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Our First Trip!!

We took our first cross-country trip with M. We went to visit Grandma & Grandpa. We were gone for 5 days, although 2 days were travel days- so it felt like a much shorter visit (Aug 28-Sept 2). It was an exciting trip for so many reasons: it was M's 1st plane ride, and of course seeing the grandparents, and ALSO John's brother with his son were both there- so Maletch and I got to meet them for the first time (and John hadn't seen them in several years). So that was really AWESOME!
There is so much to tell about our adventure: with many high points and unfortunately some low ones too. It's hard to know where to even start?

I guess I'll start from the beginning: John and I were concerned about traveling with M. We worried since he bores so easily and always wants to spread out and play- that he would have a difficult time being confined and having to sit still so long- it was a 13 hour trip from door-to-door (not even counting the time change) this included driving to/from airports and a 3 hour layover in Atlanta. We also heard from EVERYBODY (lots of people that fly frequently) that babies this age either sleep the whole time or cry. Of course we were hoping he would sleep (although we doubted it since he doesn't take many long naps) so we feared/ expected the crying option. We were so delightfully surprised that he did NEITHER- he stayed awake nearly the entire trip and had the best time checking out everything and talking to everybody. That boy was NOT going to sleep because he was NOT going to miss A THING! It was a real pleasure! We found that he travels better than his mommy- HEHE! I just had a rough time with the uncomfortable seats and all the walking, etc- but I was entirely over-joyed with the experience!

We were invited into the cockpit and M got to wear the Captain's hat! The pilot actually took these pictures.

It was funny the number of faces you could see as we would board each flight with M- so many people looked upset that we were bringing a baby on board. In fact I even heard comments from some, "Oh great, we're stuck next to a baby!"
We were approached by so many people (after all 4 flights) that felt compelled to tell us how "good our baby is" many would go on and on about flights with other babies. Of course we were proud of M.

We brought his Pack and Play on the trip and set it up in the Airport during the layover- so he could have a chance to spread out and play. He loved it and everyone that walked by laughed or commented at the "playpen in the airport." Many people said either they wished that was available when their kids were younger and the ones that had small kids said they will be doing that next time- so we may have started a trend.

Maletch made many friends along the way!

Unfortunately Maletch got sick with stomach trouble the day before we left, so that made the trip a little more difficult. He needed his diaper changed very often- like every 15 minutes on the plane (we had a 5 hour flight, a 3 hour layover, then another 3 hour flight). Changing a baby on a plane is no easy task either- you all know how tiny the bathroom is to begin with- well the changing station (if you can call it that) is a flop down wooden shelf that is like 1 foot by 2 feet, and of course has no padding. So needless to say that is not enough room to work anyway- AND when you add in an upset baby (for having to lay on that)- you're in for a heck of a time. AND no sooner did we finish his diaper and get back to our seat- Maletch would "go again." Poor baby! Then his bottom started getting raw from it and it burned every time he went too! I felt so sorry- and I was worried about what the heck was wrong to begin with and that we were going far away from his doctor (without having been checked out first).

Maletch's illness persisted to get worse the entire trip although he remained a trooper. I was on the phone with his doctor the first night and we ended up having to take him to the Emergency Room while we were there. What really amazed and impressed John and I was that through all his discomfort- he still didn't cry or fuss on the trip- except for the wiping- because his bottom was so raw- but as soon as that part was over- he was so good! He never cried and behaved like his normal self with chronic diarrhea & a raw bottom, vomitting, a fever, and a very bad ear infection (which went undiagnosed and untreated until we got home- because the ER Dr. did not look in his ears). John and I suspected his ear was bothering him because he was constantly grabbing and rubbing it. The day we got home, his doctor looked in his ear and said, "Whoa- it's so infected and dark in his right ear I can't even see inside!" John and I felt terrible that we had took him on 4 planes with all the elevation changes and pressure on his ear drum- that must have been so painful.

Unfortunately worrying about him and taking care of his extra needs during that time- did have an impact on the visiting we got to do with everyone. Maletch was up all night during the travel night, then up all night the second night very sick, so he ended up getting his days and nights switched while we were there.

So, sadly we were up with him when everyone else was sleeping and we slept during the days. It felt like we didn't get to spend hardly any time with everyone (certainly, not nearly as much as we would have liked.)

Grandpa (known by EVERYONE as "Pops") comforted Maletch after they had to draw his blood. He was upset with Pops like- "Hey, how come you let that lady hurt me? You're supposed to protect me! I thought you had my back!" Maletch sobbed afterward and Pops said, "Aaww his feelings are hurt!" Then Pops soothed him and he was happy again!

Maletch sure gave the nurse (while trying to take his blood) a hard time too. He was wrestling and fighting her to get away. It took several of us to restrain him. Then Maletch turned around after she "stuck him" and gave the nurse the dirtiest look (with such a grown up expression). We all had a good laugh and I think we all felt a little worse for Maletch at the same time because he was very aware of what was happening. The funny part was he was very aware of who was doing it to him. The lady felt so bad she almost couldn't finish the job because of the way he was looking at her.

It was such a pleasure meeting them! His brother not only looks so much like J, but he is like him in so many ways too- so we really hit it off! I was most impressed with what a great father he is! It is obvious enough anyway, but it really shows in his son! His son is 9 years old and such a great kid- I told J, I wanted to take him home with us! M just loved his cousin too! What is crazy is that with all of the Aunts and Uncles- M met the one that lives the furthest away- first- go figure huh?

Maletch & Miguel

Cousins & buddies!

Chillin' with Grandma!

Cousins, Pops, & the "Dang Dog" haha- that toy drives John and I nuts! Maletch loves that thing- so we don't have the heart to get rid of it.

Grandma and Grandpa borrowed an awesome activity center for Maletch to play in while we were there.

Maletch's Milestones:

As many of you know- Maletch has been "mobile" or at least "semi-mobile" since he was only a few weeks old (and no I don't mean just rolling over). He could actually scoot to where ever he wanted to go (some might call it "creeping"). He just traveled slowly and he got faster as he got older. Just before he turned 4 months he had graduated to crawling like a "stink-bug" with his legs straight and his butt sticking up in the air. Just to give you an idea, he could get across a room (4-6 feet) in approx 1-2 minutes. Although many would probably say that he was actually "crawling" then- I'm so conservative, so I was reserving the term "crawling" for when he would learn to crawl "conventionally."

Once we got to their house (which is huge)- he had lots more room to explore- and he was determined to figure out a faster way to get places.

He figured out how to crawl (conventionally), but he started out only going in reverse. And for going forward he learned to leap like a frog (at first). It was so cute! So everyday while we were there I would spread out his toys in a large circle (of 5 feet in diameter or larger) and he would leap forward and grab a toy then crawl (holding his toy) in reverse and take it back to his starting point- it was very entertaining.

He had a few "first milestones" while we were there- he also mastered sitting up from a crawling position. By the end of the trip he was switching off between leaping and crawling for going forward. He was "officially" crawling just before his 6 month old birthday which was the day we left to come home- so that just made the trip so special (and what a treat for the Grandparents too!) Since we've been home he's hit the ground (and everything in sight) 100 mph!

A few fun pics from August

Just as we predicted, it was just a matter of days before Maletch was standing up in his bassinet and trying to climb out (he actually did- I literally "caught" him on his way out) So that was the end of that! He now uses it on the lowered "Playpen Level" only!

One night John and Maletch were in his room playing. I thought it seemed too quiet, so I went in to see what they were up to- and this is what I found...

They wore each other out! Look at them- both knocked out!

Maletch 5 Months Old

Everytime John walks by on the way to give Maletch a bath, I always smile when I see that cute little wrinkled bottom go by! Aww, so cute! I'm sure when he gets older he's going to just love that mom had to take a picture. HAHA!

My goodness it's already been 6 weeks since I've been able to post- and so much has happened in such a short time. We have been so busy- even more than usual. I will try to catch up our blog this week and will try to stay in chronological order.

Here are a few fun pics from August:

Maletch in his new toddler tub!

He loves this thing, cuz he can sit up without the awkward slant from the baby tub- that he was supposed to lay back on. The duck "quacks" several times when you squeeze it's beak! John always sounds it off at the end of his bath.

He is our little escape artist! John gives all the baths now because it is a very physical job just to keep him in the tub! He is always standing up, grabbing the faucet, or trying to climb out!

Who me? Yes, YOU!

Cruisin' For Chicks at 5 Months Old!

Drinking Lessons!

Maletch is always taking (or trying to take) my cups/drinks out of my hands... and when I've let him take it- he puts it to his mouth and tries to drink. So I decided to run out and get him a "sippy" cup.
I read that it is a good idea to teach how to drink from a regular (non-sippy) cup at the same time that you introduce the sippy- and switch back and forth with the lessons- so that is what I did. It has been so fun and messy (hehe) watching him learn! He took to it immediately and preferred the regular cup over the sippy.
Although it is messy using a regular cup, like when he decides to turn it upside down to see what happens- I'm really impressed that he knew immediately how to drink and was actually swallowing the liquids on his first try. Since then, I have also taught him how to drink from a regular water bottle too- he loves it!

