Milo, Milo, and more Milo

4 months old!

Milo's first Christmas was wonderful. The travel went smoothly from a baby-wrangling standpoint, despite an unscheduled landing at Chicago O'Hare and assorted long waits/drives at either end of the trip. Milo had more fun than ever hanging out with all of his Freiburger family, including most of his Great Aunts and several cousins, as well as Grandma E, Grandpa P, Aunt Laura, and Uncle Doug. He got some great gifts (including lots of awesome books, a tiny wetsuit to keep him warm during our weekly swimming excursions, new Chuck Taylors because he's outgrown his newborn pair, and even a set of ornaments containing his very own foot- and palm-prints - so special! He slept well, laughed a lot, and was generally a delight.

On Friday, Milo had two important appointments. First, he spent a couple of hours at his new daycare center, which he will start attending next week (three days a week, the other two still with Grandma S-J and Grandpa Bill). He seemed to have a good time there, and the teachers seem to do a very nice job with the babies. They already have a crib and a cubby with his name, all ready for his official arrival on Thursday! Milo was the youngest baby there on Friday, but he holds his own with the bigger kids.

While Milo was at daycare, Mommy and Daddy bought a new clothes dryer. We couldn't resist squeezing one more major appliance replacement into 2007, The Year In Which Everything In The House Broke.

After that, Milo had his four-month pediatrician appointment. The doctor pronounced him perfect (as usual!), and said he is doing everything he should be at this stage. We were eager to find out our big boy's "stats," and he beat out all of our guesstimates - he now weighs 15 lbs, 10 oz, and measures 27 3/4 inches long. He is still in the 100th percentile for height, but only the 50th for weight now. Long and lean, as they say! We are starting to wonder whether we'll need to modify our doorways by the time he's 15.

At four months, Milo is full of smiles, and laughs out loud often, sometimes for no apparent reason. He's started blowing raspberries, and he chatters up a storm all day long, telling us stories we truly wish we could understand. He hasn't rolled yet, but he's discovered his feet and loves to grab them (as well as his thighs, or his pants legs, or anything else within reach). He's been sleeping somewhat better (at least until the sleep gods smite me for posting that on the internet), napping decently, and is very alert and engaged when he's awake. His favorite new thing is the Rainforest Jumperoo at Grandma S-J and Grandpa Bill's house - he jumps and bounces and dances and wiggles and just has a ball. He has also started expressing his displeasure with things, with squawks and squeals that stop when whatever has offended him is changed. It is amazing to see how much he can communicate, quite effectively, without ever saying a word of plain English.

I'll get some new photos up soon, but here's a clip of Milo and Grandma Eileen enjoying one of his new presents together (with a cameo appearance by Stela).

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[I posted this last week, but somehow stuck it up on my "regular" blog, rather than here, where it belonged. Here 'tis, for posterity.]

We are off tomorrow to Wisconsin, to celebrate Milo's first Christmas. Earlier this month, we celebrated Milo's first Hanukkah - this lucky kid gets to double-dip on holidays! Milo loved the candles. Every night, no matter how fussy or tired he was when we set up the menorah, he quieted down and stared intently at the flickering candles, and smiled and giggled as we sang songs before opening our presents.

We're excited to see how Milo reacts to Grandma Eileen and Grandpa Peter's beautiful Christmas tree, and we're looking forward to re-introducing him to all the friends and relatives he met a couple of months ago. He's a whole different baby now!

Here are a couple of recent photos. Daddy has been trying to play football with Milo since we brought the baby home from the hospital, and he's finally starting to get the hang of the game. Brett Favre, you can retire now!

Daddy and Milo have also been enjoying some lazy mornings together on Daddy's days at home.  These two guys just love to look at each other and laugh and laugh!

Right after we get back from Wisconsin, we have Milo's four-month doctor's appointment. We are very excited to find out just how big this kiddo has grown. We are not so excited about the shots he'll be getting, but he's tougher than we are.

Assorted updates.

