Pumpkin Village...

Or as Banner calls them "Monk-ins".

Nothing says fall to me like pumpkins, and we've done a lot to try and get our fill of those big, orange balls this season.  

The following are some of my favorite photos taken at the Arboretum over the course of our many (many) visits there (so far) this autumn:

Arboretum with my boys...

Sunday morning dawned with heavy rain, wind and thunder.  Banner slept in until after nine, and it was so wonderful to listen to the sound of the rain on the roof while still snuggled in bed.

When the B-Man finally started to stir, however, I went to the kitchen to let the dogs out, and noticed that the morning air was cool and breezy.  Something exceptionally rare around these parts in (almost) the middle of June.  Wanting to soak up the last bit of spring before summer arrived later that afternoon, we were dressed and at the Arboretum less than an hour later.

Because spring/early summer is one of the busiest times of the year for me at the museum, poor Banner has only been to the Arboretum two or three times since April, and not with his daddy since we initially purchased the membership back in February.  It is amazing to me to realize just how much he has grown and developed in four short months.  He is leaps and bounds more coordinated, inquisitive and active at seventeen months than he was at thirteen months.  I know this seems like an obvious development, but it still blows my mind how fast my baby has grown and changed over the course of the spring.  And nothing seemed to exemplify this more to me than the fact that we left both the stroller and the wagon at home and simply let Banner loose to run around the grounds for nearly TWO HOURS.

Have I mentioned my son has A LOT of energy?  It is getting harder and harder to wear his little tush out!

Banner called the horse apple a "Bapple".
He thought it was a "ball" but we kept calling it an "apple".
Bapple was a nice compromise.

We visited the little houses, but didn't stay long (it was super muddy thanks to all the rain).  Plus, Banner lost his balance trying to take off his hat, and fell into a thorny rose bush.  The back of his little arm was all scratched up, but he hardly cried at all.  He obviously has my pain tolerance.  Trevor would have required a morphine shot.

We walked around the main part of the Arboretum, stopping every few minutes to splash in fountains, climb up and down stairs and chase squirrels and bunnies.  I don't know if the garden animals normally allow people to get so close to them, but Banner greatly enjoyed giving them chase around (and through) many of the beds.  We even saw a highly annoyed raccoon who was chased out of his tree by a group of three highly pissed off squirrels.  Poor thing looked so grumpy (so would I if I had been so rudely roused from a deep sleep in the middle of the night day!) as he stomped off into the bushes.

We ended our morning at the giant frogs playing in the water.  Banner was fascinated by the fountain and loved splashing around and getting wet.  I think he could have happily played there for hours.  He is turning into such a little water bug.  I have a feeling that in a few years, every spare summer moment will be spent in, near or on the water.

My boys.

It was a good day.

The return of Mondays with Mommy...

The last two Mondays I've stayed home with Banner because I'm finally (knock on wood) healthy, and wanted to catch up with my favorite little man.

This week, we started the day with a playdate with Tessa and Grant at our house, followed by lunch and a two hour nap.  Which was amazing and totally unexpected since I had to wake his little butt up at 9 AM.  I sort of assumed the late wake up call would result in a naplessness afternoon, but I guess the combination of his trip to the Arboretum on Sunday followed by dinner at the club with The Fabulous Auntie Mimi and Uncle Bud really wore him out! 

Which, by the way, did you know that Banner can say "Hi" and "Uh-oh"?  Neither did we, but on Sunday night, after he finished eating, the little dude was on a roll.  He'd wander off in to the ball room, get bored, turn around, walk back on to the porch and announce his presence to all of the other diners with a giant, "HI!".  Luckily, everyone there either had youngsters themselves or seemed to enjoy Banner's antics.  Several even yelled "Hi!" back, and got up to greet him.

Ah, the kindness of strangers.

Banner also says "Uh-oh!" every time he falls down, throws his sippy cup on the floor, does something he knows is wrong or drops food or a toy on the ground.  No idea where he picked this little gem up...

("Uh-oh, Gypsy Kitty!  Uh-oh!")

Tessa also commented during our playdate that Banner consistently signs "more" when he...well, wants more of something (i.e. Grant's gram crackers).  I had never noticed (mother of the year, OMG).  This prompted me to make some inquiries at day care, and - sure enough - he has quite the little sign vocabulary.  Who knew?

