Our Big Ole' Baby

Gareth turned four months old on August 19th and I (Elizabeth) spent much of that day remembering his birth.  It's really hard to believe that our baby boy is already 1/4 of his way to his first birthday.  It's also hard to remember life before baby...it seems like I've always been this tired

Today was the pediatrician's appointment, and here are his stats (for all of your interested parties):

Weight - 16lbs 8oz (75%)
Height - 26.55in (90%)
Had Circumference - 17.5in (90%)

As my mother said, "Good! We need a tall braniac in the family!"

Gareth got four shots and one oral vaccine today, so we're 4 needle pricks closer to never getting polio and that's a good thing.  And surprisingly, I didn't cry this time when he got his shots...I think that may be a sign I'm healing from the trauma of his surgery and subsequent stay in the NICU.

Gareth is still waking up a lot at night.  His longest stretch is usually from 9ish to around 1:45am and then he's up every two hours (or shorter if I'm honest).  That's tough.  To all of you moms who have babies that sleep - please, don't tell me about it.  Just say something supportive and sympathetic instead.  I'll love you forever.  I know that one day he will sleep through the night, and that this can't last forever, but it's been 4 months since I got more than 5 hours of sleep...so it seems like its already lasted forever!

Gareth is generally pretty stoic and serious, though he does smile when talked to and will laugh at funny noises you make.  He enjoys his bathtime (I think) by splashing most of the water out of the tub.  That cracks me up, and you can see the video posted below.  He likes to be held, and generally wants to see what's going on in the world, which means we spend a lot of our time walking around with him.  He even went with Cliff and I to the Baylor Church Fair and he got to meet over 3000 incoming freshman.  You'd think all of that noise (and heat) would have gotten to him, but he was a champ.

I think Cliff and I have adjusted well to parenthood.   I'm discovering how conflicted one can be as a parent and as a minster (how priorities readjust!), and Cliff is pining for the day when Gareth will walk and talk, but otherwise we're good.

Now I realize that you're really looking for new pictures of Gareth, so I'll update this post later with some.  Till then...