Happy 5 Months, Natalie!

Weight / Height: Probably about 18.5 lbs, which means she is so fat that when she sits on a rainbow, Skittles pop out!  (My cousin Matt used to say that “fat mama” joke – I still think its funny.)

It's not trick photography - I'm sitting up in this chair by myself this month! Really!

Favorite Toys/Games: Natalie is super curious.  When “standing” in front of someone, she turns 180 degrees to see what else is going on.  She loves folding laundry with Mom (see video at bottom of post) and playing in her activity gym thing while Mom or Dad cooks or puts away dishes.  The octupus that plays music is also a fav.  She loves silly noises – her Daddy can always make her laugh with a goofy sound.  She is outgrowing her swing – its not nearly as entertaining as it once was, and black and white shapes are SO two months ago.  She is fascinated with putting everything in her mouth – Yot the Pot, her fist, Mommy’s shoulder, “Jacob’s Toy”, a ring from the Easter bunny.  There’s also still a lot coming out of her mouth – drool and spit up – especially when doing tummy time.

Hey, what's that over there? If I could only move to go check it out....

Big Accomplishments: About 1.5 weeks ago, Natalie started touching her toes (when she’s laying on her back).  She is only able to muster up a quarter rollover – she gets stuck on her side or loses interest in turning all the way around.  She is able to follow and track noises – and looks at us when we call her name.  With some effort, she is able to grab and hold her toys which, inevitably, end up in her mouth.

"Sorry bumbo seat, I initially misjudged you. You are great!"

Schedule: Natalie usually wakes up around 7 a.m.  She is awake 2-2.5 hours and then goes down for her first of 3 naps.   Bedtime is usually around 6 p.m., and she’ll wake up twice at night to eat.  All in all, its pretty manageable.

Funniest Moments: 1. Natalie still has massive (and LOUD) bowel movements – yep, she’s a Linville.  I have had to say “excuse us” quite a few times at church or in front of friends.  2. When we visited her 3-year-old second cousin Abigail over Easter, Abigail hosted a tea party with everyone.  Natalie was on my lap, and Abigail gave Natalie and me a cup of tea.  Within a few seconds, the tea cup was in Natalie’s mouth… Abigail saw this and promptly said, “I think I’ll have that back”.  Uh oh – Abigail has a little brother coming her way soon.  She is going to have to share a lot!  I’m sure he will want to play tea party soon!  (Unf, we didn’t get a pic with Abigail – she is such a cutie!) 3. My cousin Rachel and her boyfriend Sam baby-sat Natalie last week, so that we could have a date night.  Sam was trying to get Natalie to go to bed, while getting Rachel’s attention so that she would go pick up the pizza.  Sam started making clicking noises with his tongue, which didn’t catch Rachel’s attention, but certainly caught Natalie’s.  He looked own to find Natalie’s open-mouth grin, very glad to see that Sam wanted to play, rather than put her to sleep.

"Hey Dad, I'm five months old today! How many months old are you?"

What we Love about being Parents: Jordan and I knew we’d love being parents, but I’m still surprised by how much we love it.  There are three main reasons why I love it even more than I thought I would: 1) She loves us so much, 2) She brings so much joy to other people (from the pub bartender or the random person walking down the street to her grandmas and Aunt Becky), and 3) She is already her own little person and has her own little personality.

Happy 5 months, Natalie!