Christopher's Baptism

We chose to have Christopher's baptism soon so that Bobbie's family could attend. It was somewhat spur of the moment. Sorry to those of you who may not have got an invite. It was crazy around here with Christmas. James and Andrea Elliott are Christopher's godparents. It was a wonderful event.

Chris' First Christmas

Christopher had a great first Christmas. He is pictured with his new music player, with Grandma Linda and Grandpa Paul. He sure is growing!!!!

I'm Ready for Christmas

Christopher donned his Christmas duds and is ready for some last minute Christmas shopping. He already has a few things under the tree and hopefully Santa knows that he has arrived!

Banks Family Christmas Message

You can check out the Banks Family haviing some Christmas fun HERE. Click it...It's a hoot!

More of the Christopher Christmas Special

Here are two more of the pictures from Saturday. This kid's gonna knock 'em dead! What's funny, we had a terrible time waking Christopher up. You will see the sleeping baby picks later. Once he was awake, he gave us some great shots.

Christmas Pictures Made

Christopher charms everyone he sees. We got our Christmas pictures done today and all the girls at the photographers were absolutely smitten with him. We took lots of great pictures. Christopher informs me that he will be available for autographs as soon as he figures out how to sign his name. More pics from our visit will be posted periodically.

More Picks from Home

Here are some pics that I have been trying to get up. Grandma Linda gets to hold Christopher for the first time, Christopher passes out on Roger, and a couple of solo shots.


He is a good kid. He has not been a whole lot of trouble on the sleeping front. He has given Bobbie a couple of troubled nights since I have returned to work.

Most of the Christmas decorations are up now. The train is around the tree. Once we get the boxes back out in the garage, we will be good to go. We are going to have our Thanksgiving tonight, since we were in the hospital on that day.

Annoucement up on BabyNet

Sorry updates have not been forthcoming as of late. Christopher has been keeping us hopping. He is sleeping really well, waking only for feedings and has been going right back to sleep. Is first doctors appointment with Dr. Korte was a great success. He is now 7lbs 2oz. (as of 11/28 i think) He is supposed to be gaining an ounce a day and with the way he is eating, I wouldn't be a bit surprised! His birth announcement is now up on the Carbondale Memorial website or you can follow the link here. I have more pics from home to send once I have a minute to send them...

Shawn

Christopher is Home

The Banks family has finally made it home! It was a very long week that was followed by nearly sleepless night. Christopher is slowly adjusting to his new surroundings. We hope it will not take him too long to adjust! The second picture is Mommy and Christopher at 4am after crying bound number three or four...I lost count. Cats are still unsure about this balling bundle of blankets!

Bobbie Home and Chris Eating Well

Christopher is still making steady progress. Bobbie got to come home on Friday. I looks like we will be spending the night again at the hospital on Saturday with Christopher in our room to nurse and then the plan is to release him on Sunday.

Update

Christopher is doing much better. He is off all meds and eating regularly. He was having some difficulty keeping food down but that has now been corrected. He is a real cutie and is the apple of mommy and daddy's eye. Bobbie will come home on 11/23 and Christopher will probably be released on 11/24.

Christopher Todd Banks has Arrived

Christopher Todd was born at 11:23pm on Nov. 19th, 2007. He weighed 6lbs 13ozs and was 20.5 inches long. The delivery had complications. Christopher had to go to the NICU but mom and baby are fine. Both continue to improve.

Date Is Set One Way or Another

Bobbie's appointment led to no new information. We scheduled induction for Monday at 5am. So by Monday, we will be parents. Bobbie is miserable so it is time.

Still No Baby

We have been walking and doing all we can to help the baby along but there has been no change in her progress. We see the doctor again on Friday.

Standing Down for Now

We went to the hospital today at noon. Bobbie was having regular contractions every 3-4 minutes. Her cervix was dilated to 2cm and not thinned out enough. So they had us walk around for an hour and try again. They hooked her up again with the same result. So we are back home now and will probably be back to the hospital tonight or tomorrow....we hope.

The Show is on the Road

Lunch at the annual Herrin Fire Dept Chili Dinner stated mommy's contractions. They have not gone away. At this point, she is having one every fifteen minutes. She has showered and is finally getting some rest. She was cat-napping off and on all night. I would estimate that we might go to the hospital sometime Sunday morning. So the next post will probably be from Memorial Hospital of Carbondale. Dr. Mulch is our doctor on call this weekend.

