Carolyn's Stats at 6 months

At Carolyn's 6-month appointment, the doctor looked at her climbing all over me, jumping up and down, and pushing her butt up in the air trying to crawl. He then said with a smirk, "Good luck with this girl! Looks like you better start growing some eyeballs on the back of your head because she is going to be a mover."

Carolyn is growing like a weed. She is now 14 lbs 10 ozs, and 26.5 inches long. That is below-average for weight and right about average for length.

Who knows what this chunk will weigh in at for her next appointment. She is a GOOD eater!

Merry Christmas from the Altman Family

We stayed in Salt Lake City this year for the holiday. And thanks to a 'pajama-gram' from my parents, we spent Christmas Eve and Christmas Day in our matching pajamas. On the day of Christmas Eve, we went skiing. (steve skied in the morning and I skied in the afternoon, so one of us was available to watch Carolyn). Then, we enjoyed a fabulous night at the Staley's playing Guitar Hero, decorating sugar cookies, and eating ham. We slept in until 10 am on Christmas morning, went to brunch at RJs, and then enjoyed a turkey dinner at Zak and Tess's house.

Our Christmas wish this year is for Grandpops Harry to feel better! Big hugs to you.

Thank you ....

We have so many people to thank this holiday season. We feel very fortunate to have such a generous and welcoming group of friends in Salt Lake City. This is so important when we live so far from our families

First, we thank Michelle, Josh, Max, and Einstein for hosting us for Christmas Eve. The food was delicious, the company was great, and Guitar Hero was fun.

Next, we thank RJ for preparing a wonderful Christmas morning brunch. We are so lucky to have you as our neighbor and friend.

And, we are grateful to Zak and Tess for inviting us to share a traditional turkey dinner with her family.

Even More Thank Yous ....

Of course, we also want to thank all of you who sent gifts to us. It made for such a special holiday. We miss all of you, and wish we could have been 'home' to celebrate with you, too.

Thank you to my parents. Steve LOVED his handknit sweater, I can't wait to put pictures into my new digital picture frame, and Carolyn is excited to watch her new videos. Steve and I look forward to getting some new skillets, so we can cook a nice dinner for you next time you come to visit.

Thank you to Steve's parents. Carolyn's coins are a special way to commemorate her birthyear. She already started playing with her new stacking toy. I am excited to learn some new card games. And, Steve and I are going to enjoy a nice dinner out (complete with a babysitter) with the 'flexible' gift you sent.

Scot, Char, and kids... Carolyn will look adorable in her new outfit, while Steve and I will be the hit at the next party with the new game.

Jason, Heather .. we appreciate the new wooden toys and camping book. Carolyn is hoping that someday Emerson will teach her how to do the Curious George puzzle he picked out for her.

To the Tangeman family ... the 'paper' gift exchange was a hit this year. I loved the stationary and notepads from Jason. Steve is excited to plant his paperwhite flowers and do the crossword puzzels from Lynn. And Carolyn likes her new books from Jessica, though she does prefer to eat them rather than read them.

Mary Anne and Howie ... the monogrammed bag is so cute, but Carolyn particularly appreciated the wrapping paper you sent to her.

And to all of you who sent cards and pictures and other mementos, THANK YOU. It has been such a treat to go to the mailbox lately.

Uh, Oh ... How Quickly Does This Become Crawling?

Little Miss Busy Body was working on a new skill yesterday .... I am sure it will take some time for her to figure out how to turn this into crawling, but surely it is a precursor to it. This girl never stops, which means we will never sit down once she does become mobile.

The good news. She must have tired herself out trying because yesterday was the first day she took a real nap in her crib. She fell asleep with nary a cry and slept for 90 minutes. Naps for her are usually on the go, in the carseat or the backpack.

'Tis The Season for Too Many Holiday Parties

To add to the many engagements we all have on our calendars during the month of December, we decided to host a Holiday Sunday Brunch for our friends and neighbors. Steve outdid himself on the food -- we had homemade pretzel sticks, quiche, horseradish potatoes, meatballs, cereals with fruit compote and yogurt, bagels with lox and cream cheese, a bloody mary bar, a mimosa station, and an irish coffee station. Altogether, we had about 75 people come through the house. The first guest arrived at 10 and the last of our friends left around 3:30. It was a success.

( I was too busy entertaining that I forgot to take pictures. Click on this link for some photos from Nikki's camera... http://utzaltmanholidayparty.shutterfly.com/ )

Happy Half Birthday, Carolyn

December 18th is Carolyn's half-birthday. She is 6 months old today.

