4 Months

My dear Gabriel,
The other day it suddenly occured to me that you were four months old! I cannot believe how quickly time has flown. In that moment, it seemed that you were much more of a baby than the other children were at your age. I decided to put you in a little boy outfit, instead of your usual sleeper, and suddenly you looked SO much older! It was so strange to see how old you instantly looked wearing pants and a shirt. I took you to the doctor a few days later for your well child check up and was shocked by your stats:
Height: 25 & 5/8 " (75th-90th %ile)
Weight: 13 lbs, 12 oz (25-50th %ile)
Head circ.: 42 cm (50th %ile)
I have NEVER had a Tall child, so I was thrilled by your length. I think it was pretty accurate, since I held you down while the Nurse measured you, and you were very still and didn't move. It's fun for me to see how long you are. You fill out your 3-6 month outfits really well. With baby Noah, he was in the 25th %ile for length, so he stayed in his baby clothes Forever! But you just seem to be shooting through yours! (Thankfully, we have lots of clothes from Noah for you)
You are such a delight to us. I really think you would be a PERFECT baby, were it not for your tummy troubles. You love to sleep and you are my only all-night sleeper! (at this age) But for some reason, you have TONS of burps and spit ups that frequently wake you up. I often have to hold you for a half hour to an hour before laying you down to sleep, so that you get out all your burps and spit ups! I am going to try changing my diet to see if it makes a difference . . . we shall see.
These are the fun things you are doing lately:
-Jabbering- you LOVE to just coo and "talk".
-After a nice nap and some good food, you are VERY content. You will sit all by yourself, just looking around, happy.
-You always have a smile for me! I love it. It is very clear you favor me- you know me and know I will take care of you. The other day in church my friend was holding you and you started to get fussy (you were tired) and you just kept turning and looking at me. It was like you were trying to say, "Help Me!" It made me feel so good! It is gratifying to know that my countless hours of service are recognized!
-You adore your daddy! He is probably your second fave. I know he feels a little jealous that I get to stay home with you all day and be the favorite! I do feel bad that Daddy has to miss out on so much. But he makes up for it by taking care of you a lot when he gets home. He loves to hold and snuggle you.
-You love your brother and sister. They love you too!
-You are finally at the point where I can't leave you propped up on the bed while I get things done.
-You love to be tickled and will even laugh if you are upset. You give a little laugh and then go back to crying!
-You love to make eye contact. You seem to want to communicate with us so badly! I love it! We go back and forth jabbering all the time.
-You are Extremely oral- you love your pacifier or will find your two fingers and suck on them. Sometimes when we are letting you cry it out (after hours of trying to put you to sleep), we hear you stop for awhile, and it's always because you find your fingers, then you lose them and cry again!
-You are very patient. Sometimes you wake up very happy and content, even though it has been many hours since you last ate. You just happily talk for awhile, then gradually you start to suck on your fingers, then you fuss quietly for awhile, until finaly you can bear it no longer and you let out some loud wails.
-You definitely have a VERY loud cry- and lately you have started to screech! It really hurts my ears!!

Gabriel, you are just such an incredible boy and I am so happy to be your mom. I love you so and am so excited to get to know you even more and watch your personality and talents unfold before my eyes.
Love,
Mama

*I have been trying to get some really cute pics of you the last week or so, but unfortunately, I don't have any that I feel really express how beautiful you are. Plus you have scratched up your face REALLY GOOD! It's so sad to see! Here are some of my attempts: