TJ: Five Months

TJ is such a delight to us.  I am trying to wrap my brain around the fact that he is almost 6 months old.  I remember when Libby turned 6 months old like it was yesterday and that was 2.5 years ago!!  Time just seems to be speeding by so quickly.  


This month was a lot of firsts.  First solid foods, first time hard core teething, first Christmas, first tooth (as of today!!), first army crawl (just Sunday!!), and first major scare.  Lets start with the fun stuff first - we introduced solid foods.  So far he has had carrots, apples, sweet potatoes, bananas, and peas.  His favorites are sweet potatoes and apples just like his big sister.  The Christmas was great.  I couldn't ask for a better baby...he traveled well and smiled/cooed where he should.  The scary part was last week he was diagnosed with a staph infection.  Luckily it was only in one spot, caught early, and cleared up really fast with just an antibiotic cream.  No more scares please!  


I am really noticing his little personality coming out a lot more.  He is just so different than his sister was.  She was...lets face it...a grumpus.  TJ is the complete opposite.  He smiles at you and just makes your heart melt.  Libby smiled too...just with us or the people she spent a ton of time with.  TJ will smile or laugh at anything.  


To highlight a few more things about TJ, I wanted to continue the tradition of showing his likes/dislikes.  Notice his dislikes aren't much of anything.


Likes:

• His feet - oh how he finds them fascinating and hysterical!
• Bath time - I think it might be his favorite special time with his mommy.  I won't let anyone else do it just because his personality really shines.
• Mimi - Yes, just Mimi.  No one can make TJ laugh like Mimi.
• FOOD - The more, the better.  Bring it on is his motto!
• TV - I am so sad to report this.  Oh, and his favorite TV?  Football or hockey.  I'm doomed!
• Libby - he can just sit and stare at her forever.  He has to know exactly where she is and what she is doing.  If I could fast forward a few years, I can hear Libby ordering him to do something he shouldn't be doing and him blindly following.
• Standing (assisted of course =))

Dislikes:

• Not getting food fast enough
• Taking too long to change his diaper
• Bandaids

And here are the milestones for this month....


...should be able to:

• hold head steady when upright - check!
• on stomach, raise chest, supported by arms - check!
• pay attention to an object as small as a raisin - check!
• squeal with delight - check!
• reach for an object - check!
• smile spontaneously - check!
• smile back when you smile - check!
• grasp a rattle held to backs or tips of fingers - check!
• keep head level with body when pulled to sitting - check!

... will probably be able to

• roll over (one way) - not yet but he is sure trying!
• bear some weight on legs - check!  How about ALL of his weight? =)
• say "ah-goo" or similar vowel-consonant combinations - check!
• razz - check!
• turn in the direction of a voice - check!

... may even be able to:

• pull up to standing position from sitting - not yet
• stand holding on to someone or something - still wobbly but totally getting there.  I wish he would master sitting first though =)
• object if you try to take a toy away - check!
• work to get a toy out of reach - check!
• pass a cube or other object from one hand to the other - check!
• look for dropped objects - check!
• rake with fingers a tiny object and pick it up in first - check!
• babble, combining vowels and consonants such as ga-ga-ga, ba-ba-ba, ma-ma-ma, da-da-da - check!

And my favorite videos/pictures from the month.