5 Months Old

Vincent turned 5 months old yesterday. At age 5 months, the major things he's doing are pulling his feet up to his mouth, reaching and grabbing everything, learning to sit unsupported (still topples over, though), and making a high pitched screeching sound.

Vincent helps daddy mow the lawn.

Developing Baby

It's amazing to watch a baby grow and develop new skills! At 4 months of age, Vincent is getting better & better at reaching for things. And, with all the toys he has, he doesn't seem to tire of one of his orginal toys, a set of color rings.

Holding on to a bottle and acting like he's drinking is a fun new development.

Lifting his legs & grabbing his feet with his hands is also new.

And, finally, our little boy is working on sitting up. He still needs a lot of help, but he's gettin' there.

We're Back & So Is The Cap

We took Vincent down to L.A. over the weekend to visit the family, and to meet his Grandpa (A-Gong) for the first time. It was our first plane ride with the babe. I'd say, overall, the trip was great. We had a delay with our flight to Long Beach. There was an older gentleman on the plane that needed medical assistance. We had taxied away from the gate, and I began to nurse Vincent soon after. Then, I looked out the window and noticed we were back at the gate. The paramedics arrived to assist the man & take him to the hospital. But, before they could take him, he needed to get his luggage, which contained his medication, from the plane. The description of the bag: black. We sat at the gate for about an hour. It allowed us to change a poopy diaper and walk Vincent up and down the aisle, but tired baby did not fall asleep. He became more tired & cranky. Thankfully, that's when we were able to taxi out again. Once we were leaving the gate, I nursed him, but he fell asleep before the plane took off, and did not wake up until we were safely on the ground in Long Beach. Long Beach airport, by-the-way, is awesome! On our way back, we were able to block off a seat in our row for Vincent, so we took his car seat on the plane. He sat there sucking his pacifier for take off, fell sleep soon after, and slept until we made it to baggage claim in SeaTac.
The stay at my parents was nice and relaxing. Tons of new faces for Vincent to see. The first night was rough, with new surroundings and the sounds of loud Taiwanese voices. I went out to Target with my sister to get a swing, and called home to ask David for his opinion. His response was that things weren't going well & I needed to just pick one and come home. After a night of rest, our little guy was happy as can be.
Oh, and yes, the cradle cap is back...along with scratches on his forehead, since Vincent's nails are so sharp, no matter how much we cut them. He has this tendency to rub his head with the back of his hands. It's such a sad sight.

Here I am with my cousin's baby, Anabelle, who is just 10 days older than Vincent. Her mother is holding Vincent.

4 Months Old!

Yesterday, was Vincent's 4 month birthday! It turned out to be a really nice day for all of us. We strollered down to Volunteer Park Cafe (www.alwaysfreshgoodness.com), where we met another family with mixed race children. Theirs are 1/4 Japanese, and so cute.
This morning, we took Vincent to his 4 month check up, and his second round of vaccinations. He weighed in at 14 pounds, 12 ounces, and 25 1/4 inches tall! The shots weren't too bad, and he was calmed quickly with me holding him. As I type this, he's sleeping, but the last round of shots didn't really hurt him until after his nap, so we'll see how he does this time when he wakes up.

His doctor says he looks great, but he did comment that there's a little cradle cap. Darn, he noticed it! It really has gotten so much better. It's hard to tell, but here's a looksie from a couple of weeks ago, after his last treatment.

New Toys!

This week, I've noticed Vincent take interest in watching me drink water from a Nalgene bottle. I decided to put the bottle up to his lips, and he sort of looked like he was trying to drink from the bottle, though he didn't. I then just tried giving him the whole thing, with the lid screwed on, and he seemed to be imitating me drinking. I honestly doubt that he knew what he was doing, and I'm sure the bottle was just a neat new discovery & toy for him. Nonetheless, I felt impressed!

And, thanks to David's wonderful co-workers, we were able to get some new toys for Vincent from target.com with the e-gift card they got us. Eli the Elephant is one of them, as seen from the previous posting, and the Tiny Love play gym is another. He loves them both. We also got him this other musical lights thing for when he's on his tummy or back, and I'm not sure what he thinks of it yet. He seems intrigued, but it's a little intense. I don't have a picture of it (YET!).

"Ppllllttttttttt!"

So the puckering seems to have been a prelude to a new sound little man is making with his tongue & lips. You all know the sound, it's just hard to describe in words.

In other news, Vincent and I have taken to riding the bus together. Today, while waiting for the #8 in Madison Valley, this nice, though kinda creepy man asked what his name is. He then proceeded to say "hi" repeatedly to Vincent, though he was sound asleep, while smoking his cigarette. Ah, the joys of public transit. All-in-all, it's been a positive experience, and I don't have to battle with putting Vincent in a car seat and driving just to run a small errand.

Pucker Up!

Vincent's been working on this thing with his lips lately. He's been smackin' & puckering them. At first we thought he was hungry and would feed him. He very well may have been those times. But, then we would notice him doing it even after being fed. It was obvious he was no longer hungry, too. He's been doing this for a few days now. It's quite cute. He has also started reaching in front of him & grabbing toys. He now enjoys being in his bouncer and tries very hard to grab the dangling toys. He works so hard at it, and they are just far enough for him to touch & maybe hold on to parts of it, but they're attached so he can't bring them close to him & put it in his mouth. I think that confuses & frustrates him, but he seems content. I have mixed feelings over all this because I think it's great for him developmentally, but I also feel so bad for him. It's like a cruel game or something. Nonetheless, it's a place I can set him down in for a few minutes to give myself & him a break from one another. Yeah, I totally think he needs breaks from me from time to time. I can be a real hand full.