Happy holidays from us!!!

Dear (your name here),

We hope this holiday season finds you in good health and with high spirits!  2010 has been a memorable year for us, and we are writing to share some of our highlights with you.

After a near-record amount of snowfall last winter, we emerged from winter's blanket eager to experience spring's bounty.  It was Eleanor's first spring, and Azalea reveled in teaching her the splendors of swings and slides.  Their favorite playground was quickly established, and almost-daily trips were made until the first November snowfall.  

The summer brought many excellent outdoor activities, our favorites including free live music at two different parks on two different evenings.  We scarcely missed a single one.  A few mini-vacations to midwestern locations were quite enjoyable, but for the most part it was a backyard summer, grilling and chilling with friends and family. 

 

The girls have changed so much this year, as children do.  Eleanor turned 1 in July.  She is a serious, happy, and easy-going child, and expresses her love by kissing and hugging everyone and everything freely.  Although she remains very quiet, she now has a few words that were of high priority to learn, including "cookie" and "poop".  Revealingly (because Ian is a stay-at-home parent and rockstar father), Ian and I are both called "daddy".  

 Azalea turned 3 in October, but she's pretty sure she's at least 5.  She continues to be outgoing and vivacious while maintaining good manners and a sense of cleanliness.  She loves to read and will frequently flip through books by herself, slowly and deliberately examining the pages.  She is also quite athletic and enjoyed taking two short gymnastics and dancing classes this year.  Preschool can't come fast enough for her (in her opinion).    

Ian and I are doing well, regardless of certain extenuating circumstances.  We enjoyed our first full year in our first house and have executed a few small projects with no major surprises.  Also, although these delightful girls keep us busy, now that everyone is toddling and sleeping it is easier to strike the necessary balance of kid-time and adult-time in our lives.  We changed diapers together, played fantasy football together (don't ask who was on my team because I couldn't tell you), and shaved our heads together.  Tomorrow we celebrate our 10 year wedding anniversary.

We hope that your year has been interesting and sprinkled liberally with joy.  We continue to be amazed by and grateful for your love and support.  Happy holidays!

Love,

Heather, Eleanor, Azalea, and Ian

(shown below all gussied up for Holly's wedding in September)