5 months old

So James Peyton, what are you up to at 5 months old???

You are 27 inches long and weigh 17.5 pounds

You wear size 2-3 diapers

You wear both 3-6 month and 6-9 month clothing

You have the sweetest personality and love to snuggle or be held

You are determined and get frustrated when you don't get what you want

You are very "talkative"

You are very curious and observant

You love watching the dogs, but especially love Coco

Coco lets you pull her ears and pet her

You just started blowing rasberries this afternoon!

You are sitting up with help

You roll over all the time from back to front and turn circles on your tummy

You now prefer tummy time instead of lying on your back

You sleep on your right side with your left knee up and your right leg straight, just like your Daddy

You sleep from 9:30 p.m-4:00 a.m. then wake yourself up by rolling onto your tummy. You can roll back over from front to back but don't do it very often

You eat 4-6oz about every three hours. We will start rice cereal next month!

When we read books you have to have your own book to hold while I read another one

You reach and grab anything you can get your little hands on and whatever it is usually goes straight to your mouth

We go to baby yoga on Wednesdays and you have made a lot of new friends your age

Your hair is getting long on top but has fallen out is spots around the sides and back. It looks like a toupee but don't worry, you are still so cute! You might need a haircut soon =)

We can't wait to see how you grow this month. We love you so much!

Love,
Mommy

Fall at the Dallas Arboretum

James and I met Lynn and her daughter Olivia at the Arboretum today. Lynn and I were assistant buyers together in the same office at Neiman's years ago. In fact, I would not have survived there without her! We reconnected on Facebook several months ago and James and Olivia are only 2 months apart. It is so fun to hang out again but now with our little ones! The weather was gorgeous yesterday. We walked around, had lunch, and took picures of James and Olivia with the pumpkins. There were mommy and me activities from 10-2. They had face painting, a petting zoo, music, and the only one we could really participate in, a photographer. We waited in line for about 20 minutes and the photographer took Oliva's then James' picture with the pumpkins. We won't get the picture back for a week but I will scan and post it when I do. The photographer really had James smiling and laughing so I can't wait to see it. It was after this that we decided to take our own pictures and by then James wasn't as smiley as usual because it was almost nap time. There are still some precious pictures though. He was so curious about the pumpkins; I love that about him. He is curious about everything. He also tried to eat the hay and hold Oliva's hand, which was so cute! James is 5 months old today!

More bunny love

James seriously loves his bunny! I uploaded pictures tonight and had to post this one from earlier this week. James likes sleeping on his side now and sometimes will roll over to his tummy. We let him snuggle with his bunny during nap time but not when he sleeps at night. I thought this was too cute and had to post!

Playdates

John and James both fell asleep on the way overJames hanging out with his friend Everett

James and Everett checking out the girls playing

We had such a busy day today! We went to my office at Keller Williams during the morning; James has become a pro at hanging out while mommy works. We came home for lunch and then went over to a friend's house for a playdate! There were 7 mommies and 7 babies plus one of the mommy's friends visiting from out of town. I have met almost all of these girls through the baby yoga classes that James and I go to on Wednesday mornings and occassionally Thursday mornings and all of the babies were born in April, May, or June. It has been so fun bonding with all the moms that are experiencing the same things that we are. After our playdate we came home to rest for a little while then went to the park with my friend Miriam and her baby boy Sebastian. We met Miriam and Sebastian at baby yoga also and one of her neighbors told us about the Stroller Strides class that meets at Curtis Park on Lovers in University Park. It is basically a boot camp class with our babies in the strollers. They think it is hilarious to watch the moms run around and work out. The class meets on MWF morning at 9:00 at Curtis Park and on TH evenings at 6:00 at Caruth Park (Hillcrest and Southwestern) if any other mommies are interested in joining us. The babies that we have met at the class range from 8 weeks to 3 years old. We just started going but try to go to the Monday or Friday morning classes and Thursday evening. However we will always miss the first Thursday night of each month because this mommy loves her monthly girls dinners too much to miss!

Sitting up

Sweet baby boy Kicking his feet while trying to sit

Sitting up is fun!

