Alia is 4 months old

Well another month has passed, and I just can't believe how fast time is flying. My little 6 pound bug that I brought home from the hospital now weighs 16 pounds. She is bigger than her 7 month old cousin. She is as tall as a 9 month old baby that she met when we were in Florida. She's a very healthy girl!

This month, Alia has really begun coming out of her shell. Every morning when I go to greet her in her crib, she puts on a huge smile and squeaks with happiness. She now understands what it is to play together...she loves anything that builds anticipation. Ajay holds her on his lap as I wiggle my fingers and say "I'm going to get you!". As I get closer and closer, Ajay wiggles his legs and jostles her around, and when I finally make it to her and tickle her and kiss her, she giggles with a huge wide mouth smile. I just can't get enough of her.

Alia is also learning patience, believe it or not. Don't get me wrong, my home girl can definitely snap if I'm not quick enough to please her. But she is mellowing...she tolerates that it takes time to heat the bottle. She also tolerates my meticulousness when it comes to cleaning her face, ears, and neck every morning. This new mellowness also makes me much more comfortable taking her places...she is a good little passenger for the most part (unless we over do it and she gets tired, but who's to blame there?). Alia is also very social...she loves new faces and does her best to make a positive first impression by giving everyone her best smile.

This past week, Alia discovered that she has feet. While we were visiting my Dad, Ajay was sitting outside with her one afternoon and reported that she looked at her feet for about 20 minutes. And now that she knows about them, she interacts with them. The cutest thing is when she lifts her feet up and grabs them to hold them out of the way during diaper changes...the whole time she looks up at me like, "Look, Mommy, I'm helping". Yes, you are you little perfect sweetie.

Alia is showing signs of being ready for solid foods, and we intend to begin her on rice cereal after her 4 month appointment with the pediatrician this week. She is showing signs of hunger after 2 hours where she previously would nearly always make it 3 hours between bottles.

Last week, Alia slept through the entire night...12 hours in a row....5 times. This was while we were visiting my Dad in Florida. Sure, once we were back, Alia decided she needed to see me at 11pm and again at 2am, but she has proven she can do it. Now I just need to figure out how to repeat the perfect storm that lead to those results!

Oh, and Alia has a new favorite game...Alia loves to lie on her back and have me tickle her with my hair...she flaps her arms and legs and purses her lips. She can play this little game indefinitely.