Aleyah informed me on Wednesday that her New Year’s Resolution was to exercise every day. This goal was not prompted by me or her father. She is a planner. (I gave her a 2012 calendar the other day, and you would’ve thought it was gold by her reaction!) So her idea for today was to ride her bike and do Pilates. So that is what we did. After a half-mile bike ride (joel on his scooter holds us back a bit), she came in and I customized a 20-minute Pilates workout for her by usin my Denise Austin’s Hit the Spot Pilates.

And as you see below, her sister and brother followed suit! Just as they followed her example, she followed the example of her Dad and Mom. As I said, we never mentioned anything about an exercising resolution so she had no nudging from us, but she is simply putting into practice what she sees us doing. Parents that live out a healthy lifestyle are much more likely to have children who do the same. (See page 64 of Dr. Walt Larimore’s book, Super-sized Kids) You are your child’s hero, their most important influence, so live for them by choosing to incorporate healthy eating and exercise habits. They will be following close behind you- I promise!

And since we worked up such an appetite, we ended our evening on a “sweet” note and made some of our favorite cookies!