Lots of news to catch up on...

We have lots to report today. Last week we were blessed with a visit from Gramps and K. We did all kinds of fun things while they were here, including some sightseeing, white water rafting (Arwen, Roan and I sat that one out), visiting the farmer's market and teahouse in Boulder, and lots of eating, drinking and being merry. Roan just loves it when we have company. She digs being the center of attention.

On Tuesday Roan had her 4 month checkup and vaccinations. I'm not sure what it is about the doctor's office, but she is always in a good mood when we're there. She was making eyes at the nurse, rolling all over the exam table, cooing up a storm, and when being examined she kept grabbing the doctor's hand and shoving it in her mouth.

She now weighs 14 pounds and 14 ounces and is 24 inches long, in the 80th percentile for both height and weight. She got a clean bill of health, and Dr. Bacon was pleased to see how great she's doing developmentally. She in particular commented on Roan's upper body strength (she can completely support her head and chest on her hands) and oddly enough on one of her more recent tricks - shoving her toes in her mouth. Apparently that's a six-month skill.

So she impressed the doctor and got her shots. She was pretty grumpy about that last part, but within a few hours she'd shaken it off. Later that evening she was playing and laughing like normal.

In this last week we've also had 3 days of care with the new nanny, Lindsay. Roan really likes her and heck why not. She's very sweet, responsible and relaxed. She also goes out of her way to play, sing, count and read to her. And she manages to do that not with one baby but with two. Pretty impressive.

So as far as what Roan's been up to lately, she's added some new tricks to her bag:

• rolling tummy to back and back to tummy on both the right and left sides
• wiggligng around her crib a lot - I find her in a different weird position every morning
• reaching more for her toys
• putting both hands to her mouth
• shoving anything within arm's reach into her mouth
• passing toys from one hand to the other
• growing ever more curious about the world around her - can't leave her in reach of things she shouldn't grab
• making more cooing noises, just on the verge of starting to babble
• picking her paci off the blanket next to her and putting it in her mouth
• holding her bottle
• laughing
• putting both feet in her mouth
• being intermittently ticklish
• very interested in watching us eat and drink - we may start trying solid foods with her soon
• still the most smiley baby ever
• her first tooth coming in on the bottom front right!

Oh and lastly, all her pretty hair has fallen out on the sides so now she's left with a cute little mohawk right down the middle that curls up on top just like a kewpie doll. Not that you can really tell in this picture. I'll have to post a good mohawk photo soon.