Posted in General ramblings on May 31, 2013 | Leave a Comment »
We had a visit from Mike and Heather (my brother and his wife) right after Memorial Day. It’s been about a year since their last visit, so it was great seeing them.
Jia Li had a blast and dragged them all over town, through Fort Lewis College, and to her favorite park. 
Posted in General ramblings on May 22, 2013 | Leave a Comment »
Our little girl keeps making the milestones. This month she went hiking for the first time. Usually I carry her in a backpack, but this time I pulled her out to give her some time to walk.
Jia Li spent time looking at the scenery, much like when she crawled on this trail for the first time in the snow, but she managed to make it up an entire switchback before asking to be carried again.
We stopped for a quick snack before she jumped back in the pack so I could continue the hike. She loves Annie’s bunny gummies.
We stopped at the park to play at the end of the hike. Jia Li loves our neighborhood park. Today she found some chalk that somebody left behind.
Park hopping in the Chariot on the weekends has become one of our rituals. Jia Li has become fascinated with my bike helmet. I think it’s time to get her one of her own so she can play on her own bikes.
Posted in General ramblings on May 11, 2013 | Leave a Comment »
Well, I’m past due on the blog for Jia Li’s 16 month milestone. I figured I better get this post up before the 17 month milestone hits!
Life flies by so quickly. I woke up this week, got Jia Li dressed for the day, and Matt and I noticed that suddenly her clothes don’t fit. What the?!?! She had a growth spurt….like overnight!
She’s still got room to grow in order to reach this xylophone at one of our parks in town. There’s a smaller one that she can reach, barely. She is really getting into music these days. She hums, sings, and dances to her favorite tunes.
Our little girl loves the parks. Luckily, Durango has so many parks that we have yet to hit them all.
My favorite activity is toting Jia Li around town in the Chariot. This was one of our best purchases! Bike commuting was ho-hum until Jia Li came along.
Jia Li’s favorite things these days include playing on my iPad and undressing her doll (thanks Kathy for making such a cute doll with many different outfits).
She spends 2 half days a week at day care and has lots of fun there.
Life is good for this little girl who has the luxury of having both her parents working from home.
Posted in General ramblings on March 30, 2013 | Leave a Comment »
We celebrated my birthday and Jia Li’s 15 month celebration together at Carver’s on March 15th. It was a great family occasion, as are all of our family outings.
Jia Li has become quite active these days and keeps Matt and me on our toes. She’s turning into quite the little athlete, running, rock climbing, and being a all around dare devil. I think she gets that from her Dad.
Our little rock climber
Learning to stack rings
Walking to the mailbox to get the mail
Head first down the slide…
We’re almost 1/2 way to 16 months for Jia Li. Maybe I’ll get her next post out on time!
Posted in General ramblings on February 18, 2013 | Leave a Comment »
We celebrated Jia Li’s 14 month birthday in style. We went to Moab to cheer on Matt as he ran the Moab Red Hot 55K. While he was out running, we hiked.
We went to see the Corona Arch which people were bungee jumping from for spectators.
The next day we headed towards Purgatory and I got in some skate skiing while Matt and Jia Li went cross country skiing. Matt has some cute photos on his Facebook page.
We finished off the day with a nice meal at Steamworks.
Posted in General ramblings on January 22, 2013 | Leave a Comment »
Jia Li loves the outdoors, and Grandma & Grandpa just made it a little more fun.
Her new sled works well for us. I can easily pull her over to the park in our neighborhood and she gets to kick back for the ride.
She also got new matching Stonz booties, mitts, and a fleece hat straight from Canada. These work wonders! I no longer bring home a baby with cold hands and feet. We played at the park and in the snow with no cold issues, and it was 19 degrees F outside.
Thanks Grandma & Grandpa!!!
Posted in General ramblings on January 5, 2013 | 2 Comments »
Wow, the holidays flew by with no blog posts. I’ve been using the blog as a digital baby book of sorts for Jia Li, so I need to catch up!
So we had Christmas presents to open that Jia Li and the cats really enjoyed.
We waited until Christmas evening to do this. So Jia Li was a tad tired, but she still enjoyed opening the gifts. It didn’t slow Merv down. He went crazy with the tissue paper.
