Mali and Maeby

Mali and I are settling back into a routine. In the mornings we read books, she naps while I work, and we try and get some tummy time in the afternoon. Its amazing to see her grow and change though.

This week she had her 4-month checkup at the pediatrician's office (with shots, boo). She's now 25 inches long with a 16-inch circumference head and weighs 12 lbs 2.5 oz. She did really well with the shots, just a quick cry before I picked her up to comfort her, and just like last time she ran a low-grade fever for about a day and was puny and wanted to be held/comforted a lot, plus lots of napping. The doctor said she's doing great.

Last Saturday was Mali and Maeby's first car ride together. We took my car in for an oil change and decided to take Maeby with us. Mali was fine -- she never seems to mind much when Maeby licks her, and Maeby was surprisingly well behaved. She didn't try to get in Mali's face too much, and she didn't try to sit on her either. Look how happy she was!

Our other big first was sitting in the Bumbo seat. Cousin Hudson had been borrowing it (since he's 3 1/2 months older), but he's grown out of it just in time for Mali to be ready to use it. She looks so grown up sitting up like that. But she really seems to like the seat, especially when there are rattles to shake, monkeys to dance in front of her, and hands to investigate. We're very lucky to have such a good girl.

ProMali

Isn't our little nugget adorable? I am in love. The photo today is one from our photo shoot last month with Alison Carpenter (http://allisoncarpenterphotography.com/). She did such an amazing job.

This has been my first full week working from home, and I am loving it. Mali's smiles and coos make the financial sacrifices all worth it.

She's been sucking on her thumb lately, rather than just her whole hand. It's funny because once she figures out how to get just her thumb in her mouth she has a hard time figuring out what to do with her other fingers. Sometimes they end up in her eye, or squeezing her own cheeks, and at least once she's given herself a gash on the nose with her little fingernails. Time to trim them! Now that I'm home we've been getting in some serious tummy time, and she's getting much happier in that position. She loves her playmat and looking at all the animal toys hanging from it. Yesterday she even grabbed the rabbit rattle.

James has a link to more of Allison's photos on his Picasa site: https://picasaweb.google.com/jamesbrownjr/ProMalishots

Guh Gah

I've been sort of impatient about Mali cooing and gooing, but in the past week or so she's been trying to verbalize a lot more. It's really the cutest sound. Most of the time she's smiling while she's gurgling, so the combined effect is enough to make my already mushy heart melt completely.

This past weekend we took Mali on her first trip to Hiawassee, Georgia to see her grandparents and meet a gaggle of aunts, uncles, and cousins. To say she was a hit would be an understatement. I'm not sure James and I got to hold her for more than a few minutes at a time all weekend, and she loved the entertainment. We had a big family/neighborhood reunion/picnic on Sunday to celebrate the 4th of July weekend, and Mali was dressed in festive red, white, and blue stars.

The cousins shot off amazing fireworks on the dam that evening, and Mali was a trooper. Even though it was near bedtime she was happy in her baby carrier, alternating between looking at the pretty lights and dozing. The loud booms didn't even make her flinch. I guess she figured fireworks were passe after that, since the next night when we watched Thunder On The Mountain from right underneath Vulcan, she slept through the entire thing. She's a really good baby :)

Hopefully you'll be able to hear her talk in the attached video, but either way, here she is in action!