6 Months

Alisha says: Jade is such a little joy. This past month she has really changed a lot. She just seems bigger in general to me. She like to be held facing out so she can see what is going on. She has figured out that she has hands and can control them which makes it a lot harder to eat while holding her because she is constantly grabbing for my plate, food, or utensils. She will entertain herself for stretches of time while laying/rolling/wiggling around on her play mat reaching for the toys that hang down, or sitting in her jumper playing with the toys around the edge. She likes to look at (and try to eat) books as I read to her. She can sit up for short stretches of time all by herself.

She is still not a great sleeper and tends to get me up an average of 4 times a night and recently has been waking up for the morning between 5:00-6:00 am. The good thing is that I am usually getting up anyway to head out on a bike ride but it would be really nice if she would sleep in a little more.

6 Month Stats:
Weight: 15 lbs 1 oz (40%)
Height: 26 in (60%)
Head Circumference: 16 3/4 in (50%)

 

July

Alisha says: It was oh so hard to return to the heat after our Park City vacation and as much as we immediately wanted to plan another trip I told Dave that we needed a few weeks of routine at home to really work on potty training with Skye. She is enrolled to start a little preschool two days a week mid August but it is a requirement that they are potty trained. We had a few rough days but she is finally starting to get it and I am beginning to think there is hope. The thing that finally started motivating her to do #2 on the potty was the reward of getting 2 oreos. So other than that we have been spending a lot of time in the pool where she continues to amaze me with her swimming skills. She can swim the length of our pool all by herself. She is good at holding her breath and looking around while under water. We have also tried a few other water related activities and took Skye paddle boarding and tubing on the Salt River.

Skye's vocabulary is growing every day. She knows a lot of words and is constantly asking "what's that" these days. It is fun to have more "conversations" with her and just to see what comes out of her mouth and what her little mind is thinking.

She has started saying the dinner prayer all by herself. It is adorable, mostly she just whispers a few sentences where we are not really sure what she is saying and then ends with a loud, clear, Amen!

First tiny top knot hairdo!

Early morning bike rides everyday!

 Paddleboarding

Tubing on the Salt River

Park City - Summer Vacay!!

Dave says: Our summer trip to Park City turned out to be an excellent adventure. We left in the early morning for Cedar City where we spent the first few days. On the way into town, Alisha dropped me off in the mountains with the ebike and I rode from trail to trail to trail until I finally ended up in town a few hours later. We did some smaller bike adventures with Brody and Elsie who really enjoyed riding down the paved trail and to the park. At the park, the kids all had a lot of fun getting in the water. We also made the usual trip to the swimming pool. However, this year Skye is a great swimmer and was much more excited to explore. There was also a family trip to the circus where we saw all the sorts of stuff you might expect.

After a couple days in Cedar City, we headed north to Park City where we had rented a condo just east of the city center from AirBnB. It turned out to be a great location close to all the things we wanted to do. The main purpose of the trip was to do a bunch of great biking and Park City did not disappoint. We were able to pull off some long rides by sending the kids to a half day camp. Skye had a great time at kids camp doing things like riding the gondola, hiking, and collecting rocks.

Sometimes I like to go to bike destinations with lots of technically challenging trails (Moab). One of the best parts of Park City is that the riding is incredible but has more flow than tech. Thus, Alisha and I could plan big rides that we both enjoyed. Some of our favorite options involved starting at Guardsman's Pass at the top of Wasatch Crest with Salt Lake off to the west side and Park City to the east and then riding various routes as a point to point until we ended up at the Canyons where kid camp was. The first time we did this ride we went the most direct way with few stops and finished way early. The next few times we added some good stuff along the way. Some favorite trails included Ambush, Pinecone, and Deer Crest. We also used Mid Mountain to string together lots of great rides. Masonic was memorable for being a tight thicket of a trail that tipped me into the bushes. Flagstaff had some of the most beautiful alpine meadows and views. Flying Dog was one of the prettiest downhills. We did many of these rides on our own but also met up with friends for many others. Some of our friends were ready to rip our legs off on the climbs to get good Strava times but fortunately we survived two weeks of long rides nearly every day.

We also got to see family during the trip. We met up with Amber and Devin and Richard and Britney at the Salt Lake Zoo and the kids all had a great time. Somehow we stayed there for nearly six hours and our little ones were getting a bit crazy by the end. Mandy and Shane came up and stayed with us in the condo for a few days. We did some fun adventures with them including some short hikes, riding the lift, going to the pool, and going on bike rides with the kids. Because we were located toward the top of town, it was easy to hop on the bike paths and ride for several miles that were mostly downhill to get to a park. There are lots of paved trails and so we mixed it up from day to day. I took the ebike with Skye on my back.

There was plenty to do to fill up two weeks. The Fourth of July featured a big parade down Main Street. The condo also had a hot tub which was an enjoyable way to finish many of our days. We also had an outdoor deck area overlooking the rode where we ate lots of meals. We got out on a couple dinner dates without the kids for some good Indian food and sushi. Alisha even took Skye on the big alpine slide.