5 Months Old

(I fixed this post & added more pictures/text...)

He's getting too big! Our little Max is already 5 months old. He's no longer a newborn, cuddled in our arms. He loves to sit up (with help), grab things, smile and giggle, pay attention to his big brother, pet the dog, and all those things that bring him one step closer to being a big boy.

He is totally fascinated by the TV. While I remember a tiny Alex staring at the lights on the TV, I don't recall him being so totally captivated by it the way that Max is. If the TV is on, Max will stretch and twist his little body until he can see the TV...even if it means hanging upside down in my arms. Silly baby!

Max was sitting in the Bumbo one afternoon while I cleaned the kitchen. Alex was watching George, but he walked over and sat down with the baby, holding Max's hand while he watched. It was so cute! I missed the hand-holding, but I did get a picture of the two boys watching together. (And, NO, I don't encourage Max to watch TV. It just kind of happened on this day.)

Max has a happy "squeal" that could break glass! It's the cutest noise, but it's LOUD! He'll just happily squeal over & over again when he's in the right mood. I need to catch it on video some day just to remember it!

Max still only rolls one direction - from back to belly. He rolled from his tummy to his front only once, and that a few months ago. If he's left on his tummy, Max either screams or falls asleep. Eventually he'll figure it out, I'm sure!

He has no teeth yet. He loves to chomp on my fingers, but I see no evidence of teeth coming in yet.

Still no solid foods, although I'm thinking about it still. We've got a box of rice cereal in the cabinet, and I've got bananas in the house, so we've got options when I finally cave in and feed the kiddo. (Well, actually, I lie. Max had a small lick of applesauce from the tip of my spoon at dinner one night. He didn't know what to think of it, but he didn't seem to dislike it as much as Alex's first taste of applesauce!)

He's going backwards in the sleep department in the past few weeks. Morning nap is shorter (30 minutes some days) and afternoon nap is never longer than 2 hours, usually broken by a 5 minute crying session in the middle of that. I'm trying to get him back on track by staying home and letting him nap in his crib as much as possible. Max is still going to bed between 8/8:30 pm most nights and waking around 7/7:30 am with (usually) one feeding in there. Sometimes 2, but the second waking is around 6 AM, so I can't complain.

Here's Max in our playroom. Since Alex wants to spend time up here, Max is up here a lot more often these days. He's pretty content with his Bumbo & a basket of baby toys.

He enjoys sitting in his high chair and playing with toys while I do dishes or cook.
I would love it if someone designed suction toys that actually stayed in place!

This was his very first time in the Jumperoo. Alex "helped" him learn about the toys. Max is now the Jumperoo man...he LOVES to play in his jumperoo!

We dedicated Max at our church on Sunday, January 17th. Leanne took pictures during the service, but I forgot to do a family picture. We may have to wear the same clothes next Sunday & just "pretend". (Yes, I'm that dumb...)

Max slept through the whole experience. Along with Max, our friends Dave & Christy dedicated their baby, Caedmon, and another grandmothe and mother dedicated baby Willow. Dave, Christy, and Caed are in this picture.

Here's us - zoomed in & grainy because the photo was taken from a distance.


Here are a few "after" pictures with family, taken at our house. We had Alex's birthday party on the same day, so we had a BUNCH of family at our house for lunch.

Grandma S (and Max's new bear from Uncle Dave & Aunt Janice)

Uncle Dave

my niece, Danielle


Grandma P


Aunt Leanne


Aunt Deb, who put him to sleep TWICE...must be a boring lady! ;)

Me, Mom, Max

(Don't you like our taste in clothing? Mom & I match. Oops.)

Gotta love the chubby cheeks!

my niece, Emma

Oh, and here's a picture of the brothers playing together with Mama very close by to supervise this dump truck ride! How I wish they will always play this nicely together, but...uh...they're boys. I expect it won't always be smiles and giggles around here, so we'll enjoy it while it lasts!