November 2011

(Necklace Charlie got for me when Bruce was born)

The leaves on the trees in Norman started changing colors in the beginning of this month, and Bruce seemed to turn over a new leaf as well.  Ever since Bruce hit the 10 week mark he has been much happier during the day!  After a feeding I can put him down on his mat or play with him and he can stay amused for 30 to 60 minutes, rather than just five.  It has been so nice to be able to walk away and get some things done around the house without him immediately starting to fuss.  His naps seem to be getting longer as well.  Instead of just 20 minutes, he now usually sleeps between 45 minutes to an hour a couple of times a day.  Up until this last week he had been sleeping really well at night, waking up at most one time for a feeding and sometimes not at all.  He's even made one 11 hour stretch!  Now though he has been waking up multiple times every night which has been so confusing!  Possibly a growth spurt is going on, possibly he's just having a hard time putting himself back to sleep - we'll have to get to the bottom of it!

We have a few new major accomplishments to brag about for this month!  Bruce can now get his hands in his mouth, and can even sometimes get his fingers to unclench from fists so he can chew on them.  It took him awhile to figure out how to bend his arms at the elbows, and even then his hands ended up hitting himself in the eyes or cheeks a lot.  Now he can successfully get them to his mouth almost every time!  He also is starting to grasp toys and bring them to his mouth as well.  He has an elephant, a dog and a ball that he really enjoys playing with.  The only time he has laughed has been in his sleep, but he is smiling, squealing and talking a lot these days.  He is still a little unsteady with his head, but he is getting so much better at holding it up!  He enjoys being carried around vertically now and loves to sit upright in our laps with a little help.  Also, I don't know if it was all of the time spent in the car this month, or just that he's getting older, but Bruce doesn't cry to get into his car seat anymore, and doesn't fuss in the car unless it's time for a nap and we're not back home yet.  Yay for a content little man!  

We did so much traveling this month!  In addition to Kansas and Missouri, Bruce can now add Texas and Louisiana to the list of states he's visited.  (And I guess Arkansas, but we just passed through and didn't stop...)  Bruce spent half of the month of November away from home and logged over 3000 miles in the car!  

First we went down to Texas for my brother Paul's wedding.  We stayed with Papa Rick and Grandma Pat in Horseshoe Bay, and then drove to Paul and Leah's house in Killeen for the wedding on the 11th, and then again on the 12th for the reception.  We had a great time celebrating with them, and it was fun to see family and old friends.  Bruce spent the day passed from bosom to bosom, and he didn't seem to mind at all!  It was great for Bruce to get to meet his cousins Josh, Clarissa and Courtney also.

That Sunday morning we drove over to College Station because our old church was having a special picnic lunch and Charlie had a meeting scheduled with an equestrian representative from A&M Monday morning.  We hadn't been back to A&M in several years, so it felt so good to be "home".  We spent the afternoon catching up with old friends, ate dinner at the Blue Baker (a favorite sandwich restaurant) and spent the evening walking around campus.  Things have really changed a lot in the seven years since we left, but it was nice that some things always stay the same.  Bruce spent his first night in a hotel and passed the challenge with flying colors!  The next morning Bruce and I met up with Shelley, an old friend and co-worker, while Charlie went to his meeting.  Then, we hit up Layne's for lunch (another favorite restaurant - think Cane's, only better) and headed out of town.  Bruce did really well in the car, only crying after having to get back in his car seat after stopping for a feeding.  He'd wail for 10-20 minutes and then settle down to sleep until the next feed stop.

We were home for three days and then it was back in the car to head back to College Station.  Charlie's company is trying to get the bid for the stadium renovation so they wanted him to photograph midnight yell and the football game so they would have images for their presentation.  Bruce and I hung out at the hotel while Charlie went to yell practice.  Again, Bruce did wonderfully in the hotel.  The company only bought one ticket for the game, so Bruce and I walked around campus while Charlie took more photographs.  Sbisa, our favorite campus cafeteria was closed by the time the game was over, so we'll have to eat there next time.  We then headed towards Louisiana for Thanksgiving, but stopped in Houston for the night and to visit our friends Giancarlo and Leah and their boys.  It was a super short visit, but it was nice to catch up!

We got into Louisiana Sunday afternoon and spent the rest of the day with Charlie's Aunt Mary and Bruce's godmother, Emee.  Charlie is working on a project in a town nearby where his family lives and we stayed at the guest cabin there for a few nights.  The lady who owns the place said that Bruce must find it really peaceful there because he slept 10-11 hours every night we were there!  Charlie had to work Monday through Wednesday, so during the daytime, Bruce and I drove into Lafayette to see family.  We spent one day with Bruce's Aunt Michelle and cousins Daniel and Matthew.  Bruce and Matthew are just three weeks apart in age, so it was fun to see them together.  Then we spent another day with Emee eating yummy gelato and walking around downtown.  Thursday we had our Thanksgiving meal at Aunt Carol's house - always a large crowd with the Gutekunst Gang, and always a great time!

