Christmas 2020 Newsletter

Willow (2)

Anna, Doc McStuffins, and Super Willow are a few of Willow’s favorite dress-up activities. She is 100% two, which means when she’s cute, she is very cute. However, when she’s angry, she can get very angry. All-in-all, it is a pretty good balance. She has a growing vocabulary and is very expressive. She likes to exercise her independence like getting dressed “all by myself.” She loves doing crafts with mom; especially making and playing with play dough. As the youngest, she’s learned to get back up after being knocked down – an important life skill.

Gavin (4)

Gavin is a great kid who is thoughtful, kind, and at that perfect age where he can get lost in imaginative play for an hour. He has begun a love for board games, and his favorite being Settlers of Catan Junior. He has a bicycle with training wheels now; although, he still prefers his scooter. Inside, he has enjoyed doing virtual pre-school. Oh, and the puzzles. Gavin loves puzzles. He’ll be putting one puzzle together on the floor, and the next thing you know, he has four puzzles assembled and is working on the fifth. His record is a 100-piece puzzle, but at his current rate, he’ll be doing 1000-piece puzzles by next year.

Owen (8)

After first grade completed remotely, Owen was incredibly fortunate to start second grade in-person in August. He has adapted well to the changes in the classroom. It is incredible to think about how many board games he has learned over the past 12 months at home. His chess skills are developing, and he enjoys playing dad over-the-board and other kids on chesskids.com. The most notable change in the past year might be his voracious appetite for reading. Owen completed a very challenging reading list over the summer and plows through books faster than we can keep them stocked in the house. His current go-to series is “Wings of Fire.”

Laura

Socially distancing in 2020 has meant that less in-person time with friends and family. In this setting, Laura turned many family movie nights instead into board game nights.  She was skeptical last Christmas when Travis suggested the board game Settlers of Catan find a place under our Christmas tree. As everything began to shut down in March, Laura began to research board games. While searching for “games like Catan” she stumbled into a previously unknown world filled with Youtube reviewers, a board game internet series starring Wil Wheaton, Reddit lists, and IRL (in real life) friends who love board games. This is more than Monopoly and Scrabble. Here are some examples below of games the Osterman family has been playing this year:

Alhambra Ghost Fightin’ Treasure Hunters Race to the Treasure!
Animal Upon Animal Go Away Monster! Rat-a-Tat Cat
Azul Gobblet Gobblers Rhino Hero
Bärenpark Hanabi Richard Scarry’s Busytown: Eye found it! Game
Bugs in the Kitchen Hoot Owl Hoot! Robot Turtles
Cahoots ICECOOL Santorini
Camel Up Jaipur Sleeping Queens
Carcassonne King of Tokyo Small World
Castle Panic Kingdom Builder Smash Up
The Castles of Burgundy Kingdomino Splendor
Catan L.L.A.M.A. Suburbia
Catan: Junior Love Letter Sum Swamp
Cauldron Quest Machi Koro Sushi Go!
Chickapig The Magic Labyrinth Takenoko
The Crew: The Quest for Planet Nine Monster Factory Tales & Games: The Hare & the Tortoise
Disney Villainous Pandemic Ticket to Ride
Dominion Patchwork Tokaido
Dragonwood The Quacks of Quedlinburg Wingspan
Everdell Qwirkle
First Orchard Q•bitz

She has enjoyed finding creative ways to connect with family and friends throughout the year and would love to hear about your favorite board games. 

Travis

Despite Tennessee being the new epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic, Travis has continued to see and treat patients at Vanderbilt University Medical Center throughout the year. He and his family have tried to socially distance, avoid COVID-19 exposure, and prevent spread to Travis’ patients. Their effort culminated on 12/19/2020 as Travis received his first dose of the coronavirus vaccine. In addition to clinical work, he has focused on training the next generation of informaticians through co-directing new opportunities for medical students, residents, and fellows at VUMC. At home, he had fun making a board game table to support Laura’s new hobby. The Osterman house also got a little smarter this year with the addition of several smart light switches, outlets, and door sensors. He has enjoyed watching the children get a year older but misses the opportunities to travel and visiting friends and family.

Christmas Present

Christmas Past