From Dad: 09/21/11

09/21/11
Three months old, fourteen weeks tomorrow.  You are smiling a lot, and you’re starting to actually laugh, vocally; your mom loves it when you do your fast breathing thing because you get so excited.  You really love bath time now; you didn’t initially like it too much.  Some of that may have been because A) it was a new thing, and 2) we may not have had the water temp very good.  You’re still too small to really be in the big tub without constant supervision, but you’re almost too big to be in the baby tub.  You love to splash your legs alot, maybe you’ll be a runner or something.  Since you can’t sit up on your own yet, we can’t really put you in anything that’s too big or deep.  I can’t wait until you can really start “playing”.

Your Grandmother Judy has been doing a wonderful job taking care of you while we work.  I can’t predict what kind of relationship you’ll have with her when youlre older, I hope it’s an excellent one; but regardless you should always be thankful for the love she so freely pours out.  I’ve seen you reach for an object which is a pretty decent milestone.  There’s more form when you try to roll over, but you seem to be forgetting about your arms, or maybe they’re not that strong.  Maybe all your strength went to your legs.

When you try to roll over, you seem to try rolling over your right arm.  You’ve got it straight and pretty much under your head, and you’re twisting your legs to try and get your center of gravity moved, but you’re not pushing with you left arm.

We can’t quite figure out if you’re left or right handed yet.  A few weeks ago, we both agreed you’re probably right handed, but I’ve seen you do things recently that’s given me pause.  I can’t give any specific examples.  Maybe you’re ambidextrous, or maybe your mixed handed like Promise.

I think I’ve found two “magic” spots that help you calm down and/or go to sleep.  One is when your car seat, you love to be swung; oddly the swing chair doesn’t have nearly the magical effect.  I don’t think I’ve ever had you cry if you’re being swung; maybe you’re just too busy dealing with that funny feeling in your stomach to cry, or maybe you just really like it.  When it’s too difficult to get you in your car seat, you like to be held as if your breast feeding, even if it’s me holding you (and no, as of the time of this writing, you haven’t tried latching on to me).  I can’t tell if it’s because maybe I hold you slightly differently when your head is in my right arm or if it’s because you prefer to be on your right side, but you seem to prefer to being held in my left arm.  Both your mother and I prefer holding you this way, so maybe it’s a consistency thing.

This past month, you’ve been doing this thing where you constantly look back and forth.  The first time you did this, your mom and I had you on the bed and we were on each side of you, so we thought you were just looking back and forth between the two people who love you the most.  But you do it every so often even if I’m on the only person anywhere in your vicinity.  I’ve said that, for all we know, babies can see different wave lengths, or on a different plane than we do; so maybe you’re seeing the angels fly around.  Your mom thinks maybe they’re playing tennis, I say it’s ping pong ‘cause you can’t fit a tennis court in our house.

Back to school

School Time Blues
Sadly,  the summer has come to an end and I have to start back to school.  Lucky for you though, Grandma Judy is taking care of you at our house.  She stays in the very upstairs of our house all week and then drives to her house in Elizabeth on the weekends.  It's a long drive, but you're worth it!  She also sends me photos and an email from you every day.  It's so nice to get email from you when you can't even talk or type yet!  We knew you were an amazing kid.  One day, I'll put all your emails and the photos she sends with them together in a book for you.  

In the mornings, I feed you before I leave for school, and after school, I get home as soon as I can to feed you again.  You're taking a lot of bottles, so nursing will probably have to stop soon.  But, for now, anything I can do to help you out more is good.  You're a really healthy baby though!  You're growing and changing every day.  When Grandma sends pictures, your hair looks red to me.  I can't tell if it's going to be red or not.  I kind of hope so and I hope you keep your bright blue eyes!

Your brother, Caleb, and your sisters, Charity and Promise, love to hold you too.  Sometimes I feel like I need to set a timer just so everyone can get a turn holding you.  Right now, you're very content to be held and to gaze up and whoever happens to have you at the moment.  I know soon though, you'll want to be moving all around.  I try to take every chance I get to just sit and hold you and rock you.  I know these days will end too soon for me.  ~ Mom