The Schmitts

Dear Noah,

Today you are 5 months old. Before I forget, Happy New Year, buddy! You've accomplished quite a lot already in these first 25 days of 2013! This month was filled with lots of "firsts", which included your very first bite of rice cereal, your first ride in the "big boy" stroller, your first playgroup, and perhaps the biggest milestone you've reached thus far, your first time sitting up on your own.

It is so fun watching you learn. Lately, it seems like you are learning something new every day. Shortly before you learned to sit up, you discovered your feet, and you are absolutely infatuated with them :) One of your favorite activities now is to pull your socks off and just play with your feet (you like to "eat" them too). Sometimes you are perfectly content playing with your feet as opposed to your toys. Don't get me wrong though, you still LOVE your toys. Since you've learned to sit up, we've been introducing more and more "big boy" toys and you are really taking to them well. You love pretty much anything that plays music, but you are also a big fan of just good ole' stack-able cups.

This month was also Daddy's first trip to China since you've been born. You see, Daddy travels a lot for work and has been to some pretty amazing places...China, India, Singapore, Japan, and Germany just to name a few. Some day Daddy will tell you all about his travels. During this trip to China he visited The Great Wall and brought you back a postcard with your name written in Chinese. Pretty neat since he had it made just for you at The Great Wall! Both Mommy and Daddy love to travel, and we hope to instill that love for travel in you someday as well.

Last month we thought you might be teething, but alas, still no teeth. You went through a mini sleep regression right as you turned 4 months (which was part of the reason why we thought you might be teething), but that was luckily followed by 9-10 straight hours of sleeping at night. Your naps are slowly but surely getting better and more consistent as well. Yay for sleep! Sleep helps you grow big and strong! With your sleep/feeding schedule becoming more consistent, we've evolved into a pretty solid routine over the last month or so. I'm sure our routine will change again quicker than I can blink, but here is a look at your "schedule" right now:

6am - Wake up; bottle; go back to sleep (usually for about 1.5 - 2 hours)
8am - Wake up for the day!
10am - Bottle + breakfast (rice cereal); begin nap routine
10:30am - Nap (this nap can vary from 30 min to 1 hour...usually 30 min)
1:30pm - Bottle; begin nap routine
1:45pm - Nap (this nap can vary from 30 min to 1.5 hours)
5:00pm - Bottle + dinner (rice cereal)
7:30pm - Bath; begin bedtime routine; bottle
8:30pm - Bedtime

Can't wait to see what this next month brings as you approach your 6 month birthday!

Until next time, here are some of my favorite snapshots from your 5th month.

You & Daddy on New Years Day watching the Michigan bowl game

1st taste of rice cereal

Attempting to "eat" your rubber ducky

A photo of you not napping during nap time ;)

Saturday morning piano lessons ;)

Playing with your ball popping Dino toy

(here you were just sitting up for a few seconds at a time)

You are my heart :)

You found your feet!

One of my absolute favorite photos of you (@ 20 weeks old)

Sitting up is fun!

You are an official "sitter"!

You love your stack-able cups!

No height/weight stats this month, but you are still in 6 month clothes and size 2 diapers...for now :)

I love you,

Mommy

Dear Noah,

You turned 4 months old on Christmas Day this year, so I am writing this letter a few days later this month. We just got home from our trip to NY, where we celebrated Christmas with Daddy's side of the family. You got to meet so many new family members, including all of your cousins. You are such a loved little boy. You received so many wonderful gifts from family and friends. You are very blessed, Noah. Some day Mommy and Daddy will teach you the true meaning of Christmas, and how to give to others who may not be as fortunate as you are.

This month you showed a lot of developmental progress with your motor skills. You are now a pro at tummy time, picking up your head, chest, and shoulders off of the ground in the form of a baby push-up :) You have also become quite the little rolling machine...you love rolling from your back to belly while playing with toys. We are now practicing sitting up, and you are slowly but surely getting the hang of it (still with support, for now, but getting stronger every day). We even put you in your exersaucer this month, and it has become your new favorite toy!

Your favorite time of day is morning. You are always so smiley in the morning. You love to be sung to, and it is almost always a surefire way to get you to smile :) You are laughing more and more, and you are also beginning to "find" your voice now too. We love to make you laugh and are still waiting for that first big belly laugh.

Mommy and Daddy think you may even be teething, as you are drooling a ton and are constantly chewing on your hands and putting all of your toys in your mouth. Only time will tell, but we think you may be cutting your 1st tooth very soon.

You are growing so fast, buddy. Every month brings more and more change. We can't wait to see your personality emerge over these next few months. You are truly the biggest blessing in our lives.

Here are some of my favorite snapshots from your 4th month.

This is your "tummy time" face - so curious of the world around you