Four Month Update

I'm four months old! Finally, life with me is starting to get easier. I'm a lot less fussy (though I still have my moments every now and then), I have a somewhat predictable routine, and I actually sleep at night. Not bad!

• I weigh 15 lbs 6 oz. and measure 24.5 inches long. 50th percentile for weight and 25th percentile for height!
• Developments: I'm much more aware of my surroundings and am always looking around. I notice Brady when he walks by and can track him across the room.  I also found my feet and love grabbing them whenever I'm lying on my back.
• I laugh! In addition to the constant smiles and coos, I will laugh if someone talks to me, especially if they repeat the same sound over and over. 
• I'm finally sleeping in my crib. Shortly after turning three months old, Mommy and Daddy kicked me out of their bedroom and moved me to my crib. But since they didn't want me waking up Kaitlyn, they let her sleep in their bed, thinking it would take about a week for me to be fully sleep trained. Well, it's been over a month and guess who's still sleeping between them? Sleep training has been pretty tough, and I'm still crying it out most nights. However...
• ...I sleep through the night (sometimes)! This is a huge development, although technically, sleeping through the night is defined as sleeping for five hours or more. Since Mommy and Daddy implemented a bedtime routine, I've been going to sleep around 7:30-8pm and am able to stay asleep until at least 4am (on a good night). On a bad night, I may wake up around 1am and then again at 4am. I usually go back down after the 4am feeding until 6 or 7am. Not bad!
• Routine: Eat, play sleep. That is pretty much my routine that repeats itself every four hours, give or take an hour. I'm not tied to any one schedule, so having this routine makes things at least a bit more predictable.
• Feeding: I don't like feeding from the bottle so am pretty much still exclusively breastfeeding. Good for Daddy who doesn't have to wake up at night. Not good for Mommy who has yet to spend more than four hours without me.
• Likes: my Exersaucer! Mommy can put me in there and leave me for up to twenty minutes until she starts to feel guilty for neglecting me. I also like chewing on everything, especially my hands, and am even starting to like baths now.
• Hates: naps in the crib. Although I sleep fine in my crib at night, I still prefer daytime naps in the car seat or on the fuzzy blanket on the couch.

The first thing people usually say when they see me is "look at that hair!" Yup, it's pretty crazy.

I love staring at this lion on my Exersaucer.

Colin's Newborn Photos

Finally, here are the final images from Colin's newborn photo shoot. We took these when he was eleven days old using the same photographer that shot Kaitlyn's newborn photos.

All images by Shirley Henderson Photography.

The photographer brought so many different baskets and props, I wanted to use them all. But Colin wouldn't cooperate. She needed a sleepy, relaxed baby in order to pose him properly, and Colin was awake and alert for a good portion of the shoot. So I didn't get as many basket poses as I would have liked. At least we got a couple of good portraits with his eyes open.

Kaitlyn also joined in for some sibling photos.

We had never seen Kaitlyn so happy to be in front of a camera. She usually hates getting her picture taken and never smiles like this for me. She really did charm the photographer!

Then some family and artistic portraits (he finally went back to sleep).

Finally, some naked sleeping photos.

Once I was put into this pose, the photographer started her "hat parade," which was basically putting on all these different hats and taking photos. 

The entire session took about four hours, with all the poses, outfit and prop changes. The photographer was very patient and brought everything with her. Our house was pretty much turned into a studio. Here's a behind-the-scenes look at the session.

It's amazing what the right props, professional camera, and some photo-editing can do!

Colin Rolls Over!

At 4 months, 2 days, Colin rolled over from his tummy to back! He had done it maybe twice before, but we thought they were by accident so we're not counting those times. On this morning, he rolled over consistently three times! I was able to capture the third time on video. It's a bit loud in the beginning and please excuse my obnoxious commentary - I got a little excited.

Summer Concert

San Mateo Central Park has been holding free summer concerts on Thursday nights, so we finally went to check it out. There were food stands from local restaurants and a band playing Top 40's and party hits. They were actually pretty good, and lots of people were up at the front dancing. We just sat in the back and enjoyed the warm evening. It was nice to be out on a weeknight - I just realized that we haven't done that in a while. Gotta love summer!

Colin is NOT happy.

First family of four selfie!

Kaitlyn really enjoyed the music. Here she is trying to dance with Colin to "Push It."

Apparently, she also likes Guns N Roses.

San Mateo County Fair

Another year, another visit to the County Fair. We went over a month ago, but these pics have been held hostage in my iPhone.

K loves her pony rides.

And her petting zoos.

That spotted one is a baby deer! Like Bambi.

And of course, the merry-go-round.

Fourth of July

Fourth of July this year was pretty chill. In the morning we headed to downtown Half Moon Bay to eat breakfast and watch their "old fashioned" Fourth of July Parade. I love parades! This parade wasn't very big and the participants walked very slowly, but I was still fascinated by it all. My favorite part was seeing the horses at the end. 

At night we went to a park in Foster City to watch the fireworks from afar. I had been talking about them all day. By the time the fireworks started I had gotten pretty cold and tired, but I managed to sit through the whole show and enjoyed snuggling with Mommy!

More Birthday Fun

As if my own birthday party weren't enough, the same day we had another birthday party to go to in the afternoon. My friend Caitlyn's party was at Color Me Mine in Menlo Park. It was my first visit there and I picked out a flying pony to paint. It takes a few days for them to bake the ceramics so we didn't get to go home with our projects. It was a fun-filled day and I can't wait to see how my pony came out!

I'm FOUR!