5 Months Old

Micah is 5 months old now. And a couple of days. Days still count at this age, right?
It's crazy how much he develops every single day. I feel like I say this all the time, but it's true, and I don't know that I will ever stop being amazed.
One day he looks at his hands as if he has just discovered that they are attached to his arms. The next day he realizes that if he has a noisy toy in his hand, he can make it noisy but moving his hands! WOW! What a great discovery. And it really does happen overnight!
Now he is grabbing just about everything, so watch out! Hair (that is still attached), cups, skin, blankets, toys, and on and on...gotta get on that whole baby-proofing process I suppose.
He is also starting to roll a little more, from his back to his stomach. Then he just plays on his stomach for a while after that.
He is much more aware of the people who are around him. The toys that have always been around him are just now coming alive to him.
He is getting more excited about kicking in the bathtub, and he even enjoys being rinsed off with the movable shower head.
He is still sleeping great through the night (as long as he is in his "straight jacket" of a swaddle). Nap times are not as easy. He often goes down for them OK, but can't figure out how to get himself back to sleep when he wakes in the middle. Still working on that one.
He has also just started doing really well with cereal this week. Which could also be the cause of not pooping for week. He just suddenly became interested, I mean really interested in what we are eating and drinking. And, with a little help from Grandma, has gotten pretty good at eating cereal about once a day. Can't wait to try new foods!!
Man, all this new stuff, within just a few days! It blows me away sometimes. It blows me away a lot. It still blows me away that this kid is even mine. And I love every minute of it!!

Those Little Feet

I love it, those little feet flailing all over the place! That is when I know he is really excited about something.
It's been happening a little more recently as he is beginning to take more interest in other people, especially other babies. But mostly it happens when he is simply entertaining himself. And this is great! That he can entertain. himself!
And I think he has monkey toes like me. He is always curling them, and one day when they get a little longer I think he will be able to grab things with them. How can people be so disgusted by feet? They are SO cute and so very useful!!!
I think one of my favorite parts about wrapping him up at night is his little legs sticking out, crossed at the ankles, waiting for the final step of swaddling for bed. SO cute!

When does it end?

Micah pooped yesterday!
YAY!
Are you offended by this?
Actually, he pooped twice! How exciting?!
Once while watching Baby Einstein (of course. it had been a few days and we decided to step in.) and once while playing in a bouncy seat. Do you realize how much messier a diaper can get when it is used to capacity and then bounced in over and over and over again.
Grossed out yet? Not me. This is one of the most exciting parts of my day. Not the actual clean up process. But it is exciting knowing that this has got to be a relief for him.
Isn't it funny how some of the things we get most excited about in the life of a baby are the things that we refuse to talk about as adults! Going to the bathroom pretty much accounts for 1/3 of a baby's life, and yet, we refuse "bathroom talk" with our peers. When does it move from exciting to extinct? From something to share to something to hide?
And what about burping and farting? Baby's are gassy, but to me it is a thrill to know he is getting this gas out! Maybe not a thrill to smell it, as he does take after his dad in this area, but a thrill nonetheless.
As I sit in the "nursing mother's" room on Sundays at church we congratulate other babies when they have a good belch after a meal. "Good job" can been heard from most every other mother in that room. Until when? When does this stop. When do we start to train our kids that holding in the gas and getting a stomach ache from it is the appropriate thing to do. When am I supposed to stop getting a cheap thrill over his ridding of gas and fluids? It's the rhythm of life, right? Eat, sleep, poop, eat some more...
I can tell my baby is much more pleasant after he's had a good burp from his meal, and especially after he's had a good poo...would we be more pleasant if we were more willing to let it out when we needed to? I'm not saying I want to be smelling everybody's bodily functions everywhere I go. But maybe we need to be ok with allowing ourselves a little room to rid our body of the things that should not be rotting inside. I know a girl who says she NEVER burps or passes gas (that would be her proper way of saying fart)! Really? NEVER? How can that be? I just don't think that is healthy! I think she'd be much happier if she would let it all loose:)

Learning to eat cereal

For about 2 weeks we have been attempting to feed Micah some cereal. Started with some very bad attempts followed by learning to be OK with the spoon, followed by more attempts to eat cereal again. Here are the past two days of learning how to eat cereal with a spoon.

Micah's new favorite toy

Yes, this is yet another picture of Micah sitting in his car seat while dirtying his pants to the tune of, none other than the great Baby Einstein. It really works! Every time! Try it. It may help that he gets really excited, and legs up to chest always helps to relieve pressure in the belly...

This is also a picture of Micah's favorite new toy.

Not the chair.

Not the video.

His feet! They are great! They are free of charge (which goes along with our spending fast I talked about over here).

And he LOVES them!

Mr. Independent

Micah has recently decided that he is very much OK with hanging out by himself. And I am SO OK with this!
We may put him under his play gym with his favorite star making music, but he will often continue to lay there when the music ends, rolling to the side and playing with the mat. Other times we put him down for a nap in another room only to hear him quietly rustling around in the crib or pack-in-play. I am very excited for this!
A couple of times he has even fallen asleep on the floor mat of his play gym. He just played until he got tired and then fell asleep! How blessed are we?! I LOVE this kid!!
HAHA, he is doing this exact thing while I am sitting here typing, as if he knows what I am saying about him and he again wants to prove what a great kid he is for us!

Outdoor Chores

Micah got the opportunity to help with more chores tonight, and this time, outside. He started by taking his first trip to Lowe's with daddy. Then he helped fix the lawn mower, helped mow the lawn, helped with tilling the soil and also with watering the grass. It was a very eventful evening for him. He cooed a lot, talked, laughed, smiled, played with his toes and sucked on his fingers a LOT...all signs that he was thoroughly enjoying himself!!