This month held a few events in our lives, but overall it was the start of a year that will be seeing us move into a new home and enjoying watching Allison develop throughout a new year. We are enjoying her each day, as we know there will be a day when she is mobile and won’t want to sit on our lap as much or even further down the road when babbling with mom and dad won’t be the “cool” thing to do. 
Deb started with a new company this month. She still has the same position at the same office, but her employer has changed to a company in Chicago. Basically, the doctors at her clinic decided to out-source her department, so she simply changed who provides her benefits and paycheck. Several things were difficult initially, but most of that has calmed down and the new company appears to be getting some positive support from her co-workers. We attended a holiday party at a restaurant near where the Colts play called “Tavern on South” and had a good time. She was invited to head up to Chicago for a day to review other clinics this company works with, which meant she got to take the corporate plane up to Chicago and be “wined and dined” which she enjoyed. She didn’t enjoy being away from Allison (it was her 1st night apart from Allison), but it was only one day and they were able to hang out most of the weekend.
During the last weekend in January, we all were supposed to go visit my sister’s family in Ohio, but Deb woke up sick during the night right before we were supposed to leave. The next morning, Deb suggested that Allison and I still go to Ohio, but she didn’t want to get us or them sick. So, Allison and I ventured on our first road trip together and it was awesome. She is great in the car, for now, and the only hiccup came about 2 hours into our trip when I realized that I haven’t had to use the restroom in public with Allison without someone around to hold her. I did what any man would do; I stepped up to the urinal and took care of it with one hand, making sure I told Allison that we always look forward and never down. I also changed her diaper at a truck stop on the way home and some guy told me he had never seen a guy use one of those diaper stations in the restroom! Our visit with the Vandervaart’s was great, as we stuck around their new beautiful house most of the weekend and enjoyed each other’s company. I’m usually way down on the list of favorite people for my nieces (Grandma and Aunt Beth are more popular), so it was great to be around them and be asked to read books and play games. We had a poker night on Saturday and I was out early, as I usually am in poker. We got home around 1pm on Sunday with plenty of time for Allison to hang out with Deb, who was feeling much better.
For my birthday, we went to dinner with Pat, Paul and Mom after church. We fed Allison at O’Charley’s and kept her up a little longer than usual. She did great and it didn’t mess up her sleeping that night much at all. The next day, we went to lunch with Frank and Jan in Broad Ripple. 
Allison had her 9 month appointment and was nearly 29 inches long and 17 lbs and 14 ounces. She is progressing well, but not crawling or rolling over. Her neck issues are thankfully resolved. She sits up very well and rarely falls over, but we are looking for her to start moving relatively soon. Her therapy had slowed down but we may need to speed it back up to increase her motor skills. 
A few more items from this month:
We went to a holiday party for Hurco at our CFO’s house in mid-January. It was well attended by our finance and IT department.
As I have for the last 10 years, I am once again playing in the Chatard Alumni League, which has been termed the “CLIG” or the “Can’t Let It Go” league. Since Pete moved back to Ohio, we decided it was best to move down to the B League.
Deb started with a new company this month. She still has the same position at the same office, but her employer has changed to a company in Chicago. Basically, the doctors at her clinic decided to out-source her department, so she simply changed who provides her benefits and paycheck. Several things were difficult initially, but most of that has calmed down and the new company appears to be getting some positive support from her co-workers. We attended a holiday party at a restaurant near where the Colts play called “Tavern on South” and had a good time. She was invited to head up to Chicago for a day to review other clinics this company works with, which meant she got to take the corporate plane up to Chicago and be “wined and dined” which she enjoyed. She didn’t enjoy being away from Allison (it was her 1st night apart from Allison), but it was only one day and they were able to hang out most of the weekend.During the last weekend in January, we all were supposed to go visit my sister’s family in Ohio, but Deb woke up sick during the night right before we were supposed to leave. The next morning, Deb suggested that Allison and I still go to Ohio, but she didn’t want to get us or them sick. So, Allison and I ventured on our first road trip together and it was awesome. She is great in the car, for now, and the only hiccup came about 2 hours into our trip when I realized that I haven’t had to use the restroom in public with Allison without someone around to hold her. I did what any man would do; I stepped up to the urinal and took care of it with one hand, making sure I told Allison that we always look forward and never down. I also changed her diaper at a truck stop on the way home and some guy told me he had never seen a guy use one of those diaper stations in the restroom! Our visit with the Vandervaart’s was great, as we stuck around their new beautiful house most of the weekend and enjoyed each other’s company. I’m usually way down on the list of favorite people for my nieces (Grandma and Aunt Beth are more popular), so it was great to be around them and be asked to read books and play games. We had a poker night on Saturday and I was out early, as I usually am in poker. We got home around 1pm on Sunday with plenty of time for Allison to hang out with Deb, who was feeling much better.For my birthday, we went to dinner with Pat, Paul and Mom after church. We fed Allison at O’Charley’s and kept her up a little longer than usual. She did great and it didn’t mess up her sleeping that night much at all. The next day, we went to lunch with Frank and Jan in Broad Ripple. Allison had her 9 month appointment and was nearly 29 inches long and 17 lbs and 14 ounces. She is progressing well, but not crawling or rolling over. Her neck issues are thankfully resolved. She sits up very well and rarely falls over, but we are looking for her to start moving relatively soon. Her therapy had slowed down but we may need to speed it back up to increase her motor skills. A few more items from this month:We went to a holiday party for Hurco at our CFO’s house in mid-January. It was well attended by our finance and IT department.
As I have for the last 10 years, I am once again playing in the Chatard Alumni League, which has been termed the “CLIG” or the “Can’t Let It Go” league. Since Pete moved back to Ohio, we decided it was best to move down to the B League.
