the holiday letter... that wasn't

This was going to be my holiday letter for 2009. I just didn't like it that much and didn't finish it in time but figured I'd post it here for posterity and for the curious.


The biggest news of 2009 for this clan was the addition of George, a chocolate mini-dachshund. The George experience happened much like many other good decisions in this house. I was dead set against it, Luciana was increasingly for it until one day I found myself in the car on the way to a pet shop as the boys hurriedly talked over each other in a race to spill the beans on their mother who had already put down a deposit on a dog, bought untold quantities of pet supplies and yet was still pretending as if I had a decision to make too. Of course, it worked out to be a great decision. Everyone enjoys George and it is fun to see the boys cuddle with him on the couch or chase him around the kitchen.

Mateos is now eight and in the third grade. He is a boy in constant motion and is usually all smiles. Mateos has a good sense of style and is into urban culture. While he has temporarily traded in his skateboard for a soccer ball he still considers graffiti to be the highest of art forms, regularly pleads for rap & hip-hop on the car stereo and walks around the house regurgitating lyrics that he understands more of than I wish but thankfully much less than what the words imply. Mateos has really started to enjoy and advance his skills in soccer and tried out for and is now a member of a local competitive team, Real Reno FC, an accomplishment that he is particularly proud of. When Mateos is confined to the inside of the house, he likes to work on his yo-yo tricks and surf YouTube.


Luca continues to defy his parent’s gene pool as his body stretches onward and upward. Luca is seven years old and in the first grade. He is his mother’s boy and he continues to have a stubborn streak that is both endearing and frustrating. This year Luca has put his stubbornness to great use and invested himself into reading and math and enjoys jumping in to answer any scholastic based question I put forward to him or his brother. Luca is still a bit of a homebody, and he very much enjoys hunkering down on the couch with a video game controller in his hands, an enemy in his sights and a bowl of sickeningly buttery popcorn nearby (“Please make it with as much butter as you would ever put on it for me.”)

Luciana is involved in all aspects of the kids’ lives through volunteer work for each of the boy’s classes and coordinating their social calendars with their friends. When she gets the chance, she continues to enjoy cult female activities like Pampered Chef and Tupperware parties (or as Luca famously understood it, mom’s ‘Tug-of-War’ party.) At night, Luciana likes to curl up with George and me (probably in that order) on the couch and watch House Hunters while flipping through magazines.

For myself, I am still working at Intuit and doing the programming thing. This year, I kept busy by co-coaching both Mateos and Luca’s soccer teams and playing in a local adult soccer league. My barber (Luciana) tells me I have quite a few less hairs than the year before but it still looks all good to me ;) 




Happy Holidays!