But enough about me...

Silly me, thinking any of you readers give a monkey's ear about my crummy birthday. You're here for Snurfler updates! I'll try not to bore you with the tedious minutiae of my existence like that for at least another month or two.

This picture was taken on January 28th. Moozy came over and was just appalled by the state of our laundry room, so she decided to wash a few loads. She's good like that. I was busy hanging pictures and re-arranging furniture in other areas of the house, so she needed somewhere to put the Snurfler where he would be in sight but out of the way--after all, he's getting too heavy to hold while attempting to accomplish as task. Lo and behold, there was a laundry basket, half-full with not-too-dirty clothes. I don't think he minded too much, do you? Notice his baby mohawk, also courtesy of his Moozie.

As of today, the Snurfler is officially 5 months old!! Here are a few fast facts about him as he reaches this important milestone:

-He is rolling over from his back to his tummy like a champ. He had done it a few times in late December/early January, but he really started going to town starting on January 30th. If you put him down onto his back on the floor, he will usually be on his stomach within one minute, depending on how much interest he has in the ceiling or the toys dangling from the arches on his playmat. Once he gets onto his stomach, however, he's only content for about 3 to 5 minutes before he starts to let the world know that he really doesn't care for that particular position. He has yet to master the "rolling from stomach to back" technique.

-He is reaching and grabbing and hanging on for dear life. With toys & burp cloths, this skill mastery really doesn't pose a problem. It's when the thing clutched within his chubby little fist happens to be the hair of whomever happens to holding him at the time that this becomes a bit, well..... painful.

-His hair is growing in beautifully! It's soft and silky and a beautiful auburn color. It was fun to give him mohawks for a while, but now it's getting too long for that.

-Hallelujah, he is sleeping through the night! Moozie and I first suffered through the "cry it out" experience when I stayed at my parents' house during the Birthday Plague. I'm not going to lie, it wasn't easy, but a healthy dose of Nyquil helped me make it through the hardest part. Now we say good night at around 7:30 PM and don't see him again until at least 6:45 the next morning. Okay, that's a lie. I always go in and check on him before I go to bed. I can't resist the sight of a peaceful sleeping baby. Oh, and he recently started sleeping on him stomach after a few nights of screaming and subsequently accepting the fact that a parental being was not going to go upstairs and turn him over each time he rolled during the night.

-Also as of that weekend, he has been enjoying rice cereal for dessert after his evening bottles. He particular enjoys his rice cereal mixed with apple juice. And he is always a huge mess afterwards, since he likes to do one or more of the following tricks between spoonful

• Chew on his thumb/fist/fingers
  
• Play "peek-a-boo" with his bib


• Grab for the spoon as it comes toward him so that spoon's contents fall onto his person


• Sneeze. This is especially fun with a mouthful of cereal. Afterwards, aforementioned cereal is not just all over his person but mommy and daddy, as well.

-He is currently wearing/outgrowing size 9-months clothing. This, I must admit, is kind of breaking my heart because all the 9-12 months clothing I've been seeing for boys start to look more like "boy" clothes instead of "baby" clothes. The colors get darker and the fabrics and patterns aren't nearly as innocent. Don't get me wrong, I'm thrilled to have such a healthy and happy baby, but there is a tiny part of me that wishes he could have been little for just a little longer.

-We enjoyed/survived our first 3+ day trip without him last week. Sweet D flew up to Vegas on Tuesday the 5th to attend his industry's annual convention and trade show. I joined him on Thursday and we spent the rest of the weekend indulging in yummy food, decadent naps, and interesting shows. Our suite in the Mandalay Bay hotel even had a TV in the bathroom!! We got in lots of walking and people-watching, saw The Blue Man Group at the Venetian and and Cirque de Soleil's "Love" at the Mirage, and poked around in the Bellagio, Caesar's, and Paris shops. A good time, but we were ready to get back to our little boy and give him lots of squeezes. He stayed with his Granny and Papa while we were gone and I'm not afraid to say that I didn't worry about him for one second, but I missed him almost the entire time. Granny and Papa had a hard time saying goodbye to him on Sunday because he'd been such a good boy during his stay!

-Seeing his smile is, without a doubt, the best part of every day, whereas his laugh is the music of angels. He is a very happy little boy. I love walking into the room where he's playing in his exersaucer or jumparoo and seeing his face split open in a huge, toothless grin as soon as he sees me. Ugh, I absolutely melt into a big, syrupy puddle of love for that little guy!

Pictures:
1& 2. He looked so cute in his plaid onesie and black corduroy pants that I had to take a few pictures of him when we got home from church on January 27th. I was feeling skinny that day after being close to death for over a week, so I let Sweet D capture a few Kodak moments with me in them, as well.
3. Snurfler, just a few seconds after rolling onto his tummy. Very proud of himself and happy that Mommy is recording new skill that he has mastered.
4. Snurfler, about 3 minutes later, very grumpy at this point because mommy hasn't helped him out of the hated "baby on his belly" pose. Guess he's not ready for yoga class just yet.