Spring Hike

With the kids on Spring Break this week and me still mostly on maternity leave, today the three girls and I went on an almost 5 mile, 4 hour hike.  We hiked from the top of Vassar Dr up to NCAR, had a picnic at the top of the hill... 

and then walked through NCAR and down the back of the mesa to the Skunk Canyon trail and back around.  Athena started drooping up behind NCAR before we started making our way down, but a well-timed promise of frozen yogurt was all it took to energize her for another 2+ miles!  Mazie was a huge help, holding Athena's hand most of the way down.  The two of them were calling each other their "bestie sisters" -- anytime we would stop (which was a lot) they would do a little "bestie sister" cheer and then hold hands and continue walking.  

So proud of them and really excited that they're old enough to do long hikes!  Before we know it Zae will be trotting along next to them.

Mazie's First Grade Concert

On March 19th we were entertained by a first grade concert at Mazie's school.  Pretty darn cute.

She'll Be Comin' Round the Mountain

This Land is Your Land

La Raspa (Mexican Hat Dance)

Athena Can't Hear

While Athena's handled her transition to middle child fairly well overall, she's three and has been asserting her independence and strong will on a regular basis.  A few weeks ago I was getting really frustrated with her for ignoring me -- I would ask her to do something like put on her shoes or brush her teeth and she just wouldn't respond.  Then I noticed her saying "What?" a lot, and eventually it occurred to me that maybe she actually wasn't hearing me very well.  So I took her to the audiologist and it turns out she does have some mild (and thankfully temporary) hearing loss due to a combination of wax and possibly fluid in her ears.  She and Mazie both had ear infections shortly after Zae was born, so this is probably a lingering effect of that.  The doctor referred us to the head and neck surgery department to get her ears flushed out, but unfortunately I couldn't get an appointment until the end of April, so for now we're all just talking louder and trying to be patient with her!  

The Zaeby is almost 2 months old...

And she continues to be perfect.  Smiling more and more, tracking people and toys with her eyes, and getting chubbier and stronger all the time!  Her checkup is next week so I'll update her stats then.

Of all the gifts she's given us, one that I'm very grateful for is her incredible sleeping skills.  Last night she set a record, sleeping from about 10:30 pm until 6:30 am in her co-sleeper next to our bed.  While that was an especially long stretch, she's been doing 5-6 hours pretty consistently every night, and then she wakes up and nurses and goes right back to sleep until we all get up in the morning.  As a third time Mama I'm very aware that these things can change at any time, so for now I'm just grateful to be an unusually well rested mother of a 2 month old!

Smile!

Just like her sisters, Zae started to smile right around her one month birthday.  She's still sleeping most of the day (and continues to sleep great at night, too), but has gotten more interactive during her awake periods.  Definitely a dream baby.