dear jack-a-roni,

i was thinking..since february doesn't have a 29th day, does that mean you can't really turn four months old?!  that would be okay with me if time stood still for a little while... february has been a very special month for you and daddy.  you are such a lucky little guy to be able to have a whole month of daddy time!  mommy has loved watching the bond between the two of you grow strong...what wonderful daddy-son memories you are building!  and i know daddy is so greatful that he could share this time with you.  

we've also had a lot of fun over the past month with nonna and pops here.  we got to see them every day, usually at dinner time.  they are now back in florida and nonna is continuing to work really hard to get all better. 

 it has been so interesting watching your little personality emerge...some people have classified baby personalities into 5 types- grumpy, angel, textbook, spirited, and touchy.  as i have said before you are most certainly a spirited baby-- you emerged from the womb knowing what you like and don’t like, and you don’t hesitate to let it be known!  you are very vocal and even aggressive sometimes.  you babble a lot, and loudly.  your body language tends to be a bit jerky.  you need swaddling to get to sleep because your flailing arms and legs keep you up and overstimulated.  and, if you start crying and the cycle is not interrupted, you will reach a fever pitch of rage (we have never, EVER, had success with "crying it out," which is okay with me since i'm not good at that method.).

but, i have noticed, you are also a bit of an angel- not bothered by new surroundings and extremely portable.  feed and sleep easily, and usually don’t cry when you wake up.  in fact, we find you in babbling in your crib most mornings, talking to your stuffed animals or balls or being amused by the "j" and blue birds on your wall.  and, you are maybe even a little...just a little...touchy- you blink and turn your head away from bright light (but i think this is just a sign of intelligence (or common sense)!).  sometimes you cry for no apparent reason, even at mommy.  you only play on own for a few minutes, because you need reassurance that someone like mommy or daddy is close by.  and, swaddling is very important to you.

i think these personality traits are going to serve you well later in life, but it may pose a challenge to your parents along the way!  it will, at the very least, make for an amusing journey!

on my first day back to work, february 1st, you rolled over for the first time!  lucky for mommy, daddy had gotten the video camera out since you were so happy playing on your tummy (something that is VERY rare!) and he got the second roll of your life on film (we both missed the first one since daddy was away getting the camera)!  you have chosen only to roll over a few times since that day...again, showing your spirited nature!

your sleeping habits continue to amaze us!  despite our valiant efforts to give you a later bedtime, you start to "fall apart" around 7:30 and you make your intent to sleep very known.  so, for now, a 7:30 nursing followed by an 8 o'clock bedtime it is.  and, our bedtime routine is quite fun and, admittedly, quite silly- we say goodnight to all your body parts as we tuck them into your miracle blanket saying, "goodnight, left arm.  thanks for helping me with my day."  and, then i say to you, "goodnight, jack.  thanks for being  a part of my day.  i hope you sleep well so you have a happy day tomorrow.  i love you.  night, night, jack."  you are keeping us on our toes, as you tend to do, by getting up at different times each morning!  i was waking you each morning around 7:00 before i left for work, but you have decided, as of late, that you would like to wake at 6:00 some days!  this will make it difficult to get ready without daddy around to help in the mornings, but we will adjust and figure it out.  on sunday, you decided it was your day to sleep in and you didn't wake until 7:20.  i guess you have the weekends figured out!

you still love your baths, baby bjorning is a new fun activity- daddy uses it a lot to take you on walks with sadie, you are a huge drooler- we go through 2-3 bibs a day, you love to roll your tongue and spit bubbles, you have visited your first art museum (in fact, you have been twice), you enjoy listening to daddy read and speak to you in french, sadie loves to give you kisses, we have fun singing songs- some of our favorites are old mcdonald which we sing on your farmyard activity quilt, zip-a-dee-doo-dah, and scinnamarinki dinky dink, you love chewing on your hands, you've been sitting in your bumbo chair to read books, and you love being outside.

it's so much fun to watch you experience all the new things in your world!  i love you to pieces...

kisses,  maman