Quick Successions: New Mexico Edition

Brian finished his master's degree and graduated over the weekend.  The first picture is of him walking and the second is of him turned around afterward so I can see him. This June will be our 10th anniversary and it will also be the first year since we have been married where neither of us has been in school. We actually applied to PhD programs and got accepted but we are so tired of school we are having a hard time bringing ourselves to commit to another 4-5 years starting in September.  We also have reservations about pursuing education at the doctoral level while Hannah is so young. But then, if we don't go soon, we fear we never will. For now, we are just celebrating Brian's victory and waiting to know the best thing to do.

Hannah went to her first academic conference this week.  She did really well at the meetings, except for the very last one.  She cried and cried until we took her home.  I am sure she is looking forward to the next conference in Paris.

Brian's parents came to stay with us after Hannah was born because I had a hard time finding a babysitter for such a little baby.  They ended staying here most of the time from October until March, with intermittent short breaks to check on their house and so forth.  Hannah is playing with her grandmommy here. 

   When I was growing up, there were a lot of baptisms in my family for cousins.  This is Hannah just before attending her first cousin baptism. 

When we went looking for baby furniture, we knew we needed to car seats. As it turns out, it was cheaper to buy to "sets" of car seat and stroller than to get another car seat and base separately. We thought we would use the other stroller maybe for walks in the sunshine and leave the other in truck for perambulating through stores and such farther from home. We got the first chance to take Hannah for a stroll around the neighborhood together on Sunday. Hannah doesn't like the sun in her face (who would?) but other than that, we had a nice time.

My friend Celina had a baby about two weeks after I did. This is her little baby boy. We saw each other on Thanksgiving, but not since then. They both have such cute faces.

This baby is starting to smile all of the time now. She is especially happy when she wakes up from a nap, is being talked to, or gets a drink of milk. She also laughs now. Her giggle is very cute. She will sit and look at pictures while I read books now. Our favorites are Pat the Bunny and Toes, Ears, & Nose.