Sunday, December 21, 2014
Christmas card pictures
We attempted multiple photo shoots for our Christmas card picture this year - we got some cute pictures of our baby and furbaby! Patrick was just happy he didn't have to be in the picture this year! :-)
12 months - ONE YEAR
It happened - my baby turned one.
This time of year (Holidays, Christmas) has always made me nostalgic. Even when I was a little girl, I always got a little weepy during the holidays. It never fails that hearing the story of Jesus' birth makes me feel so humble. On top of that, there's just something about spending another year with
This time of year (Holidays, Christmas) has always made me nostalgic. Even when I was a little girl, I always got a little weepy during the holidays. It never fails that hearing the story of Jesus' birth makes me feel so humble. On top of that, there's just something about spending another year with
family and living out traditions, as well as ending one year and beginning the next that makes me have a lot of emotions built up. I always feel so thankful for the time I get to have with those I love, and also feel sad and miss those who are no longer with us. Now that I have a baby with a birthday in December, it is even more that way for me. I wasn't as emotional about him turning one as I thought I might be because he is just so much fun right now, but it is definitely overwhelming for me to think that I no longer have a little baby.
In his 12th month, Banks transitioned into nursery 2 without much difficulty at all. He had a few days that he cried when I first left, but he adjusted before the first week was even over. The teachers in his room (Tina, Lori, Loretta, and Amy) said it is one of the smoothest transitions they've ever seen. Go Banks! He has grown up a lot being around babies that are doing more advanced skills. Although he took a few first steps back in the middle of November, once he moved up nursery levels, he pretty much immediately took off. Now he's walking like he's been doing it for years, and is eating like a champ. We are even able to take him out to eat now without having to pack food - he can eat grilled cheese, french fries, black beans, cheese quesadillas, rolls, etc. as long as we break it up for him. That certainly makes things easier on us. He is also on a much more consistent napping schedule (12:30ish-2:30ish every day). I didn't believe that he would actually be able to skip his morning naps and adjust to that schedule, but sure enough, he did! He sleeps through the night almost every night unless something is wrong (dirty diaper, cold, hot, sick).
I'm still waiting on him to consistently say "mama." He is still really fond of "dadadadada" and repeats it whenever he's giving the opportunity. He thinks it's funny to respond with, "dada" when I say, "mama" to him. Little clown! He is waving, clapping, and dances when he hears music.
Banks continues to be so incredibly happy. That's what everyone who meets him says... "He's such a happy little guy!" That makes my heart so full to hear that! He is so loved by so many people, I don't know what he'd have to not be happy about!
Banks had a kidney follow-up appointment this month, and his kidney is stable. Dr.Teague read the ultrasound and said that although his kidney will never be "normal" (always will be enlarged), it is much better than it was before his surgeries, and it is functioning. We will always continue to pray for our boy's kidney!
Since things don't change quite as quickly in the second year as they do in the first (thank goodness), this will be the last monthly update... plus I'm out of the cute stickers (too bad they don't make those through the age of 18 because I'm sure teenagers would love to take pictures with stickers on their shirts haha). I will update when we do something fun and/or Banks hits a milestone!
First Birthday Party
Banks had his first Birthday party on Sunday, December 14. The theme was a "Winter ONEderland." It was really easy to find decorations for it because of the Disney movie, "Frozen," that came out this year. It ended up being really cute.
I was overwhelmed with the love from family and friends who came and celebrated Banks' birthday with us. Banks had both sets of grandparents at his party, which is something I am so appreciative of and cherish so much. In addition to both sets of grandparents, Patrick and I both had Aunts and Uncles and cousins there. Shannon and Allison and the girls made the trek from Charleston, and Ellie really enjoyed helping Banks open his gifts and eat his cake. Then there were our friends who don't even have children yet who came from Greenville and Charlotte (The Mowlajkos, Gordons, and Alfieris). The Guffees were there with their boys, Rollins and Asher, and Kayla was kind enough to take pictures for me. The Potters came from Spartanburg. Then there were our "newer" Anderson friends, including some of Banks' buddies from daycare (Stella, Cora, Jax, and Mattox), and April and Logan Pierce came. Everyone brought very sweet, thoughtful gifts and Banks got some really cool new toys. But it was definitely the presence of our friends and family that meant the most - Banks knew all of his favorite people were together in one place and he loved it!
The highlight of his party was the smash cake. Banks was a little ham and loved tasting the icing and then letting out a loud squeal after every bite. He thought it was so great that everyone was watching him and smiling and laughing.
I was overwhelmed with the love from family and friends who came and celebrated Banks' birthday with us. Banks had both sets of grandparents at his party, which is something I am so appreciative of and cherish so much. In addition to both sets of grandparents, Patrick and I both had Aunts and Uncles and cousins there. Shannon and Allison and the girls made the trek from Charleston, and Ellie really enjoyed helping Banks open his gifts and eat his cake. Then there were our friends who don't even have children yet who came from Greenville and Charlotte (The Mowlajkos, Gordons, and Alfieris). The Guffees were there with their boys, Rollins and Asher, and Kayla was kind enough to take pictures for me. The Potters came from Spartanburg. Then there were our "newer" Anderson friends, including some of Banks' buddies from daycare (Stella, Cora, Jax, and Mattox), and April and Logan Pierce came. Everyone brought very sweet, thoughtful gifts and Banks got some really cool new toys. But it was definitely the presence of our friends and family that meant the most - Banks knew all of his favorite people were together in one place and he loved it!
The highlight of his party was the smash cake. Banks was a little ham and loved tasting the icing and then letting out a loud squeal after every bite. He thought it was so great that everyone was watching him and smiling and laughing.
First visit with Santa
We took Banks to the Anderson Mall to visit with Santa for the first time. We had to get the typical "crying baby" picture, but Banks always has a way of making things interesting. We did get the initial crying picture, but after about 5 seconds of crying, he went completely emotionless. No laughing, no crying, really not even any blinking. He completely checked out and went to his happy place. The girls taking pictures were dancing, putting on crazy hats and everything trying to get Banks to smile, but he wasn't going to give in.
Decorating for Christmas
Even though last year was Banks' official "1st Christmas," I feel like this year is more like it. Patrick even got in the spirit and let me decorate a day early (usually I have to wait until Dec 1). Banks enjoyed helping me decorate too :-)
Clemson vs Carolina
Finally, we broke the 5 year streak... Clemson is back on top! 35-17 final score
Tuesday, November 25, 2014
11 Months
Banks is 11 months old! (as of 6 days ago) The most exciting thing about this month is that he is now taking some steps. He'll definitely be walking by his first Birthday. He still isn't consistently eating solid finger foods (still mostly puree), but he is trying some things without gagging so much he throws up. He has successfully eaten some puffs, peas, spaghetti noodles, and peaches. I'm so glad he is making progress in this area. He still mostly says, "dada," but he will occasionally throw in a "mama" when I'm lucky. He throws in a lot of, "baba" too. His newest sound is "roro" which is cute because it sounds like he's roaring like a little tiger.
One of my favorite things about Banks is that he laughs ALL THE TIME, which is precious. He thinks Demi is hilarious. He even has RSV and an ear infection (his second one) right now, and he still giggles constantly. I'm so blessed that my sweet baby is so happy. He is also doing much better with sleeping through the night. He claps, shakes his head no, and will "pound" my fist when I hold it up to him.
He also loves playing peek-a-boo. He'll go around a corner and peek his head around at you and laugh. He responds to his name and definitely knows what "no-no" means, although he doesn't always listen, haha! He is still the life of the party at daycare. He is moving up to nursery 2 on December 1, which will be a very emotional day for us all. I will miss Jeri and Beverly so much, and I know Banks will!
My favorite thing in the world is still the mornings with him, when I go in his room to get him up. I say, "Good Morning Banks" in a whisper, and without fail he gives me the biggest smile, with his eyes still closed. He steals my heart all over again every single morning. Long story short, our sweet baby is PERFECT!!
One of my favorite things about Banks is that he laughs ALL THE TIME, which is precious. He thinks Demi is hilarious. He even has RSV and an ear infection (his second one) right now, and he still giggles constantly. I'm so blessed that my sweet baby is so happy. He is also doing much better with sleeping through the night. He claps, shakes his head no, and will "pound" my fist when I hold it up to him.
He also loves playing peek-a-boo. He'll go around a corner and peek his head around at you and laugh. He responds to his name and definitely knows what "no-no" means, although he doesn't always listen, haha! He is still the life of the party at daycare. He is moving up to nursery 2 on December 1, which will be a very emotional day for us all. I will miss Jeri and Beverly so much, and I know Banks will!
