It’s been an interesting couple weeks for Mads. First, he’s been learning how to sit on his own, which is a pretty cool thing to see. Previously, if you sat him on the floor and let him go, he’s just kind of … topple over, face-first into the blanket (which he would then proceed to eat).
But recently, he’s discovered those two limbs dangling off of his shoulders could be used to prevent this! So he’ll stick out an arm as he leans forward, look up at you, and grin. It sounds like such a simple thing, being able to sit, but considering up until now he always has to be put in some type of contraption (which usually involves bouncing), it’ll be a nice upgrade.
He’s also looking much more intensely at things recently, from people to objects. For example, we’ve been carrying him around for months now, but only in the past few weeks has he kind of pulled back a bit and stared at us. Along with this looking comes touching. In the case of people, it involves squeezing our cheeks and pulling our mouths open. He’s also not only grabbing objects but moving them around with a respectable amount of velocity, meaning I suddenly have to fear for objects being thrown at me. Exciting!
Lastly, his teething has gotten even more intense, and we think he’s working on five simultaneous teeth now. Not only does teething seem to last FOREVER, but there’s also only about four things you can do to help it, and most of those don’t work for us. What’s especially sad is seeing him trying to be his normal happy self while clawing at his ear to try to deal with the mouth pain. Poor guy.
To end on a happier note, I uploaded some photos my mom took of their visit last weekend.
Mads and I went to the doctor’s this morning for his one month check up. He’s very good in the car, and Mom’s biceps are getting awesome from carrying Mads, his car seat, and his bag of baby stuff down 3 flights of stairs every time we leave the apartment. 
After his appointment, I fed Mads at the doctor’s office (second time he’s eaten out of the apartment). Our pediatrician confirmed that Mads can go into populated enclosed spaces (offices, stores, etc.), so I called my friend Sarah at work to screen for sick people in the office. Yes, paranoid, I know, but it never hurts to be safe. 
He was so good – he likes to be held, and only cried once, when Mom was a little late to feed him. It was also really nice to be able to talk with one of my coworkers who has recently had a baby (not the one pictured to the left, I didn’t get a photo of her). We compared notes, and are both just really happy to have new little guys (in her case, a little girl) in our lives.
