Goodbye Mommy...Hello Grammie!

This past Tuesday morning, Mommy went back to work.

At first, I was shocked, and exhibited signs of extreme disbelief...
And then I went through a period of withdrawal...

I even regressed a bit, and spent a few hours sucking my thumb...

I experienced some anger and frustration, too. Here's me pulling Mom's hair, hoping that would get her to stay home with me.

And of course, there were also episodes of sadness...
But then I found out that I didn't have to go to daycare. Instead, GRAMMIE WAS COMING TO TAKE CARE OF ME!!

And then all was right with the world again.

We are all SO thankful that Mommy was able to take the Fall semester off and spend the first 4-and-a-half months of my life at home with me, especially given all of my health issues early on. It was also wonderful to spend the past month with Daddy, who goes back to work tomorrow. I just love having professors for parents!! I sure will miss you guys during the day, but know that I'm in good hands with Grammie. Only 40 more days until Spring Break!

I really put my hand in my mouth this time...

You like my new party trick? I'm getting pretty close to being able to put my whole hand in my mouth. Sometimes I even do the trick so well that I gag myself.

How'd I get way over there?

I still haven't rolled over yet, either from my tummy to my back or from my back to my tummy. But one day, Mom put me in the middle of my jungle gym, went upstairs, and came back to find me like this...
Who needs to roll when you've got teleportation?

A shout out to the grandparents!

It has come to my attention that there are a number of my parents' friends' parents that have been reading my blog. Awesome. So here's a shout out to my adopted grandparents all across the country including Grandma Olberz, Grandma Welter, Grandpa Weinman, and Grandma and Grandpa Hill!! I think you are all pretty grand and I LOVE YA! :)

I'm WAY over 12 pounds!

At my 4 month check-up on Monday, I was 12 pounds plus a half of an ounce, to be exact. And, my height was 23.5 inches. That puts me at the 25th percentile for weight and height, just like I was at my 2-month appointment.

My head circumference was 15.5 inches, which is at the 10th percentile, a slight improvement from my 7th percentile measurement at 2 months of age. It's probably growing because Mom and Dad keep saying things like "you are the best baby ever!" and "you are SO sweet, SO cute, SO snuggly!" All the compliments are giving me a big head.

There they are!

When I got back to New York, I found my toes. Daddy says that we brought them with us to KY, but I strongly doubt it because I never saw them there! Anyway, they sure are fun to play with!

Lately, I've been enjoying putting all of my toys in my mouth. Mom keeps saying something about a "sensorimotor stage" of cognitive development. Whatever. All I know is that if it's good enough to be in my hands, it's good enough to be in my mouth.

At long last, I'm finally big enough to wear those reusable pocket diapers that Mom and Dad bought for me long before I was born. Good thing, too, because with all of the diapers I went through while I was on the antibiotics, I think I've already put my fair share of disposables into the landfills.

I've been growing like crazy! The last time I was weighed was on December 4th (when I went in for the VCUG) and I was 10 pounds, 3 ounces. I go in for my 4-month check-up (and shots!) this Monday, January 12th. How much do you think I'll weight then? Daddy thinks 12 pounds, 1 ounce; Gram thinks 12 pounds, 5 ounces; Mommy thinks 13 pounds even. Any other guesses?

My first Christmas...

...And my first trip to Kentucky! Well, that is, if you're only counting my out-of-the-womb trips.


Mommy, Daddy, and I are finally back in New York after a long, wonderful 2-week trip to Kentucky to celebrate Christmas and ring in the New Year with family and friends. With the car loaded with a kitty, a baby, and all of my "needs", we jetted out toward KY a day early to beat the noreaster headed our way and made the trip in 21 hours (it typically takes 14 hours, but apparently Mom and Dad don't usually stop every 2-3 hours to eat and change their diapers). It was exciting to get to see so many new places on the way. Here's a current list of all of the states that I've been to. I'm turning into quite the traveler! There are even rumors that I might get to go to England this summer, too!


States visited while in the womb:
New York - January 08
Massachusetts - February 08
Connecticut - April 08
Kentucky - May 08
Vermont - August 08
New Hampshire - August 08


States visited while out of the womb:
New York - September 08
Massachusetts - November 08
Pennsylvania - December 08
Maryland - December 08
West Virginia - December 08
Kentucky - December 08
Ohio - January 09

I was so excited that Mom and Dad had packed my Jungle Gym and my Mobile so I could feel more at home and get to play with my familiar friends. I just LOVE that monkey!! During my time in KY, I started grabbing it off of its hanging place on the Jungle Gym and putting it in my mouth. Mmmmm...monkeys taste good!

For some reason, I think this yellow creature is hilarious. I laughed out loud for the first time on the night on the 26th while watching this mobile friend go 'round and 'round.

I got some fun new toys, too. This ball flashes lights and plays music. I'm still not quite sure what to do with it, but for now it sure is fun to stare at!

Grammie made me this beautiful pink dress (with a matching blanket and booties!)

It was great to get to spend so much time with family! I was glad to get to meet so many of my cousins and aunts and uncles.

Here's a picture of "the girls" - Me with my cousins Clara (9) and Maggie (5)

I wish Clara lived closer so she could babysit me!

My cousin Tyler and I hit it off well, too. He may be 11 years older than me and a football player, but he also has long hair and I have an incredibly strong grip. HEHEHE!

During my time in KY, I discovered the television set. Let me tell you something - watching people play Guitar Hero for hours and hours into the night is REALLY exciting! Tyler, you will always be my Guitar Hero!!

My cousin Syndey (9) got me this puppet book of Horton Hears a Who. Sydney was even kind enough to read it to me! I sure hope Elli isn't jealous of my new elephant friend!
Sydney and me:I loved snuggling with my aunts!
And as always, HOORAH FOR GRANDPARENTS!

Here's me teaching Grammie the sign for "grammie" in ASL.
Gram sure knows how to make me smile! (And I think I know how to make her smile, too!)
It was great to get to meet my Grandpa Rawert. It turns out that we have a lot in common; for one thing, we both like taking naps!

Daddy and I got to spend a lot of quality time together, too!

For Christmas this year, I gave Mom one of the best gifts of all - the gift of dairy! Once we got to KY, Mom and Dad couldn't pass up the opportunity to get their hands (and mouths) on some Papa Johns Pizza. Four pieces of pizza and several cheese sticks later, Mom fed me the "danger milk" and everyone waited to see what would happen. And guess what? No screaming baby! That's right - I'm over my sensitivity to dairy now and so Mom can have milk, cheese, and butter again. And it was just in time for Christmas cookies! (Although my Aunt Monica had graciously made some dairy-free goodies for Mom).

Here's me pretending to eat a cookie. Oh, if only I had teeth...

On New Year's Eve, we spent time with some of Mom and Dad's friends from high school and I got to meet Baby Lily! Then, Mom, Dad, and I went to visit Grammie who was working at Walgreens that night.

I also got to meet some of Mom's friends from college while we were in town. After Mom and Jacqueline spent almost 2 hours sharing traumatic childbirth stories, we're pretty sure that we've scared Betsy and Ryan into never having kids. Sorry, guys. Just remember, it "usually isn't like that".
I did great on the trip back. We make the trek back to NY in one day (in 16 hours!) and only stopped 3 times. We had a wonderful time in KY and wish we could have seen even more friends and spent even more time with people. Merry Christmas and Happy 2009 to all of you!!!!