March 2012

You can take us out of Texas...

... but you can't take Texas out of us!

It's amazing how all living things are revived by Spring - and that is definitely true for us!  This past month has been so refreshing for our family.  Everything around us is green and blooming, the weather has been so incredibly pleasant, and we've been able to spend plenty of life-giving time together.  I couldn't ask for more!

Charlie's work schedule has been a little more flexible this month, so he's been able to come home early fairly frequently to catch some time with Bruce before bedtime.  It's one of the sweetest moments of the day when Bruce sees Charlie walk through the door - I have to make sure I have a good hold on him, as he wildly flails both arms and legs in unconfined enthusiasm.  

The peach tree

We've spent a lot of time working outside this month.  Charlie's done most of the grunt work, I've done a lot of vision casting, and Bruce has mainly just supervised (Although he has gotten a few grass stains, picked a few weeds, and yes, eaten a bit of dirt).  Charlie has put a lot of effort this Spring in trying to get our yard back in shape, and also finally took the plunge and cut down the apple tree.  It was mostly dead, but we've had a family of mocking birds living in it since we've moved to this house that we hated to uproot.  Hopefully they'll stick around and transition to another one of our trees.  We love those mocking birds!  We also got the garden tilled up, and the spring "crops" planted.  Already the spinach, lettuce, beets and radishes are popping up - but we're in that anxious phase of staring at mostly a bunch of dirt and wanting them to instantly get bigger!  The Farmer's Market opens next weekend and we'll go get our seedling plants then and get the rest of the summer veggies planted.  We spend quite a bit of time every day checking on the status of all the various trees and plants around the house.  Bruce carefully inspects the finest details, and has been interested in the bare twigs budding, then blooming, and then leafing out.  He seems fascinated in feeling it all, and is (usually) careful not to pull off (too many) flowers or leaves.  I think we've all enjoyed the fragrance of the lilac bush and the coolness of the grass beneath our bare feet.

The lilac

Charlie and I got to go on our first date since Bruce was born on St. Patrick's Day!  We drove to Stillwater to spend the weekend with Charlie's parents, and Yvonne watched Bruce while we went with our friends Evan and LeAnn to see Stomp preform in Oklahoma City.  It was a fantastic show and a great evening to spend with each other.  

Bruce checking on his cow

Now that cold and flu season is technically "over," Bruce and I have been spending some time at Madison helping teachers with odd jobs.  It feels really good to be back at school, but a little bittersweet because so much has changed in the seven months that I've been gone.  Bruce has learned how to use the laminator and copy machine, but prefers when we help out in the classrooms.  This past week we've been playing a Social Studies version of the Amazing Race, helping a fifth grade class with their State Test prep - he's had a blast!  (Me too)

Bruce, as always, is not the same little boy he was last month!  He's down to taking only two naps every day - which might not seem like such a big deal - but it has dynamically changed the way we spend our days.  He naps a little longer now, usually an hour, and then has longer stretches of time between naps and bedtime.  That's allowed us to get out and about more, and he generally seems to have a better disposition throughout the day.  He sleeps from around 6pm to 6am every night, which combined with Daylight Savings Time, has made Charlie's and my evenings wonderful!

Bruce is back to eating fairly well, which is a welcomed relief.  He outgrew using the swing as a "feeding station" so we tried the high chair for a while.  He's still not sitting too well though, and was pretty cranky in it, so we've been using the Bumbo seat instead, which seems like a nice compromise.  He's super distracted by everything though, so meal times can be somewhat of a circus show.  I find that if a make a bird whistle or meow, he'll look at me long enough to get a spoonful though, so eventually after enough barn animal noises, we can make it through the whole bowl of cereal!

We got Bruce an exersaucer this month that he absolutely loves!  He gets bored with things so quickly though that we're trying to really limit his time in it - it's a jewel that we want to be able to use for as long as possible!

When he's not strapped to me in the Bjorn carrier helping out at school or in the garden, in the Bumbo seat watching me do dishes, or in his exersaucer watching me cook dinner, Bruce is playing on the floor working on all kinds of "skills."  He's an expert roller now - left and right, back to belly, belly to back - and never stays on his blanket anymore.  He also has mastered the art of spinning on his stomach to face any which way he pleases.  We're finally having to consider putting away things that we don't want him getting a hold of.  Just this past week he's also started pulling his knees up under him and lifting his belly off of the floor - this baby is going to be on the move soon!

