4 months old!

On his 4 month birthday, the Blueberry wishes everyone a Tiggerriffic Cyber Monday!

Developmental Growth Spurt (15-16 weeks)

As the Blueberry approaches his 4-month birthday I worry about falling too behind on recording those key developmental moments, especially as they seem to be happening faster and faster. Before I know it, he'll be sitting up, rolling over, walking, talking and going off to college. Okay, I exaggerate but you get my point.

A few weeks ago, the Blueberry started what's been termed the "4th month sleep regression." He was sleeping great. Not through the night, of course, but more or less from 930 p.m. - 6:30 a.m. with at least two naps during the day. Then it all went to hell. He began cluster feeding at night like it was a growth spurt but not in the ravenous manner of his 3-month spurt. It was clearly comfort nursing and he seemed almost afraid to sleep. This went on for several days running (though it seemed much longer at the time) and then was his usual self again. As it turns out, there are developmental "growth" spurts as well as physical ones. During these stages, baby learns a new skill. Depending upon how novel the new skill, it may scare the hell out of him as his whole world becomes upended. According to a book called The Wonder Weeks, there are 10 fussy stages which correspond to a child's development. The big upcoming boom is at 19 weeks, but the fussy stage that accompanies it begins somewhere between 14 and 17 weeks. At 15-16 weeks, the Blueberry clearly had already begun to work on these new skills.

He's able to grab objects much better than before--even those with strange shapes and unusual textures like Sophie the Giraffe.

He even swings things about.

He likes soft things like blankets and luvies and often appears to examine them. Yes, his mouth is often an integral part in the examination process.

He's still working on sucking his thumb--often shoving other fingers in his mouth or poking himself in the eye instead, but he's working on it.

He explores our faces, especially our noses and mouths.

Though his hand-eye coordination is still definitely a work in progress, he's definitely improving a little more each day.

Stay tuned...

1st Thanksgiving

Happy Black Friday! About ten years ago, my aunt and I began our tradition of early morning shopping on the day after Thanksgiving. It partly had to do with good deals on housewares, kitchenware, etc., and I was just beginning to outfit my own kitchen apartment. The other part was that there are generally great deals to be found. Every year since, we've hit the sales just before dawn, or lately, soon after dinner to find the best deals. This year the deals didn't seem that great so we actually won't be venturing to the stores this morning. However, big box retailers such as Walmart and Target started their sales last night so we did do a little shopping after dinner (and were home by midnight!). This year was a bit different as it was the first year I had toys front and center on my list. Plus, we're driving for our Christmas vacation so for once I was able to shop for gifts that weren't limited to the size of priority mail boxes. We didn't do too much damage--the Blueberry's only just about 4 months old, after all, and the deals weren't stupendous, but we did manage some good finds. With any luck, I'll be able to snag the rest of our gifts online, hopefully taking advantage of the Cyber Monday deals.

Moving on to the actual topic of this post...

Yesterday, the Blueberry celebrated his very first Thanksgiving. First, he marveled at a turkey that at 14 pounds was almost as big as he was. (In case you missed this week's weigh-in, he's topping the scales at 14 pounds, 14 ounces--officially double his birth weight!)

After helping out in the kitchen, the Blueberry just couldn't keep his eyes open during the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. Don't worry, Mommy woke him up in time to see Santa.

After a refreshing nap, the Blueberry got into the spirit of things with his improvised Thanksgiving outfit that I made using my Cricut machine.

Though the Blueberry's what I'm most thankful for, I was also very fortunate to spend the day with my auntie and husband. Family and yummy food are truly things to be grateful for year after year.

After all the excitement of cooking and watching the grownups eat, the Blueberry got a little down.

Or perhaps he's just thinking, "Mommy, haven't you taken enough pictures of me today?" Or maybe it's time to eat again. (Yup, that was probably it.)

We hope your Thanksgiving was filled with family, friends, and lots of yummies. In case you're curious what was on the menu, hop on over to the the food blog. Today it seems like everyone's sleeping in (or taking a morning nap in the case of the Blueberry). I'm contemplating what all to do with the turkey leftovers, though I just might have to take one of those naps too. Have a great day!

Marine Corps Birthday

On November 10th, the United States Marine Corps celebrated its 237th birthday. To honor the occasion, with my husband's help, the Blueberry got into the spirit of things.

