4 Months Old

Dear Baby Boy,

You're 4 months old now - 16 weeks and 2 days old to be exact - and every day you reward me with some new sound or trick or look or move.

I didn't know 4 months would affect me like this but you're doing things I didn't know a 4 month old could do.

For example, I had no idea a 4-month-old baby could have the wherewithal to actually pee on someone and laugh about it.

But you did.

I had no clue that a 4-month-old baby could literally have a conversation with me every day after "school". A true "give-n-take" where you tell me how your day went and I tell you just how much I missed you.

But you do.

Nor could I comprehend even for a second that a 4-month-old baby could be so enthralled by a tv show, that he would reach up, unhook one of the toys hanging from his playmat because it was blocking his view, and go right back to watching the show without missing a beat.

But, um, yeah, you did that, too.

I didn't know playing airplane would make you giggle so much, how tickling you would be one of your favorite pastimes, or how simply looking at your daddy would make you smile.

I thought I would hold you and change you and feed you sometimes. That I'd lay you down in your bassinet and watch you sleep, oohing and aahing at how peaceful you looked. I thought I'd revel in your brand new baby smell and spend my days wondering how I ever lived without you.

Well, that's exactly what I do.

But I also want to pick you up even if I've just put you down. I want to keep you awake as long as possible just so I can look into your eyes. I giggle and play and make funny faces, all in an effort to amuse you. And I'm happy to say, I am now fluent in baby-talk.

I want to do everything for you. I want to make sure you always have a full tummy and fresh laundry. I can't wait to give you sippycups full of milk and juice, and bake cookies and cupcakes for you to take to school. I want to wear a long flowy cape and put an "S" on my chest, so I can call myself SuperMom and keep your world safe.

I want to do all of these things because you're 4 months old now - 16 weeks and 2 days old to be exact - and every day you amaze me.