(written previously)
Charlie
has reached his five month mark! He just keeps on growing. We have
noticed a lot of change in this month between four and five months.
One
of his favorite new “skills” is being able to stand from a sitting
position (with help, of course). When he is laying down, I grab his
hands and pull him to a sit, from there I continue to pull him as he
straightens his legs. It went from a gradual straighten, to an almost
automatic stand as soon as I start pulling his arms when he is laying
down. We cheer for him each time, and he just loves it. He comes up with
the biggest grin on his face. He loves doing it over and over again.
Once he stands, he loves to go straight for my hands with his mouth,
chewing on my fingers that are holding his hands.
He
has also started to really reach for and grasp things. Laying on his
play-mat has really become a fun activity for him, because he is able to
hold and play with the toys that are dangling down.
...just ignore the dirty diaper laying there next to him...see, bad mom...
At
the beginning of the month, I was all excited that he could sit in the
Bumbo, but then I got all freaked out because he started to arch his
back so hard that it looked like he was going to fall right out and onto
his head. He kept doing that for about a week or so, but finally
stopped doing that by the end of the month (or at least not as
frequently).
We
got to hear his first real laughs this month! Such a delight! He is
such a sweet little guy. Great Grandma Arbon was the first person that
was really able to get him to laugh. It was the cutest thing, I couldn’t
stop laughing. About a week later, my mom and Karl were able to get him
to laugh as well. He doesn’t laugh too often, so when he does, it is
super special.
He
is napping so much better now!!! He can nap between one and two hours
now. It is a miracle. I finally realized (came upon some literature)
that recommended that babies do not exceed two hours of wakefulness. By
that I mean, if Charlie wakes up at 7:30, he should already be put back
to sleep by 9:30. With keeping up with that goal and pattern, his naps
have improved tremendously! Before realizing this, I was just putting
him down whenever he was getting fussy, staring off, and rubbing his
eyes...which is fine, since they are indicators of being tired. But it
is actually helpful to start helping him fall asleep before he gets to
those levels of being overtired. It has given me a pattern that is
easier to follow, helped him fall asleep easier, and increased his nap
time. With that said, his night sleeping has suffered a bit. He
continues to wake up once or twice a night. There was a week that he was
waking up every two hours! We were so frustrated and exhausted! It is
so lame that their sleeping can change so quickly.
He
is doing a lot better in his carseat and in stores. It is not such an
ordeal anymore. He might fuss a little bit, but it is not the total
break down anymore that it once was. His baby acne has returned a little
bit...what can’t it just go away!?! I don’t get it! His poor baby
cheeks...oh well, we still love him and still think he is the cutest
thing ever. We still can’t decide what his hair color will end up being.
A lot of the time his hair looks light brown, but when the sunlight
hits it, it looks more red. We think that he will probably have
strawberry blonde hair. His eyebrows are so light that Grandpa Gruber
says he will need to pencil in his eyebrows. Jokes. But seriously, you
can’t even see his eyebrows because they are so blonde.
Charlie had his four month check-up (he always about two weeks behind his actual birth “date”) and these were his measurements:
Length: 26.5 inches - 85%
Weight: 14lbs 15oz - 34%
Head Circ: 42.5 cm - 40%
I
have really started to notice that he can differentiate me from other
people. He has become easier to calm when I hold him, especially
compared to when other people hold him. He seems to be able to roll over
pretty easy (he rolled over from his front to his back four times in
one day, and continues to roll over each day).
He
has become very interested in watching us eat. He will sit there with
his mouth open, watering, and arms wiggling. Sometimes he gets to the
point of eating his own hand. His own feedings have become shorter, he
gets fussy quicker and is easily distracted by things going on in the
room. One of my favorite times of day is after his morning feeding, I
burp him over my knee and he immediately looks for the wall mirror that
is directly across the room from where I am sitting. He is able to find
me in the mirror and always has such a huge smile that spreads across
his face. Love it! Melts my heart! He has also taken to biting that
bottom lip of his. So adorable!
Picture time:
Just turning four months
Wee Willy Winkie
Biting that lower lip
First snow day - October 25th
Visiting/touring BYU campus with Aunt Erin and her cousin Chandra
Another snowy day
Chillin'...sliding out of the swing...time to use those straps.
An amazing side shot of Charlie's double chin...doesn't get more impressive than that!
Charlie's Five Month Photo Shoot (Thank you, Amy!):
Love these pictures, Amy! Heart-melting!
I have other videos of Charlie from our "legit" video camera, but can't seem to get them to upload...I keep getting an error. If I ever figure it out, I will post more videos...but the phone videos will have to do for now.
