December 8, 2009 . . .

The day that this sweet boy made me a momma!

Hayes Walker has changed my life in ways I never could have imagined.  I love my precious boy more than I ever knew I could love anyone.  He's a stinker, and every day brings new entertainment! 

I will be back soon with a twelve month update and posts about Hayes's birthday parties.  That's right - multiple parties!  We are starting this boy's birthdays off right be celebrating not just his birthday, but his birth WEEK!

Eleven Months

As you can see from this picture, at eleven months, Hayes has turned into a handful!
He is completely weaned from nursing.  At the beginning of October, we had gotten down to just the first thing in the morning feeding and the bedtime feeding.  We dropped the morning feeding first and then a couple of weeks later, in mid-October, we dropped the bedtime feeding.  The transition was really easy for both of us.  It made me a little sad, but it's also nice to have my body back! 

Hayes now takes six five-ounce bottle-feedings each day.  Sometimes he doesn't take every feeding, and lots of times, he doesn't take the entire five ounces.  He has a particularly hard time with the supper-time bottle. 

Hayes eats table food now.  He's done with baby food.  His favorite foods are bread, YoBaby yogurt, bananas, and cheese.  If we go out to eat, he likes grilled cheese.  He likes chicken spaghetti noodles, which is good because I can sneak in some veggies.  He does not like canned fruits at all; he spits them right out.  He doesn't like plain veggies, but he will eat them mixed into other foods.  He likes to feed himself.

Hayes's top front teeth both came in this month.  He doesn't seem to be all that bothered by teething, for which I am grateful!

Although we don't officially go back to the doctor until Hayes's 12 month check up in December, I snuck in a weight check when we did his flu shot.  On October 27, he weighed 16 pounds, 15 ounces, so he's gained about another pound since his 9 month check-up!

Hayes sleeps from 8 until 6 and usually doesn't wake up during the night.  We had a rough couple of weeks where he was waking up between 2 and 5 each night.  If we put him in bed with us, he would go right back to sleep, which was okay at 5, but having him in bed with us for up to 4 hours was rough.  So, we got tough!  We did a couple of nights of sleep training and he went back to being a good sleeper!

Hayes is still not a great napper.  His naps are random in length and as to when they happen.  He usually takes two naps a day and they usually happen before 1or 2.  He usually doesn't sleep for more than an hour and a half at a time and most of the time it's a lot shorter.

Hayes's favorite toys are his books and the little yellow shapes that go in his shape sorter.  He loves to crawl and pull up on things.  He loves the dishwasher, opening and closing drawers and cabinets, looking out the back door at Lulu, playing with cabinet handles, and pushing various items - his toy basket, his highchair, and the ottoman - around the living room and kitchen. 

Hayes is somewhat of a naughty little boy.  When we tell him no, he laughs and keeps doing whatever it is he wants to do.  We have our work cut out for us!

Ten Months

This has been a big month for Hayes!  We have had a lot of excitement and it has thrown us off our routine a bit. 

He had his 9 month check up on September 16.  He had a minor surgery scheduled for September 17, and at the beginning of the week, he started showing signs of a cold.  Because we were worried that he would not be able to have the anesthesia, we started him on his inhaler and got him into the doctor early that week.  We combined a follow-up to check his lungs, his 9 month appointment, and a little pre-op into one appointment.  The doctor cleared him and we headed to Little Rock the following day.

The good news was that in the two weeks between getting his tubes and getting this little cold, Hayes gained a pound!  When we went for his 9 month check-up, he weighed almost 16 pounds.  This means that he actually got back on the growth charts, although he is still down around the 3rd percentile.  The doctor gave us the go ahead to start table food and encouraged me to give him high-calorie foods to try and get his weight up; wouldn't it be nice if mama had the same weight issues as Hayes?!
Hayes has begun eating table food.  He eats breakfast and lunch at school and then supper with us.  His favorites are Yo Baby yogurt - banana and vanilla flavors, Kraft singles, mashed potatoes and gravy, avocado, carrots with brown sugar and butter, and anything that we are eating!  He still eats baby food when it's convenient, and his favorite flavor is prunes.  He can feed himself, and he has a pretty good pincer grip.

