2 months old

July 25, 2010- Brazos is 2 months old now and growing bigger every day.  We survived colic (not extreme, just rather fussy throughout the day) and can see the light at the end of the tunnel!  But he still has some screaming fits throughout the day so we are looking into that because it is different than the fussy colic he had.

He is starting to smile and that has been fun.  He is almost sleeping through the night...he sleeps about 8 hours but it is from about 9pm-5am so we're working on shifting that.

The two month well-baby visit is not until the first week of August.  So for now the only stat is from a doctor visit July 13th:

Weight- 11.8 pounds

i'm not a rainforest kid, i'm a cowboy!

July 19-23, 2010- The annual Vacation Bible School at our church this year was Sonquest Rainforest.  I sat out with helping this year for maternity leave and missed being there.

Pecos has attended the last 3 years but only in childcare while I helped out.  This was his first year to participate fully.  In preparing for the week we listened to the music that would be part of the week of fun.  One of the songs was about the theme of the week- Rainforest.  The night before VBS I was putting Pecos to bed and I told him he would have so much fun at the Rainforest Bible School.  His reply- "But Momma, they are just gonna have rainforest toys there and I'm not a rainforest kid, I'm a cowboy!"  How do you respond to that?

So the next morning we picked up his best buddy Jace and headed to church.  The photo on the left is them together on the first day- don't they look thrilled?  And on the right is the last day- much more visible enthusiasm.

One day Pecos came home and told me the nuns had some toys with sticks for their hands.  Huh?  After my friend Tori shared a photo it all made sense- puppets!

 

The closing program at the end of the week is always fun.  And I was curious to see if Pecos would stand up with the group and participate...he tends to have stage fright in front of a crowd.  But how exciting for me to see him get up there to sing and dance. 

 
Well, actually he sort of sang but didn't do any of the motions to the songs.  He takes after his father in that regard.  Casey would much rather take a beating than get in front of a crowd and participate in any sort of theatrical performance. So as everyone else put on a show Pecos stood front and center and watched the crowd.

There was one particular song the pre-k group performed that involved hunching down then jumping up.  He was a star for that one.

 Brazos came along to enjoy the show, I mean be held by Oma. (Another photo by Tori- she's the best at capturing these candid moments!)

And did I mention MiMi was also here for the week?  She is spending her retirement with us every chance she gets.  Which means I get all the work done around the house that I never seem to get to anymore.  I keep a running list of things to do when she visits. 

The grand finale of VBS is singing at Mass on Sunday.  Once again Pecos ended up front and center to watch the crowd while everyone else provided the entertainment.  Which I guess all goes back to his original take on the Rainforest- "I'm a cowboy!"

Another discovery of the week was the need for Holy Water.  On our way to Mass after the week of VBS went something like this:

     Pecos declares: Rats! I forgot to get a can!

     Me: A can?  For what?

     Pecos: To get some holy water!

     Me: Really? Why do you need that?

     Pecos: So I can bless myself!  They told me at VBS I can get

          some holy water at the church to keep in my room to bless

          myself.

We found an empty water bottle in the car on our way to Mass and he promptly filled it up so he could bless himself at home.  And he does.  Every  night before bed and several times throughout the day.  He even blesses Brazos and me.  If I let him take it outside he would probably bless Widow Maker.  And the cats.  And anything else within sight.  I think it is a very good outcome of VBS.

pecos' showing debut

July 9, 2010- Pecos made his cattle showing debut at the Gelbvieh Jr. National Show in College Station, TX.  Why at the Gelbvieh show?  Two words: opportunity and timing.  Uncle Duke and Aunt Shannon have been involved with the breed and helping out some junior members for the past several years.  Since the national junior show would be in Texas this year and they would be there with a heifer available for pee wee showmanship and Pecos was at the right age to want to show we took advantage of the opportunity and timing. 

Here's some scenes from the practice session in Mason a week prior to the show.

And here's Pecos arriving at the show on Thursday for another practice session.  Since the heifer- Wendy- is red Pecos insisted she needed a red halter.

A last minute strategy session with dad and Uncle Duke....as in if they ask what kind of heifer you have don't tell everyone she's really a Red Angus!

Entering the ring...a proud moment to see the 4th generation of my family at the end of a show halter.  

 Looking for the judge...

The interview portion went something like this:

Jr. Director: What is your name and where are you from?

Pecos, as he grabs hold of the microphone:  Pecos Worrell from Harper, Texas! (very clear and loud- a future in public speaking perhaps?)

Jr. Director: What's your heifer's name?

Pecos: Wendy

Jr. Director: What do you like about her?

Pecos: Roping calves. (He thought they asked what he likes to do, not what he likes about the heifer)

Jr. Director: Is there anything you don't like about her?

Pecos: She licks!!

A ribbon in the pocket and a trophy in hand- first time out was a success!

Had to take an official photo at the backdrop.

And of course, every champion needs to celebrate. 

Drinking Dr. Pepper out of his trophy cup.

The trophy is proudly on display in Pecos' room.

Although Pecos had a great time showing and says he wants to do it again sometime, this is what he really loved the most.  The Happy Toy Maker had his merchandise for display and entertainment for the kids.  It was hard to pull Pecos away from here long enough to show.  Here's all the boys in the play pen.

4th of july extravaganza

July 4, 2010- The children's parade in Fredericksburg was first on our agenda for July 4th.  Each year Casey tries to out do himself in building an entry for Pecos.  Remember the rocket horse last year?  This year it was a double challenge to try and figure out how to incorporate Brazos.  And of course if it doesn't involve a horse, saddle, rope or all three then Pecos just isn't that interested. So Casey spent all day and night working on this...

The quest for an award at the parade all started out 4 years ago when Pecos was not quite one year old and we decorated his stroller and went to the parade.  Pecos won the award for 'Mr. 4th of July'.  It was a much smaller parade then and not many "float" type entries; mostly bicycles, strollers, and wagons.  Now there are over 100 kids and all sorts of interesting entries.  And Casey's competitive spirit just won't let him simply decorate the wagon and have fun.

Last year Pecos won the award for 'funniest' and Casey thought that wasn't appropriate.  I on the other hand thought it was fine and Pecos of course was just happy to sit on the saddle of his rocket horse and enjoy himself.  Two years ago we skipped the parade because we were vacationing in Maine and I'm sure if we could have found a children's parade there he would have come up with something for it.

Casey was on a mission this year to win back the title of 'Mr. 4th of July'.  I'm not sure why he thought this particular idea would do it because I thought we'd be back in the running for funniest again.  The judges and Casey must have had the same idea because sure enough, Pecos won 'Mr. 4th of July'. 

Brazos should have received recognition for the youngest participant because there were certainly none younger.  However, you could hardly see him inside the covered wagon.  When I asked Casey why he didn't make the ends of the wagon a little more upright rather than angled out he said he just couldn't compromise the integrity of the wagon!  Would someone associated with this parade please encourage the organizers to either do away with the awards or give more of them- I'm not sure how many more years I can stand this!

Here's Mr. 4th of July getting ready for the parade and posing for about the 100th photo within 5 minutes. 

Following all that excitement we spent the afternoon at home and then headed back in to Fredericksburg to see the fireworks.  Brazos fell asleep before it all started so he missed out on his first fireworks display...maybe next year!