By now your baby is probably able to sit with support. And at the end of this month, they'll likely be able to roll over in both directions – from tummy to back and back to tummy.

At around the 5-month-old mark, your baby will likely also be able to grasp small objects and may even bang them on the ground or other hard surfaces.

Activities that encourage exploring movement and their bodies provide babies with endless entertainment. Here are a few to try with your 5-month-old baby:

Spoon Landing

Use the spoon to interact with your baby of "rocket, landing on the moon": Hold the spoon down below the table or high-chair tray, then bring it up quickly but carefully and gently place it in your baby's mouth just as you say "moon."

You can also use a horizontal move to bring the spoon into your baby's field of vision as you say "here comes the racing speedboat" or try using an up-and-down bobbing motion to introduce a "whale swimming in the ocean."

Facing Off

Studies have shown that babies recognize and remember faces better than adults do. Make a game of your baby's fascination with faces by making a few of your own. Sit down next to your baby, position yourself at eye level with your baby. If your baby is on the floor, bend over or lie down next to your baby so that you're more or less face to face.

Start by slowly changing your expression, going from a smile to a surprised look to a sad or pouty expression. Then move through the expressions again with a pause in between each one, and wait to see if any elicit a response from your baby.

Use a hand mirror to show him his own expression, describing it as you do: "Oh, don't you look surprised! Look what a happy baby!" Or make one of your own faces in the mirror, tilting it so your baby can see both you and the mirror image.