Exploring away

We got to go to the Exploratorium this past weekend with our dear friend Phillip. Gideon was too small/young to play with all of the exhibits, but there were a few things he could play with/sit on. I hope Gideon will be walking in a year so we can bring him back to play. We also got to take a family picture at the same spot I had my picture taken almost a year ago with Gideon still in the oven. Wow! What a difference a year makes!!

**playing around at the exploratorium**

**then and now:
then: 7 weeks pregnant (10/17/09)
now: 4 months old (9/18/10)**

Getting Big!

Our little guy is four months old today! He has grown quite a lot over the past four months. Learned and discovered quite a lot too! And, as always, got to go to lots of places with Mommy and Daddy. Here are the latest stats and the newest discoveries:

Four Month Stats:
**weight = 18 pounds (96%)**
**height = 26 inches (86%)**
**head circumference = 43 cm (71%)**

Gideon recently:
**noticed his hands and his control over them**
**saw his feet!**
**loves to stand and can go from sitting to standing with help**
**continues to babble**
**loves to suck on his hands**
**loves to play with his hands**
**loves to suck on any material he gets his hands on (towels, blankets)**

Gideon might also have acid reflux, which has prevented him from being on his tummy more. When we do get him on his tummy though, Gideon loves to kick and grab at the floor with his arms and legs. We think he may want to crawl, but we can never get him on his tummy long enough before he starts complaining. Hopefully, once the acid reflux resolves, he'll be back on his tummy and crawling one day soon. Meanwhile, we'll just keep watching him stand, and boy does he LOVE to stand! Everytime we get him on his feet, it's pure joy and laughter. I wonder if he'll be standing on his own before he starts to crawl! The following are the highlights from this past month.

Another year older

My birthday started out with a delicious breakfast with smoothie made by my dear sweet husband (Eugene!). After church, we headed to Golden Gate Park to enjoy some SF Opera in the park. A few of my friends got to come out to spend time with us. The weather was beautiful (although a little windy) and I got a bunch of delicious red velvet cupcakes (thanks Jim!). It was a wonderful way to spend the afternoon. I think Gideon enjoyed himself too! It was the first time he spent so much time outside with so many people around him. He got to see trees, people, and dogs! Although...I think he was scared of the dogs.

**birthday breakfast at home**



**SF opera in the park**

Fun in the sun

This past week in San Francisco was HOT! In fact, it was so nice out, I actually took Gideon to the beach with our cousins, the Chins. I put my distaste of the sand aside, placed Gideon ever so gently in our Ergobaby, hopped on the MUNI train, and had some fun in the sun. Gideon actually slept the whole time, but that's okay. The important thing was the we got out of the house and got some healthy sunshine.

A cousin's visit

Gideon's cousin Avery came to visit us in San Francisco! Not only did Gideon get to meet his cousin for the fist time, but he got to meet his Auntie Gladys and Uncle Duke as well! Avery's all grown up now at 14 months. She can walk around and sign quite a bit. She can also freak out around Gideon! Why? Because...well, you look for yourself. At almost 12 months apart, Gideon and Avery look quite similar in size... I think Gideon's a lil on the big side...yes?

**cousins meeting for the first time**
**with uncle duke**
**with auntie gladys and mina in the oven**
**12 months apart, but similar in size**

Talking and Rolling

Gideon is quite the talkative baby these days. And, he LOVES to hang out on his belly and roll over. Sometimes, after he has rolled over, he gets ubber excited and wants to be on his belly again. He also LOVES to talk to us while he's on his belly!

Sleep Train

No, not the mattress store and definitely not an automotive that goes choo choo. We are talking about training a baby to sleep. Before Gideon was born, I was pretty adamant about NOT letting him in our bed, NOT rocking him to sleep, and NOT walking him to sleep. This lasted oh...a few weeks. For the first few weeks of his life, Gideon slept happily without any problems in his own crib on his own. Then, thanks to his parents (yes, me and Eugene), he had to be rocked to sleep or walked to sleep every single night. In the beginning, we didn't mind so much. Then, when he got to be more than 13 pounds heavy...our backs started screaming! So, the only way we could figure out to get him back to the beginning was to train him to sleep again. Thanks to our good friends the Tuans, we employed the methods of the Baby Whisperer and Gideon is now back in his crib, able to sleep on his own without being rocked or held! We just kiss him goodnight and put him in his crib when it's his bedtime (he has actually set his own bedtime too!) while he is still awake, stand there for a couple of minutes, and then walk away while he drifts into dreamland (on the good nights). This has helped us get our nights back too. No more waiting around for Gideon to fall asleep or taking laps around the living room to walk him to sleep. Yay!!!

Next on the to do list: more naps. Gideon has a habit of taking naps only when he is utterly exhausted and will only take one nap a day.