2nd Time's the Charm and Frog Facedness

Roxi attended her second wedding last Saturday. You may recall that her first wedding was a rather quick and unsuccessful appearance. This time, however, she was a peach. Well, actually a pineapple - she wore a very cute pineapple dress ensemble from her Mimi. The bride was quite lovely, too, but Roxi was the most beautiful one there in my humble opinion. Anyway, we all had a great time. Roxi was having too much fun to nap, so we did have to leave to avoid a total exhaustion meltdown. But she was a party girl for more than 5 hours straight. Ya can't ask for more.

The latest trick in Roxi's playbook is making a very deliberate frog face when she's thinking. Her lips squish together and it almost looks like she's chewing. Her little brow furrows and she seems to be focusing so HARD. She's been doing this a lot when she "plays" with her blocks lately. She just stares and stares, face all froggy and hands getting ever more accurate with their aim.

Roxi will be 4 months old next week. I have mixed feelings about her doctor's appointment. On the one hand, I can't wait to find out how much she weighs, how long she is, where she falls on all the growth curves, etc. And as usual, we have a long list of questions to ask Dr. P. I'm most interested in hearing his opinion on when to start solid foods. But the bad part is ... she'll be getting shots again. So we're anticipating a few more days of crankiness and fever. Oh well, it's necessary and good in the long run. If only those needles weren't so dang huge.

Hands, Hands, Hands

It is just amazing to me how much more control Roxi has over her body every day. If the learning curve stayed that steep into adulthood, we'd all be levitating acrobats by now.

The random arm flailing has been replaced by specific batting, reaching and grabbing. She still thwacks herself in the side with her right arm when she gets excited (does this mean she'll be right handed, we wonder?), but you can see her brain working most of the time trying to get her arms where she wants. Such concentration in her little face. That expression used to be a sure sign of pooping. Now she's getting thoughtful about all sorts of things. Though pooping is still right up there, of course.

Her fingers are much more dexterous as well. Roxi's Mimi got her a stuffed beach bucket full of little stuffed toys, and they are just the right size for wee hands. Her favorite at the moment is the tiny clam, which is bright yellow, makes fun crinkly sounds when handled and has a mirror inside. She puts the death grip on that puppy, and it makes her day when she can successfully bring it to her mouth.

Other things Roxi likes to grab are: the chicken in her play gym, the clothes of anyone who is holding her, her clothes - particularly sleeves, Teton (our big, black cat - the only one of our cats who will get close enough for extended periods of time), my hair, Rob's goatee and, well, OK ... just about anything now that I think about it.

Roly Poly

I finally saw Roxi in the act of rolling over. Hoo boy, she's a swirly girl these days. Anyway, she achieves her back-to-stomach motion by wedging one of her feet between the crib slats and giving a kick. Our friend Scott noted that she must be very advanced to already be using tools to achieve her goals. But with a dad like Rob, I would be more surprised if she DIDN'T start using tools at an early age.

The funny thing is that she doesn't roll from her stomach to her back. She's done that on a few occasions, but not regularly. Nowadays, when we put Roxi on her stomach for exercise, she does quite the opposite. Instead of working her neck and back muscles by pushing up, she puts her head to the side and sucks her fingers. If we let her stay like that, she'd put herself to sleep. Very cute, but not useful for muscular development.

It's OK though, she's getting plenty of exercise in different ways. She loves being carried upright, so she can look over our shoulders - into mirrors, at the cats, around the room, whatever. Roxi is taking it all in these days. She turns her head to follow things with her eyes and ears. She also can sit up (with gobs of assistance) and now prefers that to laying in her play gym. She also digs being held up "standing" - she can support her own weight for several seconds at a time. Her legs get unpredictably wobbly though, so we're a ways away from marathon training.

Breaking New Ground

There are so many new stories to tell about the Roxster ... it's a bit overwhelming. So I'm going to do this laundry-list style:

Saturday, Aug. 28

• First plane ride - Roxi was a dreamboat for both legs of the trip. She didn't cry a lick. Rob and I discover the beauty of family restrooms in airports (kudos to St. Louis and RDU).
• First pseudo-train ride at the Denver airport (the one that goes between terminals). First rental car ride in a snazzy PT Cruiser (a free upgrade).
• Roxi meets Uncle Ray for the first time and has a happy reunion with Aunt Christa in Durham.
• Roxi meets Mimi and Uncle Tyler and has a happy reunion with Granddad.

Sunday, Aug. 29

• Roxi meets Uncle Lee and gets her first taste of North Carolina sun.

Monday, Aug. 30

• Roxi meets Great Nanna and G-Daddy Warren, and Great Uncle Hal. We all celebrate Granddad's birthday at dinner that night.

Wednesday, Sept. 1

• First celebrity sighting - actor Chris Noth (we know him best for his Sex and the City role of Mr. Big).

Thursday, Sept. 2

• Toes in the Atlantic Ocean! Roxi is a natural.

Friday, Sept. 3

• First flat tire - the PT Cruiser takes a small hit, and Roxi supervises while Rob and Uncle Ray put on the spare.

Saturday, Sept. 4

• Roxi meets Gigi, G-pop and Great Aunt Pat, and has a happy reunion with Nanna.
• Dinner is a magnificent occasion, with Gigi, G-pop, Nanna, Uncle Lee, Aunt Christa, Uncle Ray, Great Aunt Pat, Rob and I all enjoying steak together. Roxi, no doubt overcome by the number of people in attendance in her honor, cries during most of the meal.

Sunday, Sept. 5

• Roxi meets buddies Joey and Jack (nearly 4) and Tobin (almost 1) as well as their parents: Chris, Amy, Scott and Stephanie. It is magical mayhem.

Monday, Sept. 6

• First breakfast at Elmo's in Durham with Aunt Christa and Uncle Ray. We feel sure Roxi will partake of Elmo's many times in her life.
• More plane rides - Roxi is an angel baby again. No crying. Lots of laughing.

Tuesday, Sept. 7

• Roxi rolls from her back to her stomach all by herself. She was supposed to be napping in her crib, but instead she flipped herself over and wiggled around. Go girl!

Thursday, Sept. 9

• First play date with pal Hailey, who is the daughter of Dola and Shannon. Dola and Shannon, in addition to being good friends, threw our baby shower before Roxi was officially on the scene (and we, in turn, threw theirs).
• Dinner party at John and Reaghan's, who recently got engaged.

Friday, Sept. 10

• First cold. It was bound to happen sooner or later - we had a long string of good health. We went to the doctor after a night of coughing (on Roxi's part) and sleeplessness (on Rob's and my part). The prognosis: most likely a virus. There's not much to be done. She can't take a decongestant because she's too young. However, it's really not that bad - just a head cold. So we have the humidifier going and have her sleeping in her car seat in her crib to keep the yucky stuff draining. Roxi, true to form, is getting through it with a great attitude. She's her normal cheery self for the most part.

Saturday, Sept. 11

• The cold is better already. Seems to be nearly gone during the day and a bit worse at night, which makes sense. So aside from not sleeping through the night (Roxi had been consistently snoozing for 9 hours straight previously!), it's basically business as usual around here. Our girl is such a good sport - even with a cold.