5 months young

Well, today is my little Hayes' 5 month birthday and I can barely remember life before my little stinker. This boy is B-I-G! He has some serious thunder thighs. So big, in fact, that we have a hard time getting him in and out of his Bumbo! My mom thinks we should invent the "Jumbo Bumbo" for plus-sized babies. ;-) Hayes already wears size 9 and 12 month clothes, and size 3 diapers, but I will be buying size 4's next... the size 3's are quickly becoming little bikinis on him.

Hayes loves his milk! I nurse him in the mornings and at night, but he is now mainly drinking formula during the day. You all have read about our unsuccessful attempts at rice and oatmeal cereal, and we will be introducing something other than applesauce this week!

Hayes has always been so strong since the day he was born, and at 5 months has almost mastered the art of sitting up. He can sit for a while until he either gets bored with being upright, or decides he wants to play with his toes and bends over too far to get back up.

His laugh is contageous and we're hearing more and more of it lately! He LOVES to hear me sing! His favorite songs are "Father Abraham" (with the motions), and "I'm in the Lord's Army" (with the motions). He pretty much loves me to sing ANYTHING as long as I look him in they eyes and bounce him around a bit.

Hayes still loves his bath! I've started taking a bath with him in the big tub in our bathroom where he has fun playing with the rubber duckies! He goes to sleep (still on his belly) around 8:30 each night, and wakes up around 6:30 or 7. He rarely wakes up in the middle of the night (thank you, Hayes!), and in the morning, he wakes up so happy! One of my favorite things is going into his room each morning and watching the giant grin appear on his sweet face when he sees me.

He can roll over in all directions, and is reaching for EVERYTHING! When on his belly, Hayes tucks his knees under his belly, but hasn't yet made any other progress toward actually crawling. He started his new babysitter this week (we were sad to see Erin go back to college), but Mrs. Lynn says he is doing great! She says he doesn't ever cry unless he's hungry. But when he's hungry, Hayes will certainly let you know! He can hold his own bottle after he drinks about half of it, but I hear he holds it better at the babysitter's than he does at home.

Between 4 and 5 months, Hayes lost almost all of his baby hair. He was born with a head full of dirty blonde hair, but his new hair is coming in almost white! He looks bald, but I promise he has fuzzy white hair all over his head! And if you look closely, you can see his white eyebrows and eyelashes. He didn't have much of a chance to be anything other than a tow head considering his mommy and daddy.

I love hearing Hayes talk. Justin says he likes to hear himself talk just like Mommy! ;-) This child has brightened our lives in so many ways and I thank God every day for my little blessing!