March

Alisha says: March came and went in a hurry although it was just mostly regular life as usual. Dave and I have been trying to get in a bit of fitness to get ready for a big mountain bike event that we are doing at the end of April so I did the Cactus Cup mountain bike race at McDowell for some race miles. It was a 43 mile event on some really fun trails. I raced in the open women category and came out on the top step.

While I was racing Dave was away at a conference in California receiving an Ascending Scholar award. He got a nice plaque that he took into his office before I was able to snap a picture of him with it.

Skye has really improved her skills on both her bike and scooter and likes to ride around the neighborhood which is great because March weather is perfect for daily morning and evening walks around the neighborhood. The kids are always saying funny things as they figure out the world, currently Skye calls the grocery store "Sprouts" "Brussel Sprouts". I must be telling her to "pay attention" a lot because lately she has been telling me to pay attention but for some reason she always adds "don't" to the beginning of the phrase so she is always saying "don't pay attention mom" which is really funny. She still loves to dance and lately has been watching irish dancing on youtube videos.

February

Alisha says:
Skye has started riding her bike and scooter more!! She loves to play "tea party" and is developing quite the imagination. She calls the snack "fruit by the foot", "fruit by the toe". She loves going to her dance class and wearing her tap shoes.

Valentines Day Pictures: I sure love these two! Skye had a valentine party at preschool where she gave sticky hands valentines to her friends.

Valentine from Skye to mom!!

We had some friends from Seattle and Oregon fly out for a long weekend. We showed them our local trails and had fun hanging out and catching up. Skye had lots of fun playing with Sarah and Chris's son.

It has been a little cooler and much more rainy than usual. Skye didn't care and wanted to go scootering in the rain.

We celebrated Dave's 36th birthday!

13 Months

Alisha says: Jade has grown up so much this past month. She is officially a walker now! Although she still prefers the safety of holding on to a finger or some furniture she has walked 10+ steps all by herself. She fully understands the meaning of and can sign "more" (although it just looks like she is clapping, it is her version of more). She makes lots and lots of noises and some of them even sound like words. I'm sure we have heard her say "ball", "ma", "jade". She has an opinion and lets you know what she wants and will throw a fit when I take something away from her that she wants. She watches Skye and thinks she is just as big. She will occasionally give kisses which as so adorable, she basically will plant her wide open mouth on yours. She will give stuffed animals big hugs and will cover her own eyes and play peak-a-boo. She still wakes up almost every morning at 5:30 am. I know she knows when she is being mischievous because she will look at me with her super cute smile and even though I tell her no, she will continue to do whatever she is attempting weather it be climbing on something or getting into the cupboards.

My girls!

Alisha says: We also had some pictures taken of the girls together that make my heart melt. We did one that was the same pose from when Jade was a newborn that turned out really well. I am going to have to keep having this picture recreated each year.

2018

2019

Cake Smash

Alisha says: I loved Jade's newborn photos so much that I took her back to the same photographer for some one year pictures. Once again they are super cute!!

January

Alisha says: January was full of....

Park time

Mountain bike riding/racing. Dave and I did a mountain bike race at McDowell Mountain park. We did the 43 mile marathon course and since it was a mass start we had pre-decided that Dave and I were going to ride together during the race. It was really fun racing with Dave and he was a big help and motivator when I was getting tired. I rode with the first place girl for about 35 miles of the race and then I just couldn't hang with her anymore and finished a little over a minute back. It give me good motivation for next time. It was so fun racing with Dave!!

Trying on her dress getting ready for a photo session.

It is still way to cold to go swimming but Skye still loves playing by the pool.

We took Skye and Jade to an indoor play place and they both had a lot of fun. Skye loved going down a big blue slide.

12 Months - Happy Birthday!

Alisha says: Jade has circled the sun once and is now a cute 1 year old. She has grown so much in the past year that I look at her newborn photos and can't believe that was only 12 months ago. Her little personality is continuing to show and she is such a joy. A few weeks ago she had a little cold and wasn't feeling her best. Dave held her a lot and she decided that she is now a daddy's girl and will follow him around the house, maul him when he is on the floor and give him big hugs and hang onto him when I try to take her. It is really cute. She is still not walking but is very mobile and mischievous and she likes to get into the cupboards and climb on all sorts of things. We put a row of bins in front of the tv and fireplace to keep her away but she tries to climb and move them all while looking at you with a sly smile. We call her Jade, Jaders, and Jaders potaters, baby Jade. She has turned into a good little night sleeper usually sleeping 7-6 and will take 2 naps during the day. She has four teeth with a fifth about to come in.

12 Month Pediatrician Stats:
Weight: 18 lbs. 5 oz. (25%)
Height: 28 1/2 in. (30%)
Head Circumference: 18 in. (70%)

On her actual birthday we took the girls to a new park in Queen Creek where they had fun playing followed by some dinner. The next day we took her to get some birthday/cake smash photos taken by the same woman who did her newborn pictures. She was interested in her cake and played with it a little bit but didn't get too messy. Then on Sunday we had a big family dinner party for her complete presents, singing and more cake!!