5 months

today our little londonberry turned 5 months old! or as i have heard dave saying "she's 5 months old, which is almost 6 months old which is almost a year!" he can just shut up with that kind of talk.
it's been a pretty eventful month for london what with rolling over and eating cereal and all.
london first rolled over from her back to stomach just before she turned 4 months back on july 2nd. since then, she has been rolling over non stop. however, she isn't that fond of being on her stomach, so she'd cry shortly after arriving on her tummy.
finally on july 16th, she rolled over from her stomach to her back. it has only happened a few times so far, and the first couple of times i wondered if it was just a fluke. maybe she was laying on something and it helped her over?! i finally decided that she did actually do it, but she hasn't totally convinced herself yet. she is getting there though...doing it a little more often. i figure she'll be a pro at it by the end of the month!
she also ate cereal for the first time on july 21st. i had planned on trying to start feeding her and taking pictures and video BEFORE we called the boys over to check it out, but dave didn't know of this plan. so he called for the boys and the chaos followed. it was actually a fairly good plan as i had hayden videotape while i took pictures and dave fed london. on top of it being a bit chaotic it was also A LOT messy. not too much different from the boys' first feeding.
however, i have tried several times since and it is one of the messiest, most annoying things ever. i honestly don't remember it being this difficult with the boys. as soon as the spoon goes in her mouth, she immediately pushes it out with her tongue...cereal going everywhere. she also loves to keep her head down which doesn't make getting the spoon in very easy. i usually hold the spoon above her head to make her look up and then shove it in. she also loves to try sucking on her bib which just makes the mess even bigger.
i have not been very religious at feeding her cereal due to the pain that it is and due to the fact that i have 2 other kids running around. it really is a totally different ballgame having the 3rd one! with the boys i remember being pretty good about feeding them their cereal almost every day. oh well, she's certainly not starving!
the other week i tried finding out if london was ticklish anywhere and i hit the jackpot with her collarbone! i had her CRACKING up that nite. it was THE BEST SOUND i have ever heard and i didn't want to stop. i have tried almost every nite since then and it's hit or miss. sometimes she laughs and other times she stares at me like...really mom? this again? but i just can't get enough of her laugh.
london also is spending her very first weekend away from us this weekend...we aren't even with her to help her celebrate her 5th month! dave, talan and i are all in chicago for lollapalooza and hayden and london are staying with grandma and grandpa. from what we've heard so far, she's doing fine other than not sleeping during the day...but i tried explaining that she never really does.
she still sleeps great at nite. she still heads to bed around 9:30 after taking her last bottle and she stays asleep until somewhere between 8 and 10:30am. i actually had an entire week this month that she woke up EVERY MORNING after 10am.
she usually takes a short morning nap shortly after waking up...usually this nap takes place in her swing, something she's starting to like more and more. then she'll usually take a fairly long nap in the afternoon around 1pm. however, just last week she decided to start a whole new schedule where she has become harder to put to sleep....usually we'd feed her a bottle, swaddle her and lay her down in her crib. even if she was wide awake we wouldn't hear a thing from her, she'd just put herself to sleep....but for the past week or so she's been wanting someone to hold her until she falls asleep before you can put her in her crib. and the napping has become pretty bad. she's back to taking only a couple little cat naps during the day which can get frustrating for both me and her. it ends up making her a bit grumpy but she won't sleep any longer. hopefully she goes back to her old ways SOON!
on top of having her first weekend away from us, london also took her first trip this month. the whole family, including mom and dad, all drove to cincinnati for a day at kings island (fireflight played once again...check out the main blog for those photos) and another day at the cincinnati zoo (again, check out the pictures on the main blog). london proved to the world she is the baby super champion of the world on this trip. it was HOT (over 90) and very sticky. yet london stayed mostly in her carseat being pushed around in the stroller both days. and they were LONG days. we hardly even heard a peep out of her. she would sleep a little, smile, stick her feet in her mouth and just basically look around and take it all in. she made our little trip SO much easier than it would have been if she were a different baby! london is simply delightful!
she continues to love most things and hates very little. other than being on her stomach, we really can't come up with much that she doesn't like. i highly suggest everyone get a baby just like her!
we love you so much, londonberry! we miss you so much, but we'll see you soon!
happy 5 months!!!