Three-month update!

Hi all, I know you have been anxiously awaiting the results of my 3-month doctor's checkup, and here they are (drumroll please):  I weighed in at a respectable 12 pounds 7 ounces, and measured a whopping 25 inches!!  That puts me at the 75th and 100th percentiles for weight and height, respectively!  Yay, I'm tall!  Mommy is happy because now I can hopefully fit into the 6-month size clothes that she bought me!!

I also got an oral vaccine which tasted like fruit (from what I was told -- what do I know? I've never had fruit before!!  Only milk!!), which I swallowed.  Mommy wondered why I couldn't do the same for the milk that her and daddy keep trying to give to me in the bottle.  And yes, in case it wasn't clear, bottle feeding is actually a FAIL!  I am still refusing to take the bottle, and last Sunday when mommy and daddy left me with the sitter for 5 hours while they went house hunting, I just staged a hunger strike!  I knew that mommy would be home to feed me later on, so I just refused to take the bottle!  I wasn't cranky or anything, and wasn't in a bad mood from the strike....I just didn't feel like drinking milk from the bottle, is all.  They keep trying every day, but I really don't see the point, since mommy is always around!

Picture of the Day.

This is totally a candid of how I like to sleep these days (this photo is not doctored up at all by mommy and daddy):  blanket pulled completely over my head (don't worry grandparents -- it is a totally breathable muslin blanket), and with a pacifier (yes, I totally will take one now and keep it in my mouth -- sometimes I even fall asleep with the pacifier in my mouth!!).  I know, I'm such a funny baby!!

Yes, I'm under there somewhere, I swear!!  Mommy had to take this photo today
when she saw me asleep like this.  Actually, I was not totally asleep; I just wanted some
peace and quiet and privacy as I sucked on my pacifier in trying to get myself to sleep.
And yes, I always put myself to sleep nowadays; in fact, I don't really like it when
I am picked up and held these days when I am really sleepy!!!  Imagine that!!

No Title Needed.

Really?!  Does this really need a caption?  'Nuf said.  

Odds and Ends.

A few things:

1.  I can now semi-crawl and turn myself around in the crib when on my tummy!

2.  I often squeal in (seeming) delight, and today, I made a series of sounds that mommy swore sounded just like "hello" (which is what she says to me every morning).  She was shocked.  But I just looked nonchalant.

I can hold things now!!!  

3.  I can grasp and hold things in my hand when they are put there (I can't yet reach out to grasp things on my own, but just you wait!!!).

4.  For the last 3 of 5 nights, I have slept for 10-12 hour stretches at night straight with no wakings!!

V is for VICTORY!!!

Me, posing for the camera. 

Alright, lots to post and blog about!  Again, first things first, HAPPY BIRTHDAY to daddy!  He is OLD (more than 136 times older than me, wow!), but I love him.  He is the best at making funny faces and changing my diaper!  Plus, he is great because he celebrated his birthday by staying home and hanging out with me!  And he didn't mind even though I was super fussy at night and wouldn't go to sleep (again!) until 1130!!  (Ok, maybe he minded a little and was worn down towards the end, but still....what a trooper!)  So, a big MWAH to daddy!

In other news, the reason for the title of this post is because I (finally) took a bottle this weekend!!  It took a little bit of a novel position (conceived by daddy, who claimed he read about the technique somewhere) -- me sitting on his lap, facing outwards!!  who would have thought?! -- but I did drink some milk from a bottle!  It was sort of hard to tell how much I actually drank because mommy didn't put much milk in the bottle in the first place (she said that she was tired of wasting so much good milk from all the past failed attempts) and didn't really remember how much there was in the first place, but I definitely drank some!  And importantly, I didn't fuss and push the bottle out of my mouth like I did all the past times daddy tried to feed me with the bottle!  Regardless, mommy declared this a great victory.  Really, I was just holding out all those past times and waiting for 9/18 because I needed to have some sort of a gift for daddy on his birthday!!!  And a great gift it was (although probably more for mommy)!  I'm so thoughtful, I know!

 Ok, this is not where I usually sleep, but isn't it funny
that I'm sleeping with the grown ups?!
Here, I'm just keeping mommy company.

I will definitely be bigger by the time y'all next see me because I am going through a growth spurt now!  For the last two nights, I slept 12 hours straight (!!!!) each night, and then spent most of the day yesterday sleeping or looking sleepy.  Both daddy and mommy were so amazed at my power sleeping they kept coming to check on me just to make sure I was still breathing!  But, I love sleeping!!  (Ok, only sometimes.)  But when I commit to something, I do it right!  I don't know how long this spurt will last but I hope mommy and daddy enjoy it while they can!

Case in point: exhibit 1.

