happy new year + coming up for air

Hello!

Phew…between the holidays, travel, work and Kyle and I both getting sick it’s been a busy month. I had plans to do a 5-month Avery post (didn’t happen) a 2012 Year in Review post (oops) and a post about our trip to Oklahoma. So, here’s a conglomerate catch-up post to kick off 2013!

We thought this would be the one year where Avery wouldn’t mind sitting on the old man’s lap. She’s normally an easy-going kid, but apparently being hungry and tired and seeing Santa was a recipe for disaster. But it was hilarious and we took lots of photos anyway!

Or perhaps she was too overstimulated from the raucous carousel ride beforehand. There’s a tiny “amusement park” in my hometown that mostly caters towards the under five crowd. They were open the weekend before Christmas for festive train and carousel rides and photos with the big guy. I spent some quality time there in the 80′s so it was fun to take Avery (even though she was really too young to get it).

Avery and her cousin Holly (who is 5 months older) also had some quality bonding time – hanging out on the rug, making big plans for the future.

Unless there’s a wedding or other family event, Christmas is the only time of the year that I see all my siblings (minus one brother and might-as-well-be-sister-in-law, who are living in Italy). We spent one evening around a bonfire at my parent’s house, sipping beverages and talking about where we should get a (theoretical) family cabin. Maybe a cute place by the beach or a cabin in the mountains? We evaluated where we all live or might someday live and realized that the most geographically central location was…Oklahoma. Hmm.

We had a little scheduling snafu this year with our air travel so Avery and I ended up flying separately from Kyle. I was a little nervous at first, but she did great! (See, she’s all “I got this, Mom”.) After carrying/wearing/holding her for 9+ hours (love that non-direct flight!) I think the only thing that suffered was my back the next day.

By the time I was feeling up to doing Avery’s 5-month photo shoot she was already 5 1/2 months old. So that didn’t happen. But I did take some photos on the actual day at my parent’s house. She’s much more animated now, grabbing everything and acutely aware of her surroundings. She will be six months next week. NEXT WEEK! I’ve honestly felt that time has gone by at a normal clip since she was born, but the jump from 5 to 6 months went by way too fast. (I’ve also been meaning to do a baby product/gear follow-up since things have changed quite a bit since our last one at 2.5 months!)

Oh, 2012 year in review? How about a written summary instead:

-Converted the loft to an office.
-Went to the Grammy’s in LA.
-Started finishing out the basement.
-Won our category in Apartment Therapy’s Small, Cool contest!
-Converted the flex room to a nursery.
-Landscaped our front yard!
-Lost our kitty, Felix. =(
-I left my former firm.
-We had a baby 3 days later!
-Kyle finished the basement bedroom during part of his paternity leave.
-Started Studio Zerbey.
-Kyle left his former firm to join Studio Zerbey.
-Work, baby, work, baby, work…

So what will 2013 bring? Aside from growing our business, we have some more house-related projects in mind. For one, the bedroom. (I know, the room we gutted and remodeled 4 1/2 years ago!) The bedroom was the first space we remodeled and it’s never felt quite right. Oh, but we’ve got ideas. Perhaps we’ll also finish the basement? We renewed our building permit again (for the final time?) so there is a ticking clock. Maybe the backyard? It’s winter so the only one who really goes back there now is Bailey, but I’m sure when spring rolls around we’ll get the itch.

Happy New Year from the Zerbey’s, feels good to be back!