M

At four and a half months old, Miles's personality is emerging. He's a mostly mellow boy but will tell you with great insistence when he wants something. Crying is something he does only when at the end of his rope or physically injured. When he's hungry he'll first try TALKING LOUDLY and then yelling at you. When he's tired or overstimulated or needs some action he tends to whine.

He's more observant than flirtatious; that is, when we're out and about, he stares wide-eyed at everyone and everything, just taking it all in. He's not the type of baby to smile at strangers or screech in public places, although like most babies he does like friendly women and will usually return their smiles after a while.

He's very curious and active, and especially at home he likes to be moving most of the time. His tolerance for laying on the floor to play gets ever shorter as he more and more prefers to be carried about (like a little raja, I sometimes imagine), to be "walking" or jumping in our arms, etc. He does still really like to have books read to him, though he's increasingly apt to try to hold the book himself.

He seems rather easily frustrated (unsurprisingly, since both of his parents are that way) and often when he's playing with a toy it will last only 5 minutes before he becomes utterly undone by the blasted thing and has a tantrum. Right now his desires (handling toys, getting things into his mouth, moving around) outstrip his motor skills, which is a frequent source of frustration for him. This usually means that he can't play unassisted for very long.

Some days he's rather quiet, but often he will launch into long soliloquies if he's set down somewhere and left to his own devices. If you're talking to him, he tends to clam up and listen. But if you leave him be for a while he'll tell long, winding stories full of drama, angst, and redemption.

My favorite times are when he's pretty tired and gets a little punchy, because this is when I can make him laugh. It's funny how babies have a sense of comedic timing, because I only have to tell any kind of "joke" in a certain pattern to get big laughs. Most recent example: "What happens to babies who whine?" - pause - "THEY GET EATEN BY THEIR MOMMIES!" followed by belly-nomming. That one totally killed.