Five months

Well Layden you are 5 months old now. This last month has been full of changes. You are now starting to eat solid food and on the whole you think it is pretty cool. Now anything that mommy or daddy is eating out of or drinking from you want some too. You even wanted bath water when I pretended to drink it from the cup I was using to rinse you. Applesauce is pretty good, you like gnawing on dried papaya and after the tiny bit of her vanilla icecream that mommy gave you you have already decided that ice cream might actually partially make up for leaving the womb.
You have also decided that baths might not be so bad now that you have discovered splashing. Splashing is huge fun for you and makes up for the fact that mommy dumps water all over your head.
You also are beginning to like books. Especially mommy's books. They may be a bit heavy reading for a five month old and don't have too many pictures but the cover is generally pretty interesting and mommy seems to like them. You also enjoy Find the Duck, Inside, Outside, Upside Down, Dr. Seuss's ABC's, and The Very Hungry Catepillar. You might enjoy others, but mommy doesn't so until you are old enough to pick them out on you own that's what you get.
You think your appendages are pretty cool and shame your mommy with your flexibleness (not your daddy, he's practically a pretzel). Your feet are quite tastey or even just fun to grab when mommy is changing your diaper. But your hands are where the excitement is really at. This month they have begun to do what you want them to. Toys now go into your mouth rather than an eye or an ear. In the last few days you have realized that the two sides of your hands are different. You will hold your hand in front of your face then turn it to look at the other side, then turn it back, then turn it again. You stop when you realize we are watching you but it is too late. It reminds me of the Simpson's episode where Homer is prescribed medical marijuana and while he and Otto are smoking Otto looks at his hands and says "They call them fingers but you never see them fing... oh, there they go"
You sit up pretty well on your own now and are slowly developing your mobility skills. Once you realize that all the things you do when combined will allow you to go where ever you want and play with all of those things we take away, I will no longer have concerns about getting too little exercise.
Your favorite toy this month is plastic bags. NOT that we let you play with them but you hear one rustling and your little eyes light up. If we are holding you and one comes with in your line of sight you lunge for it. Once you start moving we will have to lock up cleaning supplies, medicine and plastic bags. Plastic bags may even require the highest security.
Let us not forget teeth. You have one poking out just enough to be seen and there it remains.One day it seemed to trouble you a good bit and there was much crying. But when I took you crying outside you happily stopped crying and looked at the grass.
You have refined your not inconsiderable talents at being incredibly cute and bringing amazing amounts of happiness to your mom and dad. We walk into the room you are in and you look up at us and smile. We smile at you and you smile. You love mommy's singing and however grumpy you may have been all day with mommy, daddy gets home and you smile. You have the most amazing smile. Your smile makes everything better and lets you get away with anything from waking me up too early in the morning to some of the yuckiest diapers I have ever seen. You are the most amazing, beautiful thing I have ever seen and that will never change.