Happy Holidays 2005

Happy Holidays 2005! Hope this note finds you enjoying a peaceful and prosperous season. Of all the things I've missed since Nicholas was born in July 2004 -- sleeping in, first-run movies, my waistline -- foremost is time to keep up with friends. My top resolution for '06 is to do a better job of keeping in touch. But first I thought I'd share a little of what the Crawford-Peterson crew has been up to this year.

Nick will be 17 months old on Dec. 30. He's a gregarious bundle of energy who said his first word at nine months (more on that below) and started walking two weeks shy of his first birthday, while we were on vacation in Cape Cod celebrating our fifth anniversary. He hasn't stopped chatting or moving since. Everyone assumed, given his genes, our little guy would be a jock, so we were pleased when his first purposeful word was "Oof!" (which is featured on his favorite painting at the Museum of Modern Art, Edward Ruscha's OOF). See, we said, our boy will be cultured and well-rounded and not simply a sports geek! His second word? "Ball." Oh well …

We've learned the hard way that Nick mimics everything we say. He can count to 11 (that's where our elevator stops), recognizes all 26 letters and can differentiate between Gershwin (GUH-WAN) and Coltrane (DA-drain!) on the iPod (EYE-pud). He loves broccoli and Brussels sprouts -- further proof that he's my kid. And he has a far more active social life than either of us thanks largely to his wonderful nanny, Janice. In addition to visiting the library and rocking out at music class, they frequently rendezvous with neighborhood pals for playdates. Nick and I just finished up swim class and are starting Spanish lessons in January. Lest you think we're neglecting his jock-ularity … our future point guard/QB learned to dunk into his mini-hoop during Grandpop's visit in July and is perfecting his spiral. Napping, going to bed on time and picking up his toys, however, are still, um, "areas for improvement."

In September I moved from SI.com back to Sports Illustrated magazine, where I'm now the college basketball editor. (Our preseason pick of Duke at No.1 is looking pretty good. Texas at No. 2? Not so much.) I'm working the mag's four-day week (Sun.-Mon./Thurs.-Fri.), which gives me more time with Nick but means I don't have a normal weekend. The sports highlight of my year -- ok, my lifetime -- was the White Sox's World Series Championship (it still feels weird to type that!). We had tickets to Game 6, but when the Sox swept we kept our travel plans and made a (very brief) appearance at Northwestern Homecoming instead. My plan was to dress Nick -- whose baseball loyalties have now been secured for life, I hope -- as Ozzie Guillen for Halloween until the stomach flu sidelined us both at halftime.

Rob is still at NBA.com, where's he's the senior features editor. His tasks this year have included picking Pam Anderson's celeb fantasy team, writing columns that make Bernie Mac laugh and maintaining his own last-place fantasy squad. He spent his first Father's Day on the road covering the NBA Finals (darn Pistons!). His rec team reached the playoff semifinals but lost when Rob went to the wrong gym and missed the first half. He says if they rebound and win the league title he'll pull an Al McGuire and retire.

In April, after six years in Manhattan, we decided we needed more space and moved across the Hudson River to Hoboken -- birthplace of baseball and Frank Sinatra. We have a view of the city from our apartment, the commute is reasonable and we've found our new town to be a fun, family-friendly place. And -- I am not making this up -- one of our doormen is named Mark Soprano. Badda bing!

Our families are doing well. My sister, Bridget, is in her first year of law school at George Washington in D.C., and hopes to work in human rights law. My mom (aka "Grammer") is a nursing supervisor at Valley View Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in upstate New York. She lives an hour north of us and visits her grandson (who calls her "Oo oo," after the seal noises she made for him) often. My dad (Popop) is retired, racing pigeons again and living in Florida. Rob's mom (Nana) is finishing her PhD in nursing and teaching at UW-Oshkosh. Rob's dad (Grandpop) is with the Toronto Raptors. He travels with the team, so we'll get to see him four times this season. Rob's sister, Kate, has started an errand-running service in the Twin Cities -- The Simple Solution. His brother, James, owns Ideologie Design, a graphic design business in Appleton, Wis., where he lives with our niece, Grace, who just turned 2. We visited Appleton for Thanksgiving, and Nick and Gracie were thick as thieves.

That's our news. I'll do my best to keep in touch this year, and to update Nick's blog with photos and info. Please let us know if you're going to be in our neck of the woods anytime soon. We're always up for visitors (provided they don't mind sidestepping some toys or accommodating a certain short person's schedule). We wish you all the best in the new year!