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December 2012
Season’s Greetings! We hope that 2012 has been a great year for you and your loved ones.
It probably doesn't come as a surprise that much of our time this past year has been spent adjusting to life as a family of three. Over the past year, we have watched Sarah grow from a tiny newborn to a talkative and mobile one-year-old.
Sarah is crawling all over the house now, which means she keeps us on our toes. She likes to pull books off of the shelf and “request” that we read them over and over again. She loves toys that play music while she bounces along to the beat. She points at her puppets yelling “Puppet! Puppet!” until we take them out to play with her. She eats a wide variety of table foods now but especially loves yogurt, fruits, and chicken (bawk bawk). She practices eating with a spoon and fork each day and sometimes manages to get food into her mouth that way.
Julie returned to work in January. Fortunately, she has been able to work from home and decrease her hours slightly. This gave her the opportunity to work while caring for Sarah for the first few months, since Sarah napped for long stretches.
As Sarah became more active at the start of the summer, Phil took a month of paternity leave. He and Sarah enjoyed going to the pool, looking at books at the library, and playing outside.
After Phil’s leave, we were thankfully able to hire Julie's mom, Joyce, to come to our house and care for Sarah while we work. Gramma and Sarah have lots of fun together. They enjoy going to the pool during the summer, attending weekly story time at the library, walking around the neighborhood, reading lots of books, and playing with toys and stuffed animals around the house.
We have also taken Sarah on several trips over the course of the year. During the summer, we went to the New Jersey beach several times. Sarah seemed nervous about the waves but loved playing in the sand and even tried to taste it a few times. We also traveled to Ohio to visit Phil’s extended relatives, who saw Sarah for the first time. We also attended weddings for Phil's friends in Chicago and Baltimore.
Unfortunately, Phil’s grandmother Gertrude Shilane passed away in March. She lived a full life to age 90. While her funeral was sad, it was also an opportunity for her descendants to gather for a few days.
We hope your holidays are filled with cheer and that 2013 brings good health, happiness, and many blessings to you and your loved ones.
Happy Holidays!
Phil, Julie, & Sarah Shilane
