dear little prince | four months

dear little prince,

happy four months, sweet chap of ours. gosh, we sure do love you. and not to give you a big head or anything, but you are the best baby. so content. so precious. so happy. so chill. and so smart. everyone who spends any time with you says that you are so quiet and relaxed. and when we are out and about, that is absolutely the case. you hang back, you are more reserved, and you take it all in. you just enjoy what is happening around you. and at home, you are equally amazing but not quite as quiet. you like to air your lungs with the most ridiculous sounds. you seem to be most comfortable at home (which is as it should be) where you can just hang out and play and squawk and howl and chatter and laugh. but really truly, we can go for weeks at a time without hearing any kind of unpleasant sound from you. it is all coos and goos and amazingness.

and speaking of sounds, and i am certain that you say hello to me when i come to wake you from your slumber. you flop from your side sleeping burrito roll thumb sucking and look right at me with the biggest smile before letting out the happiest "hhhhiiii" sound. so, i will be adding that to the baby book as your first word. (wink)

and OH the laughing. it is the most incredible sound. and it is such fun that we are moving out of all the involuntary baby stuff into a world where you respond and converse and let your personality shine. it is grand. this might be my very favorite stage. you are still a ball of delicious baby but more little person is coming through. you can move around but you can't really get into trouble just yet. you have opinions. you use your expressions to tell us what you are thinking. and according to your expressions, you are delighted by pretty much everything. especially your sister. she makes you smile and laugh like none other. and she is working on being understanding when you pull her hair and kick her. i know that you will be good for each other. you will teach elinor patience and kindness. and she will teach you resilience. you will be a dynamic duo, that's for sure.

you sure do like your independent playtime. we are simply observers. you swat at your hanging animal friends, you nibble on your toys, and you suck on all your fingers while chatting away. every so often, you allow us to be a part of playtime, which is so very sweet of you. but i do love how content you are to kick and squawk and entertain yourself. and playtime has become much more exciting these days because you are so much more active and squiggly. during the daytime, you get a solid 30-45 minutes to play between feeding and naptime. but at night, that's the real fun. your 7:30-7:30 sleep schedule means that i feed you at 4:30 and then we just get to hang with the whole family until bedtime. we sing songs. we snuggle. we have tickle parties to get you to laugh. we get to know each other better. and it really does feel like a family of four instead of a family of three plus an infant. for now, you play while we eat dinner but it is crazy to think that in a few short months, you will be joining us at the table.

you know how to play hard and how to sleep hard too. you give it your all and once you have tired yourself out, you move your head to the side and stare off into the distance while breathing slowly and deeply – and occasionally rubbing your little eyes or popping your thumb in your mouth. this is when we get to swoop in and scoop you up for a nap. and those moments are the best. you sigh and nuzzle and curl up close. all your energy dissipates and you become a calm and sleepy thing who just wants to cuddle before you drift off into sleepyland.

you are all things amazing, ridley man. thank you for putting up with us and going with the flow. thank you for coming along on our little adventures. we so appreciate your accommodating and contented spirit. we hope that you will always enjoy meeting new people, eating out, exploring and traveling, and experiencing new things. may you maintain that sense of adventure. and may you also maintain your contented spirit, at ease knowing that you are God's treasure and that you are loved. may you always be confident and bold as you explore and enjoy the world that God has created.

and in other news, you have officially surpassed your sister's ONE YEAR stats for height and weight. so, bravo. you are really filling out your 6-12mo clothes and couldn't be cuter doing it.

all our love,

mama + papa + elinor

aaaaaaand just a few more pics of mr. photogenicpants, after the jump...