Happy Mama's Day!

I had the best Mother's Day! During brunch, I gave Mama a really nice book called "I Love You More". She liked it so much that she read it to me right there in the restaurant! Then I played all day with Mama and Daddy (except when Mama went to get something called a "mani/pedi" with my fairy godmother Margaret...sounds suspicious, if you ask me). Best of all, I got to take my first ride in the swings at the playground! Those swings are COOL.

I've also discovered my new favorite diversion: Cowboy. I never really paid much attention to him before, and I had no idea what I've been missing! He's hilarious! I watch him all the time now, and he makes me laugh and laugh. That wagging tail, those big ears, those funny "whuffing" noises he makes when he's excited or impatient -- he's a regular comedian! Except when he tries to lick my face. Then he's not quite so funny.

Anyway, check me out in the swing! I'm rockin' the striped hat too -- pretty sweet.

Mama's turn

This is Mama, taking over the blog for a minute because I have something to tell my baby boy.

Six months ago, you gave me a gift: you made me a mother. It's the most wonderful gift I've ever been given, and I'm so proud that you chose me to be yours. I've never had a job that is more important than this one, and I hope that I can be as good a mother as you deserve. Thank you for entering my life and for making me more complete than I ever imagined I could be. I love you, my sweetest of the pie.

I'd like you to meet my buddy LP2

This is Lil' Peanut. He's actually Lil' Peanut II, because I'm the original lil' peanut. Gramma Hill gave LP2 to me to keep me company when I hang out in my Pack-n-Play while Mama or Daddy are busy doing other "important" things like showering or cooking or feeding Cowboy. I like to stick LP2 in my mouth and gum his head or drool on him in hopes that he'll want to come out of his shell. He's shy.

The other day, Mama took LP2 out of his shell and stuck him in my pocket. I don't know what that was all about, but I fixed the situation immediately.

Weight watchers and rice cereal

Today was my 6-month check-up with the Dude. I'm starting to not like visiting him, because it seems like every time I go I end up getting stuck with needles. Today it was three needles -- one in my left thigh, two in my right thigh. I do NOT like the needles.

Other than the needles, things are going pretty well with me in all ways but one: my weight. Mama and Daddy have always teased me about being a little on the thin side, but I guess I'm heading towards being downright skinny.

When I was born, I was in the 5th percentile for weight. I've tracked along pretty well since then, staying squarely in the 3-5th percentile...until now. Today, I came in at the -3rd percentile. Yes, negative. I weighed in at a hefty 13 lbs 2 oz. Then I nursed on one side and weighed in at 13 lbs 5-1/2 oz. Then I wet my diaper, nursed on the other side, and ended up at 13 lbs 6 oz.

The Dude isn't too concerned yet because my length (25-3/4") and head circumference (42.8 cm/16.9") are both steadily following the 25th percentile curve. He thinks that starting solid foods will help with my weight, as well as increasing the amount of the milk-drug I get at daycare. Maybe Mama will start feeding me Cheetos and milkshakes at every meal.

The Dude also thinks that working on my naps at daycare will improve things a lot, as it will get me back on my regular schedule and I won't miss feedings because I'm so exhausted from my lack of naps (that's what happened today -- I fell asleep in the car seat before we even left daycare and I didn't wake up again until we were pulling into the Dude's office 2-1/2 hours later). Mama is worried about the nap thing, because she's been trying all along to get them to help me take my naps.

Anyway, did you see those two exciting words in the midst of my rambling? "Solid food"?!? Yeee-haw! When we got home from the Dude's office, Mama and Daddy got me ready for my very first taste of solid food: rice cereal mixed with the milk-drug. They were worried that I wouldn't like it or that it would take me awhile to get the hang of things, but they're silly. I am so ready to eat solids. I ate it all up and wanted more, so Mama ended up giving me a double serving. I tried to take the spoon out of her hand so I could eat more quickly, and when she didn't let me do that I tried to slurp directly from the bowl. But she wouldn't let me do that either. Hmph.

Afterwards, I finished off with a cool sip of water from a shot glass. I feel like such a grown-up now, like I should have an after-dinner cigar or something. And I bet I'll feel even more grown up once Mama and Daddy put me in a proper high chair instead of setting me in the middle of the coffee table to eat.

It's beginning to look a lot like...

...Christmas?

Why yes, it is! Last weekend, Mama took me to meet Santa Claus! She told me that Santa usually only comes in December, but I was too small last December to go visit him. But since I'm such a sweet boy, Santa couldn't wait to meet me. So he came early!

It was really fun to hang out with Santa and show him some of my favorite outfits. I tried to give him my Christmas list but he said I'd have to wait until next Christmas for that. But he let me pull on his beard, which was even better! I wish Mama had a beard.

Santa and I must have been pretty handsome, because some really nice photographers found us and took pictures. It was kind of like how Mama constantly takes pictures of me, but they were much less pushy. You can see some of their pictures on their blog, The Fish Dish.

must...play...

but so...tired...

Half-y birthday to me

I'm six months old today!

6 minutes old 11/4/07	6 months old 5/4/08
Stats
5 lbs 7 oz 18.25 inches long size NB diapers are too big and have to be folded almost double to fit sweetest baby in the world	14ish lbs (250% increase) 26ish inches long (150% increase) size 2 diapers are pretty comfy still the sweetest baby in the world
Newest Trick
Screaming at the top of my lungs	Sucking on my big toe while sticking the rest of them up my nose

I'm lagging a bit

The jet lag has wreaked havoc on my sleeping. That 3-hour time difference is a lot harder to handle coming this way than it was going the other way!

