5 months old today....

Has it already been 5 months? Well, luckily, it doesn't seem like things are flying by -- which I'm glad. I think that we're both taking life slower... taking it all in... enjoying parenthood.

I forgot to mention that Mercer's progressing in a couple of other ways: he is no longer being swaddled at night to sleep. It's been 4 or 5 days in a row. Yes, he'd stir and wake a little throughout the night, but for the most part is sleeping through. From what I was reading - swaddling is dangerous once they're able to roll over in the swaddle.

Another thing we were noticing recently is how - when you hold him up in a standing position - he sort of dances and marches. His legs will move up and down a little bit in an alternate pattern. Because of this, we pulled out a Johnny Jumper thing for him to play in. He's able to spin himself around in it and bounce a little. I shot some video of him when he first went in it... then a short clip taken about 1/2 an hour later where he seems to enjoy it... and another short clip from Todd seeing Mercer in the jumper for the first time. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hm_-FCIywxE

Finally, I wanted to include something that was touching. My uncle's wife, Francis, takes my grandmother, Edith, to the library to see the blog and the videos of Mercer about once a week. Francis writes:

Hi Candice,

Just wanted to share with you that I took Edith to the library today to enjoy the happy squeals and "conversations" from Mercer in the videos. We had to get some headphones to allow her to "hear" everything while she watched. There were several times that she laughed out loud at his sounds and expressions. It is also so sweet to hear all the love in Todd's and your voices as you talk to Mercer. Thank you for continually adding to your blog.l... How wonderful your "li'l M" can bring so many smiles to so many people!

Isn't that great! That alone makes it worth keeping the blog alive!

Here's another clip taken from today: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o5B4G4ZhgeA&feature=user

Good night. enjoy. Candice