5 Months

Growing up is hard. Little One has always been good for a challenge, but this was the month of cowgirlin' up. Here are some of the ways Little One is Tough Enough for 5 whole months old:

Tough Enough for Solitary Confinement
Little One still sometimes gives us a few bars of the "not-really-nice-to-leave-me-in-here-by-myself" song at bedtime. But I get the feeling it's more obligatory than heartfelt now. Waking up alone isn't scary anymore either, and She now hosts a social hour with Toes and Blanket in the mornings. She will spend up to an hour just talking and giggling and playing away, until either She realizes She's hungry or I get Her up.
Naps are coming right along too. Part of the new "I can totally take you crib!" attitude is the addition of Blankie. Blankie, like Lassie, is actually a series of several little blankets, with silky edging that Little One likes to bear hug, roll on Her side, and spoon when She sleeps. She does not realize this, but Blankie has a mutinous plot to overthrow Pacifiers, and it's working.

Strong Enough to Move It
Forget about rolling. Little One's current choice in ambulatory techniques is the wiggle-scoot. Her bootie (accompanied by the incredibly powerful leg-chubs) is now capable of creating directional motion. In fact I have had to flip around Her changing table so that She is boxed in, after She quite nearly wiggled Herself right off the edge. She can quite nearly wiggle Herself out of a lot now. The only drawback to this exciting form of locomotion is that it can occur only in one direction, feet-wards.
She is also strong enough now that I get to put to work one of the most useful gifts nature ever gave women, despite the fact that all of our thank-you cards to nature said "aw...you shouldn't have": hips. Those suckers are handy places to put small people while you get things done.

Smart Enough to Make Things Happen.
Toys are not just for gumming on! She has noticed that they can be used for other things. The rattle, for instance, can be rattled. On purpose. The toy piano can make music, at Her will. Hanging objects move when She smacks them and stop when She grabs them. Objects hugged get closer and objects thrown disappear. These clues have led to the thrilling discovery that Little One can decide to do Things, that the World can be manipulated, and that Her actions can cause effects. This discovery has been very fun to watch.

Bold Enough to enjoy Herself
Little One is still as smiley as it gets. She's pretty much just having a grand ole time with life. But certain things make her especially happy, particularly the dog, E. They spend a lot of time looking at each other, getting excited, and wiggling around. And trying to drool on each other. She's also very into other children and babies; very much the socialite, having lots to say to other Little Ones we see when we're out. She flirts with everyone though, really.
She's also bold enough to love being naked and the changing table, maybe for this reason, remains Her "happy place". Bath time, perhaps also for the nudity inherently involved, has made a comeback in Little One's good graces. Other fun things to do include taking walks, chomping on Her fingers, squealing and babbling with fingers in Her mouth, playing peek-a-boo, and rolling side to side while holding onto Her feet. She is not too tough to admit that snuggling remains the top pastime of choice. And She is not yet tough enough for tummy time to be un-miserable, though the Howl alert is now on about a 30 second delay. So that's progress, right?

Brave Enough to Take on the World
The biggest change in Little One over the last month is Her ability to face new things. It is now OK for people other than me or J to hold Her. Loud noises are still scary, but She has learned to look to Her trusted adults when this happens, and (usually) if She gets a reassuring smile the pouty bottom lip gets re-cast as a grin instead of becoming a cry. New sights and sounds have become interesting enough to outweigh their scariness, and Little One is very into soaking up the world around Her. In fact the last few weeks have been pretty jam-packed with outings to all sorts of overstimulating places (topped off by front row seats at a parade) and Little One has turned out to be amazingly portable and amiable on these adventures. She has (dare I say it?!) become a very "easy" baby.

Overall I'd say the great advancement of the last month was this ebbing of Little One's sensitivities and the new fearless explorer attitude that has Her trying new things and having fun everywhere we go. It makes me very excited to see what new challenges will be met in the next month, and it's also great that She makes such a good partner in crime for all sorts of activities now that She is tough enough to take the Big Scary World in stride. And look, we all know that it is pretty big and scary. So I'm super proud of Little One for greeting Her 5 month birthday by looking the World in the eye, standing (well, sitting) tall and saying, "Bring it!"

Happy Birthday, Little One! I can't wait to see what the next month brings.