The biggest news out of the Birt household in the last two weeks is that Micah is getting a younger brother. The baby is due Dec. 5, and both he and my wife are well. We're so thankful for this blessing.In the meantime, a lot of other things have happened this month. Julie, Micah and I traveled with Julie's family to Table Rock Lake (near Branson) for a great four-day vacation. While it happened during the blazing 107-degree heat through no fault of anyone, we found ways to stay cool. My father-in-law, Bruce, rented a pontoon boat one day, so we all spent several hours out on the water. …

My son started playing a new game a week or two ago. He projects a forefinger into the air and asks, "That?"The object of the game (I gather) is to learn the name of various items around him. Correction: Every item around him. Micah is smart as a whip, and it shows in his questions. He isn't pointing randomly. He's got specific objects in mind. And the game ends only when Mommy or Daddy places him on the ground and collapses from exhaustion. Among the words heard most often around our house as part of the "That?" game, in order of popularity: Fan Cup Phone Dog  Cat Light Fridge Bookcase  …

Micah celebrated his birthday in style on Saturday. His mommy did an outstanding job planning and hosting the puppy-themed Bark-B-Que: Creating cupcake toppers, banners and tablecloths, assigning people to bring certain kinds of food and so on.It also was a group effort. My sister-in-law, Brittany, spent two days with Julie working on various party projects. My father-in-law, Bruce, served as the grillmaster for the day, dishing up burgers, hotdogs and brats. And all of the other family and friends in attendance pitched in, bringing food and helping us celebrate. Even his under-1 friends, Max…

Micah is a narcissist. He's developed a chest cold in the last several days (Julie also is under the weather) and so we started giving him nebulizer treatments Thursday. This channels medicine vapors into his nose and mouth via a fish face-shaped clear mask. For a baby, getting older also means getting stronger and more wriggly. So when our first attempt to console him with singing failed miserably, my wife suggested playing videos of him. Micah loved it. He watched a 20-second clip of himself at the park a good five times or more. He sat calmly and laughed harder with each viewing. I don't …

Next month, Micah will celebrate his first and last birthday as an only child. Julie and I are expecting a second addition to the family in early December. So we're trying to prepare our little one as best we can. After all: It will represent the biggest rift in his cosmos since he arrived last June. I'm not sure whether our strategy is working. The conversation generally goes something like this.Me: Micah, you're going to get a brother or a sister for Christmas. Micah: (hitting a pan with a wooden spoon) Me: Isn't that exciting? Micah: (continuing to hit the pan with the spoon) Me: You two …

In an effort to give my wife some time to herself, Micah and I took a guys' outing to Shaw Park on Saturday.I thought he might enjoy visiting the inclusion playground and taking a walk around the area. It proved to be a good-mood sort of day, so he giggled for most of the car ride down Interstate 170.When we arrived, I popped him out of the car seat and into his umbrella stroller. We trekked over to the playground, where lots of youngsters—most older than him—were busy frolicking on the faux trees, slides and swings.I sat Micah on top of a ledge to gauge his feelings about the place. He gazed…

The breakthrough happened Friday while at the home of our friends Ben and Mandy. There, Micah discovered that he could move forward using his knees.He demonstrated first by himself and later with the assistance of our friends' two pups, Molly and Mason. Micah is very proud of his accomplishment. I know this because he doesn't throw a fit every time he is left on his stomach for more than two seconds. Instead, he forces his lips together, extends his hand as far as it will go and advances toward whatever interests him at the moment. Enticing items include: Ink pens, TV cords, our cat and an …

Last weekend, we took Micah to the Samuel C. Sachs Branch of the St. Louis County Library in Chesterfield. The children's section is closed off from other portions of the library, so it's quiet. Alternatively, the kids can be noisy without fear of interfering. Julie brought Micah here and put him on the floor next to a towering case of board books. Nearby, two boys several years his senior talked and looked at books. Our son found them fascinating. He watched them, and they pointed out to their adult supervisor the fact that they had spotted a baby. Then Micah spent time looking through books…

Micah continues to make progress on the mobility front.My father-in-law generously got us a new coffee table that has soft edges and is heavy enough to not be moved easily by our diminutive son. So Julie and I have been working with Micah to pull up, and he's managed to get himself into a standing position solo on several occasions.He still can be challenged to set his feet in a way that promotes balance. But he's adept at holding himself up with one hand while swatting at whatever lies on the nearest flat surface with the other. We praise him, and he smiles broadly. Then we quickly shove the…

At the risk of inviting an ugly virus, I can safely confirm that having a sick child is worse than being sick personally. Poor Micah came down with some sort of cold Wednesday—fever, runny nose, cough. Irritability. That of course means he doesn't sleep well. So he has abruptly awoken from naps in the past few days and wakes up screaming at night. Translation? Welcome to the world of co-sleeping!As I've said in the past, I'm not an advocate for this sort of thing. Everything I've heard or read indicates it is a risky practice because of suffocation hazards. But when you find yourself running …

