Lady Kaitlyn at 5 Months...

Age of Lady Kaitlyn:  5 months today!!!

Family,

The Munchkin rolls 5 months - seriously:  CUTEST.
THING.  EVER.

And a good Sunday afternoon to you from the Queen City, where the Bull and Striker have just put the munchkin down for (what we hope will be) a 45 minute to an hour nap.  It's official, sports fans - the munchkin is FIVE MONTHS OLD TODAY - holy moly where has the time gone?

Hard Plastic - it's what's for dinner.

The transformation between 4 and 5 months has been much more pronounced than previous ones, and every day now feels like a journey of discovery - both for Kaitlyn and us.  She's now moved beyond batting at things - she is grabbing them, holding them firm, and pulling them toward her.  And whilst her favorite thing to eat is definitely her bib (doesn't matter which one she's wearing - she thinks cotton is DELICIOUS) followed by her fingers, she has now begun in earnest the act of bringing things to her mouth.  She's got a set of chew rings that she LOVES, and every day she's getting more coordinated with getting them in her mouth.  Now granted, sometimes she whacks herself in the face about a dozen times before hitting pay dirt (which is HILARIOUS, for the record), but she does stick with it until those little nuggets of hard plastic are covered in enough slobber to create a new river (I like our friend Kluttz's phrase - "slobber box" - not really sure what that is, but K more or less fits the bill I think).

Reunited with Nanny!

More active - yes.   Better at critical thinking
(i.e. I have a bunny on my head that I didn't
put there and need to remove it) - well, we're
still working on that bit.

She's also much more active in the jumperoo, where is is now actually capable of jumping up and down (just barely, but it has happened on a few occasions).  Just today she grabbed the "elephant-lion" see-saw, and she's become quite adept at knocking the 3 blocks out of their little holders.  Today she spent a good 5-7 minutes working on just one block, refusing to quit until it tumbled - I was impressed by the "laser-like" focus and discipline (OSC and Hitman - that was for you).

Kaitlyn - when you wonder why daddy turned
you into a Tomboy, just remember - it was to
protect you from the woman holding you in
this photo who wanted to enter you in
BEAUTY PAGEANTS.  SERENITY NOW!!!

She's still consistently on 4 feeds per day, ranging anywhere from 28-32 ounces (and normally she lands in the 30's, usually between 30.7-31.5).  Knock on wood GREAT (strike that - AMAZING) sleeping at night has continued, albeit at the expense of sleeping during the day.  It's been interesting to watch, but over the past few weeks, K's not napping as good during the day as she used to.  Of course, everyone has a theory (teething, moving to an adult sleep cycle and changing circadian rhythms, etc), but most of the sites we've read suggest that this is just a baby's natural progression and that soon they'll just drop one of the naps.  And whilst I do think we'll get to that, this intermediate period has been challenging, as she doesn't always have terrific wake time (because she's' sleepy), but when you lay her down for her nap, she goes CRAZY and begins flailing in the crib.  We are lucky in that she's found her thumb and is a "self-soother," but the flip side to that is that she'll pop that thumb in her mouth anytime she's tired, bored, or on your shoulder being burped.

I have probably posted this one before,
but this is a photo for the ages - and the only
evidence she's EVER slept in that carrier.

She's definitely a big smiler at this point, and K ALWAYS wakes up happy.  She can't quite laugh yet, but just today she got very close to it while Jenny was playing with her (blowing on her belly).  I expect she'll be laughing within the next month or so.  We also think she'll be rolling over in the next month or so, as she's ALL OVER THE MAP in her crib at night.  She uses her legs to shift her around when she's not swaddled (now we only swaddle her at night before the long sleep), and it's not uncommon to find her either perpendicular to how you found her, with her head at the top of the crib, or both - too funny.  She obviously can't do that in the swaddle, but she can sure raise her body whilst confined, and both JT and I know it won't be long until she flips over.  I just hope we're awake when that happens.

Nothing like surprise visitors at 201 Central!

In terms of tummy time, she still HATES it, but Jenny's found a new way to do it that's yielded much better results.  Instead of laying her flat on the playmat, she's now laying her on the boppy and elevating her slightly.  This seems to be much more pleasant for Kaitlyn, and she is FINALLY starting to raise her head and neck.  That, coupled with "standies," is definitely making munch munch stronger.

Who'll come a'waltzin', Matilda, my darlin'...
thanks, Auntie Yazz!

The month coming up is big for SO many reasons:  K's first flight.  K starts daycare.  JT starts back to work.  But I don't want to think about ANY of that right now, as that will turn our schedule upside down and no doubt leave us more exhausted than we are currently (I can barely keep my eyes open as I type this).  All I want to do right now is live this month to the fullest and enjoy every single second I can while having my wife and child under one roof with me all day, every day.  The first 5 months have been nothing short of magical, and I want to ensure we end on the best note so far.

Okay, that'll do it for this installment.  Chat with you next week, after we've confirmed how the munchkin deals with life at 37,000 feet. :-)

Love,

Sam and Jenny