twenty twelve

Some memories from this year ...

Travel: Another year on the road. It began in Egypt, continued in New York, San Diego, and Los Angeles (with Epp and Maria Leena), then back to the US in March with Marta and Anna, and on to Disneyworld (while Epp and Maria Leena to the Canary Islands), and Justin journeying on to Charlotte, NC, then back to Estonia for some time until June, when we went to Crete as a family. Later in June, Justin to Copenhagen and then Munich and Nuremberg, Germany (with Dad). Mom and Dad came to visit in late June and early July, then left with Marta and Simona for New York. Epp and Maria Leena joined them in late July, and then Justin and Anna arrived in early August (after visiting Helsinki for Anna's birthday). Justin traveled on to Chicago (and was extremely exhausted), and then we came back to Estonia, only with Justin to go to Sweden (Uppsala and Stockholm) in September. In October, we left for Helsinki for a week or more so that our very dark living room could be painted white, and then immediately after Justin went to China (Beijing and Shanghai) via Riga for two weeks, and then after another week at home, he left for Italy with Marta (and met with Mom and Dad in Rome and visited relatives in Puglia). After all that, he was very happy to spend the entire month of December at home in Viljandi and have a quiet Christmas.

Health: Coming off what has been a few tough years for me in terms of health, with something called costochondritis plaguing me with tingling and aching in the ribs from about September 2011 to February 2012. Apparently caused by sitting too much on planes and in front of computers. In March, picked up a very nasty virus that had me coughing gunk and bed ridden with fatigue and fever for days. Two or three very nasty bug bites in June caused massive swelling to my legs and feet. After that, though, I have been mostly okay. Maybe the immune system has toughened up. Kids and wife's health has been stable, with occassional intestinal ailment and light fever, fortunately.

Family: Got a new niece named Emma Ericksen in May. This is the third child for my brother and sister in law in three years (or four, depending on how you look at it). I made a joke about my parents having six grandkids. Looks like it was a prophecy! Epp is Emma's godmother and I know she feels a special bond with the little one. We have more new relatives too - Epp's cousin Triin delivered Mari Liis earlier this year, and I believe that her cousin Krista had a daughter named Astrid. I honestly can't keep track of all the kids being born around me, especially that people my age are now in their early thirties -- prime child making time. One good thing is that we didn't lose any relatives this year, as far as I can recall. This comes after a few years of losing some major family figures, Aunt Salme, Grandpa Karl, Aunt Loretta, Aunt Terry, Cousin Pete, Aunt Helen, Uncle Ken, Cousin Rick ... Rest in peace.

Children: Marta continues to mature, though having little sisters makes her want to act like a baby sometimes. She loves music and dance class (a lot) and we are forced to listen to dance music any time she is in the car (which actually isn't so bad). Through Marta, I am kept up to date on the activities of Nicki Minaj, Selena Gomez, Justin Bieber, and other important people. Marta has been taking clarinet lessons at music school, and she doesn't hate it (which is a good thing) though she decided to take a break from solfeggio (reading and writing music), which I understand. She is very social, and Loretta (her classmate) is often at our house (or she is at Loretta's). They like to watch a show called Kättemaksukontor -- "Payback Office" -- which is a crime series about getting even. Supposedly, it's  a big hit among little girls here. Anna continues to go to preschool and (from what I have witnessed) plays really well with her friends there - Mimi, Hannah, Mia, Arabella, and on and on. They are very important people in her world and she talks about them at home a lot. Anna also likes reading and numbers. She has shown a real aptitude for remembering numbers (which is kind of weird, though Dad and I have the same "knack" for digits) and she also still loves cars and asks me about their different names (Volvo, BMW, etc.) Maria Leena is growing. Every time I see her, it seems like she has changed a little. She is a very kind, sweet soul, and very attached to her mother. She knows a few words too, most of them in Estonian - the words for "fall" and "look" and "lamp" and "kitty" and she knows the names of her sisters and our names, of course. She also loves taking baths. I think it's her favorite time of day.

Books: Epp and I both had books published this year. Anna Hambad (Anna's Teeth) came out in December and has done really well. And Montreal Demons, (my first novel) was published in October and has done, well, okay. The saga continues though, with new trips coming up and new books planned for this year. Oh, and I would like to finish my master's paper at last. That one has waited for too long.