His OWN ROOM!

Starting last Saturday, Ian has been sleeping in his own room! He seems to be sleeping much more soundly (and longer) and it is so nice to have re-claimed our own bedroom!

Scott and I have both been hesitant to move him out of our room. It's one of those things that is difficult to reason with -- as much as we wanted everyone to sleep better, and as silly as I thought it was to have four bedrooms (including a perfectly adorable nursery) and only use one, I just couldn't make myself move him into the nursery.

But on Saturday Ian was awakened early from his morning nap by neighborhood noises (our bedroom seems to be the least quiet in the house) and I was just so frustrated that I dragged his bed (with him still in it) into the nursery. Temporarily.

But then it was just so hard to get his bed through the doorway that I just left it there.... and I was honest enough with myself to know that if I returned his bed to our room, it would never leave. Even after his siblings had grown up and gone to college, Ian would still be at home, sleeping in our room. Because I liked to have him there.

So I left his bed in the nursery for his afternoon nap too. And we even put him to bed that night in the nursery. And yes, I cried. And cried. I kissed him goodnight 8 or 9 times, petted his soft blond hair and fussed with his blankets (wishing he would wake up) and then cried myself to sleep. Somehow it just hurt to have him so far away. But I survived the night, and so did he. And that left me without any excuses to bring him back into our room. And so, more or less unintentionally, Ian is now sleeping in his own room.

In other news, Ian has been experimenting with a sippy cup. We decided to skip bottles all together, and I have been giving him a little water in the sippy cup every day. And he LOVES it! He grunts and flaps his arm, and holds, tilts and drinks from the cup all by himself. And he seems really proud of himself.

He is also now eating Oats. They are much more messy than Rice is. Once we replace the batteries in our camera, I will post pictures of these exciting events. Ian wore a tie to church last Sunday. Aren't my guys handsome?

Scootin' and Rollin'

Ian is rolling again! (after giving it up a month ago) Now he also scoots on his back like an inchworm -- arching his back and pushing off the carpet with his feet. Between scooting and rolling from his back to stomach, stomach to back over and over again, he can cross a room pretty quickly. Watch out -- we have a mobile baby!

Outfit # 5

After Ian spit up on himself (like enough to make him cold) and I had changed his outfit four times before 11 a.m., I decided this "outfit" was better than creating a whole load of laundry before lunchtime. Baby skin is so cute!

Snuggle Bunny

New High Chair

($10 at a garage sale)

Licking the bowl clean. Rice cereal must be better than it smells.

Practicing his newest skill

Ian's Ferberization

This picture was taken in May, when Ian was about 4 weeks old.

I recently heard that by 4 months 90% of babies are sleeping through the night. I could not believe that our boy, the sweetest and "easiest" of all babies, was one of the rebellious 10%. According to Ferber, we had a little "trained night feeder" on our hands. (Or was I the one trained?)

So last Thursday night Scott and I decided to start the tough love. We were instructed to feed Ian gradually smaller amounts at gradually increased intervals as the nights went on. I braced for up to two weeks of sleepless nights, and while Thursday night was hard, it got almost immediatly better.

Sunday night was the first night Ian slept straight through. And he has repeated the performance with amazing predictability ever since. We hardly know what to do with a full night sleep around here.

I am a bit surprised how this all came about. I always thought a baby "figured out" sleep all at once... that Ian would suddenly realize (all on his own) that he could do it by himself, and then just do it from then on. But for us it came in stages, one new sleep skill at a time, and each victory toward Ian's sleep enlightenment won out of desperation by his sleep-deprived parents.

First there was the "falling alseep sans rocking" one. Then a few weeks later, sleeping unswaddled. Then most recently, not eating at night and then not waking at night. And now we are trying to get Ian down to two longer naps each day (instead of 40-minute power naps 4 times each day.) It's a process.

5 Months Old!

Then....

Now....

First Swim!

Ian went swimming for the first time last weekend. He seemed to really be enjoying himself. (These pictures were taken before he really got into it.)

We spent the afternoon with friends from our Wymount ward. I visit taught our host (who moved to the Houston area about 6 months before us) and my visiting teachers from Wymount were there too... both of their families moved to the Houston area a year before us. (The visiting teaching program sure is inspired -- because of it, I had three friends in Houston before we even arrived!)

I have always thought babies couldn't wear sunscreen until 6 months old. So Ian is fully clothed to protect him from UV rays. And sunscreen.

Has anyone else heard that sunscreen rule? What harm could suncreen do?

Bath Toys

Ian was introduced to his first bath toys this week. He became fast friends with these squirty frogs. Is it just me, or are they making the same face?

Heather's Visit

Heather (my childhood friend of 15 years!) spent most of her birthday on an airplane to come visit us! And we were so glad she did! I spent most of her visit trying to make her stop changing diapers and doing dishes. :)

We had lots of late night chats, and it was an incredibly fun weekend. And before she left, she had become the latest Twilight series addict!

Littlest Cougar Fan

The college football season has begun (a fact that was certainly not missed in this household!) and Ian enjoyed his first Cougar game in style. Look how happy he is that BYU won!

He Sits!

Ian is getting good at sitting up, though after a few seconds he usually begins to slouch forward enough to do a face plant, or arches his back and throws himself onto his back. He laughs when that happens on the nice, springy bed, but has learned it hurts to hit his head on the floor. So until he gets a little more control, he will practice some more on the bed.

You may have also noticed that he has discovered his toes! Toes, toys, hair and mommy and daddy's faces have become facinating these last few weeks.