Carter at 4 months old

I think 4 months old is my favorite "baby" age. He's old enough to start doing some super cute stuff and still small enough to be cuddly and adorable. It's a great mix! Carter has been busy this last month learning all sorts of new things and reaching more milestones.
On Friday morning we went in for his 4 month check-up. He's doing great. I thought he was growing at an alarming rate, but he is not. He is still my little peanut, despite the fact that he's wearing 6-9 month clothing! He measured 25 1/4 inches long (50%), weighed 13 pounds 3 ounces (10%) and his head was 16.5 inches (30%). The nurse joked about how all of his calories are going to his head.

His pediatrician and I talked about his eating habits, still every 2-3 hours. Since he's growing just fine, it's time to start holding him off and make him wait a little bit longer in between feedings. This should also help him start sleeping through the night. He has his dinner at 6pm, in bed by 7 and then would still wake up anywhere between 11-1am then again at 3-5am, up again at 6 or 7am and we're usually up for the day after that. Since the appointment, he's slept through the night the last two nights. He wakes up somewhere between 3 and 5am. YEA!!! I'm
hoping this is a continuing trend.

Nursing is such a sweet time for the two of us. He clearly understands when it's time to eat and gets so excited about it, kicking his legs and waving his arms. He now gets into the "Milk Zone" and has a wandering hand, grabbing my face - nose, cheeks and chin or clutching my shirt. He looks so peaceful, comfortable and safe. I love it when his cheeks get rosy pink circles.
Carter is one social little guy. He has an adorable smile and is quite the talker. He loves to smile at himself in the mirror. It's so funny, I could stand there with him all day long. He doesn't really belly laugh, more like little giggles. What makes him squeal the most is bouncing him up and down on the bed or throwing him up in the air. He seems to be an adrenaline junkie already!
His hands are always in his mouth and he has discovered his feet, too. He likes to hold on to them when he's in his swing or bouncer (that he's quickly outgrowing). He plays with his toys, reaching out for them, shaking them and eating them. His favorite is the same little book that Logan had as a baby.

He hates tummy time, but is getting a little bit better about it. During his appointment when the Doctor put him down, he screamed like he was getting a shot. "Boy, he has some drama in him doesn't he?!", she said. Yes, he does. He's not really rolling yet, only once or twice, but his upper body is still strong. He's just lazy. He should be able to stand on his legs, but he's lazy about that too. We need to get him an exersaucer to start forcing him to put some weight on them. The little stinker. However, he has great head and neck control. He just likes for me to be his personal assistant and do everything for him. This is ending soon enough!
He is very much attached to me and we are quickly working on helping him gain some confidence and independence. As horrible as it is to listen to, I am handing him off to Bill more often even though he screams and fusses. I'm also either letting him scream in his room, in his bouncer, swing or on the floor a lot more. I really don't want him to stay attached to me and hopefully by the time he's 6 months old and in the throws of separation anxiety, it won't be as bad (or worse). But the times that the attachment is cute is right before bedtime. He demands to be cuddled with in the rocking chair, not necessarily rocked to sleep, but cuddled to relax. I don't mind this at all. He's also starting to give me baby hugs which just melt my heart into a big puddle.
He's also very much attached to Logan. The two people he smiles at the most are his Mom and his brother (probably because we're around him the most). He loves it when Logan plays on the floor with him, talks to him and tries to wrestle with him despite my gasps telling him to be careful. I know that the two of them are going to get into all sorts of crazy adventures and Carter will idolize his Big Brother. I can see it now. It's very sweet.
I'm sure I'm forgetting a lot, like his excited smiles when he wakes up or his giggles at bath time. It seems that life goes by so fast with two kids that I miss out on the details with him. I don't get to take nearly as many pictures as I want to and savor every moment I can with my last little one. He's growing so fast already...