Any advice would be highly welcomed...

It is currently February 12 here in Albuquerque NM.

I have noticed that the recent weeks of warm, mild weather and the high amounts of precipitation (the unusually high amounts of snow in Dec/early Jan...and the corresponding melting) and the recent few days of rain...have quickly started to bring my lawn (my backyard is grass) out of its dormancy of Dec-Jan.

Throughout the thick patches of dormant, brown grass, there are big clumps of green growing grass everywhere...it seems to be now out of dormancy.

You'll have to excuse me if this is a farily ignorant question...I know alot about desert plants, trees, etc., but am a little lost on lawn care! :)

My question is - what should I be doing now to help stimulate the new lawn growth? I would like to help the green stuff come in as quickly, readily, and thoroughly as possible, and I believe the thick layer of dormant brown dead grass slows the grow-in rate every year when the green starts to grow in again.

(I have heard of aerating the lawn? Although I am not sure what is involved in this...and if it helps in this particular situation).

Every year we have lived in this house, our lawn seems to come out of dormany around this time of year, but it seems like every year the dead layer of dormant grass on top chokes out the speed of the new growth.

Any advice would be appreciated! (I realize this may be a bit elementary...again, I apologize...I haven't had extensive lawn-care experiences in my life)...