Little monkey.

Sasha looks like she's posing for a senior picture here at the Farmers Market last Saturday.

In lieu of an Easter basket this year, we decided to get her a new rocking giraffe at World Market. What a great store!

We tried hard to capture this new favorite face that Sasha makes when she's either being bashful or thinking about doing something ornery.

Sasha has been so pleasant to be around the last week or so. She has become more independent in her play and less clingy. In hindsight I wonder if some of the fussiness a few weeks ago was due to the 4 molars I just realized popped through in the back.

Still digging the swings this spring....

She has historically hated having anything on her head, but one day last week she brought this hat to me and insisted on wearing it all day. Too bad it was the day AFTER St. Patrick's day. She loves our big shoes of late especially trying to clomp around in them.

March favorites

Sasha and I sit down to read books many times each day.

Tussling with Dad...

I know, I'm a bad mom for snapping a picture instead of reprimanding her for standing on the tractor.

We went to a sculpture park last week just outside of Santa Fe. Sasha was very intrigued by the oversized animals.

Pics from February

I had no idea how wild 14 month olds could be! Sasha has never been busier and more full of energy than now. She is getting so fast on her feet, practically running at times and chattering away all the while. It is so fun to hear her vocabulary expand with a new word every couple of days. When she wakes up in the morning I hear her practicing her words in her crib over the monitor and it makes me smile.

She LOVES to go outside and stands at the front door begging to go for walks. Phil had a day off last week so so we headed to the zoo (above) and spent some time on the huge climbing structure there (below) in between seeing the animals.

On one of our daily walks down Manhattan Ave.

Eventful Week

Here are just a few of our favorites of Sasha the last couple of weeks. She's very into beads right now and loves to wear them every waking hour, usually multiple necklaces at once.

The teeth brushing is just a novelty at this point.

So the real news is that we BOUGHT A HOUSE last week! We were planning on taking our time, just browsing the market with a realtor this spring with no real pressure to buy this year even, but we saw the house above 2 Saturday's ago and signed the papers on Friday. I mouthed to Phil, "This is the one." as we toured it and he nodded in agreement. It's 5 minutes from the Plaza, but has a rural feel to it on 2 acres of rolling hills. The back wrap-around porch facing the sunset over the mountains was what sold me. We close at the end of April and will move in May. So this means, you all will have to come out and visit--we'll have plenty of room for you and all your kids!

President's Day Weekend

We had an exceptionally fun, eventful weekend starting with Phil's birthday meal out on Friday night. The last several years he has forgone a nice dinner at an upscale restaurant for a big, juicy burger, fries, and beer which he claims he gets every bit as much satisfaction from. So we tried a local brewpub new to us. As usual these days when we go out for dinner with Sasha, we got there right at 5:00 (we eat earlier than most senior citizens these days!) and were home by 6:15 to put her to bed. The above picture is our beloved Prelude which we sold on Sunday after posting on Craigslist for a day or so. It's wierd how attached one can get to a car. Although I am really loving the new Audi, I will really miss that low, sleek stick shifting car. I'm happy that it sold to a nice kid who is passionate about it.

Our good friends Zach and Christina drove down from Denver on Saturday with their 6 month son, Nicholas. Phil had a great time skiing with Zach while Christina and I shopped and sat around the house with the kids. Nicholas is pretty much the same size as Sasha, but she throws her weight around more and was very much up in his business constantly.

On Sunday night we all celebrated Phil's 34th birthday with a cheese fondue meal and insanely rich peanut butter cake with chocolate/peanut butter filling, cream cheese frosting and Butterfinger bar on top--Phil's request. Sadly Phil and I polished off the last pieces last night.

Wild hair!

Phil and I later got a lesser form of the stomach bug that Sasha had a couple of weeks ago. Sasha helped to cheer us up as we lay around feeling miserable. We are so thankful that we haven't contracted the respiratory virus that is making the rounds in Santa Fe. So many of Sasha's little friends have been sick this month with one thing or another.

I don't know if you can see from this picture, but Sasha's eyes have turned really dark brown. Not that we were holding out for a blue-eyed kid, but I was curious if they would be lighter brown like mine or dark like her dad's.

Healthy and Happy Once Again

Sasha is back to her usual antics--contant motion and business. She loves carrying things around the house, putting small objects in and out of containers, climbing in and out of the bathtub, opening and shutting doors and cupboards, and sitting on our laps while we read books. Her vocabulary is coming along and we can tell that she is concentrating more on the words when we label everyday things. Her favorite words this week are "up" which she begs of me countless times each day when she wants to be picked up or put in her highchair and "hot". Anything that comes out of the microwave or is in a mug is "hot".

This was the wagon's maiden outdoor voyage. We have had gorgeous weather recently--sunny and highs in the 50s in town but snow 20 minutes away in the mountains. It may be just because this is our first year away from the awful Indiana winters, but we can't get over how perfect the climate is here. I like the fact that we still get several good snowstorms with accumulation (I like a little snow), but it doesn't stick around forever with those endless gray days.

After I get done bragging about the weather, I post a cloudy day picture. It really is sunny here most of the time, I swear! I think Sasha looks so little here!

Rough Week

This has been the darkest week of Sasha's brief little life. Since Monday night when she started vomiting every 1/2 hour through the night, her poor little body has endured high fevers, bouts of diarrhea, and total lack of energy to even eat or drink. A trip to the pediatrician early in the week led to a diagnosis of Rotavirus which can last for 3-9 days. We ended up in the E.R. on Friday night after she vomitted the only 2 ounces of Pedialyte we had been able to force down her with a dropper over 48 hours. Her blood sugar was low so after she was rehydrated with IV fluids and given an anti-nausea medication, she was able to drink some sugary juice and keep it down. Fortunately today she is showing the first signs of getting better. The hardest part for me as a mom was not cleaning up the countless messes or doing loads of laundry, but just seeing my normally perky, active daughter lying listless in my arms for days. As I smoothed back her hair from her feverish face, I was amazed once again at how much I love this little girl--more than I ever thought possible--and how fierce my sense of protection for her is. We are so thankful that she is finally starting to feel better.

At Work and Play

The new toys from Christmas and birthday are definitely helping us get through these cold months when it's not as pleasant to be outside. Above, the ever-popular ball popper toy never gets old for Sasha.

We tested out the new wagon inside for the first few weeks until the snow finally melted this weekend and we were able to go for a stroll outside with it. It is a challenge to keep her seated in it though. She prefers to walk on her own at her own pace, taking time to pick up rocks, touch branches on trees, and pick up dog poop--that's yucky, Sasha!

She was tuning up the wagon wheels with the wrench above and helping me vaccuum later that week. How nice to have some assistance--HA!

These are just some favorites from a few weeks ago. Sasha has taken an interest in using a spoon for its intended purpose rather than a weapon. She usually needs a little help loading it up and still misses the target pretty often, but she's getting better.

On her actual birthday she got a Costco cupcake. She was happy until the musical candle starting playing "Happy Birthday" which immediately induced tears. No se porque.