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29 May '12 - 1001 W, 17 I Rafe's 5 Month Birthday

Adik is five months old! Almost to the half-year mark! Where does the time go?

* Mouse over the pictures for captions

So May was an action-packed month, as we mentioned in Yaya's last entry. We did some traveling while the kids' Auntie Jo was here. In this past month Adik went on a couple of road trips, crossed the state line for the first time, and even crossed an international border for the first time! Adik has now been to Indiana and Canada. He took the road trip OK although he hated being alone in the back seat and howled till we were all heartbroken when that happened. But he loved visiting with people, especially when he never got put down and was passed around from person to person. As long as he was full and not sleepy, he was happy to be held and fussed over by any of the family members that he met.

So yes, a very social baby. Yaya is still his favorite - he is still fascinated by her and loves it when she interacts with him. She can consistently make him giggle and squeal happily. She also can make him cry when she's too rough or loud . But Adik will even yell or babble at Yaya to try to get her attention, should she not be paying attention to him. When Jo and I took him to the nearby outlet mall and he was carried about in the baby bjorn, he was totally flirting and checking out the ladies as we walked about. It was quite hilarious.

Adik has definitely learnt to use his hands. He grabs, pulls, pinches, fists and manipulates toys and other things (like Mama's, Yaya's or Papa's hair). Most of these things that he plays with end up in his mouth for a good chew. He likes to play with his hands and stuffs as many fingers into his mouth as is humanly possible. He plays with his feet but has not realized that he can also put his toes in his mouth for an extra oomph! Ah to be young and flexible again! He still loves his owl bed with all the hanging toys and other textural bits on the mat. He rolls around like a champion although he does better rolling from his back onto his front and then gets stuck there. We also introduced him to Yaya's old exersaucer and that has become a huge favorite. He spins himself around in it quite well and determinedly attacks all the toys with his hands. Yaya calls the exersaucer Adik's "brand new car" due to a toy that she thinks looks like a steering wheel. That's what we call the exersaucer now. He also likes to chew on the Dragon Puppet's yellow extremities (little horns and ears). It's really nice to have another station to put Adik in while we get on with things. It's also an added bonus that the "brand new car" keeps him upright and therefore we don't have to worry about Yaya accidentally stepping on him, or god forbid, falling down on him. It's definitely made life easier, and is something Adik loves.

His fingernails grow incredibly fast - I have to trim them twice a week or the child gouges his own face and head. It's really quite alarming how quickly his nails grow and how much he takes it out on himself when he isn't happy. He must be getting enough calcium to cause all this fingernail growth

Adik is still eating well, alhamdulillah. We are down to 1-2 ounces of formula a day and 2 pump-feed cycles a day. He still gets up at night but it's definitely getting better. I'm not quite as exhausted all the time. It will be nice when he finally sleeps through the night - but if he's anything like Yaya, that might be a while. He will be starting on solids soon now! He is drooling like a leaky faucet, going through a few burp cloths a day, but has not yet cut any teeth. His gums are getting harder though (believe me!). It hurts when he chomps down!

Anyway, this is how the darling boy spent his day - he started out by going down with Papa and Yaya, giving Mama a little extra shut-eye:

Then he spends some time in his brand new car:

He comes on Mama to eat and nap while I work. And then he takes a break in his blue chair:

And then some fun on the owl bed:

Papa takes Adik and Yaya outside while Mama eats a late lunch:

He then goes upstairs for more napping and eating while Mama continues with work. Then we take a bath, and go down for dinner and evening festivities with Papa and Yaya. Here are a few last pictures of Adik before he goes to bed:

Happy 5-month birthday, baby boy! We love you!! Y'all come back next month, y'hear?

lil: stay tuned for a family portrait in not too long!

yope: adik is a happy baby and loves to participate in any way that he can

sila - 26 June '12 - 05:40