Mountain Biking Once Again

In early June Chris and I had the pleasure of going moutain biking for the first time in almost three years and it was sooo much fun!  I hadn't been since my XTERRA triathlon the summer before Keira was born.  Not to brag, but I did relatively well considering I hadn't been in so long.  Or so I thought until the next time we went together.  It was the perfect ride for my first time.  We were celebrating Chris' birthday and he was being super nice to me and I think he really wanted me to enjoy it.  He was going slow so I could keep up (not on the downhills of course, then he was waiting a lot) and he was really encouraging and giving me excuses for not going over the big rocks or scary parts and for going slow on the downhills.  That plays a pretty large role in how much I enjoy mountain biking.  It was just so fabulous to be on a date, especially doing something we used to spend sooooo much time doing together.  And it was great to be outside in the beautiful mountains on a glorious summer day!

The next time we went mountain biking it wasn't quite as fun.  Chris was back to his pushing himself and I couldn't keep up on the uphills which was pretty discouraging.  Especially since I got a big ego thinking I was in pretty good shape since I kept up with him the time before.  And then of course he was just smoking me on the downhills.  When we got to the halfway point it started raining so we had a cold, long, wet ride back.  But Chris was really nice and made sure I was making it down okay and kept waiting for me.  I hope we can do lots of mountain biking this summer, and go on dates!

Grace's Baptism

I am so honored to be the Godmother to Maria and Tony's baby girl, Grace.  Technically a witness since I'm not Catholic.  It was a beautiful ceremony and Grace was just perfect during it.  It was so sweet.  Several times she looked up at me and at her Godfather (Jason, a friend of Tony's) and just smiled.

The proud Grandpa and Deacon (I think?)

By picture time poor Grace had had enough.  Tony, the proud father.

21 Months

Keira is really becoming a little girl.  Gosh, they just grow up so fast!  She is becoming quite independent and is a girl who likes things her way.  She is starting to say sentences with several understandable words and I can almost always understand what she's saying.  If she wants, she can almost always get her point across.  Although sometimes she just gets frustrated and forgets she knows how to talk.  I really do wish I remembered more from her 21 month birthday back in May.  Bummer.

She's enjoys and is doing well at feeding herself.  Not sure if she's going to be a lefty or right handed or maybe ambidextrous like her dad.

When it's wet her curly hair is super cute!!!

She LOVES accessories.  I bought her a cheap pearl necklace from a consignment store and she pretty much won't get dressed in the morning without it.  She loves bracelets and bows.  She enjoys taking her ponytails out and putting them on her wrist.  She loves to wear an old watch of mine.  She loves to wear shoes, on her feet or her hands.  She loves to wear socks, on her feet or her hands.  She loves her paci.  She enjoys being in her crib.  Usually we leave her in the crib for a few minutes after she wakes up because she gets a little grumpy if she doesn't have time to wake up a little.  She is actually pretty helpful.  She likes to help empty the dishwasher and clean things.  She loves to watch Dora.

Keira, you bring so much joy and happiness to our family.  You have brought a new depth of happiness to me that I didn't know existed.  You are such a blessing.  I love you so much!

BolderBoulder 2011

I think this was Maria and my fifth time running the BolderBoulder together.  It's a great 10k race with over 53,000 participants.  This year Sage, Chris' partner from work joined us also.

Lol!  I'm just not as fun as my friends.

There are so many fun bands playing all kinds of music, people cheering you on, belly dancers, and slip and slides that Sage and Maria were both brave enough to do.  I was too cold.

People even throw marshmallows to you and hand out cupcakes.

BFF

Tired?  Not quite.  But fun nevertheless!

Greatest Aunt

Aunt Laurie is the greatest aunt EVER!  I'm so thankful to have her so involved in Keira's life!  I really don't know what I would do without her.  She has helped me so much.  She and Keira just love each other!  (Although you can't really tell from this picture).

Chris started another fire academy (more to come) that is three days a week which makes it hard for me to find days to work that he's off.  Thankfully Laurie lived with us in May and was gracious enough to watch Keira a couple of days a week for a couple of hours or longer.  She's the best babysitter ever and I love  having her watch Keira.  Keira loves it too!

Thanks for being the GREATEST AUNT EVER Auntie Wals!!! 

BFF

One of my best friends, Mariana, and her cute little family is moving to Kansas City so she can start med school.  :-(  (Crazy I know!)  We've been trying to hang out as much as possible.  Keira is really going to miss Gabriel.  They are sooo cute together!  He is such a sweetheart!

I think she was a little more excited about the hug than him.

I'm pretty sure Gabriel is going to be playing for the Brazilian team in the World Cup someday.  He started soccer lessons before he even turned two!  Keira went to his last day of practice and had a great time holding the soccer ball.  Gabriel is probably about twice as fast as Keira, he just runs all over.  Todd, Gabriel's daddy said that Keira had better ball control.  It was SO cute to watch them and the other kids running around!

Todd is such a good daddy.  He offered to watch Keira so Mari and I could get a mani & pedi!  It was great!  I got Gelish nail polish which is just a thicker polish and my french manicure pretty much lasted a month looking pretty good!

Adorable, chubby Nicholas at six months.  It's been amazing to see how different his personality is from Gabriel's.  Gabriel is super outgoing and smiles and says hi to everyone and loves me.  And Nicholas loves his mom.  And maybe his dad.  ;-)

Cousins

Keira and Jaxon have been able to spend some time together and it is so much fun!  They're so cute together!  I've realized that I really enjoy babysitting.  I love watching kids play together and I love peeking in at nursery and seeing all of the kids playing or whatever they're doing.  Kids are just so darn cute and so much fun to watch!

My brother is so cute.  This was hilarious.  He babysat Keira for the first time ever and this is what he gave her for lunch.  I couldn't even eat this much!  LOL!  He's such a wonderful brother and uncle!  Keira is so blessed to have such wonderful family that loves her so much!

Could he get any cuter?

Jaxon loves John's dog, Kena.