Five months...and Loving it!

What fun we are having now!!!

This fourth month was full of joy and far fewer challenges--most of which can be avoided by mealtimes on schedule and proper sleep. (Please note that most of the pictures in this blog have you with a full grin on your face because that is how you are quite often these days. Yeah!!!)

You still use a pacifier occasionally, but you now suck your thumb whenever you are very unhappy. It seems to console you a little bit. Oh, and did I ever mention that from about week 2, you have cried real tears?!!! And I don't mean just a few, but buckets full every time you cry!

You were always alert before, but it was almost like you awoke to life this month. You are so aware of your surroundings and are constantly on the move. You swing your legs all the time when you are sitting. On the floor, you no longer stay in one place. You scoot wherever you want to go and some places you don't. (We will have to work on that.) This explains your rug-burned knees. Of course, like all good babies, you are scooting backward most of the time. You also get up and rock on your knees often. Will you be crawling by month six? I think Mama would be happy to keep you a bit more stationary for a little longer.

However, we have a particularly talented son because not only do you scoot backward, you also generally walk backward when we hold your hands and let you take steps. :)

You can sit on your own for a few seconds now...sometimes longer--especially when you prop yourself up with your hand. This early feat must be due to the strong back muscles from all the tummy time you give yourself. (remember, from last month? You like to flip to your tummy)

We have fun during your playtime.

You started mimicking your Mama this month. Your assortment of sounds is now really quite alarming. Do I really make those sounds to try to get you to smile? Daddy calls you a little terradactyl when you squeal in delight. Why? I'm not sure, but I guess he thinks you sound like one.

Your favorite toy is an elephant rattle we named George. You love him! You also like your teething keys, a Leap Frog Roll and Rhyme, and a cat toy that was never in favor with the cats and has found a new home with you. Phones already seem to hold a great attraction too. In fact, you have already hung up on your aunt. Most of your toys (or really anything within reach) go in your mouth, including a magazine page of which you consumed at least half before I noticed.

The cat toy

The favorite time of day is bathtime! Although, in general, you just seem to enjoy your whole day much more! Generally you don't complain about taking your naps (although they may be brief, we do mostly get a morning and an afternoon nap out of you). I will find you cheerfully playing in your crib now in the morning or after naps. And when you see me, I am often greeted with a smile. :) :) :)

You don't mind having your diaper changed anymore either. Probably especially after sleeping all night and awaking to a diaper that is so wet it tears apart in Mama's hands when she is changing you. You are still in size 2 but we are preparing to switch to size 3 diapers soon so there will hopefully be far fewer leaky diapers.

You love mealtime. You can hold your bottle but still prefer Mama to do the majority of the work. You eat oatmeal every morning just like your Daddy. Also on the menu now: squash, sweet potatoes, carrots, green beans, peas, avocado, all types of mixed fruit, turkey and chicken (not so much a favorite), and you have even tried and enjoyed puffs and cheerios.

And now, at the risk of making anyone too jealous, we are blessed to have a little baby who sleeps very well at night. You are not a night person (nor am I) so you still are on the schedule of going to bed between 6-6:30 most nights and waking around 5-6 a.m. the next morning. (and now on the later end of that) After a bottle, you then go back to sleep again until about 7:30...when the day really begins for you. I know this may change when you are teething or as you get older so I am just trying to enjoy this blessing of sleep now. (August is a great time to have a baby because by the time he is cognizant of his sleeping habits, it is dark outside more and one can fool him into thinking that it is time to sleep. ;) )

Your new state of high alertness has some negative consequences too though. The separation anxiety that was just beginning at the end of last month has now come full-force when you are already less than happy. Especially when you are tired, if you lose eye contact with me for one minute, the whole neighborhood will hear of it. The same thing goes for when a stranger tries to smile at you and gets a bit too close. (sorry, folks, to whom he has already done this) How sweetly you love your Mama...but...this too, we will have to work on.

This month, you got to see your aunts and uncles, cousins, and grandparents again...many last seen at your birth. You even met Uncle Rich for the first time. We celebrated your first Christmas and the beginning of a new year. With that new year, so many more firsts to come.

Already the typical male "vegging" in front of the t.v. with his remote.

In a sweater that your Great-Grandma Weyler knit for your Daddy when he was a baby.

We are proud M&M parents of our own baby M&M.

Ready to play golf with your Daddy?

Addendum: We removed your carseat head pillow and moved your straps up today...Why did I wait so long? You are far less squished and more comfortable now.