You’ve really blossomed so much this past month, Rhino! You have such an amazing personality and are really letting it show. This month you had your first giggles, which are the most beautiful sound ever! At first you would only giggle for Daddy, but just yesterday, as I was singing to you, you did for me too! (You must have been laughing at my silly singing voice!)

Another big surprise this month is your first two teeth! You’ve been a little grumpier lately, and very drooly, so we knew we’d see a tooth soon. Last Sunday two cute little bottom teeth popped up. You are now gnawing on anything and everything and we need to start cleaning those pearly whites! I grew my first tooth at 4 months, so I guess you take after me in the dental department!

You’ve made some new friends this month, mostly through the church nursery. All the ladies that work there adore you and you are usually very friendly with them. There are a couple other babies there that you will look at and babble too, but you’re more talkative with the older toddlers. We have also been going to an infant play group where you like to watch the other, older babies crawling around and playing. You’re starting to play more, also. When we dangle a toy, you often reach for it or grab it. You’ll hold things in both your hands and almost always bring them up to your mouth or shake them!

And of course, you’re still growing! Yesterday we received all our household goods, finally, including the rest of your clothes. There are outfits that arrived that were so huge on you before we left California, but now they are entirely too small! There are so many things that you didn’t even get to wear! At your check-up today you weighed 18 lb 11 oz and are 27.3 inches tall. That puts you above the 95th percentile for both. You are such a chunky little boy right now and the doctor says you have quite a pair of shoulders on you!

You are also a lot more vocal. Each month you’re adding new sounds to your vocabulary. This month we’ve heard more “b”s and “k”s. You also shriek a whole lot, both in joy and when you’re upset. You’ve realized you have feet, too! When you aren’t holding something up to your mouth (lately a clean, flat cloth diaper has been your favorite chew toy!), you are holding on to your feet and toes. When you’re sitting upright, you will hold your toes and stare at them. You get a kick out of making diaper changes more difficult for me by holding your legs up to your chest and holding onto your feet, too! Grandma says that Daddy discovered his feet when he was 5 months, so we think you’re a little ahead of the game there!

You’ve explored Japan a little bit more this month, too. We all go out to restaurants around the town and try new foods. We’ve been hiking a couple times and you seem to really enjoy looking around at all the trees and leaves and water. We are doing more shopping in Japanese stores, so you’ve seen all sorts of neat Japanese things! We have plans to have an exciting summer where you can get out and see even more of this beautiful country!

I love every day that we spend together and you truly are so special to me! We have a great time together, even when you’re crabby and even when I’m crabby, and I am really enjoying watching you grow. I love you so much, Rhino!

Hugs ‘n’ Kisses!
Mommy