The next day Jia Li had just as much fun playing with her new gifts, plus she had the smiles going. She received a lot of books, which was great. We have yet to make it through an entire book, but Jia Li loves flipping through the pages! Whoever suggested that adding book reading into your toddler’s bedtime routine was never around an active baby like Jia Li.
As most of you known, we don’t send out holiday greeting cards. Perhaps some day I will actually have time to do this. Maybe when Jia Li is 16. In the meantime, please know that all our friends and family are always in our thoughts, regardless of whether its the holiday season or not.
Posted in General ramblings on December 16, 2012 | Leave a Comment »
Our little girl is 1 year old today. Time has flown by so quickly. I still think of her as my little baby until I see moms toting around their newborns and then I realize she’s now a toddler.
Posted in General ramblings on December 5, 2012 | 2 Comments »
Jia Li has been playing with a new toy lately.
Our little girl is almost 1 year old. This time has flown by fast. I don’t want to jinx us, but honestly, this has been easier than I thought it would be!
Posted in General ramblings on November 24, 2012 | 2 Comments »
Matt has tricked out my ride with a kickstand, pannier, and flat pedals to go with the cross bike and Chariot.
This means lots of trips around town grocery shopping and having fun. Park hopping has been our most recent activity.
Jia Li has been very intrigued with the slides. She sees bigger kids on them and tries to mimic what they do.
She also loves crawling around in the grass and wood chips.
Rock climbing is still a favorite.
We stopped at Bread for a little treat on one of our adventures.
With the fun we’ve been having, I don’t want colder temperatures. I love this weather we’ve been having! 50s to 60s means we can travel light and have fun as we go.
Posted in General ramblings on November 24, 2012 | Leave a Comment »
Matt’s folks came for a visit a few weeks ago. On their last visit here, they brought Jia Li a rocking horse that they both made together. She can fit on it now. It’s too cute.
On this visit Bill and Kathy brought a baby doll cradle, a baby doll with cute outfits, and two little kitties that represent Jangles and Merv.
She loves playing with this. The kitties have her attention most these days. Plus climbing in and out of her cradle is fun too.
Jia Li will be growing into these gifts for a long time.
Posted in General ramblings on November 16, 2012 | 2 Comments »
We’re getting close to having a toddler in the house, not a baby.
Jia Li has made some new milestones again this month. Just a few days ago she started feeding herself with her baby spoon. She gets more on her face than her mouth, but she’s getting the hang of it! She’s also drinking by herself out of a sippy cup.
Jia Li has also started waving and she says “Hi” when she’s doing it. I guess that’s her first official word! Okay, she does say mama and dada but I can’t quite tell if she is addressing us or just practicing her language skills.
While Jia Li has been walking with assistance from us holding one or two of her hands, she has recently discovered a way to walk on her own with one of her toys.
As usual, exploring is the name of the game for this little one. She knows how to get into drawers and cabinets. All the low level storage areas are now hers. I overlooked the Q-Tip box the other day. I didn’t think she could get into it. I was wrong.
Jia Li has also been learning how to climb into things. Here she is waving hi again.
We had a cold weekend last week and I bundled up Jia Li for a hike. The down pram worked great! I just need a way to keep her face warm.
Luckily, things have warmed up again. We are enjoying our last days of Fall!
Posted in General ramblings on November 8, 2012 | 2 Comments »
I was in the middle of a phone conference the other day and realized Jia Li was being uncharacteristically quiet, so I went to investigate.
Thank goodness this hasn’t become a habit. It’s funny though, I need to learn that if there’s something in the house that the cats like to mess with, Jia Li is likely to mess with it sooner or later too!
Posted in General ramblings on November 7, 2012 | Leave a Comment »
I’ve been horrible about posting on the blog. School and work have me quite busy these days, so now I’ve got some catching up to do!
Jia Li is up to 16 pounds. Still less than the 3rd percentile for other babies her age, but she’s growing at her own rate.
I had a book club meeting at my house at the end of October and Lila came to visit with her mom. This was the first time the girls played with each other rather than just parallel playing. It was really cute.
We are all taking advantage of the great Fall weather before cold hits and we lose all our sunlight at the end of the day. That means lots of trips to the parks around town! Jia Li isn’t complaining.
She always loves checking out my bike.
She’s also becoming quite the rock climber!
I’m getting better about always being prepared on our outings. I can’t forget the snacks!
If we can’t make it to the park, at least we can go for a quick neighborhood walk. This time Jia Li decided to grab keys and lip balm for the trip.
Winter will be here before we know it. I’m looking forward to taking Jia Li out in the snow.
Posted in General ramblings on October 16, 2012 | Leave a Comment »
I can’t believe how close our little girl is getting to a year old!
She’s still not walking but getting awfully close.
She and Dad have been getting a lot of together time. She’s now got a Bama ball cap, so she and Dad were decked out and ready for game day this last weekend.
Jia Li and I have been doing our normal weekend hikes, which as usual are lots of fun. Jia Li has her game face on for this photo.
Here’s Jia Li with a post hike snack.
Nothing but cuteness exuding from this little one these days.
Posted in General ramblings on October 8, 2012 | 1 Comment »
No top teeth for Jia Li yet, but the bottom ones are definitely in and they work well.
When I “brush” her teeth, she clamps down hard on my finger and giggles. All sorts of things are funny to Jia Li these days. She’s got a great sense of humor.
This past weekend Matt ran a 50K trail race in town, so Jia Li and I packed up the Chariot and met Matt on the trail. She wasn’t very happy about me putting a sun hat on her head.
After seeing Matt on course, we biked around town to the bike path and did some exploring. We stopped at a park along the way too, which was fun. We eventually arrived at Rivergate where the race finish line was and waited for Dad to come through.
Here’s Matt getting his medal…first in his age group and 4th overall! Not bad for a mountain biker.
We’ve been getting our weekend hikes in the high country before it starts to get too cold. I love Fall!
Other than that, things have been low key around here. Pretty much spending time with Jia Li and watching her try to put everything she sees in her mouth.
Speaking of which, Jia Li’s food list is expanding. She’s now eating mandarin oranges. She loves them, but you wouldn’t have thought so with the first bite she had. Maybe it had something to do with the peel.
Posted in General ramblings on September 25, 2012 | 1 Comment »
We have a little buddy who makes us smile all day.
She keeps us quite busy with all her house explorations, but it’s fun to see her learn and grow.
She and the cats have been getting along quite well. Jangles has become the big brother, always watching.
Where does the time go? It seems like yesterday I was holding her in just one arm.
Posted in General ramblings on September 16, 2012 | 1 Comment »
This month brought on hands and knees crawling, climbing everything in sight, pulling up on furniture, and getting back down to seated. So many gains in such a small amount of time. It’s amazing to watch Jia Li grow.
We’re going to have to do something about the metal railings upstairs soon before they become a jungle gym.
Jia Li has been watching the cats and learning quite a bit. She sees them climb this little step stool to watch all the outdoor activities from the living room window, so she thought she should do the same. The only problem is that we have to be careful of her attempting this because the stool isn’t sturdy enough for her weight. She needs us nearby to spot her.
Jia Li has really been enjoying her new play room and has more than enough toys to keep her busy! The funny thing is that it’s the non-toys that seem to intrigue her the most.
Posted in General ramblings on September 8, 2012 | 1 Comment »
Jia Li’s teeth cut through the gums on August 13th, but I wasn’t able to get a decent picture of them until yesterday. Teething hasn’t been bad, so far, which we’re all happy with.
Jia Li and I got in a hike on Skyline today. Fall is definitely in the air.
I haven’t been on that trail all summer. It’s a bit hot, plus I wanted to save it for Fall and Winter.
I’ve maxed out the memory on the iPhone, so I’ve been backing up photos and found a few cute ones that I didn’t have on the blog.
Posted in General ramblings on September 3, 2012 | Leave a Comment »
We had a nice, quiet Labor Day at home. Jia Li and I got in lots of hiking. On Sunday we met Tanya for a hike at Vallecito.
I’d never been on this trail before…it’s wilderness, so in the past I would have had no interest since I can’t ride my bike on it. It was a great trail! Definitely nice and challenging for running or hiking. Lots of rocks!
Jia Li has been teething so she chewed on my water mouthpiece most if the time.
Jia Li hit some new milestones this week. On Saturday she crawled on her hands and knees to me (rather than doing her commando crawl). She took about 4 strides and went back to the belly. It was cute.
On Saturday I also converted her exersaucer to a stand up toy. It’s at the lowest setting so Jia Li can pull herself up and practice sitting herself back down again.
Today Jia Li climbed the stairs by herself. We’ve helped her in the past but today she did it solo. Her incentive? She was chasing Merv.
