4 Months Old!

Today we headed over to Mayo with the little peanut for her 4 month well baby check up. She is healthy as can be! She tipped the scale just shy of 14 lbs, weighing in at 13 lbs and 15.5 ounces, and finally broke the 2 foot barrier at 25 inches. Her little (big) head was toward the top of the charts at 22.5 cm. But like her Uncle Tim said “Big heads run in the family. Need room for all of those brains." She also got 3 vaccinations while she was there, two of which were shots in her pudgy little thighs. I cried. She cried. It was no fun. She is good to go for another 2 months though!

This past month we hit a bit of a snafu. A little piece of disaster commonly known as RSV. RSV is a respiratory virus (Respiratory Syncytial Virus to be exact) that hits babies hard. I'm pretty sure everyone can get it but it seems to have an affinity toward the cute, chubby cheeked little ones. Who can blame it, though? Those cheeks are hard to resist. Anyways, Allison got RSV in early March. The sleeping through the night that we worked so hard to accomplish went out the window. The pack and play went back up next to our bed and the blue bulb suction was working overtime. A very long three weeks later, she was symptom free. This coincided perfectly with the arrival of Grandma and Grandpa Schorsten to Rochester and the departure of Eric and I to Vegas! Allison got to spend 4 days getting spoiled by them and Grandma Deutsch (lucky girl!) while her parents enjoyed some alone time, sunshine, and no dirty diapers (luckier us!). We had a blast seeing our good friends Shane and Rachael but missed the peanut terribly and were pretty excited to get home to her.

Since we have been home, we've had plenty of beautiful weather and are eager for spring and summer! The stroller has made it's debut outside (and not just as a means of getting in and out of the gym!) and we've started scoping out where we will hang her swing (Thanks Markey family!). So with one more month under our belt, I give you the 4 things that defined our princess this past March.

1.) TOES! Despite my complete disdain for it, Little Miss Deutsch is trying her hardest to be a thumb sucker. She thinks she is so crafty sometimes as she tries to hide it, even sticking it into her pacifier as she is falling asleep. Then, one night after her bath, she thought to herself "Mom may keep taking my thumb out of my mouth, but if I can reach my toes, maybe that will be ok..." And she did. And in the mouth they went. They have quickly become her favorite chew toys. Lay this little one on her back and as those legs come up, she grasps onto her calf with white knuckles and chomps away to her heart's content. And as I watch in amazement of her flexibility, I realize she is right. How can I take away those toes when she looks just too darn cute??

2.) DADDY! I spend all day, every day with Allison. She is my appendage, my accessory, my "if I don't have her, something doesn't feel right". I read her stories, feed her, change her diaper, and do everything I can think of to make her laugh. And then Eric walks in the room. And just by saying "Hi Allison!", he wins her over. She stares at him, wants to sit on his lap, watches him as he eats. He's the bee's knees. The shiniest toy on the shelf. The coolest kid on the block. Not that I am bitter or anything ;) It actually melts my heart to see her so mesmerized with him. Though I think she is just working on getting him wrapped around her finger for her teen years...

3.)SKYPE! Every couple of days, Allison and I hop on the computer and Skype with her cousins and Aunts. A lot of times, she is fixated on the light above the desk, but she is quickly learning that the people on the screen are talking to her. And she LOVES to talk back. She is making new and different noises every day. We hope that this helps her get to know her cousins and vice versa. We don't want to be "those one set of relatives that live out in Minnesota..what are their names??"

4.)READ! Allison loves books. We started to read her books right when we got home from the hospital and now she can't get enough of them. We have a bath book called "Water, Water Everywhere" and she is obsessed with it. When she is in her bath, she turns her head and stares at that book until you take it off the shelf and read it to her. Her eyes get really big and her arms and legs splash all around as you open it up. After we are done reading it, we place it back on the shelf and her head turns back to stare at the book and the process repeats itself until she is a wrinkly raisin. This is also a great trick for keep her happy in a restaurant. If there is a menu with pictures, she is one happy girl. Ergo, we are two happy parents :)

We have so much to look forward to this month as Easter is around the corner, swimming lessons start, the weather warms up and the golf course opens. We haven't decided how we are going to golf with her, but we'll make it work. Happy 4 months Allison!