m + j: 25% of a year complete

Ladies and gentleman (I'm pretty sure John is the only gentleman that reads this, and that's only occasionally if twitter or ESPN are running low) we have reached the quarter of a year mark.... three months.... 25%....phew. Time has flown by which I realized it would, but still wasn't quite ready for it.

What has three months brought us? Let's see -

Things we have done:

Our first Cub's game
Ridden on the L
Gone to the zoo
Attended Rib Fest
Started making friends with Wylie and Julia
Stayed at hotel
Met the Hoyt family
Went to the Shedd and saw jellies, sharks, and penguins!

Things Colin has accomplished:

Rolled over tummy to back
Accidentally rolled over from back to tummy
Grabbing at toys --- and trying to put them in his mouth (theme of his life)

Things that Colin loves:

Putting his hands in his mouth
Pulling mommy's hands to his mouth
Eating and cuddling with swaddle blankets
Row Row Row Your Boat
Play mat with dangling toys
Standing - loooooves to stand
Watching the Blackhawks - all that red on the screen is fascinating

I know there are more things, but I feel like that's probably enough for the folks out there --- since I'm sure I'm a little bit more obsessed with the adorable/awesome that is Colin.

Three months also brought me back to work, which I think we are both handling pretty well. I think we are both getting better at understanding it. I think it's helped that we have had a lot of people around so he's not quite freaked out about John or me not being there during the day. It's not quite as traumatic. He gets to do fun things like go to the park, go for walks, and play with a big kid (i.e. a baby 4 months older). But I sure do love coming home and picking him up and hanging out with him in the evening. The TV isn't nearly as exciting, when all I want to do is have him look at me and giggle at me.

He's gotten much better with not crying (still have bouts, but it's definitely improving). We've managed to get him to restaurants and gatherings and he does remarkably well. For Jennifer's wedding we went to the rehearsal and the dinner following and he met a ton of family - Uncle Bob, Uncle Russ, Glenna, Aunt Linda... Great Grandma Anne... And he handled it like a champ. I can't wait for him to just be a smiley happy baby, but I think I'm starting to realize that he really is just a bit of a serious kid. He does laugh, he does smile, but he also just stares really intently at things and people like he's trying to figure it out. Of course, it's because he's brilliant, right? Haha....

Well, I think the more important part of this post is the pictures, not the running commentary.

Crazy to see the different three months can make

Sure, most of these are kind of the same thing, but I couldn't choose just one, so I decided to make a collage so that I didn't overstep any one's patience

I just can't believe how much he has changed in three months. I knew it would be a crazy change, but wow. He looks so much more like a person than he did, and he is so much more alert. I just love it! We bought the big bear because he's already outgrown all of his other stuffed animals to do any sort of comparison... so we thought this one might last a little bit longer.

Here's the net three more, and the three after that. Can't wait to see what he learns and discovers next!!

And just for fun, Colin meeting his Great Grandma, and then the two of us at Jennifer's wedding. Hard to believe she's 92 -- she looks pretty spry. Even got out on the dance floor, crazy old lady (possible emphasis on crazy?).