The Birkett's 2008 in review

The next time I blog it will most likely be 2009. This year flew by, and I know it seems we say that every year but this year it really does seem to have gone by faster than normal. It's been an amazing year, to say the least, in our household.

The year started with a bang. The New York Football Giants dominated the NFC playoffs winning all games on the road on the way to the Super Bowl. To cap off their amazing playoff run, the Giants won Super Bowl XLII in an amazing and thrilling game over the New England Patriots. I'll have to say seeing your absolute favorite team, playing your favorite sport winning it all as an adult is one of the best feelings in the world. I've been around to witness the Giants win their other two Super Bowl Championships, but as a kid you just don't appreciate it as much. Unfortunately, the San Francisco Giants didn't play as well this season but Bri and I were still able to enjoy a few games in the nice (and foggy) San Francisco weather. The silver lining in the SF Giants dismal season was that pitcher Tim Lincecum was awarded the NL Cy Young award. 2008 seemed like the best year of sports in a very long time. If you haven't figured it out, we are huge sports fans. While we have our favorites (Bri = baseball, Dawn = Pro Football), we don't discriminate. We split a partial season for the Golden State Warriors, and enjoy being a spectator at just about any sporting event. We won't forget watching the exciting NBA playoffs - capped off by a Celtics victory, or what about Tiger's amazing win in the U.S. Open and who will ever forget Nadal's thrilling win over Federer at Wimbledon - a match for the ages. AMAZING. As sports fans we've been spoiled. To finish out the year, we're going to attend the Emerald Bowl at AT&T Park, to see the California Golden Bears play the Miami Hurricanes.

Another favorite past time for the two of us is traveling. We love it. Seriously we can't get enough of it and can't wait to share this with Baby Boy Birkett. Over the past few months we've been repeatedly been told by very well meaning people that we better get used to a different lifestyle. Bri and I are very realistic and understand that our lives will never be the same once he arrives. That being said, I don't see us shying away from travel and the sooner we start those journey's the better for all of us. Bri and I went to Thailand in February to get our first taste of Asia - unbelievably neither one of us had been to this part of the world before. Just short of two weeks we experienced three completely different aspects of Thailand. From the bustling and packed streets of Bangkok, to the sleepy streets of Chiang Mai and finally to the pristine beaches and waters of Phuket - we savored it all. One of my favorite memories was taking a Thai cooking class while in Chiang Mai.

About midway through the year we enjoyed some R&R on the Big Island of Hawaii with family. We spent the week laying on the beach, checking out Volcano National Park and hanging with our adorable nieces, Jesse and Hannah. Around Labor Day I had to travel back to Tokyo for work ( I was there earlier in the year for business), but this time around Bri met me at the end of the trip for an extended weekend of site seeing in Tokyo and then down to Kyoto. What no one really knew was that we found out I was pregnant one week before I left on the trip. I think we'll fondly look back on that trip and always remember our exciting secret we were carrying around. Towards the tail end of the year we found ourselves in New Jersey and Nashville. A whirlwind year of travel, but all of it full of wonderful memories. Those were just the trips we did together!! Bri traveled up, down and across the country for work and I found myself on several work related trips (domestic and international) and in NJ a few times.

We would like to take a moment and talk about how blessed we are in terms of family and friends. Since the end of 2007 we've been joined by 3 nieces (Hannah, Jesse and Emma) and one nephew (Griffin). It has been awesome watching them all grow and develop and reach milestones. Whether it be in person or via pictures and phone calls. Our parents are fantastic and we can't wait to share our child's milestones with you (even if he's not your first grandchild, we hope its exciting none-the-less).

So that's an abbreviated look at our year. We realize how fortunate we are and don't take anything for granted. We're excited for 2009 and can't wait for everything it has in store for us.

At 23 weeks our child is a heavy as a large mango.

Merry Christmas!

At 22 weeks our kid is the size of spaghetti squash and just about a pound.

21 weeks...

There's not much to report this week which is nice because it's the holidays and I'll take any down time I can get.I'll just give the stats from my weekly email for those following our ever growing piece of produce.

