2006 Christmas Letter
We did send out a Christmas letter this year, but I wanted to post it to the web site anyway. Actually, Te-Amo wrote it this year. Maybe somebody who isn’t on our holiday mailing list would like to know what we were up to this year? Click “Continue Reading” to read the 2006 Christmas Letter.
Meow Meow Meow… Er, I mean, “Season’s Greetings!”
I’m Te-Amo, the middle cat, affectionately known as “Yahmo”. Michael and Chrissy have their hands full right now taking care of baby Aiden, so the task of holiday writing has fallen to me this year. It’s been threatened before, but now I get my chance! So, what’s been going on this year at the Wilson house?
First and foremost, Aiden has arrived to brighten our home. This was a long time coming, as Chrissy’s first ultrasound was way back in January. Maybe you saw the ultrasound scans on our web site? The baby shower, which everybody but us cats was invited to, was in July. The last few months were long and rough, so we were lucky to have Chrissy’s friend Felice stay with us and help out. Aiden Michael Wilson was born on August 29th, 2006, by Caesarian section after forty-eight hours of painful back labor. Special thanks to all the family and friends that came by to see Aiden, both in the hospital and at home. We all appreciate the gifts and warm wishes! Keep an eye on our web site for Aiden’s photo updates and family information.
As for Michael and Chrissy, they stop by to pet me from time to time. It’s lonely sometimes, since they have lots to do. Michael is still working full-time at the University of Chicago as the Manager of Data Quality. He is serving his second term on the Board of Directors at LakeNet, a not-for-profit organization that helps entities in Northwest Indiana gain a web presence. In June, he continued as adjunct professor at Indiana University during the first summer session, teaching Introduction to E-commerce twice a week at night. Chrissy decided to stay at home for a year to raise Aiden. Because she has tenure, the school district will save her position as a third grade teacher. Her child-care leave started in September, and she is now very busy as a full-time stay-at-home mom (and a very good one!).
The house has been turned upside down (literally) in the last year. New windows were installed in February, and that really helped keep the house comfortable for me over the winter. In June, Michael’s Uncle Marve and Chrissy’s Uncle Glenn helped us finish the basement, adding two new rooms and several closets. Once the basement was done, Chrissy liked the oak doors and trim so much that they decided to do the same thing for the upstairs. Where was I to take a nap? Once the upstairs was done, work continued as both bathrooms got new tile, toilets, sinks and counters. To top it off, the house was hit by lightning in August and the shattered chimney had to be replaced. The hard work paid off though, since the house looks really nice now. Not one to rest on my laurels, I’ll be watching everyone remodel the kitchen next February.
You wouldn’t think that Michael and Chrissy would have time to get out and actually do stuff with everything else going on, but they did. In February, Chrissy went to a weekend scrapbook retreat at the Swan Lake Resort in Plymouth, Indiana. In March, they took Katie to Disney World for an AUTM conference. Chrissy and Katie took lots of pictures while Michael attended meetings, but everyone had a great time. Michael and Chrissy flew to California in May. They spent a day with Carl and Misha in Hollywood and then attended cousin Eric’s wedding in Montecito the next day. Back home, they saw Spamalot at the Cadillac Theater in Chicago for Michael’s birthday in early June, and then saw Cirque du Soleil at the United Center in July.
In September, Michael and Chrissy both went to Botcon, the annual Transformers Convention, in Lexington, Kentucky. There they met Peter Cullen, the voice actor for the first Optimus Prime in the 1984 cartoons. Back home, Aiden stayed with Grandma and Grandpa for his first night away from his parents. Traveling for work again, Michael went to Cambridge University in the UK for a few days and then spent the weekend in London. He might go back again in the spring, and plans to bring Chrissy and Aiden with him next time. Chrissy organized her parents’ surprise 50th birthday party at Langel’s Pizza in Highland in October. Aiden was there, but he didn’t eat any pizza. In November, Michael served as an usher at cousin Dave’s wedding.
Since Aiden was born, he has not been left out of the festivities, either. In October, he attended his first Halloween party and went on his first hayride. Aiden also went on his first Black Friday shopping expedition on the day after Thanksgiving. He didn’t go out until 9 AM, but Michael and Chrissy were out at 4 AM. Aiden often goes with Chrissy to work out, since he behaves well in his car seat. And I’ve been good too, having never jumped into the crib while he was out (which I can’t say for the other two cats here).
So that is the long and short of it. I hope that I haven’t been too long-winded, as cats can often be. Our entire family wishes you well in the coming year, and we hope that you keep in touch. Check out our web site at http://www.michaelandchrissy.com. And if you stop by to see the house, be sure to pet the middle cat while you’re here!
Merry Christmas from the Wilsons:
Michael, Chrissy, and Aiden(and Sukiyo and Xiao-Ai and me, Te-Amo)
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