Sammy is (Almost) Five Months!

Why does five months suddenly seem like five years? Why does July 16 seem SO long ago??

I can hardly believe that as of Friday, December 16, my little boy will be five months old. His first few months of life, I found myself always rounding up when being questioned about his age, perhaps because I was a little eager for him to get past the itty bitty newborn stage. Now I find myself wanting to round down!

I have a feeling that I'll be repeating myself every month moving forward, but this month has been my favorite month with Sammy thus far. His little personality is really starting to shine through, and I can see a lot of his dad in him. He's become very focused this month, and when in a new situation, he appears to sit back and quietly take everything in. I can already tell that he's going to be very thoughtful (and intelligent!), again, just like his dad.

Of course with that said, this is also the month that Sammy has found his voice. I'm surprised that every dog in a hundred-mile radius is not howling at our door due to Sammy's newfound love of (high-pitched) screaming. He screams when he's happy and jumping, he screams when he's frustrated, and he screams just because. It hurts my ears, but at the same time makes me laugh and laugh.

The smiles also seem to be non-stop lately, especially when Sammy is comfortable. That little gummy (and droolly) smile makes my heart melt. With the increased smiles, this month Sammy also let out his first big belly laugh. For now, the laugh only seems to come once a day, and it only happens when his neck is being nuzzled or - oddly enough - when his shirt is being pulled off. (Mommy hopes this will detract any future girlfriends from making moves on her innocent little boy.) But it truly is the best sound I've ever heard.

Ever since our four-month appointment with the pediatrician, and a few hard nights of letting him "cry it out," Sammy has slept wonderfully! We're no longer feeding him in the middle of the night, and while for a bit, he would still wake up in the middle of the night and need to be soothed, the past few nights he's slept straight through from 7 p.m. until at least 6 a.m.! Needless to say, this has made us VERY happy. Also, as I've gotten much better at making him nap in his crib, and not resorting to driving him around or putting him in the car seat, Sammy's nap skills have improved greatly. We're on a two-hour schedule where he'll play for two hours, nap for an hour or two, play again, and repeat.

Physically, Sammy continues to surprise us all with how strong he is. The height this kid gains in his jumperoo is insane! We've been practicing sitting up, and while his poor posture makes me squirm, he can sit unassisted for quite awhile so long as his hands are touching the ground. He loves to stand (while someone is holding him), and he still loves rolling, though only to one side. He's getting so close to being able to roll from tummy to back, but isn't there quite yet. In the past week he's started forming a sort of tripod, where he looks like he's about to take off for a race, but he gets stuck and isn't quite sure what move to make next. I'm excited for him to learn how to roll both ways, especially as I hate seeing him get so frustrated at not being able to do so right now, but at the same time, I fear what will happen once he becomes so mobile....

Sammy has also found his feet this month. He loves his feet. Perhaps more than his hands at this point. And in regard to his hands, he has recently gone from sticking his entire fist into his mouth to focusing solely on the thumb. After long bouts of trying to roll, he gets frustrated and takes a break while sucking his thumb. It is beyond cute.

Sophie-the-scary-French-overpriced-giraffe-chew-toy is Sammy's best friend this month. (Though I should clarify that Sophie is still behind Mommy, Daddy and various body parts on the favorites scale.) Today Sophie accompanied us on a 2+ hour Christmas shopping trip to the mall and she may be my new favorite shopping partner as Sammy did not make a peep (minus one loud shriek in Banana Republic) the entire time!

Perhaps the biggest and most important event of Sammy's fourth month of life, however, was his christening, which occurred this past weekend. I'm not the type to get overly schmaltzy, but it was a very proud day for James and I, as parents. Sammy wore the same christening gown that his dad and uncle wore - a gown that was actually made by James' grandmother - and he wore a little bonnet that James' dad wore. Ribbons and all, he could not have been any cuter. Making things even more special, our favorite priest (the same one who presided over our wedding) conducted the event. Sammy was so well behaved the entire day, and I just can not describe how happy we were to have our family and friends all together to celebrate our little boy.

Finally, I can't NOT mention another big event that coincides with the day Sammy turns five months - his grampy's birthday!