Five and a half months and counting..

Auggie is brilliant at five and a half months! He's progressed so much in the last couple of weeks. For one, he figured out how to roll over! At first he'd just roll over and then lay there pushed up on his arms wondering how the heck he wound up on his stomach. He didn't understand the importance of this new skill. Now I'll come in his room to get him after a nap only to discover him on his stomach looking up at me with this "Hey Mom, look what I can do" face. It's really cute. Dan and I are both excited and fearful of this new skill. Gone are the days of leaving him on the bathroom counter (our changing table) to run and get a clean bib in the next room. I did that once and came back to Auggie nearly in the sink. (Bad Mom!) And now there's no telling where he'll wind up when I put him on the floor to play. Well, at least it's currently contained to a 5-foot radius. Not for long...

He also has a deepening friendship with Stella. They are adorable together! Auggie will reach out to pet Stella from his exersaucer and she'll lick his hand back (and face if I'm not looking). I am really pleased that Stella is not only tolerant of Auggie's affection, she seems to like it. Last weekend my mom got some great shots of Auggie and Stella bonding time:

Our son did something incredible today! I think he may have signed 'milk'. I know, I know, he is definitely too young for signing, but while Dan and I were eating dinner, and I was holding Auggie, he distinctly held both of his arms out while holding his hands in a loose squeeze. (The milk sign looks like the squeeze that one might do when milking a cow - not that I'd know from experience.) Of course Dan and I were too dense to figure out what he was doing. We commented on how odd it was that Auggie was holding his hands out in this strange manner, but kept on eating while Auggie fussed.

Fast-forward 45-minutes: Auggie's bed time. Dan and I are talking softly while I'm nursing Auggie to sleep in the glider. All of the sudden he sticks his little hand up in the air in the same squeeze that he was doing while we were eating dinner. (Moments earlier I had signed 'milk' before feeding him.) At first we had no idea what he was doing, and then Dan figured it out - Auggie was signing Milk! How funny is that!?! I know that if Auggie has any idea of what he's doing, it's probably very vague. Deaf babies babble signs with their hands the way that speaking babies babble with their voices. Perhaps this is Auggie experimenting with sign-babbling? Or is this like the time that he rolled over (slightly assisted) around 6 weeks of age? Because that didn't count... I guess we'll have to wait and see. Nonetheless, Dan and I were thrilled when we figured it out that he might have possibly maybe figured out the 'milk' sign. :)

Dan, Auggie, Stella and I were up in Oak Park last weekend to attend a friend's wedding (btw, how cute is the picture of Auggie and Dan all dressed up in my last post?!). Auggie got to spend time with his Aunt, Uncle, and future Aunt: