5 Months Old

So my little girl is 5 months now! Wow, almost half-a-year old! This past month has been quite a whirlwind now that I'm back in the routine of working, and on top of that, little Missy here has been growing like crazy! Aside from growing out of all of her clothes, she's been rolling over, cutting teeth, and starting to crawl...all of which you'll see later in this post.  When the photo shoot rolled around this month, Avery was ready.  As you can see in the photo below, I placed that sticker on her onesie, sat her in her chair and it then the smiles started coming out! 

"Welcome to my crib!"
As you can see from her stats, she's gained two pounds in the last month, but hasn't gotten any taller.  This puts her at about 95th percentile for weight and still above 100th percentile for her height.  Let's just say the girl still loves to eat.
Her 5 Month Stats

Want to see her 95th percentile chunk? Check out these legs sticking out of the Bumbo seat! Love love love! ( :

Here's a trip down memory lane...month one all the way to five. Take a look!

Aside from lots of physical changes this past month, Avery has gotten very vocal in the last few weeks and as you can see from the photos below, and we got quite a talking to during the photo shoot.  Another favorite vocal thing to do....scream (in excitement usually)! Here are some of the vocal shout outs we got this time around..
"Oh ga ga ga ga ga!"

"Ahhh da da da da da da!"
As well as a few more highlights from the photo shoot:
Dad offering some photo shoot entertainment between
shots.
Is that five fingers she's holding up? Let's pretend it is- he he!
Teething: Now as I mentioned above, one of the changes we've seen this past month is that two little pearly whites have started poking up and through Avery's gums. I can't believe it! I was letting her chew on my knuckle one day and I felt something sharp and sure enough it was the beginnings of a tooth! A few days later I felt another little sharp bump, which was a second tooth, also on the bottom row.  Since Avery's my first, I was kind of clueless as to how this whole tooth thing would work.  Do they start tiny one day and then all the sudden you can see the whole tooth? Or do they just gradually start to come in? Well, it's been about 2-3 weeks since I felt the "razor beginnings" of the teeth and here is where they're at right now.
Look close for those two little bottom teeth!
For the most part, teething hasn't been too horribly bad (despite what the picture may look like! The only way I could get a pic of the teeth was when she was crying during a diaper change one day...sorry girl!).  There have been days where she seems a bit fussier than usual, but I think the amber teething necklaces that I blogged about here have been helping.  Granted it's hard for me to know because I don't have much to compare it to, but it sure doesn't hurt to wear them.  In some of my research about these necklaces, I read that the lighter colors of amber can sometimes be more helpful with the inflammation, so as an alternate, I bought a second amber teething necklace, which you can find here. I haven't really noticed a difference between the two mainly because her mood varies each day, so it's hard to know if it's the necklace is having an effect.  We'll see as more teeth continue to come in.

Sporting her lighter color amber teething necklace.

Crawling: One of the most exciting thing Avery's been doing this past month is starting to crawl...which I can't believe is already here!  Gone are the days where I can just leave her to just sit and stay in one place. Leave her for just a second and she'll be rolled over and try to move somewhere! It all began when she got really good at rolling over at the beginning of the month, and once she mastered this skill, she started lifting up her back and bottom, almost like she was planking-lol!

From here came backwards crawling. Look below for a play-by-play of a backwards crawling session that took place earlier this month.  Boy was she determined to go somewhere...even if it was in reverse!
"Are you ready?"

"Get set.."

"Go!"

"Am I there yet?"

"This crawling business is hard work!"

Following backwards crawling came forward crawling. I say "crawling" loosely because she isn't literally crawling, but she is propelling herself in a forward motion on a consistent basis...so we'll call it crawling for now.  Actually, since she's still building strength in her arms and back, her crawl looks more like she's doing "the worm"! Now after the past few months of encouraging her to get her head up, then her shoulders up while on her tummy, it's so cool to see her get her tummy and knees up off the ground. I wonder what that feels like for her? Talk about building some core muscles. 
Lifting everything off the ground.

Crawling is always more fun when Daddy is around.

A front view of the "pre-crawl plank".
Now to really see her forwards crawl in motion, we usually set up a book or toy a few feet a way from her and see if she can crawl towards it.  Here's the "worm/crawl" in motion...
 First...lift up.

Next propel forward...even if it means body slamming
into the floor!

Now try to get some balance.

Push up.

Don't forget to use "the sweeper arm" to check and see where
you are and if you're close to your target.

Yipee! You made it! Celebrate...and read!  Here she is looking
at a fun board book I made Brandon for Father's Day  from this website.
  Both he and Avery love it!
Also this month, we've enjoyed a little break in the weather and as a result, spent some more time outside soaking up some nature...as well as spending some quality time with our silly dogs. 

Taking "tummy time" outside.

 
Saying "Hello" to Jackson.

"That's my dog Jackson...he's my buddy."

Exploring the grass...and still being watched by Jackson!
Another funny thing she's been doing this month is gaining more control of her hands and arms, which has led to her using them to explore the world around her.  Sometimes this works out great because she can reach and learn about things like the grass above or the leaves on a tree in the pic below. 

Unfortunately her aim and strength aren't quite on the same page yet, so I often get whacked in the nose, poked in the eye, or my personal favorite...my hair pulled by my little wrestler. I jokingly call her"Avery the Avenger" and the "claw move" you see below is just one of her many wrestling moves...he he! 
Taking a "claw" to the face from "Avery the Avenger!"

Watching our silly dogs.
Now for some more fun pictures from the month....
I don't think someone is sleeping...

Bumbo Seat fun!

Working on her standing.

At her first cross country meet to cheer on Coach/Grandpa
Frank's team.

We had to break out this bear hat (from Etsy) for the
 cooler days we've been experiencing lately.
And now for one of my favorite and final pics of the month.  I've posted before, about how my mom tags along with Avery and I as we go to the grocery store each weekend and since they are "backseat buddies" she will sometimes have her stand up and lean on the backseat (obviously with support) to watch me while I load and unload the groceries in between stores.  Here she is this past weekend, rocking her Baby Banz sunglasses and just hanging out watching me unload the groceries. 
"I love grocery shopping with my mom!"
Who knows what month 6 will have in store for us? Let the fun continue!