4 Months: Point of Reference

3 Weeks

3 Months

4 Months

Eisley is 4 months old today!

Blackberry Hat

Nanny G (Eisley's Great Grandmother) knit this hat for Eisley. She was around 3 months in this photo:

Swimmin'

The other day Eisley went for her first swim in a kiddie pool with her friend Kaylee. Unfortunately we don't have any pictures of her in the actual pool, because our hands were a bit preoccupied trying to keep Eisley upright and Kaylee from dumping cupfuls of water over Eisley's head. Also, Eisley wasn't the biggest fan of the water. I think it was a little cold. But here are some before pictures of Eisley in her summer gear:

I can't stand the cuteness. 

Hangin out

Wearing an outfit from Great Grandma (Nanny) while hanging out at (2nd?) Cousin Caitlin's graduation.

She's a happy girl.

I think Eisley looks a little like Great Grandma M (her mom's mom's mom ;-)) in this picture. 

Eisley and Indie

Indie generally seems to like baby Eisley.

But every once in awhile....

Her expression says otherwise. 

But then again...

Eisley has a lot to put up with too. 

Still, they are always looking out for each other. "Hey, where you going?"

And can't keep their hands off each other. (mmm...dog butt).

Because everybody knows puppy/baby kisses are the best kind. 

For a lack of updates...

Yes, as many of you have pointed out, this is less "Eisley Daily" and more "Eisley Whenever I Get Around To Posting Pictures." But if you have ever experienced life with an almost-four-month-old, I think you can cut me some slack.

Today you get one picture, and one picture only. The "Why" behind this is more or less that I've only TAKEN one picture over the past few days. You try getting this kid to sit still. However, we WILL have a few exciting pictures coming soon. First, the nursery has been painted for awhile, so as soon as we get up our final touches of decor, we'll have some pictures of that. Second, Eisley's 3 month professional photos are finished, so those should be coming soon as well. Third, we'll be seeing some more friends and family over the next few days, so hopefully a few pictures will happen there, and finally, we went to the park yesterday (silly mom forgot the camera) and a friend took pictures of Eisley's first ride on a swing! It was so cute: Eisley's little hat barely rose above the top of the baby swing, and once she figured out she could lean fully on the front of the swing and Peter Pan it, she was in heaven. Like most kids, Eisley already loves the park. So hopefully I can get those pictures from her and post them up soon.

Eisley has been wanting to MOVE lately. She has the will, but hasn't quite figured out the way, so this amounts to a lot of baby frustration. I will put her on the floor and all her little arms and legs will start working to direct her torso forward, but the friction of her tummy on the ground keeps her firmly in place. Nothing frustrates her more. When on her back, she's tilting herself from side to side and often rolling over! Several times we've put her in her crib only to come back in and find her on her stomach, screaming of course, because she can't remember how to roll back the "right way." I've been looking into getting a mesh bumper for her crib because about three times nightly she'll find a way to get all four of her limbs stuck in the holes between the slats, which doesn't hurt her, but it certainly restricts her ability to move. And if anything's restricting that precious ability, it calls for some more screaming. And boy is that girl good at screaming. And grunting. Those two things alone comprise most of how she spends her time. 

If one of us is holding her, then the movement goes into hyperdrive. she arches her back, squirms this way and that, kicks her legs, leans over to grab whatever's next to her, reaches for hair or objects you might be holding, etc. As it is right now I am typing one-handed because my other hand is trying to keep my daughter from launching herself off the edge of the couch, and I'm getting repeatedly kicked in the side in the process. Also, my shirt is stretched beyond belief by all the grabbing it's endured. I can hardly use the nursing shawl in public anymore, as Eisley treats it as a challenge to see just how fast she can punch her way out of it. 

Two days ago I was holding Eisley and consuming pizza and orange soda while watching the Biggest Loser (yes, laugh away). Except, most of the orange soda ended up in my lap. Because every time I lifted the clinking glass of ice to my lips, Eisley's baby brain must have signaled: RATTLE! RATTLE! TOY! GRAB! and her fist came up and thwapped the bottom of the glass, hard. Causing the contents of said glass to slosh up and out of the glass, all over my face, down my chin, and onto my clothes. After which she would just smile as though she had just witnessed the best show ever. You'd think I would learn, but no, this happened maybe four times. 

And now I'm off because Eisley is screaming again. 

A busy weekend

This has been a busy weekend for us! On Friday, Eisley and Amber worked hard to finish unpacking and cleaning the house because Amber's friend Jenny was coming to visit all the way from Arizona! While Amber picked up the bedroom, Indie kept an eye...er...tongue on Eisley.

Jenny wasn't the only friend in town that Eisley had never met. Lots of Mike and Amber's college friends were around as well. Ben flew in from New Jersey and Randi drove down from Oshkosh. In this picture, Anne is holding Eisley while Ben blows bubbles for Eisley's friend Kaylee

Eisley got to use her favorite toy again at Kaylee's house. This time, I got a few photos!

She loves this thing!

She also loves blowing spit bubbles...

Everyone went to "cousin Sarah"s graduation. She went to the same college as Eisley's mom and dad and got the same degree as Eisley's mom :-) It was fun to see a lot of old friends and professors. Unfortunately, Eisley got a little cranky about it toward the end. So many people! So overwhelming!

At least Mike is happy in this photo...

Before Jenny left for the weekend, we all took a walk down to Lake Michigan. Once again, Eisley mustered up her best cranky face for some photos:

But secretly, I'm sure she loved her busy weekend ;-)

Naked Baby

When Eisley was a newborn, she used to fill her diaper almost constantly. Every hour, just about, we'd go to give her a diaper change and it'd be full of both numbers. But recently, she's started reserving her number 2's for just two or three times per day. What she lacks in frequency, she makes up for in force, often exploding straight out of her diaper and onto whatever cute outfit she happens to be wearing.

Typically, one of these explosions occurs sometime in the morning, within a few hours of waking up. This morning when I was changing her soaked morning diaper, I noticed her straining and turning red and I looked at the cute outfit in my hand and thought "Nuh uh. No way. Not this time. I am not going to sacrifice THIS cute outfit to the gods of excrement. I will wait until AFTER she has exploded, and THEN I will get her dressed."

My poor baby has been nearly naked ever since.

We've been hanging out on water-proof surfaces all day, just waiting for the inevitable explosion, but it seems pooping is only fun when it is done at the expense of cute outfits.

You could cut the suspense with a knife.

Indie's been hovering like a vulture.

But you probably don't want to know her motives. 

Oshkosh B'gosh

Eisley received this pair of OshKosh B'Gosh overalls in a box of handmedowns:

I swear that company makes the exact same clothes it used to make when I was a baby. 

And they're still adorable!

Today my friend Laura had to run and pick up a contact subscription and asked if I could watch her twins for half an hour while she brought her oldest along with her, since I live only 2 minutes away from them. The twins aren't crawling or walking yet, so they sat on the floor across from each other the whole time and played with various toys. I didn't want them to get jealous of Eisley being held while they weren't because then I'd have three crying babies on my hands so I set Eisley in an exersaucer, kind of like this one:

(not my baby)

I don't know what I was expecting, but she LOVED it! And she actually used it the way it is supposed to be used. She stood up the whole time and examined the toys carefully in front of her. Instead of just mindlessly grabbing at objects, she was consciously manipulating them. And one she figured out the seat turned in a circle, she went from toy to toy, examining each one before turning and examining the next one. She moved the trains back and forth along the track, she spun the cylinder full of beads, she stared mesmerized at the snow globe, she slid rings across an arch. Her hands no longer have a mind of their own; they're starting to be controlled by her little baby brain! :-D She looked so big and important turning herself around in that thing to explore the toys around her. If my apartment weren't already packed, I'd consider getting her an exersaucer. But she already has a swing, a bouncer, a bumbo, a play mat...etc. so I think I'll just save it for when she visits her "friends." 

The few times that Eisley was facing in our direction, she was fairly interactive with the other babies. Bianca looked at her and bounced her arms excitedly and Eisley gave her a huge smile and a giggle. When the twins started babbling, Eisley joined right in. It was the cutest thing ever. Since I don't have pictures of that, here's another one of her with her dog:

Picnic (featuring other cute babies)

Eisley and I took advantage of the nice weather today and invited some of our friends over for a picnic in the yard. We settled under the shade of some trees and watched the babies play.

My friend Laura's children could almost be considered Irish triplets. 

Her twin daughters Bianca and Brielle turn 1 in July and their big sister Kaylee is two in June. 

Kaylee loves to say "baby! Eisley!" everytime she sees Eisley. 

She knows exactly who she is even though she hasn't seen her in almost four weeks.

This little cutie is Landon. He is all over the place. During the course of our picnic he managed to knock over just about everything that was able to be knocked over. At one point, he sat down directly in our bowl of carrots. He's a lovable little guy but we have to keep an eye on him; he's fond of walking up to other babies and hitting them repeatedly in the head excitedly. Needless to say, other babies don't appreciate this very much, Eisley included. 

The twins have shown no interest in crawling or walking yet. 

They were content to just chill in their carriers the entire picnic. 

Eisley wore her picnic hat to the occasion. In this picture she looks like she has a tiny mustache ;-)

She was pretty content to just sit and watch the other kids play.

Later, Eisley helped me paint another wall in her room. Two walls down, two to go!

Can you guess what color the walls are? ;-)

Moving Weekend

This weekend we moved from one apartment to another, so I wasn't able to post pictures. To make up for it, we have a lot of them today!

Eisley before the move, showing off her belly button

Grandma and Grandpa C both came to help us move. In between hauling furniture and packing boxes, they spent lots of time holding baby Eisley:

Indie, meanwhile, appointed herself as guard dog over the few possessions remaining in our house:

Eisley may not be big enough to "romp" yet, but she's just big enough to fit into some of her "rompers"!

We are in the process of painting Eisley's new nursery. Here is the "before" pic:

Check back in a few days for the "after" :-)