Cannon Ball at Four Months!

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My Sweet Cannantaloupe,

You have grown like crazy this past month, weighing in at 14lbs, 12oz and measuring 25inches long.  You are in the 85^th percentile for height, 25^th for weight, and 95^th for head size.  You are my little lollipop, all stretched out and skinny with a sweet round head!  The doctor told me it was because you have such a big brain, which I have chosen to believe since you have come so far this past month.  You are enamored with EVERYTHING and cannot withhold a curious thought.  You reach for anything that catches your eye, especially faces, food, and Tank.  Your hand-eye coordination is amazing for your age and I’m sure you’ll be spoon-feeding yourself in no time, as you have been able to hold your own bottle since you were just 2.5 months old.

I think the main motivation behind your determination is food.  Like Daddy, you can definitely hold your own at the dinner table or anywhere else with refreshments.  We fed you solid food for the first time as soon as you turned four months and you were in absolute heaven.  I expected you to make faces or show some confusion as to why there was a big spoon headed toward your face but you were completely focused.  Your very first bite seemed to switch on a light in your little brain and there was no turning back.  You reached for the spoon and tried to get Daddy to shovel faster, like squash was manna from heaven.  We decided not to start you on rice cereal or oatmeal because you are not much of a pooper and we didn’t want you to get any more backed up than you already are.  I would also rather start you on something from the garden than something processed and there aren’t any unprocessed cereals that I know of for babies under 6 months old.  I loved watching you experience your first meal because I felt like it was the first memory we were creating with you rather than of you.  You probably won’t remember that exquisite jar of squash but we loved that it was a family affair that you were undoubtedly enjoying.

When you don’t have food in your darling little mouth you make sure that you have something else in its place at all times.  You love to suck on your hands or binki, chew on your thumb, or grab things to see how they taste.  Your favorite thing to grab is a finger; always holding Mommy’s hand, making her heart melt.  Another favorite is Tank, whenever you can reach him.   I sometimes try to help Tank understand that you love him by swinging you and letting you kick his ball for him.  You both seem to think that is pretty funny.

We love this new happy phase where you are alert, attentive, talkative and easy to laugh.  You are constantly shrieking with happiness, especially in the mornings and when Daddy plays with you.  You love to feel his hairy face on your tummy and feet – he will tickle you this way for as long as you can take it (you will laugh till you can’t breathe; it is adorable).  When you’re not laughing you love to babble and flirt with anyone around you.  You seem to have a special interest in nurses and are constantly drawing them in with your gummy smile.

Between wooing the young nurses we saw your pediatrician at your four-month check up and she let us know that you have hit all of your four-month landmarks!  Just before turning four months old you rolled from your back to your chest for the first time (front to back is a little bit easier and you nailed that one around 2.5 months), you are eating 6oz. of formula 5 times per day, you are drooling and spitting up like a mad man, you love to do a little windmill walk with your feet if I hold you up by your waist and seem to be very strong overall.  You love to move around however possible.  Your most effective method of movement at this point is bending your knees and pushing off with your little feet so that you can scoot around on your shoulder blades.  Earlier this week I set you on a blanket on the floor and when I came back a couple of minutes later you had scooted about four feet away from the blanket.  I guess there is no more leaving you alone!

You have continued to let Daddy and I sleep at nights as you go to sleep at 8/8:30pm and wake up between 6 and 7:30am.  About an hour after you wake up you go back down for a morning nap that typically lasts 1-2 hours, you’re awake for about 3 hours, then you go back down for an afternoon nap that lasts about 3 hours.  About half of the time you will take a third cat nap in the evening while I cook dinner, but I think that is just your way of getting out of setting the table.  You love to nap with your binki but at night you sleep without it.

Special things that happened this past month included spending Fourth of July with the Boothe family, where you and Max enjoyed your favorite activity together: pool time!  We did some BBQ-ing and enjoyed watching you two in your matching red, white, and blue outfits.  You also continued in your travels to the corners of the country with our trip out to Wyoming for Uncle Nick and Aunt Gabby’s wedding reception.  We flew into Salt Lake, spent a couple of days with family, and enjoyed the festivities in Evanston, WY.  You did wonderfully on the plane, convincing your parents that an infant passport might not be such a bad idea after all!  After returning from Wyoming we spent a weekend in Baltimore, Maryland with the Stonemans (Aunt Dani, Chandler, Sirri, and soon-to-be Baby Tanner) and Schaefers (Auntie Michelle and her sweet husband Nate).  The last big event of the month was the release of your Daddy’s very first official film: Ice Age 4: Continental Drift.  Since you were born during the film’s production your name is in the credits under Daddy’s in the section called ‘Ice Age Babies’.  Daddy is so proud.

Can Can, you are such a joy.  Thank you for brightening my days.  I love you more today than I did yesterday and can’t wait until tomorrow.  Let’s have a dance party.

Forever,

Mommy