It seems awfully fitting that my baby girl celebrate her 5 month birthday on Christmas. It feels like she should be older for some reason. I was making the comment to Jordan last night that it seems like she should be older then just five months. Probably because I guess I feel like she should have been born earlier in the month rather than later (like Caleb). But I'm happy with where she is and she's growing just fine. 
Zoe actually is beginning to belly laugh. We had my nephews and niece here for five days for the holidays, and Kiara just made her laugh and laugh. I've NEVER heard her laugh that hard before. It was so cute. I mean, it was full out belly laugh, not the little Ernie (Sesame Street) laugh she's been doing as of late. Kiara had a great time with Zoe though and she wanted to be around her a lot.
Today, Zoe spent about an hour with us for Christmas. She just looked at me and smiled mostly, but she did get in on some of the action. I gave her a piece of wrapping paper and she played with that a little bit, but she still is rather timid and doesn't really want to reach out for stuff. That's ok though. She's still young and I'm aware of that, but she's still go personality for sure.
We've got TONS of pictures, but I just don't have the time right now to look at them and put any on here. But, I'll have the time sometime this weekend and we'll put it on our main site of course.
I know it's been awhile since my last entry, but nothing has really happened that's new right now. We've just been so busy with company, getting ready for Christmas, baking, etc, that there's just been no time to really sit down and right anything. Now that holidays has come and gone, things should start to get back to normal.
Monthly Baby Forecast: Your baby now realizes where sounds come from, and she'll turn quickly toward a new one. One of the easiest ways to engage her is to jingle a set of keys. Wind chimes are great attention-getters, too.
Your baby may now be able to recognize her own name and understand that you're speaking to her when you say it. You may notice that your little one turns her head when you call her or talk about her with others.
If you want to engage and entertain your baby, all you need to do is talk to her. At this age, babies don't learn language from the television or radio, so turn them off and use real dialogue instead.
Your baby can't express her emotions in the same complex way that you can. Although she can let you know in clear ways when she's angry, bored, or happy, her ability to show love and humor are just developing.
Your baby also shows a strong attachment to you by raising her arms when she wants to be picked up and by crying when you leave the room. She may also give you hugs and kisses.
And she's beginning to get the joke — she'll laugh at funny expressions and try to make you laugh, too. Keep the laughter flowing with your silly faces!
Your baby may be able to hold her own bottle now and it's fine to let her, but never prop the bottle for her and walk away. A propped bottle could cause your baby to overeat or even choke. Also, if your baby falls asleep while sucking on the bottle, milk or formula can pool in her mouth, coating her teeth with sugar, which can lead to tooth decay. Pooled milk can also drip into the tubes that connect the back of the throat with the middle part of the ear, leading to ear infections.
Your baby's probably showing more signs that she's ready for solids — from a weaker tongue-thrust reflex (when your baby pushes out her tongue when something is placed on it) to a keener interest in the foods you and others are eating. But don't be in a rush to give your baby solid food. Discuss when to introduce solid food with your baby's healthcare provider.
Your baby's digestive system may not be ready for solids, and she might not be able control her chewing and swallowing muscles. (Don't worry: That will all come in a few weeks.) Giving your baby solid foods too early can raise her risk of developing food allergies, too. Common allergies include citrus, egg whites, peanut butter, wheat, shellfish, and cow's milk.
Use family mealtime to socialize with your baby. She'll enjoy watching you eat, and she may even eat more herself as a result. In another month or so, she'll be better able to sit up by herself and grasp small objects, too, adding to her dinner table skills.
Your baby may now be able to get into a sitting position from lying on her stomach by pushing up on her arms. If she's sitting independently, stay nearby for support — even if you provide pillows to cushion a possible fall. Your baby may have mastered the sitting skill, but she still might lose interest in being upright and topple over.
Your baby may start showing signs of one of her first major emotional milestones — stranger anxiety. She may become clingy and anxious around new (and even familiar!) people and may cry if a stranger suddenly approaches her.