When I got to Maui, Mama and Daddy kept me up until 7 PM Maui time, which was 10 PM Seattle time. By the time they let me go to bed, I was so exhausted I fell asleep right away. Tonight, however, Mama tried to put me to bed at 7 PM Seattle time...which is only 4 PM Maui time! Of course, I wanted nothing to do with it.

After screaming at the top of my lungs for nearly two hours, I decided to give in and go to sleep. Daddy's out of town and Mama's sick (you should hear her croak and hack and wheeze -- it kind of scares me), so I figured I'd give her a break. After all, she did take me to meet Santa today.

A-loooooooooo-ha!

I'm back from my first vacation, and boy did I need one! This whole "growing" thing is hard work! Do you realize that, nearly 6 months ago, I weighed less than 5 lbs? Now I'm almost three times that! Plus, I've learned tons of things, like where my hands and feet are, what Mama and Daddy sound and look like, where I find food (Mama) and get changed (Daddy), and all kinds of skills: how to roll over, sit up (with support), hold my head up, make all kinds of noises, suck my lips in, smile, laugh, grab things, suck on my toes, suck on Cowboy's tail, bang my toys on my head, scratch my face, scoot around on my back in my crib, drink water out of Mama's cup, suck on a straw...it's been a busy 6 months! So I was in dire need of some rest and relaxation.

I decided to head to Maui for a week with Tatum and Thomas (our parents came along too). It was pretty neat. I saw the ocean again, and this time it was actually warm, not like in Seattle. Mama wouldn't let me surf, but Daddy got to body-surf (at least, that's what he called it, even though it looked to me like he was just doing somersaults and headstands in the waves...Mama called it "getting pummeled"). Mama and Daddy also took turns snorkling while I hung out in my cool UVF50 tent on the beach.

I spent most of my time either by the pool or napping in the room. I was a big fan of napping. Oh, and of nursing too. Mama counted that I nursed 12 times in one day, which is twice what I normally do. She thought that maybe I was dehydrated or still getting over my cold, but in reality I was just taking advantage of the opportunity. I mean if it's there, go for it, right?

I had a pretty good time at the pool. Tatum and Thomas are a little more experienced than I am, so they had no problem getting in the water and playing around. It was a little scarier for me, but once I went in with Mama or Daddy holding me, it was fine. I bet it will be even more fun when I can actually sit up or crawl or walk! And I must say, I looked VERY chic in the swim gear I borrowed from Jammy.

I also got man-handled several times a day by either Mama or Daddy wielding a pink bottle of something they called "sunscreen". I didn't really like that stuff -- it smelled funny and gave me a bit of a rash. But apparently it's better to get a rash than to get sunburn, and Mama and Daddy were very proud that they managed to get me through a week in Maui without any sunburn.

Oh yeah, I almost forgot to tell you about my first two airplane flights! I wore my airplane outfit for the first one, and made sure to smile at everyone around me so that they could see just how cute I am. The flight was full, so I had to sit on Mama or Daddy's lap, which wasn't too bad. I found that I could get one of them to take me for a walk around the plane if I made even the tiniest noise, so I took full advantage of that. Then Mama put me in the Babyhawk carrier, and I don't remember anything after that. Darn carrier, puts me to sleep every time.

The flight home was a bit more exciting. There was an extra seat, so I had my car seat to rest in. However, I was well-rested from my vacation so I had plenty of energy to fuss. Mama and Daddy spent most of the flight passing me back and forth and walking me around the plane.

Mama added a bunch of pictures to flickr and I'm including the link at the end of this post. In addition, enjoy a couple shots of me and the fam. Mahalo!



Pictures: Maui - Ka'anipali

I'd have some cheese with my whine...

...but I can't because I'm sensitive to dairy.

Regardless, who's idea was it to get sick? I'm tired of this. I can't breathe, I cough all day and night, I can't lie down because I get so stuffed up, and all I want to do is nurse. But even that is tough, because my nose is stuffed up.

Mama put my swing in my crib so that I can sleep sitting up (it lets all the nasties drain down rather than getting clogged up in my throat). It helps a bit, but I was still awake for most of the night last night. It's hard to sleep through a hacking cough.

Another part of being sick means that everything is runny. All systems. So runny, in fact, that one diaper can no longer contain me. Yesterday morning, I managed to get as much outside of the diaper (and up my back, down my legs, all over my arms...) as inside of it, so Daddy ended up just handing me to Mama in the shower because that was the only way to clean me off.

This is so not fun.

Refluxions of a baby

Mama took me to the doctor today because I haven't been nursing well and I wail in pain whenever I do nurse (which is why I don't nurse much -- would YOU continue to do something that hurts?). She was worried that I might have an ear infection. It turns out that my ears and lungs are just fine, and that I have a run-of-the-mill cold. However, since I am also blessed with acid reflux (for which I've been on medication since I was just a wee thing), a cold isn't just a cold. Apparently, it causes my reflux to flare up so that even the medication doesn't help. There's nothing I can do other than wait it out. However, the doctor did say that I should nurse frequently since I'm not eating much each time. He also said that our vacation will be good for me, because the warmth, humidity, and sinus-flushing swimming pool will do wonders for my congestion. Works for me!

Mama! Bring me the milk-drug! It's been almost 45 minutes since I last had a sip.

