February 2014

Everything from snakes and chips to friends and family - we found a lot of things to be thankful for this month.  Overall, I think our banner was a success - there were only a couple of days that we forgot to add new hearts (until the next morning), and most days we could get some kind of response from Bruce, after enough prodding.  When I would tell Bruce something I was thankful for, and asked him what he was thankful for, his reply a lot of the time was, "You (Bruce) are not thankful for anything.  You (Bruce) are just happy."  Although I had grandeur thoughts of this daily ritual transforming Bruce into a beaming, grateful, never-whining two year old (which it didn't), I guess I can't complain that most days he was "just happy."

When he wasn't "just happy," it was most likely because he was sick.  That seems to be a February tradition for this family - catching colds.  Both Bruce and Abby struggled with a nasty cold for close to two weeks toward the beginning of this month.  No fun for anyone, but we're thankful it wasn't worse than it was.

sick babes rest when they can...

Abby had her four month well baby check up at the start of this month.  She's meeting all of the benchmarks they ask about, so I was expecting gold stars all around.  Unfortunately the doctor was "concerned" by her weight...  She measured in at 12.5 pounds, 25.25 inches - putting her in the 13th percentile for weight and the 78th percentile for height.  Although she looks perfectly healthy to me, she dropped close to 30 percentile points in two months, which I guess can be alarming.  Bruce did the same thing though at this age, so I'm not too worried.  I guess I just grow 'em big in utero and they slim up once on the outside.  We had to go in again at the end of the month for another weight check, and after paying $30 to toss a babe on the fancy doctor scale, we were assured everything is fine and she's growing well.  She's up to nearly 14 pounds now, bringing her into the 18th percentile for weight.  Huzzah!

We got the green light to start baby food, so that has been a fun addition to our daily routine this month.  So far, Abby has worked her way through all of the stage one foods and seems to enjoy them all fairly well, with no allergies, which is great!  Maybe next month we'll get a little more adventurous with the mixed foods!      

Abby has started laughing this month, which has been a lot of fun.  It's not the great gut-bellied chuckle Bruce has always had, but it still can melt your heart.  In addition to her laugh, she's also found her tongue!  My little lizard goober:

She hasn't figured out how to roll over yet, but she's getting so close that I expect it any day now.  She can get over on her side, just can't quite get that hip all the way over.  The interesting thing is that when she's on her stomach, she's already digging her toes in like she's ready to start crawling any day, too.  I guess it's just a waiting game for now.

Let's just go ahead and not talk about her sleeping habits this month...

In other news, Abby's hair is thinning out and lightening up - who knows if it will turn blonde, or just how blonde it will eventually get, but I'm still hoping for another platinum baby.  Her eyes are still a beautiful steely blue - I hope those stick around!

"Want to talk about that."  Is a phrase that more or less summarizes Bruce these days.  Anytime he sees something, or something comes up in conversation that piques his interest, he'll say, "Want to talk about _____________."  So we'll explain emergency vehicle lights, or what a hyena is, or how three women in our church group have babies in their bellies, or whatever it is at the moment that he's curious about.  And then sometimes he'll say, "Want to talk about it again."  It's a simple request that we happily oblige every time.  His curiosity astounds me, and I find myself smiling, sometimes laughing out loud, when he invites me into his world with that simple request.

I have felt a little sad for Bruce because we haven't been able to go to Story Time at Norman's library since Abby was born - something Bruce looked forward to every week.  Just recently though I discovered that the little library here in Noble has a Story Time, too.  We've been three times so far, and while it's not nearly the production that Norman puts on, it's still really nice.  The best part is that it's just a three minute drive from our house, and it's held at a more compatible time with Abby's nap schedule.  Not many other families attend, but I'm hoping Bruce and I can make some connections there eventually.

My mom and Rick came for a visit toward the beginning of the month.  They helped celebrate my birthday a little early, loved on the grandchildren, and without a doubt, took us out for breakfast at Ozzie's.   I'm thankful they didn't mind sleeping on the air mattress in the living room, and I'm pretty sure we didn't send them home with our colds.  We had a great time!  To get ready for their visit, I checked out some grandma books from the library, thought of some activities to go with them, and featured a few of those in my storybook blog this month.

playing instrument BINGO

riding the "pony"

Charlie spent some time in Tulsa, Canada, and Colorado this month, but has been home the past two weeks - and it's looking like March should be a light travel month!  We're looking forward to some great family time!

monster truck jumping course

There were some amazingly beautiful days this month, so it was nice for all of us to get outside and play. It's still a completely foreign world for Abby out there, so she takes it all in as a relatively silent observer - from the sun rays and wind gusts, to the cat fights and car engines.  Bruce spends most of his time digging in the dirt or sending his various vehicles to the "car wash" where he gets them with his squirt bottle and then dries them off with a rag - it never gets old for him.  Charlie's been trying to get some dirt work done out there, too - trying to relocate and manage all the dirt that was excavated when our storm shelter was put in last year.  Bruce has really loved that, and of course is always willing to help.

Here are a few other odds and ends from this months:

We've had a few new "pets" join our family this month on a temporary basis - just until all the winter storms blow over.  Two neighborhood tramps, Mark and Princess, belong to a family in the cul-de-sac but prefer to hang out at our house, and Bruce and Charlie found two garter snakes on a walk and decided they needed to live inside with us for a while, too.  What can I say, we're push overs when it comes to animals.

visiting with the snakes...

Bruce has decided he loves trampolines now, as long as there aren't other kids on it.  I hate trampolines and so we'll never own one, but it's nice that we have generous neighbors!

Bruce's "friends" from our church group:

Abby and I went to a baby shower last weekend, which allowed Bruce to have some greatly anticipated "Daddy" time.  They went to the tractor store, Lowes, the car wash, the airport diner for lunch, the bowling alley (just to see the machines work, not to actually play a game), and the pet store.  I wasn't there, but from the pictures and the stories, I know they both had a blast.

Mike Mulligan and his steam shovel

Oklahoman by circumstance, Texan by heritage.
Yes, he ate it all...

Punxsutawney Phil may have been right about his prediction this year, but hopefully after these next two weeks, we'll all be able to enjoy a beautiful Spring season!  I'm singing to myself, "Here comes the sun!  Here comes the sun!  And I say, it's all right."