So my other big thing now (besides sleeping and rolling over, which I do a lot now, but only to my right, most of the time) is clasping my hands together.  I love doing it!  As soon as I am left to my own devices (either when mommy sits me up like an adult on the couch, or when I am getting changed, or when I am in the crib), I love to put my hands together!!  It's so much fun!!  I also like sucking on them or on my shirt (which I do every time I am getting changed)!!  Yay, me!

Me, relaxing after a long day.  With my socks off, of course.

Me, doing the superman with mommy.  Mommy says it is a great abs workout for her, in addition to my loving it.
We do this instead of the traditional tummy time sometimes because I now often fuss when put on my tummy.

 

Roly-poly time!!

It's been a rough few days, but I am finally BACK!  So I had a stretch of baby insomnia from Saturday through Tuesday, which made me very very cranky, and mommy and daddy very worried!  Basically, I refused to nap for more than 15-30 minutes, and no more than twice, starting Saturday, and overnight, I would only sleep 8-9 hours tops.  And by Tuesday morning, I was yawning nonstop, but refused to even be rocked to sleep in mommy's arms (which always works) -- I just had to keep my eyes open at all costs! So, mommy and daddy took me to the doctor's, where I got checked up, and got my first temperature taken .... you know where!!!  I did not enjoy it, I'll tell you that much!  In any event, the doctor declared me healthy and couldn't explain why I refused to sleep for so many days!  But, on my way back from the doctor's, I fell asleep in the pram, and since then have proceeded to get back to my old self!  I am only sleeping in 3-4 hour blocks at night now, which is a bit tiring for mommy, but hopefully I will be back to sleeping in 5-6 hour blocks again soon!  By the way, I got weighed at the doctor's, and as of Tuesday, I am now 11 pounds and 13 ounces -- yes, the doctor was also impressed that I managed to gain almost a pound in 2 weeks!  (psssst...let me tell you a secret, the secret to my rapid weight gain -- it's because I LOVE MILK!!!!)

Oh, and I took my first trip out of the state over the weekend!  Except it was to .... New Jersey!  When mommy first told me, I cried because I didn't want to go!  But, I ended up sleeping through most of it (especially all that driving through the tunnels, ugh!), so I guess it wasn't so bad!  Nevertheless, I am looking forward to my upcoming trip to Boston in a few weeks to see grandma Paula and grandpa Aubrey!  

I am now almost 3 months, and I am growing and developing every day.  As such, I thought it might be helpful to give you a list of all of my accomplishments to date:

See my owls?  I love looking at them!!  

1.  I can (and love) babbling and making lots of noises like "oh", "ow" with different intonations, e.g., I can say what sounds like "uh oh" and I can say "owl" when mommy or daddy says "owl" when looking at my picture of owls!  I know, I am a genius baby!!

2.  I can hold my head up and push off when on mommy's check or when mommy puts me on her shins for our daily Superman!! time.

3.  I can get myself to sleep (many of the time) while laying in my crib when I am sleepy.  (Mommy likes this because it saves her arms!)

4.  I can squeak and squeal in delight (most often occurring when I am looking at my owls, which I love love love!).

5.  I can fall asleep while hiccuping (sometimes).  This is an important skill considering I hiccup about twice a day!

6.  I can sit up on a couch for a minute or so like a grownup, and without toppling over (although I usually begin to slide or slouch to the side, but seriously, let's not be so demanding, shall we?)!

Me, rolled on my side.
While sucking some fingers.

7.  And as of this morning, I can roll over to my side!!  I was really excited when I did it, but for some reason, mommy said "uh oh" and looked a little nervous.  She is so weird!

Happy fall 2011!

Hooray for fall!  It is my first fall ever, but it is mommy's favorite season, and daddy loves PUMPKINS, so I imagine I am predisposed to liking it!  First things first:  happy anniversary to mommy and daddy!  They celebrated the happy occasion by going out to dinner (I don't know where they went, but I think the food was spicy....and there was definitely some....curry? from what I tasted in the MILK!), while I stayed in with my new babysitter.  I really like her, and she really has a soporific effect on me!!  I did cry a lot just before mommy left, which made mommy really reluctant and sad to leave (yes, I was crying when she left, and she was already 20 minutes late!!!), but I got over it soon thereafter.  As an anniversary gift to mommy and daddy, I slept from 730pm until 550am straight!  Woohoo for me!  And, you know, that was just a one-time gift, so I don't expect that I will be repeating that performance anytime soon.  I mean, you have to save that stuff for special occasions!!

I'm thinking about it.  Give me a minute.

Ok, done thinking; I love PUMPKINs!!

So, I have discovered that I quite love bath time!  Even if I am upset beforehand, as soon as I get in the tub, I quiet down and get very calm, and just look adoringly (and unblinkly!) at mommy.  She has gotten quite adept at bathing me -- maybe too adept -- my baths are usually over in just a few minutes, before I have even gotten to settle in and really enjoy myself!  That's probably why I always throw a crying fit within 15 seconds (yes, it is that exact, you can count it down next time if you don't believe me) of being removed from the tub!