Happy Half-Birthday Collin!

Flashback: Mike and I look at each other with fear as we say goodbye to the nurses and walk to our car. There must be some mistake. We're not ready for this yet! Collin is a tiny bundle in my arms, he wears an outfit that hangs off of him. Rosy cheeks and a full head of hair.

The first month was pure exhaustion. I was convinced I would never have another child. Breastfeeding might as well have been climbing Mt Everest. (But it's natural, how hard can it be? Ha!) Collin slept, then woke, then ate, then slept, then pooped, then slept, then ate, then pooped. I was trying to wean myself off of pain meds from the C-section. Friends and relatives came by and aahed and oohed. Everything was a blur. I was eager to be done with the newborn phase.

Then something happened. We started to get the hang of this parenting thing. Nursing wasn't torture anymore. Collin smiled. He was alert. Patterns began to form. Like time lapsed photography the bundle grew and grew before our eyes. He squirmed. He flipped. He laughed.

And half a year is gone. I get teary eyed when I think about how he used to lay in the crook of my arm. But then I look at the little person he's becoming, and there's a burst of excitement. I get to see the possibilities.

I'm trying to take it in as slow as possible because one day I'll wake up and the chubby cheeks and toothless smiles will be a memory.

Here are the comparison shots:
1 day: