Chris and Kristen + 2: 5 months old- April 2011

Month 5 was filled with lots of playing and new things to experience. Hannah and Owen's personalities are starting to bloom as they become their own individual little people. We had several big firsts this month. Here is my recount from the journal I keep for Hannah and Owen on the computer (the easiest way to try and document things as they happen).

Hannah rolled over from her back to her stomach twice and I managed to miss it both times! I ran back to their nursery to grab stuff to get them ready for bed and when I came back out she was on her stomach. Yay, Hannah! We had a lot of fun playing together over my spring break this month. Hannah was full of smiles and she began cackling to herself as she found almost everything she did amusing. She became very interested in her toys and reaches and grabs for things within her reach. She especially likes playing with the toys that dangle from her bouncy seat, play gym, and stationary bouncer. Hannah is very focused when playing and makes multiple attempts to get what she is after. Hannah also got her first tooth this month. It is on her bottom left hand side in the front. We thought for sure Owen was going to be the first to get a tooth, but Hannah beat him to it!

Tummy time-notice she's not crying, but still not a fan!

Hannah was very proud of herself for grabbing this hanger while I was dressing Owen.

Owen became much more verbal this month and he has his own way of babbling and cooing to you. When he looks into your eyes its as if he is really trying to communicate something important with you. Owen was all smiles and laugh during my spring break. I spent a lot of time tickling him on his chest and under his chin to listen to his belly laugh again and again. He is rolling over nonstop on the living room floor and in his crib. He thinks he is really funny. He actually has quite a bit of gusto when rolling over and we've had to put down a foam floor because he thinks it's funny to slam his head down as he rolls over. His Granddad says he looks like a little bowling ball when he grabs his feet and rolls so fast. Owen is really strong and he managed to pull the tail feather off the toy parrot that dangles from his play gym while I was home. I'm not sure how the casualty happened...I only saw the end result.

Rolling, Rolling, Rolling-I love being on my tummy!

Owen likes to put his passy in upside down

Poor Parrot

Look at me-

being in my crib is so fun when I roll from one side to the other and from the top to the bottom!

Hannah and Owen had their first play date this month with their friend, Mara. Her mom and I went to UVA together and she is a fellow teacher in the county. We planned our weddings together and have been keeping up with each other as our lives change and our families grow. It was really fun to see Hannah and Owen show such interest in another baby because most of the time they pay little attention to each other.

At 5 1/2 months I decided to start solid food with Hannah and Owen. They did start sleeping through the night before they got rice cereal, but Owen always seemed to be hungry. I never knew what a process it was to figure out how to feed a baby. We started with the traditional rice cereal and had Hannah and Owen in their bebe pod seats at the kitchen table. I had read all the baby books I had and pulled out our new bowls and spoons and bibs. We were all ready to go and the camera was ready too. Needless to say they didn't think too highly of the experience...Owen ate a few spoons and Hannah...cried. It took a few attempts to figure out when they were most interested in eating (which was different than all the books suggested). I finally figured out they ate best about 30 minutes before they were due for a bottle. By the end of the week they were doing much better and eating several tablespoons of cereal mixed formula. They also like it a little thicker and not as runny as the instructions suggest for the first feeding.