Letter to a Four-Month Old on His Birthday (Belated)

You watched your first Superbowl today! I put you in a green and yellow shirt, so I decided you were a Green Bay Packer fan. And guess what? Your team won ;-)! What teams you will actually love? Your hometown team of the San Diego Chargers? Perhaps you'll embrace the Midwestern roots of your parents and cheer for the Minnesota Vikings. Either way, I'm sure you'll have an opinion. 

Today is exactly two days after your four-month birthday.You are so lovely to have around. Sometimes I just want to cuddle you and kiss you and fawn over you for hours. Sometimes I do just that!

Just this last week, you've acquired the coolest laugh. You laugh so hard sometimes when I'm giving you raspberries on your belly that you giggle and then squeal. Then, you wait for the next one. You bunch your hands together real tight and pull them into your chin. Sometimes you crack up so hard you cough!  I know you're my blood, because you've got a distinct flair for drama.

Everything goes in your mouth now. No matter what toy. Or stuffed animal. Or hand. If you get a hold of it, you're going to taste it. You take it in your hands real deliberate and then you look at it as you pull it towards your mouth. Your eyes go cross-eyed. Cutest. Thing. Ever. 

You and I have gotten into quite a rhythm these days. You like to wake up with your Daddy and hang out with him while he gets ready. I try to sleep that extra hour, so when you get placed back into bed with me all gooey-eyed and happy (you're so fun in the mornings), you and I can lay together for awhile and play.

You love to try to stand. I swear you'll be walking early, the way you love to stand. Most people are amazed at your age and head control and ability to put weight on your legs. I'm not surprised at your advanced abilities--I mean, you're a genius of course!

We still kind of suck in the nap department. Well, let me rephrase that--you get your 2-4 naps a day, but sometimes it feels like a constant battle. I am no longer sitting in the rocking chair and holding you while you nap (I would just put them laptop on my knees and type while you slept), so I consider THAT an advancement. However, you still prefer naps in your stroller, or lately, the best place for you to nap has been in the Ergo baby sling. I simply put you in there and walk around for a few minutes, and you're out like a light. You LOVE that thing--it almost always calms you.  

While you're not napping in my dream way (2-3 hour naps in your beautiful crib all by yourself), the plus side is you're extremely portable. I can take you anywhere and not worry about your naps or your schedule. You'll fall asleep anywhere as long as you're in the sling with me or in your Daddy's arms. This weekend, we visited friends in Del Mar and they kept commenting on how chill you were and easy-going on naps. I guess I should think of it more like that. (Side note: It was also your first time seeing the ocean!)

Our nighttime routine is pretty dialed in lately. Around 8:00 p.m., me & you & Daddy have family time. We try to read you a couple books if you're not too tired, and then we give you a bath. You love baths so much. You kick your legs and suck your fingers and look up at us and smile. Diego, our furry younger cat, loves family time too and you just stare at him, trying to figure out what he must be! 

After the bath, we wrap the swaddle blanket around (under your arms though) to keep you warm. Then we turn down the lights, and I nurse you. If you're not already sleeping at the end, your Daddy walks you around or rocks you until you're out! Your Daddy is like a sleep machine. Whenever you are rested on his chest, your eyes get really droopy. 

You sleep great during the night now, although I'm embarrassed to say we still use the stroller (we plan on changing that this month--a habit we started a month ago when we realized you rockstar slept in that thing). You usually only wake up once in the night to nurse. Your Daddy gets you out of your "bed" which is parked next to ours and brings you to me, and I fall asleep while you're nursing most of the time. When I wake up, sometimes hours have passed and I poke your Dad and he lovingly plucks you out and takes you to your nest. 

I love you more than words can say little baby of mine. Thank you for choosing us as your parents. We are muddling through this parenthood thing as best we can. I try not to get caught up in the details too much and just go with the flow. I figure that as long as we continue to love you with all our might, you'll get what you need.   

Here's the first video I've ever taken with my camera. Not a lot of action, but expect these to get better. He just kind of chills during this, but STILL, it's him, so um yeah it's awesome :-).