gym and goes to town. We have to pull it out of her crib so it doesn't distract her most days.


Belle may not like peas or naps, but she LOVES  puffs. It was amazing to watch her master picking up those little guys with her fingers in less than a day! Don't stand between this lady and her puffs or you might get spit up on!


She also still loves giving slobbery kisses. She'll often attack you when you're least expecting it, and I love it! I'll take a slobbery snotty kiss from this tiny human any time!


Although you might not guess from the picture on the left, Belle loves going shopping. So many cool things to look at and people to talk to. Plus, mommy usually caves and buys super cut things like pink baby aviators. Who could pass these up, seriously?


Lately, Annabelle has been a busy girl helping mommy with Pilates MatchMatness. It's hard work modeling for a new picture every day, but Belle handles it like a champ. She loves showing off all of her cute accessories like this beanie!


Most days with this one are lots of smiles and giggles, but she definitely has her rough days as well (just keeping it real). I think she's ready to be on the move, but hasn't quite mastered crawling yet so she gets bored and frustrated easily. I also think those top two teeth are going to pop through any day which can't be comfortable. You have to capture the good times and the bad right? Side note, Belle loves to try to eat the button off of this pillow which explains the massive drool mark to the right of her head.


Overall, baby girl has had an exciting month full of learning, new adventures, giggles, and lots of cuddles. She is absolutely the light of my world, and I feel so blessed to get to be her mommy!


I can't wait to see what the next month has in store for us! I hope you all have a great rest of your Tuesday!

Mommies, did your kiddos go through a sleep regression? If so, how long did it last?

In health,

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Howdy!

I hope you're Tuesday is treating you well so far. Minestarted off sweaty a fabulous with a 6 AM Pilates Mat class, 7 AM Barre Express class, and 9 AM Barre class. I had such a great crew this morning and we had a blast getting sweaty and foggy up the windows. Well, at least I know I did. Hopefully, they did as well! I would be lying if I didn't tell you I was pooped after three back to back classes. An awesome playlist is the most essential element for teaching when you are a bit tired or really any early morning class if you ask me. Music can make all the difference in the world when it comes to a great class!

If you were to ask my students what my favorite song is, they would tell you that I have a new favorite every week!  Totally true! I just love discovering new songs and coming up with choreography to match. I've had people ask me in the past if music is really that important for a good class, and the answer is always YES! There are so many proven benefits to working out with music, and when it comes down to it, it's just MORE FUN!

• Synchronization of movements - According to Dr. Carl Foster, Ph.D., of the University of Wisconsin, “You can go all the way back to rowers on the Roman Galleys. The guy is sitting there beating on his drum and he drives the basic rhythm of the rowing. Part of that is coordination – you want the rowers to row together – but part of it is that people will naturally follow a tempo. It’s just something about the way our brains work.” There isn 't a fitness instructor out there who doesn't love when the whole class is moving together in unison. It just brings such an energy to the class!
• Provide a positive distraction from exercise induced discomfort. We all know a great song can make or break us when our legs are shaking and our quadriceps are burning! 
• Music makes exercise more enjoyable - Professor Costas Karageorghis, Ph.D., from London’s Brunel University School of Sport and Education states, “[Music] can reduce the perception of effort significantly and increase endurance by as much as 15 percent.” I was using David Guetta's "Hey Mama" song in my barre class recently, and it was literally one of the hardest sets I've done in a while, but I just LOVED  that stinkin' song so I actually looked forward to it every class. 
• Helps students “get in the zone” or let go of outside distractions and focus on the moment. You've all been in class when your jam comes on and you think to yourself, "I am totally about to kill it right now." Your eyes start to focus, your head may bob to the beat, and you take it to that next level. Katy Perry "Black Horse" anyone! That song does it for me every time! 
• Improves mood - When it comes right down to it, and great song can just make you smile. Maybe it reminds you of a happy memory, you love to sing along with it, or it just makes you want to dance. Regardless, when a great song comes on, you just can't help but work a little harder. 

In unrelated Annabelle news, baby girl is finally learning how to hold her own bottle. Kara, our wonderful babysitter at ToddPilates, snapped this picture for me during class today. What a big girl!


I hope you all have an amazing rest of your Tuesday! Stay warm!

What is your favorite song on your workout playlist right now? 

In health,

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Howdy Friends,

As I grow another year older, I think back on all of the wonderful things that have happened in my life, the beautiful memories that are being made right now, and all of the hopes and dreams that I have for the future. As a constant planner, remembering to stay in the present is definitely something I have to work at constantly. So in honor of living in the present, and creating joyful memories, I am going to keep this post short and sweet so I can get a few things done around the house and then play with my tiny human when she wakes up!

Relish The Past:

I have many many happy memories that make me smile, but there are definitely two that stand out.

1) The moment they opened the doors at the back of the church and I saw Eric waiting at the end of the aisle for me on our wedding day is something I will never forget. It literally took my breath away and was the first step towards the rest of my life. I feel so incredibly blessed to be married to such an amazing, loving, and smart man!





2) The first time I ever held Annabelle in my arms had the be one of the most awe inspiring feelings in the world. There are literally no words to describe how much love I felt at that very moment. After I thought my heart couldn't handle much more, seeing E with Belle literally made my heart explode. She has completely changed our lives forever and taught us to love on a whole new level.


Live In The Present:

There are so many amazing things happening in my life right now, I could go on forever; however, I really want to focus on soaking up every moment I can with Annabelle. They really do grow and change so fast, and I can never get this time back. So for right now, it is ALL about her and I love it!



Dream Of The Future:

I have too many dreams for the future of my little family to write down in one post, but I'll just start with a few. I dream of all of the wonderful and exciting moments that are going to happen in Belle's life.... first steps, first words, going to school, her first crush, homecoming, sporting events, prom, family trips, graduating high school, going to college, getting married (officially tearing up as I type now), and one day babies. I am so excited to see her grow through all of these stages, but I hope she grows very very very very slowly. I truly wish there was a pause or rewind button on life so it didn't fly by so fast.

I also dream of continuing to improve as a fitness professional and hopefully positively impacting my students and future fitness professionals. My goal is that each person that walks into my class leaves feeling better than when they came in. Additionally, I feel so blessed to have found a career I am overly passionate about, I hope to be able to help other individuals looking to pursue a career in fitness.

Memories are beautiful, and the future is fun to dream about, but don't forget to enjoy the right here and now every single day!

Share with me your favorite memory, what you are thankful for right now, or something you are dreaming about for the future. 

Wishing you a beautiful Tuesday!

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