Show and Tell with the Takalas: Five Months

Well, month five has already come and gone. It's hard to believe our darling girl is almost a half of a year old. This month has been just as wonderful as each of the months before, and certainly a little more challenging as she is becoming more independent. We celebrated Christmas in Emily's fifth month, which was so much fun. We also laughed and beamed with pride as she began to discover new things, develop more of her personality, and become more of who she is going to be. She loves to play in her exersaucer, splash in the bath, play on the floor, and laugh alot for her daddy when he kisses her tummy. Here are a few highlights of the fifth month:

Christmas: Emily's first Christmas was wonderful, but also marked the beginning of a difficult week. We celebrated with our family on my side and Lucas's side and Emily's body was taken over by a little fussy monster for about a week. We thought it was teeth, but since she still has none to show for it, we aren't sure what the problem was.
Babysitter: Emily began with her babysitter this month. We absolutely adore Mrs. Leslie and she loves our little girl, as well. What a blessing to be leaving her with someone we can trust and know that Emily is happy while she is there!
Sleep training: After a few very rough nights, we decided to finally buckle down and do some sleep training. So far, so good!
A few firsts: A few firsts from this month were first time to sleep in her crib, first time to eat rice cereal (which hasn't really agreed with her very well,) and first time to ring in the new year.
Moving around: Emily really started to reach for things around her right after her four month birthday. She would reach and actually hold onto anything that was offered to her, before promptly dropping it in a game of "Uh-Oh!" We spent lots of time bending over and retrieving. She also began rolling regularly in both directions this month. She still doesn't roll alot, but whenever she decides she wants to, she can do it with ease. She also began using our fingers to pull herself to a sitting and standing position. Now that she can do this, she pretty much always wants to be standing up.

Since we didn't have a doctor's appointment this month, we did her stats at home. The Wii Fit has a great baby measurement tool and she even has her own little baby Mii. Precious! She is 16 lbs (65th %,) 27 1/2 inches long (off the charts %,) and her head is 17.1 inches (around 70th %.) We moved her up to a size 1-2 diaper and moved her to six month PJs because she is so long. She can still wear three month clothes, but the pants are short. Moving to six month clothing soon!

And the moment you've all been waiting for...

Stinks McGinks,
Words simply cannot describe how much we love you. Your little smile is infectious and there is nothing I would rather do than snuggle you and stare at your little face all day long. You are absolutely perfect and we love you more than life. Every part of living is better with you!