Milestones and moments.

It feels like it was barely 15 minutes ago that we were reporting on Milo's 4-month doctor's visit, and all of a sudden, his 5-month birthday is right around the corner. I used to think "they grow up so fast" was an annoying cliche, but wow, is it true.

Milo continues to grow at a dizzying rate. He's bursting out of his 3-6 month wardrobe, forcing Mommy and Grandma to do some shopping (OK, so no one really has to twist our arms to buy adorable baby clothes). He's also bursting out of his carseat, but Mommy and Daddy are still in denial on that front.

Milo spends a lot of time grinning and giggling right now. He's using his hands very deliberately, and he's now able to take his pacifier out of his mouth (and sometimes even get it back in the right way - a much more useful skill). He can hold his own bottle sometimes, and can grab just about anything that strikes his fancy. Once it's in his hands, it' s in his mouth, so we have to keep a closer eye on him these days.

Milo seems to be having a great time at daycare. We love hearing that he's having "long conversations" with his teachers, and reaching out to hold another baby's hand during face-to-face tummy time. He's not quite rolling over yet. He'll roll from his back onto his side, then stop and think better of going all the way. "Maybe tomorrow, Mommy," he seems to say.

Last Sunday, we had a significant, if not-so-fun milestone: Milo's first visit to the Emergency Room. He'd been wrestling with a terrible cold for several days, and was so congested that he couldn't breathe well enough to nurse, or even to eat from a bottle. We realized that it had been much too long since he'd had a wet diaper, and the pediatrician told us to take him to the hospital. It was heartbreaking to see our sweet little baby wearing a tiny hospital gown, with his little diapered tushie sticking out the back. The nurses were very kind and gentle, and did their best to make him comfortable.

It turns out that Milo had RSV, a yucky - but fairly common - virus. Fortunately, he didn't have a bad case of it and did not require hospitalization or oxygen therapy. We were able to get him hydrated with a bottle of Pedialyte, and then fed him a mix of breastmilk and Pedialyte for a couple of days. By Wednesday, he was his normal, happy, active self, and he seems to be almost rid of the lingering cough and congestion. Unfortunately, Mommy and Daddy got sick, too, but we're all on the road to recovery. Frequent illness is definitely the downside of daycare.

We had another exciting milestone last weekend: Milo's first Packers playoff game! When the Pack was down by 2 touchdowns early in the game, we suddenly realized that Milo wasn't dressed for action. Within minutes after we changed him into his Packers sweatshirt, the team had scored its first of six straight touchdowns. Needless to say, we'll have him ready at game time tomorrow (photos to follow, outcome dependent).

And speaking of football, here's a video of Milo's ball handling skills. Brett Favre, your job's in jeopardy!

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[Chuck]

The Wietzel Clan gathered around the warm flickering glow of our computer screen last night to enjoy the above Milo Movie! Sawyer immediately requested a 2nd viewing, and we were only too happy to comply. Adorable, and the kid's got skillz!