Don’t ask me why I’m smiling at 2:36 in the morning. I should be sleeping, crying, or cranky. But I’m smiling and happy to have my diaper changed. Maybe I remembered that today is Daddy’s day off from work and I wanted to get a head start on all the fun we’re going to have together. Daddy looked less thrilled than I did, but he was happy to see my smile, even at 2 a.m..
Mommy snapped a few pics of me with her good camera, which is a proper DSLR. Instead of all smiles, I went for quiet poses with far off looks.
All my tummy time exercises have been paying off. I am able to stay on my tummy longer and hold my head up higher. I sometimes get fancy with one hand off the ground or two legs at the same time. I found that I can kind balance on my belly. I’m still working on moving forward, but I think I’ve got tummy time down.
I’m gain more and more control over my hands and my movements are becoming less random. I can actually reach out for something I want.
And I can bring something that I grabbed to my mouth.
I don’t normally like lying on my back for naps, usually preferring to nap on Mommy or Daddy. But sometimes I’m too tired to be picky about where I nap.
The title pretty much says it. More laughter-filled inai inai ba with Mommy while on my play mat, but this time with an open shirt.
I take a stroll with Mommy every day, weather permitting, and really enjoy being outside. I like the open space and the fresh air. Now that I’m bigger, I’m sitting up and awake more, so I also enjoy the sights. I can’t wait until I’m big enough to walk to the park on my own! You can see that I’m eager to get out and run around.
By the way, don’t I look good in a hat?
While I try to take in all the sights during my stroll, I often fall asleep in my stroller. Something about the fresh air and rumble of the stroller over the pavement that lulls me to sleep.
Every so often Daddy joins me on my play mat. We look at each other in the mirror and I show Daddy how to bat all the hanging things with our hands. He is a good learner, but rather just stare at me and talk to me. I thought I was getting big for my playmat, but Daddy can barely fit his top half on it. I think we have to get him his own playmat. I want to share, but there is just not enough room.
If you have been frequenting this blog for some time, you will have noticed that I have many different faces. Not only do I have a wide range of expressions, but my facial features actually seem to change depending on my position and angle. If I’m sitting on my Daddy chair I have a double chin. If I’m on my back my cheeks fall sideways making me look like a musubi. When I do tummy time I look slimmer. I discovered a new position and angle that enhances my adorable side. Have a look.
Tummy time has been going so well that I actually enjoy it! Tummy time is no longer just an exercise that I have to do. I actually look forward to it, as you can see on my face.
Mommy made me a baby toy when she was pregnant with me and it has become part of my play time. It is a crinkly toy that makes noise when you grab it and it has these loops around the edges to make it easy for me to hold. It kind of looks like a sun with a face, and it is because of the face that it has become my peekaboo pal. It peeks up over the top of my play pen the same way Mommy and Daddy do.
My dexterity is improving a lot. I tend to grab things quite frequently. If there is something within my reach and I feel my hand touch it, I grab it. From time to time and grabbed the ears or tails of my stuffed doggies.
My gripping reflex is really good, so when Daddy put the little puppy that Mommy made for me in my hand I grabbed it right away. Then Mommy and Daddy felt sorry for the little doggy when I proceeded to “play” with it.
Recently, my grabbing sometimes is more intentional. I have a musical sea otter hanging from my playmat and I like to grab him and “kiss” him. Sure, it looks like I’m trying to eat him, but I’m not. They are kisses, I swear.
Just so that you know, no animals were harmed in the making of this blog post.
Daddy tries all kinds of different things when playing with me and he accidentally found my laughter switch. He’s been doing this for a while and it still works nearly every time. When I’m laying down he puts his hands under my butt and bounces it while singing bouncing songs. It always gets a smile and almost always gets a laugh! I don’t know why I find it so funny, but it cracks me up!
Check out that smirk. Yep, that’s a baby in the know. What I good life. I got this folks wrapped around my little finger. Speaking of fingers, I don’t have to lift a finger at home. Mommy and Daddy see to my every need. I’ve got them so well trained that I don’t have to cry wildly and endlessly anymore. I just kind of caw at them. “Wah” for “I’m uncomfortable and need to be burped or changed”, “Aeh, Aeh, Aeh” for “I’m hungry”, and “Augh-ah” for “Someone pick me up!” My language changes from time to time but Mommy and Daddy still seem to get it. They can read my moods and needs really well. The result us that I have far fewer crying fits. Very few in fact. I even sleep pretty well at night in my crib in 3-hour intervals. I’ve got a nice routine going. Like I said, I’ve got them wrapped around my little finger.
I’m not quite there yet, but I’ll get there. I’m working on rolling over from my back to my belly. It’s weird. It feels like my body could get there, but this darn head is to heavy and is holding me back. I’m not giving up! I’ll get there soon! Stay tuned.
The hands down easiest way for me to fall asleep is during nursing. My appetite is sated and I’m comfy in Mommy’s lap, then I drift off to sleep. Sometimes I drift off to sleep before I’m finish eating, but I still keep going. My eyes are closed, my bodies limp, but I just keep suckling. This is a great no-stress way for me to fall asleep at night or for naps, but often it immobilizes Mommy. She is stuck on the couch with no safe way to move me without possible disturbing my sleep. So she sometimes follows the common advice to sleep when I sleep, or she relaxes with the TV or her phone. But she is usually stuck where she is. Bathroom breaks and a snacks are out of the question. Even TV is out of the question if the remote is out of reach. How could you risk waking a sleeping baby when he looks this cute and content, even from the side.
My nursing naps are usually so deep that I wake up quite rested, but also groggy. I’m usually not aware of where I am, but I am at least comfy with Mommy.
The older I get, the more interaction time I have. I like talking with Mommy and Daddy, watching them, listening to them, and smiling and laughing at them. I do this from my mat a lot, but the best way to really engage with someone is a face-to-face talk. For this, I recommend Mommy Chair or Daddy Chair. Not only can I look at them while being held by them, but it gives me a different upright view of the world around me.
Today in my Mommy Chair, I laughed a lot, talked a bit, move my arms a ton, did some serious listening, and also had a decent bowel movement. I’d call that a very productive Mommy Chair session.
I spend a lot of time on my playmat these days. I still find it really entertaining and I am slowly exploring the different parts of it with my hands. But, for the most part, I still just like staring at myself in the mirror while moving my arms and legs continuously. This is MY time where I can do what I want. This playmat time also gives Mommy some time to update my baby log and do other household chores.
Whoah! What happened here? I was being carried, then I was fussy, then I was put in my sling and rocked to sleep. How did I end up on the floor asleep? The sneaky sling sleep slip off! I can be put down without being disturbed. That’s an advantage over my baby carrier. It’s sneaky, but I like it.
Mommy and Daddy thought that I might enjoy sitting in my high-low chair during dinner so that I could be a part of the dinner conversation. As you can see, I was somewhat uneasy. I don’t know why. Maybe it was the height. Or maybe with the 5-point harness I thought I was ready for some kind of launch. Either way, I was a bit suspicious of my new seating situation.
It wasn’t bad at first. In fact it was kind of interesting to have my own chair at the dinner table. I liked the conversation part of sitting in my own chair. It was kind of fun!
But after a while, when I realized this wasn’t a roller coaster ride or a rocket ship and that I was just rocking in place, I started to fuss. I ended up sitting on Daddy’s lap at the dinner table, as I have been doing more regularly recently. My chair will just take some getting used to.