five months with owen

What a whirlwind month it's been! From Christmas and the New Year to snow and even 70 degree days, your fifth month of life has been super exciting!

Big this month was eating food - no more bottles only dining for you! so far you have tried, and loved:

• rice cereal
• bananas
• sweet potatoes
• green beans
• prunes
• carrots 
• oatmeal (instead of rice cereal)
• apples

Not once has it taken you more than one or two spoonfuls of a new food to smile and open your mouth wide, ready for more! I can't wait for you to get a few teeth so you can start chowing down on everything from bits of chicken to Cheerios and whatever else you can get your hands on! We're big on letting you try anything and everything you want to once you can chew it properly - I'd much rather you eat like your father, who will try anything, than like me!

You started to get a touch of stranger anxiety this month as well. We didn't notice it until your four-month check-up, but you definitely need a second in mom or dad's arms before going to just about anyone else (including your grandmas, much to their dismay).

On the plus side, you are now sleeping through the night on a regular basis. Like, we put you down by 8:30pm and you don't wake up to start your day until almost 7am. I'll admit now that putting you down awake in your crib and letting you learn how to soothe yourself to sleep was the right decision (although I fought it like mad).

You are someone who needs to wake up in the same place you fell asleep, so falling asleep in mama's arms and then waking up somewhere else was making you a bit upset! Once we figured out that you needed your own space to fall asleep and wake up in, and you figured out you liked just rolling to your side, sticking your thumb in your mouth and drifting off (it took you one night; it took me six), we've been rolling along with much better sleep for the whole family.

A bonus to this sleeping? You are eating better, napping better, and are all-around happier throughout the day.

You got an exer-saucer for Christmas, one of the greatest things ever. After you eat you spin yourself around in it for at least an hour, moving from the parrot to the froggie to the pandas to the piano to play some music, and back again. You love to stand up and squeal as you re-discover a long-forgotten friend (usually the froggie) and then lean back lounge-style while we talk to you about the animals.

There are still hard moments to be sure. When you don't want to take a nap or you don't want to be put down or you ... that's about it really, and not all that hard when I think about it. Your smiles are perfection, you love new things and new experiences, and every day I get to spend with you is a gift.

Happy five months my love - can't wait to see what you've got in store for month six!