Little Raindrops

Posts Tagged ‘weight’

Dearest Heron,

Hello, sweetie! It’s been so wonderful spending time with you these past two months! You’ve grown so much and have been such a joy in our life! At your five month doctor’s appointment, you weighed 17 lb 7 oz (72nd percentile) and were 25 inches long (25th percentile.) You are sitting up on your own and reaching for toys, rolling over, passing objects from one hand to another, and babbling nonstop!

You love your brother Rhino so much. Whenever he’s around, you watch him, smile at him, and laugh at him. You can be in a terrible mood for me, but Rhino can almost always cheer you up! He likes to play with you and tickle you. You aren’t yet too interested in playing with him, but I’m sure soon you two will be having so much fun together!

In the past two months you’ve had your first Thanksgiving (but no turkey for you!), have met your Aunt Jen, starting attending the nursery in church, and had your first Christmas and New Year’s! You loved Christmas, playing with (chewing on) all your new toys and crinkling the wrapping paper. You also like going to the nursery in church where you can swing and watch all the other babies and toddlers. You usually get a little hungry and I come and visit with you, but I’m told you are usually very calm throughout church. Your brother liked nursery at first, and then eventually had some separation anxiety for a few months, so I won’t be surprised if you start to experience the same feelings soon.

You are starting to sleep better throughout the night. You still sleep in bed with Mommy (Daddy works at night so he never gets to sleep when you do.) You used to stay up with me and sleep downstairs or wait to go to bed until I did. I’ve just started being able to put you down at seven in the crib where you’ll sleep for a few hours before I come up to bed and snuggle down with you.

Daddy and I (and Rhino!) love you so much and can’t wait to have more fun with you next month!

Lots of Love,
Mommy

Rhino dearest,

The past two months with you have been a joy, as always! You are such a sweetheart, a bright little boy, and always make us laugh! You didn’t have a doctor’s visit this month, but did have a WIC appointment where we were able to get your height and weight. At 22 months you were 26 pounds, 12 ounces (44th percentile) and 32.75 inches tall (22nd percentile.)

Your vocabulary has really taken off these past few months! You say all sorts of words like shoe, boot, two, hat, cheese, snow, car, plane, up, down, juice, hair, eye, nose, mouth, chin, and thank you (“dat doo”). You don’t string words together to make simple sentences yet, but I have the feeling that’s coming soon! You still use your words together with sign language symbols, but we haven’t taught you any new signs lately.

Some exciting things have happened these past months! Your Aunt Jen came to visit and had such a good time with you! You entertained her a lot with your dancing, silly playing around, and guitar hero strumming. She tried for ten days to get you to say Aunt Jen, but you wouldn’t even try it. Then, after she left, you were looking at photos on our digital frame and saw a picture of her, pointed, and said Aunt Jen. Daddy was on the computer and looked up with surprise, and asked if that’s what you had said. It was pretty clear. Too bad you couldn’t do that a few days earlier for your aunt! We did lots of fun things with your aunt while she was visiting, like shopping, going out to lots of different restaurants, a wonderful Thanksgiving, checking out the Aviation and Science museum, visiting the fish market in Hachinohe, going to the beach to see shipwrecks and horses, and playing games. She can’t wait to see you again!

We also celebrated Christmas last month! It was your second Christmas and was a little more exciting for you than your first Christmas. You enjoyed getting advent treats every day in December, loved all the sweet goodies we munched throughout the month, and really loved the tree and would consistently try to blow out the lights and take down all the ornaments! You received some wonderful gifts from all the people that love you, including a tricycle, a Mr. Potato Head, a huge box of Lego Duplos, some wonderful wooden puzzle toys and lacing beads, lots of snazzy clothes, and your favorite ball – a Blue’s Clues ball! It was a fun, quiet Christmas and you seemed to really have a great time!

You are still such a good big brother and are really bonding with Heron. He adores you so much and you make him laugh when no one else can. You shower him with kisses, want to hold him, and share your toys (by forcing them into his little hands) and your sippy cup (though he doesn’t care for that yet!) You two are so sweet together and I’m looking forward to the days ahead where you will play together!

