Beware of Sudden Movement

Being home with Avery all day, every day, I get to see every step on the way to the big milestones. I can tell you in detail the many steps it takes to get to something as monumental as "Grabs for Objects." (Step One: Fists accidentally unclench about once a week. It's a 5-month-long process.) Something as simple as a laugh starts with those first accidental sleeping smiles. Rolling over starts with those first screaming sessions during tummy time when baby can barely lift the head, and it finally culminates with mom holding her breath waiting for that final push that sends the baby from stomach to back. (Complete with mom shifting and jerking her body to one side to help with the momentum, much as you do in bowling.)

But then there are skills that show up with no warning whatsoever. And then all of a sudden, your "safe place to put the baby" is "baby prison that must be escaped." Here I've compiled a series of pictures from my phone showing Avery making the decision to jailbreak.



Had I not intervened, I'm convinced she would have made it to the kitchen. I'm going to be in so much trouble very soon.

A Whole Hand's Worth of Months Old

The baby girl is 5 months old today! I can't even believe it; where does the time go; blah blah blah.

When she can read and go online in a few months, she'll be pissed about some of the unflattering blooper shots I've posted. And the vomit pictures. But this adorable picture has to make up for that, right?

Highlights at the moment? Babbling. Grabbing things and putting them in her mouth. Spitting up a ton less but drooling a ton more. We need fewer burp cloths at the ready, but now she's never without a drool-catching bib.

My favorite thing? Her little laugh. Without fail, she'll laugh when I sing "(Shake, Shake, Shake) Shake Your Booty." And when Alan says "Ho Ho Ho." I have no shame in what I'll do to get her to laugh. Wouldn't you do anything for this?

We're still getting the sleep thing figured out. Sometimes she'll sleep in her crib with no problem. Other times she gets all screamy as soon as she senses she's being laid down horizontally and OH MY GOD, WHERE DID MOM GO? I can only let her cry so long before I give up and climb into her crib with her. JUST KIDDING. But compared to those first months of getting up every two hours? I'm sleeping well, thank you.

At 5 months, she's wearing anything from 6- to 12-month clothing sizes. And while she is in the heavyweight division for her age, she's not exactly tall. Yet if it's anything footed, she grows out of it lengthwise well before she fills it out anywhere else. But if it's pants, they have to be ridunkulously long to fit her in the waist.

I do love how the pant length makes her look footless. May just put her in dresses from now on to avoid the problem. Also, check out how she's sitting on her own (for two seconds until she tumbles over)!

Hands: So Much Better Than Sliced Bread It's Ridiculous

Ever since Miss Aves discovered her hands, they've been her favorite playthings. Rattles and teethers are fine and dandy, but why play with those when hands are always there for you? She doesn't really suck her thumb. Instead, she jams her thumb into her mouth and gums it. Then when she's bored of her thumb, she'll go for several fingers at a time. Sometimes a fist. Sometimes a fist and her other thumb. Sometimes her fist and several other fingers. Sometimes both fists.

So I have a million pictures of her doing this:


And this:



And this:


And sometimes those little fingers would get jammed just a touch too far down the throat. And she'd gag a little. And I'd try to reason with her. I'd say, "Look. One of these days you're going to make yourself throw up."

But did she listen?


You just cannot reason with a 4-month-old.