Look who's sitting all by herself! I've been practicing a lot lately and finally got good enough that Mommy could take a few pictures. I mostly do what child development experts would call "tripod sitting" which means I lean forward and sometimes help out with my arms. I can do that for a good long time without help. Over 15 seconds by one count. The last time I sat up, I was sitting for so long that I got tired and whined to be picked up. I didn't even tip over again. All this before my 5-month birthday which will be here in only three days!

What a fun, busy weekend we had! I still haven't caught up on my sleep.

Friday was Grandpa Lanz's birthday, so we celebrated with dinner on Saturday night. Unfortunately there were also a bunch of nasty storms blowing through, which meant that Joe and Kathy got stuck in the cities for a while. They finally made it to the party, but dinner was pretty late. Good thing I wasn't too hungry - we'd come from a graduation party where there was a great taco bar and yummy cake! Michael and I were busy watching tv and playing, so we didn't even mind the wait. The best part of dinner was the presents (Uncle Joe got Transformers wrapping paper) and ice cream cake! By the time we got home to bed, it was late and we had to wake up early to head to the cities.

Sunday morning we went to visit Mommy's college friends and all their kids. At first I felt a little shy. Xander took my hand right away to show me Linda's big dogs, but I wasn't ready for that. Daddy went to the car to get my dog, George. It made me feel much better to have my familiar friend with me. We stayed there for lunch and more playing before the little kids needed naps. I skipped my nap and instead went to visit some family, since we were in the neighborhood. It was a beautiful day, so we had a nice dinner in the sunshine and played outside for a long time.

By the end of the weekend everyone was overtired and Mommy and Daddy had a frustrating time trying to get me and Eliana to sleep at night. For the last two days, Ellie has really been catching up on her sleep... but me? I've been fighting my naps, staying awake at night, and asking to get up early in the morning. Somebody's got to keep Mommy and Daddy on their toes.

I gave Mommy and William a good laugh this morning. When Mommy came to get me out of bed, there I was looking right at her and smiling. I had spun 90 degrees in my crib and was peering through the rails. So she ran to get the camera to capture the moment. William thought my pictures were sure funny!

Original Video - More videos at TinyPic

Today something horrible happened at my house. My mom was vacuuming when I looked over and saw a tear towel (aka kleenex) being sucked up inside! It was the scariest thing I had ever witnessed. Tear towels are my security blankets. Whenever I am sad and big tears are rolling down my face, a tear towel dries my tears and makes me feel better instantly. To see it getting sucked inside that demon vacuum was more than I could handle. Mommy's hugs could not console me. She tried to explain to me that the tear towel was supposed to go in the vacuum. She put some smelly stuff on it and it was making the vacuum smell nice instead of like dog hair and ladybugs. But I couldn't accept that this horrific deed was intentional. I wanted her to get the tear towel out. She said it would make a big mess if she opened up the vacuum and then she'd just need to vacuum again, but I didn't care about a mess. There was a tear towel that now needed MY help! I was not going to rest until it was saved. The new one Mommy got from the box was no replacement for the one stuck in the vacuum. Finally I convinced Mommy to attempt a rescue. Luckily the tear towel didn't get sucked all the way in. It was caught on the brushes! It was safe! I used it to dry my tears and set it in a place of honor in our home, right next to the cross of Jesus!

Editor's note: Luckily kleenexes all look alike. I'm a more skillful magician than I realized. It helps when the audience's eyes are blurred with tears.

Today we weren't complaining about the cool weather. It meant that I could wear the adorable overalls that I only just grew into. And I was in a good mood this evening for Mommy to take some pretty pictures. Doesn't it look like I'm getting some hair? I gave her lots of smiles and one silly face - I have started sucking my lower lip in and it makes me look just like a turtle! I sit up straighter every day. Soon I'll be sitting on my own.

Mommy also took a bunch of new video of me the other day, but it's kind of tricky to get it online, so Daddy's going to have to help. Stay tuned...

One of my favorite things to do is to talk for my baby sister. She can't say any real words yet, so I interpret for her. Like the other day when she kissed me on the forehead (she loves to put everything in her mouth). What she really thought was that her spit was magical so she put it on my head to see if it was magical.

I love Eliana. She always smiles at me and laughs at my jokes. She thinks I'm pretty funny. She also thinks it's funny to pull my hair, but my hair is so short that she needs my help to be able to grab it. Trying to get Eliana to pull my hair is a fun way to pass the time at church.

Today was my first time playing in the sandbox! I was watching William and thought it looked too fun to resist. I would have liked to taste some, but I'm still too little. Mommy was holding me and keeping me from putting my soggy fingers in the sand. My fists are always in my mouth right now. I just love to bite things. Maybe I'll even have some teeth to bite with soon!

I saw my doctor today for the last time. He is leaving to go to another clinic, so by the time I am 6 months old I will have to see a different doctor. Mommy's sad because he's very nice. I liked him too and gave him some of my adorable smiles. At today's visit he was happy with my growth and told Mommy not to worry. I'm small, but proportional. My height was 23 1/4 (13%) and my weight was 12 lbs 5 oz (18%). It's just a big change from my mom to go from William to me. She's happy to have a little baby to carry around.

I am mostly better from my cold. I only had a little cough and a stuffy nose. But now I feel feverish and sore from all the shots I got today. I'm sure I'll be better tomorrow.

Today is my 4-month birthday and all I got is my first cold :( I've got a runny nose, sneezes and a little cough. Mommy says it's a sign that I'm getting older and outgrowing my newborn immunities. That doesn't really make me feel better, though. Taking extra naps and snuggling with my blankie does. This morning I was crabbing and said "May-may." My big brother, William, decided that translated to "I want my blanket." And you know what? I did!

William is a great big brother. I really like holding his hand. Yesterday we were reading stories and he was holding my hand. When he let go to turn pages, I tried to grab his hand again. He always took mine back after the page was turned.

Hopefully I'll be all better by the time I go visit my doctor next week. I'll get weighed and measured and get more shots. I'll need my immune system to be top notch for that!