Life of Wilder: Week Sixteen

I say it every month but I can't believe Wilder is FOUR months old today. It's hard to fathom that he's already four months old and only four months old at the same time. He has really grown up in the last month -- holding his head up completely, rolling over more easily, grabbing everything within reach, teething, and more. He is so much fun to be around and every night when I go to bed I can't wait to wake up the next morning and be his mom some more. He is developing such a funny little personality and it brings so much joy into my life to make him smile or, the Holy Grail, laugh. I feel like I know him so much better these days -- what makes him upset or happy, how to soothe him or entertain him, his "hungry" or "tired" signals, etc. This motherhood thing is, by far, the most rewarding, exhausting, scary, joyful experience of my life and, don't tell Paul but, I can't wait to do it again and again ;)

It has been an emotional week. Having a baby changes your perspective on so many things. Things that were passable before suddenly no longer cut it. Things that you always let slide suddenly can't be overlooked anymore. You want your child to have the very best in life, and I'm not talking about possessions, I'm talking about quality relationships because that is part of what helps them develop into who they are going to be. We've been making some tough decisions this week but I'm convinced that things will work out for the best one way or another because our hearts are in the right place. My policy with this blog is normally "full-disclosure" so I know I'm being unusually cryptic but I'm trying to talk about the idea of something without going into sensitive details. Readers, if you're a praying bunch, which I know a lot of you are, I ask that you pray for wisdom and peace for Paul and me during this time. P.S. Just read back over this and it kind of sounds like Paul and I are having problems, but it's nothing between us. Just wanted to clarify... You know how easily rumors get started! 

I would have hoped I could say by now that we've recovered from our TN trip but that doesn't seem to be the case just yet. My suitcase is still only partially unpacked and we're still struggling to get back into our old routine. Unfortunately, besides the leftover exhaustion from the trip, there's been a lot more working against us: the time change last weekend (ugh!), Paul's exams being this week, and dum duh duh duhhh...

Do you notice a pattern here?

That's right ladies and gentlemen, it's teething time in the Taylor house. And it is not fun. Poor little guy is all out of whack and can't think of anything else but finding something to gnaw on. I even took him out into the yard to play on Wednesday to try to get his mind off of it and look what happened... Seriously, the flowers?? Can we say desperate?

So the teething has resulted in extra fussiness and fewer naps for him and extra exhaustion and no naps for me. Plus, Paul has been super busy studying for exams this week so he hasn't been able to really relieve me at all. The time change also royally screwed us up earlier in the week but our schedule seems to have slowly gotten back on track since then. It's been long long week and I am so looking forward to Paul's break starting Wednesday. But it's also been a fun week too. 

Wilder has started rolling over with ease and it's now his favorite pastime. Since his rolling marathon in Week Eight he mysteriously hasn't been able to do it again from front to back. Good thing I got it on video. So now he rolls from his back to his belly and gets stuck that way. Anytime I put him flat on his back he immediately rolls over, plays for a few minutes, and then starts fussing because he doesn't want to be on his stomach. So that is our new routine: he rolls, fusses, I roll him back over and then he rolls again. I keep telling him not to roll onto his belly if he doesn't want to be on his belly but he's obsessed with his fun new talent. 

He also has another new obsession this week: the dogs. Anytime they are in the room he is watching them, trying to grab them, holding out his hand for them to lick it, etc. He especially loves Posey because she's so lazy she'll usually just lie there and let him mess with her. The other day he was lying on a blanket in his room and Posey was lying close to him. Apparently it wasn't close enough for his liking so he rolled over so that he was right next to her. She sort of scooted away a little so when he fussed to be rolled over I rolled him toward her. She scooted away a little more and he rolled over next to her again. I thought it was so funny that he was sort of following her across the room; Posey did not think it was that funny. She's really not going to think it's funny when he starts crawling after her. 

Since he's been so irritable this week he hasn't wanted me to put him down. I kind of don't mind because he's so cuddly, but sometimes I've just got to get stuff done so I've been coming up with creative ways to entertain him. The other day he wasn't happy lying in the Pack n Play so I sat him up in the corner of it and he thought that was the greatest trick. He sat there for about half an hour playing with links in both hands and kicking his ball around with his feet. Hey, whatever works.

He's also been busy helping Paul study this week. 

Last Saturday we went to cousin Henry's first birthday party at Amber and Travis' house in La Habra, CA. Everything was so cute and we had a great time. Wilder was the youngest one there so we put him in one of Henry's old rolling toys to watch the festivities for a while. All the little kids kept coming over to check him out and spin his toys for him. It was really cute. 

Henry was such an adorable little birthday boy. When everyone gathered around him to sing Happy Birthday he stared at us all like we were crazy, haha :) He wasn't sure about his cake at first but definitely got the idea after a while -- he ended up with it in his hair, ears, and all over his face. 

Well, that's about all Wilder's going to give me time to write this week. Did I mention I can't wait for Paul's break from school?? :) Here are a few more cute pictures from this week...

Oh, and I almost forgot... We were so blessed to escape any tsunami damage here in San Diego last week but, as we all know, Japan wasn't so lucky. Y'all know what an animal lover I am so I'm posting this amazing video of a Japanese dog loyally standing by his injured dog friend amidst the devastation. So sweet and sad. Don't worry, both dogs were rescued afterwards, but the people and animals of Japan desperately need our help. You can donate to World Vets by clicking here to help the thousands more animals like these. You can also donate to the American Red Cross by clicking here to help with the rescue effort.

Have a great weekend everybody!