5 Month Update

- You weigh about 16 lbs.

- You sleep about 11 hours at night. Normally, you wake up halfway through to eat. - The longest stretch you’ve had so far was 7 hours (on a Saturday – we really appreciated that one!).

- You had been sleeping on your side. But recently, you roll over to your stomach as the default position. You’re able to roll over from your back to your stomach very easily, but the challenge is rolling back over as consistently. So we sometimes have to help you out in the middle of the night when you realize you’re stuck. We love to see what position you’ve landed in when we peek in on you since you move all over your crib.

- Your “vocabulary” is much bigger, and we enjoy hearing you babble to yourself as you wake up each morning. Your words and inflection are becoming increasingly expressive. And your communication skills are developing well, so we understand what you like and don’t like very quickly.

- Besides Mommy and Daddy, your bottle elicits the most excitement from you upon being noticed. You instantly let us know, though animated sounds and gestures, how much you want to get your mouth on it. Sometimes you think you can suck milk through the cap!

- Gravity has now conquered your hair. It’s still impressive in volume, but it’s got enough of a “mad scientist” look that we’re considering a first haircut soon.

- You love people and go willingly to anyone who wants to hold you. And you’re very generous in returning smiles to those that smile at you.

- You have discovered your toes and they fascinate you. You grab them any chance you get.

- You prefer nakedness to clothing. You squeal with delight when you can play on your mat in just your diaper.

- You can soak a bib in no time with the amount of drool you produce. No teeth, yet. Just well-functioning saliva glands.

- You haven’t wanted a pacifier recently. You love to chew on your fingers, though, and your daycare teacher says that’s a sign that a tooth isn’t far away. We’ll see…

- You notice Lexi now. We’re still trying to prevent her from “kissing” you over and over, but you smile at her and reach out for her when you can. Though recently, you had your first "real" encounter with Lexi.

- You’ve enjoyed your exersaucer over the last month, and it has been fascinating to watch how quickly you pick up on concepts. You’ve gone from staring blankly at all the moving parts to mastering them and having favorites.

- We just introduced you to a jumperoo recently, and you are crazy about it. It’s a new favorite activity. Here's a little video of you when you first got it.

- You intentionally grab for things that interest you now. Often it’s anything in front of you, but you especially like faces and hair. You have also played with your first bubbles.

- You went to your first playground and experienced the swings. We know you loved them, but not because of any big toothless smile you gave us. Instead, you go into a completely relaxed, zen-like state.

- You are known as “the talker” among your daycare friends. You have the best time being around the other kids and “conversing” with them. We are so thankful that you’re so happy in that environment.