Health Month – Round 2 – Pellegrini Page

Based on the success we had with our original ‘Health Month’ back in June, Jessica and I have decided to do something very similar for the majority of October. We’ve heard several friends talking about their experience with the ‘Advocare 24 Day Challenge’ so we decided to give it a try. It’s basically the same paleo-inspired diet that we had back in June, but it’s supplemented with lots of vitamins, probiotics, fiber, meal shakes, and my favorite, an energy drink called ‘Spark.’

Spark is a zero calorie, caffeine-free energy drink based on vitamin B-12 and taurine. I was a bit skeptical about it when we first started, but the fact is that I haven’t had a single cup of coffee (or caffeine from any other source) since starting the program 12 days ago, and I haven’t missed it. My goal once the program finishes is to go to Costco and find a bunch of similar products to continue taking in the future. I’m all for giving up coffee on a daily basis as well, so hopefully that will be one of the positive outcomes we have from this.

Five weeks from today Jessica and I will be leaving for our vacation in Austin. We haven’t had a getaway like this in a while so we’re getting excited. We’ll be flying down there the Friday before Thanksgiving, hanging out through the weekend, and coming home on Tuesday the 24th, which is the day before Ava’s 4th birthday. Amy and Tom will be staying here with the kids while we’re gone, then we can celebrate Ava and Thanksgiving when we get back. We’re hoping to enjoy plenty of live music and delicious food while we’re down there, including some authentic Texas BBQ.

Halloween is just around the corner and we’re hoping for a visit from my Mom to celebrate her birthday. Last year we went down to Vegas for her birthday so it would be awesome to be with her again this year. Last year we missed all of our neighborhood Halloween festivities, so we’re looking forward to checking it out this year. Regarding costumes, we’ve already got everything set. Ava, who had 2 costumes last year, wants to wear the same mermaid outfit she wore last year in Vegas. Elise and Enzo will be dressed as Mike and Sully from the Monsters Inc movies. Apparently Elise saw the Sully costume while they were out shopping and she freaked out and had to have it. Once we had that Jessica couldn’t resist ordering Enzo a Mike Wazowski costume. Should be pretty hilarious.

As a sports fan, October might be my favorite month of the year. Football is in full swing, you’ve got post-season baseball, all the major European Soccer leagues are active, and basketball and hockey are just getting started. It’s kindof a nice way to transition out of summer and into the 6 months of gloom looming on the horizon. I’m a little bummed today because my Dodgers underachieved again, getting knocked out in game 5 of the NL division series against the Mets last night. I’m happy for all the Cubs fans in my life though, most notably my wife of course. I’m definitely pulling for the Cubs from this point on and hope they can break the curse of the Billy Goat!

Jessica continues to work regularly, so I’m getting lots of quality time with the kiddos. Some of that quality time gets intermixed with ‘accidents’ but overall we’ve all been having fun. Enzo can stand up on his own, and the other night he crawled up our entire staircase unassisted. I was right there behind him in case he fell, but he didn’t need me. Not that time at least. He loves playing with the girls and doesn’t really seem to mind Elise picking on him.

Speaking of Elise, she has really transformed over the past few months. We saw Dana and family last weekend and the first thing she commented on was how much older and bigger Elise was. Her vocabulary continues to amaze everyone, including her doctor. I think it’s safe to say that having a big sister so close in age has contributed towards Elise being so advanced for her age. Sometimes you have to stop and remind yourself that she is barely even two years old. If we lived in Boston I think you’d say Elise is ‘wicked smart.’

Ava is also doing really well. Her constant energy and enthusiasm for life is contagious, and her undying love for our family, which she talks about regularly, is the sweetest thing I’ve ever heard. One thing I can always count on when coming home from work is an energetic, heart-felt greeting from Ava, generally followed by one of the same affection from Elise. We’re hoping to get her into pre-school in the next couple months, so that should be a fun new phase for her.

Guess that’s all for now. Here are some recent pics.

Loving their new boots