My 4 month old

Its weird, from month 2-3 we saw so many changes...now from month 3-4 not too many new things have come about...he's just fine tuning all his abilities! He talks a lot more now and louder! Especially when he wants your attention. For example, when gas is moving and he's about to poopie, he's hungry or tired. He talks real loud! He is sleeping 9-12 hrs a night and eats 6oz- growing every day!! He smiles alot more now and squeals (esp when he sees me after I have been working or he's been sleeping) but still no belly laughs :(

He is so smart tho, I believe we don't give him enough credit. He is fully aware of everything going on and what he likes and doesn't like. It was probably a month ago or so and it just hit me when I came home from work that he wanted me to connect with him. I came home and didn't say hi or acknowledge him and he was staring right at me as if to say 'mom, over here! i missed you!' It was then that I realized how important it is to hug and kiss him goodbye, goodnight and hello and how much he needs that from his momma. If Eli and I seem to be intensely discussing something, like married people do sometimes, the baby will start to whine and cry in disapproval. When nursing him, if I am talking too much he will latch off and look up at me until I stop talking then go back to eating and repeat this process if I continue to talk.

He is so inquisitive and curious about stuff- and he can hardly even coordinate his hands to make them go where he wants them to go yet! sometimes, i think i forget he's a baby tho, like today with his dump truck...he was having such a great time figuring out just what to do with it. He definitely can tell cause and effect and seems to love trying to figure out how stuff works.

 He pays attention to details now- cars driving by, the ring on my hand, people talking, expressions on our face- and he responds to it. He really seems to like to go out and about and do stuff- just stay active! That's why our afternoon walks are so fun, he loves to get out, look around, feel the wind and sun. Just go on an adventure! Today for the first time he held on to both sides of the stroller while i pushed him, (i will have to get a pic) kinda like he was just going for a ride and saying, 'giddee up momma! I got lots to see today!' Can't wait until he starts moving...i will probably loose my extra 20lbs from chasing him around trying to keep up!

He loves to play with his daddy!

Also, as you can see, we have started drooling.....a lot!

His fingers must taste really good because he is always shoving them in his mouth! He would like to probably start chewing on toys but he is still figuring out how to get them up to his mouth and keep them there. But he is definitely trying and exploring with putting his tongue on stuff, again he is very similar to a puppy at this age :) I put my finger in his mouth today for only the second time....haha. Its just really weird to me. And not to mention it took me a while to get used to his big toothless, gummy smile it kinda weirded me out at first....hahahaha...don't worry i am now in love with it :)

This pic says it all :)

True Love

All Smiles :)

Tonight I got a special surprise...my boys came and visited me at work! The part that blessed me so much was that Eli faced the baby toward me while I worked and he smiled soooo big and didn't take his eyes off of me. When I laughed, his whole body reacted in happiness as if he wanted to laugh too but just couldn't quite figure out how to yet. I couldn't have ever imagined being able to love someone so much and be so overwhelmed with my child's adorable-ness!

Look at that smile :)

Late Night

Last night was the first night we didn't get home until after 1am now that the baby is on an all night sleeping schedule. He did really good being patient with the diff surroundings while he was trying to fall asleep.

We were at a church meeting in Tulsa and sitting at a table eating with a group of people when Eli noticed the contents of E's poopy diaper running down his shirt. Needless to say my over preparedness and 50lb diaper bag came in handy :) I had extra outfits on hand and even had a spare shirt in the car for my hubby..pheww! We can laugh now about it, not so much at the time!

Here's what I woke up to next to my bed at 11am- a tired out little man:

Here's a pic from the other day after we had some play time, he had just decided he had had enough and wanted to sleep right now, amongst his dump truck and all:

Big kid tricks

So apparently E can roll over from his back to his stomach. We have never witnessed him do this yet...but we have walked in to find him on his stomach 3 times now in the morning after we put him to sleep on his back. Since the first month we have witnessed him roll from his tummy to his back (it might have been an accident bc he couldn't hold himself up) but never the other way. Can't wait to catch him in action sometime soon :)

My day

today was just an ordinary day- eli went to work 9-5 and i was with baby. but it was such a blessed day with him. more and more of his personality is coming out and i just love him so much. what did i do with my time without him? it's such a blessing to serve this baby as his momma. we got up, went for a nice long walk together, went grocery shopping, played on the floor, nursed him 4 times- all of this special bonding time. i so look forward to each day bc i discover something else about him and he discovers something new about the world around him. the last three months have flown by and he's not a little infant anymore, i think of him as a little baby now- not an infant. he's my little buddy and keeps me company. when he plays now, he likes to grab the toys hanging from above him and pull them down toward him- he's pretty strong!

i snatched a pic of him last night sleeping so silly:

here's how he used to always sleep, and still does some of the time:

I <3 him!

My 3 month old

This past month we have seen so many changes in our little one. He recognizes who Eli and I are and went through a couple weeks where he didn't like to be held by anyone else. He seems to be over that now again though, we will see for sure at church in the morning (that's always a good test).  But we definitely can calm him down quicker if he gets upset.

He started smiling and cooing, even squealing (which sounds like a squeak).  I can't wait for the day when I hear him giggle or laugh. He started drooling now so everywhere I go I like a bib on him and I need a burp rag handy just in case. I call him my lil "drool-ster". 

He started using his hands more, grabbing on to link chains and waving his hands towards objects to brush his hand by them (esp his elephant on the changing table). Tummy time and time on his monkey activity mat is so enjoyable because we discover something new and exciting everyday it seems like. He loves to kick his legs and push off of you or kick a noisy ball or rattle.

He's discovered he can hold on to both sides of his bouncy seat

AND

that if he kicks his legs really hard and fast, the seat bounces wildly!

If you pull the sting and make the music-be forewarned because when the music stops, he fusses for it again and again. but after 15min of the rattles in his face, he's had enough and will fuss until you take it off of his bouncy seat :)

He loves his swing and bouncy seat-

where before he couldn't stand the motion much less the lights and music

He easily turns to his side now to sleep and play with toys

The biggest change we have seen in him this month was right after he hit 12wks he started sleeping through the night!!! Hallelujah!! Like 8-10 hrs! One night he was waking up twice, three times and the next he decided to just keep sleeping!!! At the same time it seems he discovered he can roll on his side and pivot himself in a circle in his bed. It looks so uncomfortable how he sleeps with one arm dangling across his body and head arched back, but that's how he likes it :)

Everyday is a new adventure with this little one! He is ready to discover just a little bit more about the world around him and we are having so much fun introducing him to it!