Monthly Newsletter #5

My dearest Gabriel,

You're five months old! How did this happen? I don't recall giving you permission to grow and change so quickly.

You have done a lot of growing and changing over the last month. For starters, when I brought you home and fed you in the middle of the night, you curled up on my belly like a little stuffed animal. Now, I have this LONG baby whose feet hang down way past my waist as I tote you back to your crib. I can tell you now, you'll never have the nickname "shorty."

You've discovered how delightful your hands are for chewing and you've thrown your feet into that equation as well. You are working diligently on teething and promptly bring all items to your mouth. Your father and I are enjoying the nice drool covered hands that explore our face and the effort you make to chew on our noses. You've also discovered your "voice" and love to sit and bounce on your father's knee while making primal grunts and yawlps. You also use your voice to shriek at us when we don't pay you sufficient attention. Your personality is just exploding beautifully every day. Today, for instance, I noticed that you have taken up new facial expressions like scrunching up your nose. I think you have discovered that you have some control over smiles and expressions and you like practicing them. Of course, your father and I reward your efforts by copying you and trying to one-up your efforts with sillier faces. You get a kick out of your nutty parents.
We have new routines that we have started in the last month. We brush your gums every night in preparation for your big toofers. We also read and sing songs before putting you to bed. Your favorite book is "The Wheels on the Bus Go Round and Round" along with the accompanying song that Daddy sings so well. We've even successfully sung it in the car, when you often get most cranky, and it calms you right down.
We're venturing outside of the house with you more these days. We took you to the Arts and Crafts festival and let you have tiny bites of the yummy home-made ice cream. You also enjoyed all the brightly colored art and the fresh air. You are quite the outdoorsman, always happy to have a ride in the Graco carrier that Aunt Ellen gave us.

This month you've also started expressing definite opinions about new people that you meet. When we go to church, you smile and flirt with some people while totally rejecting others. I haven't figured out a pattern yet, but I am sure you have your reasons. We've got to work on your southern charm a bit, you know what I mean?
Another exciting development has been your willingness to laugh out loud at the silly things your father and I do to get your attention. It is the sweetest reward in the universe and sends us back time and again for more. You currently laugh when I smooch on the folds of your neck or tickle you under your arms while saying "ticky, ticky." I also sing to you "you're a little monkey, yes you are, yes you are, yes you are..." and you always smile at that. You're other favorite ditty from Mama is "Gabriel Benjamin he's my boy, he's my boy, he's my boy..." Don't worry; Mama won't give up her day job to be a song writer.

When we put you down to sleep at night, we used to leave you in one place and return to find you there. Not so anymore. You can move 360 degrees in a matter of minutes and roll from front to back. Pretty soon I am going to have to remove the delightful toys in your crib as your father and I don't relish hearing the Mickey Mouse "It's a small world after all" tune echoing from your crib at 3am. I don't know how you have managed to figure it all out in such a short amount of time, but you have. You make Mama proud.
On a more serious note, we had very good news about your vision the other day. Your father and I worried that your left eye may not be as strong as your right eye. So, we took you to see a pediatric opthamologist and he ran a battery of tests. You passed with flying colors and were pronounced healthy and normal. The doctor said that the epicanthal folds in the corner of your eyes were a bit prominent, a common condition in young children, and that as your nose grows the folds will disappear. Your father and I were greatly relieved and give sincere thanks to God for your robust health. I probably say it every month, but you light up our life in ways we never imagined. You make life sweeter and simpler. Thank you my precious angel, Gabriel.

Love,
Mama