Happy Birthday, Henry!

Dearest Henry,

You turned five months on July 28. Five months! I can't believe we're almost at half a year. I haven't written since June 12, so we have a lot to catch up on.

In June, you finally stopped taking naps in the Moby. Up until then, you were taking five naps a day in that thing! It drove your dad and me crazy at times, but we knew it would be short-lived, so we tried to savor our opportunity to be so close to you so consistently.

Your absolute favorite thing in the world right now is Hoss. He makes you smile and immediately commandeers your attention, no matter what else you're doing. We're teaching you how to use gentle hands with him. Right now you try to grab everything and pull it to your mouth, so Hoss isn't very fond of you. Your dad and I have started brainstorming Halloween costume ideas, and we want to dress you up as something you really, really like. Right now it's Hoss. We'll see if that changes before we start on your costume.

At the beginning of July, we went on a two-week vacation to New Mexico and Colorado. You were great on your third and fourth plane rides. You had so much fun dancing with your grandpa and smiling at your grandma. You also worked on your newest skills: sucking on your toes and kind of sitting up. You also love pulling water glasses to your mouth. We have given you a couple drops of watermelon juice (which you loved!) and let you drink a little water out of your Montessori glass.

When we took you for your 4 month visit to the pediatrician, you started to get a little antsy, so Dr. Injac gave your dad a tongue depressor to entertain you with. He held it up for you to grab, and Dr. Injac said, "Oh, he won't be able to grab that yet." Before he could even finish his sentence, you had grabbed it and pulled it to your mouth. I explained that we're doing Montessori in the home and that you get lots of practice with reaching and grabbing.

And you are quickly turning into a master scooter. Once you set your eyes on something, you can easily scooch your way toward it. You are very curious, interested, motivated, and ambitious. You are also very smiley and cuddly. You crack up when I say, "Where's the pudding?" and then pretend to chomp on your body. You smile at everyone so easily.

You're starting to get a little bored at home, so we're going on more outings. We carry you in the Ergo, and you love to gnaw on the sides the whole time. You are a very drooly and slimy baby! You turn your head from side to side so you can see everything.

You take most of your naps on our bed, while I work on my computer. In August, I'm going to try and transition you into your own bed for naps (which is where you sleep at night). You are so sweet when you sleep. I love when you reach out to touch my leg while you're sleeping.

We take you swimming quite a bit, and you are very happy to kick along and suck on your chlorinated fingers. You also love to go for walks and be outside. Trees are your favorite mobiles!

We are getting ready to move to Austin, and I am sad that we will be leaving your first house. It's a great little bungalow, and we will miss it dearly.

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