February 9th, 2012- Five Months


Dear Henry,

You are now 5 months old baby boo boo! As always, I can hardly believe we are just 1 short month away from you being half a year old. You make our days so sweet and time just flies! You’ve been a busy boy this month and I am happy to say (and I hope this doesn’t jinx it) that you are FINALLY in a groove with your routine! We laid pretty low during your 4th month of life- no major trips or adventures, yet still the calendar seemed jam packed! With Mommy back to work, the days and weeks seem to fly right by! And our household spent almost 2 weeks under the weather…even you had a little runny nose!

Our biggest excitement this past month has been finalizing the purchase on your very first house HOUSE! With a yard! I am so excited to hang a swing for you in the tree in the backyard. We’ll have so many fun picnics and adventures and memories, and I just know you are going to love it!

This past month you also started music class, which seems to be the highlight of your week! I am amazed by how engaged you are with all kinds of music and my hope is that you’ll be able to carry a tune…unlike your Mommy! And even if you cannot carry a tune, I hope you are never afraid to sing your little heart out! You LOVE watching the bigger babies in music…especially the crawlers. You stare in awe and I can see the wheels in your brain turning and wondering “how do they do it!?” Actually, it was after your very first class, having watched all of the sitter uppers that you came home and sat right up yourself! Speaking of sitting up, your little abdominal muscles are getting stronger and stronger and you almost NEVER topple on over anymore! Along with sitting up came the discovery of your ten little toes! You are not overly fascinated by them, but you have realized that by holding onto those cute little piggies while you’re upright, your balance is FAR better!

We also tried a baby art class this past month, but that was not so much your thing. Maybe we’ll try again in a few months, but as of now you were more interested in eating the paint brush and pulling Mommy’s hair.
You #1 most favorite thing in the whole world is your little baby piano that your Grandma got you before you were even born. You can sit on your little bench and just play and play and play. Sometimes you’ll sit there and play for so long that even Mommy starts to get bored, but Daddy says I should let you play that little piano for as long as you would like! Every morning and every night you put on a concert for us, and it makes me so happy to see you so happy!

I am so proud of your nighttime routine! You have been going down to bed like such a good boy without a fuss! You’ve been sleeping so long for your first stretch, that some nights I start to miss you and have to stop myself from going to your room and waking you up just to give you a big kiss and cuddle! I should probably clarify that by “long,” I mean 2-3 hours! Sleeping is still not our strongest suit!

I love you such Baby Boy! As I think back on the past month, I am think most about your great big smile. You were blessed with one of those big magnificent smiles that lights up your whole face and even your eyes sparkle with glee! It’s magnetic. How can these not be the happiest days of our lives when we get to share them with you!?
Love, Your Mommy

Hey little buddy,
You just turned 5 months and mommy and daddy can’t believe how big you’re getting! You’re sitting up by yourself (most of the time) and play concerts for us on your piano. I love every morning when you wake up smiling and laughing. You’re always laughing when I change your diaper in the morning. You’ve watched a couple UNC basketballs games with your daddy (even though mommy doesn’t like you watching TV) in the onesie that your godfather Matt got your as your baptism present. Don’t worry, we have plenty of pictures of you in it….even though you don’t always bring good luck! I love helping mommy get you ready for bed each night and make sure I’m home from work in time for your bath. This next week mommy leaves on her first trip away from you for a night and it’s going to be just you and me! I’m looking forward to it and know that we’ll do just fine together (I hope!) we’re about to move into a new house and kinda sad that you won’t even remember the house where you first came home from the hospital! I love you so much and so excited to watch you keep growing!
Love,
Daddy

Stats:
Weight:  I am pretty sure you have cleared the 17 lb mark
Sleep:  3 (30 minute - 1 Hour) naps per day.  Bedtime between 7:00 - 7:30 at night.  You will usually sleep until 10pm, 1am, 4am, and are up for the day at 7am.  You have a tired (yet somehow totally acclimated to no sleep) Mommy
Eat:  You are still drinking breastmilk exclusively.  Although in celebration of your 5 month birthday we gave you your very first little taste of bananas pureed with breastmilk and rice cereal.