Latest on Duke, his Royalty.

I forgot to mention in the last post a few more of my favorite things about Duke. One, i was amazed at his ability to put himself to sleep at just 3 months. i would lay him down when i received the "tired signals", and he would always follow with this routine: turn his head to the left, close his eyes, and cover his face with his left hand while brushing it with his fingers. so funny and cute! he would be asleep within minutes. The hand over the face movement has now been replaced with his soft green blanket. he will be fussy when you lay him in the crib but as soon as you cover him with his blankie he calms down and pulls it up over his face while his face is turned to the side. lots of detail i know, but i will soon forget all this unless i write it down. I've been very sentimental about his little babiness as he is my last...sniff.
His latest gesture that makes my heart melt is when he's laying on his activity mat, or sitting in his bumbo chair, and he'll just cross his arms, one hand holding onto the adjacent arm, as if to say "hmmm. i'm just taking a break here..."
Duke is very, very vocal, and gets louder and louder as he gets bigger. my favorite is when he opens his mouth to make a loud, long, and high pitched squeal but pauses with his mouth open for a minute before anything comes out as if he's preparing the right pitch he wants to express :)
Finally, Duke really loves pat-a-cake with his feet, and he gets really quiet and attentive when you read a loud to him a book. Did i mention he is the happiest, smiliest baby i know? He just loves anyone who talks to him - will smile ear to ear! Sometimes he'll even do an arms straight out and shaking gesture of excitement!
here are some more pictures of month 3-5.