4 months!

Dear Zoe,

Well, baby girl, you're 4 months old! (4.5 months actually, but who's counting? You're going to shake your head in amusement at all these late entries when I turn this blog into a keepsake book for you. What can I say? I'm just busy enjoying you!) I'm still amazed at how fast time is flying. I guess it's true that time flies when you're having fun, because we're having a blast with you! You're such a sweet girl, and you're developing such a cute and sweet personality.

In the last month you've become a drool and slobber machine. Sometimes I call you my little bubble girl because you often have tons of little bubbles collecting on your lips. I used to think slobber and drool were gross, but now that I'm a mommy, I think it's the cutest thing ever.

You discovered your feet this month. Boy do you love your feet! It's cute to watch you grab for them while you talk to us. When you're talking, I think you might be challenging us to see if we can grab our feet, too. LOL. Too bad we can't...at least not like you do. In addition to grabbing your feet, you've started reaching out for objects, including Mommy's face. I love this, especially while you're nursing.

You're laughing more and more these days. One of the things you enjoy and that makes you laugh is to be startled. You also enjoy it when we play a little game where we thrust you in front of Daddy's face as we say "BOOM"! This cracks you up! But you don't find it as amusing when we thrust you in front of Mommy's face and do the same thing. What's really unfair about this is that Mommy thought of the game. Hmmmm???

You moved to your crib this month. This was very sad for Mommy, and it continues to sadden me. I miss having you next to me in your bassinet. I loved having you so close, but I'm glad you have extra room to stretch out in your crib. You still wake up in the morning to nurse (more on this later), so I still bring you to our bed around 5am and let you lay next to me. Mommy nurses you lying down, and we sleep in together until about 9am; I love this special time with you. I'll miss this when I return to work. :- (

Thanks to Gym.boree classes, which you love, you have started to actually semi-enjoy tummy time. You definitely tolerate it more than before, but you'll only remain on your tummy for about 5 minutes at a time. Speaking of Gym.boree, you've been enrolled in classes since about 3.5 months. Mommy and Daddy enjoy taking you to class and interacting with you in developmental play; this is the best money we've spent on you thus far. You seem to enjoy the distraction of the other babies and the fun activities we play. Mommy has also benefited from it as well because I've met some nice women with babies your age.

Oh, you discovered a new household "friend"....air conditioning vents. When you wake up in the morning, in addition to marveling at the ceiling fan, you also love to look at the A/C vent and smile and talk to it. You're so adorable! You still love watching the TV. I don't know what attracts you the most about it, but you love to sit and stare at it. Mommy and Daddy are really trying to discourage this though because we don't want you hooked on TV.

Now to the not-so-neat things about this month. Girl, you want to be held ALL THE TIME! While we enjoy holding and snuggling you (hence the cause of this "problem"), it's tough when we need to get things done around the house like cooking or cleaning (or blogging--lol), and it's especially tough for Mommy on the days when Daddy is traveling and it's just you and me at home. You've grown accustomed to sitting in your bouncer while we shower, so that's great, but other than that one allowance of the day, your favorite place to be is in Mommy's or Daddy's arms. I hope with time you'll learn to enjoy your swing or longer periods of time in your bouncer so we can get more done.

Also, this month you've regressed with sleeping through the night. This issue developed as you approached your 4 month growth spurt. You went from sleeping from 9:30pm-6:00am to waking up around 1:30am and then again between 4:45-6:00am depending on the night. All I can say is "whew!" I hope you outgrow this SOON!

Lastly, a few additional behavior and developmental notes: you are developing a pretty sensitive disposition because you will cry at the drop of a hat. Sometimes you cry if we're out of your view too long (even if it's only been seconds), sometimes you cry because the ceiling fan hurt your feelings, and sometimes you cry for no reason at all. But you're easy to comfort, so the crying isn't bad at all. You are also so adult-like in some of the things you do. For example, you make the cutest exasperated sound when you yawn, you sleep with your arm over your eyes sometimes when it's too bright, you even rub your eyes now when you're sleepy, and you rest your arm on objects when you're just chillin'. This month is also all about tactile development as you love discovering new textures with your hands....and your mouth! You really are an adorable little girl!

Zoe, thank you for bringing Mommy and Daddy such happiness and for giving us a renewed sense of purpose for our lives. We love you so very much!

Love always,

Mommy

4 month stats:

Weight: 12lb. 4oz. (21st percentile)

Height: 24 1/4 inches (51st percentile)

Head: 41 cm (51st percentile)

Your 4 month photo

Enjoying a few minutes in your Bu.mbo

You LOVED this root beer bottle! I think you enjoyed the bumpy letters and the cold, wet feel of the bottle.

Busted! You recently discovered the decorative grapes Mommy is trying out on the kitchen table. You can play with them....just don't try to eat them.

Gym.boree!

Real men Gym.boree! This was Daddy enjoying playtime with you during a weekday class. (The daddies usually attend on Saturdays)