Hayes generally takes 5 ounce bottles every three hours.  However, this month, he has been not taking his entire bottle.  He goes through stages where for a few days he'll take his entire bottle very quickly and then for a couple of days he'll only take 2 or 3 ounces at a time.  We are making his bottles a little more potent by mixing 1 1/2 scoops of formula for every 2 ounces of water.  He can hold his own bottle.  The funniest thing is when he spins his bottle as he is eating.  For most of this month, he has still been nursing in the morning and at bedtime.  At the end of the month, we dropped the morning feeding, and he transitioned really well.

Hayes generally sleeps through the night, from 8 pm until 5 am.  Hayes does like to get up very early.  I've learned that he will go back to sleep for a couple of hours if we put him in our bed when he wakes up so early.  It's a habit I'm not crazy about, but I am okay with it for now, since it lets us all get a little more sleep.  He usually goes to sleep very easily.  If he doesn't, we just pull out our sleep training tactics, and it doesn't take long to get back on track.

Hayes is still not a great napper, and he is definitely not a consistent napper.  He always takes one nap, and sometimes two.  He usually does catnap in the car on the way to and from school.  At school, his naps range from 30 minutes to an hour and half.  There is no rhyme or reason to the timing or length of his naps.

Hayes is very vocal.  His favorite sound is a monkey-like noise and he likes to blow raspberries.  He "talks" a lot, usually "ma", "ba", and "da."  He looks at you very seriously and very clearly thinks that he is telling you something important.  I can't wait until he can really talk and see what all he has to say.

Hayes has learned what the word "no" means.  He usually looks at me like "I'm so cute, how can you be telling me no?" and then goes on to do whatever I'm telling him not to do.  We are afraid that he is going to be very naughty.

This month, Trent has had to be out of town a lot.  One week, Mimi came and stayed with us, and the next, we went to Mimi and G-Pa's house.  Hayes did not sleep well at their house!  After, his little surgery, Hayes got to skip school for a week.  He loved staying home with mama, and he definitely had a hard time adjusting back to school.  Hayes got to stay at the Peabody the night before his surgery.  It went much better than the last time we stayed in a hotel!  Grandma also came to visit.  We had so much fun with her!

Hayes's favorite toys are his books.  He also likes the little yellow shapes that go with is shape-sorter.

Hayes got his first two teeth this month.  He won't let you see them, but you can feel them.
Hayes has started having stranger anxiety.  I took him to my office one day and he cried when the secretaries talked to him.  Then our cousin Maddison came over to play with Hayes a couple of afternoons so that mama could work, and Hayes was not happy!  We hope this ends soon!

9 Months

I can't believe our sweet boy is nine months old.  We have had such a fun month as his little personality just becomes more and more lively!

Hayes still usually sleeps through the night - from 8:30 or so until 6 - unless he's not feeling well.  And sometimes he likes to give me an extra early wake-up call at 5 am.  We retired the swaddle when I found it loose in his crib one night.

He is not a great napper, much to the dismay of his momma and his teachers.  Every once in a while, he will nap for more than an hour, but some days, he only sleeps for 30 - 45 minutes in the morning and the same in the afternoon. 

Hayes eats at least one jar of baby food a day, and he has started eating puffs and Baby Mum-Mums.

Hayes is on the move now.  He started the month still doing the army crawl, but mastered a real crawl by the end.  He also learned how to pull up, although he's still a little shaky on that front.

He loves his baths and likes to splash and play with his measuring cups.

Hayes is totally over his playmat.  He likes to read, crawl around, and play in his Exersaucer. 

This month, Hayes has had a very active social life!  He attended his first engagement party.  That's right, Aunt Jen is getting married!  We are so excited.  He also went with Momma and Daddy to Aunt Kristi's birthday party at Jose's.  He loved all the karaoke.  We had my birthday party, and all of Hayes's friends came over to our house.  He attended baby Braxon's shower.  We can't wait to meet Braxon in October!  And he attended his first little friends' birthday party.  Anniston Reith turned 4 and Treyson Reith turned 2.  They had a carnival party, and Hayes had a blast in their porch swing.  Hayes attended his first Razorback football game.  He had so much fun at the Knight's tailgate and was such a good boy during the game.  Finally, he went to Fort Smith for Nana's birthday party.  We loved celebrating Nana!

Hayes has become an adventurer this month.  He escaped from him crib one night and we found him in the living room at 4:30 in the morning.  Crazy! 

He was sick for half the month.  He started with a cold, which turned into what we thought was a fever virus.  It ended up being an ear infection, which resulted in tubes. 

