Eight weeks (but not two months)

I can't believe Banks is 8 weeks old! Time is really flying by and it makes me sad! We are really starting to see his little personality developing and he's become so smiley. It is the most heartwarming thing EVER to see him look up at me with his big eyes and smile away. Of course, Matt and I are doing any and everything to make him smile more. It usually comes in the form of a song. Our favorites are "I like big Banks and I cannot lie. You other babies can't deny..." (think Ross and Rachel), "Dance, too much doo doo in your pants" (derived from Dance too much booty in your pants) which also has a choreographed dance to go along with the song and is one of Banks' personal favs, and the most annoying and most often sung because it's always stuck in my head is "Bansky, Banksy poo. I want to be a Banksy poo..." (from The Village People's Macho Man). We're ridiculous, I know. It comes with the territory.

Other amazing baby things that Banks can do at 8 weeks include:

• make fun noises like aaahhh, ooohhh, a-gaaa
• kick his legs like crazy
• bat at things on his play mat
• hold his head straight when I pull him from a lying down position to a seated position
• grab onto things (my personal favorite is when he holds on to my shirt when I'm feeding him)
• soothe himself to sleep with his pacifier (when it will stay in his mouth)

His likes include:

• the bird that hangs off his playmat (we call him Rocky the Redbird)
• being held
• his swing and bouncy seat
• music
• anything outdoors
• strolling
• riding in the car
• sleeping with his hands up by his head

His dislikes include:

• sleeping in the crib during the day
• the time of 5 pm-8 pm (he seriously cries non-stop during that time)
• tummy time

Today we had his 8 week appointment. His stats are:

13 pounds (95th percentile)

23 inches (90th percentile)

Here he is showing his muscles:

"Did someone say shots??"

What the night brings...

You know, being up at all hours of the night brings about a good bit of thought. It usually begins with a logical thought that progresses in a linear manner but somewhere along the way (I'm guessing it's the 3 am hour) things go awry and I get to thinking really random things. It's where I devise plots for making Banks sleep longer at night (the jury is still out on whether this plot is working) or invent money making products such as some sort of headgear that will keep a paci in a baby's mouth. So far Scotch tape is the best I can come up with. I wonder things like what I'll serve at the lunch I'm having for Banks' baptism, why I always have cavities, or even how many calories I burn walking from my bed to the nursery 100 times to re-insert a paci (perhaps this is one pro to not coming up with my paci headgear??).

In my randomness I have decided that I should do something with the tons of recipes that I am constantly cutting out of magazines, printing off the Internet, or finding in cookbooks. I mean, why not? I have plenty of time to experiment (note sarcasm). I haven't cooked a meal in almost 8 weeks because we've been fortunate enough to have meals brought to us several times a week...until now. So, it makes sense, right? Why not jump into this thing feet first? In my more sane moments, I decided that I will try cooking ONE new thing every week. It may be an appetizer, dinner entree, dessert, salad, sandwich or whatever strikes my fancy. I'm not making any promises (to myself or to the blog) about how likely this is to actually happen on a regular basis! It'll be a miracle if I can accomplish it seeing as in the time it's taken me to type this entry I've already had to re-insert said paci 27 times. I'm breaking out the tape now. Anyway, I'll put the recipe on the blog and let you know what I think about the preparation, presentation and finished product.

So, without further hesitation here's this weeks recipe:

Grilled Peaches Jezebel

from Southern Living

1/4 cup honey

2 tsp. Dijon mustard

1 tsp horseradish

6 firm, ripe peaches, halved

Vegetable cooking spray

Whisk together first 3 ingredients. Brush half of honey mixture evenly over cut sides of peaches. Coat a cold cooking grate with cooking spray, and place on grill over medium heat (300 to 350 degrees). Arrange peach halves, cut sides up, on grate; grill, covered with grill lid, 3 minutes on each side or until tender and golden. Remove from grill, and brush cut sides of peaches evenly with remaining honey mixture. Makes 6 servings.

Ta da! The peaches turned out wonderful! I got caught up talking to my neighbor so they cooked a little longer than the recipe called for but I thought they were grilled to perfection. They were VERY easy to prepare and grill. I highly recommend this recipe! I served them with pork tenderloin and brown and wild rice.

And...because I can't post without a picture of my boo here he is...cheeks for days!

LOTS of new posts!

Check out the posts below! I'm playing catch up because our computer had a virus and I've been without the internet for far too long!

Reasons I'll hate my mom one of these days:

Because I'm a boy and she insists on putting me in dresses. And this one even has lace.
Sheesh.

Proof that Buford still exists

Some (Anna) have been concerned that we had given Buford away. I think not!!! This guy still gets PLENTY of attention. He has done great with Banks. He's interested but not too interested. Well, let me clarify-he's not too interested in Banks but is VERY interested in anything that has spit up on it (which is most things these days). He gets caught on a daily basis licking burp cloths and bibs. I know, it's gross. I've also mastered the art of pushing the stroller and walking Buford so he's getting out of the house regularly now for walks. We haven't taken him in lately for a weigh in for his Biggest Loser competition but rest assured we'll do so soon!

Baby Budda

Look at that belly!

Faces

Here are some of the faces that Banks has been making lately:

Sweet face

"O" face (usually seen before he fills his pants)

Just a naked baby face

Flirty face

5 weeks!

We found out this week that Banks has reflux. The poor guy has always done a lot of spitting up but for the last few days he would just cry out (for hours) in pain. We started him on Prevacid and it seems to be helping. We've had to make some other behavioral changes like keeping him upright for longer periods of time after eating and limiting his intake at each feeding so he's not overloaded with milk. So far he's spit up on the couch, the floor in the den, the floor in his room, the leather chair, the glider, on me and in my hair, on his dad, on Gram and the list goes on and on. We're taking extra measures now. He wears a bib pretty much all day and we use a burp cloth to cover the rest of him. Here he is after "lunch" the other day.

While at the doctor we found out that Banks weighs 11 pounds 10 ounces. He's huge!!! No wonder my back has been killing me lately!!!

4 weeks!

Banks is four weeks old now! I can't believe how quickly time has gone by. Who knew that being 4 weeks old is different from being a month old. Apparently so. I'm wondering what we'll do when February rolls around and there's no 30th that month. Anyway, here are some of Banks' favorite things at 4 weeks:

• the swing
• the playmat
• spitting up
• smiling
• kicking his legs
• turning his head from one side to the other when having tummy time
• music
• refusing to sleep in his crib during the day
• poking his lip out when he cries
• waking up every 3-4 1/2 hours during the night
• wanting his paci and then spitting it out
  

Banks has been gearing up for Ole Miss football and sported his Ole Miss onesie the other day.

Also, his umbilical cord FINALLY fell off this week. Seriously, I think it may be a world record. I should check on that. He got to enjoy his first real bath and loved it (even though he doesn't look so pumped about it in this picture).