Your Royall Blogness: 5 month letter

Dear Baby Blue,

I never lived 'til I lived in your light

My heart never beat like it does at the sight

Of you baby blue, God blessed your life

I do not live 'less I live in your light"

-Avett Brothers, "A Fathers First Spring"

(On your lullabye rotation)

11/10/13 - Topanga Canyon

The very first day of your 5th month you broke a fever from the flu and started to cut your bottom 2 teeth! On the second day of your 5th month you rolled from your back to your tummy for the first time! That was a good indicator of how the month was going to go. You have changed so much this month!

Every day you are doing something new or better. You are reaching out with your hands with a purpose. It is crazy to see you reach for something, grab it, and put it in your mouth like it is no big deal. You have started to cry when we take a toy away from you. Diaper changing has been more challenging. You are always on the move, kicking your legs, scratching the wall, and you want to roll right of the table. You would if we didn't hold you down. I try to distract you with a toy so you don't get upset.

Your nails grow so fast, and I am the absolute worst infant nail trimmer! I have clipped your thumb twice and bit your finger once. It's horrible! I try to wait until you're sleeping, but you are usually on me and the clippers are far away. Not to mention they need to be clipped every other day. I can't keep up! You have scratched yourself a few times. I'm sorry...

One night, I caught you laughing in your sleep in the middle of the night. You were CRACKING up. So was I.

You have started recognizing Leon and trying to play with him. Sometimes he will lick you like crazy, lay right beside you, or just stare at you as you scream in his face. He ALWAYS follows us around and wants to be right by you. Before bedtime, he lays on the rug in front of the rocking chair while I rock you to sleep.

You definitely have your smile down and you flash it pretty often these days. You really show off your two bottom teeth when you grin. My favorite is when you smile so hard that your eyes get squinty and crinkled. Your laugh is pretty funny. It's more of a huh huh laugh as opposed to a ha ha laugh. You are a tough crowd when it comes to getting you to laugh. We can't do the same thing more than a few times in a row to get a laugh before you look at us like we are crazy and force us to come up with more material. You love to laugh at Leon. You like when I hold you high in the air. And you like me to come up with silly sounds, but I can never use the same one!

We went to Vegas to see Gaga and Papa. You are a well traveled little girl so far!

You still take about 3 naps a day or less. Lately, your naps are only lasting at most 45 minutes. This gives me little time to get much done during the days unless I strap you on me in the wrap. You do like to play on your play mat and sit in your bumbo (new this month), but only for limited amounts of time. You like to be strapped to your mommy for the most part. We have continued to put you in your crib around 7:30-8 for bedtime. Sometimes you will go until 6 in the morning, but more often you have been waking up around 1-2. Your daddy always goes to get you out of the crib and brings you to bed with us. you will wake up again around 3-4 and you are up for the day around 6.

You are definitely more interested in the world around you. You get bored and need a change of scenery throughout the day. We go on walks, run errands, go to baby yoga/moms group, or hang with the mama tribe and their babes. You are much more interested in your toys. You are good at grabbing your toys and putting them in your mouth. You are most interested in my iPhone and the remote control. I must be holding these two things too much....You get mad when we take things away from you and you let us know when you are frustrated!

You have learned that you can fake cough. After a real cough you will do a few fake coughs and then laugh at yourself.

You have been going to the chiropractor with me once a week. Everyone there loves you! Dr. Rothman prances you around the office showing you off to everybody. He likes to play baby einstein videos on his iPhone for you while you wait for me. Dr. Rothman was actually the first person you reached out for with your arms. It may have been a fluke, because you have not done it since! The girls at the front desk fight over who gets to hold you too. Everyone you meet falls in love with you instantly. You are so lovable. You are very chill in public and will let anybody hold you and pass you around.

We have been coming into the living room around 8/9 every morning instead of doing your morning nap from bed. You are usually ready for a change of scenery by this point AND it is so much warmer in the living room. The nights/mornings are definitely colder now, so we have been turning the heater on overnight. Our bedroom never gets warm since it is all the way in the back of the house.

Just this morning you went from lounging back in my arm to a sitting position all by yourself! You found your abs! You really hammed it up during your monthly photo shoot. You are definitely recognizing the camera now and love to smile!