In the midst of the daily grind, and seeing Emmett every day, I forget what leaps and bounds he’s truly made from month to month, let alone day to day. Each one has something new in store and basically has me convinced that I have the smartest, most wonderful kid on the planet. Which every mom thinks of her kid, and rightly so. We have had little adventures, tried new things, and discovered our feet, and that we have our very own dog, much to said dog’s chagrin.

At any other time in my life someone who told me, “Gosh, it goes by so fast.” would have made my eyes roll into the back of my head. Now I find myself agreeing with them and rolling my eyes at myself. But is has! Look at this little guy! Each month is truly something new, each with its own victories, and definitely its own challenges.

Trying to train him to sleep on his own though continues to be a challenge. I mean, if you could choose between falling asleep eating in your mom’s arms, or falling asleep in a crib solo, which would you prefer? Nap times continue to be the bain of his existence, because FOMO is real, even when you are five months old. Unless it’s Gammy who puts you down for a nap. Because she’s got this whole thing figured out.

Food has been another new adventure this month, with Ben feeding Emmett his first real foods! Oatmeal was a hit after the first few bites, and he has mastered the baby-birding of his daily feedings. The first food happened when I was at work, and I found out when pictures got sent to me in between meetings. At first I was upset, because I really wanted to be there for it, I’m the foodie of the family after all, but I realized that there will be many firsts, and that Ben needs to have his firsts too. Those moments will be special. I had my first time feeding him solid food too, and it was just as special for me, even if it wasn’t the first-first time for Emmett.

We have tried oatmeal, peas, sweet potato, and chicken. Pears are next! But one thing that I didn’t fully comprehend before the real food came into the picture… the POOP. Why did no one warn me it would be room clearingly bad? Gawddddddd.

But he has loved time in new high chair, where he gets to hang out with me in the kitchen, and watch everything I do. He’s a chipper little guy who takes it all in and loves to watch the world around him. And throw his toys on the floor to watch mom pick them up umpteenth number of times. Butthead.

One of the funniest things this month has been that Emmett finally figured out he has his very own dog. Huck, well, he’s less than enthused about this realization.

He loves his boy on his terms, but with a five month old who has learned that he can reach out and touch the things he sees now, well, the puppy is the best thing in the world! Emmie has learned that the dog is soft, moves, and will lick his face. He cracks up with the most joyous belly laughs every time he sees his dog face to face. Huck lets his ears hang down when the pterodactyl laughs happen. Though to be honest, I get it, they are really high pitched. But they are so. dang. cute. With a grumpy old dog, and a happy little baby, I hope that they can be best buds at some point, for as long as they are together. Huck I think is still wondering when this naked hairless dog is going to go away. Ha!

This month’s photos are nothing particularly artsy, or crisp and clean, as if that is a new metaphor for my life. Everything is blurry, moving so fast, and I’m trying my best to savor each minute and give myself as much grace in my imperfections as a parent and give myself the clarity of mind (as if that is a thing now) to know that I am doing everything I can to be a present mom, instead of a perfect mom.

Everything is new and wonderful. And if this month has taught me anything, we should take half as much joy as our kids in the wonders of the world. We will be so much better off for that.