December 2010

December was a month filled with “ups” and sprinkled with “downs”, but overall, we had much, much, much to be thankful for this holiday season.

On January 6 (Three Kings Day!) Caroline turned 15 months old and December was filled with all sorts of new developments! In terms of motor skills, Caroline walks like a big girl now – the penguin waddle is mostly gone – and she can RUN. She does this often, and with great vigor.

Verbally, her repertoire of noises, signs, and “words” is a pretty effective way of communicating. She uses the words “up” and “hi” correctly and frequently. “Up” sometimes stands in for an all- purpose demand, much like “mamamamama” is an all-purpose complaint. She points and also uses the signs for “more” and “done.” She also communicates instrumentally – she signaled that she wanted to nap the other day by getting her blanket and a book. She handed me her plate to signal that it was time for dinner, already. And when Eric took a little too long to come upstairs for bathtime, she headed into the shower herself, water off and fully clothed, to wait for him.



Caroline has learned to color with crayons, and right now it’s her favorite thing to do. She sits with great concentration at the art table upstairs, going through the crayon box and making scribbles on the paper. We’ve worked hard to reinforce that she only uses crayons while sitting at the table, lest there’s an accidental redecorating of the walls. In addition to her brother’s matchbox cars, crayons are her favorite toys. She only eats them sometimes.

We had great fun during the build up to the holidays. On “Christmas holiday hoedown Saturday”, we bought a giant tree and decorated it like crazy. The bottom third of the tree was left bare except for lights to prevent any ornament breakage or disappearance – we called it the Caroline-line of demarcation. We made cookies and shopped for presents. We listened to WAY too much holiday music. And we enjoyed every minute of it




The kids came with us to the KDHRC holiday party – we had cocktails and hors d'oeuvres at a hotel across from the office. Caroline made the rounds of the party with her new fast walk, scamming cheese and crackers from anyone who would hand them down to her and holding her sippy cup like Dean Martin held a martini glass. Jefferson was a perfect gentleman, making conversation with the guests, sipping Coca-cola, and sampling the treats. It was a very fun night.

Our trip home to East Aurora to see family for the holiday, though, didn’t go as planned. Walking into airport security, I slipped on wet spot and took a bad fall. Caroline was in the pack on the front of me, and took the brunt of it. We rushed to the Children’s Hospital where we learned that she had a concussion and a fractured skull – but luckily, the “best” kind of fractured skull a baby can get. It was a terribly stressful and scary day, but we were seen by some excellent doctors and got to come home the same day. That same night, she was belly laughing and splashing in the bathtub – and you’d never know anything had happened now. Kids really do rebound quickly. Of course, her dad and I have been crazy vigilant – and Caroline has become adept at peeling our fingers off of her when we insist on holding her hand when she walks over any non-carpeted surface. The doctors said her skull will heal in two to three weeks, and she’ll be fully cleared after our followup appointment on January 24.

The accident prevented us from making the trip to East Aurora, though, and we missed Christmas with the family. A small trade for a safe and healthy baby, but such a disappointment – we really really missed you all!

Nonetheless, Santa visited Caroline on Festivus, when Jefferson came back to the house, and left a new big wheel and a GIANT helmet. Fortuitous timing, huh? We pondered making her wear it all the time!



And once we were cleared by the doctor to travel again, we took off for some winter weather and fun in Chicago. We went to museums, ate Greek food, saw a hockey game, and generally had a great time. Caroline wasn’t entirely convinced of the benefits of hats and mittens, though … you’ll see them missing from most pictures because she perfected tearing them off and throwing them out of the stroller when we weren’t looking.

So it was a busy month, filled with much to be thankful for. Hope your holidays were happy – can’t wait to see you soon!