Four months.

I failed to make a Lillian at four months post. Sorry. I am sorry. And, I am sorry. Both meanings of the word, you see. It's both what I feel and what I AM.

Lillian turned 4 months old on February 13, while we were still in Montgomery. At her 4 month "well check up," her stats were as follows:

Weight - 13 pounds 4 ounces (45%)

Height - 24 1/4 inches (50%)

Head Circumference - 15 3/4 inches (20%)

She's a small one! [But, probably a tall one - she is really growing height-wise. Every time we go to the pediatrician, she moves up in the height percentile.]

Lillian really liked her pediatrician, Dr. Morrison ("Dr. Mo"), and we appreciated him as well. She said farewell at her 4 month visit.

Here is the rundown on (what was) Lily's 4 month old life -

The big picture: She turned 4 months while we were in Mobile for Mardi Gras. She went to her first parade. She watched her parents pack up the house (okay, she watched them watch people they paid to pack up the house, same diff!). She moved to Alexandria, VA. She went to her first museum. She took a seven hour flight to London, England. She acted as tourist. She tried her first "people food." She took her first train ride. She went to Paris. She was a tourist attraction (people loved her over there!). She turned 5 months old in Paris and celebrated with a french pastry.

The details: She smiles A LOT. Gone is our serious girl. She finds most things funny. She loves to laugh. In fact, she finds her laughing-self funny and sometimes laughs at herself laughing until it spins out of control, and we wonder if we should step in and say something serious to save her from herself. She can roll from back to tummy. She suddenly became interested in food. She opens her mouth and lunges herself at anything you are eating. She sticks her feet in her mouth quite frequently and enjoys playing with them even when not eating them. She learned to turn on the music maker in her "jumparoo" (the stationary play area that her ju juce got her for Christmas). She is strong! She tugs on things until they come off or break or what not. One day she realized that she liked to "arm pump." She pumps her right arm up and down (even in her sleep) vigorously. She still sleeps with her mouth open. She still spits up quite a bit, but it does seem to be slowing down somewhat (thank goodness). She can still wear some 0-3 month clothing (because she is on the smallish side), but she can also wear some 6 month clothing (because she is long). She notices the camera when I pull it out and cheeses it up for pictures. She notices the Flip (camcorder) when I pull it out and does the opposite. She does a great impression of a board when we try to put her in her car seat. She naps on the go quite easily, but will also nap in her crib (sometimes). [We are working on this.] She sleeps with us (by choice - ours and hers). She still doesn't have any teeth. She sweats while she sleeps (but, she wants me to make it clear that she doesn't stink - she sweats non-stinky sweat). Her hair is growing thicker by the day. She has several nicknames - Lily, Lily B, Lils. She can drink from a straw.

Likes (in no particular order): Mortimer the Moose (her favorite toy during month four by far), the dogs (Petri still shows no interest at all), strolling, napping while strolling, tasting people food, being admired, Titus her elephant friend, wearing a mohawk, being worn in her sling, looking at herself in a mirror, laughing, dancing, touching things to see how they feel, bath time, the animal cups her Aunt Brittany bought her for the bath, being around her cousin Hardin, dresses with pants underneath, hats, Sophie the Giraffe (a gift from Grammie that has replaced Mortimer as her favorite toy), chewing on her hands and trying to fit her fist in her mouth

Dislikes: wind on her face, being on her stomach, waking up (unless its first thing in the morning)

A month five post will follow in a week or so.

And, of course, pictures to accompany the post -

The toe obsession

Lily B loves holding Mr. Monkeyroo

Lily B at play with Mortimer the Moose

Oh... sorry Mortimer ... Lily with her new favorite toy - Sophie

Lily with her Aunt Brittany before our big move.

Lily with her Great-Aunt Mitzi before the move

Lily's beautiful cousin Hardin

They love one another.

Hardin smothers "baby Lily" with many unprompted kisses.

The face of joy.

Until next time -