Shawn

39th Week and Counting

Bobbie has been feeling really good this week. She had Braxton Hicks contractions intermitently from Saturday until Wednesday. We have our next doctor's appointment today. We are both ready to get this show on the road...

Still Growing

We are getting down to the wire. Bobbie has been having Braxton-Hicks contractions for two days now. So much that we are timing them. I rested my head on her belly and it felt like I was laying on a basketball. I said, "Your having a contraction." She said, "I am?" She didn't even know it. Now she can feel it happening. She is also starting to cramp which was something that happened to our friend Valerie about 8 hours before they went to the hospital.

All Aboard

First we must apologize for such a long time since we had an update. As you can imagine, we are staying pretty busy getting ready for Baby Banks. We had our weekly appointment and Bobbie is still not dilated very much. She is still on track for the 16th. Bobbie is still feeling good but we are getting anxious. I know Bobbie is ready for her clothes to fit and have the ability to roll over in bed.

Mommy & Daddy have said for years that when we had a child, we would have to get a train to put under the Christmas tree since Daddy was a toy train fan when he was a boy. Mommy came in and said, "I think we need to go to Pizza & Pasta Express to eat tonight." Daddy thought this was an unusual request for her. She thought it was time that we got the baby his train. Obviously there were no complaints from daddy! We got a classic... Lionel has been "the" name in toy trains since the fifties. We got a the Polar Express Train. It has a steam locomotive that really smokes and a whistle and all the cars. Daddy and Uncle Roger can't wait to play trains with the baby.

Baby Attends Fort Massac

Mommy and Daddy Banks took the baby out to Fort Massac yesterday. Normally, they are camping this weekend but, Mommy's comfort is paramount these days so we walked on. Scary moment happened when Bobbie got a face full of smoke which made her nauseous. She then had a Braxton-Hick contraction which alarmed us. Moved out of the smoky area and started feeling better. She gets tired easily these days so she came home and went right to bed.

Shower Power

Columbus Day weekend marked the biggest and final shower for Bobbie. The shower was thrown by Susan & Karen Cox and Grandma Linda Banks. Everyone had a great time and there was mounds of good food. As the picture shows, Bobbie is wearing out fast these days. She is having problems with her sinuses, plus her ankles are starting to swell, plus the boy is getting bigger and bigger. The due date is less than five weeks away. The shower further spoiled the baby. It would be too much to mention everything but some of the highlights were the high chair, baby tub, baby rocker, diaper changing accessories, and lots of clothes, diapers and toys. Thanks to everyone. We know he will love all of it.

Homemade Goodies for Baby

In recent weeks, Baby Banks has been collecting quite a bootie in the form of homemade baby gifts. The extra TLC has overwhelmed us, so we had to show you all of them. The first, our lovely assistant "Bananas" is modeling. Our friend Mary from our Ranger reenacting group made baby a 18th century outfit. Girls & boys were dressed almost the same at that time. In the picture on the right are some more of the gifts. The blue afghan was made by Daddy's Godmother Linda. The white terry bath organizer was made by Terry. The blue quilt was hand quilted by another ranger friend Cathy. The orange and black sweater and hat here knitted by Sue. The multicolored jumper was knitted by Julie and the quilt that everything is displayed on was made by Mary. And our friend Carla is almost finished with her afghan that she made on her trip to Alaska. We realize how much time these gifts took to make and are truly astounded by your generosity. We thank each and one of you for your friendship and generosity.

Practice for Parents

Bobbie is getting bigger.... We have both been practicing our parenting skills. Shawn went to Daddy Boot Camp this weekend for new dads. He learned a lot of tips and tricks to make "Daddying" easier. Bobbie practiced swaddling and dressing Bananas the monkey. She said that Bananas resembled her brother! Shame on her... We started packing the hospital labor bag this weekend. The next few weeks are going to be hectic so he had to get an early start. We go see Dr. Schneider again today for another check up. The come every two weeks now.

Stocking Up

Mommy & Daddy Banks bought their first package of diapers. They are trying to make final preparations in the nursery as well as starting to back the "labor bag."

Check Out My New Ride

Grandma Linda bought baby his stroller. It is a Baby Trend Laurel Oak Travel System. It has the Flex-Loc top-rated infant car seat and stroller. Mommy says, "Boy it's starting to get close if we have the stroller!" She is 29 weeks as of Sept 1st. Mommy also had to go through a four hour glucose test at the hospital on Saturday. She felt like a pin cushion.

