I truly can't believe how long it's been since I have posted anything. Time really does fly when you are having fun. So much has happened it is hard to catch up on it all. I'm going to make a BIG effort to keep us up to date on here at least once a month. It would be great if we had followers so I know it would be worth writing and taking time to do. I'll post some pictures in my next update. Has anyone missed us?

Where has the time gone....??

Steven showing off his ND pride!!!

The boys at Grapevine Ice Exhibit.

Papa and Luke at the Ice Exhibit.

Mommy and Luke at the Ice exhibit.

Nana and Steven at the Ice Show in Grapevine. Thanksgiving Morning!

Standing up in his bed for the first time.

Luke saying hi to the camera.

Wow. I really wish I had more time before now to update our blog. Life has been super busy though since school has started back. I'm sure there could have been a time or two I could have updated our blog but I've done other "lazy" things instead. The Christmas season is upon us and the house is bubbling with excitement about it. Quick update on the family...

Curtis is still working hard at Silverline Windows. It has it's ups and downs but he's growing in his field of expertise. He also has a acquired a new cell phone for work which he loves. Now if only it was an iphone!!! ;-)

Steven is now 3 months away from turning 5. He is learning and growing more and more everyday. He's very proud of the fact that he can count to 40 and over Thanksgiving he counted to 100 with me! He's been having some difficulty listening to his teachers at school but we are working hard on helping him understand the importance of listening to adults. He helped me make rice krispie treats for the first time last month. He got to dress up as Dash from the Incredibles for Halloween. He also completed his first science project with his daddy in October. They had lots of fun studying about Mercury and building a space ship.

Luke is 9 months old. He has had a lot of firsts since July. He has had 2 haircuts since July and not far away from another one. He's now standing up and pulling up on things. He's moved away from the army crawl and is getting into EVERYTHING. He's got his 3rd tooth up top with the 4th one not far away! He's been babbling a lot and I will say he's been successfully sleeping through the night for the past month. :-) He was a green dragon for his first Halloween. He's eating more table food now too and is especially loving goldfish and bread. We are hoping his first steps aren't that far away!!!

I've been very busy in my new position as a math specialist. It's been a nice change of pace and I'm definitely learning a lot every day! It's been a new challenge to juggle a new job, 2 kids, a hubbie, cooking, cleaning, keeping up with it all...day after day. My hubbie, mom, and mother-in-law have been a big help through all the changes in the past 4 months though!

I've posted a few pictures of the boys over the past few months.

Some of Luke's Firsts

Well on Tuesday, June 30th Luke rolled over. Unfortunately I was taking a nap and missed it. However the next morning I was on it and made sure to capture it on video! I've had fun watching him roll around on the floor on his various blankets and quilts. Even funnier is now that he can turn over he's become particular about how he sleeps. He'll sleep on his back from about 9 until 3 AM and then wake up and want to be on his side. So I'll change his diaper, feed him and lay him down on his side until he gets comfortable and he'll sleep like that until almost 8 AM. Such a silly boy...

Also Luke has begun to eat solids. We started once we got permission from the peditrician. We are starting with yellow veggies and have tried carrots and squash so far. He eats them up very well. Of course mommy snapped up some pictures of the messy eater. I love it!!!

Luke also recently got a jumper that hangs in the doorway. He's getting used to it. It makes a lot of noise which mommy could do without but it was cheap and it helps to tire him out. Also we think he's getting his first teeth. He keeps sticking his thumb up near his top front teeth. We've also felt around in his mouth and that area is definitely the hardest area in the mouth. Oh the fun nights ahead. And I thought sleeping through the night was right around the corner. Maybe not so soon anymore!

Independence Day

Well we did our celebrating of independence day a little early because that's how they do it in Allen. It was scorching hot outside but we tried to stay cool with water and rags. Steven had tons of fun with the millions of bounce houses, tattoos, hair stylings, food, fire engines, etc. We even got to watch an army helicopter take off. He thought that was really cool. Luke did amazingly well during the Smash Mouth concert and fireworks. I being a freaked out mom kept moving us back worried about his ears. Overall it was a good time... next time though I must bring a chair because I'm too old to sit on the ground.

