4 months. final 4. it's the month of 4's.

yep. that's right. our lil'  banks is 4 months old.

and as you might have guessed - it's been the best 4 months of our lives! 

the lil' stud smiles constantly. he's one happy baby boy. we've been truly blessed. he rarely cries and is alert and interested in just about everything - including hadley, balls, basketball on tv, the mower, birds, trees, and cars. the weather has been AWESOME which means we've been on a walk just about every day for the past 2 weeks. amazing. g and i also use this time to catch up and share our daily stories. it's good family time to say the least. hadley even gets to join :)

banks is sleeping through the night pretty well. he usually wakes up once a night, around 4  or 4:30am. not too shabby considering he goes to bed at 7:30 on the dot. that's right - this guy has a schedule and he made it himself. he literally starts to grunt (getting grumpy) at 7p.m. give or take 1 minute, and it's bath time. after his bath he eats and is out by 7:30 or 7:45. this is making evenings too short with out lil' guy, but at the same time i can't complain because i'm able to get some things done around the house. except working out. by 8 the couch is calling my name. i'll get there. some day i promise.

we're able to get banks to laugh whenever we want. he's ticklish and thinks that mom's singing is hilarious - it's awful - which i guess can be funny. he's loving hadley and the kisses he gives him.

this month we experienced banks' first  baseball game with Grandpa Steve as the Shockers took on the Salukis and won in extra innings. Banks loved the field lights more than the game, but hey he liked it nonetheless. 

we took a trip to the zoo with grandma julie, gpa wayne and uncle dennan. and got memberships - so we plan go go back a lot this summer!!

today banks helped mom plant flowers in the flower beds and watched me mow the grass. he loves the outdoors!

every time i go to get banks from a nap or up from bed in the morning he has rolled over and is wide awake talking to himself. silly boy. this week we will visit the dr. for our 4 month check up and shots :( 

and speaking of 4..... KU made the final 4!!!!!! we've been cheering on the hawks all season and we're so excited to see them play monday in the championship. banks will be wearing his KU shoes, socks, shirt, shorts, hat and bib. that's right all KU. We love our jayhawks!!! in 2008, the year g and i married they won the nat'l championship. we wouldn't mind another championship in the same year we had banks - (we think that our special moments in life are the jayhawks' as well - we're a little superstitious) 

happy 4 months baby banks. you da' bomb.

orange leaf date with his girlfriend laney jo

4 month picture :)

at the zoo. i'm as big as a penguin!!

watchin' mom cook while sitting in the bumbo.

rock chalk!!

bbq with friend beckham.

adorable. love that boy.

celebrated my first st. patrick's day. last year on this day mommy and daddy found out i was on the way!

still stickin' my tongue out!

met Wu  for the first time!

spent lots of time with uncle dennan during his spring break. i love him!

march madness 2012.

let's face it. i grew up with a dad as a coach and a mom as his biggest fan. i was born and raised basketball.

make sense that march madness is one of my favorite times of the year. basketball all day long, filling out brackets, cheering on teams you don't even know about, wearing your favorite sports team t-shirt day after day. what's there not to like?

banks has already been introduced to the madness of march,watching basketball with his daddy and i while cheering on the hawks and shocks! we were a bit disappointed with our shockers' showing, but we're happy we can continue to cheer on the jayhawks as they play to go to the elite 8 tomorrow! we can only hope banks is enjoying this march as much as we are - and hopefully, he'll be a little baller in no time :)

banks and daddy at the selection sunday watch party!

watching basketball and so happy about it!

GO  JAYHAWKS!

My first St. Pat's Day and sporting KU!

Banks and WU SHOCK!

it is what it is.

breast-feeding. it is what it is.

let's face it everyone has their own opinion about just about everything. not everyone is ever going to see eye to eye on everything. the subject of breast-feeding is one of them.

some love it. some like it. some hate it. some think it's beautiful, some think it's reality and some think it's gross. 

this was recently brought to my attention when all of the hype about beyonce feeding baby blue in public went viral. of course, it always takes some celebrity to make a common topic something to talk about like it's going out of style. don't get me wrong, i love beyonce - her singing - her dance moves - her looks - her style - her husband - her baby and even her decision to breast-feed - in public. she's a pretty cool cat.

i think the thing about breast-feeding is that even if you're comfortable feeding in public, maybe it makes the person next to you uncomfortable. does it make your husband uncomfortable? and then if you are uncomfortable, it seems that you are next to someone that feels the whole world needs to see them breast-feeding. ahh. such problems.

