Phil Photos Galore!

Phil's seventh month in photos: http://hilary.smugmug.com/Philip

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving 2010 was truly memorable for Steven and me because it was Phil's first, Steven's parents flew to us (vs. vice-versa), we got our first snowfall of the season (and of Phil's life), Steven cooked his first full Thanksgiving meal, and one of our very favorite local families ~ Pastor Jukka and Laura Kaariainen and their darling girls Jemina and Aliina ~ joined our celebration.

Phil didn't know quite what to make of the morning snow (or his new snowsuit), the feast (which he forewent for milk), or the ritual post-prandial walk that we took despite blustery afternoon rain, but he loved playing with Aliina and Jemina. Steven and I capped off a great day by heading to the movies that night while Grandma and Grandpa babysat ~ definitely a special treat for us!

Phil's first snow

Tasty 13-lb. turkey

Snapshot of our meal

We gave thanks for many blessings this year, including:
* God's addition of a healthy baby boy to our family
* Phil's sweet nature and excellent night sleeping
* Work that is challenging, interesting, and (we hope) fruitful
* A sunny, more spacious rental home close to campus
* Loving and helpful family members
* Wonderful childcare we can trust
* Steven's opportunity to work (mostly) remotely
* Hilary's supportive advisors and department
* Strong local community, especially our bible study

Hopefully this list ~ imperfect and in no particular order ~ conveys at least a bit of what was in our hearts this Thanksgiving.

[Apologies for such extreme back-dating! For you up-to-the-minute-accurate types, this post is going live in April 2011, but for months it's existed in my mind. There are just so many things we're most thankful for, and I'm too much of a perfectionist to just dash off a perfunctory post. Is perfectionism the bane of blogging? Anyway, I back-date so that someday I can look back and know when certain special events happened. In the meantime, my blogging slogan is "better late than never". :)]

Big Feast 2010

With (Andrew) Luck and the world's cutest football fan on our side, plus our first cable TV subscription and dear Cal friends willing to co-host, we felt this was the perfect year to put on a "Big Feast" coinciding with Big Game (Stanford vs. Berkeley, for all you non-Californians).


We counted out our projected scores for the game using red, yellow, and blue M&Ms. The victory went to Stanford (48-14, go Cardinal!) and to Deborah for the best guess, but we all won the M&Ms we wagered. :)


Next up was a feast featuring Steven's first home-cooked turkey and many delicious side dishes, everything from potatoes to pie, brought by our gracious guests. Anyone up for a re-match next November?

Cousin Hayley Charms Phil

When my cousin Hayley came to town for an Ultimate tournament in November, we enjoyed a lovely visit together.


Hayley used all her awesome "auntie" skills to great effect on Phil. Was it weird for him to have a playmate who looked like Mommy but wasn't?


We're now 2 for 23 in terms of our cousins meeting Phil...here's hoping 2011 brings more fun family get-togethers!

Steven's 30th Birthday

It's not every day that your daddy turns 30, so Phil prepared for the day with gusto. He searched high and low for a suitable costume, finally settling on a jaunty little puppy number, which he used to great effect to notify everyone of the upcoming party:

Meanwhile, Hilary was hard at work preparing for the party. The theme was "30 years, 30 beers," so we selected 30 different types of beer to sample:

With our Dixie Cup servings, even with the help of many friends, we topped out at 11 varieties for the night--so we're well-stocked with leftover beer for the winter! Personal favorites from the night include The Three Philosophers, Magic Hat Winter Seasonal, and Troegs Dreamweaver Wheat.

After we had all shared suitably embarrassing stories from my first 30 years, we moved on to a rousing game of "pin the nose on the pumpkin." If you ever come across a pumpkin that needs its nose reattached, Brandon is your first call!

Thank you to everyone, and especially to Hilary and Phil, for helping me to ring in a new decade!

More photos can be found here.

Favorite Fall Photos

Fall brought all sorts of exciting new adventures for Phil, including new "sports" equipment like a jogging stroller and exersaucer, now that he can hold his head up high! Sometimes he snoozes through runs with Daddy, but not in the exersaucer (a.k.a. Most. Exciting. Toy. Ever. Loaned to us by a dear friend - many thanks!). Here are a few favorite photos from this season:

Phil's first pumpkin!

Exersaucing!

First jog with Daddy

Phil-o-lantern!

My Plans are All Coming Together

• Step 1: Have adorable baby.
• Step 2: Find worthy steed.
• Step 3: Take over world with puppy-mounted baby army.

Greeting Great-Grandfathers

Bergscribble followers (if we still have any after such a long silence?) may have noted a pause in posts that coincided -- not coincidentally -- with my return to research from maternity leave in September. Sorry for the shortage of cute Phil photos! I'm hoping to squeeze in a few more posts around the edges of a very busy fall (back-dated to the events they described to keep everything neat and tidy, of course).

At the end of the summer we made two special long-distance trips with Phil to meet his great-grandparents, after taking him hardly more than 20 minutes away from home since his birth. Thankfully, he proved himself a good little traveler, so long as we abided by his requests for milk stops. (Promptly!)

