This morning I went into Chance's room to get him up and found this. He turns over sometimes when he is playing on the floor but not every time and although he could be much more mobile with this new skill he doesn't seem interested in rolling around the room. However he must be practicing much more than I thought. This was such a Kodac moment I couldn't pass it up. He has rolled himself over on his tummy sucking on his thumb and holding onto his blankie with the other hand and look how little he looks in that big crib. He is growing but he is still a little guy.

Chance laughed! It was so cute. Scott was laughing and talking to him and he just smiled and laughed. Then he did it again when Scott was laughing and trying to tickle him. Just thought I would share the news.

The other day we went to City Park, which is only about 10 minutes by car from the house, to sit in the shade and clean Scott’s motorcycle. With a little Goo Gone and a scotch brite pad you can get almost anything off the bike. Chance and I just sat out under the oak trees while Scott worked on the motorcycle. It was a great day and fun to get out of the house. City Park is a huge park between New Orleans and Metairie. There are large open spaces of grass and trees along with baseball, football, soccer and rugby fields, a sculpture garden and the New Orleans Museum of Art all located in City Park. It’s a great place to hangout outside. It didn’t take long to finish cleaning the bike and I took these pictures of Scott and Chance after it was done. In one of them you can see the band-aids still on Chance’s legs because I don’t want to hurt him by taking them off they always stay on for days, till they soak off in the tub.

Sorry I haven’t been updating regularly but when Scott is in town we spend as much time together as possible and some days that doesn’t leave time for updating. On Tuesday Chance had his four month check up and shots. He is 17.2 pounds and 24.5 inches tall though I think that last number is off because if you look back at his two month check up they said he was 25 inches tall then and I am sure he didn’t shrink but that is the number they told me this time. He was pretty good for the appointment though he cried a little when the Doctor took him to examine him. He spends so much time with me he has started doing a whining crying thing when he goes to someone else for a minute. The Doctor said babies usually don’t start showing a preference for Mom or Dad till six months. He checked out perfect with his Doctor even mentioning how alert and strong he was. He kept trying to push off of the table when she would lay him down to look at him. He got his vaccinations as well, three shots in all. He didn’t cry very much after them I just picked him up and held him for a minute and everything was ok. He goes for his next appointment at six months in June. I think we are going to push it back to July though because we are going to visit Scott’s family in Portland at the end of June. He slept most of the rest of the day after his appointment. Only waking up to eat and have his diaper changed then taking another long nap. He slept a bit more on Wednesday too but by Thursday he was back to his old self playing and generally being more active in the world. We bought a cable at Radio Shack today so I hope to have better videos up soon, Yeah! Here are some pictures of Chance trying to eat rice cereal again. I have been feeding him some every morning for a week now and for the last two days he has actually been opening his mouth when I move the spoon toward him and it looks like some of it is going down his throat instead of all of it coming back out on his face. That’s a big step, he’ll be eating like a pro in no time. In the last one, just look at
that mug.

Pictures of the Mini

A lot of things happened yesterday. First, we bought a new car. My car had 104,000 miles on it, it needed a new wind shield, tires and the A/C had just gone out not to mention the amount of money it costs to get a car registered in Louisiana. With all that in mind we set out looking for a new car. We drove all the way to Baton Rouge to look at a Mini Cooper because that is the only dealership from Atlanta to Houston. The trip was nice, we took a back road for a part of it which was a nice drive. When we got there it sort of all fell into place and we came home with a new car. The only draw back to the new car is space. It gets amazing gas milage, handles well, is very nice on the inside and when you are driving it, it doesn't feel like a small car. It has a solid feel to it, There are only two doors, The car seat fits fine in the back but is a little hard to get in and out of the car. Other than that it's great. We got a three year lease on it and it comes with a 36,000 mile everything warranty so all my oil changes, windshield wipers, tires, everything is free for the first 36,000 miles which is absolutely wonderful. It doesn't bother me that the dealership is in Baton Rouge where I have to go for my free services because that gives me an excuse to geocache up that way. I haven't taken any pictures of the car yet but when I do I will post them.
Moving right along, Chance turned 4 months old yesterday! He is getting so big and he talks a lot always squealing and babbling. Here are the milestones that I copied from ivillage for four months. He is doing all of these things. He isn't rolling all over the place but he does roll over most every time I put him on the floor one way or the other. It's like he gets tired of being on his tummy so he will roll over but then when he gets tired of being on his back he won't roll back over he just cries because he wants to get up.

By the end of month four a baby typically:
May sleep about six hours at night before waking (total sleep typically 14 to 17 hours)
Rolls over (usually stomach to back is first)
Sits with support
Lifts head up 90 degrees
Can follow a moving object for a 180-degree arc
Babbles and amuses self with new noises
Responds to all colors and shades
Explores objects with his mouth
Recognizes a bottle or breast
Communicates pain, fear, loneliness and discomfort through crying
Responds to a rattle or bell

Also yesterday he ate rice cereal for the first time (see pictures). I think most of it ended up on the outside of his mouth but he didn't hate it. And today he even opened his mouth a couple times when I brought the spoon toward him. He can't be getting very much of it down his throat but he is doing good and it's worth the funny factor anyway. Well, he just woke up so I will add more later.

While getting things together to go for a stroll today I laid Chance down in his crib with a few toys to keep him occupied. In a couple minutes I was ready and went back in his room to get him when I found him asleep. I guess he was tired and wanted to play all at the same time because he was asleep with his toy still in his hand. It was of course so cute I had to take pictures. On another note, Scott is coming home tonight. I thought it was Friday but I was wrong it is Thursday and I am so happy. He has been away from home for over two months. Also, Chance’s appointment got moved from Friday to Tuesday so there won’t be an update on that till then. Scott doesn’t get in till 8:40pm so we are just going to mess around here, and go on our little stroll around the quarter when Chance wakes up. Chance is 17 weeks old today too, He is still so small but getting bigger all at the same time. Sometimes I sort of see a flash of what he will look like when he is older. He definately has a little personality now and things that he likes and that he dislikes. It's great learning who he is. He was smiling and pursing his lips in his sleep. This last picture is a new face that he makes. He pulls his lips tight and thin like he going to hum and sometimes he does hum and sometimes he just makes the face. It's cute because when he does it his cheeks get all chubby and round.

Over the last few months Rosco has been really great with Chance and with all the changes that have come in the house. He doesn't always get walked at the same time everyday and he doesn't get as much attention as he used to even though we try. He sleeps in his cage every night and we put him in his cage when we leave the house. Not because he is destructive but because he is so powerful that when he does get a hold of something even though it is rare he destroys whatever it is. Used to when we wanted to put him in the cage you would have to get a hold of his collar and drag him into the cage. He uses passive resistance and would just sit there or lay there and let you drag him. Over the past few months though he seems to understand that I can't always drag him. Sometimes I need him to go in the cage and I am holding Chance so he has started going in the cage all by himself. I just tell him to get in the cage and he goes. Rosco is a wonderful dog. He licks Chance's feet and smells him but then just goes about his business. Today, when I told Rosco to get into his cage he walked away from me, I told him to get in his cage again and evidently he didn't want but he knew I couldn't chase him around the house so instead of running around he hid. In the bathtub. I've never seen him get into the bathtub all by himself (you have to give him a boost when it's bath time) but today he just hopped right in and sat there looking at me.

Today we went geocaching again since we also went geocaching yesterday. It has been keeping us busy and for ones that are close together in parks and things I jsut put Chance in his sling which he loves and we walk in the park between caches. After writing the other day about the sample blanket
I wasn't sure it was easy to understand so of course I took pictures to illistrate what I was trying to say. In the first two he is with his regular blanket (Winnie-The-Pooh) with the sample blanket over the top. Then I went in to his room just now and found his alseep like this last picture. Now you can see what I mean and why I give him the sample blanket. He grabs it and pulls it up to his head . He has been eating more and more he is up to about 37 ounces per day. His 4 month check up is on Friday where he will get shots and I hope the go ahead to start solids. That will be so much fun I am looking forward to trying to feed him with a spoon. Rice Cereal here we come!

I just walked into Chance's room he is taking a nap and when I looked at him he was so cute I couldn't stand it and had to come out and share some pictures with you all even though these are totally unrelated to him sleeping. The little red outfit is a picture I took on Thursday and the other two are ones from Friday when he was in his stroller. We are planning to go out today even though it is a little cold we are just going to wonder around for a while, listen to music and see the sights. Chance rolled over again today from tummy to back this time. He is catching on slowly but surely. Also, he has started really

grabbing onto things like blankets and shirts and my hair. He seems to like to grab sloft things more than hard toys so far. I think it is because he can get a good hold on soft things and sometimes toys still fall out of his hand. So, he has started to really like his little Ollie Bear and at night I have been wrapping him in a blanket and then putting one of his little sample blankets (that's what I call them they are really small, about one foot square, mini blankets.) over the top of that so when he grabs his blanket he is only getting one of the small ones to pull up to his face. He has been falling asleep with the little blanket held fast in his hands. In this one picture Chance is talking to me, I'm not sure what he is saying but he really wanted to tell me something maybe it was "Boy, Mom this blanket sure is tasty!"