4 months!

Anderson has been 4 months for awhile now but I wanted to make sure I did a 4 month update before he turned 5 months. They grow so much now that I don’t want to forget what happened and the new things he did. It’s such a fun time right now. He’s really interacting with you. He laughs and smiles all the time. He LOVES his jumperoo and goes crazy in it. We’ll often put him in the jumperoo while we eat or do dishes. He doesn’t like to be left alone for too long and will start whining and crying. But does he stop jumping? Nope. He jumps despite his tears. Usually what happens is a mixture of laughter and crying while he’s jumping. It’s pretty cute. And once he sees someone’s face, he’s back to all smiles.

At 4 months we had another well-baby visit and got his stats:

Weight: 14lbs 5oz (40th percentile)
Length: 23.75 inches (10th percentile)
Head Circumference: 41cm (20th percentile)

So he didn’t grow that much, but no one expects him to; again, it’s not like his parents are all that tall. His weight is right on track and he’s packing on the pounds.

Anderson at 4 months: (I realize to non-parents, this is utterly boring but believe me, when you have a child, any new thing they do is BIG news and the most amazing thing you’ve ever seen.)

• He’s playing with toys now which is really fun. He’ll actually grab and reach for things. I guess he doesn’t really play with them per se. “Playing” is him trying to shove everything in his mouth. His favorite toy by far is his “O” ball since it is so easy to grab. He’ll even hold this with both hands. But since it’s a ball, he gets really frustrated that not more of it can fit in his mouth.


• He’s constantly sucking these days. Sometimes it’s his fingers, sometimes it’s just his thumb. Sometimes he’ll try to get his whole fist in there. He’s always making himself gag but doesn’t seem to learn (and more importantly nothing has come up from this).


• He can switch hands! A lot of times he’ll be holding one toy in one hand and sucking on his fingers in the other. Once in awhile, he’ll decide that he wants to suck his other hand and put the toy in the other hand!


• He sits up very well with support. He can sit in his Bumbo and “play” with his toys.


• He still loves to read books.


• His favorite song is “If You’re Happy and you Know it”


• When lying on his back, he can roll onto his side easily. He’s thisclose to rolling onto his back. I think he can do it. I think the issue is if he wants to do it.


• On the morning of November 22, 2008 he rolled over for the first time from his tummy to his back. He had done it a couple of times before but I think they were on accident. This time, he really did it on his own and continues to do so. Of course, this makes getting in tummy time difficult because he knows how to get out of it but it’s so fun to watch him roll over and over again.


• Sleeping is still the same although we are trying to ween him off swaddling. Only one arm is swaddled now.


• He’s not a very good napper, sleeping only 20-30min at a time. Sometimes he’ll surprise us with an hour nap but it’s rare.


• We’re not starting solids until he’s 5 months but he did get a little taste of a mashed banana on my finger and seemed to really like it. We held up an apple to his mouth to see if he wanted to suck on it. Uhh….he did not.

Last but not least, his monthly pictures:


Anderson watches football with Wilson and Sundays. Of course he roots for the Chicago Bears!


And him doing the thing he loves to do. Putting toys in his mouth:

Halloween

I'm not a Halloween person. I don't enjoy dressing up, nor do I enjoy watching scary movies. In fact, I hate watching scary movies. But this year, I was SO looking forward to Halloween so I could dress up Anderson in his little monkey costume!

The mommy group that I go to had a little Halloween party for all the little babies. It's so funny because all the babies just lay there with this confused look on their face.



One funny thing is that Anderson looks SO much like the baby model for his costume!





For Halloween, we went up to visit our friends Justin and Tenaya and go trick or treating with Belle (4) and Cedar (1). Belle was a fruit bat and Cedar was a bumblebee.




Anderson didn't get any candy. Actually he did get a few pieces but Wilson ate them right away. Halfway during trick or treating, Anderson fell asleep. Cedar was starting to get upset that he didn't get as much candy as he wanted so he went looking for food.

On The Road Again

Earlier this month, we took our first road trip! We decided to visit our friends Brant and Jessica and their daughter Haley down in San Luis Obispo (SLO). Wilson went to school in SLO and Anderson and I were able to visit dad's old stomping grounds (ie where he ate "the whale" burrito). We were nervous for the car ride since it is about a 5 hour drive to get down there. Even more nervous since Anderson was not a fan of his car seat. He'd scream the the entire way from point A to point B. I had read somewhere that some babies just don't like the infant car seat and that upgrading them a little earlier might do the trick. Well, it worked like a charm. He loves his new car seat and so do we. We no longer have to listen to him cry in the car the entire time. In fact, now he doesn't even protest getting in!

In SLO, we went to a park to see Wilson's old boss and meet his two kids. Anderson didn't play much. He just relaxed in his stroller.


Here is a picture of Haley in the park


We went to Firestone for lunch and then walked around downtown for a little while. Drove through the Cal Poly Campus and was amazed at how nice some of the dorms are now. It's everything you imagine a California college campus looking like, down to the beach volleyball court and the European exchange student in his speedo.

It was a really nice weekend away. Anderson got to see the Pacific Ocean for the very first time! Perhaps there'll be more road trips in the future!

Grace

There have been numerous times when Wilson and I look over at Anderson and say "Can you believe we have a baby? Can you believe we made him?!" Life. It's truly amazing. It's truly amazing that we can create life. That a year ago, he didn't even exist, and now here he is. A beautiful, happy, healthy bouncing baby boy.

It's unfortunate that it sometimes takes a tragedy to make you realize how lucky you are to have the life that you have. That these gifts that are given to you in life are gifts. We take so many things for granted - our health, health of our family, friends, and children.

Tuesday was a sad day for me. A friend, Heather, lost her baby at 38 weeks due to a cord accident. The cord had wrapped itself around the leg of her daughter, Grace, that cut off circulation to the rest of her body. To say this is an unspeakable tragedy is an understatement to say the least. I am utterly heartbroken for her and her husband. Even more so because the fact that she was even pregnant was a miracle in itself. Due to fertility problems, they were told by countless doctors that it would be next to impossible for them to become pregnant on their own. And yet they did.

I cannot begin to imagine the heartache and pain they feel. I would not know how to get through the next day or even breathe if such a tragic thing like that happened to me. Luckily, she is a strong woman, surrounded by lots of friends and family, and a strong faith in God that is helping her get through this difficult time.

I share this story only because it is stories like these that put life into perspective. Again, it is unfortunate that tragedy forces us to take pause and look at our life in a different light. I think I held my baby for half of the day when I first learned of this news. I am so thankful that he is healthy and that I am able to hold him and see him grow and learn each day. It's times like these that you realize just how fragile and precious life is. I share this story so that you too can take pause and realize how blessed you are to have the people around you.