We've had a busy, happy couple of weeks around here. Milo is in a GREAT mood most of the time right now, grinning and giggling and interacting with everyone he sees. He now reaches for objects in his line of vision, and grasps onto anything he can. He can entertain himself for quite a while with his floor gym or in his crib with a couple of toys. He lets us know loud and clear when he gets tired or overstimulated, but true meltdowns are relatively rare and short-lived at this point.

Milo and Daddy are having a lot of fun hanging out together on Mondays and Thursdays. They hang out and play, go for long walks (8 miles one day!), and work on projects together. On Tuesdays and Wednesdays, Milo spends the day with Grandma S-J and Grandpa Bill. They've been teaching him lots of songs and games, and we expect he'll be singing Rogers & Hammerstein songs (and the Beatles) by the time he's two. Friday is Mommy's day. We have so much fun together, going for coffee and long walks in the snow, and talking and singing while Mommy works and Milo plays in the bouncy seat.

Mommy and Daddy are very happy that Milo seems to love being outside. We've taken him out in all sorts of weather, and he just seems to thrive on the fresh air. We bundle him up in his carseat, snap him into our awesome jogging stroller, and we're all set for some outdoor fun!

Milo still hasn't rolled over, but he's already "standing." He likes to stand up tall and wiggle and bounce, either in his exersaucer or - even better - when someone's holding his hands. Here he is, dancing in his crib with Mommy:

Milo has also started to love his bath time. We now bathe him in the big tub. Mommy plays in the water with him, then Daddy wraps him up in his big lion towel and gets him all dry, lotioned, and ready for bed. Milo is learning that he can splash his feet and hands in the water, and can float on his back (with a little help from Mommy). Pretty soon, he'll be ready to play with tub toys!

The biggest problem we're having right now is that Milo's sleep has deteriorated terribly over the past few weeks. He's napping much better, and he still goes down for the night with no muss or fuss, but he's started waking up hourly after 1:00 a.m. or so. Needless to say, Mommy and Daddy are TIRED. We're trying different approaches to improving the situation, and we have high hopes that Milo will start sleeping through the night before he goes off to college in the foreseeable future.

The end of an era.

Milo is three months old, and hits 14 weeks tomorrow! While this means he is more engaged in his world every day, it also means that Mommy's maternity leave has drawn to a close. On Monday, Mommy will get on the bus in the morning and go to the office, and Daddy will stay home with Milo all day! Milo will hang out with Grandma and Grandpa on Tuesday and Wednesday, with Daddy again on Thursday, and then Mommy gets to work from home on Friday. This routine will last all month. Milo's next big adventure will begin in January, when he goes to daycare on Mondays, Thursdays, and Fridays. We have a feeling that this will be much harder on us than on our social, adaptable boy.

Mommy and Milo had a wonderful last full week together. We went out for coffee almost every morning, as has been our routine since Milo came home from the hospital. We went to story hour at the library, and Milo surprised Mommy by being awake and alert through the whole thing, even paying some attention to the story reader. We went downtown to see Daddy a couple of times, we took some long walks, we went to the gym together, and we went to Girls' Night Out together (boys under 3 feet tall are allowed to come along).

Speaking of Girls' Night Out, Milo has discovered his flirtatious side. He spent most of story hour at the library making googly eyes at Mommy's friend's baby girl, who is just two weeks older than he is. And at daycare at the gym, he batted his eyes and grinned at the toddler girls, who ran over to see the BAAAYYYBEEEE. What a lady killer.

This week, we started giving Milo a bath in the big tub. He looked very serious at first, as he adjusted to the feeling of floating in the water. After we splashed his arms and legs a little, he started grinning and giggling, and he seems to really enjoy the experience now.

Mommy was too busy soaking up every last second of her leave time with Milo to take a lot of pictures, but here are a few different "Faces of Milo" at three months old.

1. Quite possibly the cutest Milo picture yet, in his pumpkin hat and his schmancy Patagonia vest. See how he tries to figure out how to get the binky back in his mouth!

2. Indignant Milo, showing off his perfect pouty face (the fat lower lip makes its appearance fairly regularly in the early evening, but is often followed by a gigantic grin, as if Milo means to say "Cranky? Me? Fooled ya!")

3. Flirty Milo (in B&W, as Mommy attempts to be artsy).

4. Strong Milo, showing off his tummy-time skills: