5 Months Old!

Amelia Ann, you are growing so fast! In the blink of an eye, you've gone from an infant content to watch the world go by to a real little person who is participating and interacting in almost all the activities we are involved in.

You are still our sweet baby girl and your giggles, smile and chatter fill our days with happiness. You are progressing with you babbling with alarming speed (I still have to look up when William started all this to know if you are ahead or behind him - I suspect you are ahead). You are using increasing numbers of non vowel sounds. So far you say "naaa-naaa" "da da da da" and "ba ba". I know they aren't connected to any meaning yet, but it is still so fun to hear you babbling away (still working on getting video of this one).

In the last month you become so mobile! You've gone from rolling here and there from time to time to a rolling, scooting, crawling machine. Every waking moment and plenty of time in your crib has been spent practicing, practicing, practicing your crawling. At this point, you are doing some rolling to get around and more scooting on your belly (or army style crawling). In the last week, you've managed to pull yourself to your hands and knees several times. But, when you get to the hands and knees, you aren't quite sure what to do with yourself. The baby pushup is another exercise you practice at least 45 times a day. Because of all this activity, I'd even go as far to say you have been a real pain to live with because practicing is all you want to do. Just because you are tired, it is quiet and you are in your crib does not mean that you want (or should) to sleep. In fact, this suggestion on my part has been met by a great deal of unhappiness from you lately. Lucky for me, the overnight sleeping hasn't been a problem, it is just the daily napping you can't be bothered with. Unfortunately, without a nap you aren't the happiest of campers, so our day has been filled with some...crabbiness on all parts. It also means we've had to let you do a little fussing in your crib until you are ready to sleep. So far, Mama will still rescues you when the all out crying begins, but those days might be numbered if the current trend continues.

In the last two weeks, I've been noticing you copying my facial expressions when I least expect it. This isn't something your brother did (although, the books said he was supposed to). If I stick out my tongue, you stick out your tongue. If I laugh, you laugh. When I chew candy, you make smacking noises with your lips and tongue. You study our expressions and are enthralled by faces. This makes you easy to entertain while waiting...just about anywhere. Now that I think about it, it probably means I am easy to entertain as well because I could make faces at you all day.

Which brings me to think about how much of an individual you already are. You are so different from your brother in personality and your interests, which just astounds me. Five months in, you already have enough personality and likes that I can tell you are going to be a different kid than your brother. This in itself isn't surprising to me- I knew you were going to be your own person. What surprises me is how quickly it is becoming apparent. You love toys with faces. William didn't ever play with his animals or dolls. You on the other hand could easily spend an hour rolling around on the floor talking and playing with one doll or animal. You focus on their faces and poke at their eyes. You bite on their noses and chew on their hands. You tell long elaborate stories while wrestling around with them on the floor. Another way you are different is you love to snuggle. In the morning, I bring you in our bed and I feed you. Then we snuggle and sleep a little longer. You are so happy to be snuggled in next to me that sometimes I wonder if you wake up early just to have some extra time snuggled in by my side. I have to admit that I don't mind - I like the snuggle time also.

Although different, you still have a lot in common. You absolutely adore your brother. You look at him with such love and adoration that I hold my breath. Because, someday soon he is going to break your heart and hurt your feelings. You love his trucks and cars, a fact he does not love. You'll work extra hard to propel yourself with great speed towards his vehicles when he isn't looking. You also have that same stubborn (determined?) streak your brother has. You. are. learning. to. crawl. and nobody better get in your way. You will practice, practice, practice until you learn how to do something. Even when you get frustrated, you don't give up. You just keep going, going, going. And, just like your big brother, you are growing like crazy. You've had another big growth spurt which means your 9 months clothes aren't fitting very well anymore. The one piece pajamas now need to be sized 12 month and your two piece outfits need to be 9-12 month. Your room is a disaster with all the clothes you've outgrown piled up in different places.