Banks had his first day of school last Friday in the Lamb Room with Ms. Mandy and Ms. Terry! He had a great first day and was so excited to be there that he didn't cry at all when I left and couldn't manage to close his eyes for a nap with all the excitement! He finally fell asleep on a climbing toy and they just put a blanket over him. These are the best pictures we could get. Notice the lunch box is half the size of Banks......he has to take all bottles and cups already made so he basically takes a small cooler!

My days of putting Banks on the floor with a toy to play with are over. Banks the Explorer is all over the place trying to stick his hands in the toilet, climbing into the walk in shower and finding any and all dust bunnies and leaves to munch on! Here he was busted climbing out of the shower!

Here are some pictures from the last week or so........

This was taken after I let Banks hold his spoon to eat his spaghetti.....we haven't tried it again since.

I love to laugh!

Brent came and got me in the middle of this! He said at the beginning that Banks laughed so hard he threw his head back and fell over backwards. Too bad we don't have that on video! Don't you wish we could all have this much joy from the simple things in life?

Almost 11 months.....

"Wild hair"

One of his favorite places is still the bottom drawer of the pantry. Always good for 20 minutes!








New trick: drinking from a water bottle when he goes for a run with Brent!





"I love bathtime!"




"Waiting on the plane"

We just got back from a Labor Day family reunion in Myrtle Beach. So fun!

10 months old

This past week Banks had cut broccoli for the first time. He has never been one to refuse anything, but I'm not so sure he liked it. He could not decide what he thought about the new texture!

Banks loves to watch the clothes go around in our washer and dryer.

He has turned in to a man on the move. Steps are definitely his favorite!

"How am I going to get back down from here? It sure was a lot easier climbing up!"

The Beach!

"Maxing and relaxing" by the pool. Banks' favorite time of day

is when he gets to eat!

Ella (3 yrs), Mia (14 mon), Banks (9 mon)

Grandad, Gran, and Banks

Meredith, Elizabeth, Banks, and me

"I love the water!"

"Dad always makes me wear sunscreen!"

We had such a fun time in Myrtle Beach with both sides of our family! The weather was great with only one day of afternoon showers that kept us in. Cornhole was the game of the week... SO MUCH FUN!!! We will be practicing over this next year to give Kyle, Meredith's boyfriend, some competition next summer.

Banks started eating tablefood over the week. He chowed down on meatloaf, green beans, corn casserole, chicken spaghetti, bananas......he has yet to refuse anything and frequently cries when mealtime is over! He also started to wave when we were taking pictures Monday night.

Another post....finally!

I love my dad's toothbrush!

Veda, Banks and McCrae when the Driggers came to visit!

Hope, Graham, Banks, and me in Montreat

I know it has been forever since I've posted! We've been very busy over the last four weeks. Banks and I traveled to Montreat for four days the last week of June to visit Mom and EJ. Banks loved following EJ around and messing up his train! Hope, a college roommate, and Graham came up for a visit on our last day there, and we had lunch at "The Huck"...... brings back lots of Montreat memories for me! We spent July 4th in Clarksville visiting Gran and Grandad. Banks enjoyed swinging on their new swingset we gave them for Christmas!

Brent, Banks, and I traveled to Greenville, SC for the weekend of July 11th to see my college roommates, their hubbies and kiddos. It was so fun to hang out for a day with everyone and walk around dowtown Greenville. We only wish Rivers had been born a couple of days earlier so we could have gotten to meet him in person! Congrats Laurie and Shay! We pulled through Rock Hill to spend Sunday afternoon before heading back to Nashville Monday morning. Banks has put in some major miles in the car. He really is a great traveler, though.

Banks was nine months on July 16th! He is pulling up on everything, climbing up the steps and crawling into our walk-in shower. His new love is a TOOTHBRUSH! It will occupy him for a good fifteen minutes! At his nine month check, he was 21lbs 11oz (73%), 28.5 in long (70%), and 18.5cm in head circumference (75%). He also has three new teeth on top that have barely broken through.

My friend Michelle from college came through Nashville last week with her kids to visit her sister-in-law. We went to the zoo and had them over for pizza the next night. It was SO FUN to meet her kids and to catch up and laugh about old times. Brent and I got a new camera the day before we went to the zoo, so it was fun for me to test it out.

I'm still getting the hang of this, so the pictures I post are not always in the right order. We're off to Myrtle Beach for a week with the Emersons and Penningtons on Tuesday!