Owen, 4 Months

Happy 4 Month Birthday, Owen!

I can't believe we're one-third of the way through his first year. It completely blows my mind. Here are a few things we want to remember from Owen's fourth month:

• On Christmas Eve (I suppose that was technically his third month, but close enough!) Owen grabbed and held a toy for the first time. Uncle Christian and Aunt Cora had sent him a wooden ring toy for his Christmas gift...we handed it to Owen and he actually held on. It was kind of a big deal. ;) Ever since then he's been holding on to things more and more and actually is now reaching out for toys and items held in front of him. He LOVES chewing and sucking on things, especially blankets and burp cloths. And his favorite thing to grab onto is his binky and the fabric strap for his pacifier clip...must to his own consternation! He can often be found unwittingly popping his binky out of his mouth because the strap is so fun to grab on to.  He still "knits" and doesn't have full control over his hands (or his whole body, really), but it sure is fun to watch his dexterity develop so quickly.
• On January 8 Owen was steadier than he'd ever been sitting up on my lap at church (he did a good job flirting with the ladies in the row behind us). The rest of that day he kept trying to pull himself to a sitting position. He was sitting on my lap at one point, with is back leaning against me, while I was reading to Anna...suddenly he pulled himself up to a sitting position. This was the beginning of Owen never wanting to just sit back and relax...he always wants to be sitting up and is constantly trying to sit up when he's lying down. Of course, normally once he gets up he keeps on going and falls forward, so he's not quite to the point of actually sitting on his own, but if he has anything to say about it he will be soon! Needless to say he enjoys the Bumbo a lot. And I kind of love the Bumbo, too, because he looks so tiny when he's sitting in it. He may be growing, but he's still our little guy. And he's still as wobbly as can be. I'll be sad when the wobbliness goes away...
• Owen just continues to laugh more and more. In fact, he started this morning off with a great burst of giggles while I was kissing his face. Im pretty sure there isn't a better sound in the world.
• January 20th was the first time he rolled from his stomach to his back. Go Owen!
• On January 23rd, we tried "peek-a-boo" to see how he'd react since it had been a few weeks since we had tried it. Whenever I said "Boo!" he would laugh hysterically, and the laugh was exactly the same each time. Nate and I couldn't stop laughing ourselves. I think this may be my new favorite pastime...playing peek-a-boo (or just plain old 'boo') with Owen.

We love this little guy. He is still such a happy baby and he causes each one of us (including the girls) to declare is cuteness multiple times each day. We love you, Owen!

 The growing giraffe...Owen's totally growing faster.

My favorite picture from the entire month.