March

Dave says: March was the start of all the corona craziness. Fortunately, Jade has been at a very fun stage of life in terms of lifting our spirits. She is just getting good at communicating and is very cute as a result. She is really good at reading along with stories right now. She likes Wild Things and Bears in the Night. She reads along with her favorite parts and sometimes tries to turn the pages. She still doesn't like getting her teeth brushed though. She has gotten better at playing games on the tablet and has a lot of patience to sit and figure them out. Some favorites here are Toca (feeding people), Monsters Socks (a story), Nighty Night (turning off the lights for animals), and Baby Unicorn (taking care of this little pet). 

She still often gets up once a night which is not one of her best qualities. She stands in her crib holding her mermaid pillow and says "milky." She is really into playdough and likes to dress up little figurines with it. She has also gotten good building with Magnatiles and likes to create structures to put toy cars in. She really likes small toys and has very good attention to detail. As expected, she wants to do all of the same things that Skye does.

Skye is very into arts and crafts right now. We went through a stage making lots of things out of pipe cleaners. We made bracelets, necklaces, animals, and more. She loves drawing and painting a lot. She can churn out 10 or more drawings in a few minutes. She has also figured out how to make deals with her parents and to say "deal?" to try and get us to agree with things. She still likes a lot of attention from mom and dad. She gets very excited about things in the future and asks about them a lot. She misses her preschool friends and is always looking forward to seeing other people. Kids can change fast at these ages so we're glad to put down a few of these memories from early 2020.

Alisha says: The corona virus has really begun to spread throughout the United States. It shouldn't have come as a surprise but it kind of did. All the school had their regularly scheduled spring breaks and then they decided it wasn't safe for everyone to go back to school so it has been put on hold while we figure out the virus. Even Dave has been asked not to come into campus and has been trying to get his work done from home. Our routine has changed from being out and about to trying to stay home and safe.

One last trip to the zoo with friend before things got crazy

My dad finally retired from his job of 35+ years. He's worked in the drilling/mining industry since before I was born. We've been so lucky that he's been working in Arizona so we have got to see them on a regular basis since we moved here 5 years ago. My  mom has been around Skye since she was born and has spent a lot of time with her so they have developed a close relationship. We are really going to miss regular visits from Grandma and all of the amazing babysitting she helped us out with so that we could get out on some great bike adventures.

Enjoying the outdoors

February

Alisha says: February is always such an enjoyable month in Arizona. The weather is great for getting outside. We had friends visit from Oregon and Washington to enjoy some of our sunshine. It was fun to get to see Chris and Sarah's new twins. Dave took the boys for a mountain bike ride and the rest of us enjoyed a day at the zoo. The kids even got to ride the camel.

Visits from Grandma Debbie

Skye's artwork

Lots of good riding. Although we tried to ride past tortilla flats to the end of the pavement one day but their was too much water to cross from recent storms. That's okay though, the ride past canyon lake is still one of our favorites.

Lantern Festival

Alisha says: The girls favorite movie recently has been Tangled which is Disney's newer version of Rapunzel. So when I saw that there was going to be this lantern festival I decided to get tickets. The girls were really excited to see Rapunzel walking around and got to go meet her. Skye even did a little singing and dancing for her, it was super cute. They kept wanting to go back and see her. Lighting the lanterns was a little crazy but also cool. It really did look amazing when they were all floating up in the sky.

2 Year Check Up

Alisha says: Jade's two year wellness visit to the pediatrician confirmed that she is a healthy and strong two year old. She enjoyed playing with the cotton balls and tongue depressors while she waited for the doctor.

2 Year Stats:

Weight: 23.4 lbs (25%)

Height: 32 1/2 inches (25%)

Head Circumference: 18 1/2 inches (50%)

I still call her my little sweet pea. She likes hanging out with mom and running errands while Skye is in preschool but she really likes picking up Skye from preschool and gets excited when she comes out. 

Happy Birthday Jade

Alisha says: Wow! We had fun celebrating Jade's 2nd birthday with a family party. She loved all the attention and thought opening her presents was fun.