We arrived home from our trip to Tucson in one piece, but I am missing another piece of my sanity because Nathaniel had Rotovirus for 4 of our 6 days there. Washing clothing in a hotel sink and bathtub builds character. And I thought the croup was bad. We are still recovering, from our battle with such a vicious virus.

Tucson was pretty and we stayed at the foot of a mountain. But, it is much to dry there and doesn't feel like a place where we would want to stay over a week. There was a great restaurant name El Charro, where they served authentic Mexican food and had a wonderful setting. We are really sold on the El Conquistidor as a 4 star hotel, however it was a nice place. The city of Tucson was a bit disappointing, because there were a lot of run down homes and forgotten old neighborhoods. Many of the newer homes and developments were miles away from the downtown area. Two great places to visit in the greater Tucson area are:
Sabino Canyon






The Desert Museum is a great open air display of flora and fauna, oh and rocks too. Nat enjoyed the flowers, but hated wearing a hat.









Saguro National Park is definitely a contrast in landscapes with our Florida estuaries.






Mt. Lemon. No pictures because that is where Nat got really sick.

Be well!

Starting with the turn of the year, we had a great visit from Grandma and Grandpa Premo. More fun and huge help for me. Grandma gave me a extended daily breaks from childcare, so I could finish tiling the front entry and pull overgrown bushes and trees out of the yard. No more tiling for the house, the front entry was the last of it. Kathleen and I went out to dinner and a movie for the first time in a very long time. Dinner was great. We also went fishing, while Grandma and Grandpa became reacquainted with their youngest grandson.

We have officially been in our home for three years. Our new roof is on and looks really good. Let's hope it's water tight when the high winds pick up and hurricane season is upon us in June. The biding, coordination, investigation and installation of this project took 2 months and a new roof is much more expensive today than it was 5 years ago. Next up, moving over 20 cubic yards of dirt around the house and landscaping. Any volunteers? I'll let you drive the Bobcat.

Nathaniel has begun to be introduced to other children his age at the Largo Public Library's "Baby Signs" class on Monday's. He is so good, that he has signed Food to us. Definitely a genius. I'm thinking that he will be the chair of a physics department maybe Stanford or MIT, depending if he will like surfing or beer. Nat is also really enjoying the Wednesday Grymboree class where he gets to chase whiffle balls and climb padded stairs or through tunnels. It's strange when I show up, but I'll get used to it. Besides, I like strange and different situations as much as I like the constant consistent.

Nathaniel had croup last week. His temperature made it to 103+ degrees, but he was strong and broke it within a couple hours with the help of Baby Tylenol. Croup is not a fun experience for any parent to go through, especially the shortness of breath, as if he was struggling under some weight on his chest. He recovered in less than a week.

Nat has three molars coming in right now -- two on the lower and one top right. That makes 11 teeth all together. He is also walking and standing for extended periods of time that are amazing and fun to watch his skills at deciding what and where to go next. His development is right on track and he weighs about 23 pounds. He can say "ma ma", "pa pa", "Ba" for ball, "fra" for frog, "Bo" for book and "aise" for Maise. I have heard him say green, red and "Grom" for Gromit, but not as regularly as the other words. When he is in a good mood and playing, he will sing "la la la la la" or "Ba ba ba Ba ba".

There really is much more, but I haven't the time.
Be well!