April 2013

April showers brought

A wedding and funeral

And life in between

 

Charlie left the first of the month to go to China for a little over a week.  And there was no "April fools" about leaving at 3 am either...  He was extremely busy with the details of the new project and eating "exotic" food, but enjoying himself too, I hope.  The time for us wasn't too bad either, much easier this time around!

 

Our one big event while Charlie was gone was that Bruce and I traveled to Dallas for my step-brother Russell and Lydia's wedding.  We left right after lunch on a Friday and Bruce took his nap in the car, making the three hour drive a snap.  We stayed in the same hotel as the rest of the family too, to maximize time together on a short weekend.  I tried to take some photographs at the rehearsal, but it was really hard to manage that and chase a Little around the church who desperately wanted to either play the piano or climb on "stage."  We had some great Texas BBQ for dinner and then headed back to the hotel for bed.  

The next morning we had some time to play in the bluebonnets and spend time with family before heading over to the church for the wedding.  We survived the whole ceremony without Bruce screaming, crying, or talking too much... but he did need to drive his motorcycle up and down my arm the whole time.  Attending a wedding with a Little is a lot different than what I'm used to, but we still had a great time, and the reception was beautiful.  It was wonderful to be able to share such a special day with people we love!

That night Melissa, a friend of mine from college, came for a sleepover at the hotel.  We played Peruvian checkers and Farkle and caught up on life - I wish great friends like this lived closer!  The next day Bruce and I headed back for Oklahoma - a great getaway!

When Charlie got back from China, we spent a weekend at his parent's house in Perkins.  Bruce's cow had her baby, so we wanted to go visit "Purple" while he was still little and cute.  Bruce clocked many hours in the tractor while we were there, fed the dog way too many treats, and of course didn't want to leave when it was time to go home.

Charlie's grandfather passed away on the 18th, so we loaded up the van and made an impromptu trip to Louisiana.  It was great to celebrate Gutie's life the best way possible - a big family gathering with lots of love to go around.  With nine children, 17 grandchildren, and 17 great-grandchildren (with two more one the way) there was lots of love to go around.

ALL of the Kolariks!

We got our fill of old stories and crawfish, and even spent an afternoon on Avery Island getting too close to alligators.  It was fun to have Bruce play with his cousins too - even if it ended in tears on more than one occasion when it was time to put the toys away to take a nap or go to bed.  Aunt Michelle did send an early birthday home with Bruce though, which he greatly appreciated. He's now the proud owner of his very own lawn mower, or mow-mower as he calls it.

 

 

before he swam up and started hissing...

The weather in Oklahoma this Spring has been less than desirable, but we're surviving.  It seems like every time we get a gorgeous day, it's followed by several cold, windy, gray ones that rob any shred of hope for outside time.  And our boy LOVES outside time.  So there have been many days where he stands, face plastered to the back windowed door, repeating the refrain, "'side. 'side? 'side... 'side..." We do take advantage of the nice days, or minutes even, when they roll around, and hunt for bugs, play in the sandbox, search for the perfect sticks and stones, and take wagon rides.

Bruce found a caterpillar

 

and a beetle

and a ladybug

and some bean pods

 

Along with outdoor adventures, Bruce has continued to make gains in everything to do with growing up.  It's getting harder to list what those gains are though!  His spoken vocabulary continues to grow daily.  Sometimes coming up with words that I have no idea how he learned - like "brow" for eyebrow.  We never point those out when we're naming facial features.  He also tells me he wants to wear "khakis" when he gets dressed in the morning.  What?  I know I've probaby called them that, but never emphasized it, I'm sure.  He isn't speaking in sentences yet, or even stringing a few words together, but I do know he's thinking full thoughts at least, and a conversation might go something like this:

Bruce: Pa
Me: Grandpa?
B: ah. (yes)
Me:  What about Grandpa?
B: tractor
M: Grandpa has a tractor?
B: barn
M: Yep, Grandpa keeps his tractor in the barn.
B: hay
M: Is there hay in the barn too?
B: ah.
M: What does Grandpa do with the hay?
B: Mmmmmmmmmmmm (mooing)
M: Grandpa feeds hay to the cows?
B: ah.

And then the "conversation" starts over again.  And is usually repeated several times before moving on to a new topic. 

he's so tiny in that big tractor!

These days he loves trucks and cars and motorcycles and helicopters - anything with wheels and an engine I guess.  He also still loves animals, both real and stuffed, and anything even remotely resembling a musical instrument. 

in the weather van at "Touch a Truck"

"hugging" Uncle John's cat

I'm now at the halfway mark for this pregnancy, which is incredibly hard to believe.  The time is passing so quickly.  When I think about a late September due date, that still seems a ways off, which is nice and calming to the nerves, but when I think about how fast the past few months have gone by, I have a feeling September will be here before we know it.  I'm feeling a lot better these days, still tired, but more like myself again.  We'll find out the gender next week, so the suspense will linger a little longer!

We haven't started our garden yet - I'd like to blame it on the freezing temperatures that still frequent our extended day forecasts, but really we've just been too busy!  The finicky weather has been a great scapegoat though!  We finally went to the Farmer's Market last weekend and bought our seedlings to start hardening them.  After the freezes this week, I think we're in the clear, and are planning to do some planting this weekend.  I don't know if we'll have any luck this season, but we're always hopeful!

Bruce weeding...

just like Daddy