Another Milestone -- Sitting Up

I was trying to go to bed, but then Max convinced me to stay up a little longer... He sat up!!

4 Month Checkup

Weight: 16 pounds, 10 ounces (82nd percentile)
Height: 25 inches (60th percentile)
Head: 17 (75th percentile)

So he's doing well all around. No problems at all. He is meeting all of his milestones. The only problem was that he was cooing and giggling so much that the doctor had trouble listening to his heart, so she had to try that a second time later in the exam. :)

Max and Mark

I inadvertantly put Max into clothes that matched Mark. So that was enough to qualify for a photo session and a blog update. :)

Milestones -- Grabbing and Rolling

So Max had a couple of big milestones this weekend.

Friday night he rolled from his back to his side and then to his front. Unfortunately he was doing this while sleeping next to me and babies are not supposed to sleep face down, so I had to keep turning him over.

On the way to breakfast Mark and I heard a noise from his carseat. He has a pony or a camel hanging from each of his carseats. The feet are rattles. Several weeks ago he figured out that hitting the feet made the rattle sound. Yesterday he figured out that if he pulls down on the legs it stretches the toy down to him and when he lets go it makes a rattling sound as it goes back up. He did it quite a few times in a row on the way to breakfast and then he did it on the way home too. He seems quite proud of his new skill.

And then yesterday evening I put him down on the bed with all the covers pushed back. He had a lot of room for rolling. And he did! He rolled from his back to his front very deliberately. I flipped him over and he did it again and again. So he's done front to back and back to front.

As you can imagine we were very excited. :)

At breakfast yesterday Max enjoyed another bottle from Wendy. She definitely knows the way to his heart! Based on the way he was trying to chew on his bottle with his back teeth, Wendy has agreed with our assumption that Max is teething. He's definitely been trying to chomp down on our fingers when he can shove them into his mouth. I got out the teething rings and he seems somewhat interested in them, although confused by their coldness.

Yesterday to Tea Time Knitting he wore a onesie decorated by Lori, plaid shorts handed down from Niki, and his little crocs. Thanks to Lori and Niki for making the outfit possible. :) Max has big feet for a little baby so I started making him new socks that will be bigger. Hopefully I can get them done before his feet grow much bigger! I'm fascinated by the concept of baby shorts. His legs are so small! And then the shorts are so tiny. I'm loving it.

Max also had a bath over the weekend and his hair has grown back enough that I can start playing with it again. It doesn't stay in punk-mode for long, but I am enjoying it while it lasts. :)

And today Max would like to wish both his Grandad and his WorkDaddy a very Happy Birthday!!

Max and his Toys

Max has been really getting into his toys lately. He's loving the Intellitainer (and he is very focused while he plays with it and is definitely doing some multi-tasking)but he is also loving some of his other smaller toys too. His love of the inchworm is still strong. And the frog toy. And his cow blankie toy. And he's really getting into the Winkel. And the Mozart Music Cube is also becoming a favorite (Thanks Tracey!). I had him sitting up in my lap and he was focused on the flashing lights and the music. We are trying to do better with tummy time. The mirror part of his floor gym seems to be a little more interesting to him now. Today was a bath day. And his hair is starting to grow long enough that I can play with it again. So he has a little bit of a faux hawk in the post-bath photos from today.

Nachos and Intellitainer

Grandpa was a surprize visitor! He flew in from CA via Houston and opted to sleep at our house rather than trying to make the drive to Lynchburg around midnight. Max had some quality time hanging out with him this morning before breakfast. Although he managed to barf only on me and not at all on Grandpa. I'm not sure how I got to be so lucky.

After breakfast Grandpa headed for home and we did a little shopping. It was time to get a new baby monitor and I couldn't resist some new clothes. We also got more of the magical pacifier that he loves at bedtime and some fun new toys.

Max had a big milestone today -- he put his hand on my plate to get my nachos! Luckily he didn't really get any nachos and I was able to get the sour cream off his hands before he made a big mess.

This afternoon we put him in his Intellitainer for the first time. His legs don't reach the ground but that didn't stop him from totally loving it! He was flailing around and smacking at the buttons to make the music. He grabbed at the hanging toys. He reached for the bus. He batted at the wheels and made them spin. He was totally engaged and had a great time. Still no feet-in-mouth. But I remain optimistic that we will get there. He is also doing a better job of sleeping in big chunks at night. For this I am truly grateful!!

