It's a Very Growl-y Christmas!

So, I just had to post about this because I think it is hilarious. Noah has learned how to growl! Not the cute little baby grunts that they make about this stage, but full blown, from the chest, deep, throaty growls! He sounds like a little bear cub! It's really funny, he will just growl and growl and growl over and over again. I have some pretty good videos of it that I should post, as soon as I figure out how! Even now as I type this, Noah is laying on his play mat and growling away at the mirror, the ceiling, his hands, everything he can see! It honestly doesn't sound like a noise that should be coming from the throat of a darling little baby! He smiles the whole time he is growling too, which adds to the comedic effect! It makes me laugh, he growls for about 15 minutes straight before falling asleep at each nap, and he will do it for even longer than that when we go for drive in the car now. We will see how long he can actually do it when we drive to Vegas on Monday... He has also discovered how much he likes people's faces. Whenever you pick him up now, he will look right into your eyes and rest his hands on your face. He usually likes to hold your chin or rest his hands on your cheeks. Almost every time I pick him up from his naps now he will pat my cheeks and squeal or growl. It's so cute that he likes to see me after his naps so much! :) Also, he is just starting (CROSS YOUR FINGERS!) to like cuddling! He will curl up with me more and more or rest his head on my shoulder and just lay there for a little bit. This hasn't ever happened! Since he was born he has had to always have his head up and looking around, so this is a treat for me! I hope it lasts, and I hope he does it more! :)

Noah's 4 Month Pictures

I found Noah this way after one of his naps. How he got his blanket up over his head like that after being swaddled is quite impressive! :) I like his face too, like he is saying, "What?"

He has discovered how delicious his thumb is and what a good sleepy time friend it is! He will usually suck it for a moment or two, and then when he falls all the way asleep it falls out of his mouth.

He's sleeping on the couch since he refused to take his nap at the time he was supposed to, and then realized that not taking his nap made him tired!

Thumb on it's way out of his mouth.

Noah really like to sit up more and more, he can actually sit up pretty good on his own for a while, but we have to really watch him because as soon as he decides he is done he will immediately fall over!

Playing with Mommy

Sleeping in his stroller

Back awake in his stroller when my mom and I went to the Festival of Trees. He really liked being pushed around and looking at all the lights and people.

After his bath one day.

I got this face when I came at him with his antibiotic for a minor ear infection. He got to where he recognized the little syringe full of medicine!

Enjoying being pants-less!

Noah is SO incredibly close to being able to roll from his back to his tummy, he did it once already, but I think it was a fluke. He looked incredibly confused that he was on his tummy! He is getting more and more social all the time, he will smile at anyone and everyone that talks to him! I get comments all the time on how social he is. He loves to listen to voices and music. He really loves his bath time, he will splash like crazy and squeal and grin the whole time. He likes to sit in his baby swing and look out the window, especially if it is snowing or raining. He also really like to sit in his boppy pillow and watch me cook dinner and do the dishes. He is getting really good at sitting up on his own, he is slumped forward for balance a little bit, but he is getting there! At his 4 month doctor's appointment we found out he is a little over 14 lbs putting him in the 33 percentile for weight, but he is 27 inches longs, putting him in the 85 percentile for height! He is a long, skinny guy! He is doing great with his nap times, he don't usually cry at all, or if he does, it's only for 2-3 minutes. He usually plays in the crib for about 35 minutes before actually going to sleep though! I can hear him in there rolling around, blowing raspberries, talking, and cooing for a while after I put him down. He is so funny! He still loves to babble and talk a lot, and when we go in the car now, instead of falling right to sleep like he used to, he will sit back there and talk and talk and talk and spit and make noises for a while, and then fall asleep. It's so fun to listen to all of his little sounds! :) Noah is about the happiest, content, pleasant baby I have ever seen, which makes it so much fun! I sure love my little guy!

Lessons from a Toilet Knob

A little while after we moved into our house, the toilet in our master bathroom started leaking and being obnoxious. Ben gutted it and replaced its insides with a super fancy new plumbing system that is quite advanced, you can do a "half" flush for little toilet deposits, and a "full" flush for bigger toilet deposits to help save water. The knob even directs you that for a half flush, the knob goes up, and for a full flush the knob goes down. I thought this was a nice feature, and we moved on. Well, the other day I was having one of those days where nothing went quite like you thought, you didn't get done what you wanted, and I was indulging in a little self pity. (Not something I do often!) So, after Noah was down for a nap, I decided to pamper myself with a nice, long, hot bath. As I was relaxing, I started telling myself all of the things I should be doing instead of what I was doing, things like laundry and dishes and making dinner, among other things. I then got more enmeshed in my self pity party because I had so much to do. I happened to glance over at the toilet, and I got a friendly philosophical reminder written on my toilet knob - "Half Full". I started laughing, reminding myself to look at my glass as "half full" and to get over my pity! Hooray for life's little lessons! :) May you always see your glass as half full!