April

April was a busy month full of appointments, work and of course FUN! 

 Happy Easter!!! Athea's first bunny ears!

8 Months old!!!!

14 lbs, 5 oz 

2 ft, 1 in

(taken April 19)

Athea is starting to get herself into the sitting position from her tummy!

We took Athea to a public pool next to the zoo. Athea wasn't sure what to think of the water. We thought she would love it right away since she loves bath time... but she was very reserved!

Here are some fun pictures throughout the month. Some reading in the laundry basket, bath time in the rubber ducky, stroller ride, hanging out at the farmer's market and of course... Lorenzo hanging out in Athea's room!

Grandma Lil and Grandpa Tom stopped in for a short weekend visit! Athea last saw them when she was first born so this was so nice for her to be able to see them again!

We spent a couple of hours at the Reid Park Zoo! 

Check out the picture of Athea totally passed out after spending an entire day with the grandparents!

One last morning to hang out with the grandparents... plus we had to skype with Aunt Jen! Thank you for coming to visit Grandpa Tom and Grandma Lil! We had a ton of fun hanging out with the two of you!

Happy Spring!

The month of March was full of sunshine and of course... spring break! Woohoo!

We've been introducing "solids" for about a month now... Athea hasn't really taken to the pureed food. Yes... that is Ben's crazy beard... as you see more pics you'll see the progress!

Check out the beautiful painting that Ben made for Athea's room. 

Since Athea is at the daycare at Ben's school we are able to see her at lunch time (top left pic Athea is enjoying "lunch" with us) and we are super lucky to be able to see her around campus. These pics are when we actually had our phone available to take the pics!

Athea LOVES to play peek-a-boo!

During spring break it actually got pretty hot!

Happy Saint Patrick's Day!

Developing a love for reading.

Ride the Motorcycle!

 Our good friends from Wisconsin were actually in Scottsdale for their spring break and we were oh so lucky that they drove down to Tucson to spend the afternoon with us! 

We are All Alive!!!!!

It's been way too long since I've been on this... but we are all alive and doing well!!!!!

I have been trying to find time here and there to create some collages of pictures that we've been taking... so I thought I should try to post some while Athea is actually sleeping!!!! Sleep has definitely been a challenge which means finding a few moments to ourselves is challenging as well...

Anyway, more to come later... we go back to work in two weeks so I am crossing my fingers that in this short time that we will develop a better sleeping pattern at night as well as take some naps during the day, update the blog and enjoy the rest of the summer!

JANUARY: 

5 months!!!!!

11 lbs, 8 oz (end of December)

22.5 inches long

Uncle Nick and Aunt Devan visited us during MLK weekend... we had a ton of fun hanging out with them and it was awesome to see Athea interact with them. Lots of cuddling and of course lots of pictures! We also ventured back to Old Tucson Studios! Thanks for visiting!

 Athea seems right at home with her Aunt and Uncle!

 Old Tucson Studios!!!!!

 Our last day with Aunt Devan and Uncle Nick.

FEBRUARY:

6 months!!!!!!
12 lbs, 9 oz
23 1/5 inches long

Athea has been in daycare for a little over a month and so far she hasn't gotten sick!!!!

 I couldn't decide which "normal" pic I liked so there is an extra one!

 Some pictures at school (Athea's daycare is at Ben's HS and it is also one of my schools!). We all get to go to school together and see Athea during the day! It's the best set up ever. 

During Rodeo Weekend (the rodeo is pretty big down here and we all get two days off!), Uncle Zach and Aunt Liz came down to Tucson for a nice long weekend! We had a ton of fun hanging out, hiking, cooking and taking tons of pics!

We jumped right in and took them to Little Cafe Poca Cosa... one of our favorite places to go but they are only open for breakfast/lunch during the week... so we were excited to be able to take them. 

 Tucson Botanical Gardens

 Early morning hike at Catalina State Park. We took Athea on this hike before she was even born.

Story time with Uncle Zach and Aunt Liz

It was awesome to have Uncle Z and Aunt L visit us!!!!

MARCH:

7 months!!!!

12 lbs, 14 oz (taken at the end of Feb)

24 inches long

Athea is a pro at sitting on her own... she hasn't rolled from back to front yet but her sitting skills are awesome!

Delightful December

December was a full month and here are some pics to show what we were up to.

This is probably one of the first times that Athea woke up in the morning and had some wonderful expressions to give me! The first one I sent to Ben and said something along the lines of... this probably won't be the first time she gives us this look!

Yep... 4 months old... December 11, 2011. So crazy to believe that she is getting so big already. 

10 lbs, 14 oz... 22 inches long and 40 cm head. She's over 10 pounds!

Just hanging out pics... notice that Athea is getting better with her tummy time. Yes... notice that Ben's beard is getting bigger! 

Anticipating Christmas... Athea helped us pick out this tree and "helped" us decorate it. She absolutely loved staring at the colorful lights!

Christmas wouldn't be Christmas without family around! Aunt Jen and "Tito" Dani came all the way from Spain to spend Christmas with us. They flew into DC to spend an early Christmas with Athea's new cousin (still can't wait to meet him) and then came over to see the wild wild west! Dani has never been to Arizona so this was quite an unforgettable trip! Needless to say we tried to pack in as many things as we could with them here. This was also our first time really taking Athea out consistently. Up until now she mostly left the house to go the doctor's offices or a quick trip to Target.  SO... not only was it nice to be around family but it was also nice to get out of the house and see that it is possible to keep a preemie healthy despite being out and about. Plus we knew that it was time to get her ready for daycare. Sniff sniff... that's me dreading the day of going back to work.

Athea's very first CHRISTMAS!!!!!!! Wow! I'm so happy that Jen and Dani came to spend Athea's first Christmas together. It was so memorable and so relaxing. It was a reminder of how precious family really is. Yes, Athea was spoiled not just by Jen and Dani but by family and friends that she has even yet to meet. 

Since this is Dani's first trip to the wild wild west... we had to go to Old Tucson Studios!!!!!! Actually... Ben hasn't been here either so it was fun for all of us! Needless to say... after some cheesy can can dancing, cheesy gunfight show and cheesy nachos... we had a great time!

How precious is this???? The picture says it all.

After a great trip to Tucson, Jen and Dani headed up to the Grand Canyon before continuing their fun filled winter vacation. SO... we had to say goodbye. It was wonderful having them here and Athea and Dani definitely bonded. This conversation says it all!

I'm probably forgetting a ton of other things that happened in December... but these were the highlights! Now that December is coming to an end it also means that my extended maternity leave is also ending. This also means that Athea will be starting daycare in the beginning of January. SO I am trying to soak up every moment that I can without thinking about going back to work!

This Counts!

This totally counts!!!!!! She rolled over!!!!

Happy Thanksgiving!!!!

It's been way too long but here is my attempt at trying to catch you up with what's been going on...

Our first Thanksgiving was quite a memory! Ben got sick for the first time and trying to protect Athea from any kind of germs (goal is to avoid getting sick during the winter season)... he wore a mask pretty much the entire Thanksgiving weekend! Quite a sight!

We also got a visit from Athea's great Aunt Terry and great Uncle Keith. It was nice to see family!

Check out our pics from the weekend. The house is a pass down from a friend of ours. Athea has a new "hobbit" house and we are already envisioning Athea playing in it!

The first picture is Athea "watching" her first Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade! PLUS... who do you think weighs more? Athea or the turkey? If my memory serves me correctly... I think the turkey weighed a few ounces more than Athea!

Birth Announcement

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