Bring Mommy the Vodka: NEW FRIENDS

Well it's been a slow month in the Daniels' home. Not too many exciting stories to tell. We've had a pretty good schedule going, up until last week. Christopher has yet to sleep through the night, but we're not too worried. We want him to take each milestone at his own pace. But speaking of milestones, he is rolling over now. His first official "rollover" was on August 18th. The actual turning-over took a few minutes. He was laying on his back and is use to moving and laying on one side or the other, which he did. Then he start to roll to his stomach but soon realized that his arm was caught underneath him. After a few minutes, literally two or three, of grunts he was able to pull his arm out from under his chest and landed safely on his tummy. There wasn't fussing or crying, it just seemed like another "tummy time" to him. He's enjoying tummy time quite a lot these days, especially on his new toy. We call it the "Lazy-Susan for Babies". Whomever thought of this toy is a genius. It lifts him off the floor just enough so he can bring his hands in front of him and play with the toys on the mat. He uses his arms and legs to turn in circles discovering new rattles and mirrors. He's pretty quick these days to roll from his stomach to his back when he's doing the normal tummy time. I don't think it's because he doesn't like being on his stomach, he just likes laying on his back better. He gets a better view of what is going on around him.

Christopher has also made a very good friend this month. He's known Camren since he was 8 weeks old, but I think during August he's really noticed that there is another baby at his sitter's. (see the picture of Camren and Christopher below) Ashley, Camren's mom, takes care of Christopher Tuesday through Thursday while Brian and I are at work. He absolutely loves going there. He smiles every time he sees his Ms. Ashley.

Nana and GranBob came to visit this month. They were tickled pink to see how much he's grown. He gave them tons of giggles and bashful smiles while they visited. He was also able to catch the game on TV with GranBob. Boy O' boy does this boy love television. I really try to keep him from "watching" it, but I think he's fascinated with the moving colors and sound. Other than the Cardinal's baseball games his favorite show is Jeopardy. Sometimes he lets out "coo's" and "gah's" during the show like he's trying to answer the questions. Who knows, he may win the Jeopardy Tournament of Champions in 2048.

But it's scary to think that far ahead. So far ahead that my child will one day turn 40!?? No way, never gonna happen. He will always be four months old with his pouty bottom lip. His Dodi came up for another week to watch him in April. She brought some very cool toys and stylin clothes for the little man. We kept trying to tell my mother about how much he was talking to us before she came. But once she had a day alone with him, he didn't say a word. She was starting to think we made it all up. By Thursday though I got a phone call at work. My mom was so elated. "He's talking to me! He's talking!" I was so happy for her. Then she said, "He's been talking for over an hour, how do you make him stop!?" We both laughed, and Brian got a good chuckle out of it when I told him the story later.

The only interesting news this month is his latest doctor's appointment. He went on Friday, his four month birthday. He weighed in at a whopping 18 lbs. 3 oz. - still at the top of the charts. And he measured 28 inches long, 5 more inches from when he was born. The doctor said everything looks good. Christopher even laughed with Dr. Trail when he was sitting him up, checking how well he could hold up his head. He wants to keep an eye on his dry skin on his face and chest, but doesn't think it's anything to worry about right now. He's was given a "healthy baby" diagnosis.

Of course the shots came, four of them, and then came the screaming. He took it like a trooper though and was back to smiling when we got home.

His smiling didn't last long unfortunately. He got a fever around 2 and was screaming the rest of the day. He was up several times over night and continued this pattern until Monday. But now, other than a tiny purple bruise on his left thigh, all signs of the doctor's visit have vanished.

We looked forward to the next visit in two months to see how much he's grown and developed.

There are a few things on our list for September and October including our first "Parents As Teachers" home visit and the trials of solid food. We've purchased his first box of rice cereal, but want to wait until the weekend when we are both there for the special occasion and more importantly - when he's wide awake and no where near cranky.

Well that's the end of my ramblings for this month. Brian and I wanted to say congratulations to our great friends Todd and Kathleen. They will be expecting their first child around December 14th. We wish them all the best and couldn't be happier for them.

I also wanted to include a few pictures of our friends (and Christopher's soon-to-be friends) in this blog. I mentioned a few months ago that alot of our friends either recently had or were soon to have babies. I've included pictures and details below so you can see all the proud parents and beautiful children that we are honored to know.

Much love to everyone, and until next time...

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