Casey went for his 4 (and 1/2 month) checkup today. He weighed in at 15.8 pounds and 25 inches, putting him in the 75th percentile. The doctor said to start him on single grain cereals a week at a time, and next month we can start fruits and veggies. He only got one shot this time, and he handled it like a champ - he didn't even cry.

Later in the afternoon, Casey went for a swim with daddy and Caroline.
After a delicious meal from a new Chinese restaurant, our friend's Leigh and Mike came over to show Casey Mike's new(-ish) Mustang. Since Casey's feet didn't quite reach the pedals, Matt drove it instead.

Casey wants one. Badly.

After all our running around yesterday, Casey went to sleep with no struggle. He woke up at 5:50 this morning. He ate a little & decided it was time for us to change our sheets..so he soiled them. He seemed proud. After he was hosed off in the tub & finished eating, he went back to sleep around 7:30 and slept until 11:30. We ran a couple errands, he fell asleep in the car and woke up quite cheerfully about 40 minutes after we returned home. Currently, he's yelling at and trying to eat my arm simultaneously.

Since we're on the waiting list for the CDC at Ft Monmouth, we took a tour of the facility this morning. It's clean, the people were nice, and they have to follow Army guidelines, so it appears our little soldier will be in good hands. To ease the pain of separation from my little pumpkin, I'm going to work part-time for now. Afterward, I took Casey to meet my co-workers & my boss, Mike. Seeing as how Mike had been out all night cavorting with his friend from FL, he may not remember our visit at all.


While we were there, we met some of Papa & Aunt Cristen's co-workers, too. On the way out, we stopped by Daddy's office. The little guy passed out before he got a chance to say hi to anybody.

Tonight we went to see Pat Doles to have a family picture taken at the beach. She did our wedding photos & I'm looking forward to seeing how our new photos came out. Casey wouldn't smile, not even a little, for the camera. Luckily he didn't cry at all.

The entire Rubin and Zukowski clans (well, those located in NJ and not at work...) came over today for a swim and barbecue. Nicole & Susie stopped by for a visit, but missed Casey because he was already fast asleep for the night. It was a busy day, and needless to say, by the end, we were all hitting the bottle.

Caroline and Papa came for a quick visit before her haircut so she could see Baby Casey. She was excellent with him and was very excited to hold him. She came back after her nap in the afternoon for a swim with Papa, Uncle Matt and her dad. We went to Grandma & Papa's for dinner and Caroline very willingly shared her Dora couch with Casey.

Grandma & Papa had friends from out of town visiting Thursday until Saturday AM. Because the NC contingent of the family was scheduled to arrive late Fri night/early Saturday AM and there was a shortage of bed space, Cristen came to bunk with us last night. We've now had our first official overnight guest in this house. To celebrate, Casey went to bed at 9:30, was up at midnight, 2AM, from 4-5AM and got up for the day at 7AM.

Casey & I went for a walk this morning before it got too hot. He kept his feet up on his "footrest" the entire ride.


He started sticking his tongue out earlier in the week. This is the best picture I could get to capture it. This was taken during Casey's bout of fake crying. He pouted, stuck out his bottom lip, let out a couple little wails & then smiled at me. He was also trying to grab the camera here.
He's hard at work trying to get his toy in his mouth.

Matt & Casey enjoyed some time hanging out together last night. If anyone is wondering there are rarely pictures of me with Casey because Matt doesn't seem to know how to use the camera. :)

It rained all day but Casey's spirits were not dampened. He was cheery all day and actually took real naps, unlike his 5-10 minute naps yesterday. He is getting very excited for his cousin Caroline to come visit this weekend and even took a trip to the store this evening to stock up on some kid friendly treats.

Casey has been sleeping straight through the night until somewhere between 5AM and 7AM every morning, but he decided to keep me on my toes by waking me courtesy of his crying at 2AM. Matt, of course, did not stir at all due to the crying. The boy was changed, fed and back to sleep in about 45 minutes. I, of course, had trouble falling back to sleep but Casey didn't seem to mind that at all.

Matt ran to the store after dinner for some new teething rings and other assorted baby items. Casey giggled most of the time his dad was out. I put him in his crib at 8:15ish while I got his bath ready, and he continued giggling and talking to the area around his crib. Perhaps he's got some friends we can't see.

Casey is 4 months old today! This was just prior to bedtime, so he's looking quite sleepy.

Casey went to bed at 9:30 last night and woke up smiling and happy at 6:30ish. Matt went in to get him and he was happily chewing his fingers. The bug people came at about 7 to remove the large wasps nest in our front tree. Susie came to have lunch with us. It was a little too warm to sit outside, so we dined indoors. Casey quite enjoyed Susie's company and only got a little whiny as she was getting ready to leave because he was ready to eat and take a nap.

Casey & I went for a long walk in the nice weather this afternoon. He fell asleep about 15 minutes into our trek and woke up all smiles about 45 minutes after we got home.

