Fun at the park

It's been such great weather the last few days that Eoin and I have been spending time together at the park. Eoin has really started to love the swings and will spend ages in them!

New Toy

Here is Eoin after his bath enjoying his new toy the Haba Play Meadow. He worked out very quickly that if he kicks the whole thing rocks. As he gets older we can take the rocker off and then he will be able to sit in it and play with all the interactive characters on the sides.

Four Months Old

Well Eoin is four months old today - where has the time gone. On one hand it feels like it has flown by and yet we can't quite imagine a life when he wasn't part of our family!

So what new things is Eoin up to now? Well lets see he can occasionally roll from his tummy to his back. Eoin has started to suck his thumb - he doesn't mind which one but we hope he keeps it up and then we can stop using the pacifier (dummy for you UK folk). He can laugh properly now (and also squeal very loudly) and also make lots of cool noises. Eoin loves to sit up and is so very inquisitive about everything. He rarely falls asleep in his stroller now because he is too busy watching everything. According to his doctor his hand eye coordination is nearly at the six month mark so he is doing really well there.

His favorite toys are his giraffe (Sophie) which he loves to chomp on. He also loves his red monkey and 'squishy noise face'. His favorite big toy is his exersaucer.

Eoin is now sleeping unswaddled which he did with no problems at all. He will sleep through the night but is happier if he can still get a feed in around 3am. The other break through is that he will now go to sleep on his own during the day and doesn't need Mommy to hold him (unless he is over tired and fighting it!). I was going to change his routine this week to get him to bed at 7pm not 8pm but then I thought I might as well wait for the hour to change in a couple of weeks and the work is done for me!

He loves to go to the park and swing in the baby swings. Eoin loves to read books and is beginning to turn the pages himself. He just loves singing Row Row Row your Boat and Head Shoulders Knees and Toes. His first laugh was while we were singing and doing the actions for Row Row Row your Boat.

He is firmly into his 6-12 month clothes. The tops are still a little big but the pants are just the right length. He weighs 19 lbs and is 26 inches long. He has grown 6 inches in four months and but on 12 lbs. Eoin's hair is getting quite thick in top but it's not filling in on the sides. It's also curly when wet.

Well that's about it I think. All we can say is that being parents is the best thing ever and we thank God everyday for the wonderful gift Amy has entrusted to us.

Another one for you Rebecca....

Hi Rebecca here is a second video just for you!

We love the squeaky noises Eoin can make with his favorite chew toy 'Sophie the Giraffe'. We think Eoin might cut his first teeth in the next couple of weeks. There are two tell tale white bumps on his bottom gum but he's not dribbling too much so we're not sure.



(This is my favorite video in a while because of the great sounds Eoin makes with the rubber giraffe).

Just for you Rebecca

Our little friend Rebecca back in England wanted more video of Eoin so here is one just for you Rebecca! It's not very exciting but this is about the only thing we haven't shown you yet - Eoin sleeping soundly. Big hugs to you and Emily and Jessica.

Ummm food

Here is our first attempt at solid food - as expected more ended up out then in.

I can do it.....

Eoin is determined to try and feed himself. We let him have a go at the end of each bottle and he is getting better and holding the bottle but he does miss his mouth quite a bit. Still not bad for four months old!

Story time with Daddy

We have started to work story time into Eoin's bedtime routine. Last night Daddy read Yummy Yucky to him. It is a great book with big clear pictures that Eoin can see and enjoy.

Four Month Check Up

So although Eoin won't be four months until Friday he had his four month check up today. Eoin weighed in at 19 lbs and 26 inches (66cm or 2ft 2inches) long! Which puts him almost off the chart. He is on the 98 percentile for weight and 95 for height.
He aced all his developmental targets and in fact was meeting some of the targets they have for six month babies.
Of course Eoin (and Mommy) hated the shots but after some baby Tylenol (paracetamol for those not in the USA) he is doing ok - just a little clingy and tired.

Feeding myself

I've almost got the hang of feeding myself....almost.

A ladies man

Eoin is such a little flirt already! When we are out at baby and mommy group he ignores all the baby boys and smiles and coos and the baby girls.

He must be taking lessons from his uncles!

Family Day out

Today we had a great day hanging out at the Exploratorium with family that were visiting from New York. Eoin got to meet his (Great) Aunt Linda and (Great) Uncle Ray and his second cousins Rowan and Hazel for the first time. We all had a great time exploring and trying out all the experiments in the Exploratorium.
It was such a beautiful day too that we had a nice work to lunch and time to hang out by the Palace of Fine Arts.Eoin was such a good boy all day. He even started to laugh properly for the first time. It started with Daddy banging the trunk of the car closed and Mommy saying BASH and then for a while every time we said BASH he would laugh. Honestly the best noise in the world!

Where is Eoin?

Greece? Rome? Egypt?
No just San Francisco!

Play Time

Here's Eoin hanging out in his exersaucer thingy. He has totally got the hang of moving himself round to each of the toys. His favorite is the one he is playing with in the video and the flashing musical animal buttons.

Photo shoot

http://www.anatphotography.com

So last Saturday we took Eoin to have his first professional photos taken. We found the best photographer locally! Anat is a mom herself and totally understood that babies have their own pace and need to eat and sleep. It was a really relaxed shoot and we all had a great time together.

So in the past Eoin stops smiling when he sees a camera because he gets fixated on the camera and sure enough that's what happened this time. He was great at looking at the camera and showing us his huge brown eyes but there were no smiles to be seen.

Anat was fantastic and spent two and half hours trying to get that smile. In that time Eoin fed and slept and Anat got some of the most amazing candid shots of Eoin. Then right at the end as we were packing up to go Eoin started to smile and talk. Anat got the camera out and captured our little boy with some great smiles on his face.

You can check out Anat's work at http://www.anatphotography.com

Baby Bjorn

Here we all are by the sea again. This was Eoin's first time in the Baby Bjorn which he loved as he could watch everything but boy was it good exercise for mommy carrying a little boy around!

New car seat

Here is Eoin at three and a half months in his new car seat. He's been out and about in it a couple of times now and the big disadvantage to this seat is that there is no hood to protect him from the sun glaring in through the car windows so we'll have to rig something up.

Useful blankee

If my head gets cold I just use my blankee as a hat!

PS we've now had four nights in a row of Eoin sleeping through the night so I think we have it cracked. Next thing to do is to move his bedtime slowly earlier from 8.30 to 7 or 7.30 and then we can have our evenings back.

Will I jinx myself...

Well Eoin has slept through the night for two nights in a row now. Yesterday night I was a little freaked out by it and by 4am I was waking myself up to make sure he was ok. Last night we were more prepared and we all slept well! Strange through I feel more tired for having had a good nights sleep. Hoping this is going to turn into a proper pattern of sleep now.

Big boy swings

We went to the park today and Eoin tried out the swings for the first time on his own. He seemed to like them so maybe we will go to the park a little more now.

Hanging out

Here's Eoin hanging out in his new favorite toy. Mommy was being silly and making me wear my hood up inside!