February

Alisha says: February has been all about adjusting to our new normal with two kids. I was able to get out for my first bike ride a little after two weeks postpartum and it was wonderful! I could actually bend over and my tummy wasn't touching the nose of my saddle and my knees weren't hitting my belly as I pedaled. It was awesome, I also felt much lighter and nimble. My mom stayed with us for a few days to help out while Dave was busy with a conference and on her last day we even got to go on a mountain bike ride together. I was nervous about leaving both kids and that they would both be fussy but they did fine and my mom did awesome with them.

Some days are great and I think I am rocking this two kid thing but then others are more challenging. We had one particularly bad day where Skye was just being wild and disobedient, even trying to hit Jade a few times and we were all in tears by the time Dave got home from work. We have been so worn out that usually after we put Skye to bed at 7:00 we will get ready for bed ourselves and then watch the Olympics in bed until I fall asleep.

Jade will usually sleep a good chunk of 3-4 hours until about midnight when she wakes up for a feeding but after that it seems like she wants to nurse the rest of the night or only sleep on or next to me. Most nights we end up sleeping for a few hours in the recliner in the living room. She is already getting out of the newborn stage as she tries to hold her own head up and puts on a little more weight.

Although Skye can be challenging being a two year old and adjusting to a new baby she can be also very sweet. She is a great sleeper and has gone back to sleeping from 7-7 which is great. She still takes a nice afternoon nap. We took her to the park the other day and she was so cute chasing the pigeons saying "catch it, catch, it". She is also getting better with her colors and is slowly starting to work on potty training. I have also found a babysitter in our neighborhood that she just started going to for a few hours two days a week. The woman has an almost two year old daughter so it is great and she has enjoyed it the few times she has gone. Skye loves the show Tumble Leaf right now and especially likes the episode about a kite. She also loves to sit at the little table in our kitchen.

Dave also had his 35th birthday. It was pretty uneventful as he had a long day at work so we planned on celebrating with his family on the weekend but his mom was sick so we ended up canceling that plan. I had ordered him an ice cream cake from Cold Stone and when I picked it up they had goofed on the name and put "Gabe" instead of "Dave" and the handwriting was terrible but we all just had a laugh about it and hopefully it will taste good.

Dave added a new addition to the fort

My brother and his family came to visit and see Jade

We went on an outing to the arboretum

Love me some baby snuggles, and she is sucking her thumb!

Jade's first bike race. We went to watch Lauren race the criterium at Valley of the Sun stage race.

Chasing birds at the park. "Catch it, catch it", so cute!

Sisters!

Christine and family finally got to meet Jade when she was one month old. They had been sick for a few weeks so we stayed away. Christine is also pregnant and was due 7 weeks after me but she was admitted to the hospital the night this picture was taken and had her baby a few days later at 36 weeks so Jade and her new cousin are only four weeks apart.

Happy Birthday Dave, or Gabe?!

Neighbor walks with baby Jade

I took both kids to the aquarium at the mall and survived!