five months

Size: We are working our way through our last box of size 3 diapers and making the transition to 6-12 month clothes. At 4 months, Ezra was the exact same height and weight as her brother, who topped out at 21 pounds at 7 months old and stayed that way until just after he turned one. So, we'll see! Everyone still assumes she's older than she is because of her size. I don't mind those chunky thighs one bit, though! I could eat her for breakfast, lunch and dinner!

Eat: Still exclusively breastfed, still haven't given her a bottle. Mostly because we just don't have a need to. Though I'd kill for a date night, we don't know a babysitter so it's kind of a moo point (Friends reference, anyone?!) She is so very interested in our food and has been given the ok to start solids by her doctor, but I'm just not quite ready yet. With Uriah, I made all of his food and loved doing it!, but doing that again adds a lot more to my plate the second time around (with a toddler who almost never plays independently). We'll get around to it within the month, I'm sure. She's too interested to avoid it for long!

Sleep: Ezra's still not sleeping through the night like she had been, but she's so cute and so sweet, it's hard to be mad at her for it ;) She goes down around 7:30, waking around midnight and 2am, and is up for the day around 7, unless her brother is extra loud - in that case, she's up for the day around 5:30 like the rest of us. She takes a two hour nap in the morning an hour or two after she wakes up, a one to two hour nap in the afternoon when Uriah goes down at 1 (occasionally taking an on-the-go nap in the carrier, carseat or stroller somewhere between the two around 10 when we're usually out and about) and an hour evening nap around 5.
We've been in and out of sleep training the last month. I'm not against the cry it out method (and eventually that's what worked for Uriah, having tried everything else we eventually gave up at 15 months and I so wish we would have done it sooner!) but it's tricky in our new apartment because the only room we can put her in (if we're going to let her cry it out in the middle of the night and semi sleep through it, or at least have Uriah sleep through it) is the living room. But we had company sleeping in our living room for a week and we have early mornings around here... It's just hard. But we've been letting her cry it out for naps and after the first day she started to figure it out. Now, if she cries more than ten minutes I know something's not right - she's either pooped, hungry or I read her signs wrong and she's just not tired at all. Most of the time I can lay her down awake and she'll babble herself to sleep. She'll wake up that way, too - babbling and rolling around for quite awhile before she decides she needs to get my attention and get out of bed. Always, though, when I get her up, she greets me with the biggest, sweetest, happiest smile!

Movement: Ezra is rolling this way and that way alllll the time! She's never in the same place I left her when I leave a room and come back to it. She gets her knees up under her quite a bit, too, but never at the same time that she's on her hands - though she's showing so much interesting in getting places I don't know that it'll be too much longer before she's crawling...! She loves to stand up and can balance while holding onto the couch or chair and if I had to guess I'd say she'll be sitting any day now! She can (and loves to) sit, but only for about twenty seconds at a time (counting mississippi-ily - another Friends reference!) She has such good traction with her eyes and can intentionally grab anything in reach. And oh my does she GRAB! And, of course, it all goes straight to her mouth.

Likes: This girl is all about her social life! She loves people looking at her and talking to her! She will smile at anyone who so much as glances at her and she smiles with her whole body - her eyes disappear and her body jolts and she looks away and it's so dang CUTE! (you wouldn't be able to tell she's a smiley, happy baby by these pictures - too close to nap time!) She loves things that aren't toys - specifically the wipe container and anything found on the kitchen counter. Though she loves her toys, too - her rainbow rings, Sophie the giraffe and the animals on her play mat. She loves her brother and could contently and happily sit and watch him play, talk and sing all day (if he sat still long enough or actually gave her the time of day!) She beams at her daddy's voice and it's the sweetest thing to see her crane her neck in his direction! She loves being outside - on a blanket or in the carrier. She's still a binky baby and loves going to sleep with a blanket to snuggle.

Dislikes: Having a toy fall out of her reach and being ignored. She still doesn't mind getting her diaper changed or getting dressed, nor does she dislike any mode of transport - thank goodness! She is truly such a happy, smiley, content baby!

We are thinking we'll be seeing teeth in that gummy smile any day now! Though teething is such an easy thing to blame any little fuss on, we're thinking that might be the cause of the sleeping issues and the fussy evenings we've been experiencing. She's nursing more than normal (and spitting up more because of it) and always drooling and chewing on her fingers (but she's been doing that for months). I thought I felt something on the bottom and Stephen thought he felt something on the top - who knows!

Her hair is still blonde as blonde can be and is getting longer in the front - her dark long pieces in the back are slowly disappearing and though I always said they made her look a little homely, I'm sad to see them go!

She will give away smiles to anyone in a ten foot radius but she really makes you work for those laughs! Which I guess is ok - they're treasured and shared with the ones she knows and likes best :)


Miss Ezra Lee (as you are most often called) you are such a light in our lives. We are so grateful for your happy, peaceful demeanor. You are a true gem and we are so blessed to have you! Happy five months, baby girl!