{Penny Emerson: 4 Months}

I know 4 months isn't monumental or anything, but it feels like Penny has made leaps and bounds in the development area this month. January seemed like a really long month, but I had so much fun interacting with her each day. I'm making my own little baby book for her, but I want to keep it simple so I'm using the blog to document the little details. So this is your warning if you could care less about baby pictures and baby updates :)

Development:

-We're rolling over, people! Since Penny hates tummy time so much I was worried she would take forever to roll over and eventually crawl. One day I decided to try a little tummy time and she realized she had arms to support her. She pushed herself over on accident and now does it any time I put her on her tummy. So...essentially she still hates tummy time, ha! I'm just happy we went from this....

to this...

The girl loves it so much she wouldn't even stay on her tummy long enough for me to take a picture.

Here's a little video of her rolling over...and I sound like an idiot. I was having a proud parent moment :)

 

-She hates the pacifier, but loves to suck on her fingers.

-She found her voice and loves to use it! When she's really excited she stiffens up and squeals with delight.

-She also laughed for one of the first times when we were visiting Lanny and Jewel. Baby giggles are the best.

-I think we are beginning the teething process because she is drooling a ton and chewing on our fingers. She loves to chew on her giraffe.

-She is always trying to sit up now. I wouldn't be surprised if she sits up by herself this month. She hates to be laying down and likes when I sit her up so she can see what's going on.

-She found the feet. It's so funny to watch her stare at them in awe. 

Her quirks:

-She has the funniest expressions. I'm thankful for the iphone because it takes quick pictures so I'm able to capture them from time to time :) 

-She gets super dramatic when she's hungry and holds her hands over her face while she's eating. 

Our current favorites:

-We finally figured out how to use the sling successfully and she loves to be carried. It's better now that she can actually see what's going on. I am finding that it's way harder to actually do things successfully while I'm carrying because it takes twice as long. So I plan on using the carriers more when we are out and about this spring.

-She LOVES bath time. I take a bath with her and she loves to watch the water comes out of the faucet. We have a nightly routine where we take a bath and listen to the Rain for Roots album (it's amazing, EVERY mother should own it) and then I give her a massage before her last bottle. I think it's a good way for her to associate that it's bed time.

-Truman loves to read her a bible story and tuck her in. It warms my heart every time.

-She loves to be held so we do a lot of dancing around to records. That's probably my absolute favorite :)

-I try to give her some alone time each day so I set her in her crib, turn on some music and try to get a few things done. I find myself getting distracted a lot because she screams and squeals with the music. 

Trials:

-Lately she's going through this phase where she has a meltdown at 5pm sharp. Lots of screaming and crying. Truman will try every trick in the book to calm her down, but the second he hands her to me she stops. Not quite sure what that's about, but I think staying home with her has something to do with it. I love that she always wants mama, but I also don't want her to become clingy and not be able to leave my sight. It's something we're working on :)

Little things:

I love, love, love when she's eating/sleeping and grabs my hand. Usually I'm reading or doing something on the computer but it stops me dead in my tracks. Such a sweet moment.

It sounds like a cliche but each day seriously gets better and better. Truman and I have so much fun with her and we love getting to know her funny personality. On average she is so smiley and curious and it adds the perfect dynamic to our home. What a blessing she is.

Pen's 1 month picture:

4 month picture:

And a few more of my favorites...