Five Months Today! A Johnny Update

Today is John's five month birthday!

He continues to be a happy, laid back baby -- an absolute joy! Until yesterday, we'd never actually witnessed him rolling over, but kept finding him flipped. Then at last, he decided to show off for an audience and now that he's started, he hasn't stopped. He also has a move we call the Elvis -- he digs his heels into the ground and swivels his hips. It really drives the girls wild. And he loves to take off his diaper. Mid change, he actually opens the tab I just fastened.

John's personality is mild and sweet... If you smile at him, he instantly rewards you with a giant gummy grin. So that's why it cracks us up that he gets mad when we take away a toy! Give that back, he says with gentle annoyance.  He's a social little guy and would prefer to hang out rather than sleep. So after a particularly rough last eight weeks (averaging six wake ups a night) and choppy naps, we began Operation Sleep Bootcamp. Pardon my language, but it's Hell. Listening to my sweet baby cry is like having someone pry off my fingernails and peel back my skin. Torture. Rob gets weeping desperate calls at work. John, if you're reading this, I hope we aren't ruining you. But if we are....well, we did the same thing to your brother and sister, so at least we're consistent. Part of John's sleepy time routine is to listen to the same soft lullaby CD that Madeline and Charlie listened to as babies. They could hardly believe it when Frere Jacques came on -- they were so excited that someone wrote a song about their Baby John!

Quarterback? Wide receiver?

John has lots of nicknames! John Thomas, John John and Johnny are the most popular, though there are a few special folks who call him J.T. too. When John coos, it often sounds like he's saying Mama. I kind of like that. (What I mean to say is, it's like the angels are singing and my heart leaps out of my chest in bliss).

John's teething -- I expect a tooth will erupt in a few weeks. Though it sounds like I know what I'm talking about, I also recently smeared Jock Itch cream on his scalp to cure his Cradle's Cap. I thought it was hydrocortisone. You may wonder why we had Jock Itch Cream handy, and in Rob's defense, I promise it was for the baby. When I told Dr. Huss what I'd done (confused as to why John still had Cradle's Cap), he took out his pen -- probably noticing the five-pound bags under my eyes and my slurred speech from exhaustion -- and wrote down what I needed in case I started smearing other strange things on my kid's head.

Toes are fun!!

John's a nice healthy boy. At four months old, he was 95th percentile for length at 26.5 inches long and 59th percentile for weight at almost 16 pounds. John loves romantic dinners (on the boob), long walks (in the stroller), and his hobbies are chewing books and drooling. SWB (Single White Baby) seeking clean diaper.

John, you are a dream. We adore you!

Halloween 2011

This year, Rob's mom, Sandie, made Madeline and Charlie their Halloween costumes! Madeline mentioned she wanted to be a ladybug, and a week later, the most darling handmade costume arrived in the mail. And Charlie had his very own SuperCharlie "C" cape and matching shirt, which he wore underneath his Firefighter raincoat and boots to go Trick-or-Treating. When he walked up to doors, he would happily shout, "We're here!" And sweet John was a goldfish for the festivities!

On Halloween morning, Madeline had a party at school -- the kids went room to room collecting candy. Later that night, we went to a friend's house for a fun outdoor party!