Our little girl is growing up so fast!
Posted in General ramblings on August 27, 2012 | 2 Comments »
Jia Li has been growing fast and is now up to 14.5 pounds! My back is starting to hurt when I carry her in the Bjorn too long. Luckily I have 2 backpack carriers.
For our weekend hike I used the Becco Butterfly pictured above. It’s nice because it has a piece of fabric that holds Jia Li’s head in place when she falls asleep. The other pack I have is the Deuter Kangakid. It is nice because Jia Li can see better and she doesn’t rest against my back (which gets hot), but as soon as she falls asleep her little head bobs at a painful looking angle. I need to figure out head support for that thing.
Jia Li has become very active. She doesn’t like being restrained in anything for very long. She used to love being IN the exersaucer but now she prefers to be UNDER it.
She’s looking forward to getting a little taller so she ride her zebra.
She’s got quite the play room now. She’s got her cloth books…
Tons of rolling toys (including ones intended for the cats)…
Plus she’s got her partner in crime to keep her occupied. Jangles will open up the cabinet and jump in, and then Jia Li will start pulling out everything in the cabinet. It’s too cute watching those two help each other out.
Posted in General ramblings on August 16, 2012 | Leave a Comment »
Happy birthday, sweet little girl. To celebrate your 8 month birthday, you are cutting in a bottom tooth!
We can also add that you have mastered the commando crawl and you are working on getting up on your hands and knees. You can now sit up on your own and pull yourself up to standing. You are feeding yourself little pieces of finger foods too! Best of all, you’ve discovered a new game – hide and seek with Jangles the cat. We love you!
Posted in General ramblings on August 11, 2012 | 1 Comment »
We’ve been enjoying a visit from the grandparents (my folks) and Jia Li is really getting to know her Grandma and Grandpa well.
Today was a new milestone. Jia Li is now able to go from tummy to sitting up all on her own! She’s also getting up on her hands and knees, so I’m expecting a transition from the commando crawl to a normal crawl pretty soon!
Her latest feat is climbing up on her little booster chair and doing a little flying motion. She can get herself up here on her own but she can’t get down. Doh!
Jia Li has been playing chase with Jangles. The other day he hid under her exersaucer, so she followed.
Jia Li has gotten a lot of walks in the jogger with Grandma, which ensures a happy, well rested baby.
She’s going to really miss her Grandma and Grandpa when they go.
Posted in General ramblings on August 5, 2012 | 2 Comments »
I recently picked up a new pack and play pen at our local second hand shop for $40. Brand new; apparently was a gift that sat in someone’s garage unused. Jia Li was able to pull herself up on her knees the first day.
By the second day she was on her feet. This is fine when I’m watching her because it gives her an eye level view of me when I’m working.
Jangles of course had to get in on the fun and burrowed under the mattress.
Jia Li and Jangles had some fun sharing each other’s toys for a bit too.
Jia Li is now doing her Army crawl all over the place, so we decided to give her a larger play area. I think she’s quite happy with the new arrangement!
She’s definitely mobile, so it’s time to really start the baby proofing!
Posted in General ramblings on July 26, 2012 | 2 Comments »
We’ve been enjoying the summer now that the rains are here and temps are cooling. This past weekend we went for a hike with Tanya and her neighbor, Jordan.
Thanks to Tanya for the cute photo above. Jia Li really enjoys the new Beco Butterfly II. She’s getting big enough that I need to carry her on my back for long climbs.
This week we’ve taken a couple of walks to the park to swing.
Tonight Jia Li grabbed an ice cube tray from the kitchen and didn’t want to let it go, so it came on our walk with us.
During the walk she took a nap, but never let go of the tray!
We tried some puff cereal this week. Jia Li prefers playing with it over eating it.
She’s been eating sweet peas for awhile but today she thought they were suspect at best.
Jia Li is still a trooper when hanging out in the garage with me for workouts.
Today Jangles joined us.
Posted in General ramblings on July 16, 2012 | Leave a Comment »
Wow, our little one is now closer to one year old than she is to her birth date.
We went on a hike this weekend and tried out a new soft back carrier I purchased for her. So far so good!
She is growing so fast! She is now 13 pounds. A little small for her age (okay, she is in the <3%ile for her weight), but she is maturing quickly.
Jia Li wants to stand and walk on her own and she's determines to learn.
She’s been trying to pull herself up by grabbing into things.
