So it's been a while ...

It's been a while! Life has been full ... full of joy, building a family, and growing as a person and an athlete.  Our little family is complete with 3 wonderful girls ages 3, 5, and 9!   As the girls are growing i've had time to get back into riding and am starting to race more seriously again. I've never really stopped riding and racing ... but this is the first season in a very long time that i'm feeling close to race shape again!

The year started off really well ... I won all 5 of the Budu Races in the Open category, posting the fastest female times in all five races!  I was gearing up for the NWEpic Series with an eye on the USA Marathon Nationals. The future of racing (for 2020) is uncertain but i'm still in the game. Literally.

I found this online racing and riding program called Zwift last October. What a find! I stumbled upon a woman's team and a great group of riders there. it's been amazing for my racing and fitness.  I lead a weekly ride which is super fun.  Through the woman's team i have been invited and participated in several 'invite only' Pro races on Zwift. You line up against the best in the world. It's intense! My best finish of the 5 races I did was 15th, and I was super happy with that :) I even started a YouTube channel to stream the races!

The USAC has moved their races to Zwift as well and I've got my eye on them. Until we race outside, I will leverage Zwift to maintain my fitness and and feed my  racing appetite. And i'll use the trails on our property to keep my trail skills in check :)

Maya turns 2!

Our sweet, curious, smart, focused, determined, beautiful, strong Maya turned two this past weekend! Two! I am still in awe .... she's not a baby anymore, she is a full-on toddler.

She loves to negotiate everything ... every rule, every time she wants or does not want something, and even just for fun :)  She loves to draw, to write, to sing ... oh, how she loves to sing! And she loves music and dancing... playing the piano and her new ukulele are a favorite.  She also loves animals (what kid doesn't?) ... both farms and zoos.  But her favorite is people ... she is a people watcher and loves to entertain! 

She is a studier, she watches and studies before she takes action. and once she takes action (like a new slide or new skill at swimming or on the bike), she repeats it over and over and over ... and over :) She likes to practice. We joke she will be a good endurance athlete one day. She certainly has the focus and determination!  She is curious about everything and likes to understand how it works  ... from things that move to things she wants to take apart.

She loves to build and to destroy. Building lego towers and toppling them over is a favorite these days. She also enjoys playing hide and seek, and anything to do with running/chasing!  She really likes jewelry, sparkly clothes, and shoes, and anything with frills! and of course, her favorite thing to do is to play outside ... in the garden, on her bike, running down the street, on the swings ...

Our baby is growing up - every day she teaches me something new - about our world or about myself! She is amazing and I love watching her learn and grow ... even if I feel like she is growing too fast sometimes ... like today ... she wanted her toe nails painted!   Time is certainly flying by ... which is what happens when you have such a full life!

18 months!

18 months! Wow … I can't believe you are already 18 months old. On the other hand, I can't believe you have only been in our life for 18 months - it is hard to remember life without you! 

You continue to be so happy, and such a joy to be around! You love to read and your words just keep coming! Yesterday you said 'awesome' ! 

There are so many fun things that you do now:

• the way you climb the stairs - one at a time, saying 'I sit' on each step as you sit, and then 'mommy sit' as you point next to you for me to sit down too :) This continues until about half way up when you say 'Mommy, hurry … hurry mommy!' and then scamper up the remaining stairs :)
• You like to play 'boo' after dinner or breakfast every day. Once you are done you say 'done, play boo' :)
• You like to snuggle in bed and give me big hugs and snuggles - I love that!
• You take your little babies everywhere
• You love to build with Legos - you build the towers soooo tall and then you crash them down
• You love to swing! We are building a swingset in the back yard and it's at the point where you can you it - you love it!
• You love to go walking. The other day we went for a walk down the street and you keep telling us. "Walking, Maya walking. Mommy walking. Dada walking". Super cute
• You love to slide now! It's so fun - you keep asking 'again, again. Slide. Again' :)
• You can run now - especially fast when we are trying to get you to do something you don't want to do like take your vitamin C or change your diaper :)
• You love playdoh
• You can count! You count up to 4 all the time (always while holding up your pointer finger). Five seems harder but you like doing 8, 9, 10 too :)
• I can't believe your memory - we changed schools in the fall and you still remember your friends from the old school and ask about them - amazing.
• I love how observant you are of the world around you … you have helped me to pause and notice the world around me more!
• Super funny/cute that you call my mom, "mom" (because that is what I call her):)
• Lots and lots of words and sentences. Recent favorites are: awesome, I want a bath, play with me, go swing, huggies, I could go on ….

It's been an amazing 18 months - I continue to be amazed by you every day!  Thanksgiving was amazing, we had a great time skating, skiing, sledding, and making snow angels in the snow … Christmas was great with family and New Years at the far was hard to beat. 

I know we will create many more great memories and I look forward to them all

I love you with all my heart,

Mommy

Xoxoxoxo (huggies!)

Happy first birthday Maya!

Wow, how did that happen? Maya turned 1 last week and I am still in a bit of disbelief .... our curious, smart, strong, beautiful, bold Maya has grown so much in the past year. It is really quite amazing! And a bit bittersweet if I am totally honest.

So here's to Maya:

Wow! I can't believe you are One year old already! You have officially entered toddlerhood, are more independent, and need me less .. Which makes me oh so proud and happy ... and at the same time comes with a twinge of 'my baby is growing up too fast' sadness. 

You love to walk - so proud of yourself you stop and clap when you walk particularly far or thru/over some harder obstacles! Love that you have that sense of self-esteem!

I love that you are a bit of a trickster - you have quite the sense of humor! For example, calling me 'dada' when you know very well how to say 'mama', just to get me going :)

Words, words, words! "hi", "thank you", "gentle", "pick up", "baby", "bird", "owl"  …  the list continues.  I am so impressed by your vocabulary already! I love that your most popular words are 'hi' and 'thank you'. and I love that you are super proud of yourself when you learn a new word :) 

Food - you love peaches, blueberries, watermelon, corn, potatoes, avocado, hamburger … and apparently cupcakes :) It is so fun to watch you explore new tastes, and I love that you always want to help me pick strawberries and blueberries straight from the garden (and into your mouth).

 

 

I love to watch you explore. You listen, you watch, and you absorb. Then you touch and taste … or  watch some more. You are quite the little studier!

It's been a great/crazy/fast/amazing year! I haven't even touched on the memories we've made or the learning and growing I have done as a parent and as a person because of you.  So thank you ... Thank you for the wonderful person you are! Happy first birthday Maya - may you have many many more!