"You Are My Sunshine" {5 Months}

Carly is 5 months old!  She is still the perfect little size although quickly becoming heavier and longer!  There are so many new things in her life from her 4 month update, so I think I will have to bullet point them!  Her schedule has remained the same as it was a month ago, still eating every 2.5 hours and sleeping only 30 minutes at a time.  We had a week where she slept for longer, but have concurred that it was just a growth spurt.  She sleeps longer when she needs it, and otherwise wakes up happy and playful.  She goes to bed every night at 10pm, wakes up at 6am, we shush her back to sleep until 7am when she nurses and goes back to sleep with me in my bed until 9am.  I thought I was going to stop letting her sleep with me in the mornings, but she just loves it and so do I.  It's been the perfect mommy-Carly time and I will FOREVER cherish all these mornings I've gotten to have her curled up in my arms.  It hasn't negatively affected any other time...she still sleeps in her own crib for 9 hours each night and goes down well for naps and at bedtime.  It's really great and one of my favorite parts of being her mom.  I look forward to those two hours every morning!  She naps at 11:30am, eats at noon, naps at 2:15pm, eats at 2:45pm, naps at 4:45pm, eats at 5:15, naps at 7:30pm, eats at 8pm and we begin her bedtime routine at 9:45pm ending with a bedtime bottle at 10pm.  She is eating 28-30 ounces per day and has developed a nice bit of chub on her.  She's not a chubby baby, however, and I love that.  I think babies hit their ultimate cuteness around 6-8 months, and I can see that she is getting to that place:

Other things we adore about our little Carly:

-She is incredibly flirtatious and has the most precious little grin while she bats her eyes and dives into the chest of whoever is holding her.  It's the sweetest thing and makes people feel really good.

-She scarfs her food down so fast these days!  Her record bottle is 6 minutes and record nurse is 10 minutes!  Sometimes I feel like she hasn't gotten enough so I will continue to offer and she just lets out a huge grunt and will turn her head as far from me as she can.  "Ok!"  I guess she's had enough. ;)

-Up until this month, we have literally gotten hours of free time by putting her under her play gym.  Well, she has decided she doesn't like that anymore.  It's really a matter of her not wanting to be on her back.  She wants to sit up SO bad I am just sure that will happen at any moment.  She also loves to stand at the music board Chris & Nikki got her and press all the buttons!

-She is no longer a champ about getting dressed!  She doesn't mind us changing her diaper, but don't you dare try to put a onsie over her head!  She giggles when we take her clothes, off, however.  Weird.

-We've started this new game where Brian or I pat her mouth and she yells as loud as she can.  It's like an Indian call.  She loves it and all we have to do is put our hand close to her mouth and she will open it and start yelling.  Hours of entertainment. :)

-She has figured out that her feet are the best thing since bread and butter!  She loves to be able to grab them and fling them up into the air.  So cute!  We play a game called, "toes to the nose" that gets her giggling the hardest.  I think the game is pretty self-explanatory.

-We have to work hard to get her to giggle, but the most effective way is to ask her how big she is, lift her arms above her head and tickle those armpits.  Going in for a smooch on the neck is also highly effective.

-At 4 months old, she would look at something and it would take her a minute to remember she could reach out and touch it.  Now looking and touching are a simultaneous thing.

-Her method of soothing herself to sleep besides sucking on her paci and snuggling with her monkey is to stroke her own hair.  She twirls it around her fingers and I'm always pulling hair out of her hand when she wakes up.  She's lost quite a bit of hair this month and I think that's partly due to her yanking it out!  Sheesh!

-She loves to sit on my lap while I play the piano and sing to her.  One of my favorite things to do!

-And lastly, Carly desires to be close to us more than she ever has before.  She loves to be held facing in (for those of you who have held her know that's very unlike her), but only when Brian or I is holding her.  She wants us to walk around while holding and snuggling her all day long.  On the one hand, I keep telling myself that she is too needy and by carrying her so much she isn't developing independence, but on the other hand, is it really bad for me to oblige her snuggling desires?  She just wants to be close to me and I feel like I should soak it up and enjoy it while I can!  But it is strange that it took her 5 months to decide snuggling is fun. 

I feel so blessed to hold the title of Carly's mommy, and I can see that both Brian and I fall more in love with her all the time.  As she continues to develop personality, she becomes more and more fun to play with, take places and experience things with.  We are so thrilled to be able to walk through life with her.  Here are the rest of her 5 Month shots:

Thank you, Jesus, for choosing US to take care of your child while here on this Earth.  You have blessed us abundantly.