Rollin' rollin' rollin'...

MILESTONE ALERT ~ Micah has figured out how to roll over! As of April 28, 2010, he can now roll from his back to his front! :) :) Of course, once he gets onto his stomach, he gets upset because 1.) he has a hard time getting his arm out from underneath him, and 2.) he's still not a huge fan of tummy time and prefers being able to see what's going on around him, which is much easier when he's on his back. (Am I a terrible mommy because I leave him on his tummy for a while when he's fussing to see if he'll get himself worked up enough to figure out how to roll back over? It's VERY hard to keep myself from picking him up immediately when he starts fussing, but I restrain myself because I know he needs to have tummy time in order to strengthen his muscles) We've known Micah was close to rolling over for a while now, because he's been rolling onto his side a lot, and are thrilled to report that he has figured it out! :) Yea, Micah! :) We don't have this on video yet... and I'm guessing it'll be a difficult thing to really get on video... but here's a clip of Micah thinking about rolling over. He was more interested in his fists and the camera than rolling over at this point in time ~

Micah on his side (a new favorite position) ~

We got a great clip of Micah giggling the other day... Aaron was being silly and Micah just thought daddy was hilarious! Sometimes, we wonder what in the world he's finding so funny, but this time it was pretty obvious ~

We've noticed Micah putting anything he can get his hands on into his mouth lately, and when I asked the doctor if he could be teething already, she said no... that that is how babies experience new textures. Apparently, their sense of touch in their hands isn't very refined at this stage of life, so they "feel" better with their mouths. I thought this was interesting... I'm still not convinced that Micah isn't teething already (Aaron had teeth at 4 months old), but I don't feel anything different in his mouth, so I guess time will tell. Sometimes, Micah seems absolutely desperate to get something in his mouth... like this video will show... here, Micah is sitting on Pops' lap and from time to time would just attack his fingers. :)

More things in the mouth ~

It is so hard to believe Micah is 4 months old already! I was looking at some videos we took when we were in the hospital right after he was born, and continue to be amazed at the transformations that take place in this little guy every day! We've been taking pictures of Micah with this giant bear we got as a shower gift and he's rapidly gaining on the bear in terms of size. I know it won't be long before he's outgrown the bear... and probably the desire to sit still for a picture as well. :)

It's already becoming more challenging to get Micah to stay where I put him for the picture ~

Such a little man! :) And getting cuter by the minute!! :)

Hmmm....

It's hard to know what to write about when there's not a whole lot going on. Micah is getting stronger and more active every day, but hasn't quite reached any major milestones to report on. He's getting VERY close to rolling over, but hasn't quite figured out how to get his arm out of the way to do it completely. He is a very happy baby, so much so that we can't seem to go anywhere without someone stopping us to comment on how happy/adorable/precious/(pick an adjective) he is. :) We were in the Jewel the other day and were stopped 4 different times by people admiring Micah. He's a star! :)

He still loves his exer-saucer, and has started reaching out to play with the different things surrounding him...

And no matter where he is or what he's doing, he always has a smile for anyone who will pay attention to him ~

We've been working on doing more "tummy time" though he doesn't last too long on his belly. 5 minutes if we're lucky. He is definitely getting stronger though, and doesn't have any trouble holding his head up... when he wants to.

We have been taking Micah to Gymboree for a few weeks now, hoping to meet other families with kids close in age to Micah, and he absolutely LOVES it! Our class is at a perfect time for us... right after Micah eats, and before he's really ready for another nap. (the first week we were there, Micah did great all though the 45 minute class, and then promptly fell asleep in my arms as soon as we walked out the door!)

He gets some tummy time at Gymboree, and we work with him on developing other senses, like following objects with his eyes that are held over his head, listening as things are shaken around him, and just experiencing new things with other kids. He is usually all smiles during the class, and is very willing to "share", as our teacher puts it, by spitting up all over everything. :) Oh well... what can you do?

By far, his favorite things to do at Gymboree are bubbles and parachute time. They have these amazing bubbles that last forever! All three of us are pretty much covered in bubbles by the time the teacher is done blowing them! The kids lay on the parachute for bubble time and then get to lay under the parachute as we shake it over their heads. I think the bright colors really grab their attention and we get all kinds of smiles and noises from Micah during that time! :)

Tummy time ~ they put a mirror on the floor underneath the kids so they can still see what's going on around them... GENIUS!

Bubbles, bubbles everywhere!

Parachute ~

Micah and "Gymbo" ~

Fun with a beach ball ~

"Pop! goes the Micah" ~

Not only has Micah been making friends in the grocery store and at Gymboree, he's also been able to meet some more family friends...

Micah meets the Migrins (Aaron's sister's in-laws) ~

Micah meets his other "Grandma Jan" ~

And "Grandpa Dan" ~

And when he's not busy making new friends and entertaining everyone with his smiles and silly antics, Micah is usually busy filling his drawers. (and by "drawers" I don't mean the ones that hold his clothes) :) We went over to my parents house the other day and when I took Micah out of his car seat, I had a nice surprise waiting for me. This was BY FAR the worst blowout yet, so naturally we took pictures. Hopefully, Micah will forgive me for posting them on our blog when he's older! (Aaron thinks Micah will be showing these pictures off to his friends, saying, "look what I did when I was a baby! COOL!" ... I hope not!)