On the real 4th of July we had a cookout just the 4 of us. Curtis made beef fajitas on the grillI cut up some watermelon, and made some mexican rice and refried beans. If that wasn't enough we decided to make smores - Steven's 1st time to eat them. He enjoyed roasting the marshmellows over the stove (hahaha). He decided to have two even though we warned him he would get full but he insisted and man I should have captured that look on his face! We also took some great brothers shots on that day. Luke smiles very differently for Steven than anyone else. I can definitely tell that Luke is going to follow his brother around and want to be just like him! Finally our Lady dog enjoyed being outside on the 4th although it was another hot day.

Busy Bees

Here are some pictures of the towels I had made for my boys and my niece. They turned out AWESOME! We have been some busy bees around here lately. I wish updating took more of a priority however with an infant and a four year old it gets put on the back burner. Well since the last update we celebrated our 2 year anniversary, mother's day, Curtis & I's birthdays, the last six weeks of school, and father's day. Oh boy! Fun times for our family!

Luke is now four months old and getting so big. We take him to the doctor for his checkup on Monday. Last time we weighed him (about 2 weeks ago) he was already up to 15 pounds! Yep, you know he doesn't miss a meal! He's eating cereal, sticking his tongue out, and very close to rolling over!

Steven's has had an exciting summer so far. He just spent 3 nights at Nana's house and went swimming and to the movies to see Up! He starts swimming lessons in a week and mommy's been taking him to the park, chuck e cheese and movies later next month. We've also been hard at work at learning our letters and sounds. That teacher in me you know! Next year he's going to be at home all the time so I'll have to find more things to keep him busy! Most definitely on the list will be Vacation Bible School.

I can't believe we are already 3 weeks into summer. It's really flying by! Curtis and I have planned a get away to Colorado for five days at the end of July. It will be hard to be away from the kids but we need the break and the rest! I know they will be in good hands as well! Tomorrow we are going to Allen's 4th of July celebration in June... that's how they roll! Smash Mouth is performing so it should be tons of fun! It's going to be a scorcher outside though...hopefully the little on will make it!





All the Banners men on Father's Day! They were all a little tired. This was the best one that I got on my camera....maybe another time we can get a better one!
Once again...we were all exhausted from a long day! But this is the best family portrait we got. Steven was holding up well for not having a nap that day!

Luke's latest shenanigans...sticking his tongue out. It's quite an adorable site!

And finally...our little boy has started to eat cereal. The other day he fell asleep while Curtis was feeding him. Oh we are so blessed! More to come later! God Bless!

Boys Boys Boys!

I'm so in love with my boys! They make me so happy everyday! Just look at those silly faces after decorating easter eggs! We've been very busy adjusting to new life with Luke. Right now I look around and see Luke asleep in his bouncer. Lady sleeping on the floor and Steve sleeping on top of the couch. This mommy could not be any happier. Today we had a teacher conference with Steven's preschool teacher. She tells us MANY good things about him. He's a big helper at school (like he is at home) and he's the most well mannered boy in his class. That makes Mommy and Daddy VERY proud. Plus he's learning Spanish and sign language!

Little Luke is 7 weeks old today. Mommy can't believe how fast he is growing up. He celebrated his 1st Easter this past Sunday. He was such a good boy at church. Steven moved up to a pre-school class in his bible studies. He was dancing and singing a lot in class this past Sunday.

Above is a picture of Luke with his 2 week old cousin, Liliana (who by the way is absolutely ADORABLE...this aunt can't get enough of her). Luke is doing an amazing job holding up his head and is smiling and giggling a lot. Yesterday a professional photographer came over to our house and took pictures of him. We should have them available to share with everyone in 2 weeks. Mommy is going to be very sad in 2 weeks when she has to go back to work. I don't want to miss any big happenings in his life. Thankfully it will only be for 6 weeks!

