4 Months Old.

For some reason it feels like when you've reached the 4 month milestone of your firstborn's life, you're finally, officially a parent.  Let me explain.  The first few months are just a whirlwind.

A whirlwind of emotions.

A whirlwind of diapers.

A whirlwind of family members coming over to your house constantly.

A whirlwind of figuring things out for the first time.

A whirlwind of bodily function discussions.

A whirlwind of hearing other people's opinions, suggestions, and experiences about raising a child.

And then somewhere along the way, the chaos and commotion settles.

And your newborn baby boy who once liked like this...



Turns into a strapping young lad that now looks like this...

A lot can change in four months, huh?

Remember when he used to be SO much smaller than that monkey?

He's the happiest kid I know.

And the sweetest.

I guess one could say he's "filled out in the face."  And take a look at those thunder thighs.  Delicious.

I guess it's like any major life milestone.  After a while...you find your new normal.  And four months in...you realize, nobody could even come close to knowing your baby as well as you do.  By this point you know what his noises mean.  Every laugh, cry and grunt means something-and when you hear them, you know what to do.  You know how he likes to be held, what will calm him down, and how to make him fall asleep.  And while you're still appreciative of all the help and advice you've gotten over the past months to help you settle into parenthood (and god knows we are beyond blessed with the support we have for Henry) you realize you've done it.  Somehow you've managed to get this little guy's life off to a rousing start.  And while Daddy Perks already desperately miss how little Buggy used to be, we are dripping in awe as we watch our son grow into a little man right before our very eyes.

SO-on with the 4-month update...

Quick Stats:

Height: 26 inches...90th Percentile.

Weight...16 lbs 4 oz...80th Percentile.

Head...45th Percentile.  (Yay! Your head is finally catching up with the rest of you!)

Nicknames: Buggy, Bungy, Bugaboo, Baby Buggy Boy, Hank, Hanky-Danky-Doo, Stinky-Dinky-Doo, PJ Pants, Green Jean (God only knows how he acquired those last 2 nicknames...I credit them fully to Daddy Perks.)

Dear Hanky-Danky-Doo,

Can you believe it you've been alive for 4 whole months?  It's quite an accomplishment.  Here's what you've been up to lately...

You are still such a good sleeper.  You L-O-V-E your crib.  When we put you to bed, you immediately go on your stomach and stick your little booty up in the air.  You sleep between 9 and 10 hours at a time now.  You usually go to sleep around 10 pm and wake up between 7 and 8 am.  Sometimes you wake up to eat in the morning, and then go right back to sleep for another couple of hours.

When you were about 3 1/2 months old, you started waking up about every 3 hours in the middle of the night and I knew you were ready for cereal.  The first night we gave you cereal you loved it.  In fact, you ate with a spoon like you'd been doing it for years.  That night you went to sleep and slept for nine hours straight.  Your little belly just needed a little extra something in it to help you get through the night.  Now you eat cereal once a day right before bedtime.  It's hilarious when we feed you because you get so mad if we don't have the spoon right there in front of your mouth as soon as you open it.  You get very impatient and don't like to wait in between bites, which results in you inhaling your food-a trait you most certainly inherited from Daddy.  When we first started feeding you cereal you would sit in your bumbo chair, but now you're a big boy and you sit in your high chair.

You're still on 100% breast milk and going strong.  You love nursing and so does Mommy.  Something tells me she's going to be very sad someday when you stop breastfeeding.  Not just because she'll miss the bonding time with you, but also because she'll have to stop having the appetite and eating habits similar to that of a pre-pubescent 12 year-old boy.  (Can I get an amen for the breastfeeder's diet Abby?!? I mean seriously-who doesn't love the idea of burning an extra 700-800 calories a day that doesn't involve lifting a finger while simultaneously feeding your baby for free?)

And that all breast milk diet seems to be doing a body good.  You. are. HUGE.  You're fitting into some of your 6-9 month clothes these days.  In fact, the mounting pile of clothes that no longer fit you is breaking Mommy's heart.  But don't let those thunder thighs and double chin deceive you-you're still pretty long 'n lean.

You are still a rolling machine these days.  But your latest trick is sitting up.  You sat up all by yourself for the first time on Christmas Day.  We actually got it on video.  You're getting better and better at it, but after a while your balance gets the best of you.  I think you're realizing that sitting up opens up a whole new world of opportunity when it comes to playing with all your toys.

Speaking of sitting up...you happened to be doing so when your pediatrician came in the examining room for your 4-month check-up the other day, and he said: "Well, my goodness Henry!  Aren't you advanced doing one of your 6-month milestones at your 4-month appointment.  You are such a show-off."  He said that you are extremely strong for your age and that I need to watch out because you'll probably be crawling before we know it.

Mimi got you an exersaucer for Christmas and you're obesessed.  In fact-when we put you in it for the first time, you gave us a look like we'd just laid $1 million dollars in front of you.  You didn't know what to do first-you swat and bang at all the different toys on it and you could bounce in that thing all day long and be happy.

You also found your voice sometime in the last month.  To put it simply-you yell all. the. time.  You think it's hilarious, and often times your yell turns into a giggle because you know you're being silly.  You are also starting to babble a lot, and seem to have all kinds of important things to say.  You love attention.  In fact-whenever you're in a room and it's a rare occasion where everyone's NOT looking at you, you tend to do this fake cough thing so that you can get everyone's attention.  Then when we are all looking at you again, you immediately get this "gotcha suckers" look on your face.  We fall for it every time.

You don't know a stranger.  You'll let anybody hold you, and you're so easy going.  You're also very well-behaved.  We can take you anywhere and you just go with the flow.  In fact-the other night, I took you to see Daddy do stand-up comedy in Columbus.  You were such a good listener and even polite to laugh at the other comedians jokes that weren't nearly as funny as Daddy's.  I was happy that you finally got to see your Daddy doing one of his favorite things-making people laugh.  He makes you laugh all the time.  He knows all your ticklish spots including your belly, neck and armpits.  I let him tickle you just long enough so that I can hear your belly laugh, but then I always come save you.

Daddy and I were looking back at pictures of you tonight, and were literally in awe of how much you've changed and grown in such a short amount of time.  You are just plain fabulous and we adore you.

Love,

Mama