An Idaho Mum: 4 months old and growing fast!

July 8, 2008...

Owen Ambrose Tuohy turned 4 months old today. To celebrate we had a good friend of ours Paulette Phlipot, take some family shots. She is a professional photographer and she did a great job. Below are a few of the images, the rest can be viewed here.

This last month has been one of the most exciting in terms of development, Owen has changed so much in such a short time. He's gone from being a helpless little bundle to an almost fully interactive little human being. The biggest change has been in his motor skills, this past month he has transitioned from being able to loosely hold objects to being able to consciously manipulate them for his own needs. Holding his blankie "Elle" and moving it to his face so he can snuggle, manipulating a bottle so that he can suck at it, and moving toys in his hands to get a better bite at them - yes, everything still pretty much goes to his mouth, his eyes haven't really got in on the toy game yet. But he is using his eyes so much more to take in the world. He really watches us now, and gets upset if we aren't looking back at him! He also loves to watch the dogs play with each other, and has even started focusing on the TV when mummy and daddy are watching it and he's sitting in our lap (this is something we'll have to start limiting or else he'll turn into a telly addict like his mum!). He is definitively taking it all in now, turning his head from side to side to get a better view at the world.

Another exciting development is being able to hold himself upright. He can't sit on his own yet but his neck and back muscles are so much stronger now that he can sit upright (and even stand) with a just little support, which makes playing with him and moving around with him a lot easier. He has also finally learned how to roll over - he now rolls from his tummy to his back very easily, he has only gone from his back to his tummy a couple times, but we know he can do it - which is the important thing! I'll post videos of it when I manage to capture it on celluloid.

His new range of vocal skills has been another fun new element in his development. He talks a lot now, sometimes very loudly and for a long time: squeals and squawks, some that resemble vowels and consonants. He also laughs constantly, from gurgles and giggles to full on belly laughs. My favorite new development has been his smile. While he has been smiling in response to us for a while now, in the past few days he's begun smiling of his own volition, because the dog walks by, because he catches my eye, because he's happy.... He really is becoming his own little person, in the blink of an eye.

The Tuohy Family