5 months and 26 months

Time always seems to fly by. Jellybean is 5.5 months old. Her face is filling out, she's putting on more baby chub and her sweet personality is emerging more and more.

Here are some of the things she's been doing:
-When I come in to get her in the morning or after naps, she never fails to greet me with a smile. She so often has a look on her face that says quite clearly, "I love you Mama."
-She is starting to get pretty good at rolling around and turning in a circle when she is on her stomach.
-She is mad for anything I have in my hands, or really anything she can get her hands on. We've started her on rice rusks and I'm really looking forward to starting her on more solids as it's obvious she's very interested.

-She is becoming more and more interested in toys, but often prefers something soft to snuffle. Her pink pig is a favorite right now (besides Sleepy Owl, who is a must at bedtime).
-She loves to sleep on her side, snuffling her owl and will occasionally cry out in the night if she has lost her grip on this favorite friend.
-She is very close to sitting unsupported. I think by next month she'll be sitting fine and possibly starting the beginning stages of crawling (time to re-think our baby-proofing).
-She LOVES to "razz" (buzz her lips/spit)

I tried an experiment over the weekend: Jellybean has refused to take a bottle, so today I pretended that a new sippy cup was mine. I put a little water in it, acted like I was really enjoying the water and kept it out of her reach. Then, I let her try it. I couldn't believe how frantic she was to suck on the sippy cup. She actually drank some of the water. Amazing. This may be a breakthrough for the future. I don't know if she'll drink formula from it or not, but it's worth a try.

Buddy is now 27 months old.

He is increasingly a little ham at home and very quiet/sensitive around everyone else. He loves to play. He loves to sing. He still LOVES ABC songs. I created him an entire playlist of alphabet songs on YouTube and he demands to watch it every day.

He is such a sweet little boy. I was so stressed out about running errands with two little people until I realized what a good shopping companion Buddy is. He actually listens to me and stays close by while I shop. It has been especially fun going to the craft store with him.

I think my favorite thing Buddy has been doing is interacting with his little sister. He loves to play peek-a-boo with her. He hides under her high chair tray and then laughs like a maniac every time he pops up where she can see him. (Jellybean enjoys this, too). He likes to talk to her and ask her questions. He brings her toys and loves to pat her cheek or just put his cheek up next to her head. He is such a good big brother.

Buddy is just about as bright as a 2 year old can be. We purchased a pack of sight word flash cards. He about blew me away when he recognized most of the first 20 words that I pulled out of the pack. There is no doubt that he is on his way to reading. It's so exciting to see him learning and growing every day.