Other photos from today include Max not quite getting his feet into his mouth while wearing the Chicks Dig Me onesie, Max looking like Guinan from Star Trek: Next Generation, Max sleeping at Spartans with his hand on his little giggle bug from Auntie (and a close up of the cute), Max and his ribbon blankie from Hopie (thanks Hopie!), Max and my blankie from Patty (thanks Patty!), Max in his cute overalls, and Max doing his Elvis impersonation.

Still Feeding Frenzy

Max is still eating every couple of hours around the clock. He's getting to be a big boy. And I'm remaining a very tired mommy...

Luckily he's still awfully cute...

107

Thanks to Mom for figuring out that Max is 107 days old today!!

He celebrated this special weekend with a visit from Grandad and a visit from Auntie Qwagsie. And with some eating and sleeping and pooping...

Max has not yet put his feet in his mouth but I am watching for that day...

Feet

We are in the zone... Max has found his feet. And he is still flexible enough to put them in his mouth! He hasn't managed it quite yet, but he is getting close. And I will be even more vigilant with the camera this weekend (I know you didn't think that was possible) to capture the moment for all to see.

Max is now 15.5 pounds. Almost twice his weight at birth. And 15 weeks old today.

James and Ryan and their beagle puppy Zoe came to visit yesterday. Unfortunately they caught Max right before he took a nap so he wasn't at his most friendly and engaging. He did demonstrate some of his skills with standing and did some fantastic demonstrations of what happens when you eat more than will fit in your tiny baby tummy...

This weekend Grandad is coming to visit and Daddy and I are both looking forward to that!

Standing and Grabbing

Max had a first today... He grabbed a toy and started playing with it. Up until now we have been giving him toys and he has been playing with them. Or he has been grabbing fingers or hair. But this was the first time he initated play with a toy that was not given to him. You can imagine how proud I am. :)

Also today Max really got into standing up. We have started holding his arms instead of holding his body. And he is loving it!! He likes to lean forward and then lean back and then lean forward again. He tightens his grip when he is pulling himself forwards. He is in control. And he is loving it. This has taken his love of standing to a new level.

Max also seems to be having a bit of a growth spurt. He is eating and sleeping a lot more than normal. Today when I picked him up from Joanna's he fell asleep in the car on the way home and stayed asleep for over an hour and a half. His normal daytime nap is more like 15 minutes than 1.5 hours. Last night he slept from 8.30 to midnight and then 12.30 to 5am when I had to wake him up to feed him so that I could go to work. I am hoping for another good night of sleep tonight...

Milk Drunk Continues...

Just in case you were wondering, Max does still have his milk drunks...

He seems to be going through a growth spurt right now. Other than a little bit of play time in his baby gym and a little bit of time in his bouncy chair and a little bit of time in his swing, he pretty much spent the day begging for food, eating, or sleeping after eating. He started the day at 15 pounds. I think he was trying to gain a pound today! I'm exhausted!!!

We all enjoyed a nice quiet day at home. If only every day could be like today...

First Haircut

This morning I had my haircut appointment with Karen. She cut my hair the second time I did Locks of Love. She cut my hair and styled it for my wedding. She got Max a present and gave it to me the first time I went in for a haircut after Max's birth (also the first haircut I had after the wedding). She's fantastic. And then although Max's appointment was scheduled with someone else (because she didn't have an opening in her schedule after my haircut) she gave Max his first haircut! My haircut didn't take as much time as scheduled and the person who was going to cut Max's hair was running behind, so Karen was the one. I was very happy. Also happy that Morgan (who works the reception desk) was willing to take a zillion photos of Max getting his hair cut for the first time!

I held him and he sat in my lap with his tiny baby cape on. It was just too cute! Who knew they made a tiny cape for babies? Unfortunately Max was a bit on the hungry side (he ate at 8am and then not again until after the haircut since he was asleep the whole morning after breakfast at Spartans) and got a bit cranky. I could tell he was hungry because he attempted to feed from my nose, leaving a hickey. :) But he did pretty well and we are very happy with his haircut.

In celebration of his new Baby Executive Hairstyle, I put him into his dress shirt. :) Privacy Blue, of course! And for the first time in his life his hair is not past his collar...

And don't worry -- in addition to photos we also have some of his hair to put in the scrapbook!