five whole months. oh my...

my little pratt,

here are your five month pictures. i know i should put up just one...but i never can pick a favorite. i always have multiple favorites.

where did the time go? you have gone from being this little, bitty baby to a big, capable little boy.

you love to stand up. you love to sit up. you love to be on your belly and push yourself up to see everything around you. you refuse to sleep in stores or restaurants. there is just too much to see. you grin from ear to ear as soon as you see your daddy's face. you grin and your little eyes just close. it is the sweetest thing i have ever seen. i don't know how i will ever be able to love anything or anyone like i love you.

you are sleeping through the night. you hit the hay around 715. and you wake between 615 and 7. i'm a believer in routines, so you have a bath every night around 630. then you take a few more ounces and you're pretty sleepy around 7, 715. and we put you in your crib and you (usually) fall fast asleep. you really do enjoy being in your own bed. and that makes me feel so good.

you nap for about 2 hours in the morning. usually around 9. and then again at 1. and sometimes you nap for 30 to 45 minutes around 4. other times, you'd rather not. i think you like to stay up and watch ellen with me :)

you're eating 5 ounces every 3 hours. and between 6 to 8 ounces an hour before bedtime. with cereal. you have rice cereal at your last meal. you love cereal. if you think that's good...just wait until you can start to have real cereal. the good stuff. like lucky charms. yummy, yummy!

you still love your johnny jumper. you laugh and smile at pretty much everyone. you're such a happy baby. coco (whitney) actually asked yesterday if she could babysit you. this is a huge deal. coco doesn't babysit anyone. :)

you love your eric carle board books. especially "the quiet cricket" and "the very lonely firefly". i think it's because of the noises and the lights. with most any book, you try to reach out and hold it for yourself. you do the same thing with your bottle. you want so badly to hold it yourself. but you're still pretty wobbly with it. all in time...

you love ace. you laugh at him anytime he comes near you. the other day you watched me stick my hand out and have ace lick it, so you did the same. i almost fell off the chair. you really did. and when ace licked your hand, you cracked up laughing.

we've started sign language with you. "more" is the first word. once you pick up on it, we'll add other words. i know five months is early...but i've read that the earliest babies can pick up on it at six months. so, five months shouldn't be too early. i figure the sooner, the better.

you continue getting bigger and bigger. right before we give you a bath, you love being naked on your changing table. you are getting so tall. you're in 9 month clothing. but you don't fill it out with weight...it's more with your height. you can thank your uncle jim and uncle doug for that. the only chubby thing about you...your wrists. i love it. it looks like we've tied strings around them. and your skin just pooched over it. too cute.

getting you up in the morning is our favorite time. you are always on your belly. and as soon as you hear our voices, you raise your little head up, your eyes are barely open and you just grin as big as you can. it is the sweetest face ever. you've gotten to where no matter where you are, once you see our faces, you smile. tired, unhappy, hungry, whatever. it doesn't matter. you always seem happy to see us.

you've started doing this thing when you're upset. instead of just sticking out your bottom lip, you also stick your tongue out. it is hilarious. almost like you can't decide if you want to pout or stick your tongue out at me. i'll try to get a picture of it. it makes you so mad because everytime you do it, i laugh :)

your dad got you and him a rhino this weekend. you'll be able to ride in it with him. he claims he's going to put your carseat in it. i don't know about all that. but he already has big plans to take you fishing. after all, we are only a stones throw from the river. and thanks to andy, clara and baby anderson, you already have a fishing pole.

you love other kids. we had dinner with some friends the other night who have two little girls. they just ooed and aahed over you and you loved it. you would just smile at them.

you read me frighteningly well. when i'm on the phone, and raise my voice or laugh, you look at me to determine how you should react. this is completely overwhelming to me.

below is a video i took last night. you crack up laughing when i'm laughing. it's so stinkin' funny. it's like you know i'm laughing...so something must be pretty funny. so you laugh too. you're really starting to get when something is funny. like today in the car. the blanket was covering your face. so when i pulled it back, and laughed at you, you laughed right back at me. your dad noticed this first. when he was taking your clothes off for a bath two nights ago. when he pulled one of your socks off, he made a silly noise. you just fell out laughing. it's hard to believe you're growing up so fast.

in only five months, our lives have been completely turned upside down. and we could not be any happier. we are blessed beyond measure. we love you, pumpkin.