5 months!

Ayla is 5-months old today! With each passing month, I'm amazed at how much she has changed...in looks, personality, and developmental milestones. She has been swatting at the toys on her playmat for a while now and has been able to grab things if we place them in her hand, but lately she understands that she can reach for something and as a result, it'll end up in her hands. Once she has grabbed something, she'll sit and turn it around and study it. She's making the connection that they're her hands and she can use them. She continues to do well with tummy-time...I put a toy with a mirror in front of her and she grins and flirts with the cute baby in the reflection. She still hasn't really started rolling over again...every now and then she'll do it, but it's rare. She just likes to flip from side to side while she's laying on her back. I'm sure with time, she'll be rolling all over the place!She LOVES her jumperoo! As soon as the music starts to play and the lights start to blink, she gets a huge smile on her face. She really gets going in there sometimes...so much so that when we take her out, she's still trying to jump.She's getting MUCH better at eating from a spoon (and perhaps I'm better at feeding her.) So far, she's had rice cereal, prunes, peas, green beans, and squash. Everytime she tries something new, I think she enjoys it more than the last. I've discovered that sometimes she needs a distraction to keep her interested long enough for me to feed her. I think the only thing I haven't done is cartwheels through the kitchen...and only because there's not enough room for my sweet gymnastics skills. Yesterday, Kody was her source of entertainment. She watches him wherever he goes, so I made him sit in one spot where she could see him and she ended up finishing a whole bowl of food...a first! She stared at him the whole time...I'm not even sure she blinked. I'll have to bribe Kody with treats from now on...It's so easy to make her smile and laugh now! She's ticklish so when we bury our faces in her belly, she just giggles and cackles. It's hilarious! Her happiness is contagious. Every now and then, she'll let out a single "HEHE!" when nothing is going on...somehow, she thought something was worth laughing at. :) She's still a very happy baby for the most part, but her moods change as quickly as mine when I'm PMS-ing...poor Dean. She'll go from blissfully happy--our perfect, sweet little angel to a clenched-fist, bright red, screaming ball of fire who is angry at something we haven't quite figured out yet. She gives us no warning, my friends. And then two minutes later, all is well again. She has developed a strong dislike toward her carseat this past week. She used to not mind it but now when I put her in it, she arches her back and yells at me and continues to do so for the entire length of our car ride. I'm hoping this is just a phase. A couple times, she got so upset she threw up...no good, no fun. I'm afraid to say that she may have a bit of a 'tude these days. When I'm doing something she doesn't like, say, wiping her face and hands off after eating, she throws a fit. If I stop, she smiles and almost has this smug look on her face like, "Ha! I got what I want!" So now, I just keep doing what I need to do until I'm finished and let her freak out for a second or so (I'm not about to let her be a crusty-faced, sticky-fingered baby...yuck.) I figured it's never too early to start teaching her that flipping out does not equal getting what she wants. I dunno, maybe it is too early and I'm a mean Mommy. :P

Good days, bad days, fits and giggles...we'll take it all because she is worth every single second of it. We are often floored at how much we can love this little person whom we are so blessed to have in our lives.