Better Not Buster!

Who, me?? I'm so innocent, look at my face!

He makes us so nervous that he is going to get the idea to pull himself over and out of his "bassinet"- which yes, we know that is coming- so I watch him like a hawk! We are getting ready to transfer him to his crib exclusively and when we do- this will drop to a deeper playpen. This has been beside our bed and his crib is in his own room.

I know he is going to make the transition well because he has slept in his crib several times for naps and he likes his bed a lot. I think I will have a hard time with the transition because I check on him constantly throughout the night- and I think if he is not in my eyesight I will be worrying and going back and forth all night. It's funny because I didn't understand parents that shared rooms with their babies (beyond a certain point) so I had a 3 month rule- that he would be in his own room after he turned 3 months... well, that was BEFORE I had a baby! Haha! Now that he is here- I get it! With the scare of SIDS and even the "what if he needs me and I don't hear him" worries- it will be very hard separating. We are about to invest in a Video Monitor- to help me be more at ease (so I can hear AND take a peek at him). We were also given a Baby Movement Monitor as a gift which picks up on every breath. It will sound an alarm if your baby doesn't breathe for 20 seconds. Between the two monitoring systems, hopefully mommy can be able to sleep without worrying. :)

Christmas in August??

Doesn't he look so cute in his high-chair! He looks so little in it too, huh?

One of his many new toys, he can chase fish in the "duck pond."

He's a happy boy in his jumperoo! I will try to add video soon of his crazy jumping. He actually makes the bungie-cords recoil from jumping so hard!

Aaahhh, it's been like Christmas this week at our house! With Maletch always wanting to sit or stand and practically refusing to lie down- we decided to offer him many of his "older boy" things that we already had waiting for him. This included lots of "big boy" toys, of course- as well as his high-chair (just for fun- not for eating yet- since he won't start on solids until 6 months of age) and we graduated him from his baby bathtub to a toddler one and so much more! He has just LOVED everything so far!

We try to introduce no more than 1-2 new things in a day (as per recommended by all the books) so as to not "over-stimulate" him- although I don't think it's possible to do with him, hehe! He loves everything- especially new things. We have not decided when we will stop on this "spree of new things"- we might just keep giving him everything in his stash since he seems to be ready for everything now. John and I went crazy shopping before he was born and filled a large closet full of shelves- stuffed full of things- many of these items were intended for Christmas and his 1st birthday.

Since Maletch is what his doctor (and the books) call a "very active baby," he bores so easily! They say he won't be fully satisfied or even easily satisfied until he is walking- which I know is true because he would jump in his jumperoo all day if I would let him- and that would that make him happy! I still have to limit his time in it to just 1-2 sessions of 20 min each- max per day, because he is back to jumping like a maniac! There was a short phase, where he had to split his focus between: playing with the toys on the jumper and the act of jumping, but now he is officially more talented than his daddy (hehe) cuz Maletch can multi-task now! Sorry honey, but you know you can't do two things at once (I just love teasing John bout that) =) Maletch can be playing with 2 toys (one in each hand), having a cooing conversation, AND jumping through the roof- all at the same time- and he does them all well! It seems like his concentration is unbreakable, no matter how many things he is doing! He doesn't forget about one toy- for the other, and he never forgets about jumping.

I just love my days with him they are always busy and full of surprises. The hardest part of my job is keeping him from being bored. I am the official "activities director/coordinator/planner" and "toy switcher outer" and its like a marathon all day. So, right now we are in hopes that all the new exciting toys and things will entertain him longer and will hopefully satisfy him until he can walk! And then the hardest part of my day will be keeping him out of trouble and away from accidents. Ha!

Except its not funny cuz he's already heading there fast- I can't believe already the difference in things he's grabbing and trying to get into this week! Those are stories for different posts :) I'm getting a little panicky about how to baby-proof everything ok, well obsessive because everything is not baby-proofable so you can't baby proof everything- so I just keep finding everything to be a hazard! I don't know how we all grew up through the exploratative and fearless baby stage and made it to adult hood safely? :) Or did we all have more accidents than we know about and our parents just didn't tell us? Haha!

I know, I know, it's called "welcome to parenthood"- someone told me to prepare to worry for the rest of my life!

And I figure I will.

