5 Months

** It seriously kills my Type-A self that this post is going up so late.  The picture was taken at the first of the month, and I haven't included any info from this month.  But still... grrr, I just couldn't get it together to post it sooner.

Doodle - you are 5 months old!  I know I say it every time I post, but I can't believe how quickly time is flying.  I feel like it was just yesterday that I was pregnant and anticipating your arrival.  Your daddy and I couldn't wait to meet you, and now that we know you, we couldn't imagine our lives without you!

November was a pretty big month for you.  You took your first plane ride - you were a champ!

  Everyone around us on the plane complimented your behavior.  The only time you screamed bloody-murder was when your daddy was trying to change your diaper in the airplane bathroom.  And really, who can blame you?  Those bathrooms are completely subpar.

Excuse the terrible iPhone pictures throughout this post

We flew to Tampa for a work trip, and although you didn't love the sleeping arrangements (read: you slept in 1 hours increments and cried a lot), we managed to have a good time.  You and daddy spent the day together on Saturday while I was at a conference, and y'all managed to accomplish another first for you - your first car accident.  Luckily, it was a minor fender-bender (caused by another driver) and you weren't hurt, but needless to say, mama was not pleased!

We celebrated a lot this month: mama's birthday and your first big holiday - Thanksgiving.  You were a very thoughtful little girl and got me some wonderful presents.

And you loved your first Thanksgiving, complete with a turkey outfit that I threw together the night before.  We spent the holiday at Shugie's house, and you behaved pretty well during the Thanksgiving dinner.  In fact, you were so good that we snuck away at one point to shop and go see a movie.

This past month marked some milestones for you.  You are laughing and "talking" up a storm.  You even shriek every now and then.  You definitely recognize your daddy and me and it makes my day when you smile at me when I pick you up from school.  You have started rice cereal and oatmeal this month and really love it.  You get so excited when it is time to eat!  You are eating either rice cereal or oatmeal at night and still taking a 4 oz bottle or nursing every 3 hours or so during the day.  You had your second ear infection this month, which did not make this mama happy, but you were a trooper.  

You are happiest in the morning and will often play and entertain yourself before we get you out of bed. Speaking of bed, you are still in the rock-and-play cradle, but **drumroll please ** we have broken the swaddle.  Our first attempt to break the swaddle at the beginning of November did. not. go. well.  But we took a break and tried again at the end of the month and you did beautifully.  I guess you were just ready.  It took about three days of letting you cry (which broke my heart), but now you can soothe yourself back to sleep and actually sleep better at night.  You go to sleep around 6:30 and wake up around 2:00 to eat and then are up for the day around 6:30 or 7:00 am.

You are such a happy baby, and we are loving this age and how fun and interactive you are.  We love you, sweet girl!