5 months old!

Lately, it seems like every day he learns something new... so why shouldn't his 5 month birthday be any different!? He sat up today!!! He does the ol' tripod trick, and falls after about a minute, but it qualifies in my book!

This week he also started adding consonants to his language. "Neh, neh" is commonly heard when he is whining because he is sleepy, and he has said "da" twice now. He has also found he can make a new sound. He sounds like a bird or pterodactyl. The first day he learned he could do it, he did it ALL day. He has also figured out how to do a razz sound in which he blows spit bubbles too. He has become our form of entertainment!

I started letting him sleep with a blanket about a week ago and he loves to cuddle with it while he sucks his thumb. Then last night I put his Lovie in the corner of his crib, thinking it was out of the way and he probably wouldn't even mess with it. This morning he was cuddling it when I came in to get him up. So sweet. So we've added a blankie and Lovie to sleep time.

Also in the past week he has become attached to his thumb. He sucks it pretty much every chance he gets. Just the other day he was taking a bath and playing with the rinse cup, when his thumb swiped by his mouth. He stopped playing with the cup to suck his thumb... in the bath! Hilarious!

He consistently sleeps 12 hours every night, 8-8. He did it the first time I tried, so I'm convinced he'd have done it sooner if I'd have tried. Oops! He even does well going to bed while we're out, whether pack n play or carseat. He eats 5 times a day, every 3 hours. Still breastfeeding only. I don't plan to start food until 6 or 7 months. Bottle, not so much. He was taking it pretty well when I went back to work at 8 weeks old, but over the summer he only had to take it once a week and he lost the groove. So we're trying to get him back into it in case I need to sub once a week. Mimi has been working with him, but not showing much hope. He'll take one ounce during a day feeding and refuses it before bed. He is napping very well, usually a half hour in the morning, 2 hours at midday, and a half hour in the afternoon.

He is finally amused by the things around him. He loves going to the mall or park to walk, with so much to watch. He LOVES to be sang to! Mommy has had to bust out the oldie but goodies several times a day to entertain. Sometimes he gets a little song AND dance too! He has also found his toes! Fun!

Haircut #2! This time we went official. We went to friend Megan's salon, sat in the salon chair, wore a salon cape, and cut all of his hair. He thought the process got a little annoying after about 3 minutes. He cared more about eating the cape than the haircut. We loved the new look, still a faux hawk, but manicured which made him look like a big boy. Kinda sad, but we're certain it'll grow back in a month! Although trying to keep a 5 month old's hair styled is impossible, so he basically always has bedhead.

Well school started without me this year. It was weird, and a little sad, but I have no doubt I NOW have the best job ever. I plan to work a little to pay for half of Brooklyn's tuition with occasional subbing, and weekly tutoring and art lessons. Brooklyn is at ECS for her 8th grade year (a blessing made possible by the caring ECS staff). She enjoyed having Beck greet her at the end of her 1st day back to school.

Indy Trip

In July we took a mini-vaca to Indy. Woot woot! Never thought I'd be taking a vaca in my hometown, but hey... The reason for the trip was for Beck's doctor appointment at Riley and it just happened to be scheduled the same week as my birthday (did I mention I turned 30!?) and our anniversary; so we did a little celeb0ating too!

So why did we go to Riley? Well when Beck was born we noticed he had an extra hole on his crack- yep on his tush! After we were assured he didn't have two "working" holes, we learned it is called a Sacral Dimple or as I like to call it "sacred" dimple. The definition according to Wikipedia "A sacral dimple or pilonidal dimple is a small hole located just above the buttocks. The name comes from the sacrum, the bone at the end of the spine, over which the dimples are found. More than 2% of babies may have such dimples; almost all of these are very minor. However, it may be a sign of Spina bifida: even so this is usually the spina bifida occulta form which is the least serious kind." So while we were still in the hospital we showed it to the doctor and since it was so deep (couldn't see the ending) the doctor ordered an x-ray which showed no sign of Spina bifida and no spinal problems. Shortly after leaving the hospital we took him to get an ultrasound to see if it was open or closed at the end. The u/s showed it was closed. Then the doctor sent us to a plastic surgeon in town to ask his opinion about if it needed to have a skin graph to keep infection from forming. The plastic surgeon then referred us to Riley, which brings us to our Indy trip! We got great news from Riley. The doctor said because of 3 things: the location, the touch, and the u/s findings, we didn't have to do anything to his dimple. We could close it up if we wanted, for aesthetic reasons basically, but didn't have to and we didn't want to for all the pain it would put him through. She said if it had been higher, closer to the spine, she would have ordered an MRI and been concerned. We are so thankful our baby didn't have to go through any of that! We still will continue to keep our eye on it, looking for any pain that may come from sitting when he is older, and keeping it clean.

While we were in Indy we stayed with Papa Gregor. He hadn't seen Beck since he was born and boy was he surprised at how much he had changed!! He loved spending time with his grandson and praised him for being such a good baby!

We celebrated my birthday with a pool party at Mamaw's, a birthday tradition for me. I had a pool party at Mamaw's pool all growing up, so it was just like old times! Mom brought our FAVE- cakes from Heavenly Sweets (we got one for our wedding cake and since she has ordered them for every occasion- even celebrations in Evansville!). We celebrated with Mamaw and Papaw, Aunt Jamie, Uncle Matt, and their girls, Ellie, Kate, Jenna, and Maddie, Mom and Jeff, Josh, Carly, and Laine. Beck was finally big enough to float on his own in his turtle float- with Dad's help (stuffing him in a lifevest)! Jenna loved styling his hair. She thought combed to the side was best! And when Ellie saw it she said he looked like Prince Charming. So sweet!

Then because of my new discovery with birthday coupons- we ate a birthday dinner at Benihana's. (The best coupon of all- $30 free food! I ordered 4 sushi rolls- free!!) We celebrated with Papa Gregor, bro Josh, wife Carly, and little girl Laine, cousin Brandon and wife Megan.

We spent some time chillin' at Papa Gregor's crib. It was very relaxing. Brooklyn learned to drive on his golf cart and Beck enjoyed the ride too (not with Brooklyn driving!). We mostly enjoyed spending time with Jamie since he had 5 days off work- yay!!

We also celebrated Beck's 4 month birthday! It's amazing how much he changes in just one month! He got 2 new toys for his birthday- a saucer from Mamaw (thanks Thompson girls for the hand-me-downs!) and a jumper from Mimi. They were just in time too! He doesn't enjoy laying down as much anymore- he wants to sit up and see the world, which these allow him to do. He also began rolling like a pro! He had started at 3 months, but now he really has the hang of it and just rolls until he runs into something! Scary for me!! I'm getting a taste of what "babyproofing a house" means!

We can't wait to take more trips as a family! Beck did wonderful! I was so nervous about him sleeping somewhere new, but he did great; slept through the night like a champ! We've already started planning our Disney trip!

Beck's 4 month stats: 15lbs 13oz, 25in