now that he is four months old...

Yes – it is time for another one of these very rewarding and yet very depressing posts. Rewarding in that we have another month of parenthood under our belts; depressing in that our sweet boy is another month older. Yes – Ammon turned four months old yesterday. It’s true. But you don’t have to take my word for it. Here it all is in black and white:

He LOVES: to be held – when his daddy comes home – to be sung to – his changing table (yes, he still likes this for some strange reason…) – books – dogs – his Horton elephant – to be bounced… hard and fast – his swing... cranked up as fast as it will go – to be “super-boy” (i.e.: held up high in the air) – to “stand” on your lap – to “sit” on your lap or on the floor – for you to blow in his face – to blow bubbles – zerberts – to snuggle – to be outside – to eat – to watch others eat, while having a look of longing on his face (we think that he is going to be a bit of a foodie) – tummy-time on the floor – Fraggle Rock (especially Wembley, Junior Gorg and Madame Trash Heap) – Sesame Street (especially Big Bird, Bert and Count) – for that matter, anything that is on television – music – to dance – his Great-Aunt Kaye’s house (this has been newly discovered) – to talk – his family

He HATES: to tell you the truth… we couldn’t really think of anything. Surprise! While he does get tired of some things, I wouldn’t say that he completely dislikes anything at this point in his young life. He is beginning to enjoy bath time a little bit more – he is beginning to tolerate his car seat a little bit more – he is beginning to go down for naps and bed better. I'll just say it... he is growing up.

Ammon continues to find great joy in “pouting for laughs” – I don’t think that this will ever change. He enjoys vibrating his tongue while blowing bubbles – causing him to spit and make a very fun noise. His new "thing" is to rub his face with his blanket (or any cloth item) when he is tired - it puts him to sleep. He now arches his back when he is offered something that he does not want – like his bink or bedtime – causing him to look something like a parenthesis. He continues to babble and giggle for most of the day. He is sleeping so much better – taking fairly good naps during the day and, on most days, sleeping through the night. He is trying very hard to roll from his back to his tummy. He mimics most faces and sounds. When on his tummy, he still scoots backwards with his arms – he also gets his knees up under him and tries very hard to scoot forward. He loves to read books – actually getting upset when his books are put away. He puts everything in his mouth.

He still never ceases to amaze us. We always knew that he would be adorably cute and do endearing things – but never in our wildest dreams would we have thought that he would be this charming. Like always, the most important thing is that he is happy and healthy – growing more each day.

Ammon’s four-month appointment was also yesterday:

Stats: 11 pounds 10 ounces, 24 inches
Dr. Brown said that he was very impressed with how well Ammon is developing. He is on the smaller side (not a surprise since his mom and dad were, and are, small) – but is growing well, and is very strong. He is growing in length more rapidly than in weight.

Honestly, Ammon had a more difficult time with this appointment than with the last. However, he did as well as could be expected – especially since he had to get his four-month shots… which his mom had forgotten about. Luckily, I had some Tylenol in my bag, but it wasn’t in his system in time. He was already mad when he received his oral vaccine – and ended up choking on it. As I was by myself this time, I had to assist in holding him down for his four shots. Because Ammon is so strong, the nurse and I had a very difficult time keeping him pinned down long enough for her to do what she needed to and get Band-Aids on his legs. I couldn’t even finish getting him dressed to go home. So sad. I felt terrible about forgetting about his shots, but was proud of myself for only getting a little teary eyed. I was even prouder of Ammon – for even though he was a little difficult, he was still such a big, brave boy.

Ammon didn’t seem to have the same amount of swelling with this round of shots, but he has still had a slight fever since yesterday afternoon. We have been indulging in some “not usuallys”, like no bath, lots of movies and no real structure to the day. We have been doing lots of cuddling – and I think that Ammon enjoyed being a “true boy” – being completely dirty and running around in just his diaper. We hope he will be back to his normal self again very soon. His mom is ready to be back to a “normal” routine. We’re all ready to have some fun… real soon.

Note: My normal monthly photo shoot has just not happened. Stay tuned for the latest pictures of the most handsome man.