Five Months

Dear Evie,

Another month has past (entirely too quickly) and you are now five months old. I’m going to try to keep this letter short because it is late and I’m sure you will be waking soon to nurse (again).

I can’t believe how much change can happen in only a few short weeks. When I wrote the last update you were just figuring out how to grab at things and roll over. Now you are rolling all over the place and playing with your toys like an old pro. You have even been trying to work on those beginning crawling stages. You can get your knees up under you and push forward, but you haven’t yet figured out how to get your arms up at the same time. I’m guessing it won’t be long though.

You are getting so much stronger. You want so badly to sit up but you just don’t quite have the back strength to hold yourself up yet. You can sit by yourself for a few seconds, but you lean over far enough that you can chew on your toes. Of course, you may be doing that on purpose because you really seem to like your toes these days.

A few days ago I gave you your first taste of squash (the baby food variety). You weren’t at all impressed with that and screamed at me until I gave you some of your beloved rice cereal/apple juice mixture. I eventually got you to eat a few more bites of squash. The next day you didn’t mind the squash so much. Since then you have also tried sweet potatoes and applesauce and loved them both.

A little over a week ago, we took you on your first trip to Dallas, Texas. You got to meet most of your extended family on Daddy’s side, including your great-grandparents Mama Goodie and Papop Albert. You also got to meet Vivian and Clyde, some friends that are very special to Mommy. I don’t think you got put down more than once or twice the entire time we were there. Everyone wanted to hold you and they were so impressed by how happy you were. The last couple of days in Dallas you did start getting pretty fussy though. At first I just thought it was the change in routine, but then I realized you were teething. A couple days after we got back in town your first tooth finally popped through your gums. The second one seems to be well on its way too.

You are getting more talkative every day. You love to make noise. I love to listen to you gurgle and coo when you are play. You have also started letting out little squeals now and then and I can already imagine you as a teenager squealing for your favorite boy band. This morning you woke up really early and decided that mom and dad needed to wake up as well. You were lying on the bed between us and kept reaching out and hitting us on our faces while babbling on. When I finally woke up enough to pay attention to you, you smiled at me and said something that sounded like, “Ma!” Mama would have been better, but I guess I’ll take what I can get.

Of all of the amazing things you have started doing this month, the very best part of it all has been your laugh. I’ve never heard a better sound in my life. The really great part is that nobody can get you laughing like your big brother. He loves to talk to you in the car on the way home from day care and always gets you laughing. Hearing my two kids giggling together in the back seat is quite possibly the sweetest sound I’ve ever heard. I can only hope that you will continue laughing together for the rest of your lives.

Love always,
Mama