(Whoops.)

But, I digress.  Back to Monday:

Around three, Auntie Amy and Uncle Adam came over and we fed the ducks at White Rock and burned off some of our extra energy running around the Arboretum like a maniac.

Because we always have extra energy these days!

(See?  I told you to expect many more mentions and photos of the Arboretum!)

When the Arboretum closed at 5 PM, the group of us returned home to our house.  I thought the B-Man would be winding down for the day, but NO.  He was still raring to go.  So, I took him into the backyard to burn off some steam.  The dogs were in the dog run, and it was hysterical to watch Banner interact with them.  He LOVES being able toddle up to the fence and pet them without being knocked over or licked to death.  It never gets old.  Over and over again, he would run up to the chain link gate, scream "DA!", reach through the gaps for puppy dog kisses before walking away (only to return 15 seconds later to do it all over again).

It was possibly the cutest thing ever.

Haskell is Banner's special buddy.

Trying to show the dogs the squirrel in the tree.
None of the resident canines noticed, which answers the age-old question:
Who is smarter; a dog or one year old?

I love that he is such a big animal lover.  The only thing that worries me is that he had no fear, and thinks that all dogs are just as sweet and patient as his own. 

In other news, I was rearended on Saturday.  Dealing with insurance companies is about as much fun as snorting wasabi.  Especially when you find yourself trying to explain to the guy-who-hit-me's insurance company (who has assumed liabilty for my damages) that it is going to take several days to a week to repair my vehicle and I need a rental car in the interim.  But not just any rental.  A rental that has four doors and a back seat.  Don't get me wrong:  Mini Coopers are adorable, but the insurance company said that it would pay for me to let a comparable sized vehicle while mine was in the shop.  And, well, the last time I checked my GMC Envoy is considerably larger than that tiny two door compact with nonexistant legroom.  I'm not saying I need an Escalade here.  I'm just 5'10 with a child who still rides in a rear facing car seat.  Both of us need to fit, and - call me crazy - I would also like to be able to access said car seat without moving seats and contorting my very not flexible body in order to get my son in and out of the vehicle.

I know, I know:  I'm super high maintenance.

But all my b*tching worked out in the end (and by "end" I mean "two hours later"), because I'm now sporting around town in a slightly funky smelling Nissan Altima.  Not that I'm complaining, mind you.  Because the mental image of me trying to get Banner's carseat in the two door Mini is still painfully fresh in my mind.

Our new happy place...

For Valentine's Day, Trevor got me something that I've wanted ever since Banner was born:  A family membership to the Dallas Arboretum.  I've decided that it is the perfect present for those with small children.  When Banner wasn't mobile, I'd go and just walk around the gardens with his stroller and be outside.  But now that he is, it is the most wonderful way to let him toddle around and wear his little tush out.

I didn't get a membership in 2012 because a former coworker of mine now works at the Arboretum, and gave me several free passes last year.  It enabled us to go the 2-3 times that we did without having to pay the entrance fee.  But this year I wanted more.  Don't get me wrong, free passes are great, but I found myself hoarding them a bit (pictures of my baby in the flowers!  pictures of my baby in the pumpkins!  OMG!).  

Now that Banner is a toddler, I wanted to be able to have the option of going whenever I feel like it; not just because I was saving tickets for some milestone photo op in three months.  Plus, it is so wonderful to simply go just because...well, why not?  Especially when the weather is as beautiful as it has been around here lately.  Another perk?  The arboretum is - literally - a mile from our house. 

In other words, expect more photo posts of my little bald man chilling next to flowers in perfectly manicured gardens in the near future.  And by "in the future" really mean "starting with the following 863 pictures of the Ban Man from this afternoon".  Because when the weather in February is this kind of beautiful, you don't need an excuse to get out and enjoy the sunshine (and flowers...and little wood houses...and each other).

We just might have a new favorite place...

Daffodils always remind me of Moo.

Talking about man stuff.

Chillaxin' in the Dragon Wagon...

Stealing a golf cart...

Family photo in which my son demonstrates
his love for me by head butting me in the ear.