In late August, we drove up to Middlebury, Vermont, to introduce Phil to his Great-Grandpa (my paternal grandfather), then in early September we visited Ithaca, New York, for Phil to meet his Great-Granddaddy (my maternal grandfather). He also had a grand time with his great-aunts Hannah, Cilla, and Janet, and great-uncles Daryl and Jon.

To view our trip albums, click on these four-generational family photos:

Phil's First Swim!

In late August Phil discovered swimming! He loves bathtime, so his Nana and I bought him a batch of swim diapers and took him down to the tot pool for our community to take a dip (without getting his head underwater). He smiled, cooed, and stayed afloat! He went for 8 more swims before our pool closed for the fall...can't wait for next summer!

About to take the plunge!	Testing out the water
Kick! Kick! Kick!	In his adorable puppy robe (from Tim & Angelita)
Cuddling with Nana	In his carseat for the walk home

A Few Faces of Phil

Here's a little slideshow of our wriggly, squirmy, bouncy bundle of joy, taken on his two-month birthday (in the span of about three minutes). He truly is an active little fellow! (Or maybe we should say "big fellow," as he weighed in at 14 lb 10 oz later that day...) He hasn't yet "found" his hands and feet (in the sense of knowing they're his to control), but that doesn't stop him from waving them about when playing, eating, or even sleeping -- thank goodness for swaddling blankets or he'd wake himself up all the time!

Fifth Anniversary!

August 6th, 2005

You are my best friend, my companion, and my partner in life. With a joyful heart I give myself to you to be your wife/husband from this day forward. Before God, our friends, and our families, I promise to cherish you, comfort you, trust you, and care for you through joys and sorrows, sickness and health, calm and chaos, in all the changing seasons of our lives together. I will encourage you, laugh with you, cry with you, listen to you, and speak the truth to you in love. You have taught me so much, and I commit to continue growing with you in faith, wisdom, and love. By the grace of God and with the help of those gathered here today, I will be faithful to you and to these promises for as long as we both shall live.

August 6th, 2010

On August 6th, 2005, Hilary and I were married. It's hard to believe that it's been five years already! Our friends were kind enough to babysit for us while we had our first real "date night" since Phil came along. (Thanks, Bill and Jenny!) We managed to squeeze in a quick dinner, a movie, and a trip to Starbucks to reminisce about the past five wonderful years!

Phil's Dedication to the Lord

On July 18, 2010, at Princeton Alliance Church, we formally dedicated Phil to the Lord, acknowledging that children are a gift from God and committing to do our best to exemplify the love of Christ for him.

We were thankful to be joined by many friends and family, including several not pictured (Ann Marie Russell and Mike LaRiccia, David and Christina Keddie, Valerie and James Taylor, and Erik Granstedt).

(Click either image for more photos...)

Phil's First Playdate

June 10th was a banner day for visitors: Lu Lu and Charles Lee came up from Maryland, and Ann Marie and Mike brought their son Mikey (7.5 weeks older than Phil) along. The boys didn't really know what to make of each other, but seemed to get along well...

Cousin Edie Comes A-Calling

Phil's adoring cousin once removed (ACOR) Edie Burbank-Schmitt paid Phil a visit on June 8th. Once he woke up, he was very excited about his new playmate!

Fun(ny) Times with Phil

Phil continues to delight us with adorable/hilarious facial expressions like the following.

He appears to enjoy tummy time (for as long as an hour if his Nana's involved!), even when his toys tackle him.

Tummy time is supposed to develop arm (and neck) strength -- here Steven gives him a helpful demo.

My First Father's Day

Little Phil arrived just in time to allow me to celebrate Father's Day in high style. Although he hadn't been around long yet, he'd already taught me a few key things about being a dad:

• Unintentional baby facial expressions are the best, rivaled only by unintentional baby gestures. For example, when he's sleeping, Phil likes to declare victory by raising a clenched fist.
• Parenting is much easier with two people.
• Moms are for feeding, but Dads are better for burping.
• Button-front baby clothing is awesome, especially when pooping is involved.
• Never, ever touch the walls at the pediatrician's office. You don't know who has peed on them before you arrived.

Good Times with Grandparents

Phil's already been blessed by visits from his four grandparents, all of whom are wonderful caretakers, cuddlers, and companions for him!

Sweet Celebrations

[Post updated with Phil's three- and four-week birthday photos. And no, we aren't planning to celebrate his weekly birthdays in perpetuity!]


As an observer of "fractional" birthdays, I've marked Phil's one- and two-week birthdays with much enthusiasm. Phil, on the other hand, has been a rather sleepy celebrant...

Sleep and Playtime

We've started trying to "play" with Phil (rather than just feed and soothe him). He didn't know quite what to make of his pirate octopus:


We put him on a quilt from my childhood for tummy time...


...but he somehow interpreted it as naptime.


An understandable confusion -- we're also pretty tired!


Steven read him the story of Baby Panda...


...and was rewarded with a smile! (He can't socially smile yet, but we love any expression that looks even remotely smiley.)