Maletch Can't Wait to Show You His New Trick!!

Ok, so I wanted to post more stories last week, but couldn't find the time. I promised I was saving the "best one" for last... so I won't keep you in suspense any more...

So last week Maletch and I were sitting next to each other on the bed playing with his toys, when he grabbed a hold of me and pulled himself to a standing position!! After a lot of praise and applause, I said, "I gotta see that again!" So I sat him back down and encouraged him to do it again. We ended up making a game out of it. After about the 5th time, I figured his legs must be getting tired from the workout, so I thought I would just let him stand (while holding onto me) for a break- what do you think he did next?? He proceeded to take approx 3-5 steps while holding on and has done so each time since.
John and I keep joking, "If his doctor was so shocked by him sitting on his own at 4 months- I gotta see his face when Maletch goes WALKING IN for his 6 month checkup!" Haha!

Too Big For His Britches!!

Are you sitting down for this?? Can you believe that at 4 1/2 months old- Maletch was officially wearing size 12 month clothes!! Yep, that is correct! He is growing SO fast- I just can't keep up with his clothes!

I was a little worried that he might be getting too big- even though that went against everything I've read- AND he is not fat at all either. But just to be sure, I asked the doctor if I needed to "watch his intake." The nurse and Dr. BOTH answered at the same time, "in harmony," and confirmed what I've read in all the books- they say to let babies at this age control their own intake- that babies will only eat when they are hungry- and they will stop when they are full. And that allowing them to do so- allows them to intake more when they need it for their growth spurts. Which I've found to be completely true because, every once in a while, he will want to eat 50% more- for just a few days (12oz bottles instead of 8oz)- and he grows a ton right afterward!
Then the doctor went on to assess his growth in comparison charts to other babies his age and looked at his rate of growth from his own birth weight/height and did everythng but a cartwheel in excitement! He said, "Maletch is THRIVING!" and gestured by giving him two thumbs way up!

I am still trippin' about his size 12 month clothes- and I didn't tell you the craziest part- some of his size 12 shirts are too small already- especially getting the neck-hole over his head- because, as the doc put it- "He has a big noggin." Hehe! So he is almost ready for 18 months in shirts (at 5 months old)!! Maletch is built like his Grandpa Ebel- he is VERY stocky (with REALLY ripped arm muscles- which probably sounds funny- but I'm serious and I will try to get a picture of his arms) and he has a VERY long torso and very short legs!

As I mentioned I am having a hard time keeping up with his clothes- if you are calculating- he has gone through 5 (that's FIVE) sizes in 4 1/2 months! OK, that means each size has lasted less than a month! By the time I got everything he needed- from jammies, to comfy (around the house) clothes, to dress up for company clothes, etc- all home and washed & put away- he couldn't fit them anymore! And I kept sounding like a broken record, "Ok, he just had another big growth spurt, so I'm sure he's gonna slow down now!" But he's never slowed down- he has had one huge growth spurt after another! We are so glad that he is growing so fast and we are very surprised because we didn't expect him to be tall (or big for his age)- seeing as John and I are NOT (and we weren't as babies either).

Clothes shopping for him is a challenge too! I have to buy shirts that have extra large neck-holes or polos that have a more generous collar opening or button-ups. Then for his britches- you know how they make 2 styles of shorts for boys- either short-shorts or long shorts... well short-shorts are long shorts on him (which look great) and long shorts look like capris on him- but since he is a boy- they really look like "flood-water" pants :) And pants- well, they are just WAY too long- by like 3-4 inches! So I've been lucky in the summer because he is mostly in shorts but coming up next month when it cools down- I'm going to have the fun task of altering all of his pants or he will have to wear them cuffed. I just bought some of that iron-on hem tape, so I can hem them up and keep taking them down as he grows. It seems like just when he fits pants in the length- he's outgrown them everywhere else.

We are predicting he will REQUIRE size 18 months clothes BY his 6 month birthday (next month). I think he's trying to catch up to his big cousin Myah (who is a year and 3 months older!) This time I hope to be prepared and have that size "fully stocked" before next month because the last few sizes came SO QUICKLY that we weren't prepared. Funny because it kept happening so fast- that there was about a week at each size change that we were in denial- "it couldn't be true since he JUST moved up a size that he ALREADY needed another size"- so we just blamed it on the particular outfits' "cuts." So by the time we realized he actually needed bigger clothes, sadly, we ended up having to squish him into small clothes while trying to make the time to scramble the stores to find what he desperately needed- only to get home & wash everything- and find that he outgrew that size too! So, although he always ended up with TONS of clothes- it was always too late and he didn't get a chance to wear most of them! It has been so stressful because it seems like I'm always behind the shopping game- so THIS time I'm making a new "Game Plan"- although we JUST finished "stocking" his 12 month clothes- I GOTTA get back out there! (I know- I probably don't even have a month!) It has felt like such a waste too, since so much he never got to wear- so all we can say is that his younger brother is going to be HOOKED UP! :)

