Dear Ian, Today you turn five months old and you are a man on the move! Well, as much of a move as a little boy can be who can't quite sit up. Your father claims that when you draw pictures of your Mommy one day they will just be pictures of a camera, but I think it's worth it to catch moments like these. You worked on your letter B for about three days and then moved on to other things. Had I not grabbed the camera, I would have missed it.

Speaking of capturing moments, you had your first school picture this month. And so it begins. I'm expecting a Scholastic Books order form to come home any day now. You wore a cute little set of overalls that your Uncle Perry wore almost 40 years ago. It made you look all the more like him. We bought a small collection of the prints out of duty, but I'm happy we're collecting photos of our own.

We ... well let's be realistic ... I keep the camera and the iPhone next to the bed to get cute pictures of you sleeping or waking up in the morning. The iPhone is particularly handy at restaurants since it's already on the table. But you're starting to get grabby these days so we're already starting the game of keeping things away from you. You studiously watched every spoonful of soup I conveyed to my mouth with wonder until you then decided to latch onto the cup itself. Thankfully, no babies or broccoli cheddar soups were harmed.

This month brought one my favorite milestones of yours, the day when you could first use your jump up. Megan and Ben gifted us with one that was well loved by both their kids and I've been anxiously awaiting when we could install it. We're still getting the hang of installing you into the jump up and it's not helped by the moment your butt touches it you are bouncing to beat the band. But I'm not sure who has more fun, you or anyone watching you.

Every month I sit down to write one of these letters and I think "I don't know that much has changed." And then I start writing and can't believe how much you've grown in just one short month. It's a paradox of parenthood. So many of these moments I want to freeze in time while at the same time I'm looking forward to new things we'll be able to do in coming months. It's a series of snapshots I want to cherish forever. I'm so happy you're in our lives now.

Love, Mama