The Christmas season again finds the entire family greatly blessed with good fortune and health. We hope the same for you and all your loved ones both now and in the upcoming millimun. (which doesn't start for another year, anyway!)

Continuing an honored and highly anticipated biennial Christmas tradition, Hubby and I are delighted to announce that we are again expecting the precious coos (midnight wails?) of yet another baby Yates! Needless to say, we have already begun planning a new strategy to contain our growing brood. As Hubby says, we now have to switch from man-to-man coverage to zone. I am having a delightful pregnancy and feel great. Of course, we aren't sure of the due date (it ranges from March 11 through the 20th) nor of the sex (how can you NOT tell when you have a sonogram at 24 weeks?) so for our 3rd child it looks like we're having the stealth baby!

Precious is our darling precious angel baby and a gem of a child. On one hand she has this laid back, seriously non-fussy, I'll just suck my thumb and be happy attitude. Yet, she is completely spoiled rotten, is carried as often as she desires, and generally has us wrapped around her little finger. She is much calmer than Pumpkin, and a very intent little girl. She is quite observant so I've learned to be careful what I do around her for fear of what she'll attempt to do next. Precious is completely fascinated by whatever her older brother has in his hand - be it a fork, play-doh, or a matchbox car - and she is obviously driven to be like him. This child learned to put legos together shortly after she learned to sit up because heaven forbid Pumpkin do something not requiring her imperial presence. She is an absolute blessing baby and I can't think of the words to describe her unique mix of cuddling and independence. (Note, she has not yet started her terrible twos!)

Pumpkin is much easier to describe. He's all boy! He's a loving, territorial, independent, demanding, fascinating, probably muddy handful of a three-year-old (which is an anagram for terrorist!) He's certainly feeling his wild oats, and it quite insistent about being first, doing it himself, and generally being King of the realm. This is a minor problem, as Precious is also a Princess without a Country and Hubby actually thinks it's his house. (They are all wrong, of course!) Pumpkin's mind is visibly expanding and it's hard to keep up with him and his expansive imagination filled with songs and rymes and pretend creatures. His constant companion is a stuffed cat he's named 'commercial' (I have no idea where he even learned that word) but he also loves dinosaurs, tigers and lions. He even taught his dear sister to roar, which was hilarious. He really seems to enjoy daycare, and has been 'hanging out' with the same 3 children for about 2 years now.

My days home with the kids are delightful! On Thursdays there is 2 hours of barely contained chaos simply called 'playgym', on Fridays Pumpkin has an art class while Precious and I go to toddler movement, and Saturdays both Pumpkin and Precious have swim classes. (Precious adores the water and squeals delightedly whenever it's bathtime!) Over the summer Pumpkin was in a 'tumbling class'. Unfortunately he learned more than I'd like. They used a large round mat to teach the children to do back hand springs and Pumpkin immediately discovered that the end of the couch is about the same height. You should see the horrified look of friends as Pumpkin slips - headfirst and backwards! - over the end of the couch! So he's also an absolute joy!

My contribution to the family letter is much the same as always and can probably be summed up in two sentences: I'm pregnant. I haven't killed anyone with my cooking (yet). I still work 3 days a week for a survey within the Bureau of Labor Statistics and I still get a great deal of personal satisfaction from my job. I absolutely love working part time, and thoroughly enjoy being home with the munchkins. I would love to say I am currently working on my family tree, but my free time seems to have vanished, and I'm not sure when I'm going to get it back. When the kids go to college, I suppose. My other hobby is to sporadically update my web site (www.geocities.com/kenkel-yates) . Hmmm, it appears I have no hobby that is not family related.

Hubby is still working for the Army, a post he accepted last year. He seems to enjoy his job, and for the 5th year running I am unable to remotely describe what he does. Involves computers. During the spring and summer Hubby played softball, and in what is now called the 'Miracle in Arlington' somehow managed to win their division and obtain an actual trophy. He also joined a street hockey league, which was hugely amusing to Pumpkin (and many neighborhood kids) who now demands to go outside and play hockey - in the street of course. Unfortunately, a few weeks into the season Hubby wrenched his knee and pulled the ligament from the bone. This ended both his softball and hockey season, and he still has some stiffness and pain 3 months later.

Hubby is also responsible for our other new 'addition', which is a fabulous deck off the dining room. It was a win-win situation in that Hubby's buddy got to show off his vast array of power tools, and Hubby got to play with them. The kids and I fled to Florida for safety, and also to visit their great-grandparents, and when I came home I discovered they had poured over 2 tons of cement into holes in my backyard. So the guys had a blast and I got my deck. It's nearly the biggest room in our house and has been heavily used.

Despite an otherwise busy schedule, Hubby and I did manage to make a mad dash for the border, and spent 4 sun filled and glorious days on the shores of Cancun, Mexico. What a wonderful way to celebrate 5 years of marriage - hundreds of miles away from the children that marriage has so far managed to produce!

So, as those of you with children can see, we have had your typical chaotic year, filled with love and laughter, bumps and bruises, 1 bout of pneumonia, 3 trips to the hospital, 10 trips to the zoo, 1 trip to Florida, 2 trips to Cincinnati, several to Pittsburgh, and innumerable hugs and kisses. Again, we hope you had a wonderful year and wish you all the best in the new one. Hope your families are happy, healthy, and giving you lots of Christmas gifts! Happy Holidays and God Bless!