Our Wedding, 2005

Pause The Music

BEFORE you press play on the video below: You will want to press "pause" on the music player at the bottom of my blog (the pause button is toward the top left corner of the player), since this video clip has a soundtrack- or they will be battling. Remember to resume the music player (same button) when the video is over if you want.

The video is of my crazy brother Jason, when he was a Professional Freestyle Motocross rider. He Raced Motocross first and we thought that was scary- UNTIL he decided it was more fun to do Back-Flips on his dirtbike! Ooh it was so scary to watch him- I don't think I could breathe during a show!

I was playing with adding video and I figured everyone would like this! And YES, Uncle Jae will be teaching Maletch to ride one day (but Jae- just don't teach him to FLIP- OK)!

My Crazy Brother!!

Say "Cheese" OR "Go-ki-ki-ho"... Whichever!

About 6 weeks ago (when Maletch was 3 1/2 months old) he began showing signs of teething. Everybody told us that even though some babies start teething that early, we shouldn't expect anything to start coming in until around 6 months of age. Then about 2 weeks ago (age 4 1/2 months), what was obvious discomfort- turned into- completely unbearable pain for him. None of the remedies were working anymore and poor Maletch was miserable! So it was time to break open the Baby Ora-Gel and Tylenol. When I went to rub the Ora-Gel on his gums, guess what??- my finger ran over something very sharp! Yep- his first tooth had already broken through his gums! So that explained the increased pain- the tooth was cutting through!

It won't be long now before he will be flashing everybody his pearly whites- OK maybe just one pearly white for now! It is one of his upper front teeth.

Anybody that has a baby timetable chart- just might as well throw it away right now because Maletch clearly has his own!

Who is "Crusty?"

Ok, so most of you know by now that Maletch loves all of his toys but his bunny is his Best Friend. His elephant that he recently broke comes in a close 2nd. (Yes, he BROKE it with his bare hands- that boy is so dang strong- it's crazy- but thats a whole different story all by itself)

Maletch has a TON of toys and John and I want him to be able to distinguish the different ones, so from the beginning we have always referred to each toy by a name. "Where is Maletch's bunny?" as we find it and "Here is Maletch's bunny" as we hand it to him. Well lately it has been hard to keep up with cleaning all of his toys since he plays with so many. Recently after a long day of play (and him slobbering all over it) I grabbed his bunny to hand it to him and said, "Aw, your bunny is all crusty!" Funny because before I had a chance to clean it, John came in and started to hand it to him and said the exact same thing. Later that night John went looking for his bunny and asked Maletch, "Where's Crusty?" I cracked up cuz my ears were waiting to hear "bunny." Well it has caught on now and the poor bunny has a new name- he is now known simply as "Crusty!" Wouldn't it be funny if that is Maletch's first word?

Just when I thought...

Just when I thought that Maletch was in the "Grab Everything in Sight" Phase since (he's passed the pulling on mommy & daddy's lips and noses stage) he is so eager to grab and play with all of his toys and whenever you pick him up he always grabs something (a toy, blanket, etc.) and he is taking something with him! So, just when I thought... Maletch RE-DEFINES "Grab Everything in Sight"...

OK yes, I started letting him be "my little helper" and carry something while we are shopping and yes, he learned how to open and shut his dresser drawers 2 weeks ago- so I guess we knew this was coming- but we didn't expect it so soon. I didn't realize for one thing that he was already paying very close attention to what my hands were doing and wanting whatever I had. So he has grabbed a few things out of my hand when I thought I had him interested in something else- all of a sudden there goes mommy's drink or he's grabbed the bottle out of my hand that I was making for him. Ok, I guess those were some more clues as to what was coming... but we still had no idea... what we did know was that he liked to look around at the world and see everything around but we certainly didn't know he was ready to Go For Things OUT OF REACH!

