Changing so fast

Wow, three weeks since my last post.  So much has happened and JJ has changed so much. 

He is now 12 weeks old, over 15 lbs and last night was a big milestone - his first night in his own room!  He did pretty well (considering his sleep patterns have been all over the place lately) and his room looks great now that all of his furniture and things are in there.  Must admit it was very odd to go to bed last night and not have to worry about waking him up.  Our bedroom now looks enormous without the crib in it.  Of course, we have further to go to tend to him (and have to get used to the white noise of the baby monitor rather than the white noise of the humidifier) but we hope that he will sleep sounder without having to share a room with us (well, his Daddy who sometimes stays up playing video games and has a tendency to snore now and then).

JJ has added to his skill set quite considerably:
1) Holding his head up
2) Supporting himself when lying on the floor
3) Trying to sit up
4) Little squeals of delight
5) Mimicking (or at least trying to mimic) the silly noises E and I make
6) Really paying attention to his surroundings and following objects/people
7) Turning towards voices he recognises
I could go on.....proud Dad, eh?

All the above have made JJ quite the fun little guy to interact with.

I recently had 9 days out of 12 with him (thanks to time off for my parents visiting, JJ's visit with all of his Grandparents went so well, more on that in my next post!) and I cannot express how amazing it was.  I feel like the bond between us has really grown.  It's so rewarding to see him smile back at you or to be able to cheer him up when he's a bit grumpy.  Knowing more of his signs and cues makes looking after him that bit easier.  Bath time is going great thanks to him being easily distracted by silly noises (especially blowing raspberries - thanks Grandad!).  I love that he will turn to wherever the sound of my voice is coming from when I get home from work (assuming he is awake and not feeding) and that I can relax and calm him down when he's upset (well, usually).  Having him fall asleep in my arms while rocking or bouncing is so special.

I also have to tip my hat to E.  Being with him and looking after him 24/7 was exhausting (even with us sharing the load) so how she gets through Monday to Friday I don't know!  Being able to give E help, support and a bit of a break felt good and I got a new sense of appreciation for how dedicated and loving she is as a Mom.

During these few day I noticed a big difference between how E and I dress JJ.  I love him to look like a little man (or in an outfit very similar to something  would wear) while E wants him to look like a baby (which after all he is, all that hair just makes him look much older).  E wants to hold on to these precious baby days and I can't wait for him to be running around outside!  The geek in me already has his Father's Day outfit planned to match what I'll wear :)

Of course JJ and I get to treat E to her first Mother's Day this weekend.  I hope JJ managed to get out to the shops and buy something nice for his Mommy ;)