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Sleep is a huge issue for me – and Mommy and Daddy. Playtime wears me out because I’m so active, so I have to nap a lot — sometimes I even doze off without a swaddle but never for long stretches. When Mommy and Daddy take me out, I sleep in my car seat and thus do much better during car rides. I don’t like being cradled and rocked in someone’s arms quite as much as I used to, and sometimes fuss until Daddy releases me from the swaddle. During the day, I like to nap in my swing, although at night I sleep in my bassinet next to Mommy and Daddy’s bed. For the first time this month, I allowed Mommy to sing me to sleep singing “Hush little baby/Don’t say a word/Papa’s gonna buy you a mockingbird …” Technically, I’ve been sleeping through the night for up to five-hour stretches – Mommy says she needs me to sleep for eight hours; she’s hard to please. I’ve been starting to go to sleep earlier, around 10 pm instead of midnight.

I exercise every day in order to work on my one-pack. Thanks, Aunt Holly, for the exercise video. On my stomach, I can hold my chest up for short periods of time and when I get everything going right I can crawl about three inches before I do a nose dive and start complaining. I like to smile at myself while lying on my stomach and looking into the mirror on my tummy time mat. I no longer like lying on my back all the time; I like to spend half the time standing or sitting … with some assistance.

I still get a kick out of diaper changes. Mommy often leaves the poopiest diapers for Daddy, but fortunately they only occur once every few days.

Prior to this month, I didn’t really notice the fuzzies but now I try to talk to them when they walk nearby. I even grab for them. Today I pulled out some of Squirt’s fur. I needed it. I’ve been losing my own hair. Daddy suggested Rogain.

By the end of my third month (on my four-month birthday), I can now grab my own pacifier and shove it into my mouth – although sometimes it goes in upside down or sideways. I even move it from one hand to the other.

I like to be vocal in the evenings. Lots of happy babbling, rambling, screeching … you’d sound like that too if you had your fist in your mouth. Yes, I drool a lot but that’s because my mouth is busy tasting everything within range. Mommy and I have giggling sessions where she laughs like an insane person and I open my mouth real wide and laugh along. Chacha* (aka Rhumba Rin, aka Tango Rin, aka Nanny Rin, aka Uncle Rin, aka Medium Sikh) gave Mommy and Daddy a book on how to con your baby for Christmas, but Mommy’s already been conning me with her smile trick: When she’s doing something she thinks I might not enjoy (rinsing my soapy head, cutting my nails, wiping my nose), she looks me in the eye and laughs with a big grin and thereby tricks me into thinking we’re doing something that’s supposed to be fun. I’m not saying I’m slow or anything, but somehow this trick works half the time.

Weight: 13lbs 10oz
Height: 24 ¼ inches
Head Circumference: 16 ¼

I’m in the 50th percentile all around. (Doctor Santiago says I’m a very personable baby who looks you in the eye and engages you.)

*You probably don’t get the joke, but ‘Chacha’ is Punjabi for Uncle and Grandpa Rodey insists that Rin be referred to as ‘Chacha.’ However, Mommy thinks the name sounds like a Latin dance.

Austen gets hot in her car seat, sweat building up on the back of her neck and dampening her hair and clothes, so we sometimes have to strip her down to a diaper — in the middle of winter.

Daddy was a little cranky today, so Rin took him for a ride to Queens to calm him down and put him to sleep.

Squirt gets jealous of all the attention Austen gets and noses in on one of her photo shoots.

Austen accompanied Grandma and Grandpa Rodey to Newark International Airport to catch a 14-hour direct flight to India – where they planned to visit relatives and go to the Golden Temple in Amritsar.

We got to eat at T.G.I.F., watch the airplanes – Alitalia is difficult to pronounce — and ride the air train. After all was said and done, neither Daddy nor Uncle Rin could find the car and Mommy had to stroll around with Austen and locate the parking spot.

(video)

Austen proving one can dress like a Southern Belle while wearing breeches.

Mommy, Daddy, and Austen got off to a late start when heading to Granpa Earl’s farmhouse for New Year’s Eve, Saturday, December 31, 2005. Mommy lost track of what day it was and packing with baby takes at least four hours. The drive down to Maryland was peaceful. Austen now sleeps in her car seat, or plays without screaming. Hurrah!

The New Jerseyites arrived at 3642 Mill Green Road at around 3pm, just in time to take a nap before heading off to a New Year’s dinner at Nancy and Wilson Jones’ lovely home near Mommy’s high school (North Harford High in Pylesville, Maryland). Grandpa Earl, Mommy and Daddy ate shrimp and pasta and coconut chocolate cake. Mommy even got to play bridge while Daddy took Austen upstairs for a nap. Here’s Austen and Grandpa Earl all dressed up and about to leave for the party:

At Grandpa Earl’s house, baby Austen got to stay in the yellow bedroom suite that Grandpa Earl built for Grandma Judi – she obviously picked the colors. Austen enjoys being propped up in the loveseat next to the bed.

On Sunday, Austen got to visit with Cousin Erin, Cousin Emma, Aunt Jen and Uncle Mark. During a walk around the farm, Austen was so wide-eyed with excitement she ended up falling asleep in Daddy’s arms while he discussed cow “poopies” with Emma. There was some disappointment at not being able to locate any cows, even with the help of farmer’s son Mark. Later in the day, Mommy’s friend Becky West (formerly Randolph) stopped by with two-and-a-half-year-old Abby, who played with Emma. Becky seemed to be doing great considering she was expecting a baby in a few weeks.

On Monday, the whole gang went to Great Aunt Janet’s newly-renovated condo in Bel Air and noshed on soup and cheese … and expensive wine. Carolyn Chrismer, Susan Deeney and Hannah Close stopped by to see the new babies.

2005 was probably the most difficult year of Mommy’s life, with extreme high points and low points. In January, Mommy learned she was expecting Austen but was soon diagnosed with a pregnancy-related blood sugar problem. In March, Mommy lost her mom to a sudden, devastating illness – diagnosis and final stages of the cancer all took place within weeks of telling Grandma Judi about the pregnancy. As Mommy explained to her novel-writing friends online, “In February, my mom was playing tennis and conducting orchestras; a month later she was gone.” On top of that, Mommy had a scary, difficult pregnancy which included twice weekly doctor appointments and constant nausea. All the while, Mommy and Daddy were spending almost every weekend hard at work doing the numbers and making decisions involving the purchase and construction of a new house in New Jersey – all so baby would have plenty of space. Austen’s birth in September was a high point. Mommy really lucked out in her last minute decision to go to St. Peter’s Hospital in New Jersey. In the final months of 2005, Mommy has been more tired than she’s ever been before – even more so than when teaching Contemporary Civilization at Columbia College. It’s been an enormous learning process trying to care for a demanding baby non-stop – especially after never having been alone with a newborn for even a few hours before Austen.

Below is Austen posing with the “You Are My Sunshine” pillow that Mommy got for Grandma Judi when she became ill. Notice Austen has a matching pillow saying “‘lil sunshine.” (This photo is from Austen’s very first trip to the Famous Farm on December 12, 2005)

(made using ezmosaic)

Austen has a few nicknames already – maybe the name ‘Austen’ just isn’t cuddly enough? Mommy often calls her ‘Babycakes’ or ‘Sweetie,’ or under certain circumstances ‘Miss Fussypants.’ Mommy’s nickname for Daddy is ‘Sweet Pea;’ Daddy’s nickname for Mommy is ‘Lu Pea’ (or ‘Loopy’); and Austen’s nickname is ‘Swaddle Pea’ … because she needs to be swaddled in order to sleep well. To Grandpa Rodey, Austen is “Princess.”

When Mommy was younger, her mom (Grandma Judi) called her ‘Pumpkin’ — or “Lucinda Lynnet!” when she was in a disciplinary mode. Grandpa Earl often called his only daughter ‘Sour Puss.’

Daddy’s parents and family call him ‘Sunny’ (or ‘Sonny’) – a play on either the sun in the sky or son as in a male child.