In a blink of an eye

And like that 3/4 of a year has past. I feel like a broken record when I write these monthly posts but I really can't believe how fast time has gone by.  I'm amazed every single day.  Anderson had his 9 month well baby check up on Friday and I'm happy to report he's gaining weight at a normal rate again.  He's still a pretty small guy, and I think compared to the average baby his age he looks more like a 6 month old. We'll take it though as his clothes are getting some good use. He now weighs in at just under 17lbs.  A is eating a bunch of solids now and the Dr. gave us the go ahead to eat anything but nuts or shellfish, he especially wants him to really go at it with the finger foods and allow him to pick off our plates (in small bite size portions) So be it! This weekend alone he had his first sample of pizza, scrambled eggs and some of dad's chicken parm.  He does usually eat really healthy, I swear. We're not trying to start him off on a bad foot. Pasquale's is a hard place for him not to be able to sample the pizza - it's a Birkett family tradition.

Anderson has a huge personality. He is so freaking happy. Smiles, laughs and plays.  He has a little music table and now has even started to dance/butt shake when he presses the buttons and songs come on. Its a rare day when he really cries.  The holidays were a bit of a challenge only because he missed a few naps in all the excitement.  He still sleeps approx. 12 hours at night, so you're not going to hear much more than happiness from his parents.

So what's he been up to?  He's working on some more teeth; a top tooth (not the center ones but next to it) has broke the surface but is barely visible and we can see that the same one on the other side might make an appearance in the very near future. Anderson also stands up (using an object to help) and cruises a small bit.  Oy vey! Our daycare provider thinks he might be closer to walking than we are prepared for.  I'm a bit selfish and hope she's wrong.  I want him to hold off on that skill for a while. Otherwise he's really no longer my baby. Plus, I don't know of any babies that have walked without the aid of a pusher or walker before a year old, so I hope he follows suit.

On another note, poor Evita.  She's just not herself lately and I think it has to do with Anderson's new found mobility.  She's on edge until about 8pm every night and is quite the yappy dog these days.  If you make a noise by putting something on the counter - she barks.  Wind outside? She barks.  Baby crawling after her, hand reached out to pet (grab) - she barks and cowers.  Poor Poor little lady.  So we're going to give her some down time next month and go away for the long weekend.  :-) Evita will get 3 nights of being completely spoiled at doggie daycare/boarding sans baby.  They love her there and we love them.  She even gets to sleep in bed with them just like she does here at home.  Yup, and we pay them for this.  Ha, I guess it's better than taking her to the Wag and she gets just a typical dog run.  That's not her idea of a vacation.  At the same time Anderson will hopefully be getting his first glimpse and feel for the snow in Tahoe! No skiing/boarding for him for the next few years, but I will be sure to let him get a feel for the snow - if only for the super cute photo op.

A new blog

I'll continue to update this blog as normal and as time permits but I have added a new blog to keep up with.  The new blog is more of a project and less blogging per say.  It's called Anderson 365 and I'm going to upload a photo a day for 2010.

Happy New Year!

The Birkett's 2009 in Review

How time flies. It feels like I was just writing our 2008 in review and anticipating the arrival of Anderson. So much has happened this year - good and sad.  As usual Bri and I didn't stop traveling, but it's the first in recent memory we didn't use our passports. However, that was not for a lack of trying.  We were all set to head to Mexico with Anderson and friends in September when hurricane Jimena struck. The silver lining is that we *think* we are scheduled to go in April (need to check on that) and Anderson has his first passport.

We started the year off by taking a short babymoon over to Oahu.  Bri and I haven't been to that island in about 4 years and had a great time hanging out in the sleepy North Shore and walking a long beach to come across the "Lost" beach set among other things.

Of course the biggest event of 2009 for us was the arrival of Anderson.  We've been enjoying these last 8 months adjusting to our new life of a family of 3.  He is such a joy to be around. We're also very lucky that we have a sleeper.  Sure the first few months were brutal, but just around the time I was headed back to work Anderson decided to grace us with 12 hour sleeping. His naps always the best, but I'll take him sleeping from 7pm - 6:30/7am every night over a good nap. Our daycare provider may beg to differ.

While we didn't head out of the country we did do our fair share of traveling.  Anderson spent about 3 weeks total in New Jersey on two separate trips. The lucky little guy flew 1st class on his first ever plane ride and once more on another flight.  I wish Bri and I could say we've flown 1st class on 50% of our flights.  The year was filled with other happy moments: Abby was married to Travis in August down the shore in a beautiful ceremony, the Toy family relatives threw Anderson a wonderful Red Egg & Ginger party, my mom made several trips out to CA to visit Anderson,  Bri threw me an awesome 30th birthday party complete with lobster and we've been blessed with many family and friends who we care about deeply.

Shortly after Anderson was born, my Uncle Mike passed away suddenly.  He was a wonderful husband, dad, uncle and friend.  My Aunt and cousins have handled his passing with more grace and strength than can be imagined.  I'm sure as 2009 wrapped up they were none to happy to see it pass by because of this and other challenges presented to them throughout the year.  The year did, however, end on a good note for my family - Michael, my cousin, proposed to his awesome girlfriend Jenn.

That's it, a very brief wrap up of our year - 2009 was more than we could have hoped or expected.  We've witnessed our child being born and go from little more than a "blob" (to quote Angelina Jolie) to a sweet little baby boy who changes daily in front of our eyes and can't even being to imagine what the next year will bring.