Thanks for another fantastic few months with you, Rhino! Daddy and I love you more and more each day and can’t wait to have another great month with our big boy!

Love always,
Mommy

“Heron” was born two weeks ago and the time has really flown by! Matt went back to work tonight and it’s been really nice having him around to help out, especially with Rhino.

We’ve mostly just spent a lot of time on the sofa bed in the living room, watching Netflix Instant and eating meals people have brought over for us. It’s a nice little babymoon! I get a little restless just sitting inside all the time, so we have had a few outings as well. Heron’s first outing/shopping trip was to the Shimoda Mall for yarn and lunch, but he slept the entire time. We also took a trip to Hachinohe and to the Towada Horse Park.

He had his two-week visit with the pediatrician yesterday. He’s gained one pound since leaving the hospital and we measured (and remeasured) his length to be 21-3/4 inches. I’m sure he didn’t shrink, so I guess someone mis-measured when he was born! The only concern I had was about his tongue. When he tries to stick it out, the sides bulge and the middle stays inside his mouth so his tongue is kind of heart-shaped. I noticed that the little thing that connects the underside of his tongue to the bottom of his mouth (lingual frenulum) connects all the way to the tip of his tongue and keeps him from being able to lift it up all the way. This is called ankyloglossia, but the doctor says his case is pretty minor and may resolve itself as he grows older. It isn’t interfering with breastfeeding at all and we’ll see if it’s an issue when he starts solids or if it affects his speech, but for now it’s nothing to worry about at all. Overall, “he’s a keeper” (says the doc) and everything looks good. He’ll be going back to the doctor when he’s two months old.

Rhino is adjusting well to being a big brother. He gets a little carried away sometimes and pokes, hits, or throws things at Heron (nothing seriously damaging,) but he’s learning how to be gentle. He knows Heron’s name, will point at him, wave to him, kiss him, look for him when he enters a room, want to hold him and hug him, and brings pacifiers and diapers if he’s crying. So far, it’s fun and I’m not all that stressed out. We’re all sleeping well. Heron’s in bed with us and Rhino’s in the crib right next to our bed and doesn’t seem to mind at all. Rhino’s had some extra attention these past two weeks with Matt home all the time and hopefully now he doesn’t start to feel jealous or deprived since I’ll sometimes be busy with Heron. We’ll see!

My dear Rhino,

This month has been very busy! You’re running around even more, playing cute games, and babbling to us in your own language. You keep growing, of course. You’re now 30.5 inches tall and weigh 22 pounds. We’re not worried about your low weight anymore, it seems you’re just a smaller guy right now. I think it’s because you’re always burning off so much energy keeping active! You still love dancing and have a whole bunch of cute and hilarious moves. You will dance to songs in movies we’re watching, music on the radio, the sound of the dishwasher or washing machine, or songs I sing or whistle. We have been attending church early on Sundays and are around for choir practice, which is my favorite time to watch you dance! You run into the auditorium as soon as you hear the piano and dance in the aisle, either squatting, sumo-stepping, or rocking back and forth, then clap for the choir at the end of every song. You’re so amusing! You’ve always been pretty interested in music. You love the little toy piano Aunt Jen gave you for Christmas. I’ve also set up a keyboard so I can practice the piano and you are very excited about that! You like to listen, but you really enjoy playing, too. Every day we get about 30 minutes in front of the keys together where you play little musical patterns, alternate between the highest and lowest keys, or bang excitedly! You also like playing the guitar and more than once have unzipped the guitar case and struggled to pull it out of the bag so you can sit on the floor and pick away. I do hope that this interest sticks with you and you will pick up some instrument later on!

You are also such a big sweetheart. I am still pregnant and awaiting your baby brother and Daddy gives me a massage every day to help me relax or ease some of the pregnancy aches. You always want to be involved and will help rub my legs or back alongside Daddy. Usually your massages tickle or you just rock me, but it makes me so happy! You’re copying us more and more each day and always seem to want to do what we’re doing. It’s so much fun having you around!

