Banks' Baptism!

We had Banks baptized Sunday and it was wonderful. I was really worried about him acting up in church but he was perfect! He didn't make a peep. When our preacher took him from Matt to baptize him he said "we need a forklift for this one!!" It was too funny...Banks was two months younger than the other two boys baptized that day but definitely had them beat in the size department. We had almost 20 of our family members to our house after church for lunch. It was so fun having everyone here for Banks' big day! Here are some pics from his special day.

Sweet face

Some of our friends from church also had their son, James, baptized the same day.

Matt, Banks, James, Justin

Grumps, Banks, Gram

His beautiful cake!

Banks and Mimi

Tired little boy after a long day!

Throwback

Look at how itty bitty (and tan) Banks used to be!!! I can't believe how quickly he's growing up. Matt thought Banks had a 5 o'clock shadow the other day. Seriously? He might be a bit young for that just yet but he is getting so big! I thought this picture of the two of them was too sweet...

3 1/2 months...almost

Mister, as we like to call him, is 3 1/2 months old. I am working feverishly to update his baby book lest I forget some major milestone that he's met in his tiny life thus far. As mentioned in the last post he's rolling over and it's tons of fun...mostly for me than for him. I'm constantly tormenting him with tummy time just to see him roll over. He's all smiles (except when the photographer was at our house getting pictures of him and I was sweating profusely trying to get him to smile to no avail...I'm convinced he knew there was money on the line). He coos up a storm and even gets tickled sometimes. Mister is a baby giant...he's weighing in as a heavy weight at 15 pounds 10.5 ounces. He's OBSESSED with his hands and it's quite comical to watch him work on getting them to his mouth:

He's found his tongue. He looks like a little froggy!

Again with the tongue:
And he got to meet a future girlfriend, June Perkins

He had a play date with June and Charlie:

Finally, for those of you who haven't forgotten about our 4-legged baby get excited! The Biggest Loser comp is coming to an end this month. There's a big celebration for all the losers (winners) at the beginning of next month. Fingers crossed Buford is the Biggest Loser! We're doing some last chance workouts before his final weigh in next week. Ugh, the pressure. Buford is really hoping for a big prize.

Daydreaming about his big winnings.

Halloween!!!

"Halloween??? Scary!!!"Ok, not really. I'd say that we had a collection of animals from the zoo rather than a scary Halloween this year. Which suits Matt just fine. He still tells the story of how he was scarred for life after seeing a KISS poster as a child. He even covered Banks' eyes when scary trick-or-treaters came to the door. Guess parents really do pass things down to their children. Banks will never be allowed to have a KISS poster in his room and that suits Matt just fine!

My little monkey!Emerson the puppy dog, Banks, and Mimi the pig

Banks and his older woman, Hadley the lady bug. He's checking her out. Banks had a great first Halloween! We had several people over to cook out and trick or treat. Sweet Anna even volunteered to take Buford trick or treating! Of course, he was all about the treats!

And Banks is all about the tricks...he rolled over!!! He's done it twice and we've been able to get it on video. It's too funny...he goes in slow motion and is then so proud of himself when he's finished! I'll try to get some pictures of him in action so I can put them on here.

Fish Tacos

So, I have to be honest...there's something about fish tacos that just grosses me out. I think it's because when I think of fish tacos it reminds me of the Fillet O Fish sandwich which then reminds me of the McRib sandwich and then I'm totally disgusted. I decided to give them a go and I think they were great! I like the spiciness of the fish combined with the coolness of the cilantro sauce. Matt and I give these an A+!!

Fish Tacos

For the fish:

2 tilapia fillets

paprika to taste

salt to taste

cayenne pepper to taste

dill to taste

juice of one lime

olive oil

You also need:

half a head of cabbage-thinly chopped

4 flour tortillas

white sauce

For the white sauce:

1 1/2 tablespoon minced cilantro

3 tablespoons mayo

1 tablespoon sour cream

1 tablespoon lime juice

Heat a couple of tablespoons of olive oil in a skillet over medium heat; season fillets with paprika, salt, cayenne, and dill and place in skillet. Cook for about 3 minutes on each side or until cooked though and flaky. While fish is cooking, squeeze lime juice over each fillet. Once cooked, flake fish to put on tacos.

To make the white sauce, mix all ingredients in a small bowl and refrigerate until needed.

To assemble tacos spread generous amount of white sauce on each tortilla, top with flaked fish and cabbage. Serve with a big margarita and enjoy!

I lied.

I'm supposed to be posting pictures of Banks in his Halloween costume but I'm not...yet. We went to Zoo Boo with Emerson Sorrells and Reese Tomlinson but I couldn't get a good picture of all three of them so you'll just have to wait to see what Banks is going as this year. I know, I know, the suspense is killing you. Instead, you get some pictures of Banks at the pumpkin patch!

Not really feeling the pumpkins...

And here's my little punkin with his first pumpkin!!

New tricks!

Banks has been working hard on some new tricks! He's getting good at holding his head up steadily.
He found his hands about 2 weeks ago and is so proud of his discovery that he keeps his fists in his mouth at most times.

And...we broke out the bumbo chair and while Banks' head is a little wobbly for this we've compensated by propping the bumbo up next to a chair so if his big o' baby head falls back it just rests on the chair. He really likes his new perspective!
SPOILER ALERT!!!!! The next post is going to have Banks in his Halloween costume!