Halloween Tiger

Dave says: It was our first Halloween with Skye and we questioned whether we would even get her a costume or take her trick or treating. In the end, I'm glad we did because we had a cute little tiger cub to take to a fun Halloween party and around the neighborhood to get candy. It turns out that she is pretty good at reaching her little hand into the candy bowl and pulling out several pieces. Alisha even took her to the zoo in her tiger costume to see a real tiger. For the last few years, Halloween wasn't that exciting of a holiday for us but now that we've got a little trick or treater I'm already looking forward to next year!

Checking out her loot after trick or treating

Visiting a real tiger at the zoo on Halloween

At the zoo with friends

So Many Hot Air Balloons!!!

Dave says: This fall I taught three sections of the ethics course in the online MBA program. I had great students and the course went well. When my teaching was over, It was time to get outside for a week with a road trip. My first stop was Moab and I drove right to the start of the Slickrock trail where I had just enough time to ride the loop before dark. As a 16-year-old kid on a carbon hardtail with 2 inches of front suspension, this was my favorite trail and it amazed me that such an incredible trail could exist. Now, with a modern trail bike and 150mm front and rear, Slickrock is still a great trail but lacks that white-knuckled sense of adventure that comes not knowing if you'll be able to make all the obstacles or not. 

The next day, I got in two of Moab's most epic rides. When I woke up in the morning and saw the rain pouring down, I was worried that I wouldn't get to ride. Fortunately, it was a quick storm that dropped some water and then moved on. By the time the shuttle dropped us off at the top of the Whole Enchilada (technically Hazard Pass), it was 40 degrees outside and damp but there was no rain. It was 30 miles straight downhill on some epic trails including the top stuff, UPS, LPS, and Porcupine Rim. Here, the modern trailbike helped out a lot in terms of gobbling up chunky boulders and dropping off ledges. I managed to break a spoke somewhere along the way but rolled into town without additional incident and the guy at the shop quickly fixed my spoke and earned some extra $ from me. 

After a quick lunch across the street, it was off to Amasa Back and Captain Ahab. After climbing up Hymasa to the top, I dropped into Ahab and what a ride it was. Favorite Moab trail! Maybe the best trail anywhere although the three "H" trails in Sedona and Gooseberry Mesa are in the same ballpark. Tons of drops, tons of just makeable obstacles, tons of chunky slickrock and natural formations, tons of tight moves, and tons of views (just don't get too close to the edge). It's everything I love in a black diamond mtb trail and I was smiling like crazy the whole way down. Rolled into Fruita in the evening dead tired and had Dominoes bring pizza right to the hotel.

The next few days I spent with Keith, Rob, Scott, and Brian on some amazing trails in Fruita. There are three great riding areas each worthy of multiple days. The trails tend to be fast and scenic but with occasional obstacles to keep you on your toes. We camped out in the Book Cliffs area on the north side of town and had a great time. We rode all day, broke some bike parts (not me), had some crashes without serious injury (not me), and had a blast. This was my first real exploration of Fruita and I'll definitely be back. On Friday, it was time to pack up camp and drive to Albuquerque for the final part of the trip. Coming over Ouray through Silverton and into Durango was absolutely gorgeous with fall colors and a light dusting of snow on the mountain peaks. Wow!

Alisha and Skye were supposed to arrive on Friday at 10 pm but the airline was slow and somehow let too many people onto the plane. It was midnight before I got them and Skye was still awake (despite her normal 6:30 bedtime) but she was a trooper nevertheless.

We stayed with Alex and Elizabeth who were tremendous hosts even though everyone in their family was sick. On the first day, we went to the park and aquarium in Albuquerque. Skye loves looking at the fish. On day two, we woke up early for the main attraction: the Balloon Fiesta! It was quite remarkable to see hundreds of hot air balloons inflating and lifting off right at sunrise. Skye was entertained and so were we. Ballooning may seem like a relatively calm sport but it looks to us like balloons don't steer very well and so we're inclined to stick to biking. The whole trip was a ton of fun and a great way to celebrate the conclusion of my teaching for the year. 

