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.

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!

One year, two months

Guess who turned fourteen months old! Despite my blogging silence (sorry about that, won’t happen again), Caroline keeps growing and developing. Let me catch you up on what she’s been doing …

This month has seen some major developments. First, Caroline took the turn into toddlerdom one exciting week in early-November. Now her preferred mode of locomotion is walking over crawling – and oh how cute she looks doing her wide-legged penguin walk all over the house. She likes to practice going up and down stairs too (mostly when we’re not watching). She gets better every day, and we recently purchase some official “walker” shoes to help her become even more steady on her feet.

Second, Caroline’s receptive language took a giant leap forward. She can follow all sorts of simple directions, from “open your shutter” first thing in the morning, to “get a clean diaper” and “go find dot-dot (her blanket)” during bed time. It’s fun to test out and see how much she understands!

She “talks” all the time with noises, sounds, hand gestures, and pointing. She was eating apple pieces in the car the other day and shouted out “Maman!” When I turned around to look at her, she pointed at the apple in my hand and made the sign for “more”. Pretty darn good communication, I’d say!

Of course, her lack of expressive language can lead to some frustration too. We have bouts where she goes boneless and collapses in a heap on the floor to express her dismay at being misunderstood or denied. More dramatic is the collapse and bang, when she falls to her knees and bangs her head to the floor. Between the expressions of frustration and her newly minted walking skills, the girl is bruised from head to toe. Nonetheless, she looks adorable – her hair is growing longer and blonder, with curls emerging at the nape. Her eyes are still the bluest blue, and I hope they stay that way! And she’s big and strong and healthy – just the way a baby -- I mean toddler! -- should be.

She’s also become more attuned to books, and will sit still (most nights) to hear her bedtime story instead of trying to eat the book. She can point out Max in Where the Wild Things Are and the Cat in the Hat in Dr. Seuss books. Her favorite toys are her brother’s matchbox cars and any sort of ball – golf balls, tennis balls, balled up socks. She could care less about stuffed animals but will wrestle and play with her boys with vigor. I think she’s going to be a tom boy.

She’s fearless and has no qualms about launching herself off furniture, climbing up furniture, or walking with speed across the stone steps. She is fast as lightning and you need to keep an eye on her every minute, or she’ll be into something she more than likely shouldn’t be. At nearly every opportunity, she’ll move HER stuff out of the way to get her hands on the one thing on the table that isn’t baby safe.

She’s Caroline, and every day her strong personality sharpens a little more. You always know where you stand with our little girl – when she’s happy, she’s very happy. And when she’s displeased, she’ll let you know. She gives big, sloppy, spitty kisses – but only when it suits her to do so. Which makes those kisses that much more precious, because you never see them coming.

Lucky thirteen

Month thirteen in Caroline’s life was one marked by fun and flexibility.

Turning one year old was associated with all sorts of other new rights and responsibilities at school. Now the kids are expected to eat the school’s food for morning and afternoon snacks and lunch unless they have a special exception with a note from the pediatrician. We went for the special exception, and packed her healthy lunch after healthy lunch – which Caroline literally tossed aside. After the teachers begged us to let Caroline eat the school’s food to prevent the lunch time scrums that would result from Caroline bypassing her organic blueberries and veggie burgers to take the other kids’ fish sticks and collard greens, we relented. She’s happy as a clam eating the school food for lunch, bookended by lots of fresh fruits and vegetables at home.

She naps at school on a cot now – no more crib. And of course she gets to face forward in her car seat now – she’s pretty excited to see where she’s going!




Caroline went to the pediatrician the week after her birthday. She is nearly 26 pounds and 32 inches long. That puts her in the 99th percentile on all growth charts. The pediatrician thinks she was at the top of a growth spurt when she was measured, but I swear she’s grown more since. She’s outgrown all her size 18 month clothes too.

Another big event this month was moving! The new house is wonderful – big, warm, comfortable and with a giant backyard perfect for playing. We were amazed with the degree to which Caroline took the move (and the boxes, different room, and new routines) in stride – She fell sound asleep in her crib within five minutes of being laid down on her first night in the new house, and slept like a champ that whole weekend as we unpacked around her. We love being here and her new room is warm and cozy and cheerful. There are spirited games of tag before bed at night – the jack and jill bathroom connecting the kids’ rooms is a perfect race track.

Caroline was of mixed minds on Halloween. She loved watching the other kids and seeing the hub-bub in the neighborhood. Our new street takes Halloween VERY seriously, and we got to meet many of the neighborhood kids at a pre-trick or treat party down the street. She did NOT love her costume, cute though it was. She dressed up as a shark, and kept her costume on for almost 15 minutes – the polarfleece was more suited to a WNY Halloween than an Atlanta one!




I was proud to see how well Caroline handled all the changes in her life this month. She was flexible and responsive and enthusiastic in her own Caroline way. It was a great month.

Happy First Birthday Caroline!

When I was pregnant, someone told me that life with kids is marked by long days and short years. Truer words never spoken! Caroline’s first year flew by, but at the same time it feels like she’s always been here with us. Definitely a reason to celebrate!

And what a lucky little girl to have a whole birthday weekend to celebrate with all the people that love her best! We were thrilled and delighted to have a whole house full of guests for Caroline’s birthday party the first week in October. Grandparents and great grandparents, uncles and great aunts, and all sorts of cousins came for the party. Look at the crowd!

