Sunglasses

Alisha says: We were walking around the mall the other day when for fun I tried some sunglasses on Skye and sent a picture to my dad. He thought she looked so cute and told me that he wanted to buy them for her. Every time I put them on her it makes me giggle. The funny thing is she doesn't try to pull them off. I put them on her to walk into Costco the other day and then she left them on the whole time we were shopping. Quite a few people stopped me to say how cute she looked.

           

 Our trip to Costco

Pool Time!

Morning walk around the neighborhood

Hiking

Alisha says: Skye seems to enjoy being outside. We take her for walks around the neighborhood and she likes to sit outside by the pool in the afternoon. We got her a plush backpack to put her in for hiking and so far she has been a good little hiker.

Trying out her new pack for the first time in Usery Park.

A 5 mile hike in the Superstitions to Parker Pass.

Hieroglyphics Trail.

 A double rainbow before we started hiking, we actually had to sit in the car for a little bit to wait for the storm to pass by.

Wind Cave at sunset.

Hiking  with my mom and a picnic lunch by the Salt River.

Mother's Day

Alisha says: I woke up with a smile on my face and a little extra spring in my step because finally I got to be celebrate mother's day as a mother. As great as it felt I also reflected on previous mother's day where I felt inadequate and hurt because I wanted to be mother and wasn't. I thought of all those who are currently longing for a little one and what if anything I could say to them. A friend from high school wrote a great post that really summarized everything I was feeling. She basically says that to anyone who longs to be a mother but isn't that it sucks and you are being ripped off. I totally agree.

I am so so very thankful for our little Skye. Having her is even better that I thought it would be and just when I think I can't possibly love her any more she smiles or giggles or does something else adorable and then I realize that I do.

And one of my mother and I. I love having her come visit so often.

6 Months of Cuteness

Alisha says: Skye had her six month wellness check up and is doing great.
Weight: 15 pounds 11 ounces (45%)
Height: 26.5 inches (75%). I'm not sure this is accurate though because that would mean that in the past 2 months she has grown 3 inches and went from the 20% to the 75%.
Head circumference: 16.5 inches (45%)

Skye is at a really cute age right now. She is a fairly mellow baby who loves to smile. Things that she is doing now:
-Has two little bottom teeth. The first popped up about two weeks about followed by the second a week later.
-She is using her hands more and more to pick up toys and grab things.
-Smiles and laughs when she looks at herself in the mirror.
-She can entertain herself for longer periods of time. She likes laying on her play mat and is really good at jumping in her jumper.
-Enjoys bath time, swimming and being outside
-Has tried rice cereal, avocado, sweet potato and a few licks of ice cream.
-Her favorite books are Jungle Babies and her Rhyme and Discover book that lights up and sings nursery rhymes.

Anaheim

Dave says: I had a conference in Anaheim and so we decided that it would be fun for Alisha and Skye to come along. I'll leave all the boring work stuff out of the blog except to say that I presented a paper related to sleep deprivation and ethical decision making and had some great meetings with colleagues. 

This was Skye's longest road trip to date at around 6 hours. She was good for the first four but then she was done and nothing we could do would make her happy. We thought she might cry it out but that didn't seem to work either. We were passing through Riverside and pulled off the freeway and took a nice long walk around the botanical gardens and the UC Riverside campus. It was a beautiful evening and eventually Skye was happy again and ready to finish the drive.

We stayed in the Red Lion near Disney Land but since Skye is a bit young for the park itself we walked around Downtown Disney where there was a lot for her to look at. I'll just pull this picture out in a few years when she asks to go to Disney Land and tell her that she's already been there.

We went walking on Balboa Island and took the 5 minute ferry ride out there for $1 (it's hard to believe you can do anything for $1 anymore). There were a lot of nice beach views and quaint houses to see. 

One night we went to the Anaheim Packing District for dinner where there are a ton of yummy hipster restaurants. There was also this cool free trolley that went around the area for 15 minutes. Skye was happy the whole time.

We did a hike on the beach and into the hills just north of Newport Beach. The beach was nice. The trails in the hills were wide dirt roads that were steep and lame. Skye has turned into a great hiker although I did let her out of her carrier and carried her in my arms for a mile or so.

Laguna Beach was a nice place to walk around and have some lunch. There's a nice paved path and cliff walk to the north of town that was way more scenic than our earlier hike.

Best daddy-daughter pic of the trip!

On the way back, I realized we needed a break for Skye part way through. We stopped in Palm Springs and rode the gondola up the mountain where in 15 minutes we went from desert and the mid 70s to forest and the high 40s. It was refreshing and a good place for a short hike. Skye made it all the way back to Phoenix with no tears although Alisha worked pretty hard for the last 15 minutes to keep her happy. In the end, it was a fun little getaway and Skye is turning into a good adventurer.