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.

Casey has found his hands and feet. He can also roll from his back to his stomach (though the stupid pediatrician doesn't seem to believe that) and from his stomach to his back. He's become quite talented at rolling to the edge of his crib while sleeping and getting his left arm between 2 of the rungs...which results in loud shrieks and wails.

This was taken at my birthday party with both my family and Matt's family. Casey was, of course, thrilled to celebrate his mother edging closer to 30.

Happy Birthday, Mommy

Casey seems to be back to his normal self. He got to spend a lot of quality time with his Dad while Carrie was out celebrating, painting the town red. We played Wii between naps, and squeezed in a few baby activities, as well.

Casey sported his new robe for bath time. Despite the look on his face, he wasn't all that thrilled.

Casey screamed. And screamed and screamed and screamed most of yesterday afternoon. It was most unpleasant and we were both drained after it ended. He was, of course, not so screamy once Matt came home. Somehow it always seems to work out that way. Casey is back to his happy self today and is currently napping in his crib.
In other news, I finished Harry Potter last night.

Casey is loving his Jumperoo (many thanks to the Inverso ladies).

Casey went for his 3 month checkup today. He now weighs 12 lbs 3 oz, is 24 1/2 inches long, and his head is 41 cm. He got 2 shots and only cried while he was actually being stabbed by the nurse. The dr didn't seem to believe that he can roll himself over onto his tummy while he's sleeping, but unless someone is using magic to flip him over in the night, the dr needs to believe.

Here are some pictures from the last week or so.

Casey on Saturday getting ready to leave Maine. The annual end of trip group shot. Casey was cranky & didn't want to look at the camera.
The wild turkey that showed up in the yard & ran around the neighbors garden.
Grandma & Papa went to a wedding in CT. Grandma's telling him all about it here. This is Casey checking out the strawberries Grandma picked.

Here's a shot of Casey's hair loss. He still has that big patch at the bottom, but much less hair on the rest of his head. It reminds me of a mullet.
Casey with Great Aunt Roberta. Not the best picture of her, but it's the only one I have.
And last but not least, here's a happy kid.

The weather was gorgeous today and I got to the beach for a bit. Casey enjoyed the weather as well.

Here are a couple pictures of Casey at the beach yesterday.

Matt is not here to stop me from putting Casey in headware. So he's in this hat Matt dislikes immensely.

Casey was very happy today, perhaps because it finally stopped raining.

Casey and I went for a stroll this afternoon and then hung out at the beach for a little bit. I'll post the picture of that at some point later or tomorrow.

Casey also hung out with Auntie Catherine for a while.

It rained today. Again. It was also very foggy much of the day. Papa and Uncle Paul went golfing with Mr. Jaquith. Grandma went strawberry picking with Mrs. Jaquith. I will reap the benefits of the picking, as I get to eat the delicious berries. I have again avoided berry picking, which is a wonderful thing.
Casey misses his dad.

Matt left today to return to NJ. One of us has to bring home the bacon, and as I'm the one lolling about at the beach (and I just had a baby) he got to return to work. Casey is pouty and sad because his dad had to leave.

Uncle Paul caught Casey his first fish today.


Oh, and Happy 4th of July!

We finally made it to the beach today. Apparently, you aren't supposed to have a baby out in the sun for long periods of time between 10 AM and 2 PM. Between the restrictions and the boy's 'schedule', he made it to the beach around 4 PM. It was windy, but he seemed to enjoy himself for all of 5 minutes.

The weather has been seasonable for Maine, which is not quite warm enough for sitting the beach with the ocean breeze and a small child. Fortunately, Casey is still small enough that we don't have to come up with alternate plans for entertaining him.


After all of his hard work lobstering, Casey was too tired to enjoy the fruit of his labor.