Happy Holidays 2009

Happy holiday season from the Jaworski House! We hope 2009 was good to you. Here is a rundown of the year as it unfolded for us.<br />n<br />n<a href=”http://www.flickr.com/photos/jaworskihouse/4183035712/” title=”Penny and Santa by jaworskihouse, on Flickr”><img src=”http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2653/4183035712_9a3f5efc25_m.jpg” width=”240″ height=”160″ alt=”Penny and Santa” /></a><br />n<br />n<strong>Penny:</strong> Penny finished kindergarten with flying colors. Her transition to first grade has been smooth. She has adjusted very well to first grade and is genuinely enjoying herself. After our first parent teacher conference, her teacher told us she is clearly a creative child with an eye for details. Of course, we could have told her that! We were impressed at how well the teacher knew her. Penny began showing an interest in playing an instrument and she was considering either the piano or violin. At the Renaissance Faire in September, she was able to get up close and personal with a violin. It totally overwhelmed her and soon after, she decided on the piano. In October she began piano lessons and has been doing well. After about 12 weeks she had to start preparing for a recital song. It is a very simple Mozart piece. Our jaw dropped when she was able to play it after 1 lesson. She’s been doing well with it and should be on track for her recital in January. We purchased an upright piano from craigslist just this month. Stay tuned for a YouTube video. She’s continued with dance this year and ballet is still the center of her world. Penny graduated her swim class this year, she is officially a fish. <br />n<br />n<strong>Harold:</strong> Harold is moving right along, and developmentally he’s doing everything about 2 months sooner than his sister did except talking. He’s not really saying much, but is still an effective communicator with his gestures and body language and he understands everything we tell him. We like to say, “He’s so busy”. He is impressively good natured, but just gets into everything. You can spend your entire day just picking up after him or keeping him safe. He is non-stop. He loves all things dangerous, and electrical outlets are his absolute favorite, with climbing a neck-a-neck second. We have to be careful what we let him see us doing; he will copy everything he deems remotely interesting. For example, Penny innocently moved a chair to the sink to wash her hands. When Harold did it, suddenly the sink is his new toy box. Needless to say, we have to keep the sink cleared out at all times.<br />n<br />n<strong>Rob:</strong> Rob is still at Adobe, over five years now. Around the house, he’s been enjoying the help Harold offers him, such as mowing the lawn, installing hard drives and sharing ideas while reading Sky and Telescope. They are two peas in a pod. Over the summer Rob decided to make the backyard presentable again after a year of abandonment, so he planted a new lawn from seed. Now we know that two yards of compost is equivalent to 24 heaping full wheel barrow loads.<br />n <br />n<strong>Rita:</strong> Rita is home full time, with hands full with Harold and volunteering at Penny’s school two days a week. She’s been working in the library one of those days. Due to state budget cuts the parents have volunteered to work in the library to keep it open.<br />n<br />n<strong>Family:</strong><br />nWe went to MiWuk Village this past winter for a snow weekend with Rita’s friends. It was really nice to have a sledding hill just outside the front door.<br />n<br />nIn April we went to Disneyland with Rob’s cousins and Rita’s friends, we hit the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk a few times with season passes, and enjoyed the Renaissance Faire for the third straight year. Rita was talked into a juggling lesson, but hasn’t since kept up with her practicing.<br />n<br />nIn August, we embarked on a two week road trip up the northern California coast and then over to Lassen Volcanic National Park. Harold was just a year old and offered his own set of challenges. He’s such a light sleeper and so kept his mama sleep deprived for the entire time. We are (she is) having second thoughts camping / traveling with him again any time soon.<br />n<br />nRob and Penny are in their second year with Adventure Guides. They had great times during the Spring Campout at Jones Gulch and the Fall Campout at Camp Campbell, both in the Santa Cruz Mountains. Penny’s favorite activity is the zip line.<br />n<br />nWe’re looking forward to another great year in 2010 staying busy, as always. Please stay in touch!<br />n <br />nYou can check out our Family Blog at <a href=”https://www.jaworskihouse.com/blog/” title=”jaworskihouse blog”>jaworskihouse.com/blog</a>.<br />nWe also have a photostream on <a href=”http://www.flickr.com/photos/jaworskihouse/” title=”jaworskihouse on flicker”>Flickr</a>.<br />n<br />nHave a safe and wonderful 2010.<br />n<br />nRob, Rita, Penny, Harold and the Boy Dog