Charlie's Pop passed away the day before Thanksgiving, so we left Louisiana and drove straight to Kansas so we could be there for the funeral.  Another night in a hotel, but Bruce is a pro at public sleeping by now.  We stopped at home briefly to unpack and repack, and then finished the drive to Caldwell.  The service for Pop was really nice - Charlie played some music and some other family members put together a wonderful photo slide show of Pop's 95 years of life.  It was really great to see a lot of the Kolarik family, and a bittersweet time to celebrate Pop.  
 

Christmas 2007

We got home Sunday night and have spent the past few days trying to recover!  Some grocery shopping and a lot of laundry!  Once we get back on top of everything, it will be time to start getting ready for Christmas!  So, you better not pout, you better not cry...

October 2011

Well, a week into October I realized that Bruce's grumpiness wasn't going to go away at the "magical" six weeks mark.  So I decided to come up with a list of the top 10 things I enjoy about him during this phase of life to help keep things in perspective:

1.  I love the way his tiny hands clench and unclench along my side while he's eating.
2.  I love the way his body fits perfectly wrapped around me when he's eating.
3.  I love the way his face feels against my cheek.
4.  I love the way he snuggles my shoulder and tucks his legs when I'm burping him.
5.  I love the way his head bobbles around when he's trying to hold it up to look around.
6.  I love how bright his eyes can be, especially when he stares at the ceiling fan.
7.  I love the nice little squeals and squawks we hear from time to time.
8.  I love when he smiles.
9.  I love the way he flops over in his crib when he's sleeping contentedly.
10.  I love and appreciate the way he sleeps at night.

I gave up caffeine halfway through the month to see if that would help Bruce with his tummy troubles and help him sleep better during the day.  He seems to be happier when awake for longer periods, but he still only naps for about a half hour at a time, if that.  I think that will get better as his body matures a bit.  He's regularly sleeping 5-7 hours at night though, so I'm counting my blessings!  Speaking of sleep, in addition to the "pinwheel" sleep maneuver, he is also now scooching to the bottom corner of the crib, along with getting his legs stuck in the slats almost on a nightly basis!  I finally made him a net that ties along the crib wall to keep his appendages inside at all times.  So far, so good.

Bruce is flipping over from side to side these days, and isn't favoring his left side too much anymore.  He still isn't rolling over completely yet, but I'm sure that will come soon enough!  What we're getting a lot of these days though are smiles, and smiles in response to our smiles!  Sometimes after a diaper change Bruce loves to just hang out on the changing table staring at the picture frames on the wall (I think he likes the contrast between the black frames with white mats against the green wall) and will smile and squirm and smile some more.  I guess he really appreciates the simple things in life!  He also has started to follow me with his eyes sometimes when I walk by him.  We're really loving these beginnings of social interaction and can't wait for more to come!

We've added a nightly bath to our routine this month and Bruce absolutely loves it!  He's not splashing around too much yet, but he's all smiles (until the water starts to get cool...)!

Towards the end of the month we made a trip to Springfield, Missouri to visit Pop again at Ann and Howard's house.  It was a short adventure, but we had a really great time.  We warned Ann and Howard ahead of time that Bruce liked to fuss a lot, but they said not to worry - their grandbaby was the same way!  That relieved a little of the stress, and overall Bruce did really well.  In the car there was very minimal screaming and mostly sleeping, and he was a pretty good trooper the days we were there.  Best of all, he slept like a champ at night in his playpen.  He spent a lot of time staring at Pop from his changing pad, and we even made a trip to a farm park and pumpkin patch with the cousins while we were there!

Bruce had his two month check-up when we got back from our trip.  The nurse was pleased with all of Bruce's developments and didn't have any concerns.  He now weighs 11 pounds, 10 ounces and is nearly 25 inches long.  That puts him in the 35th percentile for weight and the 98th percentile for height. I guess he's just like his parents - long and lean.  Baby's still got a big head, too - but it's growing proportionally, which I guess is what matters.  They finished off the visit with three whopping shots in his thighs which sent his first big alligator tear streaming down his beet red face.  Poor baby.  He survived though and didn't seem to have any side affect reactions from the vaccinations.

Charlie spent some time this month working on Bruce's Halloween costume - furry cowboy chaps that match his, complete with a hand-tooled leather hip band - they make quite a pair!  Then I made a Mexican poncho out of a placemat to finish out the costume.  I had every intention of making some felt cowboy boots, but needless to say, never found the time - oh well - I think he's still pretty darn cute!  We carved pumpkins with friends and took Bruce trick-or-treating to our old neighbors and friends - Tim and Loretta's house.  It's been a Halloween tradition since we moved away and we were happy to have Bruce with us this year to join the fun.

October came and went in a blink of an eye!  We're looking forward to the upcoming holiday season filled with lots of time together with family!

