Dear Family and Friends,
Every year with children brings new wonders. This year, for us, it is watching Dylan and Adela grow in their relationship as siblings. Dylan has taken to being Adela’s “teacher†whenever he can and Adela thinks her brother is a rock star. We can’t imagine it getting any better than this – except perhaps when we get to sleep through the night . . .
Dylan turned three this year. No one told us that three year olds make all the important decisions, like where we go out for dinner (sushi and dim sum are Dylan’s top picks) and what we all wear for Halloween (see photos on our site for our assignments). He continues to thrive in school, he “read†his first novel this year (Ian Fleming’s Chitty Chitty Bang Bang) and he has added tennis to his sports repertoire. The boy can play. Seriously.
As for Adela, a friend recently watched her and said, “My, she’s a fireball!†We agree, and it’s not just about her auburn hair. She has a big personality, flashing a wide smile as she runs down the hall wearing nothing but Dylan’s underwear. Her pediatrician advises us to give her time alone in her crib, just to create some down time. Seriously. At fifteen months, Adela mimics everything we say and speaks better Spanish than any of us, thanks to the continued good care of Mirian Vasquez. Best of all, she has music in her blood, rocking to any beat she hears.
Jeannette continues to relish her work at Envision Schools as the Director of Instruction. There is excitement with the growth of all our schools – totaling four this year and five for next year. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation recently granted Envision nearly $7 million to support more schools in the Bay Area and to begin a cluster of schools in the California Central Valley. Highlights each week are classroom visits, meaningful discussions with teachers about their work, opportunities to problem-solve with school leaders and anticipated celebrations of our first graduating senior class!
It would not be a year in our lives without some major change, so… after five and a half years with the San Francisco Unified School District, Matt will be leaving in January to join the James Irvine Foundation, as a Senior Program Officer in the youth program. The program’s mission is to increase the number of disadvantaged Californians between 18 and 24 who finish high school on time and get a post-secondary degree. Matt is excited for the jump to the world of philanthropy and hopes to stay closely connected to the work of San Francisco public schools.
Travel this year was mostly about keeping the cousins together. In March, we went East to be with Mimi when she was inducted into the Howard County Women’s Hall of Fame. We enjoyed a two-week summer odyssey that took us all over the East Coast, including a week at the Delaware shore with the whole Kelemen clan and trips Jeannette and the kids took to New York, Pennsylvania and Virginia. Dylan and Adela enjoyed doing “art projects†with Grandma, helping Grandpa mow the lawn, and playing ping-pong with Uncle JP and Aunt Laura. On our way home, we stopped in Minneapolis to visit with the Satos and the Granholms. Adela made her mark in the Twin Cities by taking her first steps and Dylan discovered the joy of slip-n-slide.
We also took some memorable shorter trips, including Adela & Jeannette’s March visit to Vail and an adventurous trip to the Sierra with the Kassisieh clan on an April weekend with no shortage of snow! Dylan got to ski for the first time, which was a thrill for all of us. Matt and Jeannette escaped for two weddings: Ginger & Bob in Mill Valley, and James and Bessie in Virginia. Jeannette returned to Virginia in September (with Dylan) to meet the newest addition to the LaFors family – baby Claire. And finally, we shared Thanksgiving with the Kassisiehs in their new home in Portland, taking the chance to visit with Lynn Buedefeldt and family. Locally, Jeannette enjoyed her 15th Class Reunion this fall and the opportunity to connect with dear friends and old acquaintances.
We mourned the loss of Nana (Mary Alletia LaFors) in September – shortly after Claire was born and within a day of Adela’s first birthday. Nearly 94, Nana outlived her oldest son, her three siblings, and her husband, and claims a loving legacy of children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Jeannette and Adela went to Olympia to join family and friends in celebration of her long life.
We rang in 2006 quietly at home, with bottles of champagne and milk, as we geared up for Jeannette to return to full-time work and the circus of two-kid parenting. We will end the year with family gathered in Key West, re-connecting the kids with cousins. It will be a chance to reflect on our blessings, the state of the world, and our belief that we can effect positive change in our lifetimes.
Wishing you all peace in the new year,
Matt, Jeannette, Dylan, and Adela