I like tummy time too

As you can see by the pictures above James loves sitting up! He sits by himself for a little while then falls over. For our photo session today I propped the Boppy up behind him and he was so funny. He kicked his feet and legs the whole time and leaned back against the cushion. James will be 5 months old on Monday! Below is what babycenter.com says about how he is growing this week:

Following a well-established nighttime routine, which might include a bath or a bedtime story, may help settle your baby to sleep. It's a good idea to consistently "sequence" your baby toward slumber, as in this example: Feed her, give her a bath, put her in pajamas, read her a book, sing a lullaby or play some music, and then put her down.A beloved routine gives you and your baby plenty of time to connect and wind down. You may decide to alternate going-to-bed activities with your partner (you do the bath, he reads the story, and so on). Or, to give both of you a regular break, try taking turns, with one person responsible for putting your baby to bed each night

We have our bedtime routine down. Since Daddy doesn't get home from work until 8:00 p.m. sometimes James stays up a little later so he can spend some quality time with him. Bathtime is at 9:00 and James is usually asleep by 9:30!

Teething already?

This past week James has been drooling A LOT and is chewing on everything! When I read him a book tonight he was far more interested in putting it in his mouth and chewing on it than me reading to him. Our pediatrician did say she could feel little bumps on his lower gums but I don't think teeth are coming through anytime soon. James also wants to sit by himself so bad but doesn't have the balance quite yet! He won't stay on his back or his tummy for very long when on a blanket on the floor or on his activity mat. He used to love it and now he just wants to sit up! We have a new jumper that hangs in the doorway but I think he needs to be a little stronger before we start using it.

Bath time

Somebunny loves me

4 month appointment

We had our 4 month appointment today with our pediatrician, Dr. Smith, and although James did have to get 3 shots in addition to an oral vaccine, he did great and I didn't cry this time! Here are his official stats:

Length 26 3/4" (95th percentile)

Weight 16 lbs 4 oz (75th percentile)

Head 17" (75th percentile)

Dr. Smith said James is perfect. We think so but parents tend to be a little biast. ;-) She also said he is very strong and she was impressed by how well he is rolling over. He even sat by himself for about 30 seconds before falling over so that is our homework! We are going to work on his balance and learning how to sit by himself.

The last two days James has been laughing a lot. I am not sure how it started but in the past whenever he would cough, I would fake cough twice back to him and he thought it was so funny. Well now, he fake coughs twice then laughs and thinks he is so funny! He has also discovered Coco and Chloe. Whenever the two dogs are playing he laughs out loud at them. He also tries to pet them if I am holding him and either dog is sitting next to me. He pulls Chloe's hair and tries to pull Coco's ears. They are both so tolerant and sweet with him, surprisingly Coco more so than Chloe! Below is a picture of both dogs so you know what I am talking about. Coco is our 70 lb Boxer and Chloe is a malte-pom (half maltese and half pomeranian). James thinks they are both hilarious and loves to watch them!

Roly Poly

I took the monthly blanket picture but wanted to post something a little different. James doesn't stay on his back very long so I captured a before, mid roll, and after. This week James has been very vocal and "talking" a lot. He has really discovered his own voice and squeals as loud as he can then laughs. I guess he thinks he is funny! Below is what babycenter.com says about how James is developing this week:

Researchers believe that your baby can now understand all the basic sounds that make up his native language. Between this time and 6 months of age, he'll develop the ability to make some of these sounds, which means you may hear the words you've been dreaming about, namely "mama" and "dada." While child development experts say it's too early for your baby to connect those sounds with you, that won't make hearing them any less exciting.You can encourage your baby's attempts at communication by mirroring or imitating his expressions and sounds. He may try to imitate you, too. Say "ba" and he may try to say it back.Reacting when your baby makes noises or tries to say something will help him learn the importance of language and better understand cause and effect. It's great for his self-esteem, too: He'll begin to realize that what he says makes a difference.

My heart already melts when James smiles so I can't imagine what it will be like when he says "mama"! Our 4 month pediatrician appointment is on Tuesday September 8th so I will update the blog when we get home.