Raspberries, Toes, and Shrieks!

Nestled in Grandpa's arms

Zoie's first time in the Pacific on Maui!

Our baby girl is 4 and a half months old!

And she's already been to Hawaii. Lucky little baby! My family enjoyed vacationing with Zoie this last month - so many things have been changing with our girl! She's a completely different baby now than she was 4-5 weeks ago. Four months old is a magical age!

Hands

Slowly but surely, Zoie discovered her little fingers and realized their potential. At first, she would clasp them together over and over (she looked like she was plotting something mischievous). Then, she would stuff as many fingers into her mouth as possible. Sometimes a fist. Sometimes two!

She would sort-of reach towards toys, and grab them by accident if her open hand caught one. She'd hold onto something if you put it in her hand.

And then... She suddenly learned to pull objects into her mouth! This was a game-changer. She suddenly had a motivation to grab things! Fingers, hands, shirts, Sophie the Giraffe, burp cloths, water glasses, plates, and trying (with no success) to get a fistful of grown-up food. It's amazing to watch her move to purposefully.

Zoie having control of her hands is like she's speaking a new language - I know what she wants, likes, dislikes, finds interesting... and I've learned so much about her! I feel so much closer to her and love her even more as an individual.

Toes

Just over a week ago, Zoie found her toes! I've been waiting for this moment for so long! It's one of my favorite things to see babies playing with their toes.

It started with Zoie getting stronger and lifting her legs up higher when lying on her back. Her hands started reaching and exploring, and all of a sudden - she grabbed onto one of her feet! Soon enough, she grabbed the other! Now she happily plays with her toes during diaper changes (makes it easier to clean her up, haha!), and sometimes doesn't want to let go!

Now we'll wait to see if her toes find her mouth... I need my camera on me at all times!

Raspberries

Who taught this kid how to blow raspberries in the last week? I definitely didn't show her! I'll stick out my tongue at Zoie, but I don't think I've ever demonstrated a proper raspberry. Amazing how babies figure things out, they're so clever!

Zoie has so much fun blowing little spit bubbles and exploring what her tongue can do. She continues to make a lot of her normal coo sounds (ghee and hiya are some favorite words!), but now with her tongue out and blowing spit. She has never made me laugh so much, it's hilarious!

Shrieks

This little girl can SHRIEK! She can be so loud sometimes, it's really quite funny. Sometimes she'll make an especially loud high-pitched shriek (out of pure joy and happiness) that it's hard to believe such a sound came from such a tiny person. It's such a joy to watch her be sooo happy that she needs to express herself with such intensity!

Growth

This baby has steadily been growing! I haven't noticed any particular spurts, but she's getting much heavier and longer than before. She is fitting into lots of 3-6 month clothing, and growing out of many 0-3 month outfits! I've been warned about trying on outfits you think are still too big - babies will fit into them sooner than you'd think!

On Tuesday we'll find out Zoie's latest weight and length - she's going to her 4 month (well, 4 1/2 month) appointment with her pediatrician.

... Food?

Zoie has taken a sudden interest in food! It all started about 2 weeks ago while we were in Hawaii, with some delicious scrambled eggs I was eating for breakfast. I was holding Zoie on my lap, as I usually do while eating meals, when she suddenly realized that my food was FOOD. Oh boy, she wanted my scrambled eggs so badly! She was leaning and reaching, with her gaze locked onto the delicious eggy goodness. Her little mouth was open, and she started making chomping motions. She was almost trembling with excitement!

She has also discovered cups and beverages. She acts the same way; reaching and leaning and smacking her lips! I let her try ice water for the first time at a restaurant on Maui, and she LOVED it! She wasn't even phased by the icy cold temperature, she just kept sucking and licking the cup! She can't decide if her tongue belongs outside the cup, or inside licking at the water. Quite the dilemma.

It feels sad to deny Zoie the joy of food when she wants it so badly, but she's not ready yet! We'll wait until she's closer to 6 months to introduce any sort of food besides breast milk. I'm interested in baby-led-weaning, so it's going to be an exciting adventure!

Our tiny hula dancer on Maui

I can't wait to see what Zoie's 5th month brings us, I love watching her develop! Such an experience to watch how a tiny person learns about their world and herself. I love every moment!


Cheers,

Martha