Last night everyone managed to stay up just a little later, so we had time for the usual post-shower wrestling with Cora on the bed. Cora loves this part of the day because she always wins the wrestling war and we love it because she belly laughs her way through being tossed around on top of family members. The wet-hair pj-clad giggling before bed moments are always some of my favorite of the day.
Today the weather finally got cooler (high of 86; fall in Texas!) so I got to break out a few more fall clothes for the kiddos. I adore this dress I found for Claire and she insisted on the matching pink cowboy boots for her and Cora. She also insisted on this picture.
Claire is totally Cora's idol.
This evening while I was sitting on the couch and contemplating the making of supper, I heard the big kids discussing the need to teach Cora to walk. Knowing this was likely to go somewhere adorable I grabbed my camera and starting shooting. The kids did teach some highly successful crawling lessons, so I'm not sure why Cora looked so doubtful at the start.
But after she tore her eyes away from Landon's monster socks, she seemed to start to get the hang of it.
Knees up Cora!
I don't know if it was the kids' careful instruction, but she did take two unassisted steps before dinner! Her feet still seem far too tiny and chubby to possibly support her- even Cora seems a little skeptical of them.
Speaking of new skills and skepticism of your body's abilities to do them, I'm signed up for a hot yoga class on Saturday. Now that I'm fit for the first time in a decade, I'm actually having a hard time working up a sweat in barre and I'd like to start mixing it up a little. I've really started to enjoy yoga- I'm finally strong enough to hold the postures long enough to be effective and am capable of appreciating what the meditative aspect of the practice does for me, as opposed to just being annoyed that something that doesn't feel like it's doing anything is taking so long. Running and cross fit or boot camps are just not my thing, so yoga seems a good direction to take my new love of working my body. And the flexibility and toning and lengthening are all right up my alley. But for those who have gone, is hot yoga something you need to build yourself up to? I've been doing 45-60 minute classes online 2-3x a week for the last month or two, but I don't want to feel intimidated or overwhelmed in a real class. I found a non-hot yoga studio that also has morning and weekend classes, so should I start there first? I blacked out and nearly fainted in my first barre class, so I figure this can't go any worse, but I'd love any tips to avoid doing either of those things.
On the upside, I had a doctor appointment this morning for an ear infection (an ear infection I don't have; turns out I'm just as good at diagnosing them in Cora as I am for myself) and when the doctor read off my long list of prescription medications for my chronic headaches and insomnia, I realized I hadn't taken any of them in months. Many months! So she removed them all from the list. I still get the occasional headache, but they're nowhere near as crippling as the ones I had for 12+ years and they no longer last 2-3 days at a time. And my insomnia is way better. Sure I can't sleep in hotels, or really anywhere that isn't my bed with JP in it, and I need a white noise machine and total darkness and sometimes I wake up too early, but it's rare for me to be awake, frustrated and near tears, at 3 a.m., so that is very exciting. Barre kind of changed my life, and I'm hoping adding in some yoga just makes it even better.
I do hot yoga, and love it - I think as you're use to warm climates, fit from barre, and doing the DVDs you'll be fine - just take it easy. Our teachers say the goal the first time is just to stay in the room - lying on your mat as if in a sauna if it seems too much. But given your fitness you will probably find the class no trouble
ReplyDeleteI don't think you'll have a hard time with hot yoga. You're a Texan used to 100 degree heat (or as "used to" it as you can be) and you're comfortable with yoga in general. After first time at hot yoga I left shaky and a little bit nauseous, but after I had a granola bar I felt better. Drink a ton of water the day before you go, and I think you'll be fine.
ReplyDeleteI can't believe 86 is fall weather for you! That's our summer weather, if we are lucky! Most of the summer it's usually in the 70s.
ReplyDeleteYou and JP were both legit elite national-level athletes, right? The kid might just have EXCEPTIONALLY good genes. :) Everything about your first paragraph screamed "gymnastics" to me. He'll come home tired for sure! He's not too young to start the Hershey youth track meets, either. Those are now called "Run Jump Throw" and run through USATF I think.
ReplyDeleteBikram Yoga is supposed to be AMAZING. I can't do hot, but my mom loves her Bikram classes.
ReplyDeleteMy girls both went to Bikram for a while, but both had problems with recurring yeast infections when they were attending classes. Once they stopped with the hot yoga, problem was solved. Just a little caution.
ReplyDeleteGlad I'm not the only one who almost fainted in Bar class at the beginning. I felt like such a pansy and still take water just in case.
ReplyDeleteHa, definitely not the only one! I can't remember if I ever actually blogged that story, but it's one of my co-workers favorite stories ever. I was the only one there (the class time had just changed and apparently no one else realized it) and I seriously blacked out because I was holding 1 lb. weights and moving them in tiny circles. I had to fall to the ground, put my head between my legs, and wait for my vision to come back. The teacher ran over, coached me through my mortification, and then checked back in with me every 10 seconds for the rest of the class. I can't believe I went back. So I still get a huge kick when one of the teachers now calls me out for doing something really well :).
DeleteYou can do it! The heat adds a mental challenge--that and the occasional classmate passing out, but it's otherwise pleasant but challenging.
ReplyDelete"Hot yoga" means different things to different studios so it will be worth shopping around if the first place you try isn't great.. Bikram takes "hot" seriously and keeps classroom temp at 105F (at least at the studio I went too). For my taste, this is pushing the envelope and I didn't love that they used the same sequence of poses in every class. My favorite hot yoga has been a 95F vinyasa flow class.