5 months!

Our little Charlotte Ruth is 5 months old today! I can't believe how much she has grown and changed in the last month alone. It seems that even in the past two weeks she has changed so much. Here are her stats according to at-home measurements:

Weight: 16 lbs.

Height: 24 1/2 in.

Charlotte has really started to develop a personality. I am loving this age SO much. She interacts with us. She is always watching us. She even intiates smiles now. When I walk into the room she sometimes smiles as if to say, "Oh, there you are. I missed you!" It is so precious and heartwarming. She also loves our cat, Oreo. She lights up around him. When he gets close enough, she reaches out for him. Boy is he in trouble when she becomes mobile!
Here are some things I want to remember about Charlotte at 5 months:

- She loves to smile at anyone and everyone.

- She has such a wonderful temperament. She will pretty much go with the flow when we take her places.

- She loves to be social. She is always much happier in the evenings when we are with other people, like at small group, etc. She will stay content much longer is she has people to watch and interact with.

- She loves to giggle all of the time. However, she doesn't let out big laughs very often. Usually her Daddy can make her laugh or she likes it when we blow raspberries on her tummy or feet.

- She has figured out how to play with her toys a little more. On a lot of toys she has figured out how to push the buttons to make noise.

- She takes naps much better then she used to. She takes all of her naps in her crib, or her pack-n-play when she is at the babysitter's. No more swing.

- She is pretty much on a schedule now, which I knew would happen at the babysitter's! She takes naps at 8:00, 11:00, and 3:00. She sometimes falls asleep in the car on the way home, but if not, she is up until bedtime.

- We start bedtime routine at 7:45, or 7:30 if we take a bath, and she is usually asleep by 8:15. We still swaddle her. She is not a good nighttime sleeper. Every once in a while she will grace us with only waking up once in the night. However, it is usually 2-3 times. We love the days she sleeps until we get her up, but usually she wants to be up by 5:30. How did I end up with an early riser? Mark and I both love to sleep late!

- She is taking 6 oz. bottles now! I nurse her in the morning, evening, bedtime, and nighttime, but she takes bottles during the day. She eats rice cereal two times a day now.

- She sits in her Bumbo seat all the time.

- She has started being about the sit for a few seconds at a time on her own. You have to be right there though because she takes a lot of nose-dives. I know it won't be long until she is sitting all by herself!

- She LOVES her jump-a-roo! She will just jump and smile, smile, smile! Even when she is tired and upset, she still won't stop jumping.

- She is so much better in her carseat, which is a good thing since she has to go to and from the babysitter each day, which is 20 minutes one way. The only time she won't calm down is if she is really hungry.

- She can turn herself around and scoot a little. She flips from her back to her front nonstop every time you put her down. She still hasn't figured out front to back. However, when on her tummy she can turn herself around on the floor by moving her arms. Last night, I put her on her back on her blanket and went to the kitchen for a few minutes. When I came back she was on her tummy, facing the opposite direction, and about a foot off her blanket!

We are really enjoying Charlotte and love watching our baby girl grow and change. She brings us joy and laughter on a daily basis. Thank you, Lord, for our baby girl. We love her so much!