The Makings of a Perfect Nap

Update

I haven't written a blog post in two weeks. What's gotten into me? Hopefully this will tide everyone over until I have the time and brain power to write a real post.

• We've been painting. Maybe one day there will be pictures.
• I only work part-time now. It is glorious.
• I've rediscovered my love of cooking. Also glorious.
• Having a washer and dryer in my home makes me far more likely to do the laundry in a timely manner, or to do it at all for that matter. (Eric had been the primary doer of laundry at our last place.)
• I'm ready for my Facebook fast to be over. There are people I want to catch up with and babies I want to see photos of.
  
• I've decided we're going to skip the Easter Bunny in our house. Santa Clause, I think, can be a reasonable player in the religious aspect of the Christmas scene. The Easter Bunny cannot. (But maybe he can in your house, and that's just fine! You can have him and enjoy him!)
  
• The thought of introducing solids in about two months, and thus gradually weaning my child, makes me very sad.
• We did/do the cry-it-out method for sleeping. You might think that makes me a monster. I do not care.
• This is the latest spring I have experienced in Utah. It might mean we'll have a cooler summer, and if that's the case, it's worth it. Otherwise, I want some warm and consistently sunny weather now, please.
• I lent a whole bunch of maternity clothes to Megan. (You may recall that I borrowed her maternity clothes last fall.) I felt like I'd been officially inducted into the Mom World when I went through the box of clothes with her to see what items she'd be interested in.
  

Four Months

At four months, Ike enjoys tummy time. He loves his hands, and he now understands that they are his very own hands. On Saturday he grabbed a toy that dangles from his carseat handle and pulled it to his mouth. He also purposefully grabbed my hair on Saturday; it's the happiest I've ever been upon having my hair pulled.

He giggles occasionally and smiles a ton. Like I reported last month, he loves tummy time, and he loves to stand with our assistance. When he lies on his back, he kicks his legs and flails his arms in a very excited and adorable way.

Everyone at work adores him, but they are now seeing less of him as I'm working from home about three days per week. He's finally hit a point where he just doesn't nap well under my desk, so on the days that I do go in to work, I'll be leaving him with somebody else.

When Ike wakes up and I go get him from a nap, he has the happiest expression. It makes me glad that he's decided to wake up. He naps really well at home, but his nighttime sleep is not really anything to shout about from the rooftops. He still sleeps like a newborn; that is, most of the time he is only awake for about an hour before he's sleepy and ready to be swaddled and put down. I'm loving this time of high productivity, and I know I'm in for a rude awakening when he stays awake for longer periods of time.

Some time in the last month I gave up on my dairy-free lifestyle. Ike commenced spitting up more than usual, and I commenced cleaning it up more happily because I was finally not starving anymore.

I take lots of pictures of Ike on my cell phone and then send them to Eric. When he is having a rough day he'll send me a text specifically stating that he needs a picture of Ike to cheer him up.