Monthly Newsletter, Month Five

Dear Nate,

I cannot believe you are five months old. I can't decide if I would freeze time if I could, to keep you here at this age, but I think I'd let you keep growing up. Each week with you gets even better.

Okay, if I'm being truthful, there are a few things about this particular age that are driving me a little crazy. It's the first time I've thought to myself "I can't wait for him to grow out of that!" Here are the things I would like for you to quit doing, pronto:

1) Putting every single thing that you can get your fingers on into your mouth. Reading to you is impossible because you just want to gum the book; Daddy and I have to hold the book futher away than you can reach just to be able to get through the story. Dressing you is an exercise - you grab the cloth from the inside of the sleeve and yank it into your mouth. When we're bathing you, you spend most of the time angling to get your hands on the washcloth so you can, what else, shove it into your mouth.



Other times you'll reach for my hand, and I'll think "awwwwwwww, how cute" and then you start hauling my finger towards your open mouth.



Playing with you is impossible - there is no game for you which doesn't involve putting every toy, book, game, block, finger, toe, hair, clothing, and doll into that beautiful mouth of yours. Sometimes it's hard to know what to do with you during the day!

(The cute thing about your putting everything in your mouth is that until recently you mostly pushed things in with the backs of your hands, which isn't a particularly successful way to do it. In the last few days, you've starting to angle things straight in, making for a much more gratifying chew.)

2) Chewing on my fingers. Yes, it's a related point to the one above, but it deserves it's own entry. It just drives me crazy. I know you love it, and I love making you happy so I let you (most of the time), but I'm always covered with spit and drool and I just don't like it.

3) When you're tired, and I put you in your warm, soft, cozy, clean crib, GO TO SLEEP. You are darn lucky to be able to nap during the day, whenever you want, and I'm ready for you to start appreciating that. If you're tired, GO TO SLEEP. STOP CRYING. IT MAKES NO SENSE. There has not been one nap, outside of the car or stroller, that you have taken without crying yourself to sleep. You only cry for a few minutes, I'm not torturing you, but goodness! I'd cry with joy to be able to take a nice long nap.



That's really it! I pretty much adore everything else about you.

Here's proof of how much I adore you: I made you homemade organic baby food. I swore I would never be one of those Moms who does this, and yet I did. Truth be told, it was more about saving money than it was about nurturing your soul with homemade food, but whatever. Hand over the brownie points. I did feel good when you gobbled them down MUCH faster than you ate the store-bought stuff.

We had started you on baby rice cereal a few weeks ago in hopes of your sleeping longer at night. That did not come to pass, at least not as a result of the cereal. So I quit giving you the food and let things be. But last night, Grandma Jill and I took you with us to get a sandwich. You stared at that sandwich as I ate like it was the most exciting sandwich in history. You kicked your feet and grinned at my sandwich. If you had been big enough, you would have knocked me over and grabbed my sandwich away from me. I knew it was time to go back to giving you some food.

We knew you were excited when you did your stiffening routine. When you're happy or excited about anything, you back stiffens up like a board, and your arms stick straight out. You pant a little, too, and your eyes get really wide. If you looked up "alert" in the dictionary, there would be a picture of you all keyed up.



You really like your food. A few bites into your meal, when you've figured out what's going on, you start opening your mouth and grunting at us to hurry up and give you more! The second the food passes your lips, you're opening your mouth for more. This goes on until you get tired, at which point you suddenly start crying. One second you're egging us on to hurry, and the next you're crying.





It takes you a little while to warm up to new places and people. You don't cry, but you STARE. I took you to visit Grandma Jill at work last week, and you stared at everyone and everything without breaking a smile even one time. It's a little embarssing for me, especially when people are going through gymnastic routines just to try to coax a smile out of you. But you will not be swayed when you're in that kind of mood. You take your own time about things. I like that.



You're starting to sit up now. You really startled your pediatrician when you were able to sit up at your four-month checkup, and she is not an easily startled woman. If you turn your head to look at something, you fall over, but you can definitely balance a bit!

You love kicking your feet. When I put you down on the changing table or the activity mat, you just kick, kick, kick with a happy smile on your face. Seeing you like that, content and happy, makes me feel like Daddy and I are doing something right in raising you.



And my days of being able to put you somewhere and turn my back are over. Very over. You started rolling over with regularity a few days after your four-month checkup, and you're a regular at it now. The other day you rolled from back to front, and then kept right on going and rolled over onto your back again! You looked very pleased with yourself.

And the neat thing was that you performed this trick in Boston, while your Aunt Fleeka was getting you dressed. You took your first flight this month, and you were very, very good. Only a few minutes of crying each way, and I think that was exceptional for your first time. The stewartdess gave you a plastic pin of wings to celebrate your first flight!

Aunt Fleeka, Uncle Michael, Simon, and Jamie had a wonderful time having you visit. We even went and saw Aunt Susan and Katherine for dinner one night. I can't wait until you're older and can really play with all of your cousins. You're going to have so much fun with them!

Every day, we take time to play on my bed. I throw you up in the air, and give you rides on my legs. We lay next to each other, and I tickle you and sing to you. Sometimes we're face to face, just a few inches away, and we just smile at each other.

You're really becomming, Nate. You're starting to have real preferences, and to really interact with the world. Daddy came home from work tonight and saw you in the bathtub and said "Wow, he's really getting big." You're not an infant anymore, and I already miss you. I know that's crazy, but that's just how I feel.



During the day you're sometimes in your exersaucer playing, or hanging out in your vibrating chair. I look over at you, you see me, and a huge grin breaks out across your face. You make me so happy, Nate. I love you very much.

Mama