Amarillo by Mornin'...

Clinton had his four month appointment today...it wasn't pretty. As soon as we got to our room to wait for the doctor, Clinton started getting fussy and kind of panicky. When I laid him down on the scales he went completely hysterical...and continued that attitude everytime I laid him down. My parenting book says that babies at his age have about a 7 second memory...I'm convinced my son remembered this same event two months before...and didn't remember it fondly. As long as I was holding him he was fine...but as soon as he was out of my arms, he was out of control. Crying very loud, turning bright red, tears streaming down his face, gasping for air...this for the weigh in, the measurement, the physical exam with the doctor, and then, of course, for the shots. Once he had the shots I couldn't even set him down again. So I fed him a bottle which put him to sleep and then I slipped him into this carseat and was on my way. ...and my son loves to "talk" with other people, but he didn't want anything to do with his nurse and doctor today.

Despite the terrible experience, we got some "fun" news. Clinton weighed in just slightly under 17 lbs and measured 26 1/4 inches long and 44 1/2 cm around his head. This puts him in the 90th percentile for all three areas. My four month check up information sheet said my son should be rolling over...but he's not. The doctor said larger babies, such as our "little" Clinton, tend to be a little more delayed with mobility because they have more mass to deal with...so we'll see how long this takes...wish us luck! We also found out we can start Clinton on solid food, which I'm thinking about starting tomorrow....we'll see.

With each day that passes, I see more and more personality coming from Clinton...and I love noticing all his little quirks and preferences. Below are a few I thought were worth sharing...

ENJOYING THE GOOD LIFE. When Clinton eats, he usually leans his head back a little and throws his LEFT arm behind his head and plays with his hair as he guzzles his milk. He looks as if he's kicked back just enjoying a good drink.

TASTY. Clinton isn't a thumb sucker (yet) and just won't take a pacifier...however, he chews on his pointer finger all the time...and always his LEFT one. He usually chews it on the LEFT side of his mouth and then every once in a while he'll run it across his gums a few times.

JUMPIN' BEAN. Clinton loves his Johnny Jump Up, but I've noticed he often jumps on one leg...his LEFT one. (Seeing a pattern here?) He'll lift up his right knee and then just go to town on his left leg...it's really quite amusing. Of course, as a mother, I'm starting to worry I'm going to have a lop sided child...one strong leg, one favored arm...as an ambidextrous person this kind of bothers me....but I'm sure it will all be fine....who says he has to be just like me anyway?

AMARILLO BY MORNIN'. The other day I had George Strait's "Amarillo by Mornin'" stuck in my head and was singing it. I noticed every time I sang it Clinton would just get really happy and laugh at me. So I've been singing it to him a lot to see that beautiful smiling face...I've discovered it cures almost all of his bad attitudes...hmmm, maybe I should have sang it at the doctor's office. Today he was screaming in the back seat so I started singing it...by the second line he was quiet, by the second verse he was asleep. Not sure why my little boy loves it...but thank you, Mr. Strait...it's been a life saver.