5 month update

On April 7, you turned five months little girl!  This past month has brought way more changes than I would have expected!  I'll get right into it.

The biggest changes we've seen this month is in your mobility.  Scary but fun!

You've figured out how to scoot (on your back) and can do it fast when you're on a mission.  You just slam both legs down and launch backwards.  Along the way, you'll pick up anything in your path and insert it directly into your mouth.  I guess it's time to pick up all those knives and explosives laying around. (just kidding) (side note: I have no clue if it should be "laying" or "lying" in this sentence. My high school students have explained this to me umpteen times and I still don't know it.)

For a long time, you've been rolling from front to back.  At 19 weeks, you rolled over from your back to your front.  Of course, I was in the next room over NOT watching when it happened, but you've repeated plenty of times since for us to see it in action.  In the same category, and also NOT when I was watching (you were with grandpa), you rolled from back to front to back again, all in a row.

mid-roll

You are so interested in everything around you!  Just this morning you were staring intently at your shadow and trying to figure out what in the world it was.  You are using your hands quite proficiently to grab, pinch (it hurts!), pass, examine, and insert into mouth everything. You love discovering new textures and sounds like crumpling paper, crinkly bags, Aslan's fur, running water, cold window panes, blades of grass...

You're also forming an opinion.  Just a week ago, I could easily take things away from you, out of your hands or mouth.  But now you actually get upset!  How dare I stop you from ingesting a plastic shopping bag!!  I am the meanest mommy eeeverrr!!

Vocally you've come a long way this month, too.  You're still a major talker, chatting up a storm to anyone who will listen.  Just recently though, you've moved from vowels to... drumroll... DADA!!  And baba, and dadadada and babababaa.... OK so you don't know you're saying "Dada" but we still love it!  Sometimes the order of the sounds comes out exactly like "Hi Dada."  Sign this kid up for public speaking class!

The cutest new thing you do is grab our faces with your little hands, lean in, and give us a HUGE, slobbery "kiss."  You're all smiles when you do it, and sometimes add a giggle for dramatic effect.  Best. Moments. Ever.

You really like that baby you keep seeing around the house.  You think she's cute and hilarious and you never run out of things to say to her.  And she talks and smiles back!

Naps are mostly great still.  While you're not napping "by the clock" yet (oh glorious day when that happens!), I still pretty much know your schedule day-to-day, and naps last anywhere from 1-2 hours.  Looking back, I am so very grateful to be past that huuuge challenge.

The challenge this month is with your eating.  We learned at your 4 month appointment that you dropped weight percentiles, and at a 5-month weight check you dropped again.  You just have a super small appetite, and we cannot get you to eat a sip or bite more once you've decided you're full.  While it was sooner than I was planning, the pediatrician asked me to start solids with you to see if that helps.  You've done a pretty good job with it!  So far I've only done ground-up oatmeal and sweet potatoes and you've liked both.  Gain, baby gain!

Overall, you are simply a joy to be around.  I don't know if you could be more energetic or have more personality.  We are crazy about you!  Slow down, you're growing TOO fast!

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