Fall is Here!

The smell and color of Fall is in the air. The leaves are dropping and I have already put some home made apple sauce in the freezer from this year's apples. Tim's fall retreat has come and gone and his first class of the year was a success even with his class of thirty-seven. And most importantly Judah has reached 3 1/2 months. As fast as the leaves have fallen off the trees, so has Judah advanced to the next phase.

Judah has become even more active lately achieving sitting up and refining his play skills. This week, Judah learned to sit up. Of course we sat him down but he maintained the sitting position. Now that he actually can sit up, he wants to stand instead of sitting down, just like before when he wanted to sit up instead of laying down. He enjoys standing in his Ex Saucer very much, turning, pushing, and even pulling the toys with his hands now. He has become fascinated with bright colors (especially our flag hanging outside) and toys that play music. Judah has even discovered how to take his Binky out and play with it. On his tummy he does this slightest scoot now and has been practicing getting up on his knees.

Judah becomes increasingly more interactive as he explores the world around him. He is captivated by our faces often pulling on our noses, hair, and mouth. I find pieces of my hair in his hands several times a day. He likes to grab our hands and play with them or watch us move our feet. He blows me kisses by sucking on my face with his mouth wide open. And sometimes Judah will just watch you until he has something to say and then he likes to carry on a long conversation with oohs and mmmm's. When we blow raspberries on his tummy or play Peek-A-Boo, he just laughs and giggles. I have even caught him laughing at Tim's funny faces or my silly dance steps. He has also become interested in things that we do like eating as he reaches for our plates now. Judah has even become more interested in watching Maestro smiling when he sees him.

Today at his 4 month check-up (Sept 24), Judah weighed 13 pounds, proving that he is getting bigger and changing especially from that earlier growth spurt. He has almost outgrown his 3-6 month clothes already, especially as he grows longer to 25 inches. His hair has really lightened up and gotten longer giving way to a blond halo in the front. Even his rat tail is starting to disappear as it gets lighter and the hair around it is growing evenly in the back much like Tim's course hair. Judah looks so cute in blue as it displays his bright, big blue eyes. We had his three month pictures taken to showing off those blue eyes.

Judah loves to be outside. In fact he even sleeps better in the fresh air as sometimes he naps on our walk. He loves to stroll and you will often find him slouched in the stroller with his feet reclined on the tray watching the world go by. Last week he felt the grass on his feet for the first time. He is always curious about the sites and sounds around him.

His schedule has somewhat remained the same, eat, play, and sleep. Putting him down for naps has been a little easier with either wrapping him up or rocking him for about 10 minutes. We are still slowly moving his bed time earlier, starting the bedtime process now around 9:30pm or so. He definitely keeps things going but it is worth it when those big eyes look up at you in anticipation and that little hand holds your finger.