Dear family and friends,
The holidays have arrived again and in lieu of mailing out Christmas cards this year, I’ve written a family update. We also put together a one-second-a-day video, so you can see how our family has grown over the year. We created it using an app that compiles all the videos we’ve taken with it from January – December. If you hang in there through the whole four-minute video, you’ll be rewarded with an awkward holiday greeting.
So, without further ado, here is the VanAllison1 family update from smallest to biggest (with a few random footnotes from Philip).
xoxo,
Cynthia
Henry
This year, I got a somewhat unexpected birthday present when Henry McCoy Allison joined us on February 9, completing the VanAllison family2. He surprised us by making his debut a full two weeks early (there was even a cliché “I think I just peed my pants” moment, just like in the movies!). Henry is a very happy and very smiley baby. He is seriously thinking about sleeping through the night and will occasionally do it for fun3.
As of December, he is 10 months old and is just so very cute4. He loves books and chewing on everything (including books). He also loves eating and doesn’t need any help with it – thank you very much. He’s starting to crawl and can roll and scoot to get anywhere he wants to go. He started daycare in August and has really wonderful teachers and “classmates.”
George
George is 2 to the nth degree. We still marvel at his transition from baby to little boy this year. He goes to physical therapy and speech therapy every week and loves it. He doesn’t have any words but has LOTS of opinions and is very good at communicating them. He loves duplo blocks, exploring the yard, flipping quickly and aggressively through books, Sesame Street, swinging at the park and yogurt melts5. He gives THE BEST hugs and is a very accomplished dancer. He will most likely go to college with a pacifier.
Cynthia
This year I learned that while I love my babies more than I can ever properly put into words, I am miserable as a stay-at-home parent. So I’m in the process of rejoining the workforce. It’s been challenging to find a full-time job here in Starkville but I have thankfully been able to keep busy. Currently, I’m working as a temporary employee for the Greater Starkville Development Partnership (www.starkville.org). They are an AMAZING organization and I absolutely love working in their office. I also still work as a contract employee for the University of New Orleans, doing special projects for the database manager.
I still miss New Orleans so much, but I’m making an effort to make friends here in Starkville. The more people I get to know in this beautiful, charming southern town, the happier I am with living here.
Philip
Philip is still alive and as handsome as ever6.
Happy Holidays!
As we like to say regarding the well-being of our household – the children are thriving and the adults are surviving. We are in a constant state of exhaustion and struggle, but happily so and are also very aware of how blessed we are with these beautiful, amazing babies. They make us laugh every day. Sometimes we cry, too. Sometimes we laugh and cry at the same time.
If you feel like we’ve been completely out of touch with you…you are correct! Please know it’s not personal. We have pretty much been out of touch with everyone we know and love. But we still love you and hope you are well and that we will see you soon. Until then, we hope you have the merriest of Merry Christmases7 and a bright and prosperous New Year!
With much love,
Cynthia, Philip, George and Henry
Philip’s Footnotes
1. Celebrity couple nicknames aren’t just for celebrity couples anymore!
2. From a birthday-remembering perspective, Cynthia and Henry having the same birthday is a huge win for me!
3. Or to let us build up a false sense of security.
4. Admittedly, we’re pretty biased on the subject.
5. Oh man does that kid love yogurt melts. I think he’d sell us all to the highest bidder for yogurt melts.
6. I’ll have you know that those are Cynthia’s actual words. No editing by me at all. I am indeed still alive and happily working as the publications and communications manager for the Bagley College of Engineering at Mississippi State.
7. Please also accept our heartfelt good wishes for any other holidays that you may celebrate, to include (but not limited to), Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Festivus, Pancha Ganapati, Winter Solstice, Bodhi and/or Boxing Day.