CRW: 5 Months

The top 5 at 5.

1.  Brother wants to be friends with Sister.

Cameron hears the sound of his big sister's voice, and he turns his head toward her.  He kicks his legs and bats his arms.  He doesn't want to be lying on his back or on his tummy.  He wants to be standing like his sis.  If I hold him so that he is standing up, he gets his face right near Sophie's and erupts in giggles.  He squawks at her, reaches for her, and intently watches everything that she does.  I have used this to my advantage BIG TIME.  Sophie will pretend to eat Cam's baby food, opening her mouth wide and imitating a swallowing motion.  Immediately, Cam has changed his mind and he will eat the avocado or squash.  If he is fussy, I ask Sophie to pretend she is his babysitter.  She'll come in and read him a book or play with his toys; instantly, he is soothed and focused on her.  He cannot wait to play with her.  (on a side note: he is sooo close to sitting on his own.  I think that once he can sit up, he will be less frustrated and feel like he is on a level playing field with his sis.)

2.  Cameron has mastered the fake laugh.

Just this week, Cameron figured out how to do this fake laugh.  It sounds like a mix between a laugh, a cough, a clearing of the throat, a machine gun...and he thinks it's an awesome way to communicate with us.  Sophie fake laughs back at him and eventually we are all legitimately laughing.

3.  He slams his hands on the high chair.

We didn't do any sign language with Sophie, and we haven't introduced anything to Cameron either.  But somehow, he has figured out a way to communicate with us.  When he wants more food or when he really likes his meal, he slams his hand down on the high chair tray.  He will pound and pound and pound.  The drumming honestly is his sign for wanting more.  He gets excited by good food and shows me his praise!!  We have all started doing it when we eat meals together.  We have become hand-slapping fools at the dinner table, but Cameron loves it.

4.  He is fuzzy!

How can two children from the same parents, raised in the same home environment be so different?  And I'm not just talking personality....Cameron has a fuzzy head.  He won't be bald for long.  Every morning, I'm shocked by how fuzzy his head has become.  And it's not dark....it's light fuzz!  We could have a blondie.

5.  He is happy!

Yes, he cries.  Sophie claims he cries a lot.  But when he cries, he is either starving (the buddy likes to eat), he is hurting (the buddy has 4 teeth breaking through all at once!) or he is tired (the buddy hits the wall quickly...).  But, he laughs and laughs.  He smiles and giggles at everything.  We were Skyping with Doug, and Cameron thought it was hysterical to see Daddy's face talking and moving on the computer screen.  In fact, Cam combined a couple of his favorite things: smiling and slamming.  As he grinned, his hand was slapping down on the tray at record force showing his joy at seeing his daddy's face.

He is still up in the middle of the night to feed, and we still experiment weekly to find the best swaddle/pajama combination. But, we are all in love with this little (big) boy.