Potter-fan-atics

Mommy and Daddy wanted a Harry Potter onesie for the baby but prices were outrageous!!! Daddy didn't like the designs anyway so he decided to make is own for baby. This is the newest line for the wizarding world. Our baby will be styling at all the Potter premieres!

Daddy Finally Posts Pics of Nursery Decor

Daddy has finally posted some pictures of the nearly-complete nursery. If the baby boy came tomorrow, we would be alright. Not wishing that to happen of course. All that is left is a little painting on the baseboard heater and putting a few odds and ends away. Met with another pediatrician yesterday. Not real impressed....

Baby Smiles for Mommy

Baby got his monthly check up today and mommy and daddy got to see him again. At the last ultrasound, he was swirming too much to get a good picture of the right side of his heart. So they scheduled another ultrasound for today and he really posed for us this time. He was performing practice breaths for us, which is a good sign that he is very healthy. He was also proud to confirm that he is still a baby boy! Here are some of the highlight pictures from the ultrasound. In the profile shot, he is sticking out his tongue but, it is kind of hard to distinguish from the picture. In this second picture, he is smiling for the camera. This was the payoff for mommy because, she had to drink a sugary beverage and draw blood for her glucose test. This was the 28 week visit, so now we start going every two weeks. The due date is only two months and 23 days away now!!!

Nursery Prep Almost Finished

All of the moving we have done this summer has finally allowed us to begin working in baby's room. Roger Cox has been a tremendous help in helping us move stuff around. J.T. & Becky Lewis helped us move more furniture and paint the baby's room this weekend. Finally, Monday evening Daddy was able to put the crib together. We are both very excited to see everything coming together. Once the nursery is complete we will take additional pictures of the room. Here are pictures of daddy putting the crib together and mommy putting the sheets and bumpers on the crib. Doesn't mommy look good?!

Family Baby Shower in Arkansas

As Bobbie's belly continues to grow, it was finally time for Bobbie's first Baby Shower. Bobbie's sister Tracy, Sister-in-law Erika and her mom Debbie, decided to throw her the shower before Bobbie's school started. It was held on July 27th at her mom's house in Beebe, Arkansas. The girls had a lot of fun and Baby Banks got some great stuff. We thank you for all the nice gifts and we know he will love them.

Potter Mania

The Banks fam made it out to Barnes & Noble at midnight on July 21, 2007 to get the final book in the Harry Potter series, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Baby Banks was very good for mommy but we were all ready to hit the sack when we got home.

Whew Finally I Can Rest

We are finally in our new bedroom. The walls and paint have been touched up, floors steam-cleaned, and furniture moved in. What a job. Of course mommy did a lot of supervising of the moving while daddy and Roger man-handled the mattresses and hung mirrors. As you can see mommy and Smokie are reaping the benefits... Notice Bobbie's ever-expanding belly! Baby is now the size of a large banana at 22 weeks.

Learning to Crochet

The old adage, "when a man comes home and sees his wife knitting little booties, he knows he's in trouble," rings true. Bobbie, who is already a knitter, is now learning crochet from Grandma Linda. There are a few cute things she is wanting to make, hats, booties, and the like. The training is not going so well but she will get it. She gets frustrated easier these days! Daddy has had to remind here that she got frustrated in learning to knit but she doesn't remember that.

It's a BOY

Mommy & Daddy found out today at Bobbie's second ultrasound that we are having a boy. We are both very excited as are the grand parents. The left photo, baby is waving at all of us. The right photo shows baby's "boy parts." We both have felt all along it was a boy but all we wanted was a healthy child. God continues to bless us. Tigger, our male cat, said he was moving out if there was another girl in the house! He is glad to have some more testosterone around here. We also registered for the baby showers today. Links to the places we have registered are located on the left side of the webpage.

It's Alive, It's ALIVE

As in the Frankenstein movies, Daddy Banks exclaims, "It's Alive!" We got to feel the baby move for the first time last night. Daddy Banks felt it first, followed my Mommy. There was no mistaking it! Bobbie claims that the stewed cabbage that Daddy made got baby to bounce around in there! This is all quite amazing and exciting. Wednesday we will be finding out the gender so stay tuned...