Sunday, April 30, 2006

Five Months Old

The boys turned five months old on Saturday and we marked the occasion by leaving them with the two Grandmas and going to Sonoma! This much-needed respite was planned when they were probably two weeks old as our first getaway from the boys. At the time, the carrot of having some peace from two crying babies five months away was sometimes all we needed to make it through the day (or hour!).


View more photos of our trip

When the time came for us to go though, the apprehension of leaving them grew and we began to second-guess this trip. Not because we didn’t want to leave them in the very capable hands of someone other than ourselves, but because this past month has been so much fun with them. This has been their most engaging month for sure and their little personalities are starting to come alive. That’s not to say after that first quiet glass of Cabernet that we didn’t enjoy ourselves on our two days away! (See photos of our trip) We even found time to have conversations with each other that didn’t involve when the last time Colin pooped or had Jake taken a good nap. It was a great weekend away and thank you to the Grandmas for watching them.

Adrianne went back to work at the beginning of this month and we’ve been very fortunate to find a great nanny. Jackie comes Monday through Thursday at 7:00 a.m. and leaves each day at noon. The tag-team child care follows with Colleen taking over duties at noon until Age gets home in the afternoon. The Friday schedule is the same with Grammie Spencer coming down to offer her services along with Grandma Scully. It’s been a great situation so far. It gives Colleen a chance to catch a breather during the morning and both of the boys have really taken to Jackie. They both give her big smiles each morning when she arrives.

Both of them have been "talking" for more than a month, but this past month they have really increased voicing everything from sing-song to their displeasure with something. As you can see from some of the quick videos we’ve posted earlier (like this one) they both can chat away and squeal with delight.

Age and I both had our teeth come in early and it looks like Jake and Colin will get their first tooth soon too. It has been causing Jake some displeasure toward the end of this past month and he gets really fussy quickly now. I would like to blame everything on the teeth, but that kid just can’t sit still! Jake has got about a 20-minute attention span before he’s ready to move onto the next thing to entertain him. Every book, article or expert I’m sure will tell us not to give in and move him as soon as he starts whining and - for the most part - we don’t. But after a while of his fussing, it’s time to move him to the next play mat, swing, bouncy seat or whatever new view we can give him.

When those teeth come in though, Jake is going to be the one who gives us that big, toothy laugh. When you make Jake laugh, it’s not a giggle or small smile, it’s an all-out guffaw laugh. He just gets going and you laugh at him laughing and that makes him laugh even more. It’s really funny to see and cracks us up all the time.

His brother on the other hand, would smile at the mailman. Colin has made the complete transformation from his early days of colic and is a very happy, content baby these days. He loves to be talked to and smiles right back at you. When he’s under his mobile or in the swing he’ll let out these loud, high-pitched squeals.

Colin is also on the verge of rolling over. When he’s on the mat and looking up, he’s trying so hard to wiggle his body over onto his stomach. If you follow along on the development chart, this will be the month that they start that process. For some more reading on what to expect this month, read here. (Note: After posting this last night, Colin did what he's been trying to do for a week now and rolled over. At about 4:30 in the morning when Age was putting the pacifier back in Jake's mouth, Colin was squirming away and the next thing you know, he's on his back!)

The first four months were incredible and there were moments where each of them made us so proud to be their parents. But this past month has been when everything clicked in and every day became a joy to be their parents. You can catch a glimpse of what the next month, year or even more holds for us and these two kids and it makes you so happy.

Couple of new photos in their galleries.

  • The two boys together
  • Colin
  • Jake