Part of our month was a little stressful. You had been sick in the past, but recently you were even more sick. Your temperature rose to 104 degrees, which had me really scared. You tried to do the things you usually do and seemed to want to be in a good mood, but we could tell how drained you were. You spent about four days really tired and calm. You weren’t sleeping well and didn’t have much interest in food. We took you to the doctor and he determined you had an upper respiratory infection and all we could do was let you get over it. We kept trying to keep your fever down with Motrin. Daddy and I got sick at the same time and our whole household was pretty pathetic. We got through it though, and you were such a trooper! I’m so glad you’re better now!

We had one more big change this month: we moved to a new house! Because we’re adding another member to our family, the military has let us have a larger home. It was a lot of work to pack everything up, move all our stuff, and clean the old place, but the new house is so nice that it was definitely worth it! You started to get a little stressed out at the old house with all the mess and boxes. As soon as we were given our new home, you loved running around the big, open rooms! We had to go back and forth between the old and new houses and your mood would sour so much when we arrived at the old place, but whenever we showed up in the new home you would get so happy! I’m glad you like our new house! You were very helpful in the moving, though. When Daddy would carry boxes to the car, he’d give you something small to carry (a small box or your baby wipes or a little bag) and you would carry alongside him. You’d also want to help clean with any rag or paper towel you found. Mrs. Kiser came over to help clean up the old house and when she took down all the long, vertical blinds in the living room to wipe them down, you sat on the other end with your own paper towel wiping away, too! Now we’re mostly settled down into the new house and you seem to be right at home.

Maybe next month when I write your 17 Month letter, you’ll be a big brother! I can’t wait to see how you react to a little baby around the house. I know it will be a big adjustment, but I won’t forget about my sweet, first born boy! You’ll get a lot of time with Daddy at first, but I know I’ll miss you (I’ll have to be in the hospital for a couple of days) and want to spend time with you, too! I love you so much, Rhino!

Love,
Mommy

I feel kind of guilty that I haven’t said more about this pregnancy. It’s not that I’m not excited about Baby’s arrival, but of course it’s not quite the same as it was with Rhino. Plus, he’s keeping me too busy to have pregnancy on my mind 24/7! I would be doing Belly Shots now too, but I have no camera so that will have to wait. Plus, I’m sure they’ll all look about the same as last time!

I took my gestational diabetes test on Wednesday. It wasn’t so bad. I went, chugged my super sweet flat orange soda, and had an hour to read a book by myself (which hasn’t happened in SO long!) They took some blood and I haven’t heard anything back, so I’m assuming no news is good news. It wasn’t a problem last time and I haven’t been loading up on sugar or packing on too many pounds, so I’m not worried.

Yesterday I had my 28 week appointment with Doctor #3. It was our first time meeting with him and as of right now he’s ranked lowest for me. We have no idea who will deliver Baby, but I’m hoping it’s Doctor #2. We’ll see in a couple of months, though! The appointment was quick and there wasn’t really anything too exciting to speak of. Rhino came along again and still hates doctors. He was doing all right until Doc messed around with the chair and I had to lie back — then he freaked out! I’m not sure if he thinks the doctor is going to hurt me or what is going through his little head. We heard Baby’s heartbeat, which was around 140 bpm. I’ve put on 17 pounds so far, which I think is much less than I did at this time with Rhino. For the last few weeks I’ve been revisited by some morning sickness. I’m sure that’s what it is, it just happens in the morning and it feels just the same. I’m eating small snacks, healthy breakfasts, drinking liquids; nothing’s really changed (just hormones?) I mentioned it to Doctor #3 and he said he’s never heard of morning sickness returning, so he thinks I’m just sick with some GI bug. I’m not a doctor, but I think he’s wrong. I really don’t think I’m sick. It’s no biggie to me, though, it’s just annoying having to run off to the bathroom and shut Rhino out (so he doesn’t get in the way) then have him scream and pound at the door to let him in while Matt’s asleep!

I also asked if there will be an opportunity to tour the facilities, ask questions, see how everything works. He said I can do that, but everything is routine and there’s not much to it. I didn’t dig any deeper, but I’m a little hesitant still to bring up providing a birth plan (though we will) or talk about things like delivering Baby straight to my chest without cutting the cord immediately or us taking the placenta home. I think I’ll wait a few more weeks to test the waters there.

