The Huffman Family: Merry Christmas 2010

Welcome to the Third Annual Huffman Family Christmas Letter (or TAHFCL, as it shall be known). We decided to go electronic this year – not because we are going green or trying to prevent our computerless grandmothers from having access – but because anything we can do to reduce time in our schedule…well, we take it. In fact, the cats are still angry at us for not taking the time to update their photos and therefore missed out being featured in the Christmas card photo this year.

I think it is safe to say that 2010 has been a remarkable year for us. The highlight, of course, being the birth of our son, Cooper. Clichés are clichés because they are true, and “life changes after children” is a good one. Cooper arrived a little early, in-between the historic snows Richmond experienced last winter. On the day he was born, it was my intention to get up early and shovel snow from our driveway to keep it clean and prepared. However, Cooper had other plans and started his debut around 5am that morning. We had the SUV in the garage, so we barreled down the driveway and out of the neighborhood the best we could. The neighbors had a hunch of what was going on when they awoke and found our tire tracks in the fresh snow. Of course there was no need to hurry, as he was born about 12 hours later, but you can’t convince a father-to-be of that in the moment. Besides, I wanted a legitimate excuse to drive fast and play “The Final Countdown” on my iPod on the way to the hospital. (Ask Ashley – that’s exactly how it happened).

Cooper was born shortly after kickoff on Super Bowl Sunday. (Honestly, I still don’t know who won the game.) He’s a happy, healthy, short (25th percentile) and hearty (75th percentile) little man. We’ve learned more about life and ourselves over the last 10 months than I expected. I’ve made up songs about diapers to keep him from launching off the changing table (“The New Diapey Song,” copyright pending), Ashley has an uncanny talent for farm animal noises, and we both have realized the value of efficiency and teamwork. We can bathe the boy in an orchestrated event that resembles a professional racing pit stop. We can cease crying with a stuffed platypus and quacking sounds. And when we get to sleep past 6am, we consider it a luxury. Life is different. But life is good.

This year was eventful in the office as well. March brought the merger that created Union First Market Bankshares, where I am still managing the customer experience for the organization. Our merger had a few bumps, but we ended 2010 very strong and are looking forward to a busy and successful 2011. While I still have an hour commute to Carmel Church, I now keep a second office in Midlothian that has been a tremendous help on eliminating the drive a couple days a week. Next year also brings the addition of overseeing the social media presence for the bank, which has exploded in the financial services industry this year. We’ve made Union the most popular bank in the state (and seventh in the country) on social media in less than a year. There’s a lot more to social media than Farmville, OMGs and LOLs, after all.

Ashley was able to take 12 weeks off with Cooper, but started back to work with a promotion and new position in May. In addition to serving as Senior Account Manager, she is now a team leader and manages the people side of her department. Between her new role, picking back up with harp performances and family life, her plate stays pretty full these days.

We’re still mastering the work/life balance equation, but we’re getting there. We are very fortunate to have my mom watch Cooper during the week and Ashley’s mom jump in any chance she can get between weekends and school holidays. The grandparents still don’t technically have names yet, but we’re working on it. Lately, Cooper calls everything he sees “Bob” or something that suspiciously sounds like “cat,” so all four of them may end up as a version of Bob or cat. As far as I know, Grandma Bobcat is still up for grabs. That has a nice ring to it.

We decided to renovate and overhaul our backyard this fall and found Cooper to be a convenient excuse for the project. The great folks at Cross Creek Nursery & Landscaping and Minor’s Fences transformed our blank slate backyard into a really beautiful outdoor living space. The fence will keep Cooper safely contained and the stone fire pit has already given me excuses to play with matches and eat smores again. I’ve been strictly instructed that the fire pit cannot be substituted for a play pen, even without the fire.

In the family news department, Ashley’s sister Amanda was married (twice) to Sam Sruay in July – once in Richmond and again in a traditional Cambodian ceremony in California. My sister and her husband moved to Delaware so that Joe could start his medical residency at Christiana Care Health System and Carrie has picked right back up teaching elementary school. Cooper experienced his first Outer Banks trip in August when we spent a great week in Duck, and Ashley and I managed to sneak away to Williamsburg and Mathews County a couple times while the grandparents were “forced against their will” to keep Cooper for a night or two.

As I said before, life is different, but life is good. The holidays have given us time to reflect and be grateful of all new experiences and traditions. Pumpkins no longer come from the grocery store – they come from an all day pumpkin patch expedition. I learned that Gerber sells liquid Thanksgiving in a jar, but I can’t truthfully recommend it. And Christmas trees certainly don’t come from a lot or a store – they come from driving to the middle of nowhere and sawing that perfect pine down with your own two hands (photographic proof is available). And while Cooper won’t remember his first holiday season, we sure will. We have enjoyed starting our own family traditions that we hope to carry on for years to come. Except the liquid turkey/peas/beans/cranberry/pie mistake. That one stays in 2010.