Walks

Lately, I have found a lot of joy in going on walks with the kids.  I think it's great for a lot of reasons:

• Since Hank was born, I haven't gone to Sherie's exercise class at church.  I used to go three times a week, and I took Lyla with me.  She loved running around and got a lot of exercise.  These days, I'm worried she's not seeing enough physical activity in a day, so taking a nice long walk helps her get some energy out.  
• I am looking for any way possible to get some exercise in!  I don't particularly like working out, but I miss being in a consistent routine of burning calories and I want desperately to lose my last pounds of baby weight.  Plus, if I strap Hank into the baby backpack instead of plopping him in his stroller, I feel like I'm using weights to walk (right?!).
• Hank is in between naps, and he doesn't want to take an early evening catnap anymore (but he still kind of needs it).  If I put him in the backpack, the motion of me walking tends to lull him to sleep for 20-30 minutes while we're out.
• I find raising young babies super challenging - they're so unpredictable!  I find that it really helps my state of mind to physically get out of the house and go somewhere.  It's better for me to walk somewhere - driving in the car could wind up with a screaming baby in a very confined space.  Plus, the Bay Area is BEAUTIFUL pretty much year-round, so it's nice to get out and enjoy the scenery.
• I love taking the time to chat with Lyla.  I take for granted the time she's around during the day filling up my time cleaning house, cooking meals, helping out Hank, and getting in all the "Mommy" chores that need to get done.  This is a great block of time where I can be completely focused on her and have great conversations with her.

Lyla has pretty much outgrown the stroller with the arrival of Baby Hank, which is great!  I can take her to run errands on foot with no complaining or mischief-making, and she likes to get out of the house too!  We walk to the library, to the playground, or to the store, but our favorite walk to go on is our long post-dinner scenic loop.  I'm pretty proud of Lyla - we walk a 1.5 mile loop and she walks the whole way with no complaints!  It takes us about 40 minutes to make the trek with her little legs going at full speed, and it's a great way to fill up our evenings after dinner while we wait for Dad to get home!  Dustin came home a week or so ago and found us walking and couldn't resist snapping a few pics.