What a year it has been!

A year ago Oliver looked like this:

Ollie, December 2019

Now he’s running around getting into everything!

A year ago we could still see other people indoors, and now...

We can't.

It’s certainly been a strange time, but overall we can’t complain.

Monica is still working at Heeling House, teaching obedience classes and doggie bootcamps. She and Pika have paused on their in person therapy sessions with children during covid, but they hope to get back to it. In the meantime, she was certified to perform evaluations for aspiring therapy dogs. We’re very proud and certain she’ll be a tough but fair evaluator.

Dylan is still working as a software developer at Viget, which has gone fully remote since March. He’s been working on a project to make Covid testing easier and faster, which has been very rewarding. If you’re in Massachusetts, check out Project Beacon’s free public test sites! Other than that, he’s been inspired by Queen’s Gambit to get back into chess. Add him on lichess if you’d like to play a game!

And the star of the show, of course, is Oliver. He turned one in October and is a small bundle of chaos. He has 4 teeth, can walk without holding anyone’s hand, and while he can’t say any words, he can certainly talk a lot. His current favorite book is “Chicka Chicka Boom Boom”, particularly the part where all the letters fall down. He likes to chase his dogs, but now that he’s fast enough to actually catch them we’ve had to stop that game. While this year has been awful, having all three of us together to watch him grow has been a silver lining.

Merry Christmas, from our family to yours. Stay healthy in the New Year!

Dylan, Monica and Oliver Reston, VA 2020