“I will honor Christmas in my heart and try to keep it all the year. I will live in the Past, the Present, and the Future.”

— Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol

Well, this year sure hasn't been a walk in the park. It has definitely had some hardships, and our heart goes out to everyone who has experienced tragedy.

But it's also been an amazing and blessed year for our family. And the truth is, we've taken many walks in the park; it was one of the few things that kept us sane during lockdowns with two crazy kiddos.

Caleb

Caleb is going to be five years old in less than a month. Yes, you read that correctly. He's almost five.

Caleb has really grown this year, and it's been incredible to watch. In the spring, he learned to ride his bike without training wheels. Now, he zooms around like a pro. To keep up with him, mom had to get a bike and put a seat on the back for Wesley. Much of the summer was full of bike rides around town.

First Presbyterian Preschool, where Caleb attends pre-kindergarten, was shut down for the first part of the year. But he was able to return in-person schooling in the fall. He loves his teacher, Mrs. Johnson, and is learning all about the alphabet and numbers.

Seeing Caleb discover music has been a crack-up. At the start of the year, Caleb loved the song Ghostbusters. His love of the song was so deep that it led to his decision to be a Ghostbuster for Halloween. Wesley played the part, too. Now, his taste has led him to rock to Metallic's Enter Sandman and Michael Jackson's Smooth Criminal.

When he didn't want to be a Ghostbuster, Caleb focused on how he could become a Mars-bound astronaut. This winter, he switched majors again. Now he's exploring a career path that will allow him to become a ninja Policeman. In fact, he took a ninja camp during the summer for some training.

He is such a joy and goofball. We love him so much.

Wesley

If you can't believe Caleb will be five, then wait until you hear this: Wesley turned two on December 7th. That's right, two.

Wesley has developed in leaps and bounds this year. He started walking at the beginning of the year and now runs everywhere.

He's also about to make the linguistic jump into full-fledged discussions. His favorite words to use right now are "I'm done" and "shoes!" (note that "shoes" has an exclamation point because when he says it, he throws his hands up in excitement and runs to the shoes).

Needless to say, he loves going outside. Earlier in the fall, he started riding his little balance bike (it's not quite a balance bike, but very close). He loves to "ride" around and then get off to explore, then back on again to the next point of interest. Oh, and if you stick an apple in his hand, he won't be unhappy about that either.

There's another thing that's been a joy to watch. Wesley absolutely adores his big brother. He follows him around wherever he goes and does what he does. Lucky for us, Caleb is all about taking care of his baby brother (most of the time, that is). They are good buds, and that makes mom and dad proud.

Heather

I'm still staying at home with the boys these days, which is a busy job. My time is dedicated to finding things to do to keep my two little adventurers busy. Boy, do they have a lot of energy! Every day is full to the brim with new discoveries and messes.

Rico is alive and doing well. Who's Rico, you ask? Oh, he's my sourdough starter. I started making sourdough back in the spring of 2019, and I'm still baking about a loaf a week. It's a fun way for me to continue baking in the kitchen and adds to the chocolate chip banana bread the boys love so much.

I'm also still keeping up with my local blog, Raising Tacoma. Sometimes I'll run into someone around town, and they'll recognize me from a blog post or Instagram story. One person even said they were "star-struck," which cracked me up. The blog focuses on sharing things to do and see in the area and other kid-related crafts and activities. The number of young families in Tacoma is growing, and it's been great to grow with that wave.

Josh

Josh continues to work at the Washington State Nurses Association as both the Director of Digital Transformation and Membership. With the lockdown in March, he's spent much of the year working from a desk in our bedroom. It's been such a blessing in disguise to have him here instead of in traffic. It's great for the boys to see him pop down for lunch and a hug.

Josh has managed to maintain his early morning workout routine, alternating between running and yoga most days of the week. When he's not squeezing in a workout of work email, he's Mr. Family Man joining the whole crew on weekend adventures.

Asha

We can't forget an update on Asha. She'll be six years old in a few days, but we still get asked if she's a puppy when we're out for a walk. Unfortunately, she completely tore the ACL of one of her hind legs this summer. She spent most of the fall recovering from surgery. While she can no longer join Josh on his early morning runs, she gets her exercise by running from Wesley, who seems to think she always wants to play tag.

Family, Fun, and 2020

What 2020 Christmas Letter would be complete without mentioning the impact of the coronavirus on our family. Like many of you, Washington went into lockdown in early spring. With everything but the essentials closed, we had to get creative to keep Caleb and Wesley entertained.

Unfortunately, our gallant attempt at a family garden ended in weeds. But we did spend a lot of our time outside on bike rides and walks. We are also thankful for the houses across Tacoma that decorated their windows with teddy bears. It was easy for the whole family to go on bear hunts when naps didn't go as planned and afternoons got long.

We still managed some fun in the year as well. Before the coronavirus closed everything down, I managed to get a trip down to San Diego with the boys to visit my parents. It was so nice to escape the winter weather and enjoy family and the sunshine.

Later in the summer, the family took a vacation to the Washington Coast. We stayed at a pirate-themed Airbnb in Ocean Shores. The beaches on this part of the coast were very long, and everyone has room to drive their cars onto the sand and park. For two Southern Califonian transplants, the practice of driving onto the beach left us uncomfortable at best (shouldn't that be against the law or something?). But it was great to have a dry spot with extra changes of clothes for the kids, who loved playing in the sand and water.

We also traveled to the Sequim area twice this year to see our friend's farm and explore the area around Dungeness bay. In the summer, we had fun relaxing at the farm and taking the boys to the Dungeness Creamery down the road. We also returned in the fall. The first time we got to enjoy apple-picking on a wonderfully crisp afternoon. The second time, we were able to show Josh's parents the area and explore the town.

In addition to our trips to Sequim, we took some other Washington state day trips. At the beginning of October, we took a ferry ride over to Vashon Island. We spent a wonderful day discovering this island. Later in the month, we had the opportunity to explore our part of the Sound on a friend's boat. While the fish weren't biting, the seals were curious, and the whole day was magical for the kids.

While not without its challenges, I feel we've been blessed as I look back on this year. Our boys are growing up so fast, and it's the most incredible thing to be their parents. We are thankful for good health, family, and your friendship.

We hope you have a wonderful holiday full of cheer and good blessings.

Peace and Love to you All,

- Josh, Heather, Caleb, and Wesley