Lots of catching up to do

I'm pretty behind on the blog so I have a lot of catching up to do. It's been pretty busy in my world lately!

• Amah and Opa came for a visit, followed closely by Gramma and Papa Hill
• It was my Daddy's birthday (yet another party I didn't get to attend -- Mama and Daddy went to see some guy named "Big Head Todd")
  
• My Grandpa Walt started his long visit to Club "Med" on Monday, and Mama has been telling me about what he's doing so that we can send him lots of good thoughts and love
• I squealed at my Uncle Jim over the phone while he was in Paris, which I thought was pretty cool (I squealed with my best French accent)
  
• I got to see Oliver's new house and listen to him make sounds like a seal
• I went for a walk around the lake with Jammy and his mom
• Jammy and I had a baby fashion show and I got to borrow some of his surf clothes to wear during my first vacation next week
• I decided to join in while everyone else was singing at church
  
• I went on a super long walk in my new stroller with Mama and Daddy, most of which I slept through
• Tatum came over for a visit with her dad, but she didn't feel like talking to me
  

Now I'm sick with a cold, so Mama stayed home with me today to help me get better. My nose is all clogged up, so it's hard for me to nurse. And I spend a lot of time wailing and looking very pitiful because I'm not comfortable. I spit up a lot and Mama is worried that I'm also teething, because I chew on my fingers and cry. All I know is that I feel miserable.

Luckily, we're going on vacation next week. Hopefully I'll be feeling better by then! Because if I'm not, that plane ride is not going to be fun.

I'm a big boy now

Today, Mama and I went to lunch with Oliver and his mom. Oliver was kicking back in his stroller, but I was riding in the Babyhawk. Usually when Mama has to eat while I'm in the Babyhawk, she just puts a napkin over my head and tries not to drop food on me. Needless to say, I'm not very happy with this situation so I squirm and fuss and sometimes even screech loudly. So Mama decided to strike pre-emptively today: she put me in a high chair. Like a big boy! She lined it with her coat first so I wouldn't touch the chair, and then strapped me in. It was pretty cool.

Scritch scratch

One of my favorite things to do lately is to scritch-scratch all of the different textures around me. I especially like to do it when I'm nursing, unless I'm busy exploring Mama's face or grabbing her hair. I wanted to post a video of some of my best nursing scritch-scratching, but Mama said that would make this blog NSFW (although I have to admit that I kind of like the irony of labeling a 5-month old's blog an "adult" site). Instead, I'll post a video of myself lounging on a chair while I scritch-scratch with one hand and wave the other one around spasmodically. Oh yes, I talk and blow bubbles too. I'm multi-talented like that.

For wubu

Nest nest nest!

It was a nailbiter

But the Jayhawks prevailed! Daddy says that they won because of me, that I'm a lucky charm. I am a golden pig baby...what did he expect? Although now I'm worried that he's going to have pretty high expectations for the Broncos this year.

Work isn't so bad

Mama took me to work with her today, and it's really not so bad. I don't know why people complain so much about it. There are nice people here who hold and play with me, and there are other babies for me to hang out with! There are lots of cool toys, and I have my own crib to nap in. I was pretty content when Mama left me to go do some of her work, but she cried. I wonder if she cries every time she goes to work? Her office must not be as fun as mine.

Time for a tune-up

This afternoon, I was hanging out after a nice walk with Mama, Daddy and Cowboy. I was getting a little hungry, and luckily Mama came to snuggle with me. I started singing, "My milk-drug brings all the boys to the yard..." and got ready to get my fix. I latched on and started sucking, but nothing came out! I kept trying and trying but it wouldn't work. To make matters worse, Mama was laughing about it. I think she must be broken or needs a refill or something.

Not so fast, Mama

A month ago, Mama thought she had me figured out. She'd read about these "wonder week" things and thought that since I was 4 months old, that was the reason I was so crabby. Turns out that I was just crabby for no reason (or maybe I had a reason, but I can't remember now because c'mon...that was AGES ago!). Mama re-read the wonder week thing and realized that the timing is based on my adjusted age, not my actual age.

For those of you new to my blog, I decided to make my grand entrance to this world a bit earlier than I was expected. Thus, for a lot of developmental milestones -- especially those around sleep -- I'm about a month behind my actual age. The age I'm supposed to be, based on my due date, is called my "adjusted age". According to my adjusted age, I'm almost 19 weeks old instead of 22 weeks old.

So anyway, one of the biggest developmental milestones (read: crabby times) happens at 19 weeks. Some call it a "wonder week", some call it "sleep regression", some call it "being a major pain in the tush". Call it what you like -- all I know is that I have lots of crying planned and I expect some quick action to make things better.

Just in time to celebrate

So today I am 5 months old. That's quite mature, if you ask me. I think it's about time for me to get some independence and autonomy around here...once I can sit up on my own, that is. Until then, I'm pretty much just sprawled on my back, helpless. However, even when non-mobile, I sure can make my presence felt!

As I mentioned yesterday and earlier today, I have been refusing to take my afternoon naps. This results in a very cranky and overtired babyhill, but normally the situation is rectified once I go to bed at night and get my 8-10 hours of beauty rest. Tonight, however, I've decided to switch things up a bit. Instead of going to bed at 7 PM and waking up to nurse around 3-4 AM (like I've been doing for the past several weeks), I woke up at 10:30 PM. I cried until mama came in, and she changed me into a warmer blanket sleeper and then sang to me. I slept for about 10 minutes, then started crying again. Now I've quieted down again, but I'm not sure how long this will last.

