What's New with Mitchell? Almost 5 Month Update

So, Mitchell will be 5 months old in a couple of days and I feel like so much is changing about him lately.  Here's a rundown of what he's doing these days:

• He loves to coo and make lots of new noises.  After he's done nursing and is very content, he makes this sweet little noise that literally sounds like a baby bird and I swear it makes my heart melt.  He also squeals all the time (literally, he did it in his crib this morning at 3:30 when he was under the impression that it was play time), and makes many more noises that I can tell are fun for him.  It's amazing to see how he is obviously testing out sounds in response to us talking to him. 
• He has his two bottom middle teeth - one came in on Christmas Eve day and the other popped through a few days later, on the 28th.  I had hoped we'd have a reprieve from teething for a little while, but almost immediately he started drooling again, putting any and everything in his mouth, and has been super fussy lately so I guess we've got some more on the way.  I've not been able to feel them yet, so I'm not sure where they are, but pretty soon he's going to have a mouthful.  He "used" them on me for the first time the other day; we're working on that issue!
• He has been rolling over for about a month now, but he really can get going when he wants to.  He can do this thing that John calls the log roll where he'll roll all the way from front to back and keep going for a few revolutions, so we do have to watch where we put him when he's playing on the floor.  We have to make sure he's got plenty of room to move. 
• If we sit him up, he can stay there unassisted for about 5 seconds.  Then he'll either lean forward and grab his toes or do the tripod sit with his hands on the floor, or he'll flop over to one side or the other.  It makes me cringe when he does it, but he always looks up at me with a huge smile on his face so I guess he's having fun!
• He has eaten rice cereal, oatmeal, and has tried a few foods, all with mixed results - sweet peas, sweet potatoes and pears.  We're going to keep working on the food; he seems to really be happy with just milk, but he's going to need those extra calories soon....
• ....because, watch out, he's up on all fours now, trying to figure out how to crawl.  We are sort of in disbelief at this, but he can get up on his hands and knees and rocks back and forth, and has just started pushing his feet into the ground when he's up there.  He has figured out how to scoot himself around by pushing up on his toes and inchworming around.  I think he will get the army crawl figured out really soon and I woudn't be surprised if he's crawling in a few weeks.  Defintely by the end of January, I'd say.  Obviously, we are going to work on baby-proofing this weekend, much sooner than we'd expected!

Here's some new pictures, and as a reminder, you can always go here to see all of them:

Other fave new pasttime - exersaucer!

Christmas Round 2

It occurs to me that I'd better get this down before I forget everything.  We returned home from Birmingham on Christmas night, and one of the first things we did was give M a haircut.  His hair had gotten to the point of hanging all in his eyes, over his ears, and was quickly approaching mulletesque lengths in the back (this is what bothered John the most).  Here are some before, during, and afters:

Back shot (plus you can catch a glimpse of his cute back dimples)

At its shaggiest, on Christmas Day, with my dad

Mitchell tolerated the haircut reasonably well, but he is such a squirmy baby and I was super nervous about cutting it, especially the front.  In the end I did the sides and back that night and then did the bangs the next morning, when he was a bit more rested and in a better mood.

We put him in his seat and gave him some things to play with to distract him.  He still ended up with hair all over himself because he wouldn't sit still!

Here is an after; the bangs were not even close to being even; I just basically ended up whacking some off in three or four quick cuts.  He looked so different to me at first, and I think it made him look older.  I guess I've gotten used to it but the other day at day care one of the moms whose child didn't come the week between Christmas and New Years saw him and exclaimed that I'd cut his hair.  I guess everyone else had noticed how shaggy he was looking too!

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The day after Christmas we repacked and headed north to Knoxville to celebrate with John's parents.  Mitchell was great the whole time, slept well in the pack and play and just delighted his Gramma and Grampa in general.  They loved getting to see all his new tricks (more on that next post) and he got lots of love from both of them.  As in Birmingham, Mitchell received lots of wonderful things from John's side of the family.  My task this weekend is to pick out the most suitable toys and books for now and then pack some of the others that will be better for when he's older away!

Here are some shots from our time in Knoxville:

Kris had a pillow with Rudolph on it, and its nose lit up, and Mitchell loved watching it.  And Kris loved watching Mitchell!

Tooth #2 was on its way in, so Mitchell had his hands (or someone elses') in his mouth most of the time.

