5 months

5 months as of November 26, 2013

Clothes: You are wearing all 3-6 and 6 months clothes. 6 months jammies were getting snug on you lengthwise, so we've had to introduce 9 month sleep and plays into the mix. 

Health: Physical therapy was a huge blessing and you are officially finished. Your neck is so strong, thank heavens. We still do neck stretches daily and were recently told that we're going to have to continue them until you're 18 months old. I wish that you weren't born with torticollis, but I'm constantly reminding myself that it could be much worse. I think we're going to go ahead and get you fitted for a cranial band that you'll have to wear for 8-10 weeks. You got this, buddy!

Diet: You eat 5 times a day. You're still on Similac Sensitive. You take 4 6oz. bottles throughout the day, eating every 3 hours, and 1 7oz. bottle as your last bottle at 7:00pm.

Sleep: Sometime in this 4th month of your life it clicked -- you love to sleep! And now that you've just turned 5 months old you sleep 12 hours straight through the night -- 7:30pm-7:30am -- and you take 3 naps daily. You are easy to put down, love your sleep and 5 out of 7 mornings I have to wake you up at 7:30am. Sleep is not an issue in our house!

 Baby Gear Love: activity mat, Baby Einstein musical toy, mirrors, Bumbo, jumper, ergo

Likes: smiling, talking, sucking fingers, playing with feet, eating, getting a diaper change, sleeping

Dislikes: pacifier, evening-time, wind, taking walks

Crying: You just aren't a crier. I don't really have much to add about this topic... Thank God!

Milestones: This 5th month of life has been a fun one! You love nothing more than your feet. I swear you have a love affair going on with them. I often catch you whispering sweet nothings to them and shoving them in your mouth -- Please don't have a foot fetish, just please don't. Other than that, you've really been able to give us some large belly giggles. All of them come from you watching Cali and thinking that she is just the funniest thing that you've ever seen. And she probably is, I mean, your world is quite small and Cali can be so much fun! You are also very alert and able to follow conversation as if you're watching a tennis match. You watch people enter a room and get overly excited when you're about to get picked up -- You kick your feet like crazy and lift up your arms, as if you're saying "yay, pick me up Mama!" You love love love your jumper. In the beginning of the month we would put you in it and you would look around and play with your toys very delicately, but now that you're a bit older you're able to move around from station to station, bounce yourself up and down, turn on the music and really grab and hold onto each toy that's attached to it. You want to eat everything. If it isn't your hands or feet it's your toys or anything you can get your hands on, including my hair. Rolling is something that you're able to do, but you just don't have much of an interest in. We have always spent so much of our days doing tummy time, but you only roll over about once/day. I wish you would roll more often, but I guess you are just so comfortable on your stomach that you don't have a strong desire to. In due time you'll be rolling all over the place... this I know. What you do have a strong desire to do is stand up. If you could stand all day you would. We have to hold you up underneath your armpits, but you put all of your weight on your feet, lock your knees and look around at everything. Once you have enough upper body strength, I know you'll be standing in know time, as you have the lower body strength already. I'm banking on you being able to stand before you're able to crawl. The biggest milestone of all occurred on November 20th -- I felt your gums and could feel that your bottom two teeth had punctured through your gums. I immediately got a pit in my stomach and started to cry -- you're growing up too fast! Your teeth have been rising higher and higher daily. I can't believe you have your 1st two teeth coming in at just 5 months old -- wild!

Dear Trace, Just when I thought that Cali was my best dance partner, you waltzed into my life. We love to dance all around the house, don't we? Daddy often catches us when we don't think he's around and I get embarrassed, but he loves to watch us bounce around to anything on the radio. You laugh and look at me like I'm looney, which I probably am. I just have so much fun with you! You bring out my inner dork and it brings me so much joy to have her released. You know who makes you laugh harder than anyone? Cali. Every time you do tummy time Cali thinks that we're on the floor to play with her. She always runs, gets her favorite toy and brings it to us. She mainly brings it to me to throw, but she will at least once bring it to you to throw. You look at her toy, kick your legs and arms and Cali thinks you're playing with her so she lunges for you. You grab at her and giggle... and there you have it, you two play for about 5 seconds. 5 of the most adorable seconds of my day. Thank you for being such a sweet, happy and playful little boy. Your dad and I just adore your every move, glance and sound. We are those parents who think everything you do is just the absolute best. Because it is. 

Scenes from the past month!