5 months

December 12-
5 months!  Wow!  He is so active and such a delight. This is a fun age!  He is so curious about everything around him.  Always reaching and touching things.   He is becoming more "expressive" as he finds his voice.  He squeals in excitement and also lets you know when he has had enough of something.  His eyes are still blue and he is even starting to get some blond peach fuzz on his head.

Kingston can grab and shake his toys and loves to hear them rattle.  Although, anything he grabs goes right into his mouth.  His favorite thing is sucking/chewing on blankets or burp rags.  His favorite game is airplane!  He gets such a big smile as he flies through the air. He is taking an interest in books and likes to turn the pages and suck on the corners!

He goes everywhere with us. He usually falls asleep in the car and then wakes up when I try to get the car seat out.  But he does great in the stores, too.  Even at home he helps with chores.  On the weekends he helps me feed the boyz and keeps me company in the kitchen. Since Jonathan has been out of commission from his neck surgery, I was stuck with mowing up the leaves.  We bundled Kingston up and I mowed while the boys picked up poop.  He did great in the pack and even dozed off for a little bit.

He is getting stronger, too.  He can stand up while you balance him and he can hold it for awhile.  He can't sit by himself yet, but propped up against something he can sit by himself. He does topple over if he over reaches for a toy!  The bumbo has been great at helping him sit and I use it a lot on the weekends to sit him on the bathroom counter while I get ready.  He shakes his toys and smiles at himself in the mirror! 

And, with all this new found strength came another baby milestone.  Kingston can roll from back to front and then prop himself up on his arms!  He was so close for awhile and then one day he just got it.  He is even better at it now and his shoulder doesn't hang him up anymore.  I tried to video it, but after an hour of attempts I finally gave up and put the camera down.  And you guessed it, as soon as the camera was off he rolled!  Oh, well, you can put these still shots together to see him roll! And I think the video is the end of a roll.



He can't go from tummy to back quite yet and sometimes get frustrated.  But it you roll him back he loves it and gets a big grin on his face.  Needless to say, we are spending much more time on our tummy!

He is starting to hold on to me more now when I carry him around.  Sometimes he will hold my whole arm or just a fistful of shirt.  But he balances really well when you hold him.  He grabs a hold of my hair too, for added balance.  And, he just started grabbing my arm with his legs when I reach across to dress him.  It's funny the little things that they do while trying to figure out how their arms and legs work.

He also loves to explore your face.  Jonathan and I will lay down next to him and he feels for your nose, mouth, and eyes.  He checks out Jonathan's hair and goatee.  You can tell he is trying to make sense of all the different textures and sensations.
Eating is going really well.  He eats breakfast (most days), lunch, and dinner.  At dinner time he gets a real food in addition to his rice cereal or oatmeal.  He is liking the pumpkin a lot better since I've been mixing it with his cereal.  It was just too many new tastes for him at first.  I'm excited to try some other foods.
Kingston absolutely loves his room.  He lays on his green rug and plays and rolls and talks to himself.  We've been starting our bedtime routine a little earlier so that he can play in his room while I get his jammers and bath ready.  He likes to stare at the painting that Jonathan made him and also his mobile.

At the start of the month he would sleep till 3 am, but for the last 4 nights, he has slept until 5:30 or 6:00.  I do a lot better on a full night sleep so hopefully we can keep up this longer night time sleep.  During the day is really hit and miss.  At daycare he sleeps really well and we are getting into a better routine on the weekends.  He wakes around 7 or 7:15 am and talks to himself until 7:30 or 7:45.  Then I change him out of his jammers and we go downstairs to feed the dogs and get him some breakfast.  A mid-morning nap follows, but it is less than an hour.  Lunch and a little catnap and then a long afternoon nap around 1:30 or 2:00.  And then to bed at 7:30.  Sometimes, though, he gets so tired playing that he just crashes.

Kingston really likes the sound of his voice!  When he gets to jabbering he just goes on and on and on!  I love it.  He also squeals when he gets really excited.  Sometimes I think I hear him say actual words, but everyone else says it's just jibberish.

I have seen so much new mental development this month.  Babies have to learn everything and it is amazing to watch the process.  Eating started out pretty tricky, but now he knows how to get the food to the back of his mouth.  He also closes his mouth around the spoon and leans in and opens his mouth when he sees the food.
He is now remembering and anticipating things.When we go up/down the stairs he starts to look to his side because we always stop at the mirror to look at the cute baby!  When I take him into the bathroom, he gets so excited and squeals with delight as I get him ready for his bath.  And, no matter how excited he is, as soon as I lay him down after his bath and start his lotion and jammy routine, he quiets down and gets sleepy.  They could just be coincidences, but I think they are learning milestones!
No matter how hard I try and make Kingston a momma's boy, he just won't have it!  He sure loves his daddy and they have had some really fun days together with Jonathan being home recovering.  Kingston always turns and looks for daddy when he hears his voice and he never has enough smiles for him.  Whenever I need a big smile from Kingston, I  have to call in daddy!  Half the time Jonathan isn't even paying attention to him, but Kingston is always watching him.  And watching football is kind of their thing to do together.  Although, just like mom, Kingston sometimes falls asleep during the game.

Daddy even has him holding his own bottles!  Jonathan says that Kingston recognizes his bottle and starts to get excited knowing that a meal is coming.

Kingston, we love you more and more everyday and are so amazed by all the things that you do.  I can't wait to see all the new things you are doing in another month!