go, dad, go!

exercise has been an important part of our lives since we both decided we were too chunky, which realization came after i had chloe.  i had gained almost forty-five pounds during that second pregnancy and stephen was nice enough to gain some sympathy weight himself.  we both realized how horrible our eating habits were and slowly made some changes.  over the last four years we've really made some significant changes.  one, we ate a diet that consisted of a certain amount of calories (for a period of time) that consisted of forty percent protein, thirty percent carbs and twenty percent fat.  two, we started exercising...and not just exercising but pushing ourselves.  we drank lots of water and made realistic goals.  slowly but surely we saw results!  i lost about fifteen pounds at the end of it!  it's because of this weight loss and increased physical awareness that i am healthier in this pregnancy than i was in either of my other pregnancies.  i still have to be careful with any kind of aerobic exercise during pregnancy as it puts me in pre-term labor, but i'm making sure to be active outside and with my children and to eat better.  eating better has really just come a little more naturally since i made those efforts to lose weight in the first place.  it's truly eye-opening.

stephen and i love soccer!  we both played it growing up and have continued to play it in our adult years.  last summer he discovered a large group of men that got together at noon each day near his internship at qualcomm to play soccer.  stephen joined in and recruited as well.  once we moved in with stephen's parents, it became difficult to get to those games, so he joined his brother and brother-in-law in playing indoor soccer through the city.  it was pricier than we expected it to be and because of that stephen had almost decided not to play.  i convinced him that it was for his better mental, physical and emotional health that he play soccer at least once a week, aside from his training for the tough mudder.  he agreed.

so the girls and i have gone to a few games to watch and support our wonderful stephen.  the first game (from which the pictures come) was at seven o'clock, which is dangerously close to the girls' bedtime, but we went anyway.  it was freezing outside!  it was so cold that we hardly could see any details of the game or the players because the glass kept fogging up.  bummer!  thus the lack of pictures.  luckily the next game was a tad earlier and less cold.  the girls love cheering for their daddy, uncle mike and uncle jimmy; though when they change shirts or take off a different colored sweatshirt, they get confused.