Four Months

It's hard to believe that another month has already come and gone. This past month Pat had a couple of 60+ hour work weeks and so Quinn and I spent one of those weeks in Walla Walla. It was nice to have some extra time at home with Grandma and Grandpa. They spoiled both of us. In addition, this past month Quinn's littly buddy Maxton James was born! We get to meet him in a few days and are so excited about that.

4 Month Stats:
Height: 2' 2'' (82% percentile)
Weight: 16 lb 2oz (71% percentile)
Head Circumference: 42.8 cm (61% percentile)

Quinn continues to grow and change each day. Some of Quinn's new habits and behaviors include:
• Holding toys
• Transfering toys from hand to hand
• Toys in mouth (everything in mouth!)
• Loud “talking”: He is exploring the use of his voice and is learning how to make all kinds of different sounds. I don't notice the variety of his sounds so much, but when he talks on the phone to Grandma she is amazed by the changes that she hears!
• “Shy” behavior: This is the cutest thing. He'll be flirtatious with the people who interact with him as I hold him. He'll give the biggest grins and giggles and will then quickly bury his head in my shoulder and pretend to be shy.
• Open mouth kisses: I am very excited for real kisses from Quinn, but for now I am perfectly happy with him opening his mouth at me as I go to kiss him.
• Games with Mommy:
1. "Bounce, bounce, bounce, boogie, boogie, boogie, PUSH!" This has been one of Quinn's favorite games this month. As he lays on the floor I bounce him vertically several times and then help him "booogie" by shaking his hips. Then he pushes off of my hands across his playmat (or floor... causing a little rugburn, whoops!). We'll have to get a video of this one because it's difficult to explain. Quinn loves it though! Trust me. :)
2. "Never shake a baby!" Quinn also loves it when I shake him above my head. I'm gentle, I promise! However, this doesn't make me feel any less ridiculous, knowing full-well how dangerous (violently) shaking a baby is.
3. Dipping!
• Mirrors/Books with baby faces: Quinn loves to look at babies. It doesn't matter if he's looking into the mirror at himself or at a book with babies, he grins and giggles (nearly) every time!
• Grabbing his feet: Quinn's favorite toys this month have undoutedly been his hands and most recently, his feet. He loves to grab and play with his feet which ultimately led to...
• Rolling over from back to tummy: As Quinn plays with his feet he rocks from side to side. He got up enough momentum one day last week that he rolled over from his back to his tummy. His rolling over slowed down a lot this past month and so I was thrilled to see him explore this new skill. He's been doing it quite often and even did it in his sleep one night, because when Pat went to grab him for his morning feeding he was on his tummy.
• Entertaining himself: For my sanity, this has been a remarkable milestone. I can lay Quinn on his playmat and he can entertain himself long enough for me to eat a bowl of cereal or straighten up a bit. It's also fun to just watch him play.
• Happy! Most importanty, Quinn continues to be such a happy baby (well, most of the time)!

As Quinn continues to grow, he is becoming less interested in lengthy naps. Lately, he's probably been averaging about 45 minutes per nap. Luckily, he tends to have about four of these each day. His pediatrician assured me that this was fine and that he's just got too much world to explore to sleep! I must admit he's been doing a pretty great job most nights. He's managed to sleep for 9-10 hours straight most nights for the past couple of weeks. I am prepared for this to change as he goes through teething!

Quinn continues to be such a joy in our lives. He is the center of our world, and as you can see, the littliest things that he does each day seem like monumetal achievements to Pat and me.





We love you Quinn and look forward to watching you continue to learn and grow!