easter excitement

April 24, 2011- Easter brought lots of excitement for the Worrell cowboys. 

First up was egg dyeing.  Pecos had been asking me for two weeks to dye eggs so he was extremely excited when the hour finally arrived.  Brazos was a mere bystander; I know better than to let him anywhere near colored liquid.

The result:

 

the easter basket loot



checking out the loot



hunting eggs at home- with the help of Charolais kitty, Angus kitty and the turkeys that still refuse to leave our yard

 After a morning full of candy, toys, egg-hunting it was off to Mass.  Then a quick lunch and short rest before heading off to Oma & Opa's for more egg-hunting and dinner. 

Easter Nests are a German tradition and Oma did a good job putting together a nest for each of the boys.

Easter Nests, more egg-hunting and a cascarone battle provided plenty of fun

make way for ducklings

April 2011- Sometime in mid-March these guys showed up at my house.



Actually, I knew they were coming.  Opa decided he and Pecos would get ducklings and raise them to turn loose down at the Pedernales river at Oma & Opa's place.  (I'll let you guess who has been doing most of the raising).  They picked Pecos up at school one afternoon and headed in to Kerrville to pick out 5 little ducklings.  Pecos was really excited to get them but he told me "I can't believe they don't quack, they just squeak."  Before you think I have lost my mind let me clarify...after inspection here at our house they made their way home to Tivydale Road. 



Brazos tried to taste one...silly little Cajun baby, they have to be much bigger before we can eat them

Despite his interest in animals, Pecos has never been one to just grab hold of them to cuddle....he's much more of an observer.  As you can see he was ever so careful to only touch  this one long enough for the picture. 

checking in on the ducks at Oma & Opa's

their first swimming session

headed for deeper water for more swimming lessons

  

deeper water for swimming



brazos wonders if he can eat it yet

Now that they are much bigger there is a debate on when and where to release them.  Pecos is still set on the river but we think Lady Bird Park may prove to be safer from varmints.  Still to be determined.

almost ready for release

UPDATE- June 2011- A not so happy ending to the short-lived duck raising experience: varmints got the ducks one night shortly before their planned release at Lady Bird park in Fredericksburg.  We told Pecos the coons got them and they "went to see Jesus".  He was a bit sad and said he needed to set his traps to catch those coons.  And that's all he had to say about that!

11 months

April 25, 2011- One day after Easter and Brazos is now 11 months old.  Countdown to his first birthday is on and in some ways I'm not yet ready for that milestone.  But in other ways it can't get here fast enough.  I'm emotionally torn and that's normal, right?

Brazos still loves hanging out at the dishwasher any chance he gets. 

And he is quite the character.  I don't know what I'm going to do with him...

We turned his car seat around to face forward.  And yes, I am fully aware that he should stay rear-facing for the first year (two years according to a recent safety report), so please don't turn me in to child protective services.  But whoever makes those recommendations obviously hasn't had to deal with an 11-month old that is so tall he uses the regular seat in my car as leverage to push himself out of his car seat when I'm trying to strap him into it.  And after he's strapped in he constantly pushes against the seat and up against the shoulder straps.  So I solved that problem and turned him around. 


not too sure about facing forward at first, but after the first ride he loved it



This kid is BUSY!  He rarely sits still; not even very long to eat.  And he is strong!  After wrestling him all day long I am physically exhausted.  He is more than a handful so if you see me out and about struggling to subdue him please lend a hand. 

No official stats from the doctor this month.  But he's now into 12 month clothes for the length and for the most part has plenty of room to fill out on the sides and diaper area. 

His two top front teeth are almost in and for now look like two red swollen bumps.  And I think he's also working on molars in the back...also kind of swollen and he's constantly chewing on a finger back there. 

Not walking yet but very close to it.  He's just barely beginning to try and stand up without pulling up on something.  I'd better get in some cardio workouts because it is going to be tough keeping up with him. 

lego land

April 2011- If you know Pecos then you know he LOVES Legos.  Borderline obsession.  He's wanted this farm set of Legos for several months.  So he's been saving his money to buy it.  And how does a 4-year-old get all that money?  He's been trapping varmints that have been getting into the shop.  And he's convinced Opa they are worth a $5 bounty.  And he may or may not have managed to get a few payments from Paw Paw and Casey.  Plus he might have gotten a little extra for a skunk and wild cat he trapped. Doesn't take very long for it to all add up.  He was a happy boy when the "GPS man" delivered his new Lego set.

Brazos was excited to play with the box.

This is why Legos are not intended for 11-month old babies:

an ode to brownie

April 2011- Ahhhhhh, Brownie, the beloved stick horse. Brownie came to us after retirement from MiMi's Pre-K class the summer before Pecos turned three. And they have traveled many a mile. Brownie has been just about everywhere with Pecos.



photo by Tori Faulkner, http://www.barnraised.com/

photo by Tori Faulkner, www.barnraised.com

 They've entered numerous stick horse races, accompanied me on shopping trips to San Antonio, been camping, to restaurants and everywhere in between.  From chasing bad guys to roping calves, they've done it all. 

And who could forget Pecos' 4th birthday rodeo party.

photo by Tori Faulkner, http://www.barnraised.com/



 

photo by Tori Faulkner, http://www.barnraised.com/



For a while now Brownie has been hanging on a hook in Pecos' room. Not officially retired, just taking a break.

Until Brazos noticed him. Now Brazos has developed a fondness for dear Brownie.  Look out, Brownie, looks like you are in for a few more years of hard ridin'.

 

But Pecos is not very willing to part with his mount just yet. So we're taking applications for a new (stick) ranch horse.