This month, she mastered the art of sitting. She started food, including cereal, apples, peas, sweet potatoes, bananas. And, now she is starting to balance herself on all fours. I cannot imagine her being mobile. She is such a busy body, so I am sure out work will be cut out for us.

She loves Leo and gets excited whenever he comes into the same room as her, but unfortunately Leo does not like her. He gets scared or nervous every time she tries to pet him. Below was the first time they actually played together.

Gifted? Probably Not

She's probably not gifted, but she is learning a lot, very quickly. Here are a few of her latests tricks.

She can hold her own bottle.

She can sit up on her own.

First Food

Here are the obligatory pictures of our daughter's first attempts at food. Yes, like all kids, more food was on her face and bib than in her belly. So far, she has had apples, sweet potatoes, and cereal. She likes it all. She starts kicking her arms and legs and sqealing with delight as soon as she sits in her high chair (which by the way, I love.)

Dear Santa,

All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth.

Love, Carolyn

Pray for Snow

Nikki and Joshua hosted the 2nd Annual "Pray for Snow" Party to usher in the new ski season. Last year's party was followed by a record-breaking snow season, with over 700 inches. This year, we are hoping for the same. They went all out for the party this year. Much of the house was covered in white; they only served white food; and all guests were asked to wear only white and silver.

Thanksgiving 2008, Part 2 (Dayton)

On the friday after thanksgiving, Steve and I rented a car and drove down to Dayton to continue our Thanksgiving holiday. We had a super-busy few days in Centerville:

• Joerg, Ann, and Oli came to visit from Ann Arbor. We went bowling and played Pop-Cranium. Steve and Ann won.

• Carolyn went to knitting club at Panera where she met all the women who knit sweaters and blankets for her. She also got to meet her friends Savannah and CJ.

• I met a group of high school friends at Marion's Pizza.

• The Utz's had another photo shoot (link)
• My mom treated us to an adult-only dinner at the Paragon, while the neighbors babysit the kids.

• Steve played Gin (and lost) with my dad.

• Grandpa volunteered to babysit Carolyn all by himself while I went Christmas shopping



• Carolyn got to see so many friends and family. She's a star. She loved all the attention.

Steve left on Monday morning, while I stayed with Carolyn until Friday. After such a full and busy holiday weekend, it was nice to have a relaxing few days at home with my parents. They, of course, loved the time with Carolyn.

Another Utz Family Photo Shoot

Debbie Rankey from InFocus Photos took more pictures of our family over the Thanksgiving holiday. I just love the photos of Steve and Carolyn. The pictures of the whole family are pretty good, too.

Click here for to see the full gallery of photos.

Thanksgiving 2008, Part 1 (Cleveland)

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday of the year ... and this year was the first time I have not been at my parents' house for turkey day. Instead, we celebrated with the Altmans in Cleveland. Thankfully, Carolyn was an angel on the airplane, hardly even making a noise. Knowing that I was a little homesick on Thanksgiving morning, my dear husband went out and bought me noodles (an Utz family tradition), but that turned into a fiasco when the car would not start!

Steve and I were especially excited to show off our beautiful daughter to her cousins, aunts, and uncles in Cleveland. It was their first time meeting her and she loved all of them. It was nice to have so many helping hands. And, Carolyn enjoyed the attention from all of her cousins. We had a great time with the Altmans on Thanksgiving day. We also enjoyed the visit with Katy and Dave in Hudson. It is too bad we don't get to see the Cleveland crew more often.

One more thing -- Steve and I each cooked a turkey in a slightly different way to see if it made a difference. I cooked my turkey with the breast side up covered in foil. He cooked his breast side down. 45 minutes before they were supposed to be done, I took off the foil and he flipped over his bird. Both tasted great, but I admit, the breast meat on steve's bird was juicier than the breast meat on mine.

This holiday was all the more special with Carolyn around. We have a lot to be thankful for this year.

Carolyn's Friends ... Oliver & Maxwell

Julie, Heather, and I got together this week at Heather's house before we took the kids for a walk. It was one of the only occassions that all three kids were awake and out of their carseats. In the picture on the right, Carolyn and Oliver were having a conversation with one another. One would say something and then the other would respond. We only have about 7 more weeks of maternity leave, so we need to take advantage of it and get together more often. It is nice for Carolyn to have friends who are exactly her age.