I might be hungry. I haven't needed to nurse in the middle of the night for a long time, but now that there are so many other things for me to pay attention to when I'm supposed to be nursing, I might not be getting as much to eat during the day as I should. Even when mama puts the Hooter Hider over me, I pull it out of the way (thanks for that suggestion Baby Jammy -- it's so much fun!), poke my head up through the neck, or I just stare at the pretty patterns. There are so many fun things to do, how can I be expected to focus on just the milk-drug?

Not that I'm saying I don't want the milk-drug anymore. Oh no...that's not in question. I just think I should be able to enjoy it on my terms, rather than having to wait for mama to offer it. Maybe slip some into my pocket so I can take it with me and have a sip or two whenever I feel like it. Is that too much to ask? At 5 months old, I'm more than ready to handle the responsibility.

Two for two

This is the second day in a row that I refuse to take my afternoon nap. I'm super tired and cranky, but when mama puts me down in my crib, I scream and scream and scream until she comes to get me. She holds me up, pats my back and I let out massive burps (after each one I'm so proud of myself...you should hear them!). Mama is thinking that maybe my morning bottle (the only bottle of the day) is making me gassy, because I still take my morning nap and go to sleep at night just fine.

The only thing that seems to work is for me to nap in the swing. After several weeks of hating the swing, I've come around to the realization that it is a little slice of mechanized heaven. Mama put my fleece bundleme in it (she picked up that trick from Marley & Lilah's mama) and it's just wonderful.

Today, Tori said bye-bye to me. I don't understand why. I like hanging out with her in the mornings, but she's not going to spend mornings with me anymore. Mama was sad about it too, so why are we doing this again? But mama tells me that I'll still see Tori sometimes, so that makes me happy. And starting next week I'm going to work with mama! I wonder what they'll have me do. Do you think I'll get my own office?

Choices

Instead of my afternoon nap today, I decided to scream at the top of my lungs for 2 hours. It's been a long afternoon, and it's not even 4 PM yet. Plenty of time for more screaming!

So yester...hey, what was that??

Lately I've been rather distractible, especially when I'm nursing. If I hear even the tiniest peep of a sound or see something out of the corner of my eye, I crane my head around to see what's going on. And sometimes I don't let go first (that's when mama squeals).

Mama used to read a book while I nurse, but she can't do that anymore because I want to see what she's reading whenever she turns a page. She also can't uncross her leg, shift her weight, or make any other movement. She tries to keep me focused by putting the Hooter Hider over me, but that doesn't always work. Sometimes I poke my head up through the neck of the Hooter Hider to check things out (see picture below). Mama acts like she's annoyed, but she always laughs so I know she thinks I'm pretty clever.

Lots of pictures

By the way, mama finally posted a bunch of pictures. She added the links to the left, or you can get to them here:

Pictures:
Feb 24, 2008
Mar 2, 2008
Mar 9, 2008
Mar 16, 2008
Mar 23, 2008

I suck

And when I say that I suck, I mean I suck EVERYTHING. My fingers, my fists, my arm, mama's arm, mama's neck, mama's cheek, mama's nose...anything that comes in range of my mouth goes right in. And now I'm starting to figure out how these "hand" things work, so I can grab things that I like (e.g. my horse toy, my taggie blanket, mama's hair, mama's necklace, the strap from mama's hooter hider...) and put them into my mouth if they don't happen to be close enough for me to just suck them in.

I've even started sucking on a pacifier, which apparently is made specifically to be sucked. Can you believe they make something that has no purpose other than to be sucked?? It's awesome. I can't believe that I've been holding off for so long! But I still prefer my fist (actually, I've narrowed it down to my left thumb -- that's my favorite digit).

You may have noticed that I suck on anything that belongs to me, including my mama. You see, she's just an extension of me. She's the part of me that's a little more coordinated, so I often use her to get me things or take me places. But lately, and this is the part that confuses me, she's been going somewhere without me in the mornings! I don't know how a part of me can just up and leave without my consent. She calls it "work" and it doesn't even seem like it's a very nice thing, because she always looks sad when she leaves.

I actually don't mind that much -- I know that she's coming back soon, and in the meantime, I get to stay at home and play with Tori. I like Tori. She sings to me, gives me bottles of the milk-drug (shhh -- don't tell mama that I've found another source), plays with me and takes me for walks. I would really like to play with Tori every day, but mama tells me that starting next week, she'll be taking me with her and leaving me downstairs while she does this "work" thing upstairs. I wonder if Tori will be there?

Pictures, pictures and more pictures

Happy Birthday Jammy's mom!

Last night, we went to Jammy's house to surprise his mom for her birthday. It was fun -- we hid in the dark and jumped up to scare her when she came in. I like this whole "scaring people for fun" thing. I do have to admit that I was a bit distracted, considering that I was in the midst of nursing when she came home. So mama squatted down behind a chair while I kept on nursing, and when she jumped up to surprise Jammy's mommy, I didn't even unlatch. That was a proud moment for me.

After we scared JammyMom (JamMommy?), I said hi to Jammy and sang a little duet with him (he sings bass while I stick to the upper ranges, so we've got a Barry White/Justin Timberlake thing going on). Then I was whisked home to go to bed, where my FG (fairy godmother) Margaret watched over me while mama and daddy went back to JammyMom's house to celebrate her birthday.

