Hello Friends and Family,

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays! Weren't we writing a letter like this just a week ago? Somehow, another year has flown by. Perhaps it has something to do with having our hands full with our jobs, a new house, and a little munchkin named Coral. :-)

Two thousand nine was truly a year of developments for us. None were extraordinary—we didn't go anywhere exotic and new, blaze trails of artistic endeavor, or win any decathlons. It was all stuff that lots of people go through, and this year, it was our turn.

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We start with Little Miss Coral, who continues to delight and amaze while testing our energy levels. At the start of the year she wasn't even sitting. At seven months old in May, she started to crawl. At exactly ten months old in August, she took her first steps. Two weeks later she was walking at playgroup. Now, at fourteen months old, she's running, spinning, falling down on purpose ("Ah-BOOM!"), climbing on everything, trying to stand on the rocking horse with no hands (yikes), and going down the stairs on her behind. She even had a session of swimming lessons over the summer and is quite fetching in her bikini!

She has a few dozen words in her vocabulary and can understand so much, it's amazing. Lately, she's been enamored of books and reading, and she points to letters and tries to name them. As of yet, 95% of the letters are "E," apparently, so there's a ways to go. Nonetheless, it's exciting to see her progress.

Best of all, she's gone from this helpless, dependent little blob to being her own person with her own free will (with still-massive cheeks). While that has begun to mean tantrums, it also means she runs to us and gives us big hugs and kisses out of the blue. She shares her affections with her stuffed animals and friends at daycare and mommy group, too, and it's cute overload!

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Deb moved forward as well. At the start of the year, she was at home full-time and just getting over complications related to her c-section. Since then, she has healed and physical activities aren't a problem. To help adjust to mommyhood, she joined a new mom's group and has had a wonderful experience with her new friends whom she hopes to keep for years to come. Deb returned to work at One True Media part-time in the spring and then full-time in the summer, moving back down to a four-day-a-week schedule in October and has been loving it. While Deb was at work, Coral spent the days with her nanny or at daycare, both of which she enjoyed. Coral continues to enjoy daycare four days a week.

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Michael is now a tenured third-year English teacher at Jefferson High School in Daly City. He teaches sophomores and seniors and is active in his Small Learning Community (think "houses" in Harry Potter). He has almost finished settling into a new (and much larger!) classroom, which required some re-painting and lots of decorating. This is his first time teaching seniors since spring of 2006, and he is remembering both how delightful and frustrating they are. No long field trips this year, but he did help fellow teacher Phil Tacata chaperone an all-night lab for his AP Bio class.

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In fact, the whole family went on a weekend school retreat to a hotel in Los Gatos not too far away. It was Coral's first time sleeping away from home! She did quite well, as she did on our trip to Rochester—Michael's hometown—in the heat of summer. Coral reacquainted herself with her Aunt Jennie, Grandma Laurie, Grandpa Gene, and Grandma Deb as well as various friends of the family.

We were fortunate to have Deb's side of the family visit SF throughout the year. Oma and Opa got to come a few times, and we got to see Steve, Devon, and Viv once each. One visit from Deb's parents and sister fell on Coral's first birthday, which was a joyous occasion.

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The latest big undertaking is the family's new house. We started looking in July, bid on this 3 bedroom/2 bath 1930's house in August, began the loan process at the start of September, and closed at the end of that month. Deb's parents put in leg-work getting the house ready to move into, and move-in took place in mid-November. We're still unpacking a month later! The important rooms are livable, though, and we're taking our time getting the right decor to go with the wonderful original hardwood floors. So for now, floor seating in the living room! :-)

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Between work, Coral, and the new house, there's been precious little time for musical endeavors, though a new band—involving Michael and Dave from their now-defunct band, Coraline—did play one show back in June and then promptly went back to sleep. For these and other reasons, Michael and Deb have left the Turk St. rehearsal studio. Now that Michael's amp is at home in the garage, he can hear it calling to him softly in the night...

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As always, thanks and love to our support network and friends far and near. We wish you all the best in 2010. Local folks, we look forward to getting together in the new year, and long-distance peeps, please let us know when you're in town!

Wishing you a merry holiday season and a Happy New Year,
Michael, Deb, and Coral
blog dot debtjoa dot com