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Mackenzie is 5 months old today – amazing! Yesterday, I took Brianna to a play date with her buddies William and Julia, whose Mom just had a baby girl 3 weeks ago. I know my baby girl used to be that small (and that fragile), but it is amazing the difference 4 short months can make! M is the Squirmiest. Baby. EVER. And she is super strong in her legs and neck, which makes for some interesting “wrestling matches” sometimes.

Personality: M is really laid back, unless she is hungry or having tummy troubles (and really, who wouldn’t be?). Otherwise, she just takes it all in. She will demand to be in the same room as everyone else, but is generally content to hang out and watch the shenanigans going on around her. Her favorite activity is watching B. Here they are getting ready to go to the pool.

Sleeping: She sleeps great at school (usually at least 3 naps a day, with one being between 1.5 and 2 hours). She also sleeps quite well at home during the day, and usually takes at least one good 1-2 hour nap in the afternoon. She does not have a consistent schedule in either place, but is generally content to sleep almost anywhere (stroller, car, baby bjorn, swing, boppy, etc.). At night she typically falls asleep in the swing by 8:30-9, and we put her in her cradle for the night by 10:30-11. In general, she wakes up once a night, sometime between 3:30 and 6. The last few days, she has woken up between 5 and 6, and generally goes back to sleep. I can live with this; it is the 3:30 to 5 wakeup calls that are rough. We will put her in her crib as soon as we get the climate in her room under control (probably by this weekend). I am very curious to see if she sleeps better there – the cradle really is getting rather small, and she can’t really roll onto her side there (her preferred sleeping position in her crib at school). When she is having trouble sleeping (or calming down), the pacifier is a big help. But, we never give her the pacifier at night and her teachers also do not give her the pacifier when they put her down for a nap. She generally just falls asleep (and/or occasionally just sucks her thumb).

Eating: She eats like a champ! Still no solid foods, but she has started watching us intently when we eat, so I think she will be ready soon.

Size: She wears 3-6 month clothes, weighs 15 lbs. 2 oz., and is roughly 24.75″ long (these are home measurements, so accuracy is questionable).

Appearance: Her hair is still darkish, but I think it is getting lighter and will result in something closer to mine and Brianna’s. Her eyes are dark, but not a pure brown. Right now, I would still characterize them as dark hazel. She has the cutest little round head, with round cheeks – very much a Gerber baby type face. And she is filling out quite nicely – her legs will soon be those cubby baby legs everyone loves to gush over. Her little finger nails and toe nails are razor sharp and hard to maintain (see squirmy reference below). As a result, she often has scratches on her legs, but she doesn’t seem to care.

Teeth: No teeth yet, but she has been drooling like crazy for a couple of months. She attacks, with great enthusiasm, her cold teething toys. And I do mean attacks…imagine a starving animal presented with food. I keep expecting to hear her growl as she gnaws on them. Whatever you do, don’t put anything delicate in between her and her teething toys!

Cognitive/verbal skills: No words yet, but she talks all the time, using all different kinds of sounds — lots of ahs, rahs, uhs, etc. She also loves to blow raspberries and stick out her tongue to spit. And she is getting really good at laughing. Tickling her generally just results in grunts, but funny faces and crazy shenanigans around her generally result in some pretty good belly laughs.

Physical skills: She is REALLY good at grabbing things and holding on tight (read as keep your jewelry and hair out of her reach…). She also has gotten pretty good at grabbing her bink (when she can see it) and putting it back in her own mouth (yay!!). Her favorite toy is Eli the elephant, and she loves to grab all the various hard, crinkly, etc., objects dangling from Eli and play with them. Often, the hook ends up looped over her arm like a purse. Her feet are a current favorite. She doesn’t seem to stare at them much (never has), but she does love to grab them and play with them.

She can’t quite sit up on her own, but you can prop her in a corner for at least a little bit, and she is getting really good at manipulating her exersaucer toys and spinning around to get to all the different toys. She can roll over from her tummy to her back (and generally does so quickly), and often rolls from her back to her side. She has not rolled over from her back to her tummy, but it is unclear whether that is because she can’t, hasn’t figured it out yet, or just plain doesn’t want to. (She has rolled from her back to her side, and then much later followed that by rolling from her side to her tummy).