Birthdays and birthday parties sure seem like fun. Although I wouldn't know, because I haven't had a single birthday party in my entire life! C'mon mama and daddy -- what's a guy got to do to get a little love around here?

We interrupt this blog for an important message

Hi, this is babyhill's mama. I just wanted to let you know that I've updated the layout of this blog to remove the slide show that was displayed at the top of the page. It was too much of a hassle to maintain, so I decided to go with the simpler one-image slide show now displayed at the top of the left column. The new slide show will automatically show the most recent babyhill pictures posted to flickr. I will continue to add links to the full flickr sets below the slide show.

I'll now return you to your regularly scheduled blog...

Thanks!
- mamahill

Roll like an Easter egg

To celebrate Easter today, I "sorta" rolled over from my back to front. I don't know if it really counts because I used some help, but mama and daddy think it's pretty neat. I was on my play mat staring at that really handsome guy in the round thing mama calls the "mirror". I decided I wanted to hang out with said good-looking guy, so I grabbed the side of the mirror and pulled myself over. Who knew I'd end up putting myself into tummy time?? I quickly rolled back over, because I was not the least bit interested in tummy time.



In other news, today mama was acting kind of strange (moreso than usual). I think something is going on, but I'm not sure what it is. I'll keep you posted.

Rock chalk Jayhawk

Today we watched basketball and ate corndogs.

We go to the same stylist

Yeah, David and I get our hair done at the same place...


...and sometimes John and I share the same bottle of Millefolium.

busted

Now mama holds my hands to stop me from sneaking my fingers into my mouth while I'm nursing. She won't let me have any fun at all. Hmph.

Size 1s are for babies

Today I used my last Size 1 diaper. Now that I'm such a big boy, Size 2s are the way to go! I just hope they still have the pictures of Elmo, Ernie, Cookie Monster and Big Bird on them.

I've also discovered, the hard way, that I am exactly as long as my crib is wide. I found this out the other night when I decided to kick my way around in my crib so that I was perpendicular to the way I'm supposed to sleep. I got my head wedged up against one of the crib bumpers so I started to cry, and since I was upset I stretched way out (that's what I do when I'm screaming) and my feet were pressed up against the opposite bumper. Then I couldn't move, so I screamed even louder. Mama came in and started laughing because I was locked in place with my blanket folded neatly beside me and she couldn't figure out how I'd done it. At least she moved me back, so I was able to go back to sleep. But since she laughed at me, the next night I woke up 3x during the night.

Speaking of which, I've been sleeping pretty well for awhile now. I go to bed every night by 7 PM and I usually only wake up once around 4 AM. When I wake up, I call for mama to give me some of the milk-drug (it's her fault...she's the one who got me hooked on it so now she has to continue to support my habit). She's usually half asleep and she doesn't even turn on the light, but I find my way to get my fix while she dozes off in the glider. When I'm done (with both sides...I know that there are two sides and I will not be short-changed), she puts me back in my crib and we both go back to sleep until about 7 AM. This system seems to be working for us.

Mama's been super busy trying to find someone to take care of me when she goes back to work next week. She's also been spending a fair amount of time trying to convince me to keep up with that bottle thing, but that's not working out so well. Why would I take a bottle when I know the source is right there?? Silly mama.

Since she's been so busy, mama's also really behind on posting pictures. Now that my hair is coming in so nicely (I believe it will be wavy when it gets longer but for now it's just fuzzy), I want to make sure everyone can admire me! My Dunlavey hair and Hill legs make quite the charming combination, after all. So I convinced mama to post a couple pictures to give you a taste of the cuteness that is me (lots more on mamarazza).

F = ma

Today I was lying on the my back and mama was leaning over me. Without warning, I suddenly projectile vomited up her nose. Pretty darn cool, if you ask me.

Interesting facts about me

• Turns out that I have perfect sky-diving form. When daddy flies me around the room, I keep my arms and legs nicely extended. My mama says she's envious of my ab strength.
• I'm ticklish. Especially around my neck.
• My long legs turn every outfit I have into "manpris" (capris for men). I'd be terribly trendy if we lived in Europe.
• I'm able to make one sock magically disappear when mama tucks me into the car seat. I also turn into a space heater when I'm in the car seat, so I end up sweating through the back of my clothes.
  
• I can now reach for and grab the toy monkey that hangs off of my rocker. I can also grab mama's hair and twist it around my fists so that she can't get away.
• I've developed a two-bib-a-day habit.
• I'm a flirt.
  

I may reconsider

You know how I was saying how terrible that bottle thing is? Well, maybe it's not too bad. I mean, in general it's pretty awful...but if you put things together just so, it's bearable. Bearable enough for me to drink an ounce or so out of it. But I'm still going straight to the source for the majority of my milk-drug.

A favor, please

Someone please get my mama some new music. Anything released after 1991 would be great. You see, she likes to sing to me but she can only seem to remember the words to cheesy songs. I don't mind when she sings tunes from musicals, but today was over the top when she started with the soft rock ballads. I made it through Every Rose Has Its Thorn, More Than Words, Somebody, and Open Arms, but when she started with Right Here Waiting for You, I had to protest. That's just too much.

By the way, when I get bigger and can drive, I'm going to go see Avenue Q so that I can figure out what words mama bleeps out when she sings to me. Yes, she provides her own censoring.

