Jack at 4 Months Old

This last month seemed to fly by, I'm sure with a few trips home to see the grandparents plus one made to North Carolina, we were kept pretty busy. Jack is really starting to show his personality. I love when he makes different noises and I especially love that he is starting to giggle. He has laughed for a while, but now there are times when he will have laughing fits. Usually it happens because we do something that he finds funny. So of course we do it again and again and again. Right now he loves when his dad takes him on a "race car ride." He laughs for me when I sing or tickle his sides. Of course, it makes us proud parents!

Nicknames: Peanut, Penuckle, Little Man

Tempermanent: He continues to express his moods through the whining that he makes. The louder the whine, the more annoyed that he is, which means mom is not moving fast enough for his liking. Actually he is very easy to understand. He whines and rubs his eyes when he is tired. He whines into a cry if he is hungry and I have not gotten the bottle ready fast enough, and he grunts when he is going to the bathroom. He had one of his worst crying sessions back in December when we were visiting family. I don't know if it was because his schedule was off or if he is not fond of older people, but he was crying so hard the first night I didn't know if I could make him stop. I felt very helpless as a mother and at that moment could understand the difficulty of having a colicky baby. He started crying like that again today when I went to the neighbor's house (we live next to an 80 year old woman). He continues to do well with a schedule and I relish the evenings spent alone with Joe.

Items/Toys We Love The Most: Jack loves to play with a stuffed animal that we have named, Mike the Moose. He actually has two of them so one stays upstairs and one downstairs. It is easy for him to grab the legs, which he brings to him mouth. He also loves his plastic keys which shakes around his head like crazy. I keep thinking he is going to knock himself in the head, but it hasn't happened yet. He received a lot of blankets, so I have been using those on the floors since he likes the wiggle room.

First Experiences: Developmentally he is learning to hold things in his hands and bring them to his mouth. He is also starting to rock onto his sides, so I'm sure he will be rolling within the next month (but then again, I never know). Jack had his baby blessing in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He wore his uncle (my brother's) baptism outfit with a sweater that was made by a great aunt. A baby blessing is a very special prayer given to a child asking for the Lord's blessing for their future. It was a wonderful experience and I was happy to have some many family members with us for the experience.

He will have his 4 month doctor's visit next week. I am looking forward to finding out how much weight and length he has gained. He also seems to be watching Joe and I eat, which makes me think that we will be starting food with him very soon. I wanted to wait six months, but we might start trying around five months. That should be a fun experience. Mostly I keep thinking how blessed I am to be able to stay home with him. I love being the one who gets to see him grow everyday. It would be hard to have to work and not see him. So everyday I am thankful that my husband supports our lifestyle and allows us to have this experience.