The first incident: Maletch was lying in the middle of our bed, I see him look over and he's eyeing the nightstand (a few feet away). Ok nothing unusual, UNTIL he rolled and scooted over to it! Then I could tell he was eyeing something on the nightstand. He then reached up and grabbed the phone cord, pulled the corded phone off the nightstand to him on the bed, then picked the whole thing up and threw it on the floor! Huh??? I couldn't believe my eyes, if this is 4 1/2 months, John and I are in BIG trouble!

The second incident: When we are in the office, I let Maletch sit in my lap and I always give him a fresh piece of paper to play with. He loves to crumple it into a ball, then spread it back out, and bite on it- this provides enough fun while I do my emails. So last week I sat down and as I was looking for a piece to give him- so was he! He was eyeing some papers under a stack of very heavy stuff on my desk. So I sat back thinking boy I can't believe you spotted that (they were barely sticking out from the stack) so I couldn't believe that he even knew they were papers. Oh yes he did- in fact he leaned over and reached for them. "OK, this is great" I thought "while I'm doing emails he'll reach for those papers and try to get them, which of course there is no way he could. They are buried and the stuff is heavy!" Right? WRONG! He managed to pull the whole stack of stuff down! By the time I realized what was happening, I heard crashing from everything bouncing to the floor! How the heck??? Yep, we're in trouble!

Maletch SHOCKED His Doctor!

There is so much to say about the last month's adventures with Maletch, its hard to know where to even start...

I guess we can start with his 4 month doctors checkup: So it began with the routine questions to check on his development, he asked, "Is he now beginning to take an interest in his toys?" I was trying to keep from laughing and thinking "Beginning to? Doc that was so 2 months ago!" In my pause to answer without laughing, he got concerned and asked, "Does he bat at them and seem interested?" OK, I was trying so hard not to but it just came out- I laughed so hard.

The reason that was so funny is because when Maletch was between 8-10 weeks old I noticed him take an interest in his toys. I would always demonstrate a new toy (just once) before I would hand it to him. No, I didn't expect him to understand what I did or to be able to repeat it, I just was attempting to capture his interest before I handed it to him. Well the first toy I gave him was a rattle, I simply shook it and gave it to him. The second he got his little hands on it- he shook it. He played with it for a while and got bored, then he decided to make a game out of passing it from one hand to the other (yes- already!), and then he was done with it. So that was way too easy, ok fine. So the next day I thought I would introduce a more difficult toy, again not expecting him to know how to use it- just hoping it could hold his attention longer. Well, same thing. He instantly copied what I did- Ok fine. So the NEXT day I got out a soft book and thought, "OK I know you won't get this", I sat down and demonstrated turning pages (just a few) and handed it to him. What do you think happened?- it looked like he was reading the book! So, everyday for weeks, I was doing a "toy rotation" he played with all his toys and I would introduce a new toy everyday, and I was playing a game, "try to stump my- not quite- 3 month old!" Well, I never could! If it twisted, he twisted it, if it had buttons, he pushed them, wheels, he'd spin them AND if it didn't come apart, he would break it. I'm calling this the "Try To Stump Maletch- Challenge" and you are all welcome to come with a toy and challenge him if you want. I didn't tell the doctor any of this, but that was why the question about "bat at them" was so funny to me.

Ok, back to the story about the Dr. visit: So I lied Maletch down on the exam table so the dr. could check him out- and he immediately sat up, and the nurse let out a little scream. So I assumed that she was just nervous that he might fall. So, as I tried to wrestle him back down, I tried to kindly reassure her that- that was why I was standing right there and that she need not worry about that- I was ready to grab him in a nano-second. That was not why she screamed, because before I could finish reassuring her, she exclaimed, "That boy just sat up!" I can only imagine the look that was on my face because all I was thinking was, "Certainly you didn't expect him to just lie there, did you?" Then she asked, "How old is he?" and before I could answer she grabbed her chart like she must have been mistaken and says, "That's what I thought- he just turned 4 months? He just sat up by himself!" Then she asked if I saw it, I just laughed. Did she think he had never done that before? So as I was laughing and the doctor was getting over his shock, she goes running out of the room and starts telling other doctors and nurses in the hall, "You gotta see this- this boy is barely 4 months old and is sitting up on his own!"

Before we left, I handed Maletch a toy to keep him happy. I wasn't even thinking that the doctor was going to be observing what he did. The Dr. watched in amazement, and had PLENTY to say to me and Maletch. Maletch knows what, "Oh my goodness- look at you!" means because he gets a huge smile on his face and usually laughs and starts jumping. Oh boy did he eat up all the attention he got from everyone at the dr's office! And I couldn't help but just crack up cuz I was thinking if you only knew- that's not the half of it!