Today is the 19 year anniversary of when my cousin Roman passed away. I can't believe it's been that long since we've been without him. We all think of him fondly and will love the day when we reunite with him in heaven. Love you Roman. Say hello to Nana for us. We all miss her dearly as well.

This upcoming Saturday night - mommy and daddy are going to attempt to have their 1st night away from Luke. Mommy is looking forward to have an adult night and hopefully getting more than 4 hours of sleep in a row (I'm hoping I can sleep for 8 hours straight!). It should be a fun night with a movie, dinner, and drinks with friends. I'll let you know how it goes. Take care everyone...my lil man is hungry. His wish is my command. =)

New Arrival

Well Luke has arrived. We are keeping updates of him on his own blog. http://www.babysites.com/sites/lukedbanner/

We will leave this blog for family updates! More to come soon!

Gobble Gobble Wrap Up

Thanksgiving was very nice and relaxing. On Monday of that week we got our new black GMC Acadia. It's very fancy. Nicer of a car than either of us have ever had. On Thursday we went to celebrate with the in-laws. We had a very yummy turkey and other trimmings. We took some pictures in front of the tree and fireplace. This one is my favorite and we ended up using a version of it for our Christmas cards. The other one is of our lovely cat who loves our tree at home. It's his new favorite sleeping spot. I think he enjoys hiding from the dog under there.

Friday morning I woke up early to hit the stores for Black Friday. This was only my 2nd time to be out early and it wasn't too bad. It was sprinkling on and off and very cold but I didn't leave the house until a little after 4 am. Best Buy had hot chocolate waiting for us at the door too. Toys R Us was the craziest place I went to that morning. However I got a lot of shopping done. We still have more to do but we have to space out all that spending! =)

Yesterday we did some more shopping and took Steven to Build a Bear. Here are some pictures of him with his new bear, Batman. Very fitting of a name since that is what he wants his baby brother to be called.

He will be taking the bear with him to his Teddy Bear Camp next week at the hospital. It's a short hour long class where he gets to learn about what's going to happen to mommy in a few months. I'll report back how it goes. He loves this bear and loved the experience yesterday so I'm glad we were able to make this special for him. I think it will come in handy in February.

Yesterday I entered my 3rd trimester. Which I can't believe! Little baby boy Banner will be here before we know it. Here's a pregnancy picture we took last week for those of you to see my growing tummy. We'll take some more closer to Christmas and post again.

Baby Boy's Furniture

So here's the furniture we bought today. Well not all that's in the picture but at least the crib and dresser part. It's been a fun weekend. We had Roc & Brian and kids come over last night to eat dinner and play. Tonight my awesome father-in-law is going to come over and help us get a fire started for the first time in our new home. I cannot wait this is the perfect time.

I cannot believe how close Turkey day is. I'm actually looking forward to two things in particular - a turkey and pecan pie. Yummy!

Pregnancy Report: Things are going smoothly. I've had an occasional craving but nothing too weird. I have really missed having a glass of wine, a frozen drink like a bellini or some champagne from time to time. I think my husband is going to have something ready soon after we give birth to our boy. We found out on Friday that J.R. and Farrah are going to have a girl - which I totally called a month ago! I'm very pumped to have a niece and be able to buy some cute pink and purple clothes for someone. Only 3 and half months to go if you can believe it.

We had a request for some more pictures so here are some random ones from this past year that I just love and thought I would share with everyone.

Popping the Cherry

So here we begin. Well first I should tell you that our family makes up my husband, Curtis, our 3 1/2 year old, Steven and me. There are also 2 pets who live in our house: Steve the Cat and Lady the Dog. We are also expecting a second son at the end of February. We are very excited! And cannot wait to meet him!

We bought a house back in May of this year and just love it. We are pretty settled in. Here's a picture of the outside of the house right after we bought it. We are really enjoying the neighborhood and friends we have met.

Life has been pretty busy with work, family, and preparing for baby boy Banner's arrival. We are anxiously awaiting some cold weather and the holidays. It will be the first time in the new house and are excited to start building some memories. More to come later.