Here's Casey, shielding his eyes from his adoring fans.


Casey enjoyed playing with his frog (thanks, Leigh) this morning after his nap. He got a little scared when he squeezed it and made it ribbit, but otherwise he was quite happy with it.




We enjoyed some shopping today, and Casey was excellent. He chatted with the other shoppers and the employees. He also enjoyed watching some of the Yankee game prior to bedtime.

We unsuspectingly put Casey to sleep Saturday night at 9:30, fully expecting him to wake up for the usual 2 a.m. feeding. Well, 2 a.m. came and went, and our boy slept clear through until 7:15! He may have gone longer, but wasn't too comfortable having stuck his arm through the crib up to his shoulder - under the bumpers... It was a bit warmer today than yesterday, and our new umbrella has yet to arrive, so pool time was minimal. Instead, Casey (and Matt) helped Papa (Z) move some furniture and setup their new computer while I enjoyed some alone time. Later in the afternoon, the Grandparents Rubin came for a visit, staying long enough to see Casey's pouty, wailing cry, complete with extended lower lip. To make sure the previous night's sleep wasn't a fluke, we gave him a 'sleeping aid' at bedtime. It seems to have worked, because he slept until 5:45 this morning. Now Matt can rest easier, not having to feel all the "guilt" of sleeping through the wee morning hour feedings.

As the temperature has dipped a bit and stepping outside no longer feels like I've entered Hell, Casey and I went for a nice long walk this afternoon. He enjoyed looking around, holding his toes and talking to me. We both enjoyed the nice weather. During our travels we met a 9 week old named Jacob who was out for a stroll with his grandparents.

I put Casey in his crib for safekeeping and left the room for a minute. When I put him down he was on his back with his head to the right. Upon returning I found him like this.
He seemed happy with himself.

Casey giggles and it might just be the cutest thing I've ever heard. He started doing this little laughlike happy sound in early July, but it wasn't a real actual giggle. The first one came on August 1st, but he's started doing it more frequently...provided we can figure out what silly sound will make him laugh on any given day.

Casey hadn't had a bottle in I can't remember how long. As I'm going back to work relatively soon and he'll need to eat from one, I thought last night would be a good opportunity to try it out. He didn't seem to be at all troubled by the bottle feeding, he was just happy to be eating.

We've decided to spare you from a photo, but picture this... I'm holding Casey this morning - we are belly to belly, his chin above my shoulder. He is quietly checking things out when I feel the rumble of a bowel movement. He didn't struggle with it, and it didn't seem like a bad one, i.e. I didn't think he blew out his diaper. I went to lay him down with Carrie figuring that he had to eat, and noticed that the front of him was covered in poo. How this happened, I do not know, but I do know that I too, was covered with a streak of poo down my chest. Oh, and I wasn't wearing a shirt.

Casey has outgrown bathing in the kitchen sink about 3 weeks ago. We finally got around to cleaning up the tub in the bathroom upstairs, and then got an inflatable tub for the tub that Casey can safely sit in. Don't worry, we still bathed him in the kitchen, but he was like a fish out of water now that he has (almost) mastered rolling over. Tonight, we had our first bath in the big tub, and although we didn't have a sprayer to shoot him with, it turned out to be a success.

Today we just hung out. It was hot, but Matt and I got to enjoy the pool a little. Casey, as usual, was very happy and full of smiles. He enjoyed blowing bubbles, babbling, holding his toes, and excitedly shrieking for a good part of the day. He's still fighting sleep when it's naptime or bedtime, which is getting kind of old. We've graduated from just fussing, yelling and flailing before he falls asleep to doing all of the above once his eyes have closed. My parents will say it's payback for my stubborn ways as a child, I'm sure.

Aunt Berta, Uncle Paul and Catherine came for a visit today. Casey enjoyed some more company (I think he gets tired of me during the day from time to time) and the guests enjoyed hanging out by the pool and making use out of our infrequently used pool table. This evening we enjoyed a BBQ with the aforementioned guests, Aunt Cristen and the Grandparents Zukowski.

Today was chock full of adventure. Rachel was scheduled to come for lunch, and as Aunt Cristen was not working, we invited her as well. Casey quite enjoyed his visitors, and as a special treat spit up on Rachel. He was quite dismayed by Rachel's departure. She needed to go check on the family dog, as he wasn't looking so hot earlier in the day...probably due to the fact that he ate rocks the prior evening. My cousins had a dog that ate furniture and once some of the interior of a police car. This eating of inappropriate things is just another reason we will never get a dog.
Papa had a meeting in close proximity to P.F. Changs, and he and Grandma treated us to some of their tasty food for dinner. Casey thanks them for the meal.
To round out the day Aunt Jessica came to visit. Casey enjoyed her company as well, and she helped get him ready for bed. Sadly for her Casey didn't spit up on her, but he did grab hold of her hair.

Casey is enjoying his Bumbo and looking cute.