5 Months of Merriment

So I realized that all along I should have been posting monthly updates with details about all things William, but the problem is, I've been WAY too busy participating in said shenanigans to take the time away to write about them.  My goal is to be better about this because it'll be neat to look back at each month when he's even more ginormous!  So, here goes!

William & I in front of the Christmas tree

Santa~Baby with Aunty Kristi & I, being silly :)

 Our Christmas card this year, most fun one yet!

Weight: nearly 17 lbs. (around 50th%ile for weight)

Length/Height: 27 inches (100th%ile for length!!!! No wonder his pants are too short!)

New Talents & Milestones: William can sit up independently for short amounts of time, but then will slowly lean until he slumps over, which is still pretty cute.  Rolling over front to back and back to front is easy peasy and he is grasping objects with no difficulty & bringing everything to his mouth, EVERYTHING, including my hair (what's left of it, it's falling out like crazy) which he loves to use as a handle.  We like to watch him pass toys from one hand to the other and he is really curious about everything.  He's doing some pre-crawling sorts of things while in his crib, laying on his tummy and scooting around using his arms and legs, it's funny to see where he ends up compared to where he starts his naps.  I know he'll be mobile in no time so I've already put covers over the outlets!

Likes: TOES!!! When he lays on his tummy he immediately pulls his legs in and those piggies go right in his mouth.  He'll also hold them in his hand and roll around on his back like a little lopsided egg.  Christmas lights on the tree, beams & banister are intriguing and he loves reaching out to touch the ornaments dangling off the tree.  His puppies make him really curious & he watches them run around with a funny little expression.  One thing we love to watch him do is bounce in his Baby Einstein bouncer, so glad we made that purchase!  Aunty Kristi bought him a v-tech sit and stand toy that he LOVES, along with the other items pictured below.

Dislikes: napping for longer than 15-20 minutes, unfortunately!  He is not a big napper during the day at all and never really has been.  The whole putting baby to bed drowsy but awake idea does NOT fly with this little guy... sometimes he will sleep on his own, but normally he likes to be rocked, nursed, read to or sung to, which is fine by me, I'm sure we'll get there, he's just not ready now.

Clothes: mostly in 6-9 month clothes for the past few weeks, along with some 3-6 month items, depending on brand/style. We're loving Christmas-y outfits these days!

Special Events: Thanksgiving weekend Uncle Adam, Nanny & Gramps came to visit for turkey & all the fixins' but mostly to see our little turkey!  The next weekend my mom & sister & cousin came to visit and we decorated the tree & got in the Christmas spirit, watching Elf (again!) and National Lampoons, of course!  

Sleep: Kind of hit-or-miss, when we gave him cereal based on our pediatrician's advisement, William stopped sleeping well.  I thought it might have something to do with his vaccinations, which are on an alternate schedule so he gets fewer vaccines, spread out over longer.  William seemed intrigued by cereal, but when I don't give it to him he doesn't really miss it and seems to sleep better, so we're playing it day by day and breastfeeding still seems to be enough for now and he's not 6 months old yet, so we'll wait.  He still wakes up after a few hours but can usually be settled.  For the past few months he wakes between 12 and 2 and most often we end up co-sleeping for a few reasons. #1. I LOVE it, he won't be this little for long and I know I will miss this terribly.  #2. It's just easier with breastfeeding to have him close by, especially if he's going through a growth spurt & cluster nurses.  #3.  Did I mention I love it?  William does too and he's not old enough that this will mean he's still sleeping with us at age 5, no matter what anyone else thinks!  

Looking Forward to: CHRISTMAS!!! and COMPLETELY house broken pups!

Nicknames: Monster-Man, Pterodactyl (when he makes these funny screechy dinosaur sounds), Willy~Boy, Bugaboo (my favorite thing to call him) Bean, the list goes on an on!!!

5 Month Favorites:

Topsy Tumblers Twirling Tumbling Fun Park  &  Crawl & Go Snail ( both from Aunty Kristi!)  

Sassy Seat Doorway Jumper      &             Mam pacifiers, 0-6 month size

Sit to Stand Learning Walker, 

again from Aunty Kristi, who SPOILS her nephew!

Baby Einstein Stationary Entertainer (bought used for $20, which was $20 well spent!)

             

Christmas Board book from Nanny & ANOTHER gift from Aunty Kristi, a Christmas onesie 

Oh yeah... and THIS happened on Thanksgiving:

Yeah, I know... we're insane... a baby and TWO puppies, but hey, we like things on the adventurous side (I remind myself that when I clean up the occasional puddle).  These little ladies are wonderful and training is coming right along.  They are adorable and we love having the sound of puppy paws on the floor again, even if they aren't Bailey's we can make room in our hearts to love another dog... or two as the case may be!  

           

Christmas stockings I made from a few old sweaters, hung by the chimney with care :)

Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays everyone!