She’s eating solid foods and babbling syllables. Now if only she would get in a steady nap schedule. Right now, I have to hold her until she sleeps.
Posted in General ramblings on July 10, 2012 | Leave a Comment »
Jia Li can’t crawl or walk yet, but she’s definitely getting the hang of holding onto stationary objects so that she can stand.
She and Jangles are getting to know each other a little better too…
Posted in General ramblings on July 4, 2012 | Leave a Comment »
Thunder storms nixed my high country hiking plans today, so Jia Li and I hiked Animas. Well, I hiked and Jia Li napped
With cloud cover and a cool breeze, the hike wasn’t too hot. We finished just before a light rain started.
Happy 4th of July!
Posted in General ramblings on June 27, 2012 | 3 Comments »
Jia Li tried out the park swings for the first time and she loved it!
She prefers to scoot to the front and lean into the swing rather than sitting back.
We had to really wash those hands when we got home, but Jia Li thought it was totally worth it!
Posted in General ramblings on June 26, 2012 | Leave a Comment »
This past weekend Jia Li and I headed to the high country to get a break from the heat.
When we left town it was 96 degrees. By the time we got to our trail head, it was 79 degrees. Ahhhhh, it felt wonderful!
It was nice to see lots of green and flowers.
It was great getting out here. It felt so nice outside that I didn’t want to go back into town.
Posted in General ramblings on June 22, 2012 | 5 Comments »
Last weekend we had a nice hike with Tanya and Oso. We hit the high country to stay cool.
Jia Li decided she would rather chew her hat instead of wear it.
We had Lyn, Rita, and Kasen visit for the weekend too. Jia Li and Kasen had a great time together as usual.
Jia Li has been eating up a storm. She has had rice cereal, sweet potatoes, avocado, and banana. Her favorite so far is sweet potato. In fact, I made my first batch of baby food sweet potato. It was pretty easy and cost me about a third of what I would pay for pre-made food.
She always starts out clean before the meal…
Jia Li picked out some new toys from the kitchen recently. She needed something to keep her busy while I worked out in the garage. Her choice? A wood spatula and a BWR water bottle.
Posted in General ramblings on June 18, 2012 | 1 Comment »
Jia Li loves my iPad. She swipes from one app to the next with ease. I didn’t even know you could swipe between apps until I saw her do it. In the following photo, I have the camera turned on her, so she’s staring at her image on the iPad. She likes this almost as much as looking at herself in the mirror.
Another new toy is this Baby Einstein deal that plays classical music. She can push the big round button and toggle through the tunes. She loves this!
Posted in General ramblings on June 16, 2012 | 2 Comments »
Time flies.
Our little girl is now 6 months old! Just like last month, she is making some monumental baby milestones. She is becoming a pro at tummy time and drooling.
She figured out how to sit up on her own without help just a couple days before her 6 month birthday!
Plus she is learning to eat solid foods. It’s just runny rice cereal for today, but sweet potatoes will be on the menu soon!
Posted in General ramblings on June 7, 2012 | 2 Comments »
Jia Li is such a happy baby. She has a beautiful little toothless grin that warms my heart.
She greets us every morning with a smile.
She grins away when playing in her exersaucer.
She even smiles when she sleeps.
Jia Li is getting better about tummy time. She used to cry and grimace when I put her down. Now she gives me a smile and tolerates this for a bit.
She’s really getting into the feet and toes now too. I think she prefers sucking on her big toe over her thumb.
She’s finally getting into books a bit too. Okay, she prefers chewing this one over having Mom read it to her.
Posted in General ramblings on May 27, 2012 | Leave a Comment »
The furry members of our family haven’t been gracing my blog posts lately and I feel bad about that. I thought I’d take some time to recognize these guys because they are a huge part of our family.
Jangles has a new collar because he learned how to take his old one off. The clever boy figured out that he has a safety release on his collar that, if tugged on correctly, can be broken. He’d slip his lower jaw under the collar to release the safety clasp.
The boys are our shadows…always near us and always looking out for us.
Merv standing guard from the upper windows. He growls at animals and people that walk by our house. He especially dislikes dogs. He’ll growl at them and then run from one window to the next through the house growling and chasing off the interlopers that pass by his territory.
The boys keep each other company and share warmth. I think that once Jia Li is old enough, she’s going to be joining them for naps.
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