Madi: Four Months

• You are rolling!!! Basically every time we put you on your back now you've flipped to your stomach immediately. And every morning for the past couple of weeks we've come in and seen your little behind straight up in the air! While it's amazing to watch you master this new skill, part of us is a little sad too! Someone told us that having the rolling milestone early is usually an indicator that you will have your other milestones early as well (crawling, walking, etc.) You are already nudging yourself and sticking that cute little behind in the air so it's a definite possibility!

• We've started having dinner together as a family. At the table. (Mommy and Daddy would previously eat on the sofa, watching TV, and letting you play next to us or take turns entertaining you while one of us ate.) But no more! We're trying to take steps to disconnect to connect and this is one of them. We sit together and eat as best as possible while you join us in the high chair chewing on Sophie. :-)

• Speaking of Sophie you've continued to improve so much at grabbing objects and now realize what you are grabbing. You especially love all three variations of your Sophie the giraffe toys and gnawing on them constantly! We are also hypothesizing that you will be left-handed... Daddy made the observation that you tend to grab things more with your left hand and be dominate on that side. It will be interesting to see!

• We've been busier at home interacting and honing on your new rolling skills so Mommy got a little behind on blogging. We did a lot of fun things though - went corn picking, walked along the beach, hung out with friends, and learned some very important lessons... particularly the key to Daddy's heart: Dr Pepper and chocolate! 

• You still are smitten with bath time and you laughed for the first time this month (Oct 13) when we were playing with you afterwards. You are a chatterbox talking to us, but this was the first time it seemed like a purposeful laugh and not just your usual talking. It was wonderful! We heard those beautiful laughs again today when Daddy was tickling her. A dream come true for him!
• One morning when Mommy came into your room to get your after a nap time, you gently reached your hands up and touched her face. It was such a precious moment and it brought tears to her eyes! You haven't done it again, but she looks forward to the day when you reach out your arms to us.

I have a secret to tell you...

Little Duck,

You are such a joy and a blessing to us! We are amazed and in awe of how much fun you are and how you light up when you smile! You are friendly and love watching other people and smiling at them. You still stare intensely at everything, analyzing it before you decide whether or not to smile. Oh, how we wish we could see that little brain work! 

Love,

Daddy and Mommy