Sneaking it in before the wire

It's 2 days until Colin's 6 months old, so I figured I should probably get on the ball here and post 5 months, right?  (FYI, it is now actually Thursday night at 10pm, so I'm really sneaking in before the wire at this point)

Time goes by so incredibly quickly, and we are so busy I feel like it flies by even faster.  And I have to say it's so bizarre to have a human reflecting how incredibly quickly time is going by.  Colin is growing and learning like crazy, and I'm just out of my mind with how much he's changed.

We've kept busy the last month,

• Boating
• Cabining in northern Wisconsin
• Shooting guns
• Beach (repeat)
• Ohio roadtrip
• Ravinia
• Fantasy Football Draft
• Lincoln Park Zoo (awake this time!)
• Swinging at the park

Here's a quick rundown of all the fun we've had this last month.

He's been on a boat couple of times now.  While it's not his favorite to be in the life jacket (it's cute, but man it looks uncomfortable), he seems to be okay with hanging out on a boat.  We were lucky enough to be invited up to northern Wisconsin to our friends family cabin.  We boated, we hung out in the woods, we shot guns... I mean, it was a pretty fantastic weekend, and Colin handled it like a champ.  I'm looking forward to him being a little bit older (aka, can sleep with a blanket) so that we can camp up there.  I think that will be a great way to break in our tent!

We've gone back to the beach, we've done another roadtrip to Ohio for a friend's wedding and Colin's been able to hang out with Grandpa Waldo all day.

We've been to Ravinia (outdoor concert venue) twice!!!  He's seen the Chicago Symphony Orchestra playing the score to the Lord of the Rings: Twin Towers and Journey.  He did well for both, but definitely had a preference for the giant movie screen for LOTR.  

And he's made it through his first Fantasy Football Draft.  We are already corrupting the poor boy.

Honestly, the last month has been a whirlwind all leading up to my anticipation for his 6 months.  It's been pretty awesome the last few weeks.  He can sit up for a short period of time unassisted, he rolls over, he grabs for toys, he's starting to hit toys on the table and is fascinated by the bang noise they make... and he is so incredibly interested in what we are eating and drinking.  Tonight he was obsessed with my water glass and straw, which I let him play with and he managed to suck up some water through the straw.  It took him by surprise, but he couldn't stop!  

We think he's teething like crazy.  He's constantly chewing on objects and his hands.  He's drooling everywhere.  He's smiling, he's giggling, he loves to be thrown up into the air.  We really are starting to love it in a completely different way. He's starting to be so much fun!!!

Here's some pictures to show what we've been up to.  Love this kid...

Getting ready to go on his first boat

Sandwiches as big as Colin

The boat on the Chicago River

Hanging out at the zoo (bottom picture he's checking out the meerkats)

The Park - Swings and Slides

Colin's reaction to Aunt Marla?

Best Parents of the Year... "You have a baby... in a bar?!"  But he's pretty happy about it.

Second boat!  (Colin's in the middle)

The family that shoots together, stays together.  (Once those ear phones were on, he was out) 

 And finally, his five month pictures.  He's getting really annoyed with all the props.  But it's so much fun!

So ready for his six months... in 59 minutes.  

Let me save you the trouble

When I was a little girl on an airplane for my umpteenth time there is a story about my.... abruptness.  It goes something like this:

The flight attendant is going around and talking with the kids on the plane, asking their names, how old they are, how they're doing and if they've flown before.  Apparently, by the time she got to me I had heard her spiel a few times and before she even got past "Hi!" I said, "I'm Megan, I'm 2, I'm fine, and I've flown before" and continued about my business.  My understanding is that the flight attendant was a bit taken aback.

Apparently 20 some odd years later (okay, okay, 28 years later, but who's counting?) I feel the need to essentially be that same snotty 2 year old.  I would like to wear a sign that says the following:

"6 months; no he's not; thanks, we think so too."  Because I think I am a bit of a record on repeat as the same things are almost always the start of a conversation.

• "How old is he?"
• "Is he sleeping through the night?"
• "He's so cute!"

I don't think you can run into any stranger friendly parent/person that doesn't strike up conversation in almost that exact same rhythm.  Mind you, I don't have a problem discussing the lack of sleep I'm still suffering, I love strangers telling me my little boy is cute (who doesn't?) but I feel like if I were to wear the sign at least, it would get us past those intro questions and on to more important discussions like the color of your baby's poo, milestones, and whether you think going dairy free really helps.  Maybe I'm just bitter and irritable because I'm not sleeping through the night or because I'm not able to comfort myself with cheese.