Fantastically Fab at Five.

He's just SO grown up these days.

Growing more and more goofy with each passing day.

(Remember who his parents are.)

And this whole "side-by-side size comparison with the monkey/sharing the spotlight" business...

Somebody may have realized this monkey doesn't stand a chance in the cuteness department...

In fact...he might have told this monkey to get lost...

He might have also reminded this monkey who has the cuter cheeks...

A cute little boy who is also in the beginning stages of teething...

Checking to make sure nobody caught him in the act (or noticed his shirt is a bit snug)...

He may be so bored with this monkey that he actually yawned mid-photo shoot...

A young aspiring comedian???

Sitting is sooooooooooo last month.  This 5 month-old has new tricks...

And this rotten grin on his face...well-he knows just how complicated our lives have gotten now that he's on all fours.

Rolls? What rolls Mom?

Excuse me, can you please get out of my way?

Dear Stinky Dinky Doo-

Oh. My. Goodness.  Henry-you've changed so much in the past month that I'm not even sure where to begin.  First things first...

You hit a major growth spurt around 4 1/2 months and as a result, started waking up once a night to eat.  You simply could NOT make it 8-9 hours without eating.  So for pretty much the first time in your life, Mama got a taste of what it's like to have a baby that actually acts like a baby-you know, the kind that wake up in the middle of the night. Weird huh?  I really didn't mind your middle-of-the-night feeding though.  We were both all business: You'd start to stir. I'd stumble into your nursery. I would nurse. You would eat. And then it was back to sleep for both of us.

But after just a few weeks...you seem to be back to your normal schedule of sleeping through the night.  Perhaps part of that might have to do with the fact that you're belly is more full these days since you've officially entered the exciting world of baby food.  Long gone are the days of boring rice cereal...these days you join Daddy Perks and I at the dinner table for the vegetable or fruit du jour. You are what some may refer to as a puree pro.  You've dabbled in the likes of all the common vegetables including carrots, green beans, squash, butternut corn & squash, and sweet potatoes.  Then, this past week, you ventured into the exciting world of fruits.  So far you've tried pears and bananas.  I wish you could have been old enough to appreciate the anticipation Daddy and I had the first time we put a spoonful of carrots up to your mouth.  We were certain you'd make faces, spit it out, look at us like we were torturing you...BUT NO.  You. loved. it.  In fact, you've loved every single food you've tried.  Next up you'll try apples, strawberries and peaches.  And the real test to see how not-picky you really are...we'll round out the fruit tour with prunes.  And if you gobble up the prunes like you have every other food...well then we'll know we've  truly lucked out.

So, for you number crunchers out there...fruits+vegetables+breast milk=a 5 month old baby boy wearing all 6-12 month clothes.  Long gone are your itty bitty baby clothes Hank.  You're huge, and so are your clothes.  I often find myself looking at your jeans thinking to myself-shouldn't a toddler be wearing these?  Surely my sweet baby boy isn't big enough to fit into these clothes.  But you are.

And you continue to break hearts everywhere you go.  You are quite the delightful distraction at the grocery store, mall, restaurants, and anywhere else we tote you around with us.  And my goodness do you ham it up for a crowd.  You smile and coo at whoever will pay attention to you.  You are quite the performer-just like Daddy.

As far as your most notable physical milestones go...the week before you turned 5 months old, you entered the early stages of crawling.  I was watching TV one night, and looked over to find you up on all fours, grinning from ear to ear.  It was as if your smile was saying "you have no idea what you're in for Mom."  Essentially you skipped right over the "army crawl" and decided you're all business when it comes to moving.  You've spent the last few weeks working hard to figure out exactly how this whole crawling business works.  You tend to get up on all fours, move your knees forward, but forget that your hands need to move forward also, and then you topple forward onto your head.  It's kind of pathetic, but wildly entertaining for Daddy and I.    You've done much better with crawling backwards. However, this proves to be an issue as we set toys out in front of you, and then as you move, they toys get further and further away.  We have been blown away by the fact that you're crawling this early, but I should have known that when you held your head up by yourself the day you were born that we were in for it.  You are so incredibly strong.

Speaking of strong-you've also realized that you have toes, and you want to grab them all. the. time.  When we are changing you, you grab onto your toes and don't let go.  Sometimes I literally have to pry them apart just to get your diaper and pants on.  I'm not complaining though, since I can't tell you how lucky I feel that you're progressing so well, and meeting all your milestones.

And even more importantly-you are healthy as a horse.  They say breastfed babies tend to have really strong immune systems, and you are NO exception.  You've made it almost 6 months without a single ailment.  Not so much as a runny nose.  No ear infections. No fevers. No viruses. No coughs.  Nothing.  I can't tell you how lucky I feel that we've made it this far into your life and the only visits we've had to the doctor have been for your well visits.  I praise God everyday for your health everyday and know it is not something to take for granted.

Hmmmmmm what else what else.  Oh! The other morning I walked into your room and you were sitting up in your crib.  It was crazy.  You looked so grown up, and gave me this look as if you were saying, "Yeah mom, I sit in my crib, no big deal."  It was just one of those many parenting moments where I wanted to pinch myself and freeze time.  Not because sitting up in one's crib by oneself is some monumental bragging right, but more because my little baby is not little anymore.  And pretty soon you won't be a baby anymore.  So for now-I'm soakin' up all the perks of your little-ness while I still can.  And loving you more and more with every sitting, crawling, baby food eating breath you take.

Love you Buggy,

Mama.