Shane update!

Shane's now 4.5 months old!

When last measured, he was around the 75th percentiles for height, weight, and head circumference. I checked his weight this morning after feeding and he's clocking in at almost 18 lbs! He's a big'un.  Palm Sunday, I had to take him out of the service and do some walking to prevent him from chattering. We bumped into another father with his son doing the same thing.  Shane was several weeks older than the other child (Gabriel), but he was half again the size!  I must confess to having a bit of a baby-ego at that point. The way I figured it, Shane beat the other kid hands down in all the quality baby categories except for hair quantity.

Admittedly, I'm a bit biased.

Some baby updates in general:



My greatest fear: That Shane will give himself shaken baby syndrome with all of the bouncing he likes to do. Last weekend, he started trying to bounce while standing up by dropping and then kicking out both of his legs.  He's got the motion down, but no balance to go with it.
My second greatest fear: I'm worried the springs on Shane's bouncer are going to break from overuse and spill him on the floor.
Assorted other fatherly fears: Shane likes to loll his head forward when sleeping in the car, Carrie's afraid of germs and taking him places, that I'm not going to be careful and turn and bump his head into a wall or somehow spear him in the side of a chair I'm walking past, that I'm not being the best dad I could be, etc.

Greatest joy: Biiiiiiiig smiles and laughing.  Shane is a very vocal baby and lets you know when he's happy. It bubbles out of him.
Second greatest joy: Just looking at how healthy Shane is makes me happy. He's an incredibly cute kid and so strong for his age. I can't help but think God picked the right partner (genetically) for me when looking at him.  I wonder what sort of kid and then man he'll become one day.
Assorted other joys: The kid talks a mile a minute sometimes. It's hysterical. I like when people compliment my son and pay him attention, I love it when he naps and I especially love that he sleeps through the night. I love that Shane is a generally happy baby and when he does get pissed he doesn't wail and bawl. He lets you know how he feels and then we jump to correct it.

Nicknames: Shane, Shaner, Shaney, boy, Scooter (Carrie's parents. Appropriate for how much he moves), buddy, moron boy (said very lovingly in the presence of my mom which scandalizes her. Shane just smiles), turd, little one and goof.

Favorite activities: JUMPING!  Bounce, bounce, bounce, bounce.  Other than that, he loves standing the next best. He chews on everything lately and he's getting better at grabbing things and bringing them towards his mouth (though they end up up his nose and/or pressed into his cheeks just as often). Shane likes sitting/standing in front of the mirror while I sing and make noises, too. He's been less happy with tummy time as of late and fusses sooner than he used to. He would much rather be laying on his back and kicking his feet straight up in the air. He really like that. He waves his feet around and tries to kick/grab his hanging toys and eventually just grabs his toes and tries to drag them into his mouth to chew on (babies are highly flexible if Shane's the norm).  Oh, and Shane likes TV already. That one's a little scary, but I think he just likes seeing all the flashing colors.

Cats: Shane doesn't really notice them most of the time. They tend to ignore him. I've gotten them to play and bat in front of him, but he's normally looking at something else and can't be bothered.

Favorite song: Hush Little Baby (He actually calms down to it!)

Favorite book: The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle

Feeding: The little tyrant's been most picky where the bottle is concerned lately. He doesn't understand that he can't suck his thumb and drink at the same time. He'll also sometimes get ticked if you take the bottle out to burp him and won't accept it back.

Anyway, I'll update this with more later. This is kind of a memory dump for me. The little one is up from his nap behind me and in want of attention.