TJ @ 5 months

I'm transitioning from TJ to James.  He really looks like a Tyler, but there's already a Tyler in the house, so what can you do?



We've transitioned from hypo-allergenic formula to the regular stuff.  After a month or so of adjusting, we'll start introducing  some solids and none of us can wait! James is always trying to snatch some bites. He's almost as bad as the dog.



Unless I'm very much mistaken, we've broken 20 pounds.  My arms ache whenever I carry him anywhere.



James still gets up once a night to eat, but since he eats a full 8 ounces, I don't think it's time to try and transition him to all-night yet.  He's obviously growing like crazy, so it seems like a bad idea to make him go hungry.



For some reason, the crazy kid forgot that he knows how to roll from stomach to back so we've had alot of meltdowns this week.  I don't know how he forgot, he was doing it fine last week.



I went to exchange the pink walker, but they only had more pink ones in stock! I just returned it.  I checked every other store in Idaho Falls (Target, Toys R' Us, Sams...) nobody carries walkers.  Ridiculous.



Thankfully, Grandma Ane sent James a bouncer!  We're getting alot of mileage out of it, but we'll really need to find a walker pretty soon.



He has a new-found desire to walk everywhere.  It's Tyler's fault- Tyler taught him how to take steps, and now he wants to walk around at church, back and forth between mom and dad.... I have a sneaking suspicion he will skip crawling, but we've got a few months yet, who knows what will happen.



His teeth are making him ca-razy.  He's chewing on everything, and stated a new habit of thumb-chewing.  It's like thumb-sucking, but he mostly just chews.



The only thing that doesn't stay in his mouth is his bink!  He pulls it out so he can put it back in himself, but he still can't aim quite right.  He can aim and hold his bottle, though, so for alot of feedings he feeds himself while sitting on my lap. I do help tip the bottle, though.  He doesn't notice if he's getting milk or air yet.



He loves being outside and talking to the baby on the diaper box.



He jabbers and makes all kinds of sounds, and sometimes I swear he calls for "mammma."  He's got the sounds for it, anyway.



We said good-bye to the swing this morning after TJ rolled out of it.  It has safety straps, but there are like twenty buckles and ain't nobody got time for that.  Now that he knows how to roll uphill, we'll just pack it away.
I feel terrible about the bruise on the back of his head where he hit the floor.



On that note, I feel totally inadequate to be this kids mom.  I mean, my kid rolled out of his swing this morning.  He is so sweet and happy.  He wants somebody to play with, but I have to spend alot of time doing homework on top of the usual household cleaning.  I've had a bad case of the "I'm not good enough" blues lately (the bruise on his head isn't helping), but I'm doing the best we can and that is that!



He isn't clingy to me or Tyler, but his constant desire for a playmate makes me think he'll be a great older brother when the time comes.  In the meantime, I love being his buddy!  I can't get enough laughs, smiles, or cuddles.



Life is good and we are blessed.
-Summer