Four Month Check-up

Dear Lily,

We have had quite a busy week. You had your 4 month old check-up. The doctor said you are in perfect health. Here are your stats:

Weight: 17lbs 9 oz (97.45% of growth percentile)

Length: 2' 1.5" (82.29% of growth percentile)

Head circumference: 16.5" (67.26% of growth percentile)

Translation: you are a VERY big and VERY healthy baby. The doctor also said you should be sleeping through the night by now (which you are not doing). We have started a little bit of sleep training and we may have already made some progress. We will have to see how the rest of the week goes. The doctor said that you are now big enough to start eating some solid foods. Yesterday you had your first taste of something other than milk. At first you were a little confused about what to do with that spoon but, you figured it out very quickly and seemed to really enjoy it!

Daddy took some video and will have to post it later. I think you actually got more of it in your mouth than on your bib. I should have known that you wouldn't have any problems learning how to do anything related to eating.

Love,

Mom

Late Night

Late night watching TV, I see. Maybe we need a curfew.

First swing

Lily,
This morning we went to the playground. Today was the first day you
were big enough to swing by yourself! You weren't too happy when I
told you that you can't put a rusty chain in your mouth.

Daily Lily: Second Thursday

Yay!! Daddy comes home tomorrow!

Daily Lily: Second Wednesday

All smiles this morning!

Daily Lily: Second Tuesday

Striking a pose at school.

Daily Lily: Second Monday

On a play date at Adin's house. He was nice to let you borrow some of
his super cool toys.

Stowaway

Dear Lily,
We had such a great weekend and I'm sad that I have to go back to
Washington DC for one more week.

I think you're sad too because I found you trying to stowaway in my
suitcase as I was packing it tonight.

You make me laugh. I'm going to miss you. See you Friday.

Tyler Arboretum

On Friday we visited the Tyler Arboretum with three of your friends from our Lankenau group.

They had a treehouse exhibit. Here is a picture of one of the super cool treehouses that we saw:

Since you hadn't napped the whole day, you spent the first half of the visit like this:

You woke up in plenty of time to play with your three boyfriends:

At one point things got a little silly. Here you are making googley eyes at Javier:

He responded to your googley eyes by holding your hand then stuffing the whole thing in his mouth.

You two started something because the next thing I knew Aiden had Gavin's hand in his mouth!

You are four silly babies! It was a wonderful outing! We can't wait to do it again!

Love,

Mom

At the Pool

Your first day at the pool was a success. The water was a little chilly but you didn't seem to mind at all. Someone let us borrow a little boat and you rode around in it like a little sea captain. You were adorable!

Update: 4 months

Dear Lily,

I can't believe you are already 4 months old! You are doing so much more these days. Your biggest accomplishment this month is that you learned how to roll over. You can roll over to your stomach when laying on your back. At this point, I'm not sure you are doing it on purpose. We have seen you get yourself in a sticky situation one or two times. Your new rolling over skill is somewhat disrupting your sleep. You are still a champ at putting yourself to sleep, although lately you are not staying asleep for very long. I hope this new pattern isn't permanent. You have also become much more adept at grasping objects and bringing them to your mouth. You seem to enjoy having a toy in your hand. You can now stand up when held and you are very very proud of yourself when you are standing up. You are working really hard at sitting up but don't quite have that skill down yet. You are giggling more these days. You have taken a liking to Scout. You seem very fascinated by her and sometimes you giggle when she surprises you. The other big news for this month is that you continue to grow. A lot. Last time we checked you were almost 17 pounds! You wear clothes sized for 6 to 9 month old babies. Sometimes I worry that you are growing too big too fast but everyone reassures me you are fine.

You are so much fun to be around. You hardly fuss at all these days. I can't wait to see what next month brings!

Love,

Mom

In Da Crib

Dear Lily,

You've learned to roll onto your tummy while sleeping and it is a source of great entertainment for Mommy and Daddy.* At some point during your morning nap today not only did you roll over - you managed to roll into the far side of your crib and had your arm through one of the slats. We thought you were asleep at first and watched you for a good minute. When we got closer we realized that you were wide awake and just hanging out. Your arm wasn't stuck - you just seemed to enjoy swinging it around outside your crib.

*(No Lilys were harmed in the making of this film.)

Tummy Time

Looking cute. As usual.

Recess

Dear Lily,

We took a family trip to the elementary school down the block to enjoy their playground.

You resemble the turtle you're riding. Except the turtle seems to be smiling more.

With a little help from Mommy you were swinging from the monkey bars.

Riding a concrete elephant with Daddy.

Looking uninterested in riding a concrete elephant with Daddy.

Bird's eye view.

On the swing with Mommy.

Love,

Dad

Daily Lily: Friday

First time at the pool. You LOVED the water then passed out. You are
sleeping in the cool breeze now. More photos to come.

Daily Lily: Thursday

Good morning Daddy! What cotton candy? I don't believe I have any idea
what you are talking about.

Daily Lily: Wednesday

Today Lily decided to wake up at 5am then fall back to sleep right
before it was time to get ready for school. You don't look too happy
to be awake.

Daily Lily: Tuesday

All smiles at school with Ms. Amy.

Outfit #3

These new diapers are UNACCEPTABLE!

So Proud!

So proud of yourself!

Roll Over!

Nap lasted 40 minutes because you seem to have learned how to roll youself over today! I think you got stuck!

Morning nap

Look Dad no swaddle!  We will see how long this nap lasts! (and yes we are already on onesie number two)

Daily Lily: Monday

Lily,
Daddy had to go out of town for two weeks! He is vey sad to be away
from you for so long. So, we are sending him a picture of you
everyday. Here you are taking your brand new jogging stroller on it's
first trip around the neighborhood. You are still a little small for
it but I'm sure you will grow into it in no time.

Where's Jelly!!!!

Dear Lily,

When you are upset we go through the usual routine to calm you down. Feeding, napping, book, plastic rings, mirror, pacifier, promises to get you a pony. When none of these work we go to our ace in the hole - our friend, Jelly.

Who is this Jelly? Well, Jelly is a screen saver that spins and swoops and swishes in synchronization to the beat of whatever music is playing. Oh, and he looks like a jellyfish.

You love to watch Jelly dance while Mommy and Daddy sing to you. It's not American Idol, but it's all we've got and you don't seem to mind. You look so mesmerized. Look at those eyes!

The effectiveness of Jelly is considerable but we have to use him sparingly because if you get bored of Jelly, all you have is us singing and that will never make anybody happy.

Love,

Dad

Couch Potato

Dear Lily,

Here you are having some nice couch time with Daddy. Lately you've been practicing sitting upright and are getting much better. We have to have our hands ready or you go tumbling face first into the cushion. And when that happens, we don't laugh at all...

"Uhhh, I think it's my turn to have the remote, father. I'm missing my soaps!"

Morning Book

Lily,
Last night you had a great night sleep (thank you!). Many mornings you
get special Daddy time while I get ready for work. Recently you have
become very interested in books. Here you are enjoying a book with
Daddy on a rainy morning. Thanks to Daddy you now know the difference
between an astronaut and a cosmonaut. Daddy seems to like adding a
little trivia when he reads a book to you. There will be a quiz later.
Don't worry it's multiple choice.
Love,
Mom

Zzzzzzzzz

Goodnight.

Good Morning!