First, he had to wear his baby camis! (Note: My husband was responsible for the hat.)

Next, we went to the National Marine Corps Museum...Apologies for the spareness of the captions but we're hitting the road this morning for the Blueberry's third road in four months! Yes, he's quite the little traveler. I figure we need to take advantage of his portability and good temper while it lasts. This trip it's just me, the Blueberry and his Auntie. Thus, my husband will get some undeserved peace and quiet with the house to himself.

Landing at Tarawa, I think.

A couple head shots. I tried to have him wear the helmut, but it was bigger than his entire head.

A King Armored Car first procured by the Marines in 1916 and built by a Detroit company. Love the classic wheels!

The Blueberry loves track lighting. Sure, the exhibits lifelike and very detailed but that couldn't top the exciting lights.

Hello, hello?
I see you.

Check back for more pictures from our road trip.

Weekly Weigh-in

14 pounds, 6 ounces! That's nearly double his birth weight. Good job growing, little guy!


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Learning to look

Towards the completion of the required "core" courses of my undergrad education I took an art history course. I was completely befuddled through most of the quarter since I have little interest in art, however, I remember that one of the texts was entitled "Learning to Look," which is the perfect heading for the topic of this post.

In preparing for the Blueberry's arrival, I was anxious to provide appropriate visual stimulation. I read that newborns prefer high contrast images, particularly in black and white, shortly followed by bright primary colors. Here are a few items in the Blueberry's gear which aim to meet this need.

I found this mobile online at Walmart.com. I wanted something somewhat cute rather than just black and white dots, which is why I avoided the popular Wimmer Ferguson model. Since the Blueberry's room is jungle-themed, zebras fit perfectly. I removed the pink hearts which came with it and substituted black and white crochet balls that I'd made. (Blueberry at 5 weeks)

Grandma found this for the Blueberry. It's meant to attach to the crib like a bumper but there it might pose a suffocation risk so he enjoys it as a book. Now that he's bigger, we've hung it under the crib where he can see it from his play mat on the floor.(Blueberry at 4 weeks

A few of his favorite books:

It's very important the he learn to recognize bears. :)

These little books from Usborne are perfect to fit in the diaper bag.

A few toys by Sassy. When he was first introduced to the rings, he was captivated by the large polka dot ball and would follow it with his eyes. Now he grabs for both toys, sometimes holding them all by himself.

Today's Election

The Blueberry's been pooping up a storm today. (He's pooping for the third or fourth time of the day as I write this.) I strongly suspect it's some sort of commentary on today's election.

Here's his second outfit of the day:

Here's the third:


Note: His diapers aren't exploding, Mommy still hasn't gotten the hang of preventing the Blueberry from somehow sticking a body part in the poopy diaper or rubbing his poop-covered nether region on his outfit before the poop is wiped away. It's a learning process.

Happy Election Day!

Weekly Weigh-In

Not a huge gain from last week, but still growing strong at 13 pounds, 13 ounces.

Baby Tug 'O War

If you follow me on Facebook, you already saw the Blueberry and I playing tug o' war on Friday.

In case you were wondering, he won.

He also plays with Daddy.

Apparently, it's more of a contest. But I don't think the Blueberry's really trying.

Good Sleeper

The Blueberry is a really good sleeper (at least most of the time). While he doesn't yet sleep through the night, ever since he was five or six weeks old, he has slept in large blocks of time (usually 3-4 hours) at night so mommy can get enough sleep to function too. He even occasionally tries to let Mommy sleep in after he wakes up and may wiggle around and talk to himself for up to an hour before wailing for attention.

This morning might just top all that--my baby put himself back to sleep! All by himself!

This is how it happened: My husband isn't the quietest person when getting ready for work in the morning. He also seems to stomp whenever he walks, although that may be more the flooring than his lack of grace. He also often peers a bit too closely at the sleeping baby. As my husband was getting dressed this morning, the Blueberry woke up. Eyes wide open and wiggling all about, he was definitely awake. Since I was puttering about in the kitchen (watching him on the monitor, of course), I decided to let him be until he cried. About 15-20 minutes later, he went back to sleep! It's now been over an hour and he's still sleeping like a baby.