quick update

As of this week, Miran can:

1. sit up unassisted for as long as 15-20 seconds (gets better every day!)
2. reach out his arms to the person that he wants to hold him

He changes every day, it seems. He is such a delightful baby!

finding his voice

Miran's voice is changing. No, not wildly early onset puberty, but a subtle shift from the loud, squeaky coos of before to a softer, more mature sounding coo. His voice now sounds more like a proper speaking voice as opposed to a baby noise, and his coos sound a little more like talking, like language. Still no consonant sounds yet, though . . . that's the next language development to look forward to.

In other news, Miran has gone beyond merely being able to hold his pacifiers--he now grabs them right out of your hand and plops them in his mouth himself. And when Kieryn is about to give him a bottle, he now reaches for it in keen anticipation and grabs onto it firmly once it's given to him!

what's new

Here's what Miran's been into over the past few days:

--playing peek-a-boo
--playing with his toy mirror (and trying to eat it)
--the sun toy on his new exersaucer (e.g., he holds it, bats it, talks to it, stares at it)
--putting everything into his mouth
--cracking up at Daddy's silly faces
--exploring his toes (when propped to sitting)

(The picture is from a few weeks ago . . . more to come.)

new stats

As of this morning (posted by Leana):

age: 4 months, 4 weeks (two days shy of 5 months!)

weight: 15 lbs., 13 oz.

length: 26 1/4 inches

general health: excellent

I'm starting to really like our pediatrician. He's a rather odd man, but he seems to know what he's doing and to have a lot of experience. He's careful without being alarmist, which is good for me (being as I'm prone to worrying where Miran is concerned).

P.S> Miran can now roll completely over from back to tummy in one go.

Laughing!

Our little boy can really crack up now -- this morning he had his most boisterous laughing session yet, with real giggles and chuckles. It makes my whole world when he's so happy!

Today we did a big baby shopping trip, including a brief visit with Allison and Glenn and their baby, Kannon, who is eight months old. He and Miran were really looking at each other for the first time, and with time flying so fast they'll be playing together before we know it. We also picked up a bunch of things we need: baby food-making supplies (he starts solids in a month, and we want to make our own baby food for the most part), some drool bibs (trust me, he needs them), an ear thermometer (yay! no more rectal readings), some teething toys, diapers (he's now on size 3!), and an "exersaucer" activity center (since he loved the one at my cousin's house so much).

Speaking of my cousin, Miran and I had our biggest trip ever this week with my mom. We drove first to visit my cousin, Emily, and her baby Gabriella, who is nine months old. Then we went to visit an old family friend, her daughter, and her new granddaughter, who is seven months old, in upstate New York. Miran did really well for the most part, adjusting to all the new surroundings and people.

Tuesday we go to the doctor's for a check-up, so I'll be back soon to post updates on his status.

P.S. Oh, and he can now roll from back to tummy!