Snappy

It turns out that Opa can't say my name very easily because it uses an "a" sound that is very difficult for Germans to pronounce. Mama should have known better, considering that her first name (Patricia --> Patti) has the same sound and Germans couldn't pronounce it correctly either*. She was either "Petty" or "Potty". So Opa has been calling me "Zack Zack" (pronounced "tzok tzok"), which is a German expression that means "hurry up" or "make it snappy". It is one of mama's favorite German expressions, and even though I use my full name in general, I don't mind Opa calling me "Zack Zack". After all, I was rather impatient about the whole 40-week gestational period thing.

By the way, I rolled over again today. My days of the dreaded tummy time are numbered.

*If you're wondering why it mattered that Germans couldn't pronounce "Patti" correctly, it's because mama went by "Patti" when she was growing up and she grew up in Germany.

That's how I roll

Today I was on my tummy (which I absolutely hate) on my play mat (which I like quite a lot). I don't know why mama insists on putting me on my tummy, in spite of my very clear distaste of it. She calls it "tummy time" and even The Dude* says I'm supposed to do it. But then again, The Dude is the one who gives me shots every 2 months, so I'm not convinced that he has my best interests in mind.

Anyway, there I am on my tummy. I decided that I wasn't going to stand for it anymore, so I did some kicks and rolls and shoves and grunts. Then, miracle of miracles, I rolled over to my back! I was a bit startled to find myself facing up, and mama and A-mah were surprised and excited (and a little concerned because I thumped my head on the floor when I flipped over), but I didn't cry or fuss at all. You know why? Because I realized that it meant no more tummy time for me! Now if only I could figure out how to do it again, I'll never have to endure another moment of tummy time.

*The Dude = my doctor

Singing the bottle-time blues

"They tried to make me take a bottle
I said no, no, no..."

~ Baby Whine-Pouts

What part of "no" don't you understand?

They tried that blasted bottle thing again this morning. The operative word is "tried".

I don't think so

I thought yesterday was bad, but today mama and daddy are really trying to make me miserable. I was super hungry and ready to chow down, when suddenly mama passes me to daddy and he tries to stick this weird thing in my mouth. They call it a "bottle" and it's just awful. I made it very clear that I will have NOTHING to do with it.

Not my favorite thing x 4

Today I had my 4-month check-up, and no one mentioned that I'd get poked by the evil needle-wielding nurse again. FOUR times! My legs are really sore now and I've had a fever all afternoon because of it. Tell me again, why are we doing this? Is that line from Juno ("Doctors are sadists who like to play God and watch lesser people scream") true? It sure seems like it to me, and The Dude (my doctor) sure got to enjoy some serious screaming from me today! Mama got to enjoy it too, because whenever she moved me I screamed again.

When they weren't busy torturing me, my check-up was pretty good. I weigh 11lbs 12.5 oz now, which keeps me squarely in the 3-5% range for weight. The Dude isn't concerned about that though, because I've always been in the same range. He says I'm gaining weight just as I should be.

Where I'm excelling, if I may say so myself, is my length and head circumference. I am now 24.5 in long and my head is 41 cm in circumference (and no, I don't know why they measure my head circumference in centimeters when everything else is in inches). My head is in the 10-25% range, and my length is in the 25-50% range. Way to go, me! I guess that explains why most of my outfits are super baggy but still too short. My mama tells me that I put the "man" in "manpri".

Speaking of which, in addition to being really uncomfortable from the shots, I spent most of the day with my legs cramped up inside a one-piece that's too short for me. I had a little episode in Starbucks which required a full outfit change. When mama looked in her diaper bag, she realized that she never replaced the back-up outfit when she put away all of my NB and 0-3 month clothes. Hmph.

Now I'm sleeping (with the help of a bit of baby Tylenol for my fever) and planning my next wake-up. I've been sleeping 6-8 hours for awhile, but in the past couple of days I've decided to start waking up after 3 hours again. The Dude said that it's normal for me to "regress" at around 4 months, but that mama and daddy shouldn't feed me when I get up because they'll just reinforce the regression. So I think they plan to withhold the milk-drug from me if/when I get up tonight at 10 PM. We'll see how well that works. My scream is satisfyingly shrill and piercing now -- and it seems even more so at night.

Secret milestone

Mama's been reading the books to find out why I've been so fussy and have been refusing to nap even though I'm exhausted. She read something about how babies go through these mental developmental growth spurts or "wonder weeks". Our brains are working so hard, sometimes we can't sleep or we don't want to eat. But then we get overtired and fussy. Plus, it can be overwhelming and uncomfortable for us when we learn new things.

4 months is a common time to hit one of these wonder weeks, and guess what? I'm 4 months old today! So mama thinks she's figured me out. But you know what she hasn't figured out? She hasn't figured out just what I've developed. Ah hah! I'll surprise them yet.

Today was yoga day, and it was pretty fun. Usually I'm not very happy about it because mama doesn't pay me enough attention, but today I got to hang out with Oliver on a yoga rug. That was cool for awhile. Then I realized that no one was entertaining me, so I started to fuss until the instructor picked me up and bounced with me on the yoga ball. Next thing I knew, I was asleep. That's sort of how my entire day went.

I was pretty tired after not taking naps for the past several days, so I did my best to make up for it. I slept in my swing, I slept in the car, I slept in the yoga instructor's arms, I even slept in my crib! For three hours! And then I slept again in the baby carrier while mama took Cowboy and me to Greenlake. All in all, I've only been awake for 7 hours today so far. I'm about to get a bath now and then I'll go to bed for the night, so it's been a pretty uneventful day.

