Found My Feet

Love my feet! Nobody told me that they have been here the whole time, so I just found them. I am practicing getting them to my mouth to chew on them. This was a great weekend with my Dad- he was home for Labor Day and we had a fun time. This picture is right after I woke up from a nap and realized that he was sitting with me. It is Mom's new All Time Favorite picture. Mom says that my personality is really blooming lately. I am more expressive and have started kicking my legs and squealing in excitement when Mom and Dad talk to me. I am more aggressive with grabbing things, and of course, bringing EVERYTHING to my mouth. When I hear the dogs nearby, I will stop whatever I am doing and twist my whole body around to find them. My 4 month check up was on Friday- I am a healthy 14.5 pounds! Mom said she is proud of my gorgeous chubby rolls, and says that I will grow up to be taller than her. I did NOT like the exam, and I told the doctor exactly how I felt about it... "wow, what a temper" is what she said. Mom told her that I was sweet and sassy (I don't even know what that means), and they had a good laugh. Mom says that I am advanced in every way, and that she is not biased at all. Everyone thinks that I am older than 4 months because of my big bright eyes and head full of hair. Even my regular babysitter can't remember how old I am, she keeps asking if I am 6 or 8 months. It was funny at first, but now Mom thinks that maybe she is senile.

The Money Pit

Before we get started on The Money Pit rant, let me demonstrate how cute I am. My Tummy Time skills are improving every day, and my sassy personality is shining through at the same rate. I love my new friend, Maggie, such a sweetheart. She likes the way I smell. Now, on to The Money Pit... Mom finds great humor in this picture, it perfectly represents the current state of our new home. All of you out-of-towners looking for a beach getaway, your guest room is ready: Mom is learning how to let go of her OCD personality and go with the flow of home improvements. Dad is learning how to make peace with credit card debt. When we moved into the house, we knew from the inspection that the master bath shower had to be replaced, along with damaged sub-flooring. Here are Before and After pictures of that shower. The creepy smelly shower was gutted to make way for a cleaner, roomier version. The project took 3 weeks, and they found that the sub-flooring was fine. No damage. That was a relief, but puzzling, since that was the only major issue indicated by the inspector. No worries: shower pan is fixed, new shower is awesome. The big surprise came on the last day, while finishing up an "easy" shower valve repair in the hall bathroom... discovered that the entire floor under that bathroom is rotted and unstable. Nice. And so our bewilderment at the inspection continues... did he inspect the wrong house? Ignorance is bliss, I guess, until you're taking a bath in your tub and it falls through the floor... which would have been an entirely different, funnier blog. So, here are the Before pictures, getting rid of the floor to repair it, getting rid of the walls because they were all covered in tile and painted-over-wallpaper. There were 2 layers of tile on the wall, we're going to try to stick with the original color scheme from 1940, and call it the Bumble Bee Bathroom. Our adventure continues for a few more weeks... Mom and Dad said that this new bathroom will be for me! I am pretty excited because that means I will have my very own Big Girl Tub. And for now, I am happy to continue taking naps on the couch while the workers make it beautiful.

Olympic Sleep Fighting

The Beijing Olympics need a new category for fighting sleep, because I would easily take gold. This weekend I decided that sleep is not as much fun as playing with Mom and Dad. I can scream and fuss and claw and kick for hours. Michael Phelps has nothing on me. My skills are brand new- revealed just 3 days ago. I have the endurance to fight naps during the day and still maintain a high level of intensity to fight bedtime, too. Most babies have to practice to perform at this level, but it's a natural talent for me. None of the old tricks can thwart my laser focus: not running water, the rocking chair, the front porch swing, strolls inside, or strolls outside. They said I haven't cried this hard since my bath in the newborn nursery. I heard Mom and Dad plotting in the other room last night. They said things like "what the heck happened to our good sleeper?", "if she only knew how much better she feels after a good nap", and the ominous "if this continues, we will have to do the Cry It Out Method". The trouble is, the world is so exciting now, I don't want to miss anything. Why do something as boring as sleeping when I could practice standing up with Mom, or get tickled by Dad? And, don't even get me started on all of my cool toys! I need to practice my different cries because my parents don't seem to be falling for my fuss cry or mad scream. The best way to get their attention is with my whimper or sad wailing. I need a game plan ASAP, because this "Cry It Out" business doesn't sound very good!

3 Months Old

This was a big weekend for me- I found my voice! Saturday night, out of the blue, I started "talking". The best part was trying out my new voice at church the next morning. Dad was impressed that I was singing along with the congregation.
I have also figured out that my hands are good for reaching out and grabbing things. I'm still not very coordinated, but it's way more fun than sitting around doing nothing! We pulled out my Baby Lazy Boy, the Bumbo. It's perfect for relaxing in the afternoon. Mom read an article that said the TV will fry my brain, so she only lets me watch Baby Einstein from my Bumbo. The dogs are fascinating to me now- I love to watch them walk around. Maggie has taken a sudden interest, sniffing and getting closer. Bath time is still my favorite part of the day, especially in our new kitchen. They are almost finished working on our bathroom, so one day I can get in the Big Girl Tub, just like Mom.

Nana and Papa

I love my Nana and Papa- and I think they like me, too! It was so much fun to see them, I kept smiling when they talked to me. Nana took me on my first shopping spree at Gymboree for some adorable clothes. She and Mom introduced me to somebody named Ann Taylor, and taught me about plastic squares called credit cards. They said I should never get one, it's always better to use my Dad's. We drove to the beach for lunch one day to eat fried things like clams and pickles. They said I can come to Boston soon to try seafood up there, too. I like how they talk, and how Dad picks up a touch of his old wicked accent when they are here. My favorite is how they call my mom "Christiner".
Hopefully I will see them again soon! I'm changing so much every week. I can hold my head up so far that you can see my neck now! I LAUGHED for the first time on Saturday with Mom, but nobody believes her. That's okay... the odds are in my favor to have a healthy sense of humor, so I'm sure there will be many more laughs in my future.

Found My Tongue

Look what I can do! I'm getting more animated every day!