It didn't look too bad at first...

... but looks can be deceiving!

By the time I got the onesie off of him, he was covered in poop up to his shoulder blades! YIKES! Needless to say, that onesie went straight into the garbage and Micah went straight into the tub!

But even after all of that, I wouldn't change one thing about my life! It is so much fun to watch Micah get stronger and discover things about himself and the world around him. We are so blessed to have him in our lives and I can't imagine life without him!

Easter, etc.

I've been putting off updating our blog for a while because I wanted to have some good pictures of Micah in his Easter outfit first. He only wore it for a short time on Easter Sunday because the weather was too warm for all the layers. :) We had a wonderful time celebrating our Savior's resurrection with family and friends... and Micah got to meet some more members of the Thomson family too.

Family picture :)

So handsome in his outfit from Grandma and Grandpa K :)

Micah meets Great Aunt Christine, Jenie, and Lydia ~

Micah meets cousin Susan ~

We also discovered that he's big (and strong) enough to sit up in an exersaucer that I found on Craig's list. (Uncle Jim calls it Micah's command center) :) He was quite fascinated with all of the things to look at and play with on this thing... especially the ladybug with the lights on it.

Every day, Micah gets closer and closer to figuring out how to roll over... here's Pops trying to encourage him ~

:) By the way, that noise came from my mouth... NOT from Pops. ;)

One thing that doesn't get done much around our house these days is vacuuming. Micah doesn't seem to mind being on a dirty floor, (I always put a blanket under him) and I'm working on letting go of my obsession with having a clean house. (I can be a bit of a "Monica" when it comes to our house) Besides, it just gets dirty again 5 minutes after I clean, so what's the point? ;) But I did get the vacuum cleaner out the other day, (even I have my limits) and Micah was quite fascinated by it. We didn't get any video, but the look on his face in the pictures says it all. :)

Aaron's parents came down this past weekend for a belated birthday celebration and some quality family time. My parents are in California for Luke's 1st birthday, so we had to adjust our morning schedule to make sure Micah was taken care of, and Grandma and Grandpa K were more than happy to come down and spend Friday and Monday mornings with him. (Thanks, G-force!) :) We had quite a busy weekend... we took Micah to his first baseball game on Friday night... too bad the Brewers lost... and to the zoo in Racine on Saturday.

Micah started out Friday morning laughing with Grandma and Grandpa K

Then we headed up to Kenosha for some lovin' from Emma

And it was off to Milwaukee for the Brewers vs. Cardinals game!

Auntie Tracy even made Micah his own glove to catch foul balls with

Micah teaching Auntie Tracy how to chew on her fist

I think she's smitten :)

Our family at Miller Park ~

Then on Saturday, we went back up to Kenosha and spent the afternoon wandering around the Racine County Zoo. Micah seemed to enjoy being carried around in his Baby Bjorn and looking at all the animals.

The first one we saw was Emma ~ she came over and laid down right next to Micah for some attention from Aaron :)

Then we saw Kangaroos...

a Tiger...

Peacocks...

Meerkats...

Penguins...

Giraffes...

a Porcupine...

Orangutans...

and a Fox...

We closed out the day with a trip to Georgie Porgie's restaurant for dinner and ice cream... YUM!

Uncle Eric can't wait to teach Micah how to climb trees! :)

And Micah was pretty interested in Uncle Eric's ice cream...

"If only I could figure out how to use this thing..."

A valiant effort, Micah :)

Finding his voice

Our house will never be the same! Micah has found his voice! He's been making a little bit of noise for a while now, but has REALLY gotten vocal in the past week or so. He loves to tell us stories and chat with us about the day's events... Daddy is really good at getting the details from Micah. :)

And today, we heard Micah really laugh. Talk about melting your heart!! He seems to be a bit camera shy... either that, or he's just really curious about this thing mommy keeps shoving in his face :) ...so the only good video I have of him laughing at this point was taken from a ways away so he didn't know he was being taped. :) Our friend Beckie discovered that Micah is very ticklish, especially on his feet, and was having fun making him laugh.

As well as finding his voice, Micah has also discovered that his hands are able to grab on to things. He'll just about grab on to anything you put near his hands at this point, but his favorite thing to hold on to is his rattle. I don't think he realizes he's the one making all that noise, but it's fun to see him learning how to use his hands to grab on to things. :)

We've had some BEAUTIFUL weather the past couple of days, and we took advantage of it and were outside a LOT! :) I took Micah to the park with some friends from our small group at church and their kids, and Micah had his first swing experience! I'm not sure who was more excited about this... Micah or mommy! :)

Later that same day, we took daddy to the park so he could see Micah in the swing. Aaron had fun pushing Micah while I manned the camera. :)

Micah continues to enjoy his doorway jumper... he's a little less tentative these days and has figured out how to make it bounce by himself. He actually sat in it and entertained himself for over an hour while I made a cake for Aaron's birthday. :)

I know I'm a little biased, but we've got an amazing little guy! It is so much fun to watch him grow and experience new things as he figures them out! I LOVE that he now recognizes us and will smile when we talk to him... even if someone else is holding him. I LOVE that he seems to be content and hasn't been terribly fussy so far. (we're praying that continues!) :) And I LOVE that our house will never be the same... it gets better every day!