Reading the Paper With Papou

Papou was reading the paper during all the winter storms and Banks was excited to hear more snow was on the way...

Banks' Chair

Aunt Casey got Banks this awesome chair for his Birthday. It does all kinds of neat things, including teaching positional concepts. Banks LOVES his chair, but sadly we had to take it from him for awhile. See if you can guess why...

14 Months!

Our BABY boy is growing up... FAST. He has really developed into more of a toddler (physically and mentally) over the last couple of months. It floors me how fast this happened. Although it does make me weepy, the best part is seeing his personality shine more and more each day. I have to admit that he went through a bit of a temperamental phase where he was biting and throwing fits for about a month, but I know now that he was cutting his molars (which are finally in!). Now that we are past that, he really does get sweeter every day (no, I'm not just partial). Even though he is my first baby and I haven't been around a ton of other babies, I feel confident saying that he is definitely a lovey-dovey, cuddly, sweet, passionate, boy. He LOVES giving kisses and just hugging and loving on those of us he knows well and loves. He doesn't hesitate to wrap his arms so tightly around our necks and just squeeze us so tight. It is the BEST thing in the world, without a doubt. I hope he is always filled with so much love to give.

Here are some other things he loves and enjoys:

• Chasing his shadow
• Demi (and most dogs once he warms up)
• Putting stuff on his head, and rubbing his hands through his hair (especially while eating)
• Pointing at EVERYTHING
• Waving and saying, "ay" (like "hey")
• Avocado, FRUIT (especially watermelon), and Chick-Fil-A grilled chicken
• Throwing balls
• Carrying around his Clemson bat, swinging it at things (especially our heads)
• Opening and closing containers
• Putting long pointy objects (sticks, spoons, wands) into openings over and over again
• Being read to ("Bubbles, Bubbles" book)
• Chasing you and being chased
• His "pop pop" toy that he can pull and push around
• This particular Charter tv commercial where they sing a catchy tune and dance around (he will stop WHATEVER he is doing and get in this deep trance while it is on)
• Facetime
• "Phonics Song 2" on YouTube

The ladies in his daycare class say the following about him:

• "Banks is so calm and easy going." 
• "He is perfectly content just playing by himself or with others and getting the occasional hug from us."
• "We wish we had a room full of Banks." 
• "He is such a deliberate and delicate eater. He eats one little piece at a time, examining each piece before he eats it."
• "He doesn't even fuss or cry unless he really needs something or is hurt."
• "We just love our Banks."

Speech and Language: Banks still loves to say, "Dada." He says it mostly when he's looking out a window because he knows that Patrick enjoys being outside doing yardwork. He also says, "Baby" when he's pointing to baby pictures on the wall, and, "Bubbles" when he wants to read his favorite book. He gives me an occasional, "Mama" when I'm really lucky. He also says, "Muh" when he wants more food. He imitates lots of sounds and intonation in our voice.

His receptive language has really really blossomed. He understands so much of what we say. Just to name a few, he understands, "eat, hungry, cracker, baby, daddy, mommy, Demi, look, bye bye (he waves), kisses," and so many more! 

As you can tell, Patrick and I are having a blast with our boy. He is so special and such a gift from God. Love, Love, Love!