SuperAlex

Tomorrow, Alex will officially be 4 months old. And now, in addition to leaping tall daddies (6'5") in a single bound, the following are the Top Ten Things Alex Can Do Now That She Couldn't Do Four Months Ago:

10. At night, sleep for 5 hours at a time. Note that I did not say "sleep through the night." I'm actually quite bitter about this. That's why this one is at number 10.

9. Scream. Not cry, scream. At the top of her lungs. At pitches heretofore not previously heard by human ears. And with great pride, by the way -- they're often followed by a smug little smile. Some of her specialties are The Dog Howl, The Fireman's Siren, and the one I'm convinced will send me into therapy, The Call of the Whales.

8. Blow bubbles, raspberries, and general other tricks in the drool area. I particularly like it when she lets a drop of saliva hang there for a moment, before releasing it to hit its selected target. I think her record is, like, 15 seconds.

7. Sit herself upright from a partially reclined position. It's actually quite cool: if she's lying down at a slight angle, she can see her toes. With great force, she heaves herself upright, then forward, and then grabs them.

And then she sits there for a minute, holding on to her feet and confused about what to do next, and invariably falls over. But hey, it's a start.

6. Roll over from her front to her back. But only when she wants to, dammit. What do you think she is, a trained seal?

5. Reach for what she wants, and grab it. And invariably, stick it in her mouth.

4. And speaking of sticking things in her month, she can shove a couple of fingers down her throat and make herself gag. Which apparently, is a fun thing to do for a four-month-old. Go figure.

3. And speaking of gagging, she can eat cereal. Okay, well, she can gum cereal for a moment, swallow some of it, and then spit the rest of it out. But again, baby steps.

2. Truly appreciate and enjoy some of the songs I sing her. Her current favourite is "Copacabana," a little ditty to which, by the way, I know all the words. Nothing excites her more than the lines, "Her name was Lola -- she was a showgirl..." Her little legs kick in excited anticipation. Barry Manilow would be proud.

And the Number 1 Thing SuperAlex can do now that she couldn't do then:

1. Instead of feeling like the babysitters for some cute kid ("who left this child here?"), really make us feel like Mom & Dad. In all of the good ways.

Comments

[Angie]

That is a wonderfully sweet post! I love hearing about all the things Alex is doing and she is still one of the most beautiful babies in the world! I can say that since all of mine were right up there with her!

[Erin]

I'm with you on the not sleeping through the night thing. My 3-1/2 month old sleeps 5 hours at a time... just when we ALMOST feel rested, he wakes us up. :( Waaaaaaaaaaaa!

Alex is the cutest! Love your list. ;)

[Rachael]

I just love hearing all about what Alex is up to. She sure has grown a lot in the passed 4 months. I can hardly believe she is that old, time sure flies!

[Tina]

As always, Karen, Alex is beautiful and your blog is awesome.

Having a baby that sleeps through the night is a wonderful thing, now that Makena is finally pulling in 11 hours (or more!). But I find that I'm still waking up quite often, just to make sure she's breathing. There was a certain security in her waking every few hours. Don't get me wrong, I'll take 11 hours over 3-5 anyday. But these long sleeps don't necessarily mean long sleeps for mommy and daddy just yet. Besides. It's just one more way that my baby girl is getting less and less baby-like every day. Can't we just slow down this growing up thing just a little bit? Please?

Cheers