Boys...

Apparently there is something difficult about raising boys. There are a bazillion books dedicated to the subject and endless amounts of advice to be offered regarding rearing boys. At this point in Banks' life, it doesn't matter much. If I laid a Barbie and a truck out for him to play with I think he might actually go for the Barbie but in a time period shorter than I'd like to admit he will become more boy-like and I could use some guidance on the subject!

Boys really are a different breed. And I'm not just saying this because I'm an only child and really only know the world of girl. They're just different. For example (and Matt, I love you and please don't hate me for posting this), Matt comes in yesterday with his chest puffed out-so proud of himself and props his foot up on the arm of the chair. He proceeds to point out his crazily long toenails and states that he had been trying to "see how long he could get them to grow out before flip flop season." Seriously??? Who thinks of this stuff??? It's gotta be a guy thing. I'd like to say that he succeeded and those things were gold-metal-award-winning-long. Which reminds me that Matt may have some bizarre infatuation with long toenails because last summer he gouged my ankle with one of his long toenails and it LEFT A SCAR. Anyway, back to the point...what am I to do with a BOY??? My grandmother predicted that I would have a house full of "grubby little boys" and so far her prediction has come true. So, if I'm going to have a house full of long toenail growing boys I've gotta learn how to raise 'em right!

Our church is offering a parenting series on nurturing boys. I'm getting the book (Wild Things: The Art of Nurturing Boys) ASAP and planning on attending the series in September. Surely I can manage to read a book by then!!! And thankfully, Clint and Jeri Anne found out they're having a little boy in August so Banks will FINALLY have a boy to play with around here!!! We're so excited that they can beat each other up one day!

And, on to what you really want to see...some pictures of Banks! He's eight months old now which is just crazy to me. He's eating all kinds of bits of food, dragging (not crawling yet) himself all over the place, and talking up a storm (new sounds are ta, fa, da, sh...but no ma). It just gets more and more fun everyday!

Pulling all the toys out of the basket

This is a picture of a picture so it's not that great...here's his first visit with the Easter bunny!

Working on the crawl...check out those cheeks!!!

A little play time with my daddy!

Pictures

We had some pictures made of Banks at 6 months and these are a couple of my favorites. The chair he is sitting in the the bottom picture is over 115 years old and was made by Banks' great-great-great grandfather for his grandson, Dudy Noble. You Mississippi State folks out there should recognize that name...the baseball field is named after him! I just think the picture is so sweet with him in the little chair!

So serious...

"Hmmm...what's this?"

I've always said that I wish I knew what Banks was thinking. I feel confident that now I know exactly what he's thinking: what's that? He is constantly reaching for things...usually things we don't want him to have like remotes or phones and if there's a pile of toys on the floor for him to play with he'll roll across the room to get to some wires or any other baby no-no. Why do they always want what they're not supposed to have?

On his way to see what's going on in the hall...

The weather was so nice last week so we had a picnic in the back yard. Note all the toys. What did he play with? Dead grass and leaves.

Me and B

And, my friends, it's about to get a lot worse. Banks is getting ready to crawl. He's mastered the backwards scoot and now is working on moving forward. He can get himself into this herky-like position but then takes a face plant when he tries to crawl forward...

And on another note...what up with all the scratching? Banks likes to scratch his fingernails across things...walls, the leather chair, jeans, etc. It. drives. me. nuts. Nuts, do you hear me? I can't stand the sound of fingernails scratching on things and he does it all the time. Probably just to spite me.

We've also been working on introducing finger foods. I've tried giving him little pieces of things like banana and pears but I finally got him some puffs today and they're the biggest hit of them all! He can pick them up much more easily than the sticky fruit. Plus it doesn't make near as much of a mess...I think here I see some banana, sweet potato and avocado...

And finally, we're gearing up for the Easter bunny to make his first visit. Banks wanted me to make sure the Easter bunny saw how much he loves his bunny...

