Violet at 4 Months

Growth & Appearance: You're growing fast. Like, real fast. You seem incredibly long. We went for a walk a few days ago and ran into another couple we know who have a 7 month old. You were the same size. Maybe the other baby was small... Or maybe you're a chubs. Whatevs. You're flaunting a nice set of rolls on your thighs. My favorite is your wrist, it's just one big roll. And you have dimples for knuckles, which I'm perfectly okay with.

You're hair has gotten longer, especially on the top. Some of your newborn hair never fell out, so there are random really long strands that stick straight up like little weeds. It's still pretty dark. Due to your glamorous cowlick, it swishes up, and then over, and then back down again like a little hurricane.

You weigh 16 lbs, 1 oz. (85th percentile), 26 inches long (90th percentile). You're wearing size 3 diapers, size 6-9 month onesies/shirts, 6 month pants/bloomers, and 9 month sleepers (you have a looong torso). Most people say you look like your Daddy, until they see my baby pictures. You look a lot like me as a babe.

Teeth: Well, I wasn't expecting to have paragraph dedicated to teeth for a few more months at least, but you keep surprising me. It all happened on September 9th. You were chewing on my hand (completely normal behavior) and I felt it. The usually gummy chewing was accompanied by a sharp surprise. I took a look (against your will) and there it was! It's barely through the skin, but you can see and feel it. I don't think you were particularly cranky leading up to it, but now that it's coming through the skin there are times when you're just down right grouchy.

Development: You're smiley and warm. You'll smile at your Daddy and I from across the room. Sometimes you smile so hard that your entire body squirms a bit. Full body smiles, those are my favorite. You can usually be found with a stern look of concentration on your face. I sometimes feel like you get that from your Daddy, but I do it too. People always think I'm mad when I'm just sitting there. When you go from mean mugging straight to smiling, your hairline shifts up a solid inch. It's amazing.

You're still not super mobile, so we're still in what I like to call the "sack of potatoes" phase. You can roll over (tummy to back) if you want to, but you prefer to lay on your back, press into your feet, lift your butt way up, then kick off scooting yourself a couple of inches at a time. You can also rotate 180 degrees when you're on your play mat.

I've just about stopped putting socks on you. You've found your feet and your socks are gone faster than a twinkie at a weight watchers meeting. Especially the left one, that foot is obviously favored. So you're usually chilling unisock.

You finally laughed out loud! MeMe was kissing on your belly and the laughter starting rolling out. That was on August 17 and unfortunately, you haven't done it much since then. However, you've taken quite a liking to squealing. And you've just about mastered the art of frowning.

You're really good at grabbing toys and bringing them to your mouth. If there is a diaper (or anything, really) laying within reach it qualifies as a toy in your eyes. You're also an expert at reaching up and plucking your pacifier from your mouth, which is just as annoying as it is cute. You haven't quite figured out how to put it back in your mouth, so it always ends up making you mad.

You're sitting up really well with a little support. The perfect weeble.

You're strong. Your grip alone could kill a mouse. Good thing we don't let you play with mice.

Feeding: You eat often. I'm still feeding you about every two hours throughout the day. You've recently started waking more frequently for night feedings. You're showing all of the signs of being ready for solids, and I suspect you are because you seem less satisfied these days. We're going to discuss it with the pediatrician next week.

You're really handsy when nursing. You push and pull at my shirt, fling your arms around, put your hands on/in my mouth. Puts a whole new meaning to playing with your food.

Sleeping: You're taking 3-4 naps a day. People talk about how their babies take 1-2 hours naps at four months. The longest I can get out of you is 45 minutes, but it's usually more like 30. Unless I'm holding you, then you'll nap until the cows come home. At least we've gotten on somewhat of a routine. Up around 8:30, naps at 10, 1, 4, and sometimes 7. Bed around 9.

Bedtime. Oh, bedtime. How I love sleeping, how I loathe getting you to go to sleep at bedtime. You fight it like the dickens. When that time rolls around you insist on being held, but I'm not allowed to sit down because you know that means I'll be rocking or feeding you, which makes you sleepy. Smart whippersnapper. We started taking you on walks just before dark in hopes it would help. It doesn't, but we still do it anyway.

Favorites: You really love sounds. Like, a lot. You have a sound maker that we keep in your room, which you like. I've resorted to downloading an app on my phone so I can play different sounds anywhere we are. You like the sound of water in real life, but don't care for the water sounds on my phone. You prefer one called 'flute' which sounds like we're at a Native American pow wow. Or one called 'medieval' which sounds like we're going to have lunch with some pilgrims. At night time I play campfire or wind sounds. It seems to help you nod off to bed just a teensy bit. They just about knock me plum out.

My favorite thing is giving you kisses. Sometimes I kiss your little lips. They are perfectly smooth and soft. Other times I kiss your cheeks, but I always have to be quick about it because when you see what's about to happen you open you mouth wide and turn your head to try to eat me.