Other odds and ends - I think Bruce is secretly training to be a wrestler in the middle of the night.  He has gotten his monkey-legs involved and has perfected the arm bar hold during diaper changes - which he finds hilarious!  Bruce has also started talking up a storm lately!  He makes cups into mega-phones, babbles to the mirror baby, has 2 am soliloquies, and even tries to mimic sounds you make!  He and Mr. Pants have become good buds this month too, and no injuries yet with either party involved.  I think Mr. Pants still thinks he's the intellectual superior, but they're both still suckers for the pen light.

Can you see the light they're both trying to grab?

I closed out this month getting to have a day out with my "teacher" friends.  Our book club went to see The Hunger Games in the fancy schmancy theater and Charlie spent the afternoon with Bruce.  As much as I love that babe, it was nice to not feel like a mom for a while and enjoy some girl time with some of my favorite people!  The boys planted grass and took a drive out to Lake Thunderbird to check out the camping facilities there because we're planning a camping trip for next month.  I am so thankful for a husband who's enthusiastic to be a dad!

Here are some photos from a walk we took this week:

And some more bluebonnet pictures!

I hope this Spring has been as refreshing for you as it has been for us!

February 2012

February has been a fairly rough month for us, 

but sprinkled throughout all of the chaos there has been plenty to celebrate as well!

Towards the beginning of the month, Bruce came down with some kind of illness - most likely just a cold - that really rocked our world!  It took a little over a week for it to run its course and we're extremely thankful to be done with it!  Bruce was mostly just super-snotty, but he did run a high fever one day, and a come-and-go low grade fever for a couple of days.  We spent about a week of constant holding/pacing during the day and night cuddling/sleeping on the couch.  Not a fun experience at all, but it could have been so much worse.

My mom and Rick came up to visit for a few days in the middle of the month.  I'd like to think that they came to celebrate my 30th birthday, but I have a hunch there might have been a grand-baby ulterior motive!  At least I was lucky enough that they were here to help during some of Bruce's sick days as well.  Lots of arms to pass Baby around to.  We celebrated Valentine's Day by all going out to breakfast at Ozzie's, a favorite restaurant of ours at the local airport.  The grandparents were hoping to introduce Bruce to pancakes, but (thankfully) he slept through the whole meal.  It's hard to tell those grandparent-types no!  We ate to our hearts' content and then waddled out.  We then celebrated my birthday by having our traditional fondue dinner.  Charlie's mom was even able to come down and join in the festivities!

Despite being sick for nearly half the month, Bruce has been knocking down milestones left and right!  Everyone asks if he's crawling yet...  Nope.  But he's getting awfully close!  He does a little booty lift that makes him look like an inchworm, and he has started pushing up on his hands.  He just can't seem to get the two moves together yet.  He has started to dig his toes in a little, trying to push off creeper-style, but it's like his belly button is tethered to the floor.  He can pivot around in a circle though, which he enjoys.  To be honest, I'm not quite ready for him to start crawling, but it's great watching him start to put the pieces together.  It won't be long.  In the process, he also has managed to roll from his belly to his back now a few times.  I think it's been by accident because he always looks so shocked afterwards!  Until he masters that skill purposefully though, it's nice that he at least has figured out that when he's on his belly, he can put his head down for a rest anytime he gets tired of holding it up.  He isn't sitting up on his own yet either, but he's getting better at keeping steady and I'm sure it'll come soon.

In addition to pre-crawling maneuvers,  Bruce has discovered his tongue and all its glory.  He spends most of the day sticking it out, pointing it, curling it, and his all-time favorite - blowing ooey, gooey, motor-boat raspberries.  Sometimes he sounds like an engine, other times like the last of a ketchup bottle, and then there's plenty of bathroom humor sounds in the mix.  Poor baby's chin is all chapped from all the drool he looses all day long.  He seems to have a good time doing it though, so I guess he'll have to live with a vaseline covered chin.  Another favorite game of his is the "grab mama's arm" trick during diaper changes and clothing exchanges.  He has quite the grip and gets the giggles every time.