Here's a picture of me holding hands with Oliver during yoga. He's got enough hair for both of us.

A little behind schedule

Gosh, I haven't posted much lately! It's been super busy around here. Plus, in the last week I've decided that I don't want to nap during the day anymore. This severely impacts my blogging efforts, because I do my best blogging during my naps. I'll try to catch you up.

Two weeks ago, Gramma Hill came for a visit. I spent lots of time fussing so that she would walk with me and rock me. We also hung out while mama and daddy went out. They took a bike ride, went out for pho, and even went downtown for a "date night"...all without me!! Can you believe it? I couldn't either.

Gramma Hill brought me some great new outfits too. I wanted to wear them all, so I blew out my diaper in one outfit so mama had to put another outfit on me. I was planning to spit up on the second one so that mama would put the third one on me, but I must have gotten distracted.

Gramma Hill, mama and I went to the zoo together! It sounds really cool in theory; in practice, however, I slept through the whole thing. Next time I'll try to stay awake at least long enough to see the monkeys. Mama calls me her little monkey, so I want to see exactly what she's talking about. (For the same reason, I want to see a "peanut" and a "Drooly McStinkyPants".)

The next week, I went for a walk to Gasworks Park with my fairy godmother Margaret (mama came too). Mama and I also went to yoga (where I fussed until the yoga teacher picked me up and bounced with me) and we wandered around Ballard with Oliver and his mom Holly.

Oliver's a lot more mellow than I am. He's pretty happy to just look around and observe things, whereas I keep busy with my kicking and fussing. Actually, when I think about it, my friend Benjamin is mellow like that too. And so is Lilah. And Thomas. Hmmmm. I'm sensing a trend here. I must be a very calming influence.

Well I have more to catch up on (my Auntie Trisha came for a visit!) but I need to start screaming in terror at the top of my lungs right now so that I can scare mama and daddy, who think I'm fast asleep.

Pictures: February 10, 2008 and February 17, 2008

Sometimes I even amaze myself

I slept 10 hours straight last night. Yes, T-E-N hours. 7:15 PM to 5:15 AM. Wow, I'm good.

Oh yes, and I napped in my cradle again today. Mama took everything out of the cradle and washed it, and she aired out the room and freshened it up for me. So now I like it again. The only problem is that when I stretch out, my feet touch the end. I'm not going to fit in it for much longer, so mama will have to find me another place that I deem adequate for daytime naps. Good luck mama!

What a boy wants

I really don't like my cradle right now. I used to like it when I was just a little baby, and then when I was about a month old I didn't like it anymore. After awhile, I decided it was OK again and mama has been letting me nap in it every day. But since last weekend, I have determined that it is the last place I want to be. In fact, even if mama puts me in there when I'm fast asleep, I'll wake up within 2 minutes and scream to be taken out. And then I'll fall back asleep immediately, as long as I'm not in the cradle. I can't pinpoint what it is that I dislike so much...I simply don't like it.

But I know what I do like. When mama puts me in my crib, I get to visit with my friend the happy little star, who lives on the crib bumper. I stare at him, talk to him, and yesterday I even laughed with him. He's great.

I also like mama's friend Jen. She has the prettiest blonde hair. Mama and I went to visit her yesterday for a coffee break, and I practiced my best flirting on her. I stared at her until she looked back, and then I'd slip her one of my most charming smiles. She'd always smile back -- she was putty in my tiny little hands. Just wait until the pretty little girl in her belly comes out and meets me in a few months!

I think I might be starting another growth spurt. I'm hungry all the time and I don't like to nap anymore. Last night, I kept mama up all night because I woke up every 2-3 hours and wanted to eat. I think mama's getting tired, but I'm a growing boy! I'm already at the end of my 3-6 month jumpers, and my goal is to grow out of them completely by the time I'm 5 months old.

It's another sunny day today, so maybe I'll take a little snooze when mama takes me on a walk. Or I'll just stay awake all day like I did yesterday.

To sleep or not to sleep

I've got some catching up to do, but I've been very busy so I haven't had a lot of time to post. Plus, I've been spending a lot more time asleep in spite of my best efforts to keep mama and daddy on their toes at all hours.

Mama's tried the magic car seat a few times (letting me fall asleep in it while I'm in the car, and then moving it to a dark room for me to continue napping once she gets home) but so far I haven't slept in it overnight again. However, she's been putting me down for bed by 8 PM every night and for some reason, I can't stay awake to complain! I get myself nice and riled up around 7:30 PM because I know what's coming, and then suddenly there's the milk-drug and the next thing I know I'm waking up several hours later. And then I'm still too tired to yell for mama, so I just call her (she responds to a few words now, like "coo" and "gaaa") and she appears with more of the milk-drug.

Last night, I didn't wake up for over 9 hours. Actually, I might have slept longer except that mama woke up at 4:45 AM and panicked because I wasn't up. She tried to sneak into my room to make sure I was OK, but it was dark and she ended up poking me on the side of my face when she bent down to feel for my breath. I was too tired to wake up, but I let her know my displeasure by whining and kicking. Then I woke up and called for some food 30 minutes later. She thinks I don't know that she came in and disturbed me.

Now that I'm sleeping more at night, I've decided to stay up more during the day. I like to divvy my awake time up between crying, fussing, talking, kicking, and staring at the wall. Lately I've been really enjoying the crying and fussing, so I've been spending more time on those. I'm quite good at it now, if I may say so myself!

