Happy, happy 5 months, Miriam!

Wow, you have hit many fun milestones this month! You have learned to confidently roll from your back to tummy (11.11), and timidly roll from tummy to back (around 11.13) – you still like help with that part but you are trying. Early, early this month you also began to reach up/arch your back for Mommy (and others) when they reach down to pick you up. So cute! You celebrated Mommy’s 38th birthday on the 17th with her – you of course are her very best gift but you, Daddy, Brendan, and Aubry also got Mommy the second-best gift ever: the new Foo Fighters album, Sonic Highways!

One of your biggest moments this month was starting to eat table food. Your first food was bananas on Nov 21st, followed a few days later by rice cereal. You made some funny faces at first and didn’t really enjoy the slower process of eating (v drinking milk) but after a few days you must have realized how yummy food is because you began to eat like a champ!

On Nov 26th, you helped Mommy and Daddy celebrate their 5th Anniversary (which is actually on Nov 27th but that was Thanksgiving this year) by agreeing to stay with our friend, Jenny, and her 4 boys for a couple hours so Mommy and Daddy could have a nice dinner out. You did great and showed them how you could roll over! You’re a star at staying with others – you’ll go to anyone with a big smile but you do miss Mommy sometimes. A couple Sundays ago, Mommy left you at Baby Boulevard in Kids City at church while I attended the celebration service. When I went to pick you up, you were super-sad like you just knew Mommy wasn’t taking care of you. You even did the ‘catch in your throat’ sad cry 🙁 Mommy was so glad when you relaxed and calmed down!

Since October, you’ve been staying with a neighbor and friend from church, Sae, for a couple hours on Tuesday mornings while Mommy volunteers at Restore. You are really good at being away from Mommy for a couple hours already. And, you love to stay with Daddy when Mommy has Exchanges (for GOEX). The only time you really want just Mommy is at night. Your bedtime routine seems to require Mommy so far, but we’re working on that 😉

In early December, you had your first sick visit to the Doctor. You contracted pink eye somehow so we’ve been putting eye drops in for about a week and it’s clearing up just fine – although you do NOT like the drops! On a fun note, last TH/Dec 4th, Mommy was playing with you in your bouncer and you buzzed your lower lip really quietly. Just like your personality, you were so gentle, Mommy almost missed it – it was very cute! You are continuing to explore the feeling of making that and other noises with your mouth. It seems your first consonant is “g”, as in “guh”. We’ve been working on simpler sounds like “da” and “ma” but it seems you have a mind of your own 😉 We’ve also been working on some sign language this month: you are learning to sign for ‘milk’ and ‘more’, and seem to be understanding the sign for ‘milk’ sometimes already. We’re very excited to be able to communicate with you in other ways besides crying and smiling!

You also got your first library card on Dec 5; you just wanted to eat it.

Miriam, you are growing and changing so quickly. Sometimes, I feel like you change before my very eyes! You show us so much joy every day – you truly are our sunshine and we could not imagine our lives without you. Your sweet, gentle personality seems to most enjoy playtime one-on-one with another but you do tolerate big crowds in small doses. You are starting to enjoy peek-a-boo and are beginning to realize that objects exist even when you can’t directly see them. We are looking forward to every moment as you move towards your next big milestone – 6 months old!!

Miriam Elayne, you are our brave, sweet, beautiful, and smart girl! You are our beloved sunshine!