from judy's point of view

Vivi is 4 months old, hooray!! She had her well checkup and she's grown so much! She gained 3.5 lbs, grew 3 inches lengthwise, and grew 3 cm of brain.  She falls in the 75th percentile for her age in all those stats above. Another hooray, for being on track, baby!  

Weight: 14lbs 6oz
Height: 26.25 in
Head Circumference: 42 cm

It kinda sucks that the last two trips to the doctor, she got shots in her thighs.  I don't want her to associate bad things with doctor appointments, but anyways after the first year it won't be as frequent.  Oh by the way,  I love our doctor.  Simply because she's so gentle with Vivi, explains what she's looking for during Vivi's checkup, and answers my questions.  Back to Vivi, because she's such a trooper.  I planned and prepared for today (Vivi's due for vaccinations), made sure all my errands and chores completed and was ready to take on the miserable baby for the day.  To my surprise, she already got over it.  We got home, changed her diapers and put her on the gym mat.  I'm so proud of her because she completely went about her day; babbling, cooing, swatting, grabbing and kicking.  I'm so lucky we get along so well.  

Going through the pictures and videos from the last few months,  I amazed how much she's changed.   It's true what people say when babies grow overnight.  I've noticed her eyes are wider, got those chipmunk cheeks, and plenty of baby chubbiness.  

If you were to ask me what is her personality? I would say that she's mellow.   Strangers would agree to that.  She doesn't cry or whine unless she REALLY wants something - i'm hungry, i'm tired, i've got a dirty diaper, I need you to pay attention to me.  She's developed a schedule which helps the situation and sometimes I'm able to avoid those fussy moments.   She loves watching people, things, or anything that moves about.  Even Zak's screensavers, she's mesmerized.  If I need that 10-15 minutes to do something else, this is what I pull up.  Works like a charm.   Not that she needs constant attention.  She's good at entertaining herself.  Zak and I sometimes find her just chilling in her crib in the morning, playing with her hands or talking to herself.  Those are the best moments for Zak and I.  She's got the best smile when you come to greet her in the morning.    

Zak and I have noticed her bashfulness.  Zak says "Hi Vivi" and flashes his smile.  Vivi turns to look at him, seconds later she smiles and looks away.  Seconds later, looks back at Zak, smiles and looks away.   If we let her, this would go on forever.  I don't really know what this means.  It's not like she's shy around strangers.  Sometimes, she'll start talking to someone on the bus.  

I'm so happy to be her mommy.  She's still amazing.

It was delicious! Made from fresh ingredients bought at pikes place
market. Prepared by my personal chef, @madzak.

I got up the nerve to go out on my own today, first time without the baby.  It's very strange to me, feels like I'm missing something when I don't have Vivi by me.  Zak was very encouraging and told me I needed to go out and have some girl time.  Sure, as people may know I'm not one to go out to a spa or get a manicure/pedicure, But it's exciting to get my haircut! I've extremely thick and long hair... it's been quite awhile since I've got it cut and its getting quite unruly, bulky and really annoying.  So I'm out getting it done at Vain.  Found some great reviews on Yelp and wanted to check it out.  The stylist did a great job of it all - she was so friendly, asked what I wanted, and did everything she could to keep me happy during the session.  I was very surprised that the price came to be very affordable, especially for a salon in downtown. At first, I wasn't enjoying myself... kept worrying about Vivi.  It becomes automatic,  I don't think a second that goes by that I am thinking of her.  I saw many moms walking around with their babies and it made me miss Vivi even more!  I pushed Vivi the back of my head because getting this haircut outweighed everything.  I enjoyed myself in the end and realized that it was time well spent.