The Birketts: February 2013

I'm sitting on the company bus headed up 101 to work. Time flew. I realize I am extremely lucky for all the time I had off this time around; I'll never take it for granted especially knowing this time around how much is missed.

Wave and I were champs at drop off. I did have a weird moment. i packed everything last night except for her milk. Obviously it had to stay in the freezer/fridge. this morning I grab the frozen milk but totally forgot the bottle of fresh milk I pumped yesterday. Doh! Bri was able to swing home and drop it off. sheesh not stressful at all...She'll have 3 other babies in the 6-8 month range to keep her company. Anderson is excited to be able to stay for movie days on Friday at school. Win-win for all.

Vacation sure has a way of flying by way too fast. I'm now in the countdown until I return to work - T-minus 14 days. I'm not dwelling on it but will enjoy every last moment with Wave & Anderson. Back to that vacation. We went to Hawaii - the actual Island of Hawaii, aka the Big Island. This was the second time Bri and I have been there and it solidified itself as my favorite of the islands. I haven't been to Lanai or Molokai, but I'm calling this the winner. There is so much to do - great beaches, Volcano National Park, Whale Watching (in season), historic Hawaiian sites and it goes on.

The flights were amazingly cheap and we rented a condo (rates for condos were better than Maui!). With those savings we splurged on two things for Anderson (and us). First, Dad and Anderson were able to the Dolphin Quest encounter for toddlers at the Hilton Waikoloa. We didn't tell Anderson until about an hour before. He was pumped. Until he was in the water with the Dolphins. At that point he wouldn't let go of Bri's hand and got pretty timid. Right at the end he loosened up a bit and touched the dolphin. I was chatting with a trainer and telling her I was surprised he clammed up so much and she said it's not uncommon and that dolphins are much larger than kids expect. Turns out he LOVED it and keeps talking about it. The second splurge was a Whale Watching boat trip. Whales hang out in the Hawaiian Islands from about Nov-April. We saw quite a few mom/calf pods, and in the distance saw one lift it's head out of the water. Very cool. There are so many whales that once you know what to look for you can spot them from long distances - even driving along the coast.

Anderson learned to boogie board and has asked when he can get his own board. We started in a super calm bay to learn the basics and then progressed to the ocean. We asked Anderson what his favorite part of the trip was and he said the plane. Go figure. :-) Although, he is super polite and in the most random of moments will come up to us and say, thank you for taking me to Hawaii. No prompting at all. It's heartwarming.

Wave hit 7 months old on our way home. Lots of big things happening - she's extremely coordinated now, VERY vocal - lots of consonant sounds coming from her and wants to crawl very badly - she's getting close to getting on her knees.

I love our family! We're feeling beyond blessed.