Really, the pregnancy is going fine and I’m feeling pretty good! My back pains have relaxed a lot and I’m still keeping active. I think this little guy is moving around a whole lot more than Rhino did (or maybe I just don’t remember clearly?) I get some really strong, sometimes a tad painful kicks. I think I’m carrying higher also, as it gets really difficult to breathe sometimes with all the lung-squishing. For some reason Rhino has started kissing and babbling (and head-butting until I stop him!) to my tummy a lot lately. I don’t know if there’s some sense about what’s going on or if he just likes to play with a big, bare belly. It’s cute any way!

Dearest Rhino,

Well, another month has flown by and you just keep growing! When we took you to the doctor for your 1-year checkup, she was concerned because you had lost some weight (dropping to 20 pounds 8 oz.) It looks alarming in your chart, but I think it’s mostly because you started to get a lot more mobile (lots of crawling and cruising!) and had stopped drinking so much Mommy milk (but weren’t liking cow’s milk.) So the doctor said to come back in a month and see how you’re doing. So, for your 13-month checkup you seem to be doing much better in that department. You still nurse occasionally (really only if you get fussy at night, otherwise you aren’t very interested and would rather have a sippy cup) but drink plenty of whole milk. You’re now at 21 lb 6 oz, which is still a low percentile for babies your age, but that’s nothing to worry about — you are a very healthy little boy! You are also getting even more exercise now that you’ve started walking!

Yes, you’re walking now! You took your first, wobbly steps on Feb. 22nd and today you’re almost running! You used to cruise around the sofa, look at the ottoman a couple of feet away, think long and hard about it and then give it a go, stumbling into the ottoman! Now instead of pulling yourself up with the coffee table or pushing up from a toy on the floor, you can stand up on your own. You are very steady and will walk around, turn corners, step over small obstacles, and right yourself if you start to trip over something. You are so cute to watch and you often find it so exciting to walk laps around us in the living room!

This past month you had another adventure: visiting Tokyo! We all went with our friends Mrs. Armstrong and Mrs. Kiser. We drove down to Tokyo, about a 9 hour drive, and you were so great the whole way! You love to look out the window at the passing scenery, play with your toys, show off to us, and sleep. The only time you fussed in the car at all is during the drive back home when your tummy got a little upset. While we were in Tokyo you stayed with Daddy and I in a hotel, went up Tokyo Tower, tried Japanese foods, rode on subways, trains, and buses, went to a pretty zoo and saw lots of exciting animals, saw the gardens at the Imperial Palace (and pretty swans and koi), and visited the Ghibli Museum where you looked at lots of pretty pictures and played with stuffed soot balls and watched lots of little Japanese kids. It was a very nice time and you loved chatting with and showing of to our friends, watching all the Japanese people zipping by, and flirting with the occasional waitress or lady on the train!

There are other new things that you are doing now, too. You point all the time at things you want, pictures in books, and Daddy and I. While you point, you usually say da, which sounds like you’re trying to say “that.” You aren’t talking to us yet, but we do get a lot of dadas out of you, which sometimes sound like you mean “Daddy”, but you say it to lots of things that aren’t Daddy, too. One of your favorite new activities is putting things away! When we play together, you like it when I dump lots of little toys out of a bucket or blocks out of a bag so you can quickly pick them all up and return them to their container. It’s lot of fun when you do this with your toys — especially now that you will help me clean them up! — but you do it with all sorts of other silly things, too. We are constantly finding toys, crochet hooks, remote controls, and other random objects you find stuffed in Daddy’s shoes by the front door or placed in empty glasses we leave out on the coffee table! You like to play with your nesting cups. You’ve always enjoyed un-nesting them and banging them together, but now you try to put them all together properly. Sometimes you stack the blocks on top of each other, too. This usually happens when your nesting doesn’t quite work out and you try to put a large cup inside a small cup. From there, you build upwards and seem happy with the outcome, too!

