Happy 5 Months Baby Tate!

This last month has been fun, and as I say every time, it's hard to believe he turned 5 months old on the 5th. He is definitely becoming much more interactive, and we see more of his personality emerging. We get to hear more giggles, see more smiles, and hear lots more babbling each day.

The biggest accomplishment this month (for him and us) was that he finally slept through the entire night. Now the books define sleeping through the night as 5-6 hours. That’s not quite my definition, since before Tate, I was an 8-hours-a-night kind of gal. But a few weeks ago, I had my first full night of sleep in over a year (considering when I was pregnant I was up once or twice a night to use the restroom). It’s a new (and happier) day for us all.

He might have slept through the night earlier, but we had to get through the drama of weaning him from a swaddle, and then he started trying to turn on his side at night. It completely freaked me out at first, since I thought the SIDS Police would surely come beat down my door and take away my parenting rights. Once he finally figured out how to do it on his own, it has become his automatic sleeping position and we don’t hear much of a peep until about 7:00 a.m.

This month has also confirmed that we have a full-fledged thumb sucker on our hands. I have to admit that at this age it is pretty cute. But I get a little nervous when people I don’t even know come up to me and say I should try to get him to quit now…because if not, he’ll still be sucking him thumb in junior high! Or maybe they just said when he’s 5, but seriously people, a first-time mom can only worry about so many things at a time.

I’m working hard at keeping one of my New Year’s resolutions of soaking in and enjoying the simple moments with Tate. Since I know it won’t last forever, I’m enjoying every chance I get when he’s in a cuddle bug mood or when I can watch him sleep. I just love this guy more and more every single day.

Here are some pics from the past month:

Morning goodbye kiss and zerbert from Daddy

Don't worry, I'll teach him when he's older that calling a girl a "chick" won't score big points. :) At less than a year, I don't think they mind so much.

Tate has just started really noticing and responding to Macy. He loves watching her play outside and laughs when she chases us up the stairs. Macy's thoughts...is this kid ever going to leave, so my privileged dog life can return to normal?