What's fun...

What's fun: With Matt working from home, he often gets to spend a little extra time with Banks during his lunch break. The other day, Matt got out the balls that we gave him at his half birthday party and taught him a thing or two about curve balls...

What's fun: Belly laughs.

Shoot...I had a really cute video I was trying to upload but it won't work...not sure why. Guess you'll just have to take my word for it...

What's not fun: Poop in the tub. Yes, you read that correctly. Do not continue reading if you have a queasy stomach...I'm warning you. THREE times in the last two weeks Banks has pooped in the tub. I mean, seriously, what is it???? The first time I was completely unaware and bathed him in the poop water only to realize it was poop water at the very end. I dumped said poop water down the sink so I had to disinfect the sink and the tub and then rewash Banks. The second time it happened I had a knee-jerk reaction and grabbed the poop with my hand and threw it in the toilet. Then I poured the poop water down the drain in the tub. So, once again, I had to disinfect his tub, the big tub and wash Banks again. The third time, we (Matt and I tag-teamed this one) wisened up. Once we noticed the floater we took Banks out of the tub and Matt and I carried the poop water filled tub outside where we dumped it...poop and all in the side yard. I know this is totally disgusting. We felt it was genius. I'm sure there's some law about human feces being outdoors but I'm just considering it extra fertilizer for the rose bush. If you're coming over, please don't play near the roses...if you step in poop it might not be Bufords...

What's fun: I'm heading to the beach Thursday for a bachelorette party with my friends! I am so excited to have some serious girl time...even if I'm going to miss my boys!

What's fun: Banks is rolling all over the place now and he's learned to pivot on his stomach so he can really get anywhere he wants. Once he sets his sight on something he'll get to it through rolling and inching on his stomach. It's so cute to watch his determination and how proud he is of himself once he gets what he's after!! I keep catching him pulling things off the bottom shelf of the coffee table so looks like I'll be clearing that off shortly.

What's not fun: Seeing my post-baby body in a three-way mirror at Target last week. Yikes. Nobody tells you that once you have a baby your butt turns into your legs. When did that happen??? And how do I get it back up where it's supposed to be? I set out on a mission the very next day...I walked/ran (ok, mostly walked) and man did it hurt. I am soooo out of shape. And, it's extremely hard to run pushing a stroller. It involves some sort of coordination that I must not have. I've got to keep it up though...beach trips this summer are on the horizon and I really don't want people looking at my butt-legs.

What's fun: Banks is 7 months! The sign picture is getting increasingly more difficult. He grabbed it immediately after I put him in the chair so I had to get Matt to help and finally we were able to distract him long enough to put the sign in the chair and snap a picture or two.

"Wait...what's this? Can I have it?"

"Let me see if this is any good"

Matt's attempt at holding the sign...

Finally...

Easy peasy

There's nothing like a little pork-on-pork action. Am I right or am I right? I haven't posted any recipes in a long time so I figured I'd try something new this week and we really liked it! Not to mention it was very simple...

Bacon-wrapped pork tenderloin with creamy cheese grits and spinach

(from Southern Living)

for pork:

1 1-lb pork tenderloin

1 tsp steak seasoning

3 bacon slices, cut in half crosswise

Preheat oven to 425. Sprinkle seasoning over pork and wrap pork with bacon slices, securing with wooden picks. Place pork on a lightly greased wire rack in an aluminum foil-lined roasting pan. Bake at 425 for 25 minutes or until a meat thermometer inserted into thickest portion registers 155. Increase oven temp to broil. Broil 5 inches from heat for 3-5 minutes or until bacon is crisp. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.

for cheese grits:

1 5-oz package fresh baby spinach, washed

1 cup quick cooking grits

1 1/2 cups vegetable broth

1 cup milk

1/2 tsp salt

1/8 tsp garlic powder

4 oz shredded mozzarella-provolone cheese blend

Coarsely chop spinach. Bring grits and next 4 ingredients to a boil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat; reduce heat to low, and simmer, stirring occasionally, 10-12 minutes or until thickened. Stir in spinach and cheese until well blended and cheese is melted. Serve immediately.

