Sweet Home Arizona

Our family is having quite the adventure this fall! We left Nashville at the end of September (Alice was exactly 2 months old on the day we left), knowing we wouldn't be back until February! 

Brian is in his 4th year of medical school and doing "away rotations." He applied for several programs and was accepted to do visiting rotations. So he is kind of like an exchange student for a month at a time. The purpose is to build relationships in programs different from your "home" school and hopefully show programs that you are interested in them to get an upper hand when it comes to interview invitations. His away rotations are U of Arizona Orthopedics Sept-Oct, U of Utah Orthopedics Oct-Nov, and Primary Care at a private clinic in Arizona Nov-Dec. The month of January is his time "off" to use for interviewing, and we will spend that time in Portland.

Packing was hard-- 4 months, 3 people, 4 climates! We knew it would probably be around 90 degrees in Arizona , probably snowing in Utah, and cold & wet in Oregon. Somehow, we managed to pack it all, including a pack-and-play crib, without paying for extra checked baggage! I know, pretty amazing, right?

 Alice finally got to meet the Arizona family. My mom flew to Nashville when she was 2 weeks old, but the rest of my family had only seen her on Skype. I can't believe my dad is a grandpa!

 Alice loves all the attention from Grandma and Great-Grandma "Me-ma."

Aunt Lila and Alice have the same fashion sense: Skinny Jeans and Stripes!

Alice looks adorable the pink Tu-Tu that Uncle Michael got her.

And she is very good at cheering for him at his basketball games! Michael is Alice's self-appointed body guard. He is very protective and is always checking on her.

 Alice is a great sleeper and has slept 8+ hours every night since coming to Arizona!

 Brian has had a crazy schedule, so we savor the few minutes he's home (and awake) by relaxing and watching BYU football together. Although, how "relaxing" that is depends on how well the Cougars are playing...

 It is so fun spending time with 4 generations of family.

 My Grandpa calls Alice his "Girlfriend." Her shirt says "All Hail the Queen." That's about right.

  

 Alice added her name to Grandma's family tree.

 And Great Grandpa rocked Alice in the rocking char that belonged to his Grandmother.

 She is such a happy girl first thing in the morning and I am absolutely in love with these morning smiles.

 

 3 months has felt like eternity and no time at all, all at once.

2 Months of Alice

Alice is such a good baby! She is happy most of the time. When she was 4 weeks old she started sleeping through the night every other night, and I gained back some sanity.

 Alice watched her first BYU football game and unceremoniously blew out her BYU dress before the game even started. Good thing we took pictures first...

 Alice worked really hard helping Daddy study for Step 2 of the board exams.

 I can't get over that hair! Maybe we should do a caption contest for this one:

 She's starting to get chubby. Those lips! Those elbow dimples! I could just eat her up.

 Alice still loves to be swaddled, but usually manages to escape at least one arm by the time her nap is over.

 She is definitely a binky girl! This little lamb binky (wubanub) is the best because it stays propped in her mouth even when she forgets to suck on it.

  I think she has such beautiful hands. Posing in her sleep.

 When she was 8 weeks old, she started trying out new facial expressions.

It is so fun to see her personality shining out.

 She has changed so much between 1 month and 2 months! She is turning into a little person!

1 Month of Alice

 We are pretty much obsessed with our tiny person. It is absolutely ridiculous how many pictures we take of her! 

 She loved her first bath (until the end when the water got cold and we tried to shampoo that hair...)

 

She didn't mind her crib.

 

But she slept longer when she was in her bouncer, so we ended up letting her sleep in that until Daddy finished his crazy orthopedic rotation.

  

Every time, she would turn her head until it was resting on her left shoulder. It looks so uncomfortable, but no matter what we did, she would wriggle until she was in that position.

 

Lots of naps happened. 

 

Alice is super good at posing.

 She LOVES her "swaddle pod." Good thing we had a couple because she would blow them out so often-- don't worry, I omitted the pictures of THAT happening. No one wants to see that.

 She stretches her arms and arches her back every time she is released from her swaddle pod.

 She also loves her baths!

 

When her hair gets wet it gets all curly.

 Then, as soon as it dries, it goes straight and poofy.

 Occasionally, Alice would loses clothing privileges because of too-frequent blow outs and/or spit ups.

 

She has such expressive hands. She rarely squeezes her hands into fists.

 

  

 

 Alice likes to take naps on Daddy's lap.

  I love dressing her for church! Her feet are long enough for these size 0 patent leather shoes, but she's too skinny for them, they tend to slip right off.

   

We finally bought a baby tub, and it makes bath time so much easier!

 

She's growing so much!