Where Has 5 Months Gone?

There comes a turning point in every parent (maybe not every parent) where life starts falling into place and things start to regain their rhythm. I feel like this happens several times throughout early parenthood. It happens the first time your newborn or infant sleeps through the night (and you don't, of course). It happens when you go back to work. It happens when breastfeeding finally clicks. It happens when you figure out the difference in the "I'm hungry" cries and the "I need a nap" whimpers and you have the confidence to follow your instincts. Sometimes you're wrong of course, but it's such a nice feeling when you're right, isn't it?

There's a time when you realize you can't wait for your little one to wake up from his/her (or in Tyla's case his and her) nap so you can play. You even look forward to changing their diaper. You watch them sleep peacefully and you want to wake them. Before you used to dread their awakening. You still hadn't done a load of laundry or run the dishwasher. Then there was the panic of "how do I entertain a newborn?" Jill is 5mo old today and I can't believe how interactive she is. She's fun. She smiles and laughs when Tony surprises her. We can't wait to pick her up from day care Wednesdays-Fridays. She sits at the table with the big kids and I'm surprised and impressed every time we walk in and she's there flailing her arms and staring at Sade's braids. She checks out Shannon's mohawk (growing in naturally) and smiles at Evin. She's amazing.