Four Months Old

We went to the doctor this morning for Gretchen’s four month check-up. We are happy to report she is doing wonderful. She is 25 ¾ inches and 15 lbs 8 oz. That puts her in the 95% for height and the 90% for weight. Dr. Tumma said essentially she is the size of the average 6 month old.

Developmentally she is right on track as well. She has been rolling over occasionally for a while now. In the last week and a half she has started doing it a lot more and she no longer gets her one arm caught underneath herself. She is also smiling and talking with people other than Nathan and myself. She has developed some favorite toys and loves to grab them and put them in her mouth.

As far as sleep goes she sleeps from 7:30pm to 7am with only one waking at night for food. As you know naps have always been a struggle, but we have started to see progress. She generally takes three naps a day totaling three hours (sometimes more if I am lucky.) I am hoping now that we are back from our big road trip, lying down for naps will become easier for her and she will start to nap for longer periods.

Grandma's House is Fun!

First you read the music.

Then you make sure your audience is watching.

Then you play, with a little help from mommy.

I decided I like the jumparoo! Mommy and Daddy need to put mine together at home.

Even though I am on vacation, I have to do tummy time.

Two Quick Stories

Story number one:

Nathan and I have an agreement. I write all thank you notes and address them. He has to lick them and pay for postage. I know I am a little fanatical about getting out thank you notes in a timely manner. So after Gretchens baptism on the sixth, I sat down that evening to write them out. The next day I handed them off to Nathan to lick. This is not his favorite job, but it is our deal. So as he looks at the pile, he notices Gretchen drooling in her swing. (Most of you see where this is going.) Over the next several minutes Nathan dabs his finger across Gretchen’s chin, picks up the drool, and then wets the envelope with it. So if you received one of our thank you notes recently, know that it was closed with genuine Gretchen drool!

Story number two:

Most of the time when I get black and blue marks on my arms and legs and have no idea how they got there, it means that I am just clumsy. I do have a black and blue mark on my cheek that is the exception. The other day I was holding Gretchen and she had woken up from another short nap. I had proped her up on my shoulder so she could look out the window. She turned her head and started licking my cheek. I thought it was cute. Then she latched on and started trying to get my cheek to make milk! Well, she did not get what she wanted. I on the other hand was left with quite the black and blue mark.

Baby Cousins & Bath Time

Here is Gretchen with her cousin Amayah.

Gretchen loves bath time. She is always trying to catch water in her mouth when her use the sprayer to clean the soap off. I think once she can sit up, she will not want to get out of the tub.

Here are a few of the happy camper after her bath. Notice mom's pedicure in the second shot.

More baptism dres pictures

I had forgotten we took a few photos in the dress before we left the house...here they are.

Cousins

Nathan thinks this picture looks like Lauren punching Gretchen in the head. I think it looks like Lauren thinking "this is my good buddy!"

Here is Gretchen with her two cousins Anna and Lauren.

Shawn took Anna to a children's museum. Nathan offered to watch both babies, while the mommies went for pedicures. He took these pictures while we were gone. He could handle twins!

Guilty Pleasure

For the past two weeks Nathan and I have been watching “The Baby Borrowers.” This show has become quite the guilty pleasure for me. It follows five teenage couples who think they are ready to have children. They get a chance to play house with a baby and one or two toddlers. The show is hilarious! Yes, I watch the show in order to laugh at the struggling teenagers. They think they are ready to be adults, yet almost throw up and argue over who has to change the diapers.

Baptism photo's

More Baptism photo's

Daddy and Gretchen

A few close ups of the dress.

Our little family at the party afterward.

Gretchen with her cake. Please notice her halo made of taco dip.