16 Weeks: A Story of Opposites

Baby Peter is a big part of our life (right now you’re probably thinking to yourself, ‘well duh. Obviously’). Anyhoo. You get to see him on this blog a lot. He’s included in the daily updates and you can find him in the corner of recipe pictures if you look close enough. Sometimes the main reason for a blog update and sometimes just tossed in with the mess of things, Peter's pretty much found in some nook or cranny of every post.

Given that, I thought that perhaps he deserved his own little update so that people could see how he’s doing these days. A few people have been asking, so I might as well hit everybody up with a status at the same time. Almost four months old, my goodness, and there’s just so much to tell.

Growth-wise, he seems gigantic to me. For the most part he’s in 3-6-month clothes but, oddly enough, still fits his 0-3-month pants just fine. He’s a beast - has been working his leg and tummy muscles for months, pretending to stand since he was 4 weeks old; and now can do so competently by merely holding our fingers in his little hands.

He sits pretty well at this point; eventually he will tip over but will then hold himself upright with his hands in front, tripod style. He rolls and he kicks and he is so close to crawling that it kinda makes me want to cry. He’s growing up so, so fast.

His temperament is the same as always, for the most part mellow with a dash of theatrics when the occasional bad mood hits him. And let’s just say that you wouldn’t want to meet him in a dark alley when he’s tired. He’s so much more social but also is starting to show signs of being a shy guy. He’s also beginning to recognize the difference between his everyday peeps and those he doesn’t see so often.

He likes to smile but is a bit bashful about it; with the ladies he gets flirty and turns his head to the side before giving them an impish grin, what a ladykiller. Someday we’re probably going to have our hands full with that boy.

What is he into these days? He looooooves to eat big boy food (a.k.a. rice cereal). He plays in his exersaucer like a focused little scientist, methodically going around from toy to toy until he’s mastered it to his liking - he always always always ends his playing with a sigh, then turns to the next toy on the left. It’s hilarious.

He still enjoys his dance routines with mom. He already likes chewing on his teething giraffe, and carts his lifelong buddy (Cheryl the pacifier duck) along with him everywhere he goes.

He has recently found bright colors mesmerizing - he could stare at his foam floor mat for hours. He finds it absolutely hysterical if you pretend to eat out of his bottle. He’s ticklish on the sides of his tummy, and gives big gummy smiles if you pretend to gobble up his chubby cheeks.

He's such a big boy and yet still our teeny baby, only a handful of months old. Place him down to play and he lunges and bellows like an ox; but pick him up and he still curls in to your shoulder, head snuggling into your neck. His feet are fat and doughy and delicious. He is drinking up his environment with every second he’s awake, the most alert little person I’ve ever seen - and yet moments later he’s staring adoringly at the wall (yet again). He is the most challenging, frustrating, charming little thing and as cliché as it is, we can’t imagine how boring our life was before he blessed us with his wiggly presence.

What a crazy 16 weeks it has been. We'll see what the next 16 bring...