Dear Tyler,
Wow, the time is really flying by! You continue to change so fast, I am just trying to soak it all in and remember as much of everything as possible! The past month or so I have been really bad about taking pictures so I am going to try to be better about it in this new year.
I think that you are able to recognize people you know. At first when you see someone who you don’t know, you look at them a lot and then you will start to smile if they interact with you. When you see people you already know, you smile right away!
Your Daddy and I love to make you laugh. It has to be the sweetest most innocent sound I have ever heard. It is so amazing to watch and hear you when you think something is so funny! We love to do whatever we can to make you smile and laugh.
I tried several times this past month to feed you some rice cereal which is supposed to be your first “solid” food, however, you were not a huge fan. So I gave it a rest for now. Your pediatrician, Dr. Lauren Feder, says that you really don’t “need” solid foods yet anyway. You are still only 5 months and she says that at this age the best food is still breastmilk anyway so I feel comfortable with the fact that at this point that is all you are eating. I might try some sweet potatoes at some point to see if you like them, Dr. Feder says that would be the next thing I might want to try. We’ll see how it goes!
Each month you seem to have more coordination with your hands. You are also getting more curious about everything, wanting to grab anything you see. We now have to be very careful about what is in arms reach! Once you grab things, often they go straight into the mouth, even if it is a napkin or Mommy’s face! The funny part is when you put a napkin in your mouth and then you get a funny look on your face, as if you are surprised that it doesn’t taste good. You love to try to grab Mommy’s sparkly necklaces or rings too, that seems to be a favorite. You are now able to grab and hold your own bottle! When you see your bottle, you reach out for it and put it into your mouth! It is amazing to see you do this and to see that you recognize what you want.
You are getting really close to being able to sit up all by yourself. You can sit on your own but still fall over at times. You usually prefer to sit up rather than lay back now, so whenever you are laying back you try to pull your body up, and often are able to do it. You also are really trying to move around on your own. When you are on your back, you do this inchworm thing where you push yourself around using your feet & legs, you sort of bend your legs and then push your feet on the ground to scoot along the floor. And when you’re on your tummy, you are sort of doing the same thing, inching your way along. You aren’t using your arms yet to try to actually crawl but I’m sure that will come soon enough! I can no longer put you down on the ground and expect you to be in the same place for very long! You also have started to roll over in your crib at night which is exciting and at the same time terrifying. I know that we are not supposed to put you to sleep on your tummy so to find you face down on your tummy is a bit scarry. The pediatrician says it’s ok though as long as you are rolling over on your own and able to get back onto your back on your own as well. At this point you have no problems rolling over from your tummy to your back and vice versa.
This month was your first Christmas! Even though you are still too young to realize what is going on it was a lot of fun. You had 4 Christmas celebrations! You got so many presents, more than anyone else! You got lots of your very own Christmas ornaments, it will be fun to put them all up on our tree next year. Your Grandma gave you a really cool rocking dragon! It is so colorful and makes noises and has lots of textures, everything that you like! It has a strap to hold you on so we put you on it and you were so happy, smiling away on it. You got lots of other fun toys and lots of clothes too. What a lucky boy you are! The other big Christmas surprise that we got was your two front teeth! On Christmas Eve your Grandma noticed something sharp in your mouth when you bit down on her finger. We were all surprised to see that there was a tooth there! It had just broken through your gums, and we could see the second one was about to come through also. It came in two days later!
We celebrated your first New Years Eve! You weren’t awake at midnight, but we celebrated your NYE early. That night I was thinking about how much our lives have changed now that you are here. We have been so blessed to have a healthy, very happy baby boy. I am looking forward to 2010 and to watching you continue to grow and develop. This year will be full of so many new adventures and I am looking forward to them all!
Love,
Mommy
With Blue Bear at 5 months 
As you can see, Tyler is no longer a passive baby. He is curious about everything!