We started the weekend showing our guests around Atlanta. Caroline was mesmerized by the fish at the aquarium and couldn’t stop pointing things out to me. Her delight at the aquarium took a backseat only to her Uncle Adam’s. Then the whole gang – all 13 of us! -- had a great Southern food dinner at Mary Mac’s, an Atlanta institution. People tried food they had never had before (Crayfish, Barb?) and left stuffed to the gills and happy. Sunday was the big party day! We had a wonderful time hanging out on the deck, eating good food and cake, laughing and joking. It was a day filled with joy, and we feel very fortunate indeed that Caroline has such a loving, involved family. Thank you ALL for coming. Same time next year?

As befits her status as a big girl, Caroline has made the big switch from formula to whole milk – and from bottles to sippy cups. She stopped nursing at the end of September, a transition that was easy for her and bittersweet for her Mama. She tried peanut butter for the first time and LOVED it – it’s now a staple. AND she took her first steps on September 21 – one, two, three and collapse in my arms. She looked as surprised as I did, but she keeps at it. Practice will make perfect.

She took her first bike ride in a trailer on a bike path in Jekyll Island Georgia….

And had her first taste of cake!

Happy birthday to Caroline!

Eleven months old

Eleven months old! In August, Caroline channelled her inner party girl and wracked up the talley of major family events attended. First up -- Jill and Gary's wedding! She started the day by hanging out with her G-Aunt Barb and G-Uncle Joe for a brief babysitting spell. Barb and Joe obviously whetted her appetite for a party, because she was non-stop the rest of the day! The reception was awesome -- marimba music and a lot of Holtzs having fun. Everyone was so happy and Caroline clearly picked up on the joy of family being together. I think the highlight of the party for me was watching Caroline eat dinner rolls and shake her maracas to the music at 9:30 at night -- eons past her bedtime. She did GREAT -- was fun, flexible, and did everything I asked her to! Doesn't she LOOK like she's having fun?!

Party number two was only six days later. Danny and Amanda were married in a lovely ceremony and CJ was an honorary flower girl! She was pushed down the aisle by G-Aunt Linda in an AWESOME tricked out stroller that Nonna made for her. She waved and smiled and showed off her pretty dress and bracelet. After the ceremony it was time for the party! Caroline munched down and danced up a storm. She was passed from person to person and the smile never left her face. Talk about love and good times!

As usual, we also spent time in August getting out and about. We went to Ocmulgee National Park in Macon, Georgia on a get out and go day. It was HOT -- so hot! But we kept cool in groovy hats and plenty of beverages. We also went to Rock City, Tennessee on a short overnight. I didn't snap a photo of me freaking out in a minor bout of claustrophia -- luckily CJ kept her cool. What did she have to worry about, after all -- she was the one being carried through the rocks and steps and bridges in my arms because those trails were so NOT stroller accessible. At least I'll have strong arms!

Caroline is becoming a big girl. She's so independent and always wants to explore. She pulls up easily now, and creeps around the furniture unassisted. She's THIS close to walking and has the bruises to show for it from some spectacular falls. She's got six teeth -- thankfully the front two teeth grew in so that she looks a bit less like a vampire now! She's self-weaning -- she just doesn't seem to want to take the time to nurse when she could be exploring instead. And her noises are much more nuanced now, with lots of different consonants and inflections. Every day is fun with Caroline -- she's a go go girl that loves new things, spending time with people, and soaking in the world. I'm thankful for such an engaged, happy, and tenacious little girl.

Month number ten

She's UP, she's UP! Month number ten in CJ's life is an exciting one, as she has a new perspective on life -- the one from a standing position! She started pulling herself up at the end of June, and the month of July included remarkable gains in her ability to move around efficiently. Gone are the days of rolling and scootching -- Caroline's mastered a full-fledged, efficient crawl that gets her from point A to point B very very quickly! She now pulls herself up easily and can creep along furniture while holding on. She even freestyles now and then -- letting go with both hands before BOOM she's down on her bum.

With her newfound mobility, Caroline's independent personality has sharpened even more. She can now pursue what she wants, when she wants it -- and can get rather testy when we reroute her from the stairs, or the electrical outlets, or even the bagels that we planned to throw away during refridgerator-cleaning-out Saturday.By moving around, Caroline can also participate much more actively in our life together. Into the shower she comes when we're getting ready for work in the morning. We come home from work and she plays and plays with us while we're having evening cocktails. She's worked out a route around the living room that involves pulling herself up on the coffee table, walking its circumference, switching over to the couch, creeping down its length, and then dropping to a crawl for a couple gymnastic moves through the bottom shelf of the coffee table. She's very proud of herself at the completion of each loop!

Caroline's vocalizations are also much more refined and frequent. She's making noises that sound a lot like words now, at least in their cadence and length. She loves to be part of conversations (even if that involves yelling over top of the speakers). She sometimes reads along with her bedtime story by babbling under her breath. Once she puts together the details of language, I have a feeling that we'll have a hard time quieting her down!

We've been fortunate to have a wonderfully exciting summer. Ball games, days at the park, evenings at the pool, and lots of travel, including a great trip home to East Aurora for Caroline's baptism and an amazing day with family. We're looking forward to all the events of August, especially the family weddings! We can't wait to see you all again and show off all that Caroline can do.