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.

one little, two little indians

March 2011- Pecos was VERY excited to receive an invitation to nn Indian themed birthday party for a sweet friend.  This required we pull out every piece of road-side tourist attraction Indian paraphernalia Pecos has ever owned.  It just so happens that Pecos loves everything Native American.  From the moccasins on his feet to the feathers on his head, every piece was acquired over the past few years by Casey as he travels Indian territory in New Mexico and Oklahoma. 

Chief I Wanna Party



digging for arrowheads



found one!



bow and arrow practice

Chief Sand Box Excavator



When we got home from the party this little Indian brave was begging to have his photo taken: 

10 months old

March 25, 2011- We've hit the double digit mark in age, well, months of age anyway.  Can you believe it?  Brazos is growing like a weed and always on the move.  He finds trouble in all sorts of places.



who me? no, i didn't do it

One of his favorite hangouts is the dishwasher.  I guess because it is at his level when I open it.  Even if he is in the living room playing with toys he'll come crawling fast when he hears the door to it open.  Makes it rather difficult for me to load and unload while he is awake. 



His other love- besides me!- right now is Brownie.  He goes right to him at his spot on the wall in Pecos' room.  Then he attempts to crawl around the house with him.  Look out when he starts walking and dragging him around.  But Pecos isn't ready to give up ol' Brownie just yet.  A plus for me is I can usually keep him busy with Brownie for a good 15 minutes so I can get something done around the house...except load or unload the dishwasher. 

We finally have a tooth!  A month before he turned 10 months old a bottom tooth finally broke through the gums. 

No official doctor check up this month but we did make a visit when he seemed to have a "bug" for over a week.  At that visit he weighed in at 19 pounds.  All that crawling around- and maybe a little less eating because of the bug- and he leveled out in weight gain.   

breakin' in spring

March 14-18, 2011- It's spring break week here in Texas.  With a forecast of beautiful weather I promised Pecos we'd do something fun every day.

Monday:  First up was bowling.  Pecos has been asking us to go bowling for a couple of weeks.  I think it stemmed from an episode of Tom & Jerry, thus the shirt he is wearing.

developed his own bowling style

checking to make sure the ball will come back



Tuesday & Thursday:  I had a workout class; while I did that Pecos went to a fun art and play session at YaYaBee in Fredericksburg. 

Wednesday:  After a not so cheerful Easter picture session with Brazos I told Pecos we'd go ride the train at Brackenridge park.  Everyone else out for spring break told their kid the same thing and we were all there together.  We had talked about the zoo and I told Pecos we might go on Friday but when we arrived at the park to ride the train and saw the long lines of people for the zoo we changed our plans.  Pecos is not much for crowds and he said "I do NOT want to go to the zoo with all those people on Friday."  Music to my ears.  I offered that we could come back one week when it is not spring break and he eagerly agreed. 

our train; brazos was not as thrilled to take a ride- actually, it was the photo he didn't want, he did fine on the train ride

spring break = ice cream break

playing in the river at Brackenridge park

mr. cautious stepping across ever so carefully

finally in a better mood and enjoying the park

Friday: A picnic at Lady Bird park in Fredericksburg followed by swimming in Kerrville.  Notice the flip flops?  Never thought I'd ever see Pecos in a pair of them but he's been asking me for a few weeks if I could find him some.  He broke them in over spring break and at one point we were eating lunch on the patio at Taco Cabana.  The music was playing and Pecos said he was ready to leave because it was too loud for him to hear his flip flops! 



first swim of the year was a little chilly

Saturday & Sunday: Recover!

little leprechauns & an irish mystery

March 17, 2011- My little leprechauns had a not-so-festive disposition at picture time on St. Patrick's Day. I insisted we take the photo before leaving the house in the morning before one of them had a chance to get dirty. As you can see by this photo neither of them were very happy about it.

Other than that we didn't celebrate too much. St. Patrick's Day was during Spring Break so we had other things on our mind. We didn't even get the chance for green pancakes. And we had planned to make cookies but just didn't get around to it.

Later in the day after a very good nap I managed to get one of Brazos in a much better mood.

Now for the mystery.  For some reason everyone seems to think I'm Irish and should therefore celebrate St. Patrick's Day like a national holiday.  Maybe it is the fair complexion, freckles, slightly orange tint to my hair and greenish colored eyes.  Or perhaps that my name is Erin. The reality is I just don't know.  My dad's father's side of the family is unknown to me.  He died when my father and his siblings were children and after that I guess they didn't do too much with that side of the family.  Or at least they don't talk about it with my generation.  Perhaps there are skeletons yet to come out of that closet.  And my dad's mother's family were Gremillion's from Avoylles parish in Louisiana.  Cajun- yes; Irish- I doubt it.  As for my mom's side of the family, German descent is the best I can come up with.  So I can't pinpoint where the Irish-ness comes from but I play the part on March 17th and other times when it seems appropriate. 

Hope you enjoyed the day of green!

revelers

March 8, 2011- Our Mardi Gras this year was rather mild. For the past few years MiMi and Paw Paw have visited bringing with them King Cake, beads and various other treats from home. But this year we had too many things going on and Casey had just returned from Brazil so it just didn't work out for them to come.

Not too much reveling, but I did get out our stash of beads to take these photos.

Brazos was rather excited about them and entertained himself for at least half an hour!