Tunes Tuesday: Paul Simon - You Can Call Me Al

Since we were talking yesterday about raising Pike with a proper appreciation of comedians like Chevy Chase, Steve Martin & John Candy, I give you one of Chevy's many moments of comedic brilliance.

Pike Update: 24 Weeks

• He's teething. Definitely teething. Our little boy is chewing on his hands, our hands... whatever's close to his mouth. He was already drooling like a faucet - now at least there's a purpose to it. I don't think any teeth are close to erupting just yet, but it'll get there.
• He is trying SO HARD to crawl. He can propel himself forward a little through sheer force of will, but he hasn't figured out the sequence of events that leads to movement yet.
• Chewing is becoming a thing. Like I said earlier, he's grabbing things and thrusting them into his mouth. He's just not great at holding yet and not good at keeping them there, but he's learning. Mommy will likely be getting a haircut soon for this reason. Baby drool may not be quite as gross as grown up drool, but it still has no place in her hair.
• More often than not now when we go to get him after he wakes up, he's on his back instead of his stomach. He's getting great at rolling over. The same is true of tummy time.
• Now instead of sobbing when he wakes up alone, he's usually okay with being a bit noisy (talking to himself) when he's lying in bed but otherwise being fine to wait on us to get him.
• When he's tired now, he doesn't want to be held and comforted. If he cries, he either wants food, a diaper change, or he's super super tired - in which case he just wants to be laid down someplace comfy so he can sleep.
• He's also doing what I call "baby flirting" - grinning at people and then ducking his head or looking away when they smile back.
• When Wes or I pick him up at daycare, he recognizes us (or at least seems too) and gets all smiley and excited.
• The 0-3 month clothes are now all being put aside as too small and he's in 3-6 month territory. I'm guessing by month 7 he'll probably be on to the 6-9 month stuff primarily, so he's on track growth-wise. It's strange looking at pictures of him when he was just born and pictures of him now and realizing just how much he's really grown despite the fact that he's still so small.
• Pike's hair has shifted to a lighter color with a lot more red and blond highlights. We still aren't sure where it will ultimately end up color-wise, but it's intriguing watching it change. 
• He's making his "concerned baby" face less and less, and his expressions seem to be matching more closely what he's actually going through and processing internally. He's learning the connection between what he's projecting and what that expression "feels like" or means. 
• If Wes sneezes, coughs, or laughs really loudly, he gets very, very startled now. In fact he has been reduced to tears a couple of times by this very thing. 
• When he hears Wes or I, he will now actually lift his head and crane it around to look for us. 
• We've started reading chapters of The Wizard of Oz while he has his bedtime snack so that we have an official "reading time" during the day.

Wordless Wednesday

Earthling teaching Herbert Herman how to read, originally uploaded by extrabox.

Pike's First Meal (5 Month Update)

Monday night, Pike had his first solid meal. Okay, well, snack. I think more rice cereal ended up on his face than in his mouth, but it went fairly well. He wasn't disgusted, and by the end, he was swallowing at least some of it.

As of Sunday, Pike is officially five months old. I can hardly believe that. I know all parents say that, but it's just crazy. I guess we got a head start on the "oh my god" portion of aging since he was almost a month old before he ever came home, but it's still nuts how fast the time goes. He's getting bigger and stronger every day.

Slowly Pike's starting to figure out scootching. It's now crawling yet, and he doesn't go far, but he's definitely starting to wiggle himself forward when he really wants to, and he's putting together that he can interact with things on his Jumperoo. Soon I suspect he'll stop just staring at most of the things he finds interesting and wanting to grab them and probably eat them. Yay?

Tunes Tuesday: Glee Cast - Hey, Soul Sister (Glee Cast Version)

Because it was stuck in my head, one of the first songs that I sang to Pike after he was born. Along with "Teenage Dream." Yep.

"Part of Your World" - Cover by Darren Criss