Mr. Pants has definitely gotten Bruce's attention this month.  Up until this point, I've always tried to make sure the cat is respectful of the baby - now it's flip-flopped and it's the baby hurting the cat I'm worried about.  Bruce has only managed a few handfuls of fur so far, but he tries every chance he gets!  And whenever he sees the cat saunter by, he thinks it's really funny.

This month Bruce has decided to give up on conventional toys for the most part and is always reaching for whatever we have instead.  His recent joys include phones, remote controls, the calculator, and of course - anything we're drinking.  He loves cups!  What's great though is he already knows what you're supposed to do with one, and as soon as he gets his little hands on one, it instantly goes up to his mouth for a drink.  So far we haven't tried giving him a cup with any liquid in it, but the doctor told us this month at his check up that we can start introducing a sippy if we want.  Baby has no idea what he's in for!

Bruce is really into textures lately also.  He loves feeling anything he can get his hands on - and not just cat fur!  He's fascinated by the yarn blanket that lays over the back of the chair in his nursery, and loves to scratch his never-trimmed-well-enough fingernails on my jeans.  He loves any kind of plastic, any kind of paper, especially the mail, and any kind of metal, especially spoons.  The list could go on forever.

We call this "the penguin"

Food has been a little more challenging this month unfortunately.  I don't know if the two are related, but ever since his cold, Bruce has been a little more stubborn at meal time.  He still will eat his fruits and veggies without complaint, but starts to cry any time we offer him his rice cereal or oatmeal, even with fruits mixed in.  The kid never ceases to confuse me.  So we're taking a break from the cereal for a few days and we'll see if he'll change his mind.  We got his high chair a couple of days ago, but it doesn't really slant backwards, so he'll have to be able to sit up a little better before we can use it.

Eating his shaker egg

Sleep has been a little more challenging this month also.  Again, I don't know if the two are related, but ever since his cold, his nice nap rhythm has disappeared.  I thought for awhile he might have been shifting from three naps to only two.  Unfortunately that meant that most days I either tried to force him to take three naps when he really didn't need the last one, or let him skip the third one when in actuality he really needed after all.  It's seems like the last day or so though we've been back to three naps, although we're unfortunately down to just 30 minutes at a time.  He tends to send mix signals in regards to his sleepy cues, but we're trying to get it figured out.  Like I said, the kid never ceases to confuse me.

Taking a head rest

Bruce had his 6 month "well baby" visit this month.  He had a few more shots, but other than the initial screaming, he didn't have any side effects this month.  Yay!  He's still maintaining his growth curve -  the 95th percentile for height and the 10th for weight.  We don't have to go back again until 9 months, and no more shots until his first birthday!  Woo hoo!

Miss Willie

We finished up the month by making a quick day trip to Stillwater to visit Granny K, Grandpa Bill, Miss Willie (Bruce's cow) and her new calf, Scottie.  Bruce even got to "drive" a tractor while we were there.  He'll be working harvest this summer no doubt.

 

Seed catalogs have been arriving in the mailbox, all the trees around here have buds ready to sprout, and our hands are itching to get into the dirt.  Spring is right around the corner and we're getting our plans together for the garden.  Can't wait!

And on a closing note, here's one last picture of the little man.  The jury is still out on who he looks like, but I finally took a picture of him that is a dead-ringer for Charlie as a little kid.  I often wonder what he'll end up looking like, what he'll end up sounding like, and what his little personality will end up being like.  So much to look forward to!

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!

December 2011

December has been such a great month for us!

There have been a lot of changes around our household this month!  For starters, Bruce is now taking all of his naps in crib and is going to bed between 7 and 8 every night.  This new found freedom has allowed me to resume somewhat of a normal life again!  I can keep the house picked up fairly well and have started cooking dinners every night again.  Charlie and I can actually eat dinner together at the same time now, and as much as we love that baby - it's great to have a few non-baby hours to spend together in the evenings. 

