5 Months Old!

It's May and that means that Piper is 5 months old today!

We have had another exciting month with our little miss and watching her grow.   This month has been all about the mouth and discovering the noises that she can make and things that she can put into it!

She is a screamer!  Not an unhappy scream, just a "I'm going to scream just because I can" kinda thing.  She also loves to babble, coo and shriek with excitement.  She has just started to make a new gasping sound when she is amused or excited too.  We heard her very first belly laughs this month and none of us can get enough of that sound.  There are some pretty silly lengths that we are willing to go to get some baby chuckles. 

 Stretching out her lungs during our photo session!

 

She so very active now and long enough that her feet finally touch the floor in her exersaucer.  She loves to bounce and play with the toys!  We are definitely seeing her get stronger and more and more ready to move.  Piper can easily turn herself around and flip over in both directions.  When she's on her belly she tries so hard to get some forward motion by sticking her little bum up in the air and pushing off of her knees.  I am no where near ready for her to crawl though, so I am trying to discourage this type of effort right now. 

She has become so much more interested in her toys now and has really good control over her hands to grab them, pull them and put them into her mouth.  Everything goes in her mouth!  She's been teething for the past couple of months now and even though we can't see them yet they are definitely close and she is a little bit of a drool fountain sometimes. 

This sticker is delicious!

Piper loves to touch faces and we are amazed at how gentle her touches are.  She will hold faces in her two tiny hands or just reach out an stroke our cheeks...I love it!  She has discovered Riley's baby dolls and she is fascinated by them.  Her fave so far is LaLa who only just a little bit smaller than she is. 

Sleep has been in short supply for she and I this month.  Her nighttime sleep has been pretty erratic going anywhere from as long as 3 hours stretches to as little as 45 minutes and that means that most of my sleep is spent with Pipey laying across my chest or nestled in my arms.  I am definitely getting some good baby snuggles, but am feeling a little sleep deprived lately.  Despite the nightly circus, she has been showing us a little bit of sleep pattern and it is definitely helpful to have the start of a routine for nap and bedtimes.  She is has a couple of predictable sleepy times during the day and I am able to lay her in her bed for the morning nap, the afternoon is a little trickier because we are sometimes on the go with preschool.  This feels huge to me because it was nearly impossible to get Riley to stay asleep once we laid her in her crib, so I will gladly take any independent sleep that Piper has to give.  At night she is ready for to be put to bed at about 7:30 and will usually last in her bed until Kris and I head to bed.  Unfortunately for the momma who loves sleep, this baby is not the morning sleeper that Riley is.  Usually she is up somewhere between 6:30 and 7:30 where Riley can sometimes doze as late as 10:00. 

Riley continues to amaze us with her big sister skills.  She is kind and patient to her baby sis and is a great help to us in keeping Piper entertained at times when she gets bored or fussy.  Piper especially loves when Riley sings to her (her fave is twinkle, twinkle), plays peek-a-boo and she laughs hysterically when Roo falls down for her.   These girls are the best!

Riley and Piper posing with the Moose at the museum