5 months

It has been such a nice, quiet month. After months of feeling like I was in a fog, I finally feel like we are fully functioning again and can appreciate all the fun and cuteness that comes along Mason's age.

This month's milestones:
*Sleeping through the night and taking 1 30 minute cap nap in the morning and 2 1 hour+ naps later in the day(whoo-hoo!)
*"Talking" up a storm. He has learned that he can control his voice and he loves to use it. Mainly in the form of squealing. Someone compared it to the sound of a pterodactyl and I agree, if that's really what a pterodactyl really sounded like.
*He discovered his feet and loves to pull on them while I change his diaper.
*When he will go along with tummy time, he does really well with it. He will watch us and bat at toys for a few minutes before deciding he's over it and screams until we flip him over.
*We thought he was going to roll back to belly reaching for me in the crib, but he still can't get that leg thrown over just yet.
*He is obsessed with any teething toy (ok, really anything he can grab on and get to his mouth). He loves to chew on everything.
*He is learning to explore textures. He likes to rub things on his face, like a blanket or stuffed animal, until he gets bored and then he throws it down.
*Still working on those bottom teeth. We thought one was close to breaking the skin, but it almost seems to have gone back into hiding.
*With all the teething drool that he has, he has learned to blow bubbles. It cracks me up, even though he makes a huge mess while doing it.
*He will follow the dogs' movements and loves when they come up and sniff him out. He will also follow Aubrey to some extent, but I think its more to be prepared for an onslaught of "loving" rather than being interested in her.
*First road trip to Raleigh to see the extended family. It was a long weekend for me because he didn't sleep well in the pack and play, but loved getting the extra attention from the family. However, he did great on the car ride there and back and even slept through feeding time on the way home.
*First time in the baby pool and he wasn't sure about it at first, but then he quickly fell in love and splashed away.
*We've moved him to a 4-ish hour feeding "schedule" in the hope it would help him sleep better. We upped his bottle to 6 oz so he is getting the same amount (30 oz total) during the day, just spaced to 5 bottles instead of 6. I use the word schedule in quotes because its more of just a rough guideline that I adjust depending on his naps. Since he is up to 2 hour awake times now, if I know he would need to eat during an upcoming nap, I'll feed him before he goes down, which I think has helped his naps some. I tried a few other routines that I read about in the sleep training books, but basically realizing that his world revolves around 2 hour awake times dictates everything else, including eating. This seems to work for now so we'll stick with it until he changes it up.

Look, Mom. I can chew on Sophie with no hands.

My happy boy

Drool monster blowing bubbles