. . . Liam lately (5 months)

My sweet boy is now five months old, and everyone who said each stage is better than the last was right. He is so much more interactive and playful these days! A couple months ago he would be happy to lie on his playmat and look at the things hanging above him, but now he actually grabs and holds and touches all the toys he got for Christmas -- I love it! He likes things that light up and make noise the best (of course), and pretty much everything goes straight into his mouth at this point, but it's still so fun! 

Right now Liam is wearing 6 month clothes and is in size 2 diapers. We took most of his 3 month clothes to America for him to wear, but left every single thing in exchange for all the 6 month clothes he got and was fitting into by the time we left! It always makes me a little sad to pack up his old clothes and bring out new ones. Liam has also gotten a little more hair on top of his head, which is so fuzzy on my cheek and I love it! He's always had hair in the back, but now it's filling in on top and is an auburnish color (is that even a word?!). Keith had reddish hair when he was born, and mine was blonde for a long time, so his will probably start out light and then get darker over the years.

Liam was having stomach issues for a while that were causing him to cry uncontrollably a few times while we were in Georgia, so we decided to see if it was my diet that was bothering him. I've cut out dairy for the past two weeks now, and he seems to be a little back to normal. We haven't had any crying fits, but now the last few days he's been spitting up A LOT. I've figured out that it's either all the saliva he's been swallowing or the mucus from his cold settling into his stomach. If it's not any better in a few days I may take him to the consultatiebureau. I'll keep you posted . . .

Liam is still solely on breast milk, and eats about every 3 hours or so. But we are about to get started with solids! He is beginning to show the signs that he's ready, like watching us while we eat and grabbing our cup or hand because he wants what we have. I can't wait to see his reaction to food! I promise to capture it on video. :)

Right now I am trying to decide how best to approach solids, as I've read a few different ways we could do it. Has anyone tried Dr. Denmark's theory on solid food? I've also decided to make Liam's food, so any advice on a good book, the best blender or food processor, etc. is very welcome! There's so many choice it's hard to know what would be the best/easiest!

Now that we are back home Liam is slowly getting back on his schedule. We give him his last feeding sometime between 9 and 10 pm and he goes to sleep about 2 hours later at this point. I can't wait till he's ready to start going down sooner, but we have to take baby steps to get him adjusted to our time zone again. He stays in his crib all night, but right now is waking a few times a night. All I have to do is pat his back and sing "Itsy Bitsy Spider" a few times and he's off to dreamland again. He wakes up around 9 am for his first feeding of the day.

Right now Liam is rolling from stomach to back like a champ, but still struggles with back to stomach. He's only done it a handful of times, but I think he's getting better. He's also learning to sit up, which is so fun! It's awesome to sit with him in between my legs and let him play with toys in front of him. He teeters around a lot, but he's getting stronger every day. He also loves. loves. loves. to stand up while you hold him because he needs to see everything around him! I think we've finally picked out a jumperoo to order for him so that he can stand without us. I'm sure he will love it!

Liam has really gotten interested in his feet! Anytime we are changing him he immediately grabs his feet and usually tries to pull his sock into his mouth. It cracks me up and he absolutely loves it!! He also loves to do that in the bathtub . . . and bath time is his favorite time of the day! I think he would stay in there all night if we let him. He kicks his feet and splashes the water all over us -- it is so much to give him a bath!

Liam talks the most right before he's hungry or sleepy. It's like he's telling us, "Hey guys -- I'm ready to eat! Why aren't you listening to me? I'm telling you what I want. Hey. You guys. Hey. I'm hungry!" He talks more and more until he gets mad if he hasn't been fed! Same with the sleepy time . . . he'll be talking, talking, talking, then BAM. Fussy and must go to sleep. right. now.

So that's pretty much Liam in a nutshell right now. He looks more and more like his Dad every day, and I fall more madly in love with each sweet smile.

Love you buddy,
~Mom