Dear Henry, Month 4

Dear Henry,

You’re four months today, and it feels like yesterday you were just born. It’s going too fast, you need to slow it down. But then, we love watching you develop and come into your own as a little being figuring out the world around you. Every day you seem to learn something new or find a new way to entertain us or yourself. And every day, we don’t think we can love you more, but then the next day comes and we do. Soon you’ll be walking and talking and driving a car, so we’ll just have to do our best to enjoy each milestone, even the little ones.

Here are a few things we learned about you this month:

1. You like to cuddle, particularly when you’re cranky. Unfortunately for mom and dad, that usually involves walking and bouncing you as much as possible. But lately you’ve been allowing us to lay down with you, and sometimes you’ll even nap with us. These are some of your parents’ favorite moments, but sometimes your mom just ends up staring at you the whole time you nap instead of getting some much needed sleep herself.
2. Once you realized you don’t have to lie on your back and can actually sit up or stand, you try with all your might to get upright. You still don’t quite have the muscle strength to do either of these, so mom and dad have to help hold you up. But you become very serious when you try to sit up on your own, and your determination continues to astound your parents.
3. You’ve become best friends with the cats, particularly Pistachio. She has not only allowed you to stay in her house, but she has discovered how much fun it can be to play with you when you’re on your playmate or rolling around on your tummy. You still don’t really know what to think of the cats, but we like to believe that Pistachio has a fondness for you since she was very protective of your mother when you were in her belly and now she will protect you as well.
4. We got to dress you up for your first Halloween as a pumpkin, which is fitting considering how orange you were as a newborn. We didn’t give you any candy, but maybe next year. Of course you’ll need to earn it by begging around the neighborhood, but that’s all part of the fun.
5. We’ve had to discover all new ways to distract you while riding in the car. This includes singing, waving numerous toys in your face, shushing, playing loud music, buying multiple cushiony pads and wraps, a fancy mirror that lights up and plays more music, and even blowing into your face. Sometimes one of these things works for a few minutes, most of the time nothing works, especially if you decide that you’re finished with the car ride.
6. Every morning, no matter how early or late you wake up, you always greet us with a laugh and smile. It’s as if you’re so happy that you get to wake up to another day to explore your world. And as utterly exhausted as your parents may be when we are awoken at 5:30am, we can’t help but respond with smiles and kisses. It really is one of the highlights of our day.