Baby Boy Birkett (wanna submit a suggestion for a name? we're having trouble so we'll take a look...email me) is approx the length of a carrot. His eyebrows (hopefully not dad's unibrow) and eyelids are present, and while I rarely feel movement it's supposed to become more pronounced in the upcoming weeks. Bri and I are looking forward to this part, especially once Bri can feel movements. I just hope the kid doesn't kick Evita in the middle of the night. She still like to sleep close to my stomach and I don't want them to start off on the wrong foot.

Whoa oh, half way there...

whoa oh living on a prayer...that's right we're officially at the half way point of this pregnancy. 20 weeks down, 20 weeks to go. If you do the math that each month is approx 4 weeks long, we're actually looking at 10 months of this. Where does everyone get 9 months from?

Anyway, I'm feeling kinda Sunday! If you haven't seen the State Farm commercial with this song in it, stay away. It's addicting and doesn't leave your head. Although, it has made my Sundays much more enjoyable.

Last night we went to what may be the last Yahoo! Holiday party, well maybe not the last, but a possibility if could be ours depending how the company fairs in the next year. As always it was a good time, this year Vegas was the theme. Since we were in "Vegas" we decided to renew out vows by none other than Elvis. Picture is to the left, it's a terrible angle - photographers should never be taken a picture at an upwards angle - so don't mind it I really don't look that large and in charge. Oh and that was a terrible choice of shirt, it didn't sit right on the hips. Oh well. But yes, I am proud to say I am still rocking my 4 inch stiletto heals for 4+ hours with no problem. Woot! I dread the day I cannot put them on. Luckily it's holiday party season, so I can get as much use out of them as my feet can stand!

My weekly email says that Baby Birkett is the length of a banana. Crazy to think about! We're still very excited to be having a boy, but can't seem to come up with a name we both like. There are a lot of resources on the web, but nothing jumps out at both of us.

Pictures!

Here are some recent snapshots of Baby Boy Birkett; we're lucky in the fact that our Perinatal group does 3D/4D ultrasounds pics for free. They're a litte freaky at first but fun once you get used to them.

19 weeks

quick update on our produce...see the post below for the exciting news!

Baby Birkett is about 9oz and is 6 inches long head to bottom. That's about the size of a large heirloom tomato. Fortunately his arms and legs are in proportion to the rest of his body now.

It's a Boy

Today we found out that the bun in the oven is a boy. I couldn't think of a better topic for my first contribution to the blog. Dawn and I are very excited that balance has been restored to the universe and our families as our son will even out the battle of the sexes. Baby Boy Birkett and cousin Griffin will even out my side of the family vs. cousins Hannah and Jesse and on Dawn's side Baby Boy Birkett will be the ying to cousin Emma's yang.

Baby Birkett was so excited to find out news that he immediately tried to give me a man to man fist pump. I'm excited that the esteemed family name will be passed on and that there is a natural heir to the throne should we finally confirm that I'm royalty. As you can tell, I am very excited and I can't wait to spend time with my son.

The suspense is killing me!!!

So we could have known the sex for a whole two hours by now, but no, we have chosen to keep it in the little sealed envelope for the time being. AAHHHH...My mom is the only who knows at this point (oh except for the ultrasound tech, dr. and my coworker who faxed the paper to my mom). Cindy is under strict orders to not reveal to anyone until she knows we know the sex. She also will not be fooled by any questions I may ask to coax it out of her.

The fun news is we saw the kid, it was apparently standing straight up for a time during the scan. Too cute! Measurements are on target for our due date and all of it's extremities and organs looked good. There is a 1 in 10,000 chance at Downs and other chromosomal defects - that's the lowest you can get. We're happy! We have pictures including a few cute 3D ones of the kid, but i am not looking at the disk in case there is one of its good.

Holler then Swaller...

Yee-haw! Our new favorite phrase maybe just well be "Holler then Swaller". Bri and I traveled to NashVegas this past weekend to attend the wedding of our good friends Ashley and Trevor. We had a blast and the wedding was gorgeous.

It was a strange to go from 75+ degrees on Saturday the 15th, to about 30 or less degrees on Saturday the 22nd, but we enjoy experiencing all seasons in one weeks time. In our free time leading up to the wedding we toured the Ryman Auditorium - and took a picture that may have you thinking, wow, I could be looking at the next Johnny and June Cash! Sadly, no that is not the case. We just smiled and looked pretty. No singing. No one would want that! Our new catch phrase came from our time at Tootsie's on Broadway, as we Honkey Tonk'd. Apparently it's all the rage to Holler before you Swaller your beer (or water, if you're knocked up).

This upcoming week is going to be really fun! There are only 3 workdays (yeah!), that means 4 days to sleep in (double yeah!!), but we get to find out the sex of baby birkett (triple yeah!!!). We've decided we will in fact tell people, but we will not be sharing names - so please do not ask us. I'm finding it hard to maintain any privacy (which is REALLY REALLY tough for me) and this may be the only thing we can keep and not have to share with everyone, including strangers, and by strangers I mean people Bri and I do not personally know. We debate back and forth each day when we are going to find out the sex. Obviously we can find out (pending the cooperation of Baby Birkett) on Tuesday at our appointment, but we've also tossed around another idea.

A friend gave us the idea to get the sex written on a card, go to a baby store and pick out and outfit for each sex, go to the register hand them the outfits, the card with the sex and our credit card. Ask the cashier to wrap the outfit that matches the sex in the card and charge us. We would then pick it up at the store a bit later so we don't know. The idea is that we hold onto this for TWO days, and open the gift with family during Thanksgiving Day dinner. I'm not sure why but I toss back and forth as to what to do. I love the idea of finding out with family, but then again it sucks because it's not like we can find out with all of our immediate family at the same place - but instead have to choose who gets to share that moment with us. So I guess my tip is to keep any eye on the blog, we'll for sure mention it here.

Friday we hit 18 weeks - we're almost half way there...ohh ohhh living on prayer...whoops! :-) Baby Birkett is about the length of a bell pepper and weighs about 7 oz. Movements are much more frequent (although I haven't felt them too much), as he/she is flexing their little arms and legs.

17 weeks

I'm not in the mood to update today. It's been a trying week to say the least. Housing, daycare, the economy - oy vey. I'm just focusing on the fact that everything with Brian's health seems to be okay and that we have amazing friends (G&M, thanks for last night!)

My weekly email didn't mention anything about size, but says the kid weighs approx 5 oz - as much as a turnip.

UPDATE: Brian

Good news! All the tests have come back and it has been confirmed that there is no known cause of Bri's vocal cord paralysis. Why is this good news? Because the causes were not good. Whew! The current action plan is just to wait it out. He'll go to the doctor's every few months and it won't be until a year from now that any decision on treatment will be made, if any. There is still hope his cord will come back. In fact, his voice has already improved - he just can't raise it.

I know you're finding yourself wondering, how is Brian coping? He's doing so well that he wants to set up a foundation and walk to raise awareness for those inflicted with vocal cord paralysis. hee hee...donations can be sent in the form or cash or checks, please write checks out to "Dawn Birkett'. :-)

Daycare: The Search Begins...

Yes, you read the title correctly. It's sad, isn't' it? We've officially started to research daycare options for Baby Birkett. I find it odd that we are researching and will need to get on a wait list so soon, especially since I can't even feel my child. Like all things in the Bay Area, this does not come cheap. There are several types of daycare to consider: Nanny, daycare center, daycare in someones home. The nanny option is well beyond our reach, well not so much if we want to live in our new car :-); so it looks like we will be exploring the in-home and center options.

The most unfortunate part of those options (besides the price tag) is the very long waiting list, one I checked out is 9 months (?!?)long for "priority" families. Brian and I do not have any priority. How do you get priority you may ask? Your employer. Neither one of ours has a deal going with any center. So we might be up a creek at some of the better centers. Isn't this fun? If you know me well, you know I function with a little more stress than some others, you may call me a worry wort...imagine me now? Luckily, I have the BEST mom in the world (eek I hope I can measure up!), who lets me vent and get it out without offering two cents or some crazy b.s. Thanks for your ear earlier this week mom!!

On to less stressful things!!! Bri will be traveling less through the end of the year, which is a welcome change right now. More time with Brian = happy Dawn and Evita! Over a month ago Bri lost his voice, and it's yet to return. He's been to an ENT who thinks it's a paralyzed vocal cord. Nothing too serious, more of an annoyance for Bri, as he has to repeat himself numerous times to be heard. We're awaiting some test results and another doctor's appointment to confirm, and then we can talk about treatment.

