It is customary, we believe, at the beginning of notes such as this, to say what a big year the past one has been.  On reflection, we think we can claim this without any sense of overstatement.

Firstly, and most importantly, our beautiful son, Leo, was born on Anzac Day (25 April).  It wasn’t the smoothest ride (troubled pregnancy, Danielle admitted to hospital at 28 weeks, playing it day-by-day until his birth, born 8 weeks early and very low birth weight) but we got there and he has done very well since.  The practical support and kind messages from our friends and family helped us immeasurably to get through it all.  Leo has a cheery personality and sleeps well.  What more can you ask for?

OK, perhaps having a child without hearing loss perhaps?  Sure, it was a shock to get the news but we have already begun the process of proving the best support for Leo that we can: assessment, hearing aids and ongoing therapy to help him achieve his best.  In this journey, The Shepherd Centre are our partners and their expertise and support have been wonderful and will continue, we hope, until Leo learns to speak, hear and hopefully go to a mainstream school.  David is doing a two kilometre ocean swim in February to raise money to support this charity that you may like to contribute to.  We also have a page on our website where we try to answer some of the questions you may have about Leo’s deafness.

All the business with Leo was certainly pretty stressful at the time, but we managed to hold onto the dream to go and live in Italy for the tail end of Danielle’s maternity leave and flew out mid August for two and a half months living in Reggio Emilia.  We have another page that has some of the photos and details about our time there, but in summary it completely lived up to our expectations: we were immersed in a food culture that opened our eyes to what good food is and how simple it can be; we all improved our Italian with Max going to preschool there; we explored parts of Italy we hadn’t been to (The Ligurian Coast, Lake Garda, Parma, Bologna, Mantova) and experienced some old favourites like Venice.

At the tail end of our time in Italy, Leo caught a cold that got down into his chest and got hospitalised for two weeks with bronchiolitis.  The Italian medical system was wonderful and perhaps even too wonderful, giving us some insight as to where some of the efficiency cuts might have to be made if their economy is to survive!

However good our time away was, it was wonderful to return.  There were plans of giving up the lease on our house and moving, but with all the drama before our trip, I think we made the right decision to maintain an extra piece of stability in our lives and we still love living in Glebe.

In other news, David’s Oma (Dutch for grandmother) passed away in February aged 94.  She had been frail for quite a few years and David and other members of her family were able to be there continuously through the final five days or so, something that felt like a real privilege.  David’s Mum is one of seven kids in the family so there was a large gathering as people came from across the country and the globe to be there.

In March we had two weeks at a beach house in Seal Rocks that successfully changed our everyday routine to a new one that no longer required reference to a clock.  Max and David also joined Granddad on a camping trip to an old favourite haunt in Doyles River National Park in the mountains between Tamworth and the Coast.  Apart from the leeches, Max had a wonderful time.

Max has completed a year of two days a week of preschool at the Italian Bilingual School in Leichardt.  Together with his time in Italy, he is understanding quite a bit of Italian, but apart from spontaneously breaking out into Italian song now and then and one memorable conversation with a Nonna in Italy, he doesn’t use it a lot himself.

For Christmas we are heading to Tamworth with David’s side of the family and Max is looking forward to it with a passion that only a four-year-old can.  Despite telling us that people who believe in angels are silly (David: Trust me, I didn’t say anything!!) he has swallowed the whole Santa Claus story.  The only hitch is he talks about all the presents that Santa WILL bring him. Apparently, if you are magical, why would there be any limit on the toys that you give?!!

For Danielle the business she was running in Bank of America Merrill Lynch was essentially all but closed down during 2011 so she will be looking for a new opportunity in 2012.

While 2011 has had its moments, it has been a wonderful year for us.  The big lesson that came out of all the dramas was how grateful we should be for the support of family and friends: Danielle’s mum brought whole meals to the hospital so we could eat a ‘family meal’ in the kitchen and Danielle could avoid the hospital food during her month-long stay; many people offered to look after Max for a bit; and simply the messages of support were so helpful in giving us the emotional boost to get through it all.