Henry at five moths

So, Henry can do all kinds of amazing stuff now.  

He can sit!

For a while.  I wouldn't set him down on a hard surface and not supervise, but as I was taking these photos, I was amazed at how he kept re-balancing himself when he wobbled.

He can hold toys and usually find his mouth!

But if he drops them he gets so mad because he cannot always find them again.  And he often sticks whatever he's holding into his eye in an attempt to get it to his mouth.

Alas, he still cannot roll from his tummy to his back.

 But he can tolerate being on his tummy longer.  Right after I took these pictures, Steve looked over and noticed that he was wiggling enough in pursuit of a toy that it looked like the beginning of a commando crawl.  Woah.

 He can melt my heart with that smile, not to mention his velvety head and soft cheeks.

We say Henry is generally happy, except when he's not.  And then he's really not.  He has perfected a shriek that will stop you in your tracks.  I *think* he does it mostly when he's tired, but we are still figuring that out.  

We have been trying solid foods for a while and he's getting the hang of it.  He makes it clear that he wants more.  I think, maybe, though I probably ought not say it, that he is spitting up less.  And despite some initial concern, his new pediatrician is satisfied with his weight.  He's long and lean - 88th percentile for height last week and just 25th percentile for weight.

He has been giving me some grief at night... he caught a cold last week and mostly handled it well, but it did disrupt his sleep, and then he started into a pattern of waking up throughout the night.  Finally, Steve pointed out that I needed to just try not to feed him overnight but soothe him other ways, and that seems to be getting him back on track.  However, the last few days he has awoken in the wee hours - too late for me to get back to sleep and if Grace wakes then, she won't go back to sleep either.  It's not good.

He is getting more interested in toys and in putting everything everything everything in his mouth.  He really enjoys baths and kicks like crazy, splashing and soaking me, and it's hilarious.  He has a great giggle.  We don't hear it too often, but it is the cutest.  Grace, naturally, makes him laugh the most.

Henry started daycare yesterday.  It was hard for me to leave him, but he did fine.  He naps in a crib there so I hope it will help with getting him to nap in the crib at home as well.  As he gets older, I think he will have increasingly more fun with the other babies.  

He's a happy, calm little guy.  He is mesmerized by his sister.  He is in such a sweet stage of babyhood.    I love how his whole body smiles when he sees us.  He kicks his legs and waves his arms and his face lights up.  

This morning he fell asleep in my arms, and I really needed to get going to do some errands while Grace was at school.  I kept telling myself one more page in my book and I would move him, but I couldn't bring myself to wake him.  Holding a sleeping baby is one of life's simplest, greatest joys.  

Oh, Henry Cakes, we all love you so much.