January 2011

We've been having a fun winter with the kids; Grace loved building her first snowman! And making "snow cream" with Daddy to eat. It's been fun watching her learn and grow. This afternoon, I painted a trial swatch on her wall to test out a color we're thinking to paint her room. I told her not to touch, so instead she brought over her pink stool, set it down just inches from the wall and sat on it to "watch the paint dry". Tonight at dinner, Caleb asked her what she did during her naptime, and she told us that one "baby (doll) changed other baby's diaper". She loves books, and keeps a dozen or so in bed with her at all times. And when she puts her baby dolls to bed, she makes sure to leave them a book to read. And then she'll sit on her stool and sing All Creatures to them. She loves taking care of Andrew too, and though we still have some "tricky" moments, generally when he gets fussy, she'll go find him a toy, and sometimes she'll rub his head and tell him "don't cry, Andrew", or sing him a song.

Andrew keeps getting bigger - his 3-6 month pajamas fit him just fine, except the sleeves hit him about his elbows now. He looks so pitiful with those pudgy arms sticking out, so I've started putting a sweater on over his pj's to sleep at night when it's really cold. He's still a very happy baby; he'll grin and grin just cause somebody looked at him. And tickles earn you an adorable belly laugh. He still has his fussy periods (as his grandparents well know!), but it's such a joy having him around. He's getting close to sitting up now too; he kinda flops forwards on his arms, but he can hold his balance for a few seconds before tilting over to one side or the other.

He's rolled a few times (the first was the day after Thanksgiving!), but still not consistently. I think he's having too much fun just watching big sister Gracie to really try yet. At his four month pediatrician's visit in December, he rolled over four times in a room from his tummy to his back, but I don't think he's done it again since then. He has gotten pretty good at squirming around in a circle though. If I lay him down with a burp cloth under his chin (he's quite the little drooler!), within a few minutes he'll be off to the side somewhere.