Since we've been to the doctor so much this month, we again found out that he was having trouble gaining weight.  We thought he had been packing on the pounds but when we took him in for his ear infection, we found out that he had not gained any weight since his 6 month check-up.  The doctor had us start giving him double-strength formula, and we hope that helps him catch up a bit.  So, he weighs right at 15 pounds and wears size 6-9 month clothes (although he can still fit into a few 3-6 month outfits!).

Clearly, it's been a busy month for old Hayes!  We hope the next month doesn't hold quite as much excitement!

Fun in the Sun!

In July, Hayes went to the beach - Seacrest Beach, Florida, to be specific.  He had such a fun time!

Hayes and Daddy at the ocean for the first time!

Hayes putting his toes in the water

Hayes trying out the sand for the first time

Hayes spent lots of time hanging out in his spiffy little tent . . .

and sleeping in his tent.

Rosemary Beach outside Trent's favorite restaurant - La Cocina

Hayes spent time with all of his favorite people - at the beach with Aunt Jen

At the beach with Mama and Daddy

On the porch with Grandma

Taking a nap with Will

Hayes liked swimming the pool much better than spending time at the beach.  He had a little float with a sunshade on it, and he liked floating around in that.  He loved to drink the pool water, which Mama did not like!

Hayes LOVED taking baths at the beach.  He's not such a fan at home, but he got to splash around in the kitchen sink and had the best time! 

We left for the beach on Friday, July 9.  Mapquest told us that going through Birmingham was the best route, so we decided to try it out.  Just days before we left, I found out that a Chuy's had opened in B'ham!  It goes without saying that we had to eat dinner there.  Hayes was not a fan of the car ride and after the two hour wait for a table, we were all about to lose it, but the creamy jalapeno dip made it all better!  That night, Hayes stayed in a hotel for the first time, and it did not go well.  He was supposed to sleep in his pack and play in the living room with Daddy, but after he woke up crying for what seemed like the 10th time, I just put him in bed with me and Grandma.  Then he slept! 

The next morning we got up and continued our trek to the beach.  We made it to Florida right about supper time.  Since it was my mom's birthday, she got to pick our dinner location.  We went straight to the Red Bar, and got in with no wait.  The BP oil spill was Florida's loss, but our gain!  We did not have to wait once at a restaurant all week, except for the last night at Stinky's Fish Camp.

After dinner, we got settled into our beach house.  Hayes got his own room - the master bedroom closet!  It sounds terrible, but it was a perfect place for him.  His pack and play fit great, it was dark, and it was quiet.  He slept great the entire week.

For the next 7 days, we relaxed at the beach and pool, slept, and ate!  We went to La Cocina (daddy's pick), Old Florida Fish House, Louis, Great Southern Cafe in Seaside, Seagrove Village Market Cafe, and Stinky's.  It was all so good!

The most exciting moment of our trip was meeting Erika from Urban Grace!  Jen and I have read her blog, as well as that of her sister, Darby, for several years.  Jen was brave and called her office in the middle of the week to see if we could drop by.  Her very sweet assistant let us know that she was swamped, which I completely understood.  Will and Trent had a hey day with that - saying "sure, she's got a lot of meetings!"  So, on Friday night, we went to Stinky's to eat dinner.  Trent dropped off me, Grandma, and Hayes.  As I was walking into the restaurant, I saw Erika's husband Chance holding her baby Sloane.  Although I was about to have a heart attack, I proceeded calmly to the hostess to give her our name.  Jen walked up and was about to flip out too.  We discussed strategy, got out the camera, and let Will take the lead.  We ended up visiting while we all waited for tables, and she is just as nice as we thought she would be!  Hayes and Sloane got to meet, and we are all now BFFs with plans for a lunchdate next summer!

Six Months

At six months, Hayes is just so much fun!  I can't believe how much more I love him every day.

He goes to bed around 8 pm and sleeps until 6 am.  For most of month six (and months four and five!), Hayes has not been sleeping well at all.  He has been getting up four to five times a night.  I feed him twice and give him his paci the other times.  He usually goes right back to sleep, but not always!  Mama was getting really tired, so we made a trip to see Dr. Mahan about sleep training.  She recommended Dr. Ferber's book, which I immediately went out and bought.  We saw results the first night!

Hayes eats every 2 1/2 to 3 hours during the day.  He takes 4 oz bottles and sometimes goes on strike against the bottle.  Shortening the time between his daytime feedings is part of a campaign to help him gain weight.

Has had round 4 with his ear infection, his first two visits to the ENT, and finally got it beat!

He gained a whole pound during the first half of the month!

