4 Month Round Up

On Thursday, Walter will be 5 months old. Unbeweevable.

His fourth month was eventful and very well documented. Here are some highlights:

Walter joins us at the table!

The last days of the bouncer

We knew it was time to retire the beloved rain forest bouncer when Walt started to do crunches in it--lifting his head in a way that screamed "I am going to flip this whole thing right over!"  Also, his feet were hanging off the edge.  It was hard to say goodbye to the bouncer.  He loved it. We did, too.  Sean named all the creatures on the activity arch.  Walt anticipated the arrival of the arch with many a happy shimmy.  We watched in amazement as his fine motor skills developed.  And we soon realized that Sean and I could sometimes eat meals together at the table if Walter was bouncing with his rain forest friends.

First days of the bouncer

As usual, Walter led the way and we eventually figured out what he was telling us.  He started ignoring his rain forest arch friends and started watching us intently during meal times.  Aha!  It was time for the high chair. 

Even with a trayful of toys within grabbing and gnawing reach, the high chair is not nearly as fun as the bouncer.  Mostly, we think he's frustrated he doesn't get to eat with us.  Next month, baby!

The high chair means we eat dinner together, and pray together holding hands before meals.  It's a good thing.  But the real inheritor of the bouncers "greatest thing ever" title is ...

The Exersaucer!

Yes, the exersaucer! This is clearly the next big thing in terms of independent fun and learning.  Walter loves it.  His little legs get a great workout with lots of bouncing.  We watch in amazement as he figures out all the activities--even how to get one of the stations to only play the song he likes best. It is also a very, very reliable way to overcome any kind of constipation he might be experiencing.

You wouldn't know it from the picture above, but this was also the month that Walter started to ...

Wear clothes!

Walter lived in one-piece footie pajamas until last week.  They're warm, comfy, and easy to get him in and out of.  When I worried out loud that we were holding him back from milestones (finding his toes, crawling, etc.) by keeping his feet covered, his daycare teachers encouraged us to hold off until warm weather arrived before switching him to more complicated outfits.  As you can see from the naked exersaucering picture, warm weather has arrived!  Thrilled, I picked out some very cute outfits, laying each one out tenderly, ready for the week.

And none of them fit.

You can see it in the picture ... the crotch part of the overalls wouldn't snap.  Around the same time, Walter started having blow outs every day at day care and often after exersaucering sessions, too.  This happened shortly after he stopped sleeping through the night and started eating more often.

Growth spurt!  We moved him up to size 4 diapers and 12 month clothes.  As with every other size move, Walter seemed to grow even more, expanding and lengthening to fill out his new clothes.  I bought 18-36 month socks which were too big one day and a perfect fit two days later.

Getting him dressed and undressed is more complicated now, but he sits up pretty well and actually shakes his little head to help me get the shirts over his noggin.  He's less helpful with the pants (kick kick kick! giggle giggle giggle.) Of course, when it's 80 degrees outside in March, pants are kind of superfluous (a point that Sean has been arguing for years.)

And so, the pants come off and the baby ...

Finds his toes!

Now, Walt has been aware of his toes since the day of his baptism (January 8.)  But now he has found his toes.  He spends as much time with them as he possibly can. He grabs his feet and rocks from side to side, rolling from his back to his side to his back again.  He is this close to getting the toes in his mouth and trying very hard to get there.  He's very keen on chewing on things these days because he ...

Has teeth!

Two teeth, on the bottom right in the front ... so far. He seems to be working pretty hard on bringing more teeth to the surface.  Teething is unpleasant.  It seems to make him mucus-y, so even though he's gotten over the colds that were clinging to him this winter, his nose is a goopy, congested mess.  It makes him drool-y.  His fingers are constantly in his mouth, feeling his gums, which makes him throw up sometimes.  Sunday night was the first night he seemed to be in really, really bad pain.  Which was bad timing, because Sunday night was also his first night in ...

His own room!

My folks came up this weekend, which gave Sean the opportunity he needed to finish up Walter's room.  We're still working on some decorations, but even with some work still in progress it's the most finished, wonderful spot in our house.   Walter seems to like his crib and loves having so many interesting things to look at. Sunday the 18th was his first night in his room; it was also one of the worst nights ever for teething, being hot and sweaty and uncomfortable, and wanting to eat pretty much all the time.  Transitions are hard.  At one point I suggested that he just sleep in our room forever.  I think we'll persevere, instead.  Last night was much better, and this morning he rang the bell by his changing table with pride and glee.

Speaking of transitions, I need one to move us to the next topic. Walter ...

Loves his dog!

Hank the Dog has always been a big Walter fan, but when Walt first arrived he didn't seem to realize Hank existed.  Hank would lick the top of his head or his feet and Walt would blink, but never look to find the source of the licking.  When Hank was right in front of him his eyes wouldn't focus on him, and even Hank's over protective barking seemed to have no impact on Walt at all--the presence of his very devoted dog friend just didn't register.

But now!  Walter sees Hank, smiles at him, follows him around the room with his eyes, and reaches out to touch him.  He occasionally does some grabbing, which we stop and turn into gentle petting.  The exersaucer puts Walt at eye level with Hank, which they both seem to really enjoy.  Hank likes to lick the spit/boogers/milk off Walt's face ... and Walt responds by grabbing Hank's face, bringing him in closer, opening his mouth, putting out his tongue and licking Hank right back. Ick. Babies and dogs are so gross. We're trying to discourage the face licking until Walt is a little bigger and has better sense than to tongue kiss the dog.  That said, I'd been pretty proud of myself earlier this month for teaching Walt how to give kisses ... and now I realize he was imitating the dog, not me.  Ah well. Well done, Hank!

Finally, in a month of many accomplishments, Walt's greatest accomplishment has got to be ...

Reading!

OK, OK.  Walter can't read.  Yet.  As far as we know.

In fact, story time is a little stressful these days because he won't let us hold the book or turn pages--he wants to be in charge of the whole process.  We've been reading to him while he exersaucers and during tummy time to distract him from trying to take the book from us and eat it.

One of Walt's teachers at day care always says, "There's nothing holding that boy back."  I can't wait to see what the next month will bring!

Go, Scooter, go! Grow, Scooter, grow!