Speaking of which, it's time for me to get busy on my bedtime fuss. I find it helps me scream more loudly if I take lots of nice deep breaths before I start. In...out...in...out...

Magic car seat

Last night I went to a Girls Night with mama. I think they only let me come because they think I'm too small to know what's going on, but trust me, I was paying attention.

These Girls Nights seem a lot different than daddy's Boys Nights. There's no poker, beer, or sports on TV and no one yells or roughhouses. It's just a bunch of women standing around chatting, eating finger foods (last night was crepes, fondue, crap dip and crostini with olive tapenade goat cheese, among other things) and drinking champagne. How civilized.

Anyway, I charmed the ladies for a bit and then got cranky because I was tired. So mama put me in my car seat and set me in a darkened room while she got ready to take me home. I fell asleep while I was waiting. When I woke up next (because I was hungry), I was still in my car seat! I thought that maybe mama forgot me, or she was drinking champagne and couldn't drive home. But then I realized that I was home! I was in my crib, in fact (yes, my car seat was in my crib). And the craziest part is this: it was 4:30 AM! I'd slept for 8 hours in my car seat! I cried to get mama's attention, and when she came to feed me she was so happy that she was practically dancing around the room.

I wonder if my car seat is going to end up in my crib more often now.

Nice try

Last night, mama and daddy moved my co-sleeper to my own room so that I would sleep there. It's the first time I've slept anywhere other than their room, and I don't think I'm a very big fan of it.

I did OK at first because mama drugged me with her milk. She knows I can't resist it and I don't know how to control myself once I get started, so she just let me drink to excess until I could barely keep my head up. Once she got me good and groggy, she plopped me into the co-sleeper, kissed me good-night, and walked out of the room! Leaving me there! Alone! I couldn't believe her audacity, but I was so out of it I couldn't react and I passed out before I could do anything.

I woke up at 2 AM and was ready for a fight. I screamed for attention and mama FINALLY showed up (it's not like it used to be, when I could scream and she was there within 10 seconds). I was planning to express my displeasure at the new sleeping arrangements, but before I could protest she already had the boob out. And I couldn't resist.

At 4 AM I was up again and ready for battle. This time when mama came, I was prepared to ignore her offer of the milk-drug. But then I smelled it, and I couldn't help but start jonesin' for it. And can you believe this -- she wouldn't give it to me! She said something about trying to teach me to go for longer stretches between nursing at night, but I know that was just an excuse. What's she's really doing is establishing her control by giving me all I want until I'm addicted and then taking it away. Soon she'll be having me working for it, dealing to other babies on the playground so that I can get my fix.

Anyway, she just held and rocked and sang to me for about 30 minutes, then daddy came in and held me for a little bit. But I wouldn't stop crying -- I needed the milk-drug. After another 15 minutes, I guess mama decided that I'd suffered enough and she finally gave me my fix. I was fully planning to discuss the whole "sleep in my own room" thing right after I got the edge off, but once again mama filled me up until I passed out.

I popped up again at 6 AM. Same thing as 4 AM -- screaming, denying of the milk-drug, holding, rocking, singing until I fell asleep. Mama fell asleep too, while holding me in the glider. I thought that this might be my big chance to escape back to their bedroom, but I was just too tired and fuzzy-brained to move.

So last night was a draw. They may have put me in my own room...but they sure didn't get the rest they were hoping to get! And today I'm going to work on my self-control so that I'm ready for mama and her addictive milk-drug tonight.

Ha-ha-happy New Year!

I thought I'd start off the Chinese new year (which is my mama's year, the Year of the Rat) with something special: my first laugh. And boy, if you thought I was cute in the pictures, wait until you hear me giggle. I'm downright adorable.

Baby phat

I'm doing a pretty good job of growing, if I may say so myself...

Yummy rattle

So my mama keeps waving things in front of me and trying to hand them to me, but I haven't really been all that interested. Today, though, I decided that maybe I'd take a look at that colorful rattle thing. I grabbed it and stuck it in my mouth and it was pretty cool. Mama got SO excited about it. What's all the fuss about?

Mama's trying to stay on top of things too, so she just put a bunch more pictures up from the last week. I'm officially an infant now -- not a newborn anymore! (I guess "newborn" is only 0-3 months old).

Pictures: February 3, 2008

Now THIS is cool

I discovered something new recently: my hands! They are attached to me so I never lose them, and they each have five fingers! Five glorious fingers, most of which I manage to get into my mouth at once. It's wonderful.

Yesterday, I figured out a way to put my two favorite things together. Mama looked down at me and saw that I'd managed to stick my hand in my mouth while I was nursing. Hand and boob. Heaven.

Busy week

It's been a pretty busy week for me! Now that I'm bigger, I'm going out more with mama and her friends. I met my Auntie Rosetta, went to the mall with Oliver, walked around the lake with Benjamin, watched a movie with the Middlemisses, and hung out with Meg. Someday soon I hope to have my drivers license so that I can just take off with Oliver and Benjamin and we don't have to be seen with our mamas all the time.

I've decided that it's pretty cool to sleep on my own now, so I don't complain too much anymore when mama puts me in the co-sleeper or cradle. But last night I was super hungry and cranky, so I made mama get up every 1.5 hours to nurse me. I don't want her to forget who's boss.

There are more pictures up from last week. Mama's been a little behind in getting pictures uploaded but I think she's caught up now.

Pictures: January 27, 2008