Benny's 5th Month

Benny has been busy this last month. He took his first international trip, found his feet and learned how to roll over. Pretty productive for a 5 month old!

No matter how much I tell him to stop growing, Benny just keeps getting bigger and bigger. I can not even understand how 5 months have passed since he was born! He is still in 3-6 month clothes, but I think their days are numbered. He started wearing his one size cloth diapers and is almost growing out of his size 1 shoes.

The discovery of his feet was a highlight for Benny this month. He loves to grab his feet and suck on his toes. The second I lay him down to change his diapers, his feet go directly in his mouth. Yummy!

Benny has started giggling more and more and loves it when we play peek-a-boo with him or sing to him. He is awake for longer periods of time during the day and is so much more interactive this month. He loves to hold toys and puts absolutely everything in his mouth to chew on.

Benny has also discovered his voice more this month. He shrieks when he is happy or wants to talk to us and sounds just like a baby pteredactyl.

I used to be able to lay Benny down on his back and give him a toy and he would be content to just lay there. Just in the last couple of weeks, he immediately rolls to his stomach when I lay him down and then gets mad and yells until I roll him back over. He can also roll from his tummy to his back, but it seems to take more effort.

 Benny is still not fully back on track with his sleeping. He sleeps in a crib in our room and is hit or miss with how long he will sleep for when I first put him down at night. I can usually get him back to sleep without nursing him the first time he wakes up, but if he wakes up again, I will usually nurse him back to sleep and hope he sleeps until morning. Some nights he wakes up once, and other nights he wakes up a few times. Traveling and having a couple different colds this month have made it difficult to expect any consistency with his nighttime sleep habits.

 James and Mac continue to be the best big brothers I could ever have hoped for. They both love that Benny is so alert now and laughs at them and plays with toys. James loves snuggling him, Mac loves kissing him and they are both so helpful at keeping him entertained if I need to get something done.

I don't even want to think about the fact that his next monthly update will mean he is a 1/2 year old. It is going way too fast!

Mexico!

We spent a wonderful 6 days in Mexico with Tim's whole family last week. This is the second time Dave and Katie have taken everyone to an all inclusive resort in Mexico, and once again we had a blast. Both times we have stayed at a Dreams resort, this one was at Riviera Cancun. We were absolutely spoiled rotten and had a great time with family and made so many special memories. Highlights of the trip:

• Mac being able to swim! We put him in 3 weeks of intensive private lessons before the trip, and they paid off. He was a little fish and for the first time ever LOVED being in the water.
• All the cousins playing together on the beach and at the pool. They all get along SO well and it makes me so happy that they are growing up together. James and Taylor are so similar and Mac and Chloe are as well. We just need Benny to grow up a little bit so that Molly has a partner in crime.
• All of the kids delighting in being able to order kiddie cocktails, ice cream cones, pretzels and more anytime they wanted it. It would crack me up to see them all sitting by the pool and ordering drinks from a waiter.
• James and Taylor reading their books in the pool and in hammocks on the beach. Rough life!
• Being able to send all the kids (except Benny) off to have fun at the kids' club while we all got to enjoy nice, grown up dinners.
• Benny looking adorable in his sunglasses and just lounging on a chair by the beach or pool everyday. He was SO easy on this trip, I would just stick him in the wrap when he was tired and walk the beach while he napped. Besides that he was content to just hang out in the shade looking cute.
• Getting a massage on the beach. So spoiled!

There were way too many cute pictures, I had trouble narrowing down what to post. Believe it or not, this is the edited down version of pictures.

 

 



 

 



 

 

I really think I won the in-law lottery. We all get along so well and enjoy spending time together, being on vacation with everyone is so much fun. It does not escape me how extremely lucky and fortunate we are.