5 Months Old???

In reflecting on my daughter today, I decided to do a 5 month old update, a la Erin. I'm so impressed by all the skills Emmeline has developed in the last few months. She's really growing up. Rolling from her belly to back is old hat - she's been doing that for a few months. It's been in the last month that she mastered rolling back to belly. And that's where she prefers to be now. Unlike the early days, she prefers to spend her time on her belly, so she can watch people (and cats and rabbits), and grasp at things easier. She loves to grasp onto anything, including but not limited to my hair, my keys, any toys that might be close, and the sleeve of my shirt as I carry her anywhere. What she does not care to grasp is the expensive musina toy lent to us by Erin - you see, she can't bring those toys down to her mouth. In Emmeline's world, something is only worth grabbing hold of if it then makes its way to her mouth. I know babies explore the world orally. I work with babies. This is not new information. THIS KID IS EXCESSIVELY ORALLY FIXATED. Even her teachers at school have commented on how oral she is. It's not just me. Given this oral fixation, I feel that we introduced food at a good time. So far, she has sampled egg yolk, broccoli, avocado, green beans, mango, peaches and sweet potato. She's starting carrots tomorrow. Em has no problem letting you know if she doesn't like something or if she's done eating. She just turns her head and purses her lips. Very clear communication. She's also clear about when she is excited: her new movement is to flap her arms and grin. Of course, I can't help but crack up, she looks so ridiculous. It's quite endearing. She's been holding her own bottle, although I don't know how long she's been able to do that, since she only gets about one bottle a week. We discovered this when Shawn put her to bed solo the other night. I'm sure that's not hugely ahead of developmental expectations, it was just a surprise since she doesn't have a lot of bottles. Bedtime itself is a whole other experience now too. Our bedtime routine is so wonderful. Quick bath, pjs, eat, read two books, lights out, and Shawn and I leave the room. She cries about one night out of ten, and then for less than two minutes. Most nights we either hear nothing, or a little baby chatter then silence. Glorious. Tonight was the first night she rolled herself in bed, so despite being put to bed on her back, I guess from now on, my big girl can choose to sleep on her belly if she likes. (I can only sleep on my belly, I certainly can't blame her)

Long story short, I think if I blink, she'll be graduating high school. She's like a real baby now, not my little defenseless newborn anymore. She has an attitude, can be a little drama queen, and knows how to bat her eyelashes to get what she wants. How did this happen?