Mr. Independent

Micah has recently decided that he is very much OK with hanging out by himself. And I am SO OK with this!
We may put him under his play gym with his favorite star making music, but he will often continue to lay there when the music ends, rolling to the side and playing with the mat. Other times we put him down for a nap in another room only to hear him quietly rustling around in the crib or pack-in-play. I am very excited for this!
A couple of times he has even fallen asleep on the floor mat of his play gym. He just played until he got tired and then fell asleep! How blessed are we?! I LOVE this kid!!
HAHA, he is doing this exact thing while I am sitting here typing, as if he knows what I am saying about him and he again wants to prove what a great kid he is for us!

Outdoor Chores

Micah got the opportunity to help with more chores tonight, and this time, outside. He started by taking his first trip to Lowe's with daddy. Then he helped fix the lawn mower, helped mow the lawn, helped with tilling the soil and also with watering the grass. It was a very eventful evening for him. He cooed a lot, talked, laughed, smiled, played with his toes and sucked on his fingers a LOT...all signs that he was thoroughly enjoying himself!!

Scratch and Sniff

They are hard to resist, aren't they? We don't know what other fingers have been scratching them or what other noses have been pressed up against them. But we are not thinking about that, we are thinking about getting a good whiff of whatever scent is being advertised.
Ok, so what does this have to do with Micah? Nothing, sort of. I mean, I know he has a great sense of smell because he can smell me a mile away! And once he can smell me, he can't resist the urge to eat! And lately, the scratching part is becoming a lot more obvious. So he is not really scratching and sniffing, but he does scratch and he does sniff.
It seems within about the last week he has really become interested in his sense of touch. He is feeling things more, grabbing at the more, and he scratches a lot. It might be my arm, or the changing table, or one of his blankets, but scratching it is. Better make sure to keep his nails short!

Micah can TALK!!!!

OK, well, let me explain further...
He is really starting to make a lot of noise:) And if you really listen to some of the noises he makes, they might even sound like an actual word. Now, I know he has no idea what he is saying, but I like to pretend like I do! He is just over 4 months old now and already talking!!! HAHA. I think his "first word" was definitely mommy:)

a bad dream

I think Micah might have had a bad dream during his nap. A bad dream and flailing arms can often result in a good scratch:( Look at that sad boy!

Cleaning Duties

Since Micah has recently become so "grown up" I have decided that it is time he learns how to help clean the house. We started our lessons today, and made it through vacuuming and mopping. He was very willing to aid me in these things, not complaining once the whole time! I'm sure he is more into it than he looks, what do you think? Wonder what to do for our next lesson...

Big Boy Bed

Micah just turned 4 months, and I think he already looks older! HAHA
Micah also just spent his first full day and overnighter with grandma! And I think he acts older!! No, really. We got him back yesterday morning and he seemed older, seemed more aware of everything going on around him, he was in a better mood, he actually laughed! Yep! He laughed when Matt was tossing him in the air. We have been waiting for this day, and I sure hope it gets more regular because I LOVE baby laughs!
So besides knowing that we can send Micah to grandma when he needs a little TLC, we also know that we can send him there when we want him to learn a few things. For instance, Micah is amazing at falling asleep and taking naps all by himself. We kind of figured this out for the first time on Easter Sunday when we were at a friend's house and left him awake in his bed in a separate room and came back to check on him only to find that he had stayed awake for awhile before falling asleep on his own! AWEsome!
And this only got better when he was away from us for a day (I surprised Matt with a trip to watch the Phillies play in DC for the Nationals' home opener).


Since he got back from grandma's we have done all of his naps upstairs in his crib and he goes right to sleep and has lengthy naps, and he still slept great last night...why did it take us so long to try this?!
He is still so little in his crib, though. It's really cute to see him sleeping up there like a big boy!

If your baby is ever constipated...

Ok, let me start with a short background for this post. My son is almost 4 months old, and until recently has been fairly irregular when it comes to his bowel movements (even though I nurse him). The longest he has gone was 9 days (and we had to help him then) and often would not go but once a week. This seemed to make him quite uncomfortable after about day 5 or 6 and we always felt bad for him, and then when it did finally come out it was a huge blowout!! Funny and gross all at the same time. And then he would get really cheerful. I wonder why, right?!
So, I have recently realized that I have a new solution for him if this starts happening again. Amazingly for him, he has gone once or twice a day for the past 4 days (a record since just after he was born). But one thing I have noticed is when he goes that makes me chuckle.
Just a little bit ago I put him in his car seat in front of the TV (not something I do often nor do I recommend that it be a regular habit) so that he could be entertained, educated (Baby Einstein of course) and maybe even be lulled into a nap. I went about getting things done, but as we neared the end of this short video I heard something. Yes, if you are a mom, you know the something I am talking about. The all-too-familiar sound of the diaper being filled to capacity within about 2 seconds!
This is when I realized that the past 3 or 4 times we have put him in his seat and turned on Baby Einstein he has pooped! This has been over the course of a couple of weeks, but it seems that there is some connection. I don't know if it is the position of the seat, or the excitement that the video brings, or maybe the relaxation that comes with watching the video, but it brings it on.
So, if you ever have a constipated baby, before other medicines or uncomfortable things you might try, I recommend Baby Einstein to get the process moving.

I'm such a pro!

HAHA!
I am nothing of the sort, but it is a funny thought!
I do feel as though I am quickly learning what is most needed in any situation, especially pertaining to what I need to have on hand for Micah when I am out and about. And what I might need at each place and in each situation is often different, but I feel I am quickly grasping the ins and outs of this.
When he was first born, I would carry big bags with 2 or 3 of everything I would definitely need, plus anything I thought I might remotely need, as well anything I just wasn't sure about...thus, the big bag weighing me down on the opposite arm on which I am straining to carry to car seat!
So, this past Sunday I was in the "nursing mother's" room at church with a new mom of an 18 day old baby and I quickly realized this is probably what I looked like just a couple months ago (up until about just a few weeks ago!).
She had a huge changing pad and large (I mean large, like for a couch) blanket laid out on the floor for her son. She had a suitcase sized bad with other necessities (I did not see other stuff come out of it during our time together) as well as the car seat for the baby. I know it sometimes feels like I am carrying a million extra things "just in case" but I feel like I am getting better at knowing what I will really need vs. what I can live without or what I can find a sub for if the situation absolutely arises.
I think this is a part of being a new mom, but I think it is also just a part of where I am naturally at in life right now, which is learning to be a little more simplified and practical in the way I live life. I have just recently started a blog to record my thoughts about this journey. Visit me over here too.

Start Laughing Already!

Ok, I know I don't want to spend too much time and thought wishing for new things to happen because I know soon enough I will be wondering where all the years went, but, I really want Micah to laugh! He is SO close.
He is ticklish, that's for sure. I try whenever I change his diaper and have some bare skin to brush my fingernails over. He tenses up, he pulls his legs in, he opens his mouth real wide like he is going to belt out a big laugh, but he just holds his breath! It is kind of hilarious to watch, but I am really excited to hear him start laughing soon!! Let it out, Micah!