Four Months and Other Random Bits

Natalie at four months:

1. Chews on her hands incessantly and drools like crazy. I can see the outline of the two bottom teeth; wondering how long before they pop through.

2. Has been rolling over for a few weeks. She's awesome at rolling back to tummy, not so consistent at tummy to back.

3. Is developing a more regular schedule but her morning nap is still pretty irregular. She can be counted upon for a long afternoon nap that coincides with Wyatt's so that forgives her unwillingness to sleep through the night.

4. Sleeps through the night when Jeff is planning to get up with her (this has happened on more than one occasion - stinker!)

5. LOVES her brother. She saves her best full-face smiles for him and watches every move he makes (that will haunt me, I'm sure); she also giggles for him with very little prompting.

6. Makes a sound that can only be described as growling and I don't remember Wyatt doing anything similar.

7. Doesn't love the Bumbo like Wyatt did, but is tolerant of short stints in it. She is okay with the exersaucer but, in general, is happy as long as someone is making her feel like she's a part of the action.

8. Tries to sit up all the time. If she has our hands to pull on, she'll go from laying down to standing in no time.

9. Almost touches both bumpers when she turns sideways in her crib.

10. Is outgrowing clothes faster than we can keep track of. Just this week, we've put her in two different sleepers that fit when I folded the laundry but are now too short for her.

11. Digs her baby bjorn.

12. Sleeps on her side 90% of the time; the remaining 10% is divided evenly between sleeping on her back and sleeping on her tummy. If she's at all awake when she's put in her crib, she immediately rolls to her left side.

13. Is totally easy-going until she isn't. The fuse is kind of short and we know we're being scolded when she lets out a high-pitched wail. On the upside: as soon as the need is met, she's Miss Happy-go-lucky again.

14. Reaches for toys in front of her or above her on her playmat with the intention of putting them in her mouth. She seems fairly surprised when she gets ahold of one.

15. Loves her baths and has great fun splashing about but didn't like it when I dipped her toes in the pool.

16. The swing - miracle that it is - gets little use these days. Maybe one in six days has her napping in it, otherwise she's in her bed.

17. Is wearing size 3 diapers. I mention this only because my man, Wyatt, topped out in size 4's.

18. Brings us all great joy and tolerates Wyatt's hugs and kisses quite nicely.

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Random bits:

1. We just discovered that Dole pear cups (the ones Wyatt has been downing at a rapid rate for months) are a product of China. We find this a little disturbing, what with...well, China, and all. So I decided to do a little research on their website and discovered they don't mention China among all their international operations. Hmmmmm.....I'm curious to see if they respond to my inquiry.

2. Poll: tub v. shower in a master bath - how many of you require a bathtub in your master? We're contemplating eradicating ours; would we lose you as a buyer? Leave your answer in the comments, please. And no, there's no room for a separate tub. It's combo or nothing.

3. We had a first today at the park: I told Wyatt it was time to go and he took off running the other direction because he wanted to play on the baseball field. Rather than chase him and make it a game, I decided to load the car (stroller in, baby in) thinking it would make him decide he might miss us. No such luck so I ended up physically removing him from the field and carrying him waaaaayyy back to the car. He was appropriately disciplined but seems to find the whole thing funny. Maybe I shouldn't have worked so hard at being the non-yelling parent?

4. Poor Millie is itchy. No hives, no bumps, no visible skin issues (which could be expected for her), bath didn't help. Any ideas?

5. I'm on a mission to find multiple babysitters who are dependable and have some daytime availability. I need a haircut like you read about but can't schedule one for another 2.5 weeks when my husband is home to take care of our little people.

6. Is it bad that I'd like to hire an interior designer to make my house more....interesting? It's feeling so very blah.

7. Jeff and I booked our first non-kid vacation for Labor Day weekend. While I should be looking forward to the trip, I'm really just craving the two nights with no 2 am feeding.