4 months of fun

I have seriously pondered a post that was not all consumed by BABY, but sorry... it's not going to happen.  We have settled in as a family of three, and I honestly don't know what we did before Trace was born.  He is awesome.  We are counting our many blessings for this precious child, and he pretty much dominates my every thought.  Plus, I want to share his progress with friends and family out of town so they can feel like they experience his raising as well... which is becoming a major point of this blog.  So, if you aren't into my virtual, detailed baby book style blogging-- maybe I will start a non-baby blog sometime... but not today :)

He is a busy, busy, boy.  At his 4 month check up, the doctor described him as a big, healthy and VERY active baby.  He was 15 lbs 3 oz. and 25 1/2 inches... putting him in the 90-100th percentile, which is a welcome change after his underweight entry into the world.

All of that dark hair he was born with has pretty much fallen out!  We've joked that he has even lost his hair just like his daddy.  But hey-- they are so handsome that even balding looks good on both my boys!  His eyebrows are getting thicker and darker, and he has lots of short fuzzy baby hair growing back that is lighter. We can't yet tell if it is dark red or brown. It looks different depending on the light you're in.  He still has some monster eyelashes that frame those baby blues beautifully! And yep-- they are still blue, which surprised both of us.  I know their eyes can still change colors, but his get blue-r every day.

It isn't hard to make him laugh.  He thinks a LOT of things are funny, especially when we "nom nom" his hips or tickle his thighs.  He also really likes the songs that we make up for him-- especially the one his cousin Andrew sings.  Trace Parker Morgan, tooting Trace... shake your booty, shake your face.  And yeah-- that's probably the most normal one we sing.  But hey-- he thinks we are funny!

He was so excited to eat cereal for the first time this month, despite the look in this picture.  He gets VERY sleepy around 7-7:30 every night, so we learned that cereal needed to happen much sooner!

Overall, Trace Parker is such a joy for everyone. He is a friendly baby, and has lots of girlfriends at church.  He has taken up with our youth group (which is heavy in the female dept.).  He LOVES his family, cousins... and well, just about everyone he meets. I just can't get over how quickly everything is happening. 

He even got his first tooth 1 day before he turned 5 months old!

 We went down for Aubrey's baby dedication.  Trace slept through it, but he was glad to be there ;)

 We even enjoyed our first family beach trip, albeit a short one!  Trace LOVED the sand.  Aubrey... not so much.  They are so funny together!  I'm not sure they could be much more different. Aubrey is so sweet and still!  Trace is like a little tornado going 200 miles an hour!  I think she is a little afraid of Trace, actually! He loves very "intensely" :)

A baby really does change everything!! I love my new role as "mama" and I feel like I have finally realized that I can sustain this little creature's life, and I can relax and enjoy the ride a little more now.  It is easily the most exhausting and simultaneously exhilarating and fulfilling role I've ever held!  I'm different than I thought I would be in many ways.  I'm HORRIBLE at documenting things. I can't remember the first time he rolled over or when exactly he started crawling... I know he is scooting at 4 months old, but I figured I would record the date/time, etc.  Enjoying the moment seems to be much more important to me than documenting the moment. I may regret that later, but I kind of doubt it.  I'm also more laid back than I thought I would be!  I feed him things that have fallen in the floor... I rarely wash a paci (which he really doesn't care for anyway).  I can accomplish a whole lot more in a sleep deprived state than I ever imagined. I have no doubt that God will continue stretching and changing me as I learn and grow with this little guy every day!!