I also started two part-time jobs this month.  I like to think of myself as a Legal Marketing Analyst, but really I'm just a glorified envelope stuffer for an attorney friend of mine.  It's the perfect job for me because it's just a couple of hours a day and I can work from home.  I also started to work for the church we go to, helping put the children's curriculum together.  Again, just a few hours a week, and I can do it from home.  Now that Bruce is a little more independent, it's nice to have something to keep me a little busy during the day so I don't go stir crazy.  Charlie has finished all of the "after work" projects he was working on, so he has been able to spend a lot of time with Bruce when he gets home in the evenings.  Bruce's face always lights up when he sees him, and I love watching them interact with each other!

When Bruce is awake, he has been so much fun!  He now is very interested in toys, reaching and grasping for them, and of course putting everything in his mouth.  He's a pro and getting his fingers and thumbs in his mouth to suck them, and just recently discovered his feet.  It's fun watching him realize that those things are attached to him, and he can control them!  We get lots of smiles and squeals, and Bruce has even started to let out a few gut chuckles!  They don't come very often, but make my heart so happy when I hear them!  Usually a really good jiggle, or smothering him with kisses on the back of his neck or belly do the trick.  I'm looking forward to the days when laughing is a regular thing for him!  He spends time on his tummy everyday, but we're not seeing any signs of crawling yet.  Baby likes to stand though!  We joke that he might skip crawling all together and just start with walking.  He's trying really hard to roll over, but no success yet.  Maybe by next month! 

Bruce had his four month appointment a few days before Christmas.  We found out that he's now in the 93rd percentile for length, but at 13 pounds, only the 9th percentile for weight.  The doctor wasn't worried, and I guess when you look at the genes he inherited, I shouldn't be too concerned or surprised either.  He still looks healthy and doesn't seem to act hungry all of the time, so she didn't tell us we have to do anything different.  She wants us to come back next month for a weight check though, just to be on the safe side.  We also got the go-ahead to start him on solid foods.  Starting with cereals, and then we can move on to fruits and vegetables after he gets the hang of using a spoon.

After all of our traveling last month, and with the trips planned for this month, we decided to join the minivan club when we found a really great deal on a used 2007 Honda Odyssey with less than 30,000 miles.  Even though we weren't looking to buy a car for another year or so, we had a touch of van-fever and couldn't pass up the opportunity!
     

We went to Texas on the 23rd to spend Christmas with my family.  It was the first time I was home for Christmas in eight years and we had a great time.  All of the "family" was able to be there with the exception of my nephew Josh and niece Clarissa.  Bruce especially loved all the extra attention he received from the grandparents, aunts and uncles, and cousins!  We also found out the exciting news that my brother Paul and his wife Leah are expecting a baby this summer! 

 

The weather was beautiful while we were there, so Bruce even got to take a couple of walks with Papa Rick and Grandma Pat.  He's not quite old enough to go feed the turtles yet, but I think he enjoyed watching the deer!
 

For a gift this year, we got Bruce a box of rice cereal - so he had his own Christmas feast.  He did really well too!  He opened his mouth for the spoon, and didn't spit too much of it back out!  No funny faces really either, but maybe those will come with the more flavorful fruits and veggies next month!

We left a couple days after Christmas and drove to Louisiana to spend a late Christmas with Charlie's family.  We had the traditional "Duck Dinner" with the Kolarik family first.  It was the first time that the whole family was together since Charlie and I got married - and we've grown since then!  Great food and lots of fun!

Bill and Daniel making Kolaches

The next day Charlie took us on a tour of the horse farm he's been working on for the past three and a half years.  It's almost finished now, and a spectacular sight to see.  I am so proud of him!

Today was the Gutekunst Family Christmas.  Almost all of Charlie's mom's family lives here in St. Martinville, or closeby, so it was quite the house full of people!  It was really fun to catch up with family members we haven't seen in awhile, and we always love showing Bruce off.  There wasn't a lack of arms to hold him, that's for sure!  We head back to Oklahoma tomorrow.  It will be a long drive, but Bruce still cooperates fairly well in the car, so hopefully it won't be too bad. 

We're looking forward to the beginning of a new year, and can't wait for the adventures that await us in 2012!