Today we're at 16 weeks (oh in case you haven't figured it out, we hit a new week every Friday - so I'm going to try and update the blog every Friday at least). I had a doctors appointment this week, and everything checks out ok. According to our babycenter weekly update Junior is about to hit a growth spurt, the patterning of the scalp is beginning and toenails are starting to grow. Right now, we're looking at a baby the size of an avocado. Mmmm makes me want some chips and salsa!

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween! This year Evita will be Zero from "The Nightmare Before Christmas". If you've haven't seen it, we highly recommend it. Definitely one of the best holiday themed movies made, right up there with "Love Actually".

In other exciting news, we purchased a new car last night and get to pick it up today! That's right our Jetta, Black Beauty, is going to the glue factory. Frankly, after struggling to even get he car to drive to the dealership last night we now know it was time to put her down. So look for us rocking out in our family friendly RAV4 starting tonight. Cross your fingers it will fit in our assigned spot in the garage.

Today marks the 15th week of our pregnancy. I can't tell if time is moving too fast or too slow at this point. Either way, there is nothing too exciting happening - from the surface at least. However, underneath the surface there is a lot going on! According to my weekly email, Baby Birkett now measures 4 inches long and weighs in at about 2 1/2 ounces. The kid can now sense light and is forming taste buds. A lot of baby books and website compare the children-to-be to fruit so you can get a real sense of how much growth is taking place. What started out as a sesame seed not too long ago is now relatively close in size to an apple!

Baby Birkett takes on New Jersey

We got to go to NJ to visit the East Coast family and as a bonus we watched the Giants beat the Niners! Traveling is not a problem, but what has turned into a problem is that I can't use Ambien to help shake the jet lag.

Brian got to meet our niece Emma for the first time, and we were spoiled with spending almost the whole weekend with her! She's a tinee tiny cutie.

(Emma rocking baby Birkett's Manning jersey...Go Big Blue!)

Brian

While Brian figures out how to blog, he's asked me to create a post for him. The topic he would like to discuss is attention - he likes, I do not. Now this normally doesn't create problems as I am more than happy to let Bri get the attention (note: attention does not mean I don't talk, I am a chatty cathy to the fullest). However, Brian has recently expressed he's a little dismayed that attention from others is focusing on me and not him. We really know it's not me, but the fetus growing inside of me. Believe me I'm not a huge fan of the attention, hence the F.A.Q. section below.

So....please do us a favor. If we're hanging out please lavish all of your attention on Brian. Both he and I will appreciate it. :-)

Hold the Coffee!!

For the love of God, I beg of you to not drink coffee near me. If you know me well enough you know I normally can not stand the foul smell/taste of coffee. However being in the "delicate" (ha!) state that I am in I really CAN NOT stand it.

Oh and that goes for mustard, don't even think of opening a jar in about a mile vicinity of me.

Thanks in advance.

F.A.Q's

So we don't have to repeat ourselves (sorry it gets a bit old repeating the same conversation)...

1.) Was it a surpise?

• We've been married three years, enough said.

2.) When are you due?

• April 24th, 2009

3.) How has Dawn been feeling?

• PLEASE do not ask this question. Yes, it's well meaning but you and everyone else have asked this. The most likely answer is GREAT! I'm sure you would hear otherwise, but the normal aches of preganancy are just that normal.
• Oh and if you can't tell, the fuse is short. Fair warning.

4.) Are you going to find out the sex?

• Yes. But we reserve the right not to tell you

5.) Do you have names picked out?

• Maybe. But you won't find out till Baby Birkett makes their appearance.

And Baby Makes Three...

Bri and I are very excited to announce the there is a Baby Birkett on the way. Our due date is April 24, 2009 - but as we all know there is a slim chance the baby will be born that day.

We've actually decided to start this blog to keep family and friends up-to-date on what's going on. As you all now we love to travel - and that's putting it mildly. So far Baby Birkett has been to Japan (Tokyo & Kyoto) and has plans to touch down in New Jersey and Nashville; all before the 2nd trimester ends!

Last week we had an ultrasound to test for various genetic abnormalities, but as a consolation we got to see the kid. These pictures are from 11 weeks 6 days.

Why the "real" Birkett's?

Well, because we really wanted to be thebirketts.blogspot.com, but it seems there are some imposter's out there. Kidding, I'm sure they are real but they beat us to the name. Damn it!