So I lied and didn't post this until today...

Gosh.  I am so behind.  I work on my posts all the time, but am usually too tired to proof at the end.  So instead of hitting "publish" I save the entry; thinking I'll come back and finish up tomorrow.  Except I start another post then, and the number of drafts on my dashboard grows and grows until - *WHAM* - I publish them all in a flurry of back-posting, RSS feed-screwing madness.

 

Annoying, I know.  My apologies.

 

I am absolutely LOVING my Mondays with Mommy.  The weather around here has been beautiful, and little b and I have really enjoyed playing outdoors and wearing our PJs well into the afternoon.

Sounds relaxing, right?

Well, sort of.  It is and it isn't, but I wouldn't change a thing.  Truth is that I am more exhausted on Monday night than I am on any other day of the week.  Chasing a toddler around solo is hard work! SAHMs don't get enough credit!

He can only propel himself backwards. 
I like to make "beep, beep, beep" noises like he is a dump truck in reverse.

Banner's latest word is "cracker".  Except he pronounces it "KRAK-ra".  And just one "KRAK-ra" will not do.  He needs one in each hand.  No idea why it makes a difference, but double-fisting is very important to the little guy.

(And that is the AMERICAN meaning of double-fisting for all you dirty minded Brits out there!)

I also need to invest in a cover for his car seat or a hand vacuum.  Crumbs everywhere!

 

Thanks to Face Week at school, Banner will now point to or touch his eyes, nose, ear, etc. when shown a picture of it.  His favorite body part of the moment is his tongue, which he LOVES to stick out (much to his grand aunt Mimi's dismay).

He has also gotten very helpful and wants to put things back where they go.  Unfortunately, this does not apply to his toys.  However, if I spill birdseed in the backyard, Banner is all over it and will dutifully pick up individual seeds and return them to the bag FOR HOURS.  He also has a real issue with the pollen pods our Mulberry tree has been shedding for the past couple of weeks.  He seems to think that they need to be picked up and put away, and - for a while - the "put away" place was either my hand or in a pile on the rug in the living room.  I've now convinced him that the most appropriate place for pollen pods is the empty flower pot on the front deck.

He will also bring you his plate when he is done.  This is awesome about 50% of the time.  It is less adorable when he hasn't finished eating and food goes EVERYWHERE.  I'm trying to focus on the whole "it is the thought that counts" thing, though, because I know he means well.  He wants so much to please.

(Thank goodness we have dogs.  Banner is their personal food-dropping hero.)

Banner is finally getting better when I drop him off at daycare.  He is still clingy and shy, but does his best to suck it up and not cry when he sees me leave.  His teachers make fun of him, though, because mere seconds after I walk out of the door, he comes out of his shell and is all like, "Heeeeeere's Banner!"

Apparently, shyness isn't an issue for him unless mommy is around. 

He also has started saying "Uh-Oh!" when he is about to do something that he knows he shouldn't.  Like picking up my gym shoes, pulling the petals off our neighbor's flowers or grabbing the remote.

 

Banner looks at me like I'm crazy a lot.  I'm trying not to take it personally.  He especially loves it when I sneeze.  You'd think he'd be over it since allergy season began and I started sneezing my way through the day, but NO.

 

During Car Week at school, Banner pedaled the little, plastic car around the classroom and dropped off his friends at the "kitchen" area. His teacher, Ebony, said he did this for at least half an hour. He is going to grow up to be a chauffeur. Or possibly a taxi driver for chefs.

Best. Nap. Ever.

He loves to run errands with his mommy and daddy and explore.  Only problem is that he is FAST and never seems to want to go in the direction that you want/need him to.  I'm pretty sure I've said it before, but I used to make fun of people who put leashes on their babies.  Not anymore!

Banner favorite outing last week was when we went to the Home Depot to look at all the flowers in the garden center.  We smelled Jasmine and (gently) petted the flowering plants.  Banner was especially obsessed with a pink azalea...or so I thought before I realized that he was just using it as an object to run behind to poop his pants.  The bathroom was being cleaned, so I was THAT MOM who changed her baby's dirty diaper in the back of my SUV for the whole parking lot to see.  I've sort of decided I don't care.  Your options are severely limited when stinky poop is on the line.

(Shakes head.  I find myself doing things more and more that I swore I'd never do when I became a mom.)

Banner now gives hugs if you ask for one.  Just about the sweetest thing ever. 

He also has decided that dogs eat grass, small pebbles and twigs.  He sees a dog on a walk in the neighborhood and immediately bends down to grab a handful of grass in an effort to befriend it.  Gypsy, Alley and Haskell humor him, because they know he has REAL food most of the time.

Banner is the little one flirting
with the girl in green and pink.

For the last eight months or so, I've had this pain in my left wrist.  I assumed I had strained a tendon or something, but apparently it is a very common problem called De Quervain Syndrome or "mother's wrist".  There isn't much that can be done to treat it with the exception of resting it (Which?  I have a toddler!  Haha!).  At least my pain has a name, though, and it explains why my wrist feels better towards the end of the week when Banner is in school, and worse on Tuesday after three days of mommy-son time.   

His favorite "game" is to open the front side door, put his toy outside for a "time out", close the door and then watch it through the glass.

(I don't get it.)

Thank goodness we have an alarm system that goes "beep! beep!" whenever you open or close an exterior door.  Otherwise we might have lost Banner by now.  I don't know what we will do once he can unlock them on his own.  He is already starting to figure out how to defeat some of our baby-proofing mechanisms around the house.  He is definitely too tall/strong/crafty for his own good!

Speaking of being tall, a bunch of his 24 month clothes are getting snug and he isn't even 15 months old yet.  When people guess how old Banner is, they almost always say, "Two", and are surprised when I tell them that he is only 14.5 months.  I vividly remember people thinking I was older than I was growing up and expecting more from me because of it.  I fear Banner is doomed to a similar fate. 

On the day Syracuse beat Georgetown in the Big East tournament last week, Banner walked up to Trevor and gave him an orange ball and a blue ball.  The next day, when Syracuse lost to Louisville for the championship, Banner delivered a red ball to his daddy.  I seriously considered buying a bunch of multicolored balls and having him help me fill out my NCAA tournament bracket.

I know I have more to say, but I need to run.  We are off to the ranch this weekend for a mini (four day) vacation, so I'm going to abruptly end this post and hit the "publish" button now.  More  lists of random memories to come since I can never get it together enough to post in a shorter and more timely manner. 

Until next time...