April 17 - Five Months!

My Sweet Sydney,

5 Months Old

The time is flying by at lightning speed and you're growing so fast right before our very eyes! You are such a remarkable tiny person. Oh my goodness, you are one of the funniest people I know (just like your daddy)! You make me laugh all day long, and I thank God every day that I get to spend my days with you.

- You're still a tiny girl, wearing your 0-3 month clothes comfortably. I can't wait for you to finally grow into your 3-6 month clothes! You wear size 1 shoes (they're a little long, but the 0's are too tight across the top!)
- You love to bite on your toes! Socks present some frustration for you, I think because you can't find your toes with socks on, so I rarely put them on you anymore. Sandals don't seem to give you the same problem, you just stick the whole thing in your mouth!

- I'd still say in general you're a pretty happy baby, but this past month we've seen the arrival of "the witching hour". You seem to have a really tough time most days around 7:00 and don't really settle down until we put you to bed at 8:00. Some would say that I should go ahead and put you to bed an hour earlier, but you sleep 11 hours consistently, and I prefer to see your pretty eyes at 7:00 in the morning- not 6:00! When we lay you down in your bed at night, you usually roll right over to you left side and go to sleep without a peep.
- Speaking of sleep, no matter how restless you may or may not be during the night, you ALWAYS wake up happy, and it makes Daddy & me smile. We love waking up to the sound of you talking and playing happily in your bed, and both of us LOVE going to get you in the morning. It makes our hearts explode when you see us and are so excited that we are there to get you.
- You hit a growth spurt last week and woke up a couple of nights to eat, but you're still sleeping through the night pretty well. Lately we've had to get up and give you your pacifier once or twice in the night though. I don't mind.
- Although I don't see any visible evidence yet, I'm pretty sure you're teething. You drool buckets, bite everything you can get into your mouth, and put into your mouth anything you can get your hands on (and even some things you can't get your hands on!)

- Daddy's favorite sound is your laugh, which we're hearing more and more. "It means she's happy." We love trying to find new ways to bring it out of you.

- You had your first taste of solid foods this week. We started with rice cereal last weekend, and then carrots. So far you seem to like both. When we showed you the spoon, you opened your mouth and showed us that you were ready and you knew exactly what was coming!

- You can almost sit up on your own. You do very well with just a little assistance, and just need a little bit of help with your balance. You prefer standing though; I think it makes you feel like a big girl.

- You seem to be struggling a little bit with separation anxiety; more specifically, mommy-separation anxiety. We left you with babysitters twice this month, and both times you cried almost the whole time we were gone and refused to eat. I have to be honest and admit that I am thrilled that you love me, but it hurts my heart a little that you don't have fun with other people who love you too. I hope this is only a phase that will pass soon.

- Nicknames that Daddy & I call you: Pumpkin, Baby Girl, Sweet Pea, Sunshine, Cheeks, Puddin', Cutie Bug, Cutie Pie, Micule (Daddy's Romanian name for you- it means "little one"), Droolie

I could go on & on, bragging about you and telling you how much we love you and how we didn't know our lives were missing anything before you came into our family... There is so much I want you to know, but if you don't learn anything else from me, know that God loves you more than Daddy or I ever could and we pray every day that you will understand this and choose Him.

We love you more than we can say, Sweet Girl!

Love,   Mommy