then there is the situation that occurs when you plan on breasfeeding so you don't have a bottle, baby cries and you run into your ex-teacher, or ex-coach or some other relationship that could very well turn breast-feeding into a nightmare. so now what do you do?

like i said. everyone has their own opinion, but i can't even decide what my own opinion is. when did something so simple - like feeding a baby the way that God made you to feed them - become such a dilemma? 

sure, i breast-feed, but i do at home, i pump and take milk - but that's annoying - there are sometimes i just want to feed in public, but then my hands sweat and i get nervous - or i'm completely comfortable and then i see someone give me THE LOOK. 

i don't think there is a right or wrong answer. i'm just confused and give beyonce full credit for her confidence. 

3 months young.

our baby boy banks is 3 months young.

yes, young. his youth is already going too fast for me, so the word old is not favored here.

he is so much fun. smiles all of the time, laughs, loves the abc's and enjoys walks with mom and dad.

he's now rolled over from tummy to back - both ways and is constantly slobbering and chewing on his hands.

he's a very active boy - the sitter says he is very content and happy - and we agree. 

yes, he started going to daycare. ahhh. so crazy. i just say a daily prayer that he is happy and safe and i've been blessed now for 4 days to come home to a happy, smiling baby boy.

here's to month 3!

a warm winter means walks with banks and hadley!

loves bath time and 'sitting' up!

first day of daycare :/

i like to hold my own bottle!

you stick your tongue out, i stick mine out!

too funny!

i love my ball, and my blankets!

i'm 3 months old young!

so in love.

i'm so in love. in love with this little boy.

i teared up last night at the thought of going back to work in 7 days. i honestly thought i was the tough mom who wouldn't cry. ha! funny. something about having your own child makes you an emotional mess. i can't imagine not spending our 8-hour 'work day' together. i love him more than anything and his little smiles and laughs and funny faces make my day, everyday.

that's one thing in life i will never understand. why is it that we retire after our kids are grown and work when they are growing up? yea, i know for money, but seriously this is the most messed up concept in life. don't get me wrong i am so thankful for my job and i really enjoy being around my co-workers on a daily basis, but i can't fathom missing some of banks' first milestones and being there to comfort him when he's upset. ahh. this is killing me.

speaking of milestones, we hit a few recently!

we went up a size in diapers! size 2's are much more comfy!

banks rolled over! yes! he was so happy about it too! he was just laughing and smiling and looking at us like "LOOK WHAT I JUST DID!"

he can pull himself up on his iGym. he even ripped off the handle one day and continued to play with his other hand! crazy boy. he NEVER stops moving. i'm thinking (and hoping) we have a little athlete on our hands!

he 'talks' a lot!

here are some of our newest moments captured on camera. we are just so in love. 

headed to church

i found mom's hair and pull on it ALL of the time.

i blow bubbles an spit

i wake up happy and smiling

i hold my head up so high!

time is of the essence

time. where does it go? 

i write this because i'm so in awe of how time is disappearing before my eyes. i go back to work in 10 days :( Banks is 11 weeks old. I miss a meal everyday. My house is a mess. I'm 25. I missed a workout 3 days into training.... ahhhhhh.

crap. i already missed a workout. 

i just had to write a post about this so that i had more motivation to go back to the gym tonight. ya know, it's hard to get motivated to workout when the husband gets home from work and you finally get to sit down and just RELAX. i'm already so nervous about going back to work. I can only imagine how my time management skills will be abused once this happens. my first problem: i'm a tv addict. yes, i need intervention - speaking of, i love that show. see! it's a problem! i just need to convince myself that the shows that i watch are equally good when i'm running and watching them vs. laying on the couch and watching them. don't get me wrong i LOVE to workout, but this whole no sleep thing really kicks your butt. which brings me to how i feel today - awesome!

 that's right. awesome. Banks slept through the night for the first time last night! we took the big boy to another WSU game last night (#24 ranked shockers! woo hoo!) and he stayed awake for the majority of the game so he was worn out. we got home, he ate, fell asleep and didn't wake up until 7:15 am! i'm so rejuvenated! i feel like a new woman. ha! i'm so proud of him!! yay Banks! i'm entirely aware that being this happy and posting about his accomplishment will bite me tonight, but hey, baby steps, right? if we can get through one night every now and then, i'll be happy!

ok. i'm going to go practice my time management skills. wish me luck!

and... THANK YOU banks! You're awesome. Congrats to you on your first full night of sleep!

love

happy valentine's day to all!

i couldn't help but share a picture of my most loved valentine!