5 Months!

5 months old!

Last week, Harper turned five months old!  She continues to grow everyday, and she's now at an age where she is a lot more interactive, smiling and babbling and snuggling with her family and friends.  Here are some of the things that our sweet, fun little Harper is up to these days...

A little sass at tummy time!

Tummy time has gotten a LOT better.  For a long while, tummy time was probably on Harper's list of least favorite things.  Now, while I wouldn't necessarily put it on her top ten, she's doing so much better--and she has made so much progress too!  Harper does a great job of holding her head and shoulders up to peek around and check out her surroundings.  If we put a ball or toy near by, she wriggles around in an effort to get closer.  She's not quite "scooting," but she's definitely inching.

Harper with her inchworm rattle

And speaking of inching, Harper's current favorite toy is her little inchworm rattle that we're pretty sure is the Richard Scary character.  She doesn't "rattle" it so much as try to devour that poor inchworm whole.  It is pretty hilarious to watch.  She's really having fun with toys in general.  She's improving everyday with reaching and grabbing for things; she's not 100% yet, but almost.  Of course, all her toys--and pretty much anything she can get her hands on--will end up in her mouth, but I guess that's just her current version of playing.

Toys are fun!

So much to see and do!

Playtime also includes a bit of a baby workout.  Her activity gym is perhaps her new favorite thing.  It is like a baby playground with all the sights and sounds.  While it is designed to help her reach and grab, she loves to use her legs to kick the dangling toys as well.  Coincidentally or not, her vigorous kicks are extremely effective in activating the activity gym's sounds.  Fortunately, the little musical number that plays isn't nearly as annoying as it could be.

What a workout!

Those baby karate kicks are also helping Harper to roll from side to side when she is on her back.  She is just shy of really going for it--and rolling completely from back to belly, but we feel like it's going to be any day now.  She continues to show off her ability to roll from her tummy to her back; maybe that is further evidence that she still isn't the biggest fan of tummy time.

Harper in her Bumbo seat

Harper has also become really great at sitting up.  She can't do it unsupported yet, but she's really steady in her little Bumbo chair that our amazing friends from church gave her at my baby shower.  She also likes to sit with the support of her Boppy pillow, and she doesn't bob and wobble as much as she used to.  What a grown-up girl!


As Harper reaches these fun and exciting developmental milestones, that also means that there are new things for us to work on.  Harper's current challenge is sleeping.  She went from napping regularly in her bassinet when she was a tiny baby to napping erratically, to only napping in her swing or while being held.  While nothing warms my heart like holding my sweet, sleeping girl, that kind of nap just isn't sustainable or practical in the long run.  We realized that Harper wasn't getting enough of the quality sleep that a growing baby needs and deserves.  So...with heavy and somewhat hesitant hearts, we officially moved Harper out of her bassinet in our room and into the crib in her nursery this weekend. "Sleep training" has officially begun.  Wish us luck!  

Sleepy baby