Letters to Ari...5 months old

Dearest Ari, 

I wish there was a "freeze time" button that I could press right now.  You are growing up so fast and really changing every day.  Daddy and I are always looking at each other and saying "That was new" after you did something.  I wake up every day and am so excited for another day with you and Daddy.  I was at work early one morning and thinking about you.  I knew you and Daddy were probably on the way to daycare.  I texted Daddy and said "Can you believe WE have a SON to drop off at daycare?!?!?!" It still feels so surreal that you're actually here and a part of our lives every day.  I wouldn't want it any other way...not even for a single second.  

  Happy 5 months!

   You really want to crawl!

  Love when you tuck that little lip.

Milestones/Special Firsts: 

Wow Ari, I don't even know where to start for this one.  This was a very busy and special month for you. 

-You celebrated your first Christmas! Everywhere we went, you just lit up the room.  A couple days before Christmas, we went to visit your Great Grandma Glisch in Markesan.  Your Grandma Staedler met us there. Looking back, it was an extra special visit ... our last one with Great Grandma as she just died.  On Christmas Eve, we had Mommy's side of the family over.  Daddy made his baked ziti, we watched a Charlie Brown Christmas, and opened gifts together.  You were pretty impressed with your Aaron Rodgers jersey from your auntie.  Then you celebrated Christmas morning at your Nonee & Papou's house.  It was such a gorgeous day as there had been a recent snowfall and the sun was shining bright! After we opened presents, we all went outside and played in the snow.  This was your first experience playing in snow.  You didn't smile much while out there - I think you were just in awe of nature's beauty!

  Your last visit with Great Grandma

  Just like Daddy...Go Pack!

  You with your cousins Christmas Eve

  "A Charlie Brown Christmas"

 Playing outside Christmas morning

 First fall in the snow...won't be your last

 Ugly Christmas sweater party

-You took your first vacation.  A couple days after Christmas we took our annual vacation.  This year we went to Sedona, Arizona.  You handled the trip like a champ! I was especially impressed with how well you did on the airplane.  While we were there, we went hiking, visited the Grand Canyon, and rented Jeeps for a day of off-roading.  

  Snoozing the flight away

 Visiting the Grand Canyon

  Hiking is hard work

  Bath time

  Happy to be clean!

 Playing with your cousin

 I'm ready to take the Jeep out Ma!

 - You were baptized on your 5 month birthday!!!! This day was so special to us as we owe all our thanks to God for your arrival.  Mommy and Daddy were very emotional...just so grateful to have you...truly a gift from God.  We kept thinking about the bible verse taken from 1 Samuel 1:27, "For this child I prayed and the Lord has granted me my petition which I asked of Him."

I bought this for your room

 Your beautiful cake...thank you Auntie Shelley!

  Proud Mommy & Daddy

Things You Like Right Now:

-Eating cereal mixed with Mommy's milk = Yum! You think you are such a big boy and you open wide as soon as you see the spoon.  

 - Thankfully, you are really enjoying daycare.  You are in an infant room where the babies are 4 months up to 2 years.  There is one baby the same age as you and the rest are all older.  You especially seem to love the babes that are walking.  It's like you gaze at them in awe thinking "I wish I could do that".  Daddy drops you off and Mommy picks you up after work  Most days I am there by 2:45 to get you.  Every day when I walk in you are as happy as a clam hanging out with a lil boy named "Logie" that is 20 months old.  I think he's your hero! 

On a walk at daycare

Your first "daily report"

- Sitting up to play.  Yes, you mastered sitting up last month and this month that's all you prefer to do.  You are so strong and do a lot of reaching while sitting to get at the toys you want.  You have great balance already. 

 - Leaning forward from the sitting position.  You really want to crawl!  You even rock yourself back and forth sometimes, but can't quite get started actually crawling yet.  

- Grabbing anything and everything in sight, especially Mommy's hair, necklaces, and earrings. OUCH!

- Pulling yourself up - you will grab onto anything that is taller than you and pull yourself up to the standing position.  You have even done this in your crib...already!

- You always smile when someone sings to you. Your favorite medley's are Patty Cake, Ring Around the Rosie, Three Blind Mice, and the good ol ABC's.  

-Talking. Wow, do you like to be heard! You say "ba", "la", and "ma" over and over again.  

Your current dislikes:

- Colds. Yes, you had a cold this past month.  You had a cough and a stuffed up nose. Mommy got a call at work to come pick you up from daycare because you were so cranky - they couldn't get you to stop crying, which is really out of sorts for you.  You were so stuffed up at night,  you had trouble sleeping and would be up almost every hour.  It's like you would wake up and had a hard time putting yourself back to sleep because your nose was so stuffy. The only thing that seemed to work was laying on mommy's chest.  This lasted a few nights...I felt so bad for you.  With that said, you absolutely hated getting your nose cleaned out with the Snot Sucker.  

-Getting strapped into the car seat.  You like to move and do not appreciate when Mommy or Daddy make you stop to get buckled into the car seat.  

-Napping in your crib all alone in your bedroom during the day.  You just would not have it. 

Your Dad:  

-Your dad was in heaven on vacation with you.  All his dreams of hiking with his son finally came true.  You both loved it!

- Your dad has noticed that you have started to become a bit ticklish this month.  You smile, scrunch your head down, and shrug your shoulders up when we kiss you on your lil neck.

-Daddy had a rough time returning to work this month.  He really cherished all the time he had hanging out with you and Buckwheat at home.  

- Daddy still takes you to your physical therapy appointments.  He comes home so proud to tell me everything the physical therapist said about you.  You still go to therapy once every two weeks.  She said you are ready for just once a month, but we like going every two weeks to learn additional strength building exercises we can do at home.   So we asked her if we could continue coming every 2 weeks and she said yes! This will continue through your 6 month birthday.  

- Daddy let you get your hands on the wheel for the first time when we were on our road trip to the Grand Canyon.  You can see below that you were pretty excited!

- I personally think Daddy is a version of superman. He does so much to make everything go smoothly for you and I every day.  

Your Mom:

-Your mom is still adjusting.  Yes, I was finally getting used to going to work and coming home to you and Daddy and then just like that...it was time for Daddy to go back to work.  I was emotional all over again when you started daycare.  I can tell you that I'm not worried about you at daycare one bit.  I am so happy with Milestones and I know you're enjoying it because I see how happy you are interacting with the other children.  I guess its just more of feeling sad that your daycare teachers get to spend time with you during the day and I don't...that hurts so much.  I just want you all to myself.  

- Your mom is a pretty silly person.  Now that you've grown a bit older, I've definitely started showing you my crazy side.  We have so much fun together, being silly. 

-I'm so happy that nursing has been going well and that I'm still 100% exclusively breast feeding you.  Here we are nursing on the outskirts of a four wheeling trail in Sedona, Arizona. 

This month has come and gone.  Although we are disappointed the days with you are passing so quickly Ari, we are thrilled we have created so many wonderful memories with you.  We are living in the moment... the best days of our lives.  

Love, 

Your Mom