5 months of Grace

Happy 5 months my sweet girl! What a fun month this has been with you...

Physical

You may find this hard to believe, but those of us who live with Grace think that her cheeks got slimmer this month. I know, I know. She still has much to offer in the cheek department. But it seemed like overnight she looked different to all of us. She is growing more hair on top, but still not enough to style or hold accessories ;). She also has had a bottom tooth that I have been able to feel for about a month that is not coming through, but with which she likes to bite things.

Eating

Mommy's milk is still her main food, but we ended up starting solids this month! She just all of a sudden seemed interested in our food, and we thought, what the heck? It was much less emotional for me to start solids for Grace than it was for Jonathan. First time moms are weird. Anyway, she loves eating. She's only had sweet potatoes and bananas so far (oh, and that one spoonful of peanut butter I talked about last post), but she has been eager for whatever we offer her. She's getting the hang of it too, opening her mouth when I hold the spoon up and actually swallowing what goes in her mouth. Oh, and this time around, I have just blended up food that we had at the house, instead of buying baby food, which has been nice. Nice to know what is going in her, nice to not have to buy 100 little jars, nice to be able to modify the textures easier. Nice.

Looking suspicious

You want me to do WHAT with that spoon??

Surprisingly satisfied

Sleep

Bedtime has moved from 5 or 5:30 to 5:30 or 6. Woot! Wake up time is between 5 and 6. Shooting for 2-3 feedings during the night, doing some CIO if necessary to get her to go at least 4 hours. We get the hang of things for a while, then we have a couple funky nights. She's napping 3-4 times throughout the day. I haven't gotten the hang of a schedule for her during the day yet. I think that happened around 6 months for J, so maybe it's coming for Grace too. We've noticed that she's now better able to sleep during her "hard" times, like late afternoon (which has allowed bedtime to move back) and early morning. She can also stay up a little longer at a time, sometimes making it 2 or 2.5 hours between naps. Again, woot!

I took a phone survey about Grace recently and they asked about amount of TV viewed in the past week. I answered about 10 minutes, max, because truly I thought she had never even watched TV.
Then I saw this pic on my photo stream. Two words: Daddy Day. 

Personality

Jon asked the other day, "Does Grace ever cry?" Ha! Certainly she does, but you wouldn't know it unless you shared a room with her. She really only cries when she is tired. She is so happy and sweet and adaptable and excited about life. She has become much more aware of her surroundings, and will crane her neck to see what is going on in the room, even when she is latched to her mother. Usually what is going on in the room is Her Brother, who is very interesting to Grace. I'm finding ways to make her giggle more, but she is still less generous with the laughs than J was. Also, we find it hilarious that she forgets to smile when she is laughing. She makes the giggling sound, but kind of winces her face like maybe she is in pain? Maybe she is. I just love love love seeing her sweet little personality come out more every day. I so enjoy her company and her easy disposition is a good example for me.

Hm what should I do with this train on my belly?

Bite it, definitely.

Development

Grace is interacting more with toys, but won't really reach for them yet. She also still hates tummy time and lately has taken to just laying her head on the floor rather than even attempt to hold it up. She is close to sitting on her own. Her babbles are taking the form of syllables, like bababa and mamama. She knows who we all are, and if you say, "Grace where is Mama/Daddy/Jonathan/Susu" she will turn and look at the correct person. She also is getting better at mimicking our sounds or sometimes silly faces like sticking out your tongue.

I LOVE the faces she makes while she's having a conversation:

She tries to imitate blowing raspberries, but sometimes it takes her a while to get the hang of it:

Sibling stuff

Today she was smiling and laughing at Jonathan more than she has before. I love watching their relationship grow. They certainly aren't actually playing together yet, but I can definitely see them interacting more and more, with her being more interested in what he is doing. So far they get along great! :)

Grace was contentedly doing cute things on her playmat, until of course I turned the camera on. Then she just stared at it. But she gets excited again as soon as Jonathan comes over:

Cuties riding in the wagon. 

Mommy time
The word Grace has been a significant one for Jon and I through the years. It was the theme we wanted for our wedding, since the grace of God had been so powerful in our lives up to that point. And of course it continues to be, so much so that we both loved Grace as a name to bestow upon our daughter. Sweet girl, do you know what your name means? It means patience. It means forgiveness. It means acceptance and love. I can see you growing into your name more and more. You are so patient and forgiving of Mommy when I just can't figure out what is going on. You accept all of us just as we are. You seem to accept yourself too, and seem so comfortable in your own skin already. You are an example to me, my Grace, of knowing who you are and being very ok with it. I love watching you grow and become the Grace you are meant to be. And you are only 5 months. Just wait until you are 5 years or 15. Yikes. Mommy gets teary thinking about watching you grow that long, so I better stop this post. I love you so much.