There is a FIVE month old in the house!

Wow - time flies. I can't believe it is already time to write another post about the Xan man. He is developing SO fast and his personality is bursting from the seams. It is so fun!

We finally know where the term "bouncing baby boy" comes from. Boy can he bounce. I think I reported last month that he started to bounce in his bouncer and boy does he love it. He will do it non-stop. His feet keep moving although sometimes his head looks like it doesn't want to do it any more. The other day he was bouncing and falling asleep in the bouncer at the same time.


(this was an early bounce video...he is much more controlled now)




I felt pretty bad about that. But I have been told that it gets worse and sometimes they can fall asleep while being fed in their high chair. Yikes!

Three big things dominated this last month. That is sitting, solid foods, and the transition to the crib. I mentioned at the beginning of the month (last months post) that he was beginning to sit up...albeit with support. Well he still needs someone close by in case he gets falling in a way he can't help - but he is SITTING!!!


Now I like sitting. He can watch his dads and see what we are doing, but isn't mobile enough to get into things. I am almost betting by the end of this month he is scooting. Currently his main mode of self-propelled transportation is rolling on the floor. He can do it from one end of the room to the other if left alone.


Another big thing this month was the beginning of SOLID food. The first time didn't go so well as he gagged just about every time I put it in his mouth. It got to the point he was gagging at the sight of the spoon. So we tried again and again. We took a break when the poor guy got sick and ended up with an ear infection :-( But then started back up. He now doesn't gag, but the idea of moving the food from the spoon to his tongue to his throat is a mystery yet to be solved.



Finally, the other big thing this month is the transition from sleeping in the swing (naps and at night) to sleeping in his crib. Thanks to some help by Nonnie and Poppie who visited for Christmas we were able to clean out his room and get it all set up for just this purpose. Prior to this it was a storage room for all his stuff! So the progress over this month has been from him waking up by just stepping into the room to actually being able to put him down to nap...we did have some major progress here...but at night he is still in the swing.

Here we are getting used to the crib as not to be afraid of it...





uh oh....hold on...blow out situation....



Okay...after cleaning that up and a bath where was I?...

So what are his new personality traits he is showing this month?

• He loves to growl. It is so funny to hear. He will be playing or squealing like in months past and then it turns into a growl...we call it his possessed baby. Next month his head will spin around in circles :-)

• He has started to become a bit more predictable in his sleeping pattern (other than his nasty cold period) he is pretty good about napping in the mid-morning, afternoon, and early evening. They aren't always long naps, although he has been known to stay down for over an hour when I'm lucky!

• His ability to grab thing has improved by leaps and bounds this month. Aside from his dads' face he will grab for any toy he can find. A whole new world is just an arms length away.
  

• He has finally almost stopped spitting up...and has most certainly reduced the literage he projects. Laundry score!
• He is so interactive and observant. He loves to watch his girls (Lacey and Lily) run around the house and whip toys around in their mouths. We got a helicopter for Christmas for him to watch fly and he ends up watching Lily because she goes NUTS when it is going. It is fun to watch. (video coming soon)
  

The low point of the month was that he got himself a nasty little cold which ended up turning into an ear infection :-(. But after a bout of antibiotics and a new nifty device called the Nose Frida we survived. The Nose Frida is a device we came across while searching for an alternative to the bulb syringe. You have to see what it does...words cannot describe it:



Anyway, I think that is it for the month. Next month is going to be an adventure no doubt. We are headed to half a year baby! I'm expecting big things...maybe bits of crawling? Maybe some first "da da's?" Maybe some teeth? Maybe....