4 Months!

Our little man is now 4 months old. We have our well check on Friday and will post his stats then, but here's a little of what's going on in our little world at 4 months:

EAT:
It was a sad day when I packed up all his little 4 ounce infant bottles and moved to the big honkin 8 ouncers. He's now on a level 2 nipple and will take 4.5-5 ounces in a good 8-10 minutes. He is still eating about every 3 hours during the day and then we'll give him a 7 ounce bottle at bedtime. Caleb and I added it up the other day, as I feel  like my life is still consumed with his eating--whether it's pumping, making bottles, washing bottles, or nursing---Carter's eating consumes about 3 hours of the day which feels SO much longer. I call myself his "Dairy Queen" as now that I'm back at work my life seems even more so to revolve around milk :). He is so funny--he does this new thing where he FREAKS out if you take the bottle away or I switch sides while nursing. I mean, just screams You would think we've let the child starve,  but really it's <10 seconds before he gets it back. He still loves his food, and for that I'm grateful. He has been spitting up more lately--I've read that it's common with increased activity and sitting up, so he's been sportin' the bibs more often.

PLAY:
We also packed up his little playmat and replaced it with a jumper. My goodness, the boy is just a growing bean. He doesn't really like to be left on his back on the floor unless you're right there playing with him. Really, he just doesn't like to be left alone. He is our little social butterfly. Yesterday we put him in his swing so we could eat lunch and he cried....we then put his travel swing next to us and he was happy as a lark, just didn't want to be left alone! He's grasping for toys and putting EVERYTHING in his mouth. He's cooing so much more and sometimes will be in bed and I'll hear him just "talking" to his little animals on his mobile for 15 minutes before falling asleep. He now loves singing and will sometimes try to sing along. Some of his current favorites: "He's got the whole world in his hands" and "Skinny marinky dink" (haha...not sure how to spell that). He actually likes the bumbo now and doesn't really get tired, as he's pretty well established head control. He likes to look at everything going on around him and has a newfound interest in the TV--we've got to watch him close :). He's still not a huge fan of tummy time, but definitely is more tolerant. He's finally learned that he can put his head down and rest which really helps. I would say the most fun thing he's developed this past month is his laugh. LOVE it. Kisses on the belly, singing, or Daddy doing the "choo choo" with his arms gives us the big 'ol belly laugh that just melts my heart. He loves putting his hands in his mouth and will smack on those little fingers all.day.long. We attempt reading books before naptime, but he's not really interested at this point--very rarely will he look at the pictures, it's usually me pointing out the pictures and him looking at the fan :). He loves to be outside and with this beautiful weather recently we've been spending lots of time in blankets outside or on walks. It's also been nice with daylight savings, we take a family walk when Daddy gets home 2-3 nights/week which is fun.

SLEEP:
My goodness I feel like we've taken a few steps back in the sleep department this past month. Not sure if it's the teething or what, but ever since we got back from Austin (the first weekend of March!)  he has this thing where he will wake up after 3-4 hours. NOT cool. So, we do our bath + bottle (always now so I can make sure his tummy is filled up!) +bed between 7:30 and 8 and the little fella will not fight sleep at all for bedtime. He then wakes up anywhere between 10:30 and 12:30. I've tried just patting him, rocking him, but he just searches and searches for food. The good thing is, after this he will typically sleep a good 6-8 additional hours, so we do have our long stretch still--I would just prefer the long stretch after I've been asleep for more than 2 hours. He continues to have nights (ahem...Friday) where he just wants to wake up...oh, every HOUR...but, thankfully those are rare! We did switch him from his swaddler sleeper sack to his naptime swaddler in pajamas because we were having to maneuver him into the sleeper sack (on the tag it says up to 12 lbs! ha!). However, we have tried on multiple occasions to wean him from the swaddle and he's just not having it. Honestly, if I would really push it we  could probably do it--but, when he's so tired and I'm so tired, and I KNOW the only thing he needs to fall asleep is BOTH arms in the swaddle I just can't push through it. The other night he did get one arm out and fall back asleep without freaking out....so, I do say that there's a LITTLE progress! He's still taking quite a few naps (4-5/day) but most of them are in the 45 minute range with the occasional 1-2 hours thrown in. He's no longer really sleeping in the car unless it's over 40 minutes or so, so so long are the days when we can run an errand and I'll think "oh good, he'll fall asleep in the car". He does still fight sleep during naptime which I guess is just in his bones. He knows Mama isn't sleeping and is doing something fun so why should he have to sleep? Oh, so it begins....can't wait till he's 2 to see what this is like! He is our little "angel baby" when he sleeps and I do still find myself just starting at the video  monitor at night and watching him sleep....still not old :).

Whew, if you got through that, here are some pics:

Daddy teaching random boy at the park to fly a kite, anticipating the days when Carter will be able to join him!

Haha, we had to get him a different hat as Caleb said this hat was a "girly bonnet". He now sports a very BOY safari hat outside, but I love this pic at our community group park day.

He really did only wear this shirt twice (Sat before St Pattys and St Pattys) but I sure do have lots of pictures with it! The little guy chillin in the bumbo.

Admiring those squirrels in the tree out in the front yard.

We went to see Daddy at work and to watch the first round of Texas in the NCAA tournament (hence, all the orange). Daddy was proud to show him off to all of his work friends!

Great Nana and Burlie came to visit us!

Tummy time is always better when someone gets down on the floor with me!

Big eyes, sportin' the bib.

Babies at playgroup!

Carter: "Mom, quit taking my picture and get me off my tummy!"
Mom: "Carter, just roll over and you'll be off your tummy!"

Haha, LOVE this pic. Will and Carter ready for their lunch date!

Carter's first service project. If you look closely you can see his boy hat :).

 The many faces of Carter at 4 months:

Mimi came over to play, it was warm so we let him stay in his diaper for a while!

Not a great photo, but he's watching his FIRST (of many!) UT football games. Granted, it's the orange/white scrimmage but he just can't take his eyes of that TV!