Five Month Old Esther

• Don't have any height or weight stats for you. I'd guess Esther's somewhere between 13 and 14 pounds.
• Esther became a great sleeper this month...and then un-became a great sleeper. Near the beginning of the month I started waking her up before going to bed myself for a feeding, then we trained her to sleep through the rest of the night. The crying was pretty minimal and we enjoyed the fruits of that training for a few nights. Then we traveled and all those good habits disappeared. Waking up 3 or 4 times a night while we were away from home was all too common.
• Esther spent nearly half of this month away from home. First we went to West Virginia with the whole family, then we (just me and the kids) spent Thanksgiving week in Texas with Zach's family. Esther is a pretty good traveler--she handles long stretches in a car or airplane well.
• Esther rolled over for the first time this month, tummy to back AND back to tummy a few weeks later. So far she has only done it while wearing disposable diapers. Cloth seems to give her too much of a hurdle to overcome. Sadly, her daddy has yet to witness her do it and I haven't caught it on camera.
• Esther's hair seems to be getting a bit lighter. I am kind of sad about that, although she is still beautiful of course.
• The range of sounds that Esther makes is expanding. She talks to herself sometimes in her crib. I like listening to it even if it is keeping me from sleeping.
• Esther has liked to put her hands in her mouth for awhile now, but this past week she's been doing it like her life depended on it. Not to mention chewing on anyone else's arm/shoulder/fingers or her own clothes...whatever is available. Teething?
• Esther really likes her playmat. If she is well-rested and well-fed, she can play on it for as long as fifteen minutes.
• Esther still takes four naps most days, although I think she is transitioning to three.
• Esther is still not a bottle girl. Sigh. I feel like we've tried everything. I'm glad she's almost old enough to learn to use a sippy cup; maybe she'll drink milk out of one when I need to be gone.
• We left both kids with a "real" babysitter for the first time this month. (our beloved Emma; when she goes to college next year who knows what we'll do.) It did not go so well, probably because of the bottle issues described already.
• I really love my little girl. Lots and lots and lots. :)