You giggle and chat and smile all the time, but lately you’ve gotten quite a temper! You understand “no” and will test to see where the line is. Sometimes you can be pretty sneaky and you get punished for it. Usually when we swat your hand and tell you no, you’d get over it really quickly and come give us a hug. Now sometimes you’ll push us away if we try to hug you or you’ll bang your head on the floor and throw a little tantrum! You need to get over it and I feel a little bad for you sometimes, but you still are way too cute! You definitely don’t like having things taken away from you and if we try to hide something, you’ll go searching for it. Sometimes you get so upset by other people. You used to do just fine in the church nursery, but lately it’s been such a horror! As soon as we walk up to the door, you know what’s going on, and you will throw such a fit about it. I’m hoping this passes soon because I know it can be tiring for the other ladies who work in the nursery and I want you to have fun with the other children while Daddy and I are away at the service. Soon enough you should be able to understand that we won’t leave you in there forever. In your last two doctor’s appointments I mentioned earlier you were also so upset. Even if I was holding you, if the doctor came near you at all or even just looked at you, you would howl like she was torturing you! I wish there was something I could do to calm you down because you get madder than I’ve ever seen, but I’m hoping this too will pass soon.

It’s been such a fun month and every day you entertain Daddy and I so much! I love how you hug and kiss us all the time and want to snuggle and also how pleased you are with yourself for doing silly little things! We love you so much, Rhino!

Love Always,
Mommy

Hi sweetie! You’re now 8 months and doing fantastically! You’ve lost a tiny bit of weight compared to last month, but it’s probably because you’ve also been a little sick. You had your first cold, but you got through it like a trooper! At first whenever you’d cough or sneeze, you would smile or giggle because it was oh, so amusing! You got tired of that pretty quickly, though. We didn’t go to the doctor because you seemed to be doing really well with everything and had a great attitude all the way through. Daddy and I were sick at the same time, so it made the whole week a little stressful. At least that’s over with now!

Your friends Josh and Aime are visiting their grandparents in Texas right now, so you haven’t seen them much this month. You did have a nice visit with Samantha from church and across the street. I babysat her for a few hours and you two had fun playing together! She is 6 months older than you and it was fun to spend time with her and see about where you’ll be in the near future. We also met a lady who has a son, James, who is 2 weeks younger than you. We got together to play at his house and at the playground and you guys were too cute playing side by side!

You’ve been eating solid foods for a while now, but I’ve mostly looked at it at exploring new tastes and sensations. Now we’re trying to have more regular meals for you. Mealtime was a huge mess and was a little frustrating for me for a bit. When I used baby food you would get it everywhere, grab it with your hands, wipe your ears, play with your hair, and we’d have to rush off to the bathtub after every meal! I found that if I tuck your hands under your high chair tray, you keep them down in your lap and I can spoon feed you without you rubbing it all over your body. It may sound mean, but you don’t appear to mind having your arms pinned at all and mealtime goes much more smoothly. I’m trying to move away from the liquid baby foods more and have you feed yourself little bits of things. You have tried all sorts of new foods recently, most of which were a success! You love baked carrots and cauliflower with nutmeg and gobble them all down very quickly. You’ve had egg yolk and also yogurt, both of which you aren’t quite so sure about. Yesterday you had some cottage cheese with mango pieces that you loved! Last night for dinner you had some acorn squash pieces and also baked chicken and brown rice. You were pretty unsure about the chicken, so I ground it up in some sweet potato baby food (which you love!) You still love to munch on your sweet potato puffs – your favorite food! Daddy and I are lining up puffs along the clean carpet to try to encourage you to crawl. You will lean and reach as far as you possibly can then flop to your stomach and stretch even farther!

Speaking of crawling, you did crawl for the first time a couple of weeks ago! I was sitting in a chair and there were some toys and your books by my feet and you flopped from a sitting position and crawled on your hands and knees for about a foot and then creeped on your tummy for another foot to reach the book. Daddy and I were so excited that you were getting around on your own, but that was the last time we’ve seen you do that! There’s no rush, sweetie, but it will be fun when you’re traveling around the room on your own!

We haven’t done a whole lot that is too exciting. You love going to stores and looking at all the neat little things, so we do go shopping together. We’ve been out for a little hiking and walks around the base. We’re still having a great time at home, playing, reading, Skyping with grandparents, and snuggling together. Daddy and I love you very much and are looking forward to another wonderful month!

Love,
Mommy

Hello, sweetie!