Fat and happy (just like the rest of us), at the end of a great Christmas weekend!

Christmas Recap #1

Mitchell's first Christmas was a wonderful one!  I was a bit apprehensive after our Thanksgiving experience (multiple car trips, sleepless nights, etc.), since we were going to have approximately the same travel schedule, except in reverse, but he did great and we all had fun.  We aren't in the same city as either side of our family, but we're fortunate that either family is just a relatively short car ride away and we can negotiate visiting both when it's necessary.  I'll make this post a two-parter so it's not horribly long!

We started off our holiday with two nights in Birmingham.  Getting to see our joyous neice and nephew enjoying themselves helped ease the sting of missing Christmas' biggest fan, John Reid Garrett.  As I tearfully noted to John on Christmas day, this was the first time that his absence from our family gatherings was so conspicuous to me.  Well before his health prevented him from moving around at will, John often preferred to stay back in his room and do his own thing, so we didn't always see a lot of him when we were all together at my parents' house. The exception was Christmas - he never missed being right in the middle of things - and I'll never forget how excited he was all day on December 25.  From the first moments of opening stockings to the last gift he would open, his exclamations, fist pumps and other expressions of excitement for what he'd received never ceased to bring a smile to my face. 

This is a really old picture, from the same year that Erin posted a picture of on her blog, but it is doubly appropriate this year since it also shows his allegiance to the two teams he held dear.  Here he is sporting a new Alabama sweatshirt AND a new Texas belt buckle that he'd just opened.  His first and true football love was "Attabama", and of course, he started pulling for "Tey-sas" after Rainer went to school there.  I have no doubt about what team he'd be pulling for in the National Championship game next week, but I can only imagine the discussions that we'd have had with him about them playing one another in football!  I miss so many little things about John all the time, but Christmas will probably always be the time I'll miss him the most.

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As for our little one, Christmas Eve brought the emergence of his first little tooth!  I have been feeling for it becuase it was obvious that it was coming - drool, restlessness, chewing, all the classic signs - and even that morning I hadn't felt it.  We had brunch with some friends and Mitchell was not exactly his normal, pleasant self, and then he slept for two hours that afternoon, so I should have known that something was up!  It wasn't until we were out to dinner later that evening with my parents that I was able to feel it poking through for the first time.  Incidentally, he went out with us way past his normal bedtime and seemed to have a ball.  There were lots of pretty ladies for him to smile at and flirt with, and Erin pointed out that all the activity was probably really fun for him!  On Christmas Day he got up and played and then went down for a nap about 10:30 and stayed asleep until after 1:00.  I'm not sure that I've addressed this on the blog, but he is not a napper, so John and I felt like that nap was our Christmas present!  He's been pretty sleep-deprived lately, poor guy, so I know it made him feel better to get that tooth and be able to get some good rest.

Here are a few pictures to recap the Birmingham trip.  We ate, drank and made merry! 

Christmas Eve play time; Reid wanted a picture "with" Mitchell so I positioned him behind where Mitchell was playing.  I told him to say "Ho Ho Ho" when I took the picture.

Mitchell on Christmas Day - pre nap, but already looking drowsy!

Cousins in their pjs' on Christmas Eve

Ann Edwards with her very realistic pink razr phone on Christmas morning.  We won't go into her little mishap involving this phone and my parents' stairs.  I'll just say we're glad she (and the phone) are OK!

Round Two: Christmas Night at our house (Mitchell gets a haircut), and Knoxville.  Coming soon!

Merry Christmas!

The Maedels wish everyone a very Merry Christmas!  We'll be on the road a lot this week/weekend, so I'll probably update next week.  Here's a picture to tide you over.  This was from when we took Mitchell to get his picture made with Santa this past weekend.  He did really well with Santa, so I'm glad we did it!

Rice Cereal Take 1

Mitchell's pediatrician recommended that we start him on rice cereal since he's not been sleeping well; she said it might help him get full and be able to sleep longer at night. 

We tried it for the first time last night.  I think the part he liked most was getting to sit up in his big boy seat.  We didn't get a high chair to save space; since we have an island we got one of the travel chairs that will hook onto a table or bar that we'll use instead.  His legs dangle and I think he liked being upright and somewhat free.  Don't worry, I was a neurotic mama and had a big blanket stuffed in behind him so he couldn't move around too much!

The cereal part was fine; about what I expected.  I have some video of it; if I can ever figure out how to upload it, I will!