4 Months Old!

Ellie is 4 months old! She is so much fun right now, she smiles and squeals and is very interested in the world around her. Today I was looking through some of the gadgets we had to use when she was first born to help her gain weight...it is so strange because it feels like it was so long ago that she was born. It really is amazing how fast she has become a little person. She is not a blob anymore!

Highlights of the last month:
-Ellie is expressive! This last month she has developed the whine...which is quite pitiful. If I stop nursing her for just a second she goes into a full blown, heart wrenching whiny squeal thing that makes Jason want to buy her a pony. It is so amazing that babies can learn so quickly how to get what they want! It isn't all sad though---Ellie has gotten very good at letting us know when she is happy with the biggest grins, squeals, and the start of a laugh.

-Ellie moved to her room and started sleeping through the night this month. She sleeps in the big crib and doesn't seem to mind at all. We love the 8-9 hour stretches of sleep! Often in the morning we hear her cooing and talking to herself. When we go in she is so sweet. She looks up and gives us the biggest grin. It is awesome. One of the very best parts of my day.

-Splashtime! Bath time is now play time...Elle's favorite activity is to arch her back and try to get her whole body in the water...which is difficult in an infant tub. She kicks her feet and generally gets me and the whole kitchen soaked. She LOVES the bath. She even has sort of stopped crying when she gets out, that is if I wrap her up very well so that she doesn't get cold and hold her for awhile before attempting to put the diaper on. We can't wait until she is sitting up enough to use the bath chair that Vera brought us. I think it is almost time to bring out the bath toys!

-Floor time- Ellie enjoys spending time on the floor looking at her toys. Playing with toys if she can bat or kick them. She is starting to try rolling over so it probably won't be long. Tummy time isn't her favorite but she doesn't mind small doses.

-Size 1 diapers! We just made the big transition to size 1 diapers. They are still a little big around her legs but the N's are getting too small. We are still using cloth when we are at home as much as we can.

-Ellie has 2 favorite toys...1) her blue elephant---it hangs from her bouncy chair and she is absolutely in love with it! She smiles at it, she trys to get it into her mouth, she bats at it...the poor green elephant is feeling very lonely. 2) A black and white rattle toy that has little rings on it. I found this toy at a yard sale a few weekends back and thought for 50 cents I'd pick it up and through it in the dishwasher. It was perfect. Lightweight, colorful and easy to hold...that is until Milo chewed it up. Luckily I found a new one at Babies r Us...and she still loves it.