In the last six months, you’ve grown up quite a bit! You weigh 21.5 pounds and are 27.95 inches long. You are getting very sociable with other children now. We had a church picnic at Leftwich Park on base where you sat with 1-year old Samantha. You like to reach out and touch her head and babble to her! We have also spent time with our friends the Armstrongs and their kids, Josh and Aimé. Josh likes to tickle you (though I don’t think you’re ticklish right now, but Josh has fun!) and talk to you. Aimé likes to pat her head and you have pulled at her pretty little curls more than once! She always giggles and says “Baby Rhino likes me!” which you seem to very much. There are also other babies in the church nursery that you like to look at and reach out for. You are also very interested in certain adults. We were at the food court at the BX recently and there was a table with some Japanese men in front of you and you kept smiling and calling out to them with your screeches and babbles. They enjoyed your attention and would wave and laugh and you really liked the interaction. You are quite a friendly little boy!

You recently started pulling yourself to your knees and also to a stand. You have strong legs and stand very well with our support. We no longer pull you because you can bring yourself up! You are enjoying your play time in your crib more now that you’ve discovered you can hold onto the railing, kneel or stand, and chew on the wood!

You aren’t crawling yet, but I get the feeling you’re going to take off any day now! When you’re sitting on your own, you often lean forward and get on your hands and knees. It seems like you don’t know exactly what to do from there, though! Sometimes you plop down to your stomach and push yourself in circles with your feet or try to walk your feet forward so your diaper is in the air. Sometimes you just push yourself back to a sitting position. You seem like you’re ready to get moving, though!

You also started clapping for us this past month. You are very good with your hands and had been touching them together excitedly, but it never quite made a clap. Now you clap along with us when Daddy and I clap for you or you do it on your own when you’re happy and playing.

You make all sorts of silly noises, too! You’re continuing to string together “ba”s and “da”s, but lately you’ve been doing a whole lot more “ma”s and “na”s. The first time I heard your “ma” was when I walked in the room you were in and you looked up at me and squealed “mama!” I know you aren’t speaking yet and still just experimenting with sounds, but it made me smile! Now it seems like when Daddy is holding you, you repeat “mama” over and over, but when I hold you, you say “dada” all the time! You’ll figure it out soon! You are learning to recognize some words now. If you are lying down or sitting and I want to pick you up, I will say “up.” Now most of the time when I say up, you will look at me and lift up your arms for me to pick you up!

You love playing with your toys, especially some Japanese blocks we got you, your Bright Builders, and my yarn! You like to bang your toys together and sometimes get so wild with them that you scrunch up your face and lean back away from your hands because you seem like you’re going to smack yourself! You also like playing with your food. You are really getting good at pinching the sweet potato puffs and getting them in your mouth and you love the baby toast, both to eat and play with! You are still eating a lot of peas, sweet potatoes, and butternut squash baby food that I make as well as baby oat cereal. You don’t love being fed and always want to hold the spoon yourself. Sometimes you do a pretty good job, but most of the time you make quite a mess! You also like to chew on raw baby carrots and will demolish one very quickly. You chew it all up very well and leave almost no mess. You’re my little rabbit baby!

We are having such a wonderful time together and I have fun seeing all the new things you learn every day. It amazes me how quickly you grow and I am really enjoying helping you discover your world!

See some other photos and videos of the past month!

I love you,
Mommy

Hi, Rhino! You’re five months old now and more and more adorable! I’m afraid if you keep this up, I’m going to keel over from a cuteness overdose! It’s so amazing looking at photos of you from just a few months ago and seeing how much you’ve changed.

You are doing such a great job during play time. When you’re on your tummy you pull yourself around in circles so you can look at everything in the room! You still don’t roll over too often, but you will from your tummy to your back every now and then. Daddy and I are especially pleased with how well you’re sitting. Not too long ago, we could prop you up and you would just fold yourself in half and flop over. Now when you fall too far forward, you will straighten your back and regain your balance. You sit up on your own and reach for toys on the floor. A few times when you are about to fall backwards, you even put your hand on the floor behind you and stabilize yourself!