My favorite thing in the world is still the mornings with him, when I go in his room to get him up. I say, "Good Morning Banks" in a whisper, and without fail he gives me the biggest smile, with his eyes still closed. He steals my heart all over again every single morning. Long story short, our sweet baby is PERFECT!!
Thursday, November 13, 2014
Banks' First Halloween
Anyone that knows me is well aware that I LOVE holidays. Patrick jokes that I had a baby just so that I could go all out for the holidays and act like a kid again. :-) That being said, I actually kept things kind of simple for Banks' first Halloween costume. He already had a grey sweatsuit so I ordered him a shark hat from Etsy, and BAM he was a SHARK! The cutest little shark ever! We took him to his daycare's fall festival where he enjoyed watching the older kids play games and run around in their costumes. We also took him to a pumpkin patch, but we didn't get a pumpkin this year (the first year in a long time I haven't gotten one!). Last year I bought a pumpkin, carved it, and bought lots of candy to give out only to have 2-3 kids come trick-or-treating. I guess it's because we live in the back of our neighborhood. So this year we went to Mellow Mushroom, ate pizza, drank some pumpkin beer, came home and put Banks down, and then watched a scary movie. It was a fun Halloween! I look forward to taking Banks trick-or-treating next year :-)
Thursday, October 30, 2014
Clemson vs Louisville - Banks' INCIDENT
Clemson played Louisville for the first time this year. There were surprisingly a lot of Louisville fans that made the trip to see the game. Clemson brought home the W, but this game was a fail for the Carters. This is a story we're not proud of, but one we will surely laugh about one day...
My mom ended up having to travel for work at the last minute, so Patrick and I decided we would just take Banks to the game with us. We have seen lots of babies around his age in the stadium and figured we could do it too! It was another 3:30 game, and he did great at the tailgate the week before. The weather ended up being really hot, which was much different from the last game. Banks did great at the tailgate, and took a nap during the first quarter of the game (I took him under the shaded area in the stadium). He woke up for the second quarter and seemed to be enjoying himself. We were about to go out for halftime when all of a sudden everyone around us in the stands gasped. The sweet older couple that sits in front of us for all the games turned around and we realized there was something wet all over the man's back. Turns out, Banks had HUGE blowout... actually the biggest one he had ever hand and there was poo EVERYWHERE. I'm talking all over Banks, Patrick, me, the man in front of us, the ground, the diaper bag, the seats. EVERYWHERE. It was so embarassing. I've actually never seen Patrick so embarrased - he just kept saying, "Oh my God" over and over again. We cleaned up everything and everybody the best we could with wipes, stripped Banks down to his diaper, and ran out of the stadium and back to the car. We got home as fast as possible, submerged us all in bathwater, and watched the second half of the game from the couch.
The poor boy ended up having a terrible stomach virus that lasted the rest of the week. And we were left with the memory of Banks' first time in Death Valley. As the sweet couple in front of us said, "That will be a story you tell at his wedding one day." I'm sure Patrick would rather just forget it haha.
We did get some cute pictures before the incident happened:
My mom ended up having to travel for work at the last minute, so Patrick and I decided we would just take Banks to the game with us. We have seen lots of babies around his age in the stadium and figured we could do it too! It was another 3:30 game, and he did great at the tailgate the week before. The weather ended up being really hot, which was much different from the last game. Banks did great at the tailgate, and took a nap during the first quarter of the game (I took him under the shaded area in the stadium). He woke up for the second quarter and seemed to be enjoying himself. We were about to go out for halftime when all of a sudden everyone around us in the stands gasped. The sweet older couple that sits in front of us for all the games turned around and we realized there was something wet all over the man's back. Turns out, Banks had HUGE blowout... actually the biggest one he had ever hand and there was poo EVERYWHERE. I'm talking all over Banks, Patrick, me, the man in front of us, the ground, the diaper bag, the seats. EVERYWHERE. It was so embarassing. I've actually never seen Patrick so embarrased - he just kept saying, "Oh my God" over and over again. We cleaned up everything and everybody the best we could with wipes, stripped Banks down to his diaper, and ran out of the stadium and back to the car. We got home as fast as possible, submerged us all in bathwater, and watched the second half of the game from the couch.
The poor boy ended up having a terrible stomach virus that lasted the rest of the week. And we were left with the memory of Banks' first time in Death Valley. As the sweet couple in front of us said, "That will be a story you tell at his wedding one day." I'm sure Patrick would rather just forget it haha.
We did get some cute pictures before the incident happened:
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