Our nearly 10-month-old son is quickly learning that with greater mobility comes greater resiliency. Micah still can't crawl forward, but he's certainly curious about everything within an arm's—or fall's—reach. That includes computer cords, dust bunnies and cabinet doors. It comes at a price. This week, he smashed a finger while shutting the cabinet beneath the television. My wife tells me it took a couple of silent minutes for reality to set in. Screaming followed. He also bonks his head on a semi-regular basis after falling backward (loss of balance) or forward (grabbing for something on …

My wife and I celebrated our four-year anniversary on March 22. In honor of the event, I took two days off. Anniversaries are a delight regardless of the circumstances. But they are admittedly different when a baby—in our case, Micah—is part of the equation. For our one-year anniversary, Julie and I took a trip to Chicago. We stayed on the Magnificent Mile, ate out and visited various sites of interest. Day One of this year's anniversary staycation featured a visit to Julie's grandparents in the New Melle area for breakfast. Then we took a trip to the studios of our wonderful friend Katie of …

Micah is sleeping better than he has in months, and we suspect one factor is the fresh air he's been getting.He's gone on numerous walks in his stroller this week, some with the whole family (Tobi the dog included!) and others with my wife. Children at play are of particular interest to him as are animals, moving vehicles and unfamiliar noises.He also enjoys assuming the role of go-cart: The pup's skittishness as the stroller approaches from behind is a subject of enormous hilarity to this 9-month-old. The light blue sunhat intended to keep the sun off his skin and out of his eyes has been …

Micah's journey to advanced human interaction has begun.Several weeks ago, he began to wave after being prompted. He can wave hello and goodbye, though the time it takes to begin waving and the duration of said event depends upon his mood and the person requesting the gesture. Mommy and Daddy are on his good side.It isn't a curt, side-to-side swipe of the hand. Instead, it's a wobbly up-and-down-and-all-around greeting. In any case, it's adorable. The future leader of the free world is well on his way to mastering these techniques.He stepped up his game further when Julie taught him the art …

Micah is well read for an 8-month-old. He has board books about big trucks and tractors, many touch-and-feel picture books with baby animals and wealth of Little Golden Books from his dad's era.Among his favorite things to do is listen, smile and laugh as his parents attempt to mimic a variety of barnyard animals. If he is rested and in a good mood, he'll sit and listen to books for ages, occasionally plopping one of his fat little hands onto the page as if to say, "Stop! Let me get a closer look at this one." If he is tired, he'll fuss pretty much from the beginning. That prompts Mom and Dad…

Themed photo shoots are becoming tradition in our St. Louis household.For Christmas, Julie put Micah in a white cloth diaper and into a green-and-red wagon my grandfather made for me when I was little. Props came as part of the package: Reindeer antlers for the baby and a stuffed animal for his entertainment. When my mom suggested that she do something similar for Valentine's Day, Julie knew just what do to.Micah wore a white onesie (and pants. You don't really think we'd let the need to engage in a photo shoot override our son's need for warmth in winter, do you?). Julie spread a white sheet…

Micah is especially resilient, as I'm sure is true of most children. By the time he turns 8 months Friday, he will have collected his share of scrapes and bumps. Julie and I are impressed by his fortitude.Over the weekend, as we ate dinner with my wife's parents, Micah managed to split his lip. Seeing those tears and that crinkled face is enough to make anyone melt down. But he quickly recovered — food covers a multitude of grievances. At other times, he's awoken from naps with a little scratch on one of his cheeks. He's also taken several tumbles while seated on his playmat. When all is said…

Micah is cutting teeth again, this time along his upper gums.There. I said it. Let the horror sink in. That guilty, I'm-not-the-parent-qualified-to-soothe-my-shrieking-infant horror.Julie and I aren't sure whether to be thankful or dismayed that only one tooth appears to be coming in. Generally they come in pairs, parents.com reports. My hope is that we'll wake up one morning, enter his room and find him smiling with a mouth full of pearly whites. My fear is that he'll cut them one by one until, frayed for lack of sleep, his parents tape their eyelids open and guzzle coffee by the gallon. But…

Micah transitioned to his big-boy car seat on Sunday.Installation proved straightforward thanks to my wife, who can read and understand instruction manuals. As opposed to me. I find them confusing and stress-inducing. Beforehand, we transferred our son from his old seat (good for those 22 pounds and under) to his new one (up to 65!) in order to adjust the straps. He did not enjoy this. Not at all. He fussed and pouted in a moment of pre-road rage. The fuzzy blue coat with bear ears (thank you, Erin Nelson) didn't help his cause.The new seat is bigger and bolder than the old one. It's black …

We don't let Micah watch television for extended periods of time. But in the short bursts of technological glory that he has experienced, we've discovered a few favorites. To my wife's dismay, he seems to enjoy Barney & Friends. It's probably related to a combination of bright colors (think dancing purple dinosaur and his friends), music, funny high-pitched voices and children. Our son loves to watch other youngsters.Another of his favorites is the 1980s-rrific Full House, which in its early stage featured the infant versions of Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen. Julie tells me he laughs …