Your “vocabulary” has developed quite a bit this last month, too! You will say long strings of “bababa”s and “dadada”s (Daddy likes to think you’re all ready calling him “Dada”!) You have been making babbling noises for quite a while, but this month they have changed a lot. Rather than just making sounds, sometimes you’ll get a thoughtful or determined look on your face and it sounds like you’re babbling sentences and questions. I love the conversations that we have together these days! You don’t just talk to Daddy and I, but also to your toys and blankets.

Rhino on Play Mat from Melissa on Vimeo.

You’re also making plenty of new little friends. You went to McKenzie’s first birthday party at the aquarium and had a fun time with the fish. I guess your best friend right now is two year-old Aime from church. When you’re in the nursery she likes to rock you in the little rocking chair and put her baby’s blanket on you. She’ll also play feed you with her doll’s spoon. We went to go visit her when she was sick with migraines last weekend and you sat with her on the sofa. She was really quiet all day and didn’t talk for a long time, but when she saw you she weakly said “Baby Rhino” to say hello. You’re meeting many other little kids in the nursery that all like to put your head and talk to you.

You didn’t have a doctor’s appointment this month, but Daddy took you in to go get weighed. You are now 19 pounds 14 ounces! Everyone loves your big tummy and your super-chunky thighs. We measured your height at home and you’re about 28 inches tall. You’re such a big boy and everyone thinks you’re going to be tall just like Daddy! It’s been another wonderful month with you and we’re having such a great time together. We’re having fun meeting new people, seeing Japan, and just playing together at home. I’m looking forward to the next fantastic month with you!

Love Always,
Mommy

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You’ve really blossomed so much this past month, Rhino! You have such an amazing personality and are really letting it show. This month you had your first giggles, which are the most beautiful sound ever! At first you would only giggle for Daddy, but just yesterday, as I was singing to you, you did for me too! (You must have been laughing at my silly singing voice!)

Another big surprise this month is your first two teeth! You’ve been a little grumpier lately, and very drooly, so we knew we’d see a tooth soon. Last Sunday two cute little bottom teeth popped up. You are now gnawing on anything and everything and we need to start cleaning those pearly whites! I grew my first tooth at 4 months, so I guess you take after me in the dental department!

You’ve made some new friends this month, mostly through the church nursery. All the ladies that work there adore you and you are usually very friendly with them. There are a couple other babies there that you will look at and babble too, but you’re more talkative with the older toddlers. We have also been going to an infant play group where you like to watch the other, older babies crawling around and playing. You’re starting to play more, also. When we dangle a toy, you often reach for it or grab it. You’ll hold things in both your hands and almost always bring them up to your mouth or shake them!

And of course, you’re still growing! Yesterday we received all our household goods, finally, including the rest of your clothes. There are outfits that arrived that were so huge on you before we left California, but now they are entirely too small! There are so many things that you didn’t even get to wear! At your check-up today you weighed 18 lb 11 oz and are 27.3 inches tall. That puts you above the 95th percentile for both. You are such a chunky little boy right now and the doctor says you have quite a pair of shoulders on you!

You are also a lot more vocal. Each month you’re adding new sounds to your vocabulary. This month we’ve heard more “b”s and “k”s. You also shriek a whole lot, both in joy and when you’re upset. You’ve realized you have feet, too! When you aren’t holding something up to your mouth (lately a clean, flat cloth diaper has been your favorite chew toy!), you are holding on to your feet and toes. When you’re sitting upright, you will hold your toes and stare at them. You get a kick out of making diaper changes more difficult for me by holding your legs up to your chest and holding onto your feet, too! Grandma says that Daddy discovered his feet when he was 5 months, so we think you’re a little ahead of the game there!

You’ve explored Japan a little bit more this month, too. We all go out to restaurants around the town and try new foods. We’ve been hiking a couple times and you seem to really enjoy looking around at all the trees and leaves and water. We are doing more shopping in Japanese stores, so you’ve seen all sorts of neat Japanese things! We have plans to have an exciting summer where you can get out and see even more of this beautiful country!

I love every day that we spend together and you truly are so special to me! We have a great time together, even when you’re crabby and even when I’m crabby, and I am really enjoying watching you grow. I love you so much, Rhino!

Hugs ‘n’ Kisses!
Mommy