Hayes loves to pat your face and likes to chew on his toes.  In fact, anything that is in his hands goes straight to his mouth.

He has really started rolling over from tummy to back.  When he does it, he smiles the whole time and looks for us to clap and cheer for him.

He can sit up with some support for quite a while and can sit on his own for very, very short periods.

He has started eating solids.  His first food was green peas, which was a very bad choice.  They made his tummy hurt!  Carrots went over much better.

He is really talking and experimenting with new sounds.  He primarily works on "m" and "b" sounds and says mama a lot!  Of course, he doens't know what he is saying.  I've also heard some "l" and "n" sounds here and there.

Hayes no longer likes his swing.  He still likes his play mat and he hangs out in his bouncy seat in the mornings while I get ready.  We do have to strap him in now because he is so wiggly!  He likes his floor mirror and small toys.  I got him a toy that stretches across his carseat and it helps keep him in his carseat when we go out to eat.

Happy Father's Day!

To Daddy and Grandpa, Hayes sayes Happy Father's Day!

Hayes and Parker

Here is a picture of Hayes and his buddy Parker.  Parker's mama Ashley and I put the boys down together on the blanket, and when we went back to check on them, they were holding hands!  So sweet!  Of course we weren't quick enough to get a picture of that, but this is pretty cute too.

Baby Dedication

On Mother's Day, we did Hayes's Dedication at church. 

Here we are on stage:

The church makes a slide for each baby with his or her name, the scriptural meaning of the name, and a verse that the parents choose for their child.  Hayes's verse is Zephaniah 3:17.  I have always liked this verse, and while I was pregnant, it seemed like this verse kept popping up in different places for us.  I told Trent that it was a sign that we were supposed to use it for the baby's verse. 

Hayes wore an adorable "Karen Minor original." She made it for her grandson Rhett to wear for his dedication. Rhett was originally going to be dedicated in February, but he got a tummy bug and his mommy had to reschedule his big day, so he had outgrown it by May. Because poor Hayes had such a hard time gaining weight between March and May, the outfit I had bought for him to be dedicated in was way too big! Lindsey was kind enough to let us borrow Rhett's ivory silk bubble suit! I loved that Hayes got to wear it. Karen is such a talented seamstress, and it was exciting that he got to wear such a special outfit.

The Walker fam afterwards

With Nana and Papa

Since it was Mother's Day and Trent's family was in town for the dedication, we had a joint Mother's Day celebration at my parents' house.  We had yummy chicken casserole from Spring Street and my mom and I cooked southern-style green beans (recipe courtesy of Erin P.), layered salad, rolls, spinach dip, creamed corn, and cheese ball.  It was all so good!  I ordered a cute cake from Shelby Lynn's to match the invitations we sent out for the party.

Happy Birthday Uncle Jarrett!

Hayes, Trent, and I were invited to Hayes's Uncle Jarrett's birthday party.  He turned 27 today!

The party was at Sassy's Red House, and Hayes was a pretty popular little guy.  He had a fun time flirting with all the girls!  Thanks for inviting us Jarrett!

Five Months

Hayes is now five months old and so much fun!  He is developing more and more of a little personality and it is so exciting to watch him change every day!

Hayes now eats every 2 1/2 hours during the day (part of our "bulking up" program) and wakes up twice to eat during the night.  I will be glad when I'm able to wean him off the nighttime feedings, but until we get his weight up, Dr. Mahan said I should continue to feed him at night.

Aside from waking to eat, Hayes usually wakes up at least two other times during the night.  Trent handles some of these, as it usually just requires us to stumble across the house to Hayes's room and give him his paci.  Sleep training is over - until he's up to a good weight.  Then, we will start working on it again.

Hayes goes to bed around 8 pm and gets up between 6 and 6:30 am.

Hayes takes two to four naps each day, ranging from 30 minutes to 2 hours.  He is totally inconsistent with his napping.

Hayes still sleeps in his swaddler, but we leave both of his arms out.

He recognizes people who are in "his circle."  This includes mama and daddy, Aunt Jen, Mimi, my dad, and his teachers.

Hayes still likes his bouncy seat, Bumbo seat, ocean playmat, and swing.  He hangs out in his bouncy seat each morning while I get ready.  He is able to really reach for and grab hold of the toys that hang down from the bouncy seat and playmat now.  He can grasp objects, and everything goes straight into his mouth now!

He found his feet!  He likes to hold onto them, which makes diaper changes a whole lot of fun, let me tell you!  He hasn't gotten them into his mouth yet.

