letters to my girl: month five.

dear magpie,

you are five months old today. this morning is totally indicative of how big you've gotten. you woke up smiling, up on your belly and peering through the slats in your crib.  you smiled a big smile when i said good morning. you kicked and giggled as i changed your diaper, and nearly sat up yourself on my lap while i made your bottle.  you ate pretty well, took a break, then ate the rest with no real complaint.  you talked and chatted a bit, then fell asleep for your daddy (not for me!) in the rocking chair.  when you woke up, we came downstairs and i put you in your exersaucer. and you played, by yourself, giggling and talking and moving from toy to toy.  when you were done with that, it was down on the floor, where you wriggled a little bit to play with your talking bee.  then you ate and fell asleep--on your own--in your bouncy chair. 

oh, and i'm pretty sure you woke up with a tooth.

that may not seem extraordinary to you, but this month has been full of changes for you. 

• you're mobile! you scoot and roll through the house. we had to totally clean up the downstairs this week, putting scary stuff away upstairs and giving you plenty of room to roll and play. not a moment too soon, baby girl, because yesterday you figured out how to get up, eversobriefly, on hands and knees. i've been feeling impressed to baby proof quickly. i know now why. you are on the move.
• you're independent! since we got you the exersaucer, you have been overjoyed to find a small piece of independence in this world of dependence. you can twist around, using your strong legs, to play. we put your other toys on there, and you play and chat and laugh and talk to us while you do.  selfishly, it's nice to not be entirely responsible for your tactile and intellectual engagement. but also selfishly, it brings me so much joy to seeing you have SO MUCH FUN.  
• you're teething! i told the doctor a month ago that you were teething. he told me i was wrong. well, he was wrong.  a couple of weeks ago, you got a runny nose. i thought maybe you were finally getting that first cold i've heard tell of and i prepared myself for a sleepless night of snot sucking and sleeping in the chair. nope. nothing really came of it. as soon as it came, it was gone. but suddenly you were chewing and more fussy. a little tylenol on a few days of really bad fussiness and chewing and you were better. and then all of the sudden I COULD SEE IT.  that little white ridge down below the gums. and then, a few days later, there was the nose again--and the ridge was easier to see and bumpy--and i could see the neighbor tooth too! and then a few days later, the nose came back and the gums were swollen and by this time i knew what it was.  and then today, it was SHARP. not bumpy, but sharp. i just knew that you were going to wait until your 5 month birthday. i just KNEW it. 
• you're eating solid foods!  we started you on oatmeal a few weeks ago, and then a couple of days of squash, but you had some...interesting gastrointestinal reactions (read: blowouts).  so, we stopped you. it was about the time you started feeling bad, so i just wanted to let it ride until we were sure you were over it.  i still don't know if it was teething or the food, but this time has been really no problem.  you LOVE oatmeal. i mean love it. i thought i was going to do all orange veggies, but something told me to try bananas next. you did not like them. you didn't hate them, but you were just "meh." but carrots? carrots you REALLY liked.  you dove for the spoon. it was sort of amazing to watch.  next up will probably be some sweet potatoes, and then we'll do some squash, and then maybe we'll do some peas.  but when i try bananas again, they won't be baby food bananas because they don't taste like bananas. i think i'll probably just smash some of my own. :) you're so fun to feed. you just really like the whole experience, which is good because i'm trying so hard to make it fun and enjoyable, and you try to hold your spoon. it's adorable.  
• you're sleeping on your belly! i think i wrote about this, but you sleep on your belly now.  at first, it really bothered me because it seemed like you didn't really know that it wasn't a good idea to smash your face into the mattress. or you'd end up in some sort of contorted position.  but now you seem to have found your way--you start out on your back and then about an hour or two later, flip to your stomach. sometimes you flip back onto your side; sometimes you end up completely turned sideways in your crib.  i still end up checking on your at least twice--once before i go to bed (when i usually try to move you back to the middle of your crib) and once if i wake up before you do (which i normally do). sometimes i have to move you again then, though i try not to because you will wake up. 

you're just such a cool kid. i like you so much.  while we don't let you watch TV, per se, i've stopped freaking out if you see a little bit. you know what's cool? you like commercials. daddy and i joke that you're going to be an incredibly successful ad exec who will pay for our missions when we're old.  but you don't care even a little bit about the shows themselves.  you do seem to enjoy periodic moments of football, though, but mainly you prefer your sophie giraffe and your noisy toys.  (i don't blame you.)  so i think if i want to watch TV, all i have to do is put on netflix.  no commercials, no maggie. :)

i love you baby girl.

i can't wait to see how the next month changes you entirely.  next time i write, you will be six months old.  i can't believe we've been together for nearly half a year.  my, how time flies when you're having fun with the sweetest kid on the planet.

conquer the floor, baby girl.  go forth.  i can't wait to see you shine, even if i never can sit down again.  :)

love,
mommy.