Golden Days

Greetings after a rather long hiatus! Phew, I can't believe that last post was nearly a month ago. These days, spare time is a rare commodity and seems to be a vague concept from a former life I once led but can't quite recall anymore. I shall elaborate, but in summary the past month has been full of joy. I have had some fun and inspiring times in my life, but nothing in my life's experience thus far beats the absolute joy I have felt as I witness my baby grow, develop and become a cognizant human being. At 3.5 months old, Kai has entered a golden period and U & I are enjoying every moment with him.

For lack of a more creative intro, lets start off with some crucial stats obtained from Kai's 3 month doctor's appointment:

Weight: 16.5 lbs (His thighs are so huge Ive started calling him Mr. Blimpy)
Height: I forget right now.. but very long.
Comparative: 90th percentile for weight, 90th percentile for height
Advice from doc: try feeding him more at each feeding but spreading the feedings further.

And recent milestones:
- can prop himself up 90 deg on his belly
- laughs out loud
- makes happy squeals when he sees us
- lifts his legs up in the air
- holds onto and grasps toys
- babbles
- proficient drooling and sucking of hands (which indicates teething)

So to continue the mushy gush of awe over my child, Kai is also definitely expressing some distinct personality traits which is just pure fun and delight for us to see. I think overall he is a really great baby. He only dislikes 4 things and does us the favor of making sure we're very aware of his being offended by one of more of them (by exerting his very healthy & LOUD cry) 1) being hungry 2) being tired 3) being in the car seat 4) being in the car seat when the car is not moving (he has a need for speed)...

Fortunately, the list of likes is much longer and includes attention from us generally, conversation time with mama, belly tickles from papi, baby massage and bath time, being with his friends Jacob, Avery, Sofie and his teachers Ms. Karen and Ms. Michelle at daycare, and playing with his favorite striped doll (whom we call SDLH "star doll long hat") to name a few.
I do think that he will be an active toddler as he is all about physicality. When he's happy, there's plenty of leg kicking, arm flapping, squealing and moving about generally. His formerly peaceful and calm bath times have changed into play time as he discovers that kicking violently in the water produces splashes that make mama and papi excitable as they get consequently soaked! His sleeping has improved greatly the past week after we adopted the doctor's advice to spread his feedings apart by increasing the amount at each feeding. U & I are feeling much more human and less zombie-like as a result. Our daily routine goes something like this:

5am : U wakes up to go to work
8 : U returns to pick us up, drop off KBB at daycare, I head to work.
9-5 : Busy days at work
5:30: I pick up Kai and then Uli
6-7 : Play time with Kai
7-730: Baby massage, bath time, feeding, lights out for Kai
8-9 : Adult time ie make dinner, eat, wash up, clean millions of bottles
10 : Conk out.
10-5: KBB wakes up once (maybe twice) to say hello and nurse a little

Its a simple existence, but life is Good. And even better with some sleep and a delightfully happy baby. :-)