Hayes has rolled over from his tummy to his back.  So far, it's just been a one time thing, but at least we know he can do it if he wants to!  He still rolls from his back to his side a lot, but he doesn't go on over to his tummy.  He hates tummy time so much that I don't really expect him to voluntarily roll to his tummy.
He has started laughing out loud a lot more, and he can blow raspberries.  This involves a lot of spit, so his face and shirt are always wet!

Hayes had his first sick day off from school.  The stomach bug went around his classroom, and his teacher thought he caught it.  I think he just had some tummy problems from his antibiotic and that she took his temperature right after his nap because when I got him home, we had no problems.  But he still had to stay home the next day too!

Hayes is on round 4 with his ear infection.  We thought he kept getting new infections, but now think that it is just one really bad one that took four rounds of antibiotics to clear up.
He has started sitting in high chairs when we go to restaurants.

He weighs 12 pounds 5 ounces.  This is right at the 3rd percentile.  We are working on getting him to gain more weight.  Obviously, since he hasn't put on any weight to speak of since his 4 month post, he is still in size 3-6 month clothes and size 1-2 diapers.

Fantastic New Little Business!

If you are looking for a cute little treat for yourself or someone else, look no further than nesting! 

My sister has created a business that indulges her love for gift-giving.  She carries a product by Dabney Lee that includes items like personalized notepads, coasters, paperweights, luggage/diaper bag tags, stickers, and more!  It's all very cute and very reasonably priced. 

Check out nesting here!

Rice Cereal

After his appointment with Dr. Mahan where we were informed that he had a double ear infection, Hayes was not very interested in nursing.  I decided to give him some rice cereal so that he would at least be getting something to eat.  He did pretty well with it, but we still ended up with a lot more of the cereal on the bib than in Hayes's tummy!

Ear Update & Putting on the Pounds

We had a big weekend planned the first week of May.  Hayes turned five months old, it was Mother's Day, and Hayes was being dedicated at church.  What I didn't plan for was yet another trip to the pediatrician for Hayes's ears!

On Friday night, Hayes was up a lot between 8 and 11 pm, so I knew his ears were bothering him again.  I ended up just letting him sleep in the swing so that his head would be elevated, and I slept on the sofa.  I called for an appointment as soon as it opened, and I was so glad to hear that we would be seeing Dr. Mahan.  We saw her for Hayes's first several well-child appointments, and I really like her.  She confirmed that both of his ears were infected.  She also was the first doctor who made any sense when it came to his weight.  This appointment was almost exactly two months after his first ear infection appointment, and during those two months, he really only gained two ounces.  It had me really worried because he had dropped below the 3rd percentile on weight.  She actually listened to me and helped me come up with a plan to get some weight on him. 

Dr. Mahan wanted us to come back in ten days to recheck his ears.  When we returned, she thought they still looked a little infected, so she wanted us to see an ENT.  He was able to get us in that day, and he gave us the good news that Hayes's ears actually were clear!  He said that we may still have to consider tubes if Hayes gets more ear infections in the fall, but for now, we aren't going to do them.

The best news of the day though was that Hayes gained one pound in those ten days!  I felt so much better about his weight.  He's still only in the 3rd percentile, but at least he is making progress.

High Chair

Hayes has started sitting in high chairs when we go out to eat now.  It makes life much easier; when we kept him in the carseat, all he wanted to do was get out.  Now, he can sit up, look around, and feel like he's part of everything.  He looks like such a big boy!

Ear Infection Strikes Again!

Trent was out of town this weekend, and Aunt Jen stayed with me and Hayes.  His teacher said that he was extra emotional on Friday afternoon, and then he slept really badly on Friday night.  He was up at 10:30 for about an hour and then every two hours after that!  At 5:30, I finally got up and put him in his swing, hoping that we could all get some sleep.  During the night, I didn't put it together, but once I woke up, I decided that we had another ear infection on our hands.  I made an appointment for Hayes and sure enough, his left ear is infected!  The doctor said that he's not quite ready for tubes yet, but he is on track for them if he keeps this up.

He has just not felt good at all yesterday and today.  He has been extra crabby and not eating well.  I guess that he has to suck really hard to nurse and it hurts his little ear.  If I give him ear drops, he does better at eating.  Today, he took several little catnaps and a marthon two and a half hour nap this afternoon.

I'm hoping that he sleeps better tonight!

