4 Months!

Where have the last four months gone? It seems like in the last trimester of pregnancy time moved at a sloths pace. And now that my beautiful miracle is here time is whizzing by a warp speed. So, Avery, I so enjoy watching you grow and get bigger, but I wish time would just slow down a bit. You have plenty of time to be a big kid. I want you to stay little for a while.

Here was A on Monday. She was not very excited to be taking pictures, but I like this one.
And thanks to my friend SSM, here is a monthly recap:

THIS MONTH YOUR BABY MAY:

• squeal and laugh with delight. She does this all the time! It is the best part of the day when I get her out of bed in the morning and she looks at me like I could save the world and just squeals and laughs even during a diaper change.
• make "raspberry" sounds with her lip. She is trying. It's pretty hilarious. She has making the sound with her lips down, now she's trying to figure out how to get the tongue in it so it makes the sound while she's sticking her tongue out. It's so funny when she does it and gets so excited!
• experiment by making new sounds. She is definitely experimenting with her voice. Sometimes funny, sometimes not so much. Like after 20 minutes of the same sound over and over and over and over and over and over and... well, you get the point.
• make sounds in response to you. A tries so hard to copy sounds. Sometimes it works, but most times not. I keep waiting for her to just blurt out a word like an adult, but alas, she is not quite there yet.
• track moving objects as her head and neck development work together. She has been doing this for a while now. It's like teasing a cat with a laser pointer -- hours of entertainment.
• roll over—usually from front to back—as muscles continue to develop. She will roll over belly to back if she feels like it. She usually doesn't when we have the camera out. Or when we are trying to show someone how talented she is. Le sigh.
• raise herself up on straightened arms while lying on her tummy, looking all around as neck muscles strengthen. She does this for a few seconds and then goes back to her elbows. She is not a fan of tummy time.
• grasp a rattle with stronger hand muscles. A is so strong! She will get a grip of my finger and turn the end of it purple from lack of blood circulation!
• bear weight on both legs. A loves to lap-stand. She will even bounce a little if she's really energized.
• start to sleep through the night. We are so lucky. Avery has slept through the night since about 6 weeks. I am told that sleep patterns will change as she grows and gets older, but they haven't so far and I honestly hope they don't because I love these great sleeps!
• begin to show interest in solid foods by reaching for mom and dad's food at the table or other food in her line of sight. She doesn't really seem interest in our food, so we are waiting to start solids until she seems more ready. I am so excited for her to try new foods, but sticking to the bottle seems best for us right now.