The HALLway: Life. Love. Simply Creative: Crew Benjamin: 5 Month Update:

We are here again... Another month older and almost half a year old. Time sure is flying by with our little guy and I wish so bad it would slow down just a little.

This past month was a good one for sure! We celebrated his First Christmas and got to see Nana again. She couldn't believe just how much he had changed since she last saw him over Thanksgiving while we were in Jax for a few weeks!

Watching our babies grow and learn with each new day is nothing short of amazing.

Just within this past month Crew has grown and learned in so many ways! We all remember him saying "mama" on his 4 Month Birthday, well he has now mastered the "D" sounds and said "dadadada" on New Years Day (over achiever), and also mastered the "N" sound and we swear it sounds like either a "nananana" or "ninini" (night night maybe?!). Either way, the little dude is a smart one and following in big sisters footsteps for sure! On top of that he is now sitting up (occasionally)! On January 8th (a week over 4 1/2 months) Crew sat up all by himself for about 30 seconds and on January 10th closer to a minute! He is getting stronger every day and we couldn't be more proud of our little man!

Crew's Stats:
*Weight: 17lbs 4oz
*Height: 26 3/4inches (almost 27)
*Diaper Size: Size 1 Pampers swaddlers. Our box of size 2 arrived this week and he will be upgrading soon!
*Clothes: 3 months, 3-6 months, and 6 months (although all 6 month stuff is still pretty big this is what we are now purchasing).
*Teeth: Still 0... But I can officially see lines for both bottom teeth! He is a teething machine and we are PRAYING they break through soon. Charli was an early teether too but didn't get hers until 6 months and she got all 4 within a couple of weeks. We have noticed that Crew's top gums are also looking swollen so maybe we will get lucky and get all 4 with him too! So come on teeth, give our guy a little break!
*Sleep: Bedtime is 7pm and he is up around 7am every morning, waking around 2am and then sometimes around 5am. With his teeth coming in it has caused him to wake more than once in the middle of the night. We had a few nights where I swear he was up every 2 hours. Thankfully no matter what, he goes right back to sleep super easy. He isn't back up to almost 10 hours like last month but I will take the 7 hours we are getting right now.

His first morning nap is 8-8:30am and he sleeps around an hour. He takes another nap around 10:30-11am, also around an hour (unless we have a playdate or are out and about, then he sleeps anywhere between 2-4 hours... seriously, he LOVES movement and the car!). He takes another afternoon nap around 2:30pm and sleeps 1-2 hours.

I also forgot to mention in last months update but he is officially in his own room and own crib... Our master bedroom is itty bitty so him sleeping in our room was not an option. So our first night in our home he was in his own room (at just over 3 1/2 months)!

*Words: Mama, Dada, "nanana" OR "ninini". His words, laugh, squeals, and mumbles sure are the sweetest sound!
*Social: This has been a big month on his social calendar! He has met so many new people and new friends (a lot of our friends who were stationed in Monterey with us are here now too) so we have been keeping busy with friends; playdates & story time at the library have been keeping us busy and we love it! Grant it, Crew sleeps through all of it! ;) haha!
*Other: Bath is still an all time favorite along with getting his diaper changed! He is still super ticklish, loves chewing on his hands, rolling over, helping mommy with the laundry, loves when daddy comes home, his big sis, and his puppies! Charli can get him laughing so hard when they are laying on the floor together... I love watching their relationship form! He has also found his feet but isn't that interested in them yet. Crew is also a scratcher... While nursing, one hand is wrapped around my back just scratching away while the other is patting my chin, wrestling with my shirt, or scratching my chest. He also enjoys scratching the table if he is sitting on our lap or his high chair tray. All in all he is the happiest little baby and is completely content just being held and talked to!