4 Months Old

Taylor is growing and changing so quickly!! It's been so fun to watch her acquire new skills, make new  sounds, and learn new tricks.  Everyday seems to bring something new.  She turned 4 months old last week so I felt it an appropriate time for an update.

Here are her 4 month stats:

Weight: 13 lbs 0 oz - 32 percentile

Length: 24.8 inches - 65 percentile

Head circumference: 40.5 cm - 33 percentile

Nicknames: Tay, Tay-Tay, Baby Tay, Pun'kin, Pun'kin-doodle, Pun'kin Face, Sister

Gettin' zzzz's: Taylor is now sleeping in her crib in her own room for 7 hours consistently but has gone for up to 9 hours at a time.  She sleeps about 12-13 hours total at night.  Just recently she started consistently napping for about 3 hours in the afternoons. 

Skills: Rolls from back to tummy, blows raspberries, plays with feet, holds head up when on her tummy, pushes up on both arms, grabs toys with both hands, puts toys in her mouth, stands with help, giggles and talks. 

Likes: To roll, smile, watch TV with Dad, watch Rusty do anything, to put everything in her mouth - especially her hands, be swaddled to sleep, stand with help to chat, snuggle with Mom, and read books before bed.

Dislikes: To be on her tummy for too long (she still can't roll to her back), to fall asleep - she fights it every time

I took a few pictures of her on her 4 months birthday.  Here they are!!

Here she is with Rusty at 4 months both looking so serious.

Taylor and Rusty at 3 months.

3 Month Photos

We have been very lucky to meet and become friends with Melissa Nasky, the photographer behind Baby Monster Photography.  She has already taken our maternity photos, newborn photos of Taylor, and jet pictures of the family this spring and is going to take pictures of Taylor throughout her first year of life.  She calls it her "Watch Me Grow" package. It's very appropriate. By the time she is 1 year old, we will have a series of photos that will allow us to "watch Taylor grow" before our eyes!  

 36 weeks pregnant

 1 week old - The Grumpy Bunny

6 weeks old - Jet Pictures

Last month she took 3 month pictures of Taylor.  I was really looking forward to this session because Taylor had started smiling and was no longer the Grumpy Bunny we saw in her newborn photos. But of course, once Melissa started snapping frames, Taylor's cute smile faded to a grimace, then a pout, and finally a full on melt down.  I was so bummed because we got only one smiling face out of a full hour and a half of pictures!!  Even still, she makes a super cute "Sad Ballerina!"  Grumpy Bunny to Sad Ballerina... I guess that's progress, right?!

 The Sad Ballerina

Thanks for your beautiful work and life long memories, Melissa! Let's hope for more smiles at 6 months!

Time with Mommy

Well, Michael left last week for a 2 week TDY to Vegas.  While he's living it up in 'Merica, Taylor and I are having some fun of our own.  We get to spend lots of mommy/daughter time snuggling, talking, playing, and napping.  She's been really good while Dad's been away, but I can tell that she misses him.  She was more clingy than usual the first few days that he was gone, and I really do think he can sense his absence.  We make sure to send him lots of pictures and videos so he doesn't miss us too much. 

During all this one on one time, I've been trying to figure out who she favors, me or her dad.   When she was a newborn, I think she looked very similar to me as a newborn! 

 Of course, there are also some habits that she's adopted from me too.  Her pouty lip is so cute and 100% me!

 As she grows, I think she looks much more like her father.  What do you think? Who does she look like now?

Finally, a little shameless coaching. She's on her way to saying "Momma!" (Don't worry. I work on "Dadda" too.) 

The Next 3 Years

Mike and I got our next assignment last week!!  Though we thought our time here in Okinawa would be coming to an end this fall, we were informed that we would only be approaching the midway point of our time here.  That's right.  We have been reassigned to Kadena AB and will be here for another 3 years.  We will switch from the 44th Fighter Squadron to the 67th this winter.  At that point we will be a part of the Fighting Cock family.  I would be lying if I didn't say I was a little disappointed to be called a Cockette... but as cousin Emily has suggested, I'm going to try to change that to Cocktails! 

This is not a complete surprise to us. The squadron commander has been talking to us about this for a while now.  It is not common to be assigned here for 2 consecutive tours so this speaks a great deal about Mike.  They like him and respect him enough to keep him around for that much longer! It really is a great opportunity for him and a good move for his career. We are honored to have so many leadership figures pulling for him.  

As for me, I am slightly disappointed that we won't be moving a little closer to home.  It's not a bad thing to stay in Japan.  We have cars. I have a job. We have friends here and the squadron is a wonderful family away from family.  But I do feel very far from home.  I was also looking forward to something new as well.  But to fix that, we plan to move to a new house and maybe even get a new car!

We are looking at this next assignment as our chance to do all the things we didn't get around to the first time around.  We've started our "must accomplish list" and it includes the following:

Go to the Karama Islands (off the coast of Okinawa)

Stay at the private cabin at Okuma military resort (on Okinawa)

Learn Japanese (Lynn)

Go to Thailand together

Go to New Zealand together

Meet family somewhere in the middle for another family vacation

Take Taylor to Tokyo Disney when she's a little older

See Kyoto and Hiroshima

Try new restaurants

These next three years will be a challenge but we will make new friends and continue to enjoy our time in Asia.  All are welcome to visit any time and we look forward to more trips back to the States.  Know that we wish we could be closer and more involved in your lives.  We miss you all!!

Shot, Lynn and Taylor