Month 4: August 31 2009

Lana got her vaccines again at the 4 months visit to the doctor (Polio, Pneumococcal disease, Diphtheria, Tetanus and Pertusis, Rotavirus and Hib):

• She is 25 inch long (63.5 cm): 75^th percentile
  
• She weights 12 lbs 4 ounces (5.56 kg): 25^th percentile
  
• FOC: 15 inch: at the 5^th percentile
  

Milestones this month:

• Lana is distributing lots of smiles. And she responds with laughs when we tickle her and play small games with her. When teta tells her "nghh", she replies back with a "nghhh".
  
• She loves to play, and calls us to play with her.
  
• She can play on her own for a while, with hanging toys.
  
• Fisting is completely gone. Instead, she joins both hands together.
  
• She is grabbing more and more stuff: necklaces, eye glasses, hair, etc …
  
• She grabs the "bavette" from both sides, and starts pushing it left and right.
  
• She can hold small objects in her hands.
  
• She holds the bottle with both hands, when we feed her.
  
• Brings everything in her hands to her mouth.
  
• She follows a toy in all directions: up, down, left and right.
  
• When lying on her back, she kicks with her legs to go up, and rolls over half a turn.
  
• She focuses on the images in the book, and look at both pages with great interest.
  
• Gets bored quickly and wants to go out more frequently.
  

Lana is getting ready to spend the coming 2 months in Lebanon.

Lana watching LBCI news: chi biwa2ef cha3er el rass!

Lana taking a boat trip

Lana enjoying physical therapy

Lana admiring art

Lana's new interest: tna2eh el amel

I am a sweetie pie

New bed, same spleeping position

Lana deeply thinking about which Fajita to order

Month 4: August 28 2009

Lana is starting to roll over and crawl on her back. We put her on her "tapis" and she pushed herself with her feet to the floor. And she does a half roll over.

Mommy put her to bed in the evening, and found her an hour later sleeping horizontally! She used to move a little in her bed, but now she is moving all around!

Month 4: August 20 2009

Lana produced the sound "mama" when crying.

She is vocalizing more and more, with lots of nghhh, and baby sounds.

In order to sleep, she likes to hide her face in our clothes. If she can't find clothes to hide her face, she puts her hand on top of her eyes, to hide them from light.

When she wants to play, she looks up the stairs to check if somebody is coming down to play with her.

She loves looking at pictures in books.

One of the games she likes: playing Zeina with daddy. Daddy makes her fly like Zeina, and she starts looking at things below her, turning her head right and left.

Month 4: August 16 2009

We experimented giving Lana a different brand of formula on each feeding, because we noticed that she likes change, i.e tghayyer 3ala dorsa. The result was good. After Lana dropped to barely 13 ounces per day, she went back to eating around 20 ounces per day. Mommy is doing the supermarkets to find different types of formula to introduce more variety in Lana's diet.

Lana laughing with teta

Month 4: August 15 2009

Lana moved from the small bed to the big bed. And she no longer needs the "stuffing" in her car seat.

She is grabbing things more and more. She grabs mommy's shirt when she is holding her. And she is holding her small toys in her hands.

Continued comparison of Lana and the dabdoub

Lana in different outfits

Lana in a Jeans dress and sandales


Lana is green shorts. Everybody thought she was a boy because she was not wearing pink! Grrrrrr....


Lana in the over-all

Month 4: August 11 2009

One of Lana's preferred activities: sitting on daddy's tummy. Yesterday he discussed with her the food in Lebanon: Hummus, Kebbeh, … Lana replied by giggling and laughing. She seems to have liked the suggested menu.

One time in the past, daddy placed Lana on the iron board, and he started explaining to her how to iron. Lana's reaction: she turned her head, and ignored the conversation. Deret el dayneh el tarcha J Btefham min zighara.

Lana started grabbing small things. A week ago, she grabbed mommy's diamond necklace and wouldn't let go. Daddy started to worry about Lana's preferences.

Month 4: August 03 2009

Visit to the doctor because Lana is not eating good:

• Lana's weight: 11 pounds 12 ounces (=5.33 kilo).
  
• Height: 24 inches (61 cm).
  

The doctor said it doesn't matter that she is not eating enough, since she is growing well.

Lana in the Tropical Rainforest Garden in Galveston

Month 3: July 31 2009

Milestones this month:

• Recognizes mommy, daddy and teta, and automatically smiles to them with excitement.
  
• Follows people in the room with her eyes and head, when they move.
  
• Vocalizes more, with some laughing, cooing and gurgling.
  
• Recognizes familiar persons' voices.
  
• Enjoys the music and dances on it with her feet.
  
• Loves hanging toys, and bats at them with closed fist.
  
• Can differentiate between the bottle and the pacifier, before they reach her mouth.
  
• Can hold her head up completely.
  
• Wakes up only once at night.