Happy 5 Month Birthiversary!

Kaleia Shalom is 5 months old!

This month flew by. We're all pretty tired and ready for Christmas break.

With all the Christmas preparations and wrapping up school, it has taken me a bit longer to write this post. I never made it to the Mother-Baby center to do her height and weight check, so I'll have to update that later. In the meantime, here are some subtle developments that occurred during the hubbub:

• Kaleia's tongue was chased back into her mouth by her feet. She is happiest with minimal clothing to impede her flexiblity for toe chewing.


• Her two front teeth have continued to play peek-a-boo. Cue music: "All (Mama) wants for Christmas is her two front teeth"


• She continues to increase her "vocabulary," mostly making loud noises. (Magnolia does a great impression.) Her strange gruntings combined with her almost daily wearing of a bear suit earned her the nickname of "gremmi-bear" by her Papa. Other nicknames: Kaleia-Leia, Leia, Goofer, Gremmi.


• Kaleia is less active than her sister was at this age. While she enjoys her jumper, she really only gets going when someone is watching her. She can roll both directions -- tummy to back and back to tummy-- but is usually content to just reach for tangling objects or manipulate a toy with her hands.


• She definitely is reaching more for things that she wants. Often this is your face, which she wants to eat.


• Splashing in the bath is lots of fun.


• Kaleia is super easy to put to bed, but still wakes up during the night (still has her gas problem, but spit up is decreasing, maybe).


• Unlike her sister, Kaleia is not afraid of the Christmas tree. Next Christmas might be more challenging.

Next Month? Sitting up on her own? Eating solid foods? Sleeping through the night???