Keep this in mind when you're around people she doesn't know, and try not to be embarrassed when she cries in someone else's arms — just take her back and calm her down by holding her yourself. Tell your friends and family to approach your little one with slow gentle movements.
A case of stranger anxiety doesn't mean you have to avoid new faces. Your baby will benefit from getting used to being around people other than you and your partner. Just remember that she needs your patience and understanding to get through this very important stage of development.
At all well-baby visits, your child's doctor should examine your baby's eyes, checking their structure and alignment, her ability to move them correctly, and for signs of congenital eye conditions or other problems.
Your baby's getting better at spotting very small objects and tracking moving things. At this point, she may be able to recognize an object after seeing only part of it — like her favorite toy peeking out from under the couch. This will be the basis of little hide-and-seek games you'll be playing in the coming months.
She can also follow an object out of her view. Your baby will reach for a block (or another object) on a table if you hold her close to it, and once she's got one, she may just go after a second.
Earlier your baby learned to distinguish between similar bold colors. Now, she's beginning to sort out subtle differences in pastels. Reading books about colors or playing with colored blocks is a great way to learn about the color palette.
When your baby starts fussing at the supermarket, you may be able to distract him — not for enough time to knock everything off your shopping list, but a few minutes goes a long way these days. Try engaging her with funny faces or a round of "The Itsy-Bitsy Spider."
Clapping your hands, giving her something to hold and mouth, or pointing out new objects in the aisles might work, too. But, remember: For some sensitive babies, the sights, sounds, smells, and overly friendly folks found in stores can be too much.
Your baby's ability to interact with you, others, and her surroundings is growing daily. At this stage, she may start playing little games as she begins to understand that simple actions have results. She may drop objects just to watch you pick them up or to see how and where they fall.
Once she understand that letting go of something is as much fun as picking it up, your baby's world will become more interesting — and yours a good deal messier. Tiring as it sounds, you'd better get used to it. In a few weeks, this will be accompanied by your baby's fits of giggles.
Before long, you'll probably notice the noise level increasing, not only because of your baby's babble but also because she'll find out how much fun it is to bang objects together. Banging, shaking, and mouthing are all ways your baby conducts her experiments on the world.
By the time she's about 6 months old (though sometimes it takes a little longer), your baby's hand control is developed enough that she can rake a small object toward herself. She may not actually grab it, but she can bring it to her.
You can help your baby practice this by placing a toy within her reach and waiting for her bring it close. In another month or so, she'll learn to grab larger toys and start to practice moving objects from one hand to the other.
Let her work with this skill by giving her a small rattle or toy to hold on to. Then help her transfer it to her other hand. Then move it back to the original hand, and so on. When she learns to transfer objects, a whole new world opens up — she now has two hands to have fun with!
Your baby now sees and hears the world almost as well as you do. Her communication skills are expanding rapidly, too, as evidenced by her squeals, bubbling sounds, and operatic octave changes. Her sounds can demonstrate her attitude or response to objects — such as happiness, eagerness, or even satisfaction — with a problem well solved.
At this age, about half of babies babble, repeating one syllable — such as "ba," "ma," "ga," or other consonant-vowel combinations — over and over. A few will even add another syllable or two, making their sounds more complex.
You can encourage your baby by babbling right back at her and by making a game of it ("The sheep says, 'baaa,'" or "The goat says, 'maaa'"). Or, when you hear a syllable you can't identify, just respond enthusiastically with, "Yes, that is a car! See how shiny the red paint is?" Your baby will appreciate your encouraging her by keeping the conversation going.
She'll also appreciate it if you listen as if you understand everything she says and find it extremely interesting. Try simulating a conversation: You listen while she talks, then ask a question and wait for a response!
There was a really nice one at Williams-Sonoma that I was looking at, but after thinking about it, for as long as she's going to be using baby food in the jar, it just isn't worth it. If I knew for sure we weren't having any more kids, then it might be worth it, I could use it for the next one, but as it stands right now, I don't want to buy something for a maybe down the road. 
