Santa Claus!

Charlie Banks met Santa at the Golf Bug childrens Christmas party last weekend. We weren’t able to get any smiles out of him. He actually ended up shedding a few tears which surprised me! We made reindeer food and an ornament for his first Christmas. Fun party!

Thanksgiving

We celebrated Thanksgiving twice!  Once on the actual day and then again once Jimmy got home.  We didn’t think it was fair for him to miss out on all the yummy food!  We went to my sisters on Thanksgiving and had a delicious meal and a fun time playing with cousins.  We are so thankful for a wonderful family, special friends, and a healthy, happy baby boy…among many other things.  And yes, I am aware that Charlie Banks had a few too many turkey outfits.  It got a little out of hand between me, hand me downs and the grandmas!  But, hey, you only celebrate your first Thanksgiving once…might as well do it in style! 

11 Months!

A week and some change late, but we have a wild 11 month old keeping us busy!  He is walking really well with his push toys and cruising all over the side of the bed and furniture.  He loves to wave and clap.  He says hey!  He loves to go shopping and smile and say hey to everyone we pass.  He loves to dance and to play peek-a-boo!  He loves everything fruit and isn’t a big fan of veggies.  His favorite foods are toast and yogurt!  He has a couple more teeth about to come through which have made him quite fussy the past few days!  He has been sleeping great at night from 7-7!  He still naps twice, but occasionally will boycott his second nap.  He is not a fan of getting dressed or having his diaper changed.  He has an exciting month ahead with his first Christmas, a trip to Costa Rica and his first birthday! 

Tortola

Well…all parties survived Momma’s first time away! 

It was a total bummer that Jimmy had to miss the trip.  When it was planned months ago he was scheduled to be off, but unfortunately his schedule got moved around.  That made it even harder to leave our little guy even though he was in great hands with NanJan!  It was good for me to get away for a bit and I had a great time with my family.  The house we rented was amazing!  Hopefully Jimmy can make the annual trip next year as he has missed the past 3!

We relaxed at the house, did a bar crawl on Jost Van Dyke, grilled out, visited Smuggler’s Cove, had a delicious dinner at The Sugar Mill and enjoyed a few too many adult beverages.  Too much fun in paradise!

Peanuts

At Charlie Banks’ 9 month appointment his ped gave us the go ahead to try all foods except honey.  We came home and I decided to let him try a peanut butter and jelly sandwich for lunch.  Low and behold ten minutes later the poor buddy was broken out in raised hives and had me in a panic!  Several appointments with the allergist, skin and blood tests later and we have a high risk peanut allergy diagnosis. He gave blood like a pro.  I’m not going to lie and say we weren’t bummed out about it, but it’s not the end of the world and could always be much worse.  We are stocked with epi pens and pray that we never have to use them!

10 Months

What a silly boy Charlie Banks is becoming!  He is so funny these days.  His giggles just melt my heart.  He is into everything and pulling up on anything in sight!  He is a good eater for the most part, but is quick to drop anything he’s not crazy about over the side and immediately look at me to see what I am going to do about it!  ha!  He is a ham and is just too dang cute and fun!  He is definitely saying “momma” and its pretty adorable.  I am pretty confident that he knows what “no” means.  He claps when we say “yay!” and waves hi and bye!  He LOVES to come crawling into the bathroom every morning as soon as he hears the water run to brush his teeth with me.  He also loves the blow dryer and thinks its hilarious when I blow it on him.  He is holding steady in the 25th percentile for weight and 50th for height.  I can’t for the life of me wrap my head around the fact that he is already 10 months old!