Paging Mr Personality! There he is, smiling, waving, talking, and entertaining anyone in his orbit. Your baby is also ready to explore a bit more, so beware his impulse to touch(and taste) everything and anything within his reach (including dog biscuits and poop!). He's probably able to bear weight on his legs when you hold him upright and may even be ready to hit the road, albeit at a crawl. Some little acrobats can pull themselves into a standing position or get into a sitting position when placed on their tummies. Stimulating your now-older baby requires new activities that'll help boost large and small motor skills as well as social, intellectual, and language skills. Get ready for the third round of immunizations at the 6-month checkup.

In other news, plenty of babies (really, not just yours) are still not sleeping through the night -- so this may be a good time to consider some sleep strategies. Your growing baby may also be ready to make the move to the big bathtub: Start slowly (a dry run in the empty big tub c an ease the way), and always practice safe tub-time. Nursing moms who have yet to offer a bottle might be in for a bit of a battle once you do, but there are ways to win over your picky guy. If your baby's got teeth, it's not too soon to start brushing baby's teeth (with a baby toothbrush only, please). And speaking of teeth, the best way to keep your baby's choppers (and gums) in good shape is to avoid baby-bottle mouth (the result of falling asleep regularly with a bottle -- or breast -- in his mouth). What else is up? Perhaps your baby's appetite -- so now's the time to consider dietary dos and dont's, such as introducing new foods one at a time and avoiding certain foods altogether (steer clear of citrus fruits until the eighth month and honey until after his first birthday).

YIKES! NURSING WHILE BABY HAS TEETH?!?!?! Luckily, the nursing ship sailed 12 weeks ago...and even if it hadn't, still no teeth. LOL. I swear they'll be coming in any day now, but nothing just yet. My little man is just absolutely perfect. He has been sleeping through the night for a little over a month now...only not sleeping through on very rare occasions. I have also noticed that when we follow the bed time routine, bath at 7, rocking with bottle at 7:30, he will sleep until 7:30am! However, if we put him in bed later than between 7:30-8ish, he gets up between 6 and 6:30! CRAZINESS!!

Every single day he is learning new things. He knows if he pushes certain buttons on certain toys music or a sound will occur...he still loves the ceiling fans....and is really starting to get into tags on things. Which is hysterical. He also LOVES the dogs. Sadly, that love is not exactly mutual...Brady does enjoy the baby more so than Lexie, which of course means that all Ben wants is for Lexie to love him. LOL!

Something else new is we have started food! So far he has tried and LOVED Sweet Potatoes and Peas (EW) and we're going to start Carrots tonight I think. He still wants absolutely NOTHING to do with his rice cereal. I'm hopeful that once we start him on some fruit that maybe he'll enjoy it more.

Well, I guess that is all I have today...hope all is well with you and yours!

xoxo