What an old baby.

Tummy-time isn't quite the torture it used to be.

Lottie is 4 months old now! Geez. That seems so old, doesn't it? But it's true. She's becoming quite venerable. She can roll over (from back to front only, but she tries really hard to do it the other way, too), and she now likes to hold and gum anything she can get her hands on, especially if it belongs to Jim. Jim naturally does not approve of this and reclaims all objects immediately, at which point Lottie squalls. Apparently protesting when you remove a toy is a milestone, too. Who'da thunk it?


Dealing with big brother's dubious affections is making her a pretty tough baby, too.

Personality-wise, she's the happiest, most sociable baby you ever saw. She smiles and laughs and talks if anyone so much as glances in her direction. She's a bit melodramatic, too: If anyone stops glancing in her direction, she sobs like she's being beaten. Everyone has to pay attention to Lottie or else. Physically, she's on track with her milestones but super lazy. Tummy-time isn't torturous anymore, but she doesn't really make much of an effort either. She just kind of lies there waiting for somebody to get down and talk to her. I was looking up old videos of Jim at this age and was absolutely shocked to see how much he kicked and wiggled. I'll post a comparison soon so you all can marvel with me. I can't believe how much they neither look nor act like each other. I'm hoping this means she won't be as crashing-through-the-walls insane as Jim is when she's a toddler.


This is what Lottie looks like if you even hint that you're going to talk to her.

To celebrate her being an old baby, we took her to the doctor this week. While Jim observed and gorged himself on goldfish crackers, she was pronounced to be 14 lb (58th percentile) and 24 inches (37th percentile), with a moderately large (but not freakish) head (actually slightly smaller than Jim at this age, much to my surprise). Lottie being Lottie, of course, she smiled and laughed through the whole thing. She even took the shots with remarkable stoicism and only cried for ten seconds. What a tough baby.

Ten minutes with Jim and Lottie.

Boxes are cool, as are the remains of a spaghetti lunch.


Lottie looks sternly at the camera.


Now contemplative.


Now curious.


Aww, hugs. Or squishing. One of those.


Jim likes to pile blankets on Lottie. Apparently it's a tent.


Lottie doesn't mind.


Oh wait, a box! Er, excuse me, a car.


Back to blanketing the baby.


Free at last!


And this is the part where I drop the camera and run to save Lottie from being dropped on her head (...again).


Jim takes a break to sit on his cartoon-watching perch.


A moment's peace before the frenzy resumes.

For your viewing pleasure.

Right, so here are some NEW pictures of what the kiddies look like now. I've got a stockpile of pictures involving various aunts and uncles and grandmothers, too, so expect those shortly. Or sometime. Hopefully shortly, but no guarantees.


Lottie at 12 weeks old (that would be on Wednesday April 9th, folks). She broke out howling about half a second later, so that's why she looks so concerned.


Jim fell asleep on the couch. He really ought to just accept that he still needs a nap.


Noah and Jim performing one of their many acrobatics routines.


Lottie loves standing like a people. You can tell by her face she feels all kinds of impressive.


Pajama-clad Jim being adorable for the camera. I cropped out most of the messy floor, aren't you glad?


Lottie is the happiest smiliest thing I ever met. Jim was always more stoic - kind of the strong silent type. Lottie, on the other hand, is extremely talkative and smiley and always sociable.


Did I mention that she can say 'm' now? 'Cause she totally can. "Mimimimimimimimi" is the word of the day.


Okay, now back to giddiness and joy.

Lottie at Five Weeks.

Finally, almost caught up. One week to go! Here's Jim at five weeks, for your comparing, pleasure. I probably could've picked a more flattering picture of him, huh.


On the other hand, Lottie looks like a little prize-fighter here in her several-days-late Valentine's Day onesie, so I guess it's even.

The most exciting event in Lottie's life in her fifth week was definitely the Great Ice Storm of '14. They'd been hyping it for weeks, but hey, it's Georgia, so I figured it'd be just another quarter inch of snow flurries that would melt before noon. Nope. Turns out it was four inches of solid ice that stuck around for days and took down trees and power lines across the state, leaving us without power for three days. So Lottie and Jim got to experience the joys of huddling in front of the fireplace and wearing six layers of clothes to stay warm.

Lottie at Four Weeks Old

As per usual, Jim at four weeks. Have you noticed how much more thorough the weekly Jim posts were?


This is one of about two usable pictures from that session, due primarily to Jim's "I'm not touching you!" game.

Note how tight that onesie is getting on her giant belly. At four weeks, she was almost entirely grown out of her newborn stash. She can kind-of-sort-of fit into a few 3-6m things in addition to her 0-3 stuff, too. Only things without legs, though. She's got a huge torso and itty bitty short limbs.

Lottie at Three Weeks Old

Okay, I'm obsessed with comparing pictures, but again for comparison's sake: Jim at three weeks. Note how much happier she is about the proceedings.


Jim was obsessed with this bow and kept insisting that I put it back on her after I took it off.

Speaking of happy babies, Lottie started smiling and cooing a little just before she was three weeks. Told you she was a sociable little thing.

Moving pictures!

Noah very helpfully got Lottie to smile for the camera! Behold:




Not to be outdone, here's Jim reading one of his favorite books. Marvel at his alphabet-reading ability:



Note that in both videos the other kid is clamoring for attention. I feel so neglectful.