Avocado

 Mariah has been showing signs of being ready for solid foods for a couple weeks, and has been desperately grabbing food out of my hand and trying to eat it. It has just taken me awhile to accept it. And once I accepted it, I had to read every article ever written on the internet about starting solids. In the end it was nothing fancy, we just mashed up an avocado and fed it to her. In typical Mariah fashion, she was like, "What's the big deal?" I was surprised she actually was able to smoosh the food with her gums and even swallow it. She seemed to like it and kept reaching for the bowl and trying to guide the spoon into her mouth. And I took over 100 pictures.

 We started off with a big regular spoon and then remembered we had baby spoons. We're amateurs.

Hahaha I love her face here. 

 Trying to grab the bowl from me

Mmmmmm so delicious

5 months

Remember last month how I said Mariah's sleeping had gotten worse? Well after that it got worse. And then it got better, but not really better, just relatively better. So, hence the blogging absence, and also mental absence. My brain felt like mush for a couple weeks there.
Thanks also for the helpful links some of you posted. If nothing else, it was a nice reminder that this phase will pass.

Despite the sometimes restless nights, Mariah is really healthy and happy. Her giggle is completely contagious. She rolls over often from back to belly but can't always get herself on her back again. She plays with little teething rings and toys and still tries to suck on everything.

We've come up with a lot of cheesy nicknames over the last 5 months, but I think the ones we use most often are:

Mariahboo
Cutie Babes
Babykins
Little Muffin
Baby Riah
Baby Girl
MariahMariah
Babinski
And we still call her babins

At 5 months Mariah likes:
Grabbing and pulling
Watching us put food in our mouths
Trying to eat everything
Rolling over
Laughing, especially when we shake her arms or do fake coughs or snorts
Music
Her binky
Not sleeping
Cooing and babbling, making m and b sounds
Blowing spit bubbles all over her face
Stuffed bunny, stuffed bear, plastic keys, teething rings, rattle
Sucking on her feet
Coming to work with me (usually)

Mariah does not like:
Loud sounds, especially sneezes and pots and pans
When I leave the room
Being left out of a conversation
Waking up with a wet diaper
When she accidentally(?) drops her toys

Most pictures of her are on my phone, but since I'm on the computer right now here are some from the camera:

 Here is some rolling over in action:

Sometimes she gets stuck on her arm.