Gummy Bear went in for his 4 month checkup at the beginning of November, and here are the specs:
He's about 25.5 inches tall, 63%; 15.2 pounds, 41%; and his head is 43 centimeters, 86%. BMI is 27%. He has a big head! He must be as smart as his daddy!
Gummy Bear is turning into such a goofball. He is starting to get excited over seeing certain toys over other toys; right now it seems like he loves the stuffed bunny rattle that came with our baby swing, and the elephant rattle that my mom bought him. He also is a pro at finding (and sucking/chewing on) the tags of all his toys. He will sit there and suck on the tags for forever! He still loves bathtime, and now that he kicks his feet when he's excited, it means that I often get wet while I'm bathing him!
Speaking of putting things in his mouth... if it touches his palm, he grabs it and tries so hard to get it into his mouth! We're talking EVERYTHING! His feet, his burp rag, my hair, his toys... He'll get something close to his mouth and drool and lick it until it's soaked! Then we just trade it out for a fresh one... sometimes I'll just let him chew on a burp rag, because it's easier to clean up!
The goober also loves to be upright. When he's sitting down, if he wants to sit completely upright but is stuck in a reclining position, he puts his chin to his chest and tries so hard to sit up! It's so funny to watch. He also adores standing, probably because he can see everything, and more people can see him... which means he gets more attention. He LOVES attention and definitely knows how to get it! He's very social, and smiles and smiles when you get up in his face and make faces and noises at him.
(He's sitting in my lap right now, putting his hands on the back of mine as I type and trying to grab my fingers as they fly across the keys. I love this little guy!!)
He hasn't quite figured out how to giggle yet (although he's really close!). We blow raspberries on his tummy and goose him and make faces... He soaks up every minute! He only holds his bottle when he sees it and I'm not giving it to him fast enough, and then he's only grabbing it to put in his mouth like his toys. Otherwise I guess that's Mom's job! I've replaced one of his evening feedings with solids, I just stuff him silly with oatmeal or rice, or bananas, pears, peaches, or apples, and he's been sleeping (mostly) through the night (which is A-MAZING).
He's figured out how to roll over, and very recently (about 4.5 months-- today actually) he's started rolling more than once. Not in succession, but enough in about five minutes that I have to stop cooking dinner and move him away from the books, or that stack of papers, or Husband Man's MTG cards... When he is on his tummy, sometimes he'll put his face down on the ground and stick his rear in the air, sort of making an A with his body (not a very tall one, but you get the picture). Oftentimes he scootches forward, so he's sort of "crawling" but not really (and it doesn't look very intentional, either! Hahaha).
(I've since put him on the floor while I finish writing this, and he's rolling everywhere! We are in trouble now! That will make it harder to keep him from licking the carpet!!)
He also has started laying on his tummy when he sleeps, occasionally. I've discovered (well, Grandma S discovered) that he loves to sleep on his side, and usually he ends up on his back again. If he wakes up in the middle of the night, sometimes I'll hear him moving around, eating his blankets and scratching at the sides of the pack 'n' play, eventually ending up on his side again or on his tummy.
One of my all-time favorite things is to hear and/or watch him sucking in his sleep. If his mouth is open you can see his tongue roll up, just like a little puppy, and his jaw moves up and down and you can hear him smacking in his sleep... I just think it's so cute! The other cute, puppy-like thing he does-- he sticks something in his mouth and bites down on it, and then he looks around with it hanging out of his mouth!
Did I mention that he LOVES attention? He woos all the ladies, regardless of where we are. He smiles at the checkout ladies in Walmart, who go out of their way to say hello while we're in the self-checkout lanes. He flirts with the women at church, as well as the Sister Mishes. He has all of his grandparents, and all his aunts and uncles, wrapped around all his little fingers and toes-- all he has to do is flirt with his victim, and smile and grin, and 9.5 times out of ten they pick him up.
Of course, Mama is still his favorite. If Husband Man is holding him and he hears my voice, he cranes his head around, trying to see me. If he can see me, sometimes he'll whine to be pulled out of the carseat or to be picked up... but if I move out of his sight and don't say anything to him then he eventually stops. The chiropractor checked out his back and GB started crying halfway through, and when the chiro tried to distract him, GB just stared at me and whimpered. Still a goober!
He's still a good baby, too. We traveled to Utah, and even though we spent three (probably more like four or five) days in the car, he did pretty well, and only cried close to the end. I'm sure it helped that two of his aunts and Grandma S were playing with him the entire time... But he also endured the carseat while we made trips to move the last of our stuff from our old apartment, and he sits through church without making a peep (except in excitement). We still love having him in our home, and I love watching him grow and develop every day!
