January 2012

I can't believe 2012 is here already and in full swing - this past year, more than any other, has just seemed to disappear!

We started the New Year off with a 12 hour drive home from Louisiana and a night with good friends who stayed at "Hotel Kolarik" on their way from Texas to Missouri.  It was so great to see Dan and Leslie and to meet their new baby, Liam!  We're really hoping these little guys will be good buds when they grow up!  Such cuties!

Charlie and I celebrated our 8th wedding anniversary at the start of the month.  Man.  Eight years?  It can't be.  It does seem hard to remember what life was like before Charlie though, so maybe I'm counting right!  This year for our anniversary we decided to take up a hobby together - woodturning.  Charlie found a good deal on a used lathe with our oh-so-favorite website Craig's List, and drove to Dallas last weekend to pick it up.  He's already a pro at using it, no surprise - but I think it'll take me a little longer to get the hang of it!  Charlie wants to make pens and pencils, and I have "high hopes" of making some old fashion toys.  We'll see.

Bruce and I were rear-ended the first week of January.  Totally minor incident, but we were bummed our "new car" didn't make it too long before getting smashed.  Thankfully the other driver had insurance, and the company was really great to work with.  We even got a rental car for the week, even though we technically didn't need one.  So we cruised around in a Taurus for awhile - major highlight?  Satellite radio!  We listened to Kid's Place Live the whole time and discovered some really fun folk music for kids (and adults with child-like spirits).  Bruce may be too young to appreciate it now, but we'll have quite the iTunes collection for him when he's ready.  (Check out Alastair Moock, our current favorite artist)

We made a road trip to Ft. Riley, Kansas in the middle of the month to visit our friends Evan and LeAnn and their super-fun boys, Noah and Daniel.  We had a great time, as always, and this time managed to play an almost-never-ending game of Uno.  LeAnn was victorious in the end, thankfully, because after-midnight partying isn't what it used to be!  It was also great to glean parenting strategies from a family a few steps ahead of us.

And what is Bruce up to these days?  Well, I guess I could start by saying that anytime I think things are becoming "predictable," he loves to throw us a curve ball!  That being said, we have actually settled into a pretty nice rhythm.  Bruce is still taking 3 naps a day, still almost exactly 45 minutes long each time.  As long as he gets his naps and is in bed before 7pm, he's usually a really happy baby.  He's not laughing on his own yet, but it's really easy these days to get out laugh out of him by tossing him up, or "dropping" him, or giving him a real good, all-around jiggle.  Bruce is always all smiles when he catches a glimpse of himself in a mirror, but can you blame him?  He loves to blow raspberries, especially with a finger or two  in his mouth for optimal spray effect.  He also gets great giggles out of "eating" my shoulder whenever I pick him up.  He's interacting a lot more with us and his toys - it's crazy to watch his face as he's processing how things work because I swear you can actually see the gears turning in his little brain!  If he's not on the floor playing with toys, you can find him strapped to me in the bjorn carrier.  He loves doing chores with me!  I only hope that will last through adolescence...

Our biggest challenge this month has been with Bruce's night sleep, but the past week has been much better.  He was waking up every hour or two and having a really hard time putting himself back to sleep.  The problem only amplified when he learned to roll over (yes, he's rolling over now!) and would get stuck on his belly.  After a few days he learned that if he just puts his head down, it's actually quite comfortable.  Now he almost always sleeps on his stomach.  He still can't roll over from his belly to his back, but I'm sure once he learns to use that big head of his as leverage, it will be a piece of cake.  He's practicing his rolling any chance he gets, including while nursing, getting his diaper changed, and taking a bath... which tends to complicate things some, but I'm happy he's testing his skills!  Lately he's started to do this funky hip-swivel maneuver when he's on his back which I'm thinking might be the first signs of his crawling technique.  Maybe he'll just be a backstroke baby.

Bruce has become an accurate thumb-sucker this month, which has almost eliminated the amount of pre-sleep crying at nap times.  He doesn't suck it too much just for the heck of it, but it's good to know that he knows where to find it when he needs some extra comfort.  He also has developed a fascination with hair - both mine and his own - and loves to run his fingers through it when he's falling asleep.

Other big news - we have quite the little "foodie" on our hands.  The few weeks following Christmas Bruce got to eat what could best be described as gruel, but since then we've been adding to his palate with great success!  So far Baby has happily eaten peaches, green beans, bananas, sweet potatoes, pears, squash, prunes (but we call them "plums" around this household), apples, and peas.  Yes, even peas went down the hatch without a hitch.  So far we haven't noticed any allergic reactions, and he's always begging for more with a big, wide open mouth no matter what's on the menu.  The quantity is still pretty minimal, but he's learning the skill and enjoying the experience which is what matters right now.  Solid foods haven't interfered with his interest in nursing either, so all around gold stars for Bruce!

At Bruce's 5 month weight check we found out he moved up only one percentile, but at least he's double digits now!  His doctor said that if this is his "normal," then there's nothing wrong with his weight and she's not concerned at all.  It just initially sent up a red flag when he dropped 30 percentile points in two months.  So, we're good to go, and Bruce was just happy he got to leave without getting a shot.  (Little does he know what the next visit entails...)  Other health related update - Bruce's eczema has cleared up this month!

Going on a walk in Bruce's Bear Suit

Charlie has been traveling a bit more these days, but it hasn't been too bad yet.  The casino project he was working on in Kansas opened this month, so we stopped by on our way home from Ft. Riley so Charlie could show me around.  Unfortunately they wouldn't let us come in - something about not wanting a baby in a casino?  And the A&M stadium project bid is coming along nicely also - it's looking like his company just might get to do the renovations.  I've settled in nicely to my "working" routine this month.  It's been an interesting balance of added stress (what did I get myself into signing up for this?) and a boredom buster (what would I do all day if I didn't sign up for this?)  I've really enjoyed working on the church curriculum because it makes me feel like I'm still in "the classroom" somewhat, and the paycheck from my envelope stuffing endeavors is a nice supplement when things like needing to buy a high chair creep up on us!

2012 is off to a great start and I am so thankful for all I have been blessed with!