Graham: Four Month Update

Four months have flown by, and our hearts are so full of love for this little fella that it's amazing they haven't burst!

THE STATS:

Age: 4 months

Height: 26 inches

Weight: 14 lbs

Diaper size: 2

Clothing: 3-6 months or 6 months

DEVELOPMENTAL ACTIVITY:

Grabbing for toys on playmat

Rolling over (front to back)

Tummy time

Sitting up in seat

Standing up on moms lap

Jumparoo

Trying to take steps while being supported

Learned how to maneuver his hands to chew on his fist...has found his thumb a couple of times, and is so pleased with himself, so we may have another thumb sucker on our hands!

SCHEDULE:

G's schedule this month looks much the same as at three months. Our day typically starts about 7:30-7:45a.m., is relatively chaotic following big brother C's schedule throughout the day, and comes to a close around 7:45-8:30p.m. when G goes to sleep for the night. There is still no rhyme or reason to G's nap schedule, and he goes in spurts of staying awake all day one day, then sleeping most of the next. He usually catches some shut eye whenever we are in the car, but still continues to ride the struggle bus when it comes to napping in the Pack'N'Play at any sort of set intervals throughout the day. In general, G naps in the morning for a couple of hours around 9:30a.m. (if he's fallen asleep in his car seat after running errands), and usually takes another nap in the afternoon while C is napping if I am holding him. Ooooooor, G & Mom just get some quality one-on-one time to play. I'm hoping to get the nap schedule a little more on track in the next month!

FAVORITE TOY:

G has been loving his playmat this month, and has such a fun time grabbing for the various hanging toys and studying the different shapes and textures. He has also figured out how to put things in his mouth, and is all about the Manhattan Toy Winkel. It is the perfect size for this age, and G loves to chew on the various colored tubes. At the very end of this month...around 3.75 months old, I started putting him in the Jumparoo, and he has been loving it!

STORYTIME:

G doesn't yet have a favorite book he enjoys, but we have stumbled into the routine of laying out blankets on the floor in C's room after he wakes up from his afternoon nap for storytime. C picks the books, and G enjoys listening. G has also enjoyed tagging along with big brother C to storytime at the library a few times this month. I just learned about a baby storytime held at another local library on Monday evenings, and am hoping to take G on a mommy & me date some night soon.

CUISINE:

G continues to nurse for most of his nutrition. Occasionally, we have given him the odd bottle of formula when we are on the go, or I am unavailable. He's never had more than an ounce or two of formula at a time, and we view it more as a 'snack' than a true meal, giving him just enough to hold him over until I am available to nurse him. I'd say on average, he gets 2, maybe 3 bottles max throughout the week, so nothing too significant. Usually, G gets a bottle when we are on the go...think storytime at the library, church, or occasionally while I am trying to cook dinner. C never took a bottle, so we introduced it relatively early with G to make sure we would have the opportunity to leave the house for the occasional date night...have we done this recently? No. Can a girl dream? Yes.

FOUR MONTH FAVORITES

Talking

Watching TV (college football and the World Series are favorites...A.K.A the only time our boys get to watch TV)

Smiling

Playing on the playmat

Rough-housing

FOUR MONTH LEAST FAVORITES

Having to wait for a meal

Being put down - he much prefers to be held, and doesn't want to miss out on anything

OH THE MEMORIES:

The boys got to dress up for Halloween this month, and they were just the cutest little pumpkins in the patch. C had never dressed up for Halloween, and he requested to be a 'punkin', so we were so happy when Grandma J happened upon the perfect matching pumpkin outfits while on a recent shopping trip. G didn't seem to mind being a pumpkin, and it was too cute setting him on the couch to sit up. The shape of the pumpkin supported him enough to sit up briefly by himself before tipping over.

We took an overnight trip to our old stomping grounds in La Crosse, WI where T & I lived our first year of marriage. It was fun to visit some of our favorite spots, and show the boys where we used to live. We stayed at Hotel Charmant, and I can't say enough good things about it. We had a HUGE corner room overlooking the Mississippi River with floor to ceiling windows, and had more than enough room for all of our gear AND two Pack'N'Plays. The hotel even set us up with a baby soap travel kit in our room. So thoughtful! We were lucky to catch an unseasonably warm November weekend to visit, and enjoyed dining on tapas on an outdoor patio of one of our favorite restaurants, Four Sisters, that just so happened to be directly across the street from our hotel. The boys had a great time, and after watching the Iowa football game back in the hotel, finally settled down for the night about 9:45, sleeping through until morning.



We watched lots and lots of college football this month, and as you can tell, G was just about as much of a fan of the losses as all of the big boys in the family! Put me in coach!



Both boys enjoyed exercising their right to join their mom while voting for the next president of the United States of America. We read lots of This Little President: A Presidential Primer over the last month to get prepared for the election. C was in a bit of a daze, and ate through an entire snack bag of Ritz Bitz while mom voted, and Graham enjoyed watching the chaos that is election day. I'd say it was a success!



Little G has been trying his hardest to laugh this month, and has been known on occasion to get a mini-belly laugh going. It is just about the cutest thing ever, and we are looking forward to many many more laughs in the near future!