January, or month fifteen

January was all about SNOW IN DIXIE! Late on Sunday night January 9th it started snowing – big wet heavy flakes careening down from the sky. Now this was serious snow for the south – Buffalo or New England would barely have blinked -- and we were impressed. By Monday morning, nearly six inches of snow was on the ground, and school (and work!) was definitively cancelled. We spent a wonderful day outside playing in the neighborhood. Caroline made her first snowball, learned that walking is a little more treacherous when there’s white stuff on the ground, and did her first “face plant” in the snow. Best of all, she watched the bigger kids – including her brother and dad – do some serious sledding down driveways and streets on all sorts of unlikely contraptions, including pizza trays and laundry baskets. I KNOW she wishes she was bigger so she could have gotten in on the act!

By Tuesday morning, the six inches of snow turned to rock solid glare ice, and the rest of the week was history. Without plows, salt, or sand, Atlanta relied only on Mother Nature to remove the snow. We spent the rest of the week housebound, waiting for a thaw and hoping our groceries (and sanity!) held out. Luckily, Mother Nature came through, five lost work days later.

On MLK weekend, with the snow receding, we celebrated “January Missmas” with Nonna and Big Pop. A giant box full of presents preceded their arrival – thank you all for thinking of us at Christmas time! We had a blast opening presents, eating good food, going out to dinner, goofing around, and even doing some bowling. We missed Christmas at home greatly, but Missmas was an awfully fun substitute.

With all the Christmas festivities and the impromptu snow breaks behind us, Caroline settled down to the serious business of transitioning classrooms at her school. She left the infant room behind and “graduated” to Toddler 1A – a bigger room with bigger kids. She was wary at first, and there were some tough morning goodbyes, but she quickly realized that there were better toys and more fun to be had in this new setting. She’s doing great now, and I love what she does when I pick her up in the afternoons. She drops what she’s doing, runs to get her coat from her cubby (often swerving around my attempted hug and kiss to get there), and heads straight for the door, waving and saying “bye” all the while. Clearly, she’s ready to go!




Caroline’s language development is surging forward. She narrates the world now, talking nearly all the time. The tone, cadence, turn taking, and rhythm of speech are all in place – the only thing missing is the words! Instead of crying in the morning right when she wakes up, she lies in bed and practices talking (and sometimes singing) to herself. It’s lovely to listen to on the monitor. She’s got some words – bye and hi, mama, dad, ball, sock – and more are clearly coming.

She is a big and strong toddler. She visited the pediatrician at 15 months and got three shots. She weighs 30 pounds and is 34 inches long. I should disclose, though, that those are approximations –she took great exception at the weighing and measuring process and fought like a crazy woman! Caroline also went back to the neurologist for a final skull xray and examination. She was cleared completely – the doctor said that it was like her skull fracture never happened. Thank goodness!

January was a wonderful month full of new experiences and big transitions. Every day Caroline seems to master something new –whether it’s mimicking a new word or showing off a new physical skill (like running everywhere she goes!) I know I’m biased, but I have to say that it’s amazing watching her grow up and develop.