Four months plus two weeks update… but who’s counting

Garrett went to the doctor today for his 4 month checkup and things looked great. I was so thankful that he did well with his shots after all the screaming last time.  This time he cried for maybe 30 seconds and he was just fine!  Yay!  I’m sold on the sugar water theory.  He’s up to 16 lbs, so double his birth weight. He is now 26.5″ long- up 5.5″ from birth. That is the 90th percentile for height and 75th for weight. No wonder people always look shocked when that ask how old he and I tell them 4 months. His size combined with his alertness makes them think he is much older. He will stare intently and soak up every word of a conversation between people. He is a sociable baby, and will give people a grin pretty easily. If I had a grin as cute as these I’d hand them out pretty freely, too.

He loves to be tickled, and swaddled, although I think tickling comes as a package deal with the swaddling. Every night before bedtime we lay him on the bed and swaddle him up, and he just cackles like it is the funniest thing we’ve ever done. I asked the doctor today if we need to stop swaddling him soon and he said not if it makes him that happy. So we will just keep on wrapping our little burrito baby up until we can’t get our arms around him anymore. I hope his future college roommate won’t mind taking 5 minutes out of every evening to wrap him up in a size XXXL Miracle Blanket before bedtime.

There are big difference in so many areas since his three month update. He is babbling even more than before, and has recently discovered how to squeal. Like a high pitched, glass-shattering, only-dolphins-can-replicate-it squeal that was cute at first but gets old pretty quickly. I’m glad he’s branching out, but my eardrums are taking a beating some days. The best part about it is the funny face he makes while he’s in mid-squeal. Maybe we have a future Pavorati on our hands… who knows?

The squealing goes on….

and on…..

and on…..

and on……

and on…..

and on…..

and on…..

and on…..

and on…..

and on……

and on….

and on.

Lots and lots of squealing.

He is rolling over consistently from his belly to his back. We’re still working on getting him from his back to his belly. He likes the view better from his back, but who doesn’t, right? The biggest news around the here is that he is finally sleeping in his OWN BED in his OWN ROOM! YIPPEE!! He slept in either the pack-n-play or the swing in our bedroom for the first 4 months of his life. Then, weekend before last he had a sleep-over at Nana and Papa house. He slept in his crib at their house all night, so the next night I declared that I was evicting him from our bedroom and he was moving on up to the deluxe apartment in the sky. So he did, and has been there ever since. It is working out really well so far. I’m glad to have made the transition, although doing the stairs lugging a 16 lb squirmy baby isn’t the easiest thing I’ve done. Here’s his sleeping quarters, complete with the DIY wall letters that took me 3 months to hang. Better late than never, right?

After we got the go-ahead from his pediatrician, he got to eat solid foods for the very first time tonight. We started out with a jar of carrot, since it rhymes with Garrett. The best word I have to describe his reaction to the new meal is “perplexed.” He was neither for it nor against it, just kind of bewildered at this new taste and food sensation that was running across his tongue. Maybe once we get to the applesauce and tutti-frutti stage he will enjoy it more. Gotta trudge through all these yucky yellow and green veggies first, though.

He still hasn’t taken a real spin on the pontoon boat yet, mainly because Grandma freaks out every time I mentioned it and told me she’d babysit him while I go to the lake. So I gladly took her up on that offer and J and I headed down to the lake for our very first night alone as parents over Memorial Day weekend. He did really well on his first sleepover at Grandma’s, but our “alone-time” trip left something to be desired. We moved the pontoon boat from Lay Lake down to our lake house on a lake farther south, but not before we broke the winch strap and blew out a tire on Highway 145 in the process. I have deep sympathy for anyone who has to leave a boat parked on the side of the road to get a tire replaced. That was the 2nd time in my life I’ve had to do it, but this was the first time it was my boat and my responsibility. It’s not a pleasant experience. Now that the boat is parked safely in the boathouse I hope it can live there for a very, very long time. I’m hoping to take G out on the lake with us soon. Maybe over the 4th of July. He’s all ready whenever we do go out with a new life vest. J found this vest and I thought it was hilarious for our 4 month old to be a walking advertisement for “Ho Sports”. Poor kid.

We are still trying unsuccessfully to sell the bass boat. If you know of anyone looking for a boat, send them our way. In the meantime Garrett is practicing his used car salesman faces while pretending to drive it. He has a good future ahead of him, don’t you think? “$99 says we’ll beat your best deal, reeeegardless.”

We’ve celebrated J’s birthday, both the Grandpa’s birthdays, Mother’s Day and Father’s Day since my last update. Happy Mother’s Day, Grandma!

and Happy Father’s Day, Granddaddy!

It’s seems to be the year of the big cookie:

Garrett thinks the cookie looks much more appealing that an old dull jar of carrots. I don’t blame him.

In other food news, on Mother’s Day we went to visit Granny Carter and ate a sixteen pound standing rib roast cooked by Chef Uncle Dave. Here is the piece d’resistance:

Dave has been talking about making this standing rib roast for at least a year now, and finally we got to sample his masterpiece. It was a HUGE hunk of meat, and by the time the meal was over we were all rolling around the floor rubbing our bellies in gluttony and glee. I haven’t had a home cooked meal so good in a very long time. Thanks so much for your meal, Uncle Dave!! Here is J with his bib, ready to eat some smoked meat:

And the Chef making out with his meat:

Even Garrett was all bibbed up ready for some meat, but he’s still just stuck with carrots.

Later that day J and his dad installed my mother’s day gift- a new trolling motor for the pontoon boat. It’s got a wireless foot pedal so you can drive it from anywhere on the boat. Or the shore for that matter. It’s very cool.

Let’s see…. what else has happened this month? It seems to have been an action packed month, but I am 2 weeks late on writing this update so really it’s been 6 weeks of activities to catch you all up on. OH! I know what else happened. Poop. Lots and lots of poop. So much poop that we’ve had two massive blowouts recently. His poopoo cannon is working overtime these days. Time to move up to the size 3 Pampers. But Garrett doesn’t seem to mind a bit. He seems pretty darn happy to be marinating in a big pile of stinky poo. That’s one good advantage of having an easy going, albeit turd-filled, baby.

In sad news, we lost a family member recently. Chance had to be put down last week. He got to live out his last years swimming at the lake and lounging in the cool, shady bushes around Granny’s porch with Collette the cat. It was a great place for a golden retriever to retire. He was a wonderful, sweet, smart, STINKY and loveable dog, and we are all going to miss his thumping tail and unpleasant aroma when we go visit Granny Carter. Rest in peace, Chancey. We will miss you.