Serena is five months!

So yesterday was Serena's five month birthday. With Calli commanding most of the attention these days, I feel like Serena gets left behind sometimes. But she is just as important as her big sister and I know I don't write about her nearly as often.

In some ways it feels like we've been a family of four forever. Just as I can hardly recall a time before Calli, it's starting to be the same with Serena. She is nearly half a year old now and it's gone by fast. I think the second child's baby days pass faster than the first. With Calli I just got to sit around and enjoy everything (or not enjoy, depending on the day and her mood!). With Serena, she gets caught up in everything else going on in Calli's life. So I barely blinked and she hit five months.

She has become a very smiley baby and laughs a lot now. Calli can always put a smile on her face and she makes it her mission to try often, telling me "I can make her laugh Mommy!" She has become very ticklish too, which is such a mystery to me. Just two or three months ago we would poke at the same places; under her neck, on her sides and not even get a smile. Now I guess her tickle senses have developed and she just giggles away. There is nothing sweeter than the sound of a baby's laughter.

We started solid foods with her around four months. I enjoy the four-six month period of time because I can just dabble in these foods for now. They are not necessary yet so I can just test the waters, see what she likes and doesn't like. And if I skip a day of feeding her solids, it's not a big deal at all. The six month point is when I tell myself I have to crack down. Calli was completely on table foods by her first birthday (before that even) and I want the same for Serena. So far she loves her baby foods. We have tried sweet potatoes, peas, and squash as well as the rice cereal (oatmeal with bananas is her fav). One night she even ate an entire jar of the peas, I would say those are her favorite veggie so far. I love seeing her face when we introduce something new. She scrunches it up and gives that look like "what are you putting in my mouth NOW!"

She rolls all over the place now. I put her in the living room and would hardly be surprised to walk away for a moment and come back to see her in the toy room. She also likes to turn herself around on her belly, usually to reach a toy behind her. I don't think she is ready for crawling yet, although she tries to push up on her knees sometimes. She is very strong though; she makes me laugh by trying to sit up when she is lying down. She will put her head up and bring her legs up, like she is trying to do a crunch. Usually this is done to get a glimpse of what Calli is doing or she is trying to see someone who walked into the room. She also loves to stand on her legs while we're holding her. Sometimes it's hard to get her to sit down because she locks her knees and wants to stand. She can sit up a bit by herself, for small spurts, especially if she has an entertainer. But I wouldn't leave her alone doing it just yet. Calli didn't sit completely unassisted until after she started crawling, so I am not too sure what to expect with this little one yet.

Her sleeping patterns are my favorite of all! She hasn't woken up at night at all in weeks. She goes to bed at 8pm and sleeps until at least 7am, although this morning she finally decided to roll out of bed at 8:45am. I don't know how I got so lucky, and if I could get Calli to sleep that late I would be in heaven! Serena also still takes about two good naps a day and usually one cat nap. She is usually not a problem to put down either and goes right to sleep.

Serena is just a good baby for the most part. She is pretty flexible and laid back, but I think a second child has to be that way. We drag her out to all Calli's activities. But with Calli's broken arm, we'll be hanging around the house more now so Serena will just be able to play and have fun. I am looking forward to all the things to come with her!

Happy Five Months Serena!