11 Months

Alisha says: Skye is now an expert crawler and likes to pull herself to a standing position and do a little cruising. She is still very needy and will stand up and just hold on to my legs when I am trying to cook dinner. Dave is a softy and will pick her up as soon as she starts to whine. The thing that makes her giggle the most is when Dave is holding her and I chase them, it is adorable. Since the pool is now too cold for our afternoon swims we have started doing some walks after dinner and before bedtime.

Fun things we did during the past month:
-Camping up by Flagstaff with Christine, Parker and family.
-Went to the zoo and children's museum.
-Mountain biking.
-A play date with Lola and a gymboree class with Riley.

10 Months

Alisha says: A lot has happened in the last month and Skye reached some big milestones. First she started sleeping through the night!  Hallelujah! The second is that she started crawling! The day she started crawling was August 14th. Dave coaxed her into it by bribing her with some cheese. Now she is quite the little expert crawler and can really get around, although she still really likes to be held and carried. She is already starting to pull herself up to a stand and will stand and play while holding on to something. She still needs a spotter when she is standing because she is pretty wobbly. It is fun to watch her world expand a little as she has developed into this new stage of getting around.

I feel like we have really settled into a good, predictable routine this last month. She wakes up around 6:00 am and has a bottled followed usually by a walk, hike or bike ride. Three hours after she wakes up she is ready for her morning nap which is usually about an hour and half. When she wakes up we will play, run errands, eat lunch. Then three hours after she wakes up from her morning nap she is ready for her afternoon nap which is usually only one hour. Then we play, read and attempt to prep dinner. When Dave gets home from work it's pool time. She likes splashing around. I am trying to do my own little version of swimming lessons until I take her to real ones. I make her float on her back, grab onto the side, and we usually dunk her once or twice. After the pool we have dinner. She is an enthusiastic eater and usually grunts and makes lots of noise. She mostly eats what we are eating. Around 6:30 we read a few books, have a bottle and then put her in her crib where if she isn't already asleep is pretty good at falling asleep herself and then sleeps through the night.

Other cute things she does is making funny faces. One is where she scrunches up her nose, pursers her lips together and then breathes loudly in and out through her nose. Another one is more of a suprised face with big eyes and her mouth in an "o". The last one is sometimes she will shake her head around and kind of roll her eyes around, it's not a "yes" or "no" nod but more random all over the place. She first started doing this when she was eating and seemed to like whatever it was. She also has 7, almost 8 teeth.

I have been trying to teach her a few basic sign language signs such as milk, more, drink, eat. She doesn't sign any back yet but I know that she recognizes the milk sign. I can do it, without saying milk, and she will start to get excited and know that she is getting a bottle. She is really good at clapping also.

She will giggle when I smother her in kisses, tickle her, make funny faces, play peekaboo, and when Dave is holding her and I chase them she will giggle and hold on to Dave. She really is a lot of fun, a good little traveler/adventurer, and we love her so much!

Who wants some s'more?

Alisha says: We went camping last weekend with some friends and had a fun time. After setting up camp we took a short drive over to Woods Canyon Lake for a little walk/hike. Dinner back at the campsite was classic tinfoil dinners followed by s'mores. I really enjoy sitting around a campfire in the woods and Skye liked playing in the dirt and watching the campfire.

My New Riding Buddy

Alisha says: We decided to take Skye out for a little ride around the neighborhood the other morning and she loved it. She was looking around, kicking her feet and making cute noises the whole time. Since the neighborhood ride went well we have since taken her out on the easy dirt trails at Usery Pass. It is so fun taking her out for a little spin, I love to follow when she is riding with Dave, she looks like a little spider monkey on his back. It is so cute.

9 Month Update

Alisha says: Skye is quite the little joy in our lives. She still doesn't crawl yet but is getting really close, it will be any day now that she figures it out. She is a really good eater and eats lots of different table foods. Her stats from her 9 month wellness appointment are: 

Weight: 18.8 pounds (60%0

Height: 29 inches (92%)

Head Circumference: 17.5 inches (60%)