4 1/2 month update

I'm a little late with your 4 month update and I had to cancel your well baby check-up because you weren't feeling well so I measured your stats myself here at home. You weigh 14.2 lbs (no diaper, butt naked) and are 24 1/2" long.

You have really gotten so much more animated these days. You coo, gurgle, laugh and smile any time someone talks to you. You are probably days from rolling over from your back to your tummy (the only thing stopping you is your right shoulder--just can't seem to get enough "umph" to get it all the way). You can sit up supported for a very long time. You love to look around and watch everything going on, especially if Harlee is being a wild woman.

I discovered that you enjoy playing peek-a-boo and you have some very serious tickle spots on your ribs and neck; both of which make you shriek with laughter. You can sit your bumbo seat now, you are getting the hang of the exersaucer but I think all of the toys surrounding you is a little bit of an overload for you right now because after a few minutes you want to get out. You still love playing with your floor gym but you get really mad when you can't pull the toys off. It's hard to keep you on it because you scoot yourself off within a few minutes. Still not a big fan of tummy time but will endure it for a few minutes.

Sleep pattern is still awesome. You're usually ready for bed between 6:30-7 p.m. You sleep all night until 6 a.m. and usually only wake up around 2:30 to nurse and go right back to sleep. You'll start stirring around 5 or 5:30 to nurse so I usually just nurse you in bed with Daddy & I so we can fall back to sleep until time to get up. You usually take two to three 1 hour naps a day with one to two "cat" naps. Overall, you're a much better sleeper than Harlee was when she was your age.

Bathtime has gotten extremely messy--you kick and splash and fling water all over the place so now we do baths in the tub instead of in your baby tub on the kitchen counter. You seem to enjoy it more but you're bad about scooting down off the mesh seat so I have to watch you extra close.

You're teething horribly these days and 90% of the time you have your fists in your mouth gnawing away. You drool constantly and have been fussy a few days this week.

We still have an excellent breastfeeding schedule and our frozen milk supply is probably 3 months worth. You usually take 3 5 oz. bottles each day at daycare and sometimes you'll take 4 (usually eating every 3 hours, sometimes 2 1/2). We started trying rice cereal on Wednesday of this past week and after some fine tuning on figuring out when the best time to feed you was (the first couple of times I tried when you were either hungry and wanting to nurse or tired) and your preference of consistency (you don't like it as "runny" as Harlee did) you've really started gobbling it up. It's pretty funny because you will grab my hand and shove the spoon in your mouth. I've been using the bouncer seat to feed you in but we're going to have to try to find a booster seat/high chair soon---you think you're too much of a big boy now to sit in the bouncer and constantly try to sit upright.....

You're wearing 3-6 month size clothes (your waist is still kinda small so some pants are a little big on you) and size 1-2 Huggies diapers. Your hair is a light brown and is going to be "spiky" and stand straight up, just like Harlee's did until she was about 10 months old. Your eyes are still a bright sparkling blue and you still have the longest eyelashes (I'm so envious of those things!).

I'll be the first to admit that you were indeed a surprise to us and not exactly the perfect timing but I'll also be the first to say that you complete our family and we love you so much. Having watched Harlee go from newborn to almost grown in such a short time, it helps me to remember to cherish those "small" things with you. I love you so much, sweet baby....

Here are some pics from your new "tricks" over the last couple of weeks....

So peaceful...

You looked so peaceful sleeping. Looking back at your pictures from a couple of months ago, there are such drastic changes in your looks. You are definitely growing up way too fast for me, Mister Mister!!

Halloween 2008

Well your first Halloween had a few bumps in the road. First off, when I put your costume on, I noticed right off how incredibly short it was. We bought it about a month ago and you had a good 4 inches of room to spare in the length. However, on Halloween, you couldn't even straighten out your legs which really ticked you off. Daddy had to cut the feet out of the costume which left some jagged hemlines on each leg cuff. Trick or treating was cut short (after two stops--Ms. Diane's and Grandma's) because you started getting cranky from being in your costume and getting too hot. Here are a couple of pics I snapped of you in your "My Little Devil" costume. Note to self: Try on costumes at least a week prior to Hallowen, next year....

Playing

You're becoming a real big fan of playing on the floor. Whether it be with the floor play gym or on a blanket with toys. You love swatting at toys, grabbing them and of course putting them in your mouth. You're even getting a lot better about being on your stomach and lifting your head/shoulders up. You are trying so hard to roll over from your back to your belly; you almost had it a couple nights ago but just couldn't get your shoulder to cooperate... Here are a few pics from the last couple of weeks...

Different days: Same sleep position

I think you've found your favorite sleep position. We've been noticing over the last couple of weeks anytime you're asleep, whether it be for a nap or night time, you always sleep with your hands above your head....

First trip to the Pumpkin Patch

This year was your first trip to the Pumpkin Patch. While you were too young to enjoy it as much as Harlee did, I know next year will be more fun for you. We did manage to get a couple pics of you by some pumpkins. The other pictures, well, they show what you did while Harlee was traipsing through all the pumpkins....

Afternoon Photo Shoot

You were just so stinking cute in the outfit I had you in on Friday afternoon so when I picked you and Harlee up from daycare we had a mini-photo shoot when we got home. Here are some of the cute snapshots I captured....

Enjoying Baby Einstein

I totally forgot about our Baby Einstein collection but came across it the other day and decided to see if you were interested in watching the videos as much as Harlee was at your age. Needless to say they kept both of you entertained for a good thirty minutes yesterday morning.

I love my Daddy!

One day last week we let you sit up like a big boy on the couch next to Daddy. You actually did pretty well sitting up but started leaning towards Daddy after a while. Here are some pics of my two favorite guys...

I'm trying!

You try so hard to roll over onto your back anytime I put you on your tummy. You get so frustrated and usually start screaming after a couple minutes of trying. I know you'll figure it out one day...

I love my bath!!

You absolutely love to take baths now. You can be screaming your head off and if I put you in your bath tub you turn that frown upside down almost immediately. Here are a few pics I snapped last week during your bath....

Welcome Baby Jack!!

My cousin, Danielle, had her baby on Thursday afternoon. Jack Rylan Smith weighed 7 lbs. 3 oz and was 19" long. We didn't get a chance to go to the hospital to visit with them before they were discharged Saturday--you have had severe nasal congestion all week and it got a lot worse over the weekend; Harlee had ear trouble that landed us at the After Hour's ACH Clinic and I got mastitis. Hopefully we'll get to introduce you two very soon. Since you're only 3 months apart it will be so neat watching you to grow up together. Here's a picture Aunt Dana sent.