4 Months

Okay, so I totally fail at this mommy blogging thing. ;)

If you're on Facebook, you've probably seen all the latest photos and videos, but I know there are a couple of my blog readers who don't do the Facebook thing and wonder if we're still alive.

I'm pleased to report that we're doing well. Adam is growing like a weed and running us ragged in the process, but that's life! I've always heard parents say that this time goes by so quickly, and I never really appreciated just how precious each moment is until I'm living it. I'm just astounded by how quickly my baby is growing. As challenging as it is to care for a newborn, I already miss the "newness" of him. It wasn't long ago that he was just itty-bitty, and even though I'm with him 24/7, I feel like I've missed something. Where did my brand new little baby go? This is the age where a baby wakes up from each nap a little bit older and wiser. It's fun, yet fleeting. :)

Since my last blog post, we've hit some fun milestones like first laughs, tickles, rolling over from front to back, and beginning to gnaw on anything he can get his hands on. His newest skill is "singing" and "talking" to us, imitating language sounds and discovering the many possibilities of his voice. He loves to have conversations with us, and charms us with plenty of eye contact and BIG smiles. Such a heartbreaker! I certainly can't get enough of him.

We're also really enjoying his sense of humor. He's very expressive and loves to laugh and make funny faces in the mirror with Mama. We know he's definitely ours, because the potty jokes have already begun! I'm pretty sure his first word will be "poop." (haha!) He hasn't said "Mama" or "Dada" yet, but he does say "Boop" during diaper changes* and before and after certain "percussive" activities that take place in his diaper. He thinks it's hilarious. (So do we; I'm sure we encourage it.)

*(I do realize this is purely coincidental, since babies don't use words in context until they're closer to a year old, but it's still cute. His hungry cry has sounded like "ung-ee" since he was a couple of weeks old.)

Adam is a very busy kid. Constantly moving, and already tough to keep up with. He still nurses around the clock and is not on a 24-hour schedule yet (although we're establishing some routines, he has yet to catch hold of a daytime/nighttime pattern, so in that respect, he's still very much like a new baby). He prefers standing (with help) to sitting, and he requires constant human contact and interaction. We've figured out that A.J. is the type of kid who doesn't like to be alone in a room or even be left to entertain himself for more than five minutes. He wants to be with one of us around the clock, wherever the action is. He even sleeps best in arms or right up next to me. I couldn't live without my wrap. He's in it for hours and hours every day, and we never leave home without it. (One shopping trip without the wrap frazzled me to my very core! Lesson quickly learned.) He's generally a good-natured, happy and easy-going child, as long as his demands are constantly and consistently being met to his satisfaction. It's taken us a long time to figure this out, and ... well, it's hard to describe without being answered back with "that's just how babies are." But it's not. It's how HE is. (We figure he fits 11 of the 12 characteristics on the "High Needs Baby" list. Countless lost hours of sleep and frustrated tears later, we're learning how to work with these charming little traits.) He'll quickly turn from the happiest baby on the block to the fussiest squawk-a-roo on the planet in .006 seconds. About 871 times a day. But that's our boy.

He loves songs and story time. His favorite book is one of John's childhood favorites, "Hand Hand Fingers Thumb." He'll sit still for that book at any time of day, over and over again. He likes to drum the pages with his hand, and will even help turn the pages. Another one he enjoys right now is "The Very Busy Spider." We do the animal voices and he listens very intently. (He always smiles for the cat. "Meow! Meow! Want to take a nap? Meow!") He always has smiles for Pat-A-Cake, Itsy-Bitsy-Spider, Once There Was a Snowman, Rubber Ducky, and the Alphabet Song. We bounce and bounce and bounce to Tigger's song and Henry the Eighth ("Second verse! Same as the first!"). He settles quickly to our standard lullabyes (mostly Beatles and some Scottish folk songs) and has a soft spot for his Dada. (John has the magic touch and can settle Adam in record time! Sometimes a boy just needs his dad.)

We feel incredibly honored to be Adam's parents. Not a day goes by that we don't remark to each other how amazing he is, how smart, handsome, funny, and precious he is, how unbelievably lucky we are to have him in our lives. And it's still just the beginning. :)