4 Months Old!

 Joel is now officially 4 months old! He has left his newborn phase behind him and is now my sweet, smiley, chubby, content baby :) He has found his hands and feet and when he is not chewing on his hands he is trying to pull his feet into his mouth (he has yet to be successful...probably because he has such chunky thighs get in the way - thanks for those genes Daddy!). He has also gotten really good at rolling both ways (tummy to back & back to tummy) and can roll quite a distance across the floor when Levi leaves him alone long enough. Joel continues to be a vocal little guy and has added the occasional consonant to his string of vowels. His giggles are also turning into belly laughs; so cute!

Joel settled into a pretty regular routine these days and is getting close to sleeping all night! WaHoo! He goes to bed at about 8:15 and wakes up to nurse 1 or 2 times in the night, then he usually wakes up around 7:15. Once he has been awake for 2 hours he is ready for a nap and usually takes a nap around 9:30am (1hr), 12:30pm (2-3hrs) and 4:30pm (1-1.5hrs). He nurses for about 5 minutes per side every 3-3.5 hours (such an efficient nurser...Levi took 15-20 mins per side at this age). Just like his brother he LOVES music and being outside, so we do a lot of dancing and try to get outside when the weather allows. Last week we had an early morning outdoor photo shoot to document his extreme cuteness :)

 Joel is a sturdy little dude, just like his big brother, and in addition to getting really good at doing tricks with his Daddy, he is getting close to sitting up on his own as well. He can sit for several seconds but still has to use both hands and lean forward to balance. Levi was sitting up just before he turned 5 months and it looks like Joel will follow in his footsteps as far as mobility/physicality. He can also pull his knees under him during "tummy time" and push himself forward little by little with his feet, he does nothing with his arms during this so we are still quite a ways from crawling.

New Stats:
weight- 16 pounds (60%)
length- 26.5 inches (90%)
head circumfrence- 43.5cm (75%)
*Levi was a pound heavier and half inch longer at this age, but had the exact same head size*

Levi has also become increasingly attached to Joel and wants to be with him all the time. When Joel is napping Levi often reminds me "Joel is sleepin" and as soon as he starts to wake up he shouts "Joel waking up! I want to see him!" I can't believe my littlest love will be half a year old in two short months and will soon be moving and scooting around this house! I'm trying my best to soak up all these sweet baby days!