Banks got an F in nursery

Sunday Banks got kicked out of the church nursery. It's only the second time we've sent him. The first was traumatic because it was "the first." That and when I rounded to corner to pick him up I could hear him screaming bloody murder. The lady said he has slept really well...over an hour past his feeding time and the boy was seriously hungry. Today, a friend of ours went to pick up her little one and noticed that Banks was quite distressed. She suggested that I go check on him. Which I did. Promptly. He was red-faced crying and the man told me that he had been doing so for 20 minutes. He then proceeded to go and get his diaper bag and send us packing!!! And we hadn't even been to church yet! I know we can't be the first to have trouble dropping their kid off at the nursery. You see, trouble is that church falls directly during nap time. B has some flexabilty but skipping a morning nap all together just is a no-go at this point. So, when he gets tired, he cries. Hence his failure at nursery today. Poor guy. The minute we put him in his car seat he was out like a light.

I'm also guessing that my outfit choice that morning did not help. I was dead set on him wearing this little Feltman outfit...size 12 months mind you...that was ENTIRELY too small. He'd never worn it so I was determined that I'd get at least one wear out of it. The thing was so tight that when I went to put him in his car seat to come home a button popped off and went flying across the room. If you look closely, you can see a button missing. I had to take the bottom portion of the outfit off because it was cutting off his circulation.

Now, these guys could have been the culprit for an extra fussy morning. Check out these chompers...

And, just because he's a big boy and moved to the big boy tub I had to post this picture. The bath toys are a big hit and he loves his duck tub even if it does look a bit too small...

Half birthday!

We had Banks' half birthday Saturday and it was so fun getting all the family together. Well, almost all...Matt's dad wasn't able to make it because of the icy weather so we were sad he wasn't there. Matt was super pumped to be cooking out in 20 degree weather!

Here are the pictures I mentioned in the previous post. Each family member got one as their invitation and then I hung them on the mantle as our decoration. I think it turned out pretty cute!He even had presents to open! We got him these balls that he'll most likely just chew on for the next several months but Matt's excited for him to be getting some sports toys.

Banks has been the most fun baby lately. His personality is really starting to come out and he's very social. He loves being around lots of people and flirts up a storm with the ladies! He also likes to pout. I can't help but laugh when I see this face!!! He's started bouncing all the time...in his exersaucer, in your lap, when you're holding him. He's also started doing this thing where he quenches up his nose and breathes in and out really fast. It's hilarious with the lips. And...he's got his first tooth coming in! I noticed it this morning. It doesn't seem to be bothering him and he's been drooling like crazy for the last two months so it's about time one popped through! We went for his six month check up today and his stats are:

Weight: 19.4--80%

Height: 27--72%

Head: 45--83%

He's rolling everywhere now...and sporting his I love Mom onesie!

He's getting good at sitting up...

He's been enjoying fruits so far. I started him on bananas...just mashing them up and he loves them. I baked some apples for him last week and froze them so we'll try those next. I bought pears today so I'll prepare them this week to have on deck. I'm still loving making his baby food and am ready to try some new combos with him. I got the go-ahead at the doctor today to try some new things so I'm hoping Banks will enjoy them! We also broke out the high chair and he really liked being in it. I feel like he looks like such a big boy now!

I really cannot believe that Banks is halfway to being a year old. I want to savor every moment that we have with him. It took a long time to get him here and I do not want to ever take a moment for granted. It's so easy when I've had a long day to get frustrated with him but when I pick him up and he puts his arms around me and nestles his face in my neck it all melts away and I remember how precious he is. I love his hugs and his smile just lights up my life. Of course we think he's just the most amazing, beautiful gift from God!!!