12-31-12 John - 5 Months Old!

 At 5 Months, John is as cute as ever! He is Mr. Smiley! I think that's because he's sleeping well most of the time, and so are we. Thank you Babywise!

John's starting to sit up more steadily and is doing great in a Bumbo or an Exersaucer. He's babbling more and more, and we have so much fun with him.

Meet Bert and Ernie. These are the 2 fingers on John's left hand that are his absolute favorites, and when Bert and Ernie come out it's a great indicator that somebody is ready for a nap! Bert and Ernie were my sister, Hannah, and my favorite Sesame St. characters, and we always named our goldfish after them. We must have gone through at least 6 or 7 sets. We just kept naming them Bert and Ernie though, Bert and Ernie the Second, the Third, the Sixth... I wonder why we couldn't keep those goldfish alive... Well, it seemed fitting to name John's favorite fingers with our favorite names. And I can tell you that Bert and Ernie are still in business!

Videos:

Peek-a-Boo with Grandma Jeena 12-21-12

Almost 5 Months Old 12-19-12 

John's Way to Say Thank You

Tonight, John had a hard time falling asleep because he keeps rolling from his back to his tummy (a newly acquired skill within the last week!) But he kind of does it because he’s strong enough and in the right position, and not at will, so he doesn’t know yet that he can roll onto his back on purpose. He’ll get it soon though!

He also had a crazy day full of church and home teaching, and missed most of his naps, so he was so tired. So I was feeding him again before laying him down for the night, and he just wanted to cuddle up to me. he likes to touch my face and hair while he eats. He is usually pretty gentle. Every so often, he pulls away to look up into my eyes, perhaps to make sure I’m still there, and he smiles a big smile at me. It’s almost as if he is saying thank you, 

“Thank you for being there for me, for feeding me, for comforting me, for being my mom.” Sometimes he’ll even squeal and then he’ll eagerly go back to eating, and then drift off to sleep cuddled up in my arms. That smile, that gesture of love is enough thanks for all that it took to get John here, all that it takes to keep him safe and fed and clean and warm and happy. Oh, how grateful I am! It’s moments like these that put my priorities back in order.

11-30-12 John - 4 Months Old!

I know it's a long time since then, but my blog stopped accepting pictures, and life happened, so here we are, catching up again :)

 It is amazing that John is already 4 months old! He is just a joy in our lives. Right now John has a cold, poor baby, and I caught it from him. Thankfully John's fever is down now though. Most of the time he just wants to sleep, and I don't blame him because I do too. Hopefully Seth doesn't catch it.

John has developed new talents since 3 months old.
- His Tarzan yell
- Much steadier hands and arms. He's grabbing his toys and holding on to them instead of just hitting them, and everything, no matter what it is, goes straight into his mouth.
- Just started being amused when I play peek-a-boo with him. We've had some good laughs with that.
- He is now actually interested when we read books to him! especially when they have faces in them. His eyes follow the page as we turn it. So cool!
- He can see me way way across the room.
- John rolled over from his tummy to his back! This is what I wrote in my journal that day 11-28-12:
"Yes, today was the day! I put John on his tummy in his crib and then went to use the bathroom. When I returned, he was on his back! He was smiling at me. I was/am so proud! I cheered for him, and he smiled even bigger as if he knew he had done something wonderful. It truly is wonderful. There are many children with developmental problems who take years to even be able to roll over. I am very thankful that John is healthy and growing so strong."
He hasn't done it again yet, but I am sure he will soon.

John is certainly growing well. He had his 4 month check up. The stats were:
Height: 26.25" - 85th percentile
Weight: 15lbs. 10 oz. - 50th percentile
Head Circ.: 43 cm - 60th percentile
Our pediatrician said that was all good. She said that John will probably start following our body types now and thin out a little bit, so she thinks his weight is doing fine.

John has developed tortacollis. I had no idea what that was before. It means that he prefers one side (his right) and is getting stronger on that side. It might be because we almost always hold him up to our left shoulders so we can still do things with our right hands and John has developed the tendency to look to his right. For the next baby, we'll know that it's important to alternate sides. So we've started holding him on the right side, and he'll start physical therapy this month. Our pediatrician said it's nothing to worry about and is very easy to fix at this age.

Videos:

Tummy Time

Sitting Up Tall