Has It Been 10 Months Already?

OK, talk about lax. It has been indeed 10 months since I last wrote in this blog. And boy, do I have a lot to share.

First, Matty is now 3 years and 10 months and growing like a weed. Talking non-stop, too. He is so amazingly cute and entertaining. He loves to sing and "hold concerts." For Christmas, his Uncle Butch and Aunt Mary Lou bought him a toy guitar and microphone (complete with rock-star glasses) and he entertained all of us. We just came in from one hour of sledding down the hill in the back of our house in Fairport, New York. He loved it. Now we are warming up by the fire.

The big news is that Kerri is seven months pregnant. It is a girl, and we could not be happier. It has been a tough pregnancy for Kerri. She has been dizzy and has high-blood pressure. She is due on Feb. 24 but could go sooner. Matty wants to name the baby "Sophia" (although he pronounces it "So-CEE-uh). A couple from San Diego bought the cottage next door to Kerri's parents' cottage in Sackets Harbor over the summer and they had baby triplet girls named Ava, Ireland and Sophia. We're pretty sure that's where he got it from. Looks like Sophia is the leader in the clubhouse....

Speaking of the cottage, it's almost surreal to say this, but Kerri's parents sold it after 41 treasure-filled years. It was very difficult for everyone, and I feel really bad because Kerri never got to say goodbye. We left around Aug. 20 and thought we'd be back for Labor Day, but closing day came before that holiday, and the new people moved in. Someday we will go back, but right now it's too painful....I feel especially sad for Matty, who loves it there but won't remember it, and Baby Sophia, who will never know how special those times were.

I am still a sportswriter at the D&C, but we had TWO furloughs in 2009, plus more layoffs. And we have another furlough scheduled for the first quarter of 2010. Ugh. I am lucky to be teaching a journalism class at Monroe Community College, plus Kerri does part-time work for a sports Web site that publishes minor-league news.

I turned 47 yesterday, and boy is that strange. I still feel 18, and the actual number is daunting. Was it really SEVEN years ago that I had a surprise 40th party at the home of my brother-in-law Dan and sister-in-law Mary Lou? That's amazing to me.

We had a nice party at our house yesterday. Most of my family and Kerri's family showed up. My brother Butch and his wife Mary Lou were there, but then they left for their home in Delray Beach, Fla. They won't be back until June, and that always makes me sad, because Matty loves seeing them. By then, Sophia will be four months old! My goal is to get back to Florida with the family in the winter of 2011. Sounds like a long ways off, but it's really just over a year.

I promise, promise, promise, to write more in 2010, and Kerri will too. Thanks for reading. Below are some recent photos. Enjoy!