Will: 4 Month Update

With Olivia, I documented every month, every new everything. She was my whole world, and it showed. I am so grateful for those times, so grateful for the time and energy I was able to exclusively give her. They are memories I will always love and cherish - and quite frankly, long for. Quite honestly, I wish there was some way to experience that with every child, but realistically that is not the case. Do I love Will any less? Nope. Do I want to spend less time with him? Nope. Do I care less about his development and progress? Nope. The truth is - life has become a bit more of a juggling act these days! The needs of 2 littles requires more time and energy; and with, at times, opposite schedules, I have very little down time or "me" time each day. Such is a mother's life, right? I love being a mom, I love my children...I do wish I had some more me time though. :) But don't we all? Point being - I haven't sat down to share my thoughts, experiences, and milestones with Will! All for very good reasons: we traveled all summer (from when Will was 1 month old), I am still figuring out how to be a mom of TWO, I am a perfectionist when it comes to posting photos (I like to edit them before sharing them), and I've chosen to spend my time doing other things (some more important, others not so much, lol). All that being said, I have a few minutes while both my kiddos are napping (a miracle), and want to jot down a few things about my sweetheart of a son, William.

William is a sweetheart. He is a smiley, happy, cuddly little boy who loves attention. He has big brown eyes (that are often green), and thin dark hair that collects in a little "tuft" in the back (we can totally give him the Alfalfa look). His getting chubbier by the day - making kissing his cheeks harder and harder to resist. He is a giggler. He starting smiling and giggling quite early. His little giggle melts my heart every. single. time. When he really gets going it starts to sound like a squeal! And guess who can make him smile and laugh the most? Olivia. Yup. He loves his big sister. He loves to be tickled...and he is ticklish on every part of his body, but especially his back and toes. 

During playtime, he is constantly moving - when he was younger he would flap his arms as though he were about to take off, and although he continues to do that, especially when he sees you for the first time after a nap or nighttime, his latest craze his kicking his left leg; it looks as though he's kick starting his dirt bike! He loves to suck on his fingers, well, better said - his entire hand. He is the furthest from a binky baby that I think they can come. He sort of took it when he was in the hospital, but he discovered not long after coming home that he was not amused by a piece of rubber stuck in his mouth, especially compared to his then newly discovered fingers and hands. He tends to favor his left hand, but righty gets some action too. 

Will has just recently gotten into toys - he loves his green O'ball with rattles in it and a crinkly book that Lala bought for Livi at this age. They are my go-to toys for those rare cranky moments. He also loves looking at the little laptop Papa Erickson bought for Livi and any book he can get his hands (and mouth) on. He loves playing "Patty-cake", although Livi has changed it up a bit - she calls it "Pat-a-hands". She loves playing it with him, and he with her; they both end up giggling together. I love it. 

He is not a big fan of tummy time - probably has to do with the bit of acid reflux he has going on (and has had going on since birth), but he'll give it a good ten minutes at a time. He much prefers to lay on his back or sit in his bouncer. He loved his swing when he was younger, but unless it's nap time, he wants nothing to do with it. He has rolled from tummy to back only once, and I think it traumatized him so much that it will be quite some time before he attempts that again. He definitely scoots around on his back, all powered by his legs. He can do 360's in less than a minute if he wants to! 

Will loves to be held and cuddled. I carried him in my Moby Wrap for the better part of his first 3 months. Chasing after Livi and traveling for the summer made it a must! At 4 months, he insists on facing out unless he's tired, and is happiest with Daddy in the Baby Bjorn. He hasn't ridden in a stroller all that much, and isn't a huge fan of his carseat - but once we get going on the road he is SUCH a good little traveler. He's made 2 trips between LA and Livermore, a trip to Utah, and a trip from Utah to Idaho all in his short 4 months. No flights yet - way too expensive these days. 

He is a social smiler and loves to meet new people. He just oozes unconditional love and makes you feel like you are the only person in his little world. He found his voice about a month ago and has continued to develop it - loudly! He has the sweetest little coos and squeals. I love to talk back to him with sounds similar to his, I can see the processing going on in his little mind. He gets serious for a second or two and then bursts into a smile. 

The daily details - up until last week (those darn 2 month immunizations that he got at 4 months because we were traveling) - he has been a great little eater, though he has consistently had an issue with spitting up; at times to the point of projectiling! He has also been a great little sleeper, and recently loves sleeping on his side. He was sleeping for 6 hour stretches around 3 months, but like I said - that was up until last week. Since then he's in a "I don't want to eat or sleep at night" phase. Sleep training, here we come! Just today I started writing down the routine we've gotten into - to see just how much he is eating, sleeping, and playing. I've got to do some tweaking so that he is sleeping better at night. Because of his tummy issues, we are feeding him Enfamil GentleEase Formula. Hoping that in the next couple of months we'll be able to transition him back to the Costco generic brand. We'll see how that goes though...

I like to think that Will is and will stay a Mama's boy. What mother wouldn't?! :) But he is definitely Daddy's little buddy. Seeing the two of them together is priceless. Will turns to us when we call his name and follows either of us as we enter or leave the room where he's at. He has a soft spot for Livi though - like I said earlier - she can make him laugh and smile like no one else. He looks at her with adoring eyes and she the same at him. I can't wait for the day when they can really start playing together, although, I'm in no rush to see Will grow up. Already it blows my mind how fast he's grown up. 

I'm hoping to start him on some rice cereal or oatmeal in a few weeks - and after that we're on to the good stuff! He's definitely interested in food, he watches us eat intently. Not so excited for the spit up that will then not only contain formula but food though. :) I also just borrowed a Bumbo chair from my friend, he has loved being able to sit up and watch the action at home. Looks like we'll be investing in one...

At his 4 month checkup (we missed his 2 month) - he weighed in at 14 lbs 15 oz - becoming quite the little chunk these days, and I know I should remember how tall he is, but I don't. Go figure. I'm sure I'll remember it at some point. :) He's as healthy as can be and even cuter than ever. We're sure in love with this little man!