My First Christmas

I got presents!
They tasted good!

Phil Claus

I'm not sure this Santa will be able to deliver all those presents this year. He looks pretty small to me. Although he does now weigh in at 20 pounds, 2 ounces and stands 28.5 inches tall. Maybe he's an elf.

He is very smart though. I was wrapping presents in front of him last night just out of his reach. So he rolls from his tummy to his back and back to tummy again so he was within reach of that pretty paper. Too bad Mommy knows a thing or two about sneaky babies!

Picture Time

Scoots

Well, it's official. The baby can scoot backwards now. Right now he is getting into all the big kid toys he is not supposed to play with yet. But he's mad because he can't figure out how to go forward.

Dress Up

OK, I had to take this picture with my cell phone so it's not the best. But I just love the look on his little face. Steffi was playing dress-up with him which is why he has the bunny ears on his head. They also played tea party. I imagine this is why John wanted to have the boys before having any girls. I don't know what he will do when Philip shows up wearing the "Little Mermaid" costume. But you can bet the picture will show up on this site!

Speaking of Philip - he has completely undermined my plans for today. I was planning to have everybody dressed and ready to go by the time Hayden had to go to school so we could go to WalMart, get the oil changed in the van, get Steffi's hair cut, buy groceries and whatever else. But, no....somebody had to have an EXTREMELY restless night and woke up every hour and a half. Until 5:30, that is, he's been sleeping since then. A lot of good that does me! I'm actually going to wake him up soon. We need to get done with our shopping so the girls can take a nap today. They didn't get one yesterday. Grandma and Peggi came up to go Christmas shopping. John had to work so we took Philip & Stephanie with us. Hayden and Meredith stayed in the apartment while John was working downstairs - yes, there are definitely advantages to living in the same building where you work.

A half year's worth of wisdom...

Hey, guess what? I will be 6 months old tomorrow!

Know what my favorite thing in the world is? Kickin' back in my high chair and sucking applesauce off a spoon. Mmmmmmmm - Delicious! I ate almost a whole jarful of it today until Mommy cut me off. I LOVE eating with a spoon. So much more satisfying than a bottle. Especially applesauce. But you know what I just don't get - rice cereal - can someone please tell me what is the point of that stuff?

Me

Aren't I cute?

The Drool King

This baby is SO DROOLY. He can soak thru a bib in less than an hour. Clearly, I need to invest in more bibs. I really don't remember the others being this bad.

On a positive note, he FINALLY let me get some sleep last night. He slept for 10 hours! It was heavenly. If only I could dare to hope he's finally settled in to the new house and will keep sleeping like this. Now if only I could get him to take a decent nap or 2 during the day...

New Stuff

I really like this toy - it makes music when I hit it. I can roll over now from my back to my front. Mommy says I should learn how to roll from my front to my back too but after awhile of being on my tummy, I just get mad and yell at her to come get me.

4 Months

Philip had his 4-month-old checkup today. Hard to believe he's that old already. I'm already missing the "baby" days. He can already roll over from his back to his stomach, turn sideways in his crib, grab for toys, "talk" at the top of his lungs, and he's been laughing for over a month & a half. The doctor said we can start trying cereal now - coincidently, I bought some just last week knowing this would happen sooner rather than later.

He's now 27 inches which puts him just off the chart heightwise and 17 pounds, 2 ounces which is the 75 percentile. Apparently, he will be just as big as his brother and sisters (though, hopefully, not as big as Stephanie when he's 2.)

Favorite Thing

My new favorite thing to do is to fall asleep, let Mommy lay me down in my crib, stay asleep for awhile to let her relax and think she's about to be able to get some things done, and then wake up before she can even get started.

Also, this woman has 3 children older than me, why do I only have 3 pairs of long pants to wear this fall? She'd better dig out those storage bins and see if there is anything else for me to wear.

Baby's Day Out

My Great-Great-Aunt Esther came and picked me up again today. She's so much fun. We talk and talk and smile and smile. And she always brings me back home even though Steffi always has her doubts that she will when she picks me up.

Mommy calls me a "drool monster" now. I can't help it. I need some teeth to help hold the drool in. But I'm not ready to get teeth yet. Plus I like blowing bubbles.

We went to the zoo on Monday. I didn't really get to see very many animals. I slept at least half the time we were there. And I was in the stroller almost all the time. But it was fun and tiring - I slept a lot yesterday too because I was worn out.

Late Nights

It's been a busy couple of days here lately. Sunday we went to the fair. Philip fell asleep about 10 and slept until almost 8. Then yesterday, he had to have shots. He did not enjoy them. He was crabby all afternoon and evening and finally fell asleep about 10:30. Then he didn't wake up until just after 9 this morning. I had to go check on him several times to make sure he was still breathing. He was sideways in his crib and his head was bent sideways because of the wall of the crib. Now he is lying on the floor and Stephanie is "playing" with him. Apparently he likes it because he is chatting back at her.

Tummy Time

Yay! Tummy Time!

He can lift his head up a little but he's also trying to stand? He's normally a happy baby but yesterday he refused to take a nap and he was getting on everybody's nerves. He's still sleeping now though. He got up at 6:30 to eat and then went back to sleep which worked out nicely since then I had time to get Hayden up and ready for the bus.

Doctor

Philip went to the dr last Thursday. He is now 13 pounds, 10 ounces and 23 1/2 inches long. So he's at the 50th percentile for weight and 75th for height. I was kind of excited that he might not be a "monster" like the other 3 have been. It would be nice to have a 1-year-old around who weighs less than most 3-year-olds. Then I looked in Steffi's baby book...At 2-months, she also was at the 50th percentile for weight and 75th for height and look how big she is now. She goes in for her 2-year-old checkup next month so we'll see exactly how big she really is then.

Shirts

I just came across this quote by Jeff Foxworthy that describes Philip perfectly. "Did you know babies are nauseated by the smell of a clean shirt?" Luckily, they don't stay clean long.

Right now he is lying on the floor talking to the ceiling. Or perhaps he can see the tv out of the corner of his eye and thinks it is someone he knows. He's been crabby this morning. Don't know why. He slept pretty good last night. He is a bit melodramatic though. Gotta go.

New

What's new, you ask? I talk now. And I smile a lot. I like my Aunt Peggi. But I don't like to just sit in my carseat unless we're actually in the car and moving, then it's ok. Other than that, I like to hang out in the kitchen and watch people. I especially like it when they get down next to me and talk to me.

Sleepy

The baby is still sleeping. It must be hard work making sure Mommy wakes up every couple of hours during the night. I don't know what was wrong with him last night but he'd better sleep better tonight!

My Favorite Hobby

Sleeping is so much nicer when you're snuggled up to someone. This is me at 1 month.

The Newest Family Member

Hello!