Trying to watch TV when he thinks we're not paying attention (he's suppose to be burping): 
Reading ("Baby Boo" is one of his favorite books - thanks Jenny and Scott):
I know what you're thinking, he liked all these things last month. And that's true. So, what has changed about James between the 3-month and 4-month mark?
Well, the biggest and best change is that he can now sleep through the night. Major victory! It doesn't happen every night, but it's becoming more and more common (our record is currently set at 3 nights in a row). When it does happen, we get an 8-9 hour stretch between feedings, which means 6-8 consecutive hours of sleep for us (depending whether or not we adhere to James' bedtime)! It's a dream come true... Back when the baby is 2-weeks-old and your longest sleep stretch is 1.5 hours, you do wonder if you'll ever see the day... And Jay and I are finally sleeping through those nights too, not getting up to check on James every few hours. Again, major victory! The other great thing is that even when James doesn't sleep through the night, he's still in bed by 8:30-9pm, which is a victory in itself (so much better than his old 10:30-11pm bedtime), and we always get at least a 6-hour stretch out of him! Let me tell you, those 3am feedings are a lot friendlier when you've had some real sleep! So, what caused this amazing feat to occur? It could just be his age/weight that makes him able to go longer stretches between feedings. Or maybe it's the loss of his Moro Reflex, so he isn't waking himself up as often. Maybe it's the reduction in gas/tummy issues, which also helps him to not wake up as often. Or perhaps it's daycare, with the introduction of a more structured nap schedule and the added energy-zapping fun of playing with other kiddos. Who knows? But we're loving it!
The rolling is still new. Even though he could do it last month, it wasn't something he really enjoyed or did with any consistency. Now he realizes that he can do it to get a different view of the room, or get closer to a toy he wants. It's getting hard to keep him still, and we can't take our hands off him on any elevated surface anymore.
James has now officially discovered his hands and feet. We're not sure exactly WHEN he discovered his hands, we've just noticed that he really knows how to use them now. His feet were a different story though... Over the past couple of weeks we've watched him eyeing his feet, then studying them very intently every time he wiggled his toes. Now it seems he purposely grabs things with his toes (rather than reflex, as he's always been a little monkey). It's so darn cute! We're sure those toes will be in his mouth before long (along with everything else he can reach)...
The toy fascination is also pretty new. James will now grab and hold almost anything you present to him. His favorite right now is a honeycomb-like ball that his Grand Aunt Margie got him - he'll grab it with both hands and try to stick it in his mouth, and make his new favorite noise all the while (kind of an eh-eh-eh-eh, which he repeats ad nauseum, loudly). He also loves his links from Elizabeth and Janean, and a little Taggies stuffed lion that's oh-so-soft from Cathy. Of course, everything goes straight to his mouth, whether it fits or not. Silly, slobbery baby:
His "talking" is getting better and better (and more and more entertaining for Jay and I) by the week. He often chats all the way to daycare now. He talks to his toys, he talks to us (and sometimes over us), and when he sighs it's always at the appropriate moment now, which is hilarious AND cute! He's got all his vowels down, and he's slowly adding consonants. So far, we hear M's, N's, D's, W's, Y's, H's, G's, L's (which are really funny to watch because his tongue goes wild trying to get the sound out), and most recently, B's. Here is a short video to demonstrate some of his new verbal skills (you'll also notice that this boy is NEVER still anymore, not that he ever really was, not even in the belly):
He can also sit up now (in his Bumbo, exersaucer, and high chair, not on his own of course). His head is still a bit shaky, but he's getting the hang of it. Practice makes perfect, right? He's even learning to reach for toys (and toes) while sitting up, which makes the exersaucer way more fun for him. Here's our Gator fan in his Bumbo:
Also in this category, James now thinks he's old enough to stand up. Anytime we try and burp him over our shoulders these days, he plants his feet on our thighs and stands right up, butt out. Then he pushes down and sort-of bounces, like he's trying to climb us. We thought we had more time before all this monkey business started... We also thought it was far too soon for any effort towards crawling, but just today James decided that rolling off his tummy during tummy time is no longer good enough in the movement category. He now throws his legs up into the air and tries to swing his knees up underneath him, puts his butt up in the air, then pushes on the ground with his toes. We doubt he's anywhere near actually moving yet though. At least, we hope not... See for yourselves:
So, what does a 4-month-old do to celebrate his birthday?
First, we opened a savings account for him (don't mind James' refusal to look at the camera... he's still fascinated by lights and ceiling fans):
Then we took James for his first real swim (thanks for letting us use your pool Juliet)! He really enjoyed himself and we had a great time swimming with our little man. Here are a few photos from the festivities...
Here is James, all dressed up and excited for his first big dip (in his big-boy swim trunks from his Grambot):
Here is his "ahhh" reaction to the big warm "bath":
With all these big changes just in the past month, you may be wondering how James has changed overall since he was a newborn. This photo comparison will give you a pretty good idea. Here is James with his Daddy at 3-weeks-old and 17-weeks-old:
(Both onesies in the above photos are from Robyn's parents, Phil and Joyce. The one on the left is size 0-3 and the one on the right is size 3-6. Matching pants included, but not worn at the time - the ones with the monkey on the butt and the ones with "chomp chomp" on the butt. We miss those monkey pants...)
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