5 Months!

Lincoln turned five months old on November 15th.  It was a Friday, and he celebrated the day by visiting Momma's classroom in the afternoon.  He then made his rounds to all of the faculty members who thought he was just the cutest :)  It was fun for everyone to see my big boy!

Five month notes....

~Lincoln talks, laughs, and generally just interacts more now that he is five months old.  He loves attention and knows how to get it.  He will babble in his crib in the mornings and keep babbling through the day.  He likes silly games and shows his silly personality with Daddy a lot - they have such a special bond that even one of the teachers noted.  Linc loves to look at his Daddy and just wait for a silly face or sound.  Lincoln's laugh is contagious, and we all end up laughing.  After so many months of "quiet baby" it is so fun to see a personality emerge and have a baby who wants to socialize!

~Lincoln is becoming more mobile.  When we put him down in his crib at night, he is never in the same position in the morning.  He has rolled over both ways although he doesn't do often.  He is beginning to scoot on his playmat, but he ends up going backwards instead of toward the toy that he wants.  His whole body moves when he is excited, and one way we help him get his energy out is to help him "stand" and "walk".  He also loves to do the happy baby pose and grab his feet while on his back.  He is starting to chew on his toes :)  He was always moving in my belly, and he is still on the go!

~Lincoln has a pretty set sleep routine.  I did A LOT of research into sleep training and understanding how babies sleep.  Then I picked different elements that made sense to me based off of science and emotional security for me and the baby.  With that being said, we have found a routine that works for us for now.  It may change in a month, but for now Lincoln is sleeping from 7pm-6am and wakes once to nurse around 3:30am.  He sleeps every two hours during the day and falls asleep in his crib without a fuss for about an hour for naps.  Eventually we hope he combines his day naps and has longer stretches of alertness, but for now we are homebound every two hours and it works.  Can't complain!

~Lincoln loves his toys.  He stares intently at them, puts everything in his mouth, and knows how to play with them - shake a rattle, turn a wheel, etc.  He plays on his play mat, in his Bumbo seat, and on our laps.  He also loves listening to stories and will stare at the pages.  He will even turn the pages (and eat them, too!).

The Kindergarteners kept asking me how old he was on Friday, and they could not wrap their heads around the fact that he is five months old - they wanted to know in "years" how old he was.  I explained to them that five months is the same as about 150 days.  Then I thought - my goodness, he has only been a part of my life for 150 days.  It seems like he has been here forever and the love that we feel for him is much stronger than only knowing someone for five months.  He is the center of our world, and when the days seem tough I just think that I am going home to my two boys and the whole world seems to be a sunnier place.  Corny but true :)  Happy 5 months, Lincoln Alan Brown!

Some outtakes from the photo shoot...

Quite possibly my favorite outtake - I am sure I will see this look when he is in high school and is just so embarrassed by something his parents have done!