Big Brother

We are so excited that Charlie Banks is going to be a big brother in September!!  It was a rough and scary start to our second pregnancy. Jimmy was in Africa so I headed to our first appointment alone. When the ultrasound began I could immediately tell by what I saw and my doctors face that things weren't right. They told me what everyone hopes to never hear...it did not appear to be a viable pregnancy. The sac was collapsed and although you could see the flicker of a heartbeat on the screen it was not strong enough to detect.  They sent me for blood work that that and again two days later and told me to come back for another ultrasound in a week where they didn't expect there to be any sign of a heartbeat. It was a sad and long, long, long week. With Jimmy still gone, I headed back the following week and much to my and my doctors surprise we saw a healthy baby on the screen. Then we saw another not healthy sac. There had been TWO and one did not survive...which was the sac we believed we were looking at the previous week. I was in shock as this did not even cross my mind as an option. We had a few extra ultrasounds the following weeks to make sure the additional sac absorbed itself and that everything was progressing normally with the healthy baby. What a miracle!  We are very happy and know that Charlie Banks is going to be a great big brother.

 

He was very interested in Hadleigh when she was over the other day.  He did "slap" her in the face though, so we do have some work to do on learning to be gentle.

Hadleigh Marie

We have a new niece!  She was born on February 4 and she is perfect in every way!  She is so adorable and we can't wait to watch her grow up.  She will have two older boys looking out for her in Hudson and Charlie Banks!  I can't wait for Jimmy to get home so he can meet her.

14 Month Update

Charlie Banks has become quite the little character lately!  He is keeping me very busy.  Jimmy gets home this week (hallelujah!) after having been gone for almost 2 months.  It's be a very long 7 weeks and we can't wait for him to get home.  We have tried to stay busy with visits to the library, aquarium, childrens museum, sky zone and parks when the weather allows. 
When Jimmy left at the beginning of January Charlie Banks was just starting to walk...now he can run!  We have transitioned to 1 nap - which has by far, without a doubt been the most challenging nap transition yet.  I wasn't prepared at all because the other transitions were so seamless for us.  We have had some rough days where he has only napped for 30 minutes, but we do seem to be on the ups on this front.  The past week he has gone for anywhere from 1-2:30 hours...so hopefully he is getting the hang of it.  He has also become quite the momma's boy...ie crying if I go to the bathroom and he realizes he doesn't know where I am or crying at restaurants if I get up to get a drink and leave his sight.  While I do find it cute and sweet that he loves me so much, it also makes me yearn for Jimmy's help even more so than normal when he is gone!  He is learning a lot of new words - his favorites and most perfected are ball and dog.  He loves to blow kisses and give high 5's.  He also loves to carry his dirty diapers to their special spot.  He loves most fruits, avocado toast, pretzels, apple sauce, veggie cakes, etc.  I have been offering him whatever I eat for meals, which is very nice if he will eat it...it's hit or miss.  He very much so understands what no! means and more often than not will listen.  He also knows most things around the house that he is not supposed to do and will typically shake his head no if he is contemplating pushing the limits!  This is certainly a fun age!

Our Sweet Valentine

Our precious boy on his second Valentines Day...

Costa Rica

We had such a fun trip to Costa Rica over New Years!  One of Jimmy's friends from college invited us to join them at his parents condo in Los Suenos.  The weather was beautiful, food delicious, and company fun!  Lots of swimming, drinking, fishing, and eating...a perfect vacation! 

Charlie Banks is ONE!

How did that happen?!?  Our baby is ONE!  It just doesn't seem possible.  We didn't do any big party...simply because we were leaving for Costa Rica two days after Christmas so there really wasn't a good time.  The day after Christmas we did have a few people over for some cake to celebrate.  He wanted nothing to do with his smash cake that I made him!  He did LOVE the attention though.  He has started "walking" and is very proud of himself.  He loves waving and saying hi.  He loves to mimic the sounds we make or if we stick our tongue out etc.  He still sleeps from 7-7 and takes 1-2 naps.  He still has 6 teeth, but his behavior definitely indicates that more are on the way.  He loves fruit, yogurt, and toast.  We are still working on the veggies.  I mash up some white beans and put in his yogurt to sneak in some veggies.  He loves smoothies too, so I sneak in spinach and carrots there.  He likes green beans as well.  I am trying to do away with the pouches of food and stick to actual food from now on.  We will offer him real milk for the first time later today after I make it to the store.  He still doesn't care for his sippy cup much, but I think that will change once we start cutting back on the nursing.  He still nurses 3 times a day.  Once when he wakes up, after his first nap, and before bed.  He plays by himself really well and will push anything around the house all day long.  He weighs 21.3 pounds and is 29.5 inches long...which puts him in the 40th percentile for both height and weight.  Happy first birthday to our precious Charlie Banks!

 

 

 

 

Christmas

The week before Christmas we celebrated with my dad.  We had a nice time opening presents and then enjoyed brunch at Red Drum...our favorite!

 

Christmas Eve we had dinner at our house for about 20 people!  This is the second year we have hosted both of our families.  I enjoyed myself much more than last year...as I was about to give birth any second.

Christmas morning we cooked a big breakfast at home and opened presents...

 

 

Then headed to Jimmy's aunts house for the afternoon.  We had a delicious meal and enjoyed the summer like temperatures on her dock.  It was a perfect first Christmas for our sweet boy!

 

We will celebrate with my mom next week!  I am excited because it drags the holiday out a little bit longer!

 

And finally our Christmas card for 2015...