Here is a sweet picture of him sleeping on his daddy!

Shades

Hayes got some sunglasses for the beach!  I think he likes them; when I put them on him, he didn't even act like there was anything on his face or that it had suddenly gotten darker.

Exersaucer Fun!

Hayes has finally gotten big enough to play in his exersaucer.  He really likes it!  We had tried putting him in it, but he kept falling over.  So one day when I went to pick him up at school, they had him in one and had just put a blanket in around his waist to keep him more upright.  His teacher said that he was haivng so much fun and enjoying the new view!

Big News!

Question:  What can get this reaction out of Kristi?

Answer:  A little something like this!

At lunch one Saturday, Erin surprised me and Kristi with fortune cookies and the fortune was for Hayes and Grayson!  They are going to have a new friend on October 25.  We couldn't be more thrilled for Erin and Dennis and can't wait to meet Tiny Terry! 

The Three Mamas!

Four Months!

I would say that Hayes's fourth month has been hard.  I've been back at work, he's had two ear infections, a respiratory virus, and has stopped being a good little sleeper.  But, he is still our sweet boy and we think he is the cutest kid on the planet!

A little bit about Hayes:

He still enjoys school, and he isn't the youngest one in his class anymore.

He still eat every 3 hours during the day

His bedtime has moved up to between 6:30 and 7 pm, which means that he is now waking up twice to eat - once around 10 or 11 pm and once sometime between 1 and 3 am.  The doctors told us at his 4 month checkup and at his appointment for his second ear infection that he is big enough to sleep through the night without eating, but they also told us that he's dropped a bit on the growth charts.  So, I've been trying to figure out how to balance those two things!  I figure he really is hungry because he really does eat when I feed him.  I'm going to try to start weaning him from the early morning feeding soon.

He has gotten in a bad little habit of waking up one or two other times between his nighttime feedings.  This started when he was sick, and we are working on sleep training to get him out of the habit.  Sleep training is not easy!
He still takes pretty good naps - usually one hour and a half or two hour nap in the middle of the day with shorter naps in the morning and afternoon.  But lately, he's been skipping the long middle of the day nap sometimes.  I don't like when this happens because he is ready for bed earlier and doesn't sleep as well.  

We've started trying to wean him from his swaddler blanket.  He is getting strong enough to almost break out of the velcro, and I worry that he might do it and then we'd have a loose blanket in his crib.  Right now, I put him down with one arm out, and next week, we'll start leaving both arms out.  I do think he likes this better.

He still likes his bouncy seat, Bumbo seat, ocean playmat, and swing.  He loves to look at the elephants that dangle from his swing and bouncy seat; he concentrates so hard on them!  Same thing with the toys that hang from his ocean playmat.

He has started liking his toys more - he likes rattles, books, and balls.
He still likes to lay on our bed and on the floor and look at ceiling fans.  He also kicks his head back in whatever direction the TV is.  He loves to watch TV, and we have to work really hard to keep him turned away from it.
He has noticed his feet.  He hasn't grabbed them yet or gotten them up to his mouth, but I can tell that he's thinking about it.

He loves to chew on his fingers.  He also loves his paci, but he can't get it into his mouth on his own yet.  So, if left to his own devices, he will go for the fingers!

He does not enjoy tummy time.  He can hold his head at a 90 degree angle, but he gets mad pretty quickly.  He gets so mad that he doesn't even try to turn over.  I think he is strong enough to do it though.

He can roll from his back to his side.  He hasn't figured out yet how to get on over to his tummy.
He had very good head control. 

He has started experimenting with his vocal volume.  He loves to yell.  We say that he is going to be a loudmouth like his Aunt Jen!
He has laughed out loud a few times. 

He appears to have a propensity for ear infections.  By four months, he had had two already!

He weighs 12 pounds 13 ounces and is 24 inches long.  He's right around the 15th percentile for height and weight.  At his appointment for his second ear infection two weeks before his four month well child visit, he weighed only 12 pounds 6 ounces, which is the 10th percentile.  This was down from the 25th percentile at his first ear infection appointment.  The doctor pointed this out and asked how my milk supply was holding up.  Even though he also said that the drop in weight gain could be due to his not feeling good, it made me feel like a bad mama!  But, at his 4 month checkup, the doctor said that he was growing really well and we didn't need to worry about anything! 
He is wearing size 3-6 month clothes and size 1-2 diapers. 

He is getting more and more fun everyday!  We can't wait to see what the next month brings!