September 2011

The first weekend in September we drove up to Perkins to stay over at Granny K and Grandpa Bill's on our way up to Kansas.  The road trip went smoothly and the grandparents were definitely excited for our visit.

We drove the rest of the way to Kansas the next day and spent Labor Day weekend at the farm.  It just so happened that Caldwell was celebrating its 140th year as a city and had a list of scheduled events for the weekend.  So, along with visiting with Pop, Bruce also got to attend his first cattle drive and chuck wagon dinner.  Such a good sport, and the weather was fantastic!

 

We went back to the pediatrician for Bruce's two week check up and found out that he's still practically perfect in every way - and was back up to his birth weight!  So, we could end the supplemental feedings as long as he keeps growing well.


Charlie went on his first out of town business trip the second week in September to Louisiana for a few days.  Bruce and I managed well by ourselves, and even made a trip to Wal-mart to stock up on supplies.


Baby found his voice mid-September!  He's started to make some nice cooing noises every now and then, and definitely can wail!  He outgrew his swaddler faster than we had hoped, but still can calm down relatively easily with a pinky and a cuddle.  

Bruce majorly protests getting fastened into his car seat, but once he's snuggled in he falls asleep immediately which has made outings pretty easy.  We try to get out almost daily to break up the monotony a bit.  We've been to Wal-mart and Target a couple of times, Olive Garden, the post office, Charlie's office, up to school, church, and even to our first book club meeting.  Our favorite adventures though have been our evening walks to the Sonic for Happy Hour.        


When Bruce was four weeks old, we made one more visit to the pediatrician's office to talk with the Newborn Nurse Specialist and to get him weighed again after two weeks without supplemental formula.  I was hoping for somewhere between 8.12 and 9.4, so when Baby tipped the scales at 9.9 I knew we were good to go!  Since his cord still hadn't fallen off yet, the nurse fooled with it a bit and got it off.  Time for a real bath!

The only discouraging thing the nurse had to say at our visit was that with cold and flu season approaching, I shouldn't bring Bruce up to school until March.  I was planning on volunteering there quite a bit this Fall, and am really disappointed to not be able to.  I'd hate to have a sick baby on my hands though, so for now I'll stick with after school grade-ins at the Panera Bread!

The last weekend of September we went up to OKC for the State Fair.  Bruce slept through the whole thing, but I'm sure the aroma of fried corndogs, Indian tacos, funnel cakes and the rest filled up his little senses.  Maybe next year he'll get to sample some of the goodies.  By pure luck and randomness, the (original) Village People were performing outdoors while we were eating our dinner.  Bruce's first of many concerts - good times.  

Along with a couple of possibly "real" smiles, another major accomplishment for Bruce this month is that he's been spending a lot of time lifting his head up!  He's still not too steady with it, but can hold it up for long stretches of time.

He's really good at rolling over on his left side, and just recently has started to roll to the right too.  When he's sleeping in his crib he's quite the little pinwheel!  He always starts off like this:

And ends up like this:

Occasionally he even makes a complete revolution...

We're still figuring out how to have happy awake times without getting overstimulated after only a few minutes, and peaceful naps without waking up every 20 minutes.   Thankfully though, Bruce is sleeping really well at night!  He goes down easily, stays asleep, and only wakes up for feedings after a few hours.  He's even made a few seven hour stretches!  

Overall it's been a great month filled with lots of snuggling - along with a healthy dose of adjusting, learning, second guessing, and faith that we're doing the best we can!  

August 2011

I'm not really the blogging type, but at the request of family I'm starting this up to keep everyone updated on the goings-on of our life with the new little man.  I'm planning on posting once a month - a commitment that might be manageable!  So, I'll start with the ending of August and the arrival of Bruce Patrick Kolarik...


Labor was induced early on Monday morning, August 22nd, and Bruce was born at 4:41 pm.  
He weighed in at 8 pounds, 6 ounces and was 20 inches long.  We couldn't have been happier! 

We stayed at the hospital for two days and then on Wednesday afternoon came home where Grandma Pat and Papa Rick were waiting to cuddle and help with the adjustment to our new life. 

From the beginning, Bruce was a fairly good eater and sleeper, and was easily calmed as long as his velcro swaddler and white noise machine were handy!  Baby loves to suck too, but prefers a pinky to a pacifier.  Hopefully he'll find his own fingers soon.  Running off of adrenaline, we didn't notice the lack of sleep too much!

At our first check up on Friday, the nurse said Bruce still looked healthy and great, but had lost a little too much weight.  So, we started a supplemental feeding plan in hopes of boosting him back up to birth weight.  We went back in the following Monday and he had already made some great gains! 

Grandma Pat and Papa Rick left to go back to Texas on Tuesday morning, and then life as a threesome officially started.  Charlie worked out of the house for a few days which helped us ease into our new lifestyle.  We're trying to take things slowly, but are anxious to keep up with life, and include Bruce in it all.    

We feel so blessed that everything is going well and we're looking forward to our journey!