The Greenlee Family: December 2012- 4 months old

Observations:
When Colin was 4 months old, he...

~Survived with daddy being gone for a work trip to Mississippi.
~Grabbed the doctor's tongue depressor out of her pocket when she leaned over him! The doc said that hadn't happened to her before. :)
~Reacted to the 4 month shots, and was up 3 times for a few days (unusual for Colin!) so grandma (my mom) came to the rescue and slept with the monitor for a weekend to help me out. I'll never do shots again without daddy here!
~Started grabbing things that were handed/held out in front of him.
~Had our PAT and New Parent Support visits.
~Hosted Cookie Exchange and Ornament Exchange Playgroups.
~Babysat our neighbor while their parents enjoyed a birthday dinner out (we're gonna swap date nights so we don't have to pay for babysitters!)
~Attended the Little Apple Mommies Christmas party (the mom's group we're a part of!)
~Watched the horrible Connecticut school shooting tragedy unfold.
~Greeted daddy when he came home from Mississippi...he surprised us by catching an earlier flight home!
~Played with grandma (Zach's mom) and celebrated her wedding to Kent (on 12-12-12!)
~Visited Santa at the Manhattan mall! He didn't cry, but we couldn't get a smile out of him either. :)
~Started putting EVERYTHING in his mouth!
~Rolled over from belly to back, twice (12-18-12), but hasn't done it since.
~Played with Sophie the Giraffe, his favorite toy.
~Watched snow fall for the 1st time in his life! (12-20-12)
~Survived the much anticipated "last day of the world" 12-21-12
~Went to the doc b/c we were worried he had pink eye...he didn't. Weighed 14 lbs. 13 oz.
~Played with grandma and grandpa (Zach's dad and step-mom).
~Hung out with Uncle Phil!
~Celebrated his 1st Christmas! We started in Kansas City at Zach's mom's for Christmas Eve dinner, then spent Christmas Eve at my mom's in Lawrence. We woke up and opened presents in Lawrence, had brunch, hung out with grandma and Uncle Abel, then headed to Topeka to Zach's dad and step-mom's. We ate some more, opened presents, and spent time with more family.

Everyone was so generous with us an Colin! But we are also happy that even though this is Colin's 1st Christmas, and he is the 1st grandchild on both sides, no one went overboard with gifts! Also, many relatives contributed to Colin's college fund, which is amazing! Thanks everyone!
~Went on his 1st road trip to Nashville! We drove (10 hour drive, about 12 hours total with stops) to Nashville for Zach's cousin Jamie's 40th birthday. He was such a trooper, slept most of the time both ways!
~Played with his Uncle Phil, Uncle Justin, Aunt Casey, Great Aunt Mary, and cousins Jamie, Melissa, and Miles.
~Started covering his eyes when he eats, it's the cutest thing.
~Celebrated New Years Eve by driving home from Nashville in the snow. Happy 2013!

Mealtimes:
Colin eats 5-6 ounces of formula every 3 hours or so, which ends up bring about 5 bottles a day. The days eating schedule is based on his first feeding of the day. At the 4 month appointment, the doctor said we could start rice cereal and solid foods if we wanted. We've decided to not use rice cereal yet/ever, and start with avocados around 6 months. Avocados have more nutrients than the cereal, and we want to get Colin started on the right track of healthy eating!

Schedule:
Colin usually wakes up for the day around 5:45am. He'll eat 5-6 ounces of formula, and then sometimes he goes back down. Sometimes, he decides this is when he's up for the day. :) He has been taking 1 or 2 morning naps, usually in his crib, each one being 30 min.-1 hour. He'll take an afternoon nap, and it's usually between 1 1/2 -3 hours. This nap is most often in his swing in the living room. His naps in his crib are shorter in the afternoon! Between 6 and 7pm, Colin gets a bath (every other night) and reads with mommy or daddy. We say prayers with him, and leave him in his crib. If we haven't waited too long, he'll go right to sleep. If we did wait too long, we might have to rock him for a few minutes, or go back in a few times to replace a pacifier. His bed time is anywhere between 6:30 and 7:30. It seems early, but it works for him. We've tried keeping him up later, but against all logic, it doesn't work- he'll usually wake up earlier if we do this!

Size:
Colin is wearing 3-6 and 6 month clothing, and size 2 diapers when we use disposables. In cloth, he is still on the smallest snap setting and the inserts are snapped on the smallest setting too. We do have to snap his double-stuffed nighttime diaper a little looser.

At his 4 month appointment on 12-6-12, these were his measurements:
Weight: 14.2 lbs.- 37th percentile
Length: 24.5 in.- 48th percentile
Head: 17 in.- 71st percentile

Play:
Colin still loves his Baby Einstein Play Gym/Mat. He loves lying under it and swatting and grabbing at the hanging toys! Sophie the Giraffe is one if his favorites now, but really anything he can grab and put in his mouth he likes.

Nicknames:
Stinker, stinker bug, baby boy, honey bear, angel

Mommy& Daddy:
This month, daddy went to Mississippi for 2 weeks for work. We missed him so much, and it was definitely hard to be by myself. Of course, I scheduled Colin's 4 month appointment (including shots) while he was gone, and of course Colin started teething that same weekend...thank goodness for Grandma (my mom), she came to the rescue- slept with the monitor and everything for a whole weekend!

My hair has stopped fall out like crazy!

I still LOVE being a stay at home mama. I know it's not for everyone, and some want or need to go back to work, but for me this is the best! I might change my mind as he gets older, but if I never had to go back to work I'd be perfectly content. :)

We are getting into a routine, and we're so thankful to be back in the U.S. close to family and friends.