5-Months-Old!

5 months old!

4 months old

3 months old

2 months old

1 month old

2 weeks old

Dear Victor Albert,

You are 5 months old today. What a big fellow! You give your daddy and I such a kick with your chubby cheeks (a.k.a. jowls, by your papa) and dimpled knees.

It has been a busy month for you, and now:

* You have some real goofy expressions. When you finish eating, you'll stick out your lower lip, or suck on your upper lip, or make loud smacking noises. Or all of the above.

* You have kicked the paci, and you're no longer swaddled for sleep. Those changes, combined with a full schedule switch, made this one of the least sleep-ful months of your life for Momma. However, you are now doing pretty great with your naps, and you're only eating once between 6pm and 6am (though there are some additional wakings most nights).

* Nighttime has become an aerobic exercise. You immediately flip onto your tummy and then perseveringly scoot yourself to the furthest end of your crib (like an inchworm), where you either conk your noggin on the rails, wedge yourself into the corner, or stick your arm through the slots... all of which normally make you wail like a banshee. You give yourself lumps on your head! This is highly troubling, but we have not yet contrived a system to keep you in the middle. [I foresee you giving your future wife some real troubles if this continues.]

* You love your daddy. When I'm talking on the phone with him and put him on speakerphone, you get a big smile and look around for where he's hiding. And when Daddy practiced his message for Wed Connection (tonight!), you were hanging on every word.

* You are gaining more and more dexterity. You can pick up your little ring toy when you drop it next to you and even switch toys from one hand to the other.

* You're also very strong. You continue pulling out very much of Momma's hair, as well as making the aforementioned forays across the expanse of your crib, rolling over both ways (front to back and back to front), spending long stretches bouncing in your exersaucer, and trying to do somersaults while standing on my lap.

* Momma is still doing dairy free (and God has provided very greatly, so it doesn't feel burdensome, except for the occasional longing for cheese and ice cream). You continue to spit, but sometimes, very, very little! It's still pretty normal for Mom to get it straight down the front, though, so we keep the washer and dryer running pretty often.

* We take lots of walks around the neighborhood (sometimes 3-4 a day, short ones). You make lots of friends on our little excursions, and it has been great to meet more people on our street.

* You are a people person for sure. This has the unfortunate effect of rendering it nearly impossible for you to sleep when we're out and about. So we try to be fairly consistent with naptime at home. You are so, so, so much happier when you get good sleep!

* For about a month now, you've been a finger biter (other peoples' fingers, that is). So we're suspecting that a tooth is going to pop through sometime soon.

You are my honey bear, my baby boy, the little peanut, the floofenheimer